15 December 2021

Newsletter Articles

Principal’s Report

Dear Parents/Caregivers

As we come to the end of another eventful year, I am sure you are ready for a well-deserved break. For several months now we have been eagerly preparing for the 2022 school year with curriculum planning and developing class lists. In 2022 we will have a change to our specialist areas which will now include specialist Science from years Pre-Primary to Year 6. Art will continue to be delivered as a specialist subject from student classrooms. This afternoon all students engaged in our transition afternoon. The transition afternoon was a great opportunity for all students to move to their new classrooms for the 2022 school year. We hope that this transition session helps students adjust and alleviate some anxieties prior to returning to school. Transitioning to a new class, away from friends can be an anxious and sometimes even upsetting time for students. Take some time to reassure your child that they will get to play with all their friends at play times and a new class will allow them to make new friends. For 2022 we have several split classes because of the distribution of student numbers in different year levels. If your child is placed into a split class, it is important to remember that they will not miss any curriculum, they will be taught the curriculum for their year level. Teachers are provided with collaborative time to ensure consistency across year levels and like in any class, differentiate to the needs of their students.

On Monday your children’s reports were sent by email. Please talk to your children about the reports and celebrate their successes and efforts. Focus on the things they have been doing well or improved. If you wish, ask them to think of a goal with you that they can work on for next year. Please remember however, that the information contained in them is designed for parents, to give an honest and accurate picture of your child’s learning.

Some key dates for the end of 2021 and the start of 2022 that may be off assistance

• Final day for students and the Christmas Concert - Thursday 16th December 8.50am
• Somerly Primary School front office will re-open on Monday 24th January 2022
• Students return Monday 31st January 2022

I would like to take this opportunity to give thanks to all who have contributed to our School community and helped us throughout the year.

The staff of Somerly Primary School set high expectations and standards for themselves and their students. They are caring, dedicated and engage in continuous learning for the best interests of their students. As at the end of every year, unfortunately we have a number of staff members who are leaving us. I consider it a privilege to offer my thanks to these staff members on behalf of the Somerly Primary School community. In different ways, each of them has contributed so much, impacting the lives of many students. I thank them for their valuable contributions and wish them the very best in 2022 and beyond.

The following staff members will be leaving us - Jane Pavlinovich who will be on a 12-month mobility transfer to another school, Lauren Collie, Charlotte Hatton, Brooke Udy and James Stanton. I will also acknowledge Education Assistant staff members and Special Needs Assistant staff members on fixed term contracts who at this stage have not had positions confirmed - Faye Taylor, Esther Cuesta, Angela Donnelly, Ashleigh Whistler, Karen Garvey, Renee Edwards and Yulai Lu. We hope to see them all back in 2022.

Community support assists the school immensely and at Somerly Primary School, we are governed by a dedicated and effective School Board, chaired by Mr Arthur Ventham. Our Board is a group of individuals who provide sound governance and considered leadership to review school policy, planning and budgeting. I thank all the Board members for their time and their commitment.

Thank you to our passionate and hardworking P&C, led by President Lauren Clark. Thank you to every single one of you for your support with discos, Breakfast Club, sausage sizzles, Mother’s and Father's Day stalls, Easter raffles and much more. The contributions and wonderful additions to the school this year have been excellent and we are truly grateful. I will recognize our President Lauren Clark who will be moving on from Somerly Primary School next year. I encourage you to join or assist our community next year wherever you can as the P&C and School Board are an integral part of Somerly Primary School and the education we deliver.

I would like to make special mention to our school leadership team. To Mrs Lok and Mrs Rose in the office for their hard work and who are always the welcoming friendly face of the school. To our Deputy Principals Mrs Carroll and Miss Bue, our lead Teachers Miss Walker, Ms Lipman, Mrs Brown, Mrs Sutherland-Mundy, Mr Gane, Mrs Donohue our Committee leaders and everyone who has stepped into the leadership roles over the last year. They all work tirelessly to drive school improvement, support families and staff and ensure the school runs smoothly.

