22 March 2023

Newsletter Articles

Principal’s Report

Dear Parents/Caregivers

OUR SCHOOL VISION IS TO SUPPORT STUDENTS IN BECOMING STRONG, THOUGHTFUL AND INDEPENDENT INDIVIDUALS WHO ASPIRE TO BE THE BEST THAT THEY CAN BE. OUR ETHOS OFFERS STUDENT CENTERED EDUCATION THAT IS FOCUSSED ON BOTH THE PRESENT AND DEVELOPMENTAL NEEDS OF STUDENTS.

Over the past two weeks our Pre-Primary to Year 4 students completed their swimming lessons at Aquamotion. Feedback from the swim school was very positive - they praised our students for being respectful during their lessons. They also commended our amazing staff who were always attentive to our students’ needs, supporting them throughout the swimming lessons. I would also like to thank our students and staff for their commitment to ensuring the swimming lessons were successful. A big thank you to Miss Barnwall for her organisation of swimming lessons for the whole school, this was a very big task and everything went to plan, due to her thorough planning.

Our Year 3 & 5 students have now completed NAPLAN for 2023. The timing of NAPLAN was moved forward from Term 2 to Term 1 to provide teachers with feedback much sooner. This gives teachers an opportunity to analyse the results and direct their planning and teaching accordingly. Parents are expected to receive results in Term 2.

This week we are celebrating Harmony Week. This is a time for us to recognise our diversity. It’s about inclusiveness, respect, and a sense of belonging for everyone. To celebrate we have a few things happening.

• Art display of work from school artists
• Thursday 23rd March – thank you to the P&C who have funded a dance group to engage all students in a cultural dance session. Each class has been allocated a session throughout the day
• Friday 24th March – Harmony Week Assembly hosted by the Year 6 students in Room 10. Please come along and enjoy the festive occasion. We encourage all to wear orange or their cultural dress for the day. At the conclusion of the assembly, I’m excited to see the students who are dressed in cultural dress as they parade in their costumes

Also on Friday 24th March, school will close at 11:45am. We are happy to be able to offer time for parent teacher meetings. Please ensure you have made a booking to meet with your child’s teacher. This is a great opportunity for both parents and teachers to share their story.

If you need to organise care for your child due to the early close, please contact TheirCare, for after school care.

P&C

We are very fortunate to have a passionate team on the P&C, who organised the Dominos Pizza Dough Fundraiser. Thank you to all who supported this fundraiser. Dominos Pizza has donated just over $1000 from that event.

The P&C are busily organising the Colour Fun Run for the 6th April - last day of school. If you are able to assist in any way, please contact the P&C and join in the fun.

New students

I would like to extend a warm welcome to Huxley, Jeremiah and Rhianna who recently commenced at Somerly Primary School.

Louise Carroll
A/Principal

Stars

Behaviour Focus

Our behaviour focus for Week 8 is:-

• We say STOP, attempt to use eye contact, say the person’s name and ask what the problems is.

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.

Parent/Teacher Meetings

As per previous years we will hold our Parent, Teacher Interviews on Friday 24th March from 12pm to 5pm. This means that on this day, students will finish at 11.45am.

Parent, Teacher Interviews were endorsed by our School Board and approved by the North Metro Regional Education Office. Reporting to parents in this way makes up part of our strategy to improve parent communication regarding students’ progress and achievement.

Bookings are open and will close at 5pm today. Please click on the link below to book:

Voluntary Contributions

Voluntary Contributions play a significant role in providing resources for students in the classroom. The continuing partnership between the school and parents is vital to ensuring that all students receive a level of education sufficient to carry them forward in today’s society. Voluntary Contributions are utilized to purchase books, resources and equipment for classroom use and to support our school in the delivery of quality educational programmes. To enable the school to continue to deliver our excellent educational programmes, we urge you to consider paying your Voluntary Contribution at your earliest convenience.

Voluntary Contributions for 2023 is set at $60. However, if you pay before the end of Term 1, you will receive a discount of $10.

Would you like a night at the Joondalup Resort?

Thanks to the generosity of Mark Folkard MLA, Member for Burns Beach you could be checking in soon!

We have a voucher for a one-night stay for two people with breakfast included on a date of your choice.

To be in the draw to win this fantastic prize, simply pay your Voluntary Contribution before the end of Term 2. If you have already paid, you are automatically in the draw.

Draw will take in Term 3.

You can pay by cash or EFTPOS in the front office any day between 8:30am and 3:30pm. Alternatively, you can also pay by direct deposit to Commonwealth Bank – BSB 066 040 - Account No. 19902052. Please enter surname and room number in description field as a reference.

Uniform Donations

If you are cleaning out your old school uniforms, please note that we always welcome donations of second-hand uniform. We use these uniforms to support families in need and for students who may need them for various reasons throughout the school day. Donations can be brought to the front office.

Arrivals at School

Just a reminder to parents that students should not be arriving at school prior to 8.15am. Prior to this time, students are not directly supervised on school site. Arrivals should be between 8.15 and 8.30am. Classroom doors open at 8.30am to provide students time to prepare for the day and commence some reflective morning activities prior to the commencement of the school day at 8.40am.

We have Breakfast Club running on Monday, Wednesday & Friday each week, if children need breakfast - sometimes they are just hungry even after having breakfast at home.

Mrs Ochieng is also supervising a Running Club on Thursday mornings in preparation for Cross Country. Students can join her on the oval.

Dogs on School Grounds

Dogs are wonderful pets; however, like children they require care, education, and restraint. Some of our staff and students have an aversion to dogs while others have an allergy associated with dogs. Please support our staff and students and refrain from bringing your dog onto school grounds.

Learning Focus

Junior Art

Over the past few weeks students in the junior years have been developing their skills in art, focusing on “The Elements of Art”: Line styles. Students have practiced drawing different styles of lines including jagged, zigzag, dashed, continuous and curved. To begin this project, students learnt how to sketch a lion’s head into cardboard, followed by applying layers of warm coloured acrylic paint. Students then designed their line styles mane using textas and coloured paper, carefully gluing them into place to create some spectacular spike layouts. Great work everybody your lions turned out Roarsome!

Miss Defty - Art Specialist

Music

In Music this term we have been learning about Caribbean music. With swimming and Naplan, we are still working through our journey of all things Caribbean with the Junior years learning to sing and play an intro with xylophones, drums and shakers to ‘Anytime you need to Calypso’ and 'Shake the Papaya Tree Down' whilst our senior years are playing and singing ‘Three Little Birds’, a Jamaican Reggae song, both singing and playing the melody on the xylophone. Their musicianship and listening skills are creating wonderful musicians!

Somerly Primary School Playgroup

TheirCare Somerly Primary School - Newsletter

P & C