Book Awards

It was with great pleasure that on Friday 10th December we hosted our Book Award assembly. I wanted to take the time to congratulate all students on their individual academic achievements, social and emotional achievements and personal bests. It has been a pleasure witnessing so much development across the year. I would also like to congratulate the individual award recipients.

At the Book Award assembly our new student leaders for 2022 were announced. It is important to recognise our outgoing leadership team who have done an excellent job this year. It has been a pleasure seeing them take on their roles with enthusiasm and dedication and I hope they take these skills with them throughout their high school journey.

Well done to all the students who challenged themselves and delivered a speech this year, evidence of their leadership skills and the school values resonated clearly. Congratulations to all the new student leaders.

Year 6 Graduation

Today we said farewell to our Year 6 students as they graduate from primary school and prepare for their high school journey. I wish to congratulate the graduating Year 6 students and wish them all the best for the future. All the staff at Somerly Primary School hope you take with you some fond memories of your time in primary school and we eagerly await hearing of your future success of which we are sure will be many.

Congratulations to the Year 6 award recipients.

COVID Requirements 2022

As you may be aware, all school staff are required to be double dose vaccinated before Term 1 2022 starts. The State Government has issued Education Worker (Restrictions on Access) Directions (No. 3), which are published on wa.gov.au. These Directions include vaccination requirements for visitors entering school sites.

Students are not required to be vaccinated.

Parents/carers are NOT required to be vaccinated when:

• dropping off or picking up their child from school;
• volunteering at school on an ad-hoc basis
• attending an event such as an assembly or parent teacher interview; or
• entering the school after hours.

‘Ad-hoc basis’ means attendance at no more than one education facility no more than once per week.

Parents/carers are required to provide vaccination evidence (single dose vaccinated from 1 January 2022 and double dose vaccinated from 31 January 2022) or exemption when:

• volunteering at the school more than once a week (this includes volunteering at the school canteen, uniform store or an in-class literacy or numeracy program);
• working in an unpaid capacity at the school more than once a week; or
• participating in an endorsed program at the school where parent attendance is required (such as KindiLink).

The following are acceptable forms of evidence of COVID-19 vaccination or exemption:

• written confirmation of the COVID-19 vaccination issued by the Department of Health;
• the COVID-19 digital certificate, which shows only your COVID-19 vaccinations. Services Australia has information on how to get your COVID-19 digital certificate;
• your immunisation history statement, which shows all vaccinations you’ve had. Services Australia has information on how to get your immunisation history statement;
• an International COVID-19 Vaccination Certificate issued by the Commonwealth Government. This shows the COVID-19 vaccination recorded on the Australian Immunisation Register;
• medical exemption issued by the Australian Immunisation Register; or
• temporary exemption granted by the WA Chief Health Officer.

We are committed to ensuring our school is a COVID-19 safe space. We have been provided with a clear direction of what we all need to do to keep students, colleagues and our community safe. If you have any queries, please contact 6206 4200.

Christmas Hampers and Support

The Christmas holidays is a wonderful time, but we know that for many families it can also be a time of stress and uncertainty. I would like to thank our amazing Chaplain, Elle-May Wong and the team at True North Church for their support of Somerly Primary School.

True North Church have donated 50 Christmas Hampers to the families of Somerly Primary School and we want to get these to families in need. The hampers are full of goodies like chocolates, chips and special treats to share. Please contact the school if you would like to receive a free hamper or know someone you think may benefit.

I would also like to again mention that we would like to clear the community pantry over the school holidays. Please come and stock up prior to the end of term. For those that find getting through the holiday's difficult, courtesy again of Mrs Wong and the True North Church, OzHarvest boxes with pantry item goods will be available for the families of Somerly Primary School. All you need to do is let the office staff know and they will direct you on how to access a box.

Lost Property

We have a large amount of lost property located out the front of the medical room. Please check for anything you may have lost. Any items not collected will be either donated to charity or used for spare uniforms.

Wishing you all a safe and happy holidays and I look forward to seeing you back in 2022.

Zoe Hadley
Principal

Stars

Behaviour Focus

Our behaviour focus for Week 10 is:-

WHOLE SCHOOL RESPONSIBILITY

• We arrive to class at 8.30am
• We greet each other positively
• We go to the undercover area if we arrive before 8.30am

Students Late to School

If your child arrives late to school, they are missing critical morning routines and learning activities. The school day begins at 8:40am and students will be considered late if they do not arrive by this time. If your child arrives after 9:00am you are required to enter through the front office and provide us with a reason for the lateness. A late slip will be printed for you to give to the class teacher.

Not Feeling Well?

If your child is not feeling well before school, please keep them home and notify the office by phoning 6206 4200, sending an SMS to 0437 480 486 or emailing somerly.ps@education.wa.edu.au.

Late Collection of Students

Somerly Primary School has a student finish time of 2.45pm each day. If your child has not been picked up before 3pm, you will be required to come to the front office to sign them out.

RAC Incursion

In week 7, RAC came out to Somerly Primary School and presented year level presentations to each class. This is called the Around the Roads program which features engaging and interactive road safety workshops, created for Kindergarten to Year 6 students. These free in-class workshops were a fun way for children to learn about bicycle, pedestrian and passenger safety while developing skills that will help to keep them safe around the roads.

Kindergarten and Pre-primary pretended to be a Little Legends Club character and practice road safety. Year 1 students used a large road mat, reinforced the ‘stop, look, listen, think’ system. Year 2 students investigated a crash scene to understand bike, pedestrian and passenger safety. Year 3 students explored all areas of bike safety, from safety gear to building a safe bike. Year 4 students became scientists and used egg crash simulations to learn about the importance of seatbelts. Year 5 students explored the rules and laws designed to increase pedestrian, passenger and bicycle safety. Year 6 students learnt about alternative sources of fuel and build solar-powered cars with safety features.

The RAC presenters did a fantastic job, engaging all students and catering to the different year levels.

Australian Mathematics Competition

This year we were fortunate to have 22 students from Years 3 to 6 be invited to participate in the Australian Mathematics Competition. This is an online competition, with students completing multiple choice and short response questions and being ranked against school across the whole of Australia, and some international schools.

All students who participated did extremely well and I am extremely proud of their commitment to excellence. Eight students were recognised with a distinction, meaning they performed in the top 25% of tested students, six students received a credit (top 55%) and the remaining students were recognised with proficiency and participation certificates.

Congratulations to all the participating students!

Waste Wise Schools - Gardening Club

We would like to acknowledge the Colgan family - Clint, Sharna and Bridie for attending over the weekend to help in our community garden. They helped dig out the soil ready for the gravel to be laid and put up some lattice screens. We really appreciate your Somerly community spirit!

Learning Focus

Block 4 Pets!

This Term our fabulous Year Two students have been learning about how living things grow, change, and have offspring similar to themselves in the context of caring for, and observing the life stages of mealworms. They have been observing and recording the changes to the mealworms, which has been the most exciting part of the day with students begging to hold them. Did you know they eat apples, just like us!

The students have learned all about the life cycle stages of the mealworm and watched them grow from egg, lava, pupa to beetle.

They also know what Metamorphosis means. As part of this unit, we are also looking at the life cycles of other species, observing how they change and grow, including humans. It was really fun looking at ourselves as babies and seeing just how much we have changed!

LOTE - Italian Towns

The Year 5 students in Room 9 integrated STEM with Italian where the aim was to design and create their own Italian towns. Working in teams, the students showed great talent and flair and came up with many wonderful creations.

Signora McCulloch

Wanneroo Christmas Day Lunch

Community Pantry