13 December 2016

Newsletter Articles

Dates to Remember

Note : Incursions, Excursions, Assembly days will be updated each term This is an outline of the events that will be coming up in 2016. Please note dates are subject to change.

Principal’s Introduction

Goodbyes and Best Wishes

I would like to take this final opportunity for the year to thank all parents, students, community members and staff for another rewarding year. As usual it has been an action packed and exciting year at Newborough. We have had a huge year with the Musical ‘Pinafore Pirates’ being a wonderful highlight and showcase of the children’s talents and fantastic parent and staff support. The P&C again have been superb with their support of the school with events such as Moort Boodja, Easter raffle, Ride/Walk to School days, the Disco, Quiz Night, Bunnings Sausage Sizzles, Safety House incursion, the delightful community movie night, and the construction of the exciting new Nature Playground. This year we saw the emergence of the Newbro Dad group highlighting the importance of Fathering and the way we can learn and support each other as Dads. Then there were all the normal programs that are so engaging throughout the year. This is a great place because everyone is focussed on developing students. It takes a village to raise a child. ‘Newborough Village’ as I mentioned at the Musical.

Whilst there are so many people to thank I would like to single out several who have been absolutely wonderful. Miss Karen Tucknott, Mr Nick Stenhouse, Mrs Sharon Singleton, Ms Kate Tyndall who are fantastic people to work with and do a great job around the Administration area. We are so fortunate to have such a wonderful teaching and non-teaching staff at this school. This was recognised most recently with overwhelming feedback the school community provided in the recent School Survey. To Mr Neale McQuire, Mrs Sabine Pollock and all the P&C team who work so tirelessly for our school running all the many parent activities that support our children. To Mr Matt Gaunt who has lead our School Board with determination and distinction.

For all those students, staff and families who are not with us next year please take our very best wishes and appreciation for your contributions to the school. You will always be part of the Newborough family. Keep in touch and know you will be warmly welcomed back at your school.

We say goodbye to several staff, graduating Year Sixes and families who have been champions of our school for many years. As we are still going through staffing processes I won’t make staffing announcements till the start of the new school year.

Best wishes for a restful, enjoyable Christmas and summer break.

School Reopens in 2017

Office staff and Administration commence on Wednesday 25th January 2017. Teachers resume on Monday 30th January. Class lists will be posted on classroom doors on Monday 30th January to coincide with Booklist and Uniform Shop. These will be open from 9:00 – 11:00am.

Class Structures 2017

A great deal of thought and work has gone into the class structures, staff and student placements. In 2017 there will be an additional class so we can reduce the numbers of students in each room and limit the number of split classes in years one to six. Parent and staff feedback anecdotally throughout the year and in the School Survey indicated this was an issue at our school and that if possible should be looked at. Unfortunately numbers of students in each year level means that some split classes are unavoidable. As I always say it is not really a straight or split that makes the difference, it is the quality of teacher and the support they have. We are very fortunate in this aspect with such a quality group of teachers and excellent support.

Schools are resourced on the number of students and various loadings to recognise different student needs. We will have a slight increase in students next year tipping just over 400 from our current 384. In itself this increase would not warrant the addition of another class. Having an additional class comes at considerable costs such as employing a teacher, providing extra specialist support and the cost of refurbishing and establishing the classroom itself. This means that our funding will be very tight next year. With one less early childhood class we will be restoring Room 9 (Old computer lab) and Room 15 (Old dental clinic) as classrooms.

In anticipation the P&C have very generously supported the school by funding the interactive whiteboards that will go into the new classrooms.

School Survey

Thank you to all those who completed the School Survey. The surveys from parents, students and staff indicate that the majority of our school community is very happy with the school. An analysis of the survey was presented to the School Board on Monday 5th December with several recommendations, many of them already actioned in our planning for 2017. If you would like to see the analysis and recommendations they will be placed on the school’s website in the School Board section under ‘Relevant Documents’.

Handwriting and Keyboarding Skills

I am not sure if you read the article in the Sunday Times on 4th December discussing the debate about whether schools should teach or not teach handwriting skills at the expense of keyboarding skills. This has been a point of debate for our staff over the last couple of years. At Newborough we believe handwriting skills are still very important not only as essential skills but as a cognitive way of thinking as you put thoughts on paper and play around with those thoughts. Keyboarding and typing skills are also very important and thinking processes are not all that different once you master the keyboard. We are also required to teach keyboarding skills as part of the new curriculum component called ICT General Capabilities and Digital Technologies and this has become even more imperative when in 2018 schools will be doing NAPLAN testing on computers rather than pen and paper as it is done in our school now.

We are in a stage of transition as many workplaces have been for many years. In 2017, probably term two, the school will review its Handwriting Policy and develop a Keyboard/Typing Policy. We would like to get feedback from parents, students and staff on this and present any research and curriculum requirements so good decisions can be made on behalf of the school. Several parents and staff commented in the recent School Survey about handwriting and keyboarding skills.

To commence the year I will be pushing the teaching of handwriting and focussing on consistent, work standards across the school. We will be doing keyboarding skills as well.

John Worthy
Principal

Term Dates

Student Voice

Fathering Project Tip

Ideas for weekends and vacations.

• Attend the kids sports and other interests (even if you don’t find some of them entertaining).
• Cook a special meal once a week/month eg. a pancake breakfast.
• Create ‘magical mystery tours’ – take them on surprise trips in cars or public transport, make up fun games along the way, eg. counting motorbikes – finish with a treat
• Take all of your allocated vacation time.
• Create adventurous vacations eg. camping, exploring, going to new places each time.

Professor Bruce Robinson

Fathering Project – The Newbro’s

This year, in conjunction with the Fathering Project a group of ‘Champion Dads’ created a group for Newborough Dad’s called “The Newbro’s”. We are a group of Dads who are interested in being available to our children and being the best Dads we can be. So far this year we have had a Dads and Kids BBQ in Park and are in the process of organising a Dad Only quiz night for mid-late February, as well as another dads and kids outing. The Newbro’s group is for any Dad with a child at Newborough Primary school, if you are interested talk to Mr Worthy or Mr Stenhouse and they can give you further information.

On behalf of The Newbro’s, we would like to wish everyone a safe and happy holiday over the Christmas period. We are looking forward to 2017, with lots of exciting Dad events planned

REMINDER: Student Requirements 2017 (Booklists) – Payment Extension – Thursday 15 December 2016

2017 Student requirements (Booklists) are now overdue. If you still haven’t paid we will be accepting payments up until Thursday, 15 December 2016. Full payment required please

If you have misplaced your form, please download another one from the website

Support the P&C’s fundraising efforts by returning your booklist and FULL PAYMENT (cash, cheque or direct deposit paid into the P&C’s account, details below) to the front office by 15 December 2016.

Your packs will be available for collection from the library on Monday 30 January 2017 between 9am and 11am.

PAYMENT INFORMATION

Payment may be made by cash, cheque or direct deposit by Thursday 14 NOVEMBER 2016

CHEQUES : Make payable to “Newborough PS P&C”
DIRECT DEPOSIT :
Please ensure it goes to
Newborough PS P&C (not the school account)
BSB 036 027 A/C 579280.
Include your reference details eg. ‘Surname and Grade e.g. Roberts Yr 4

As our school’s preferred supplier, this service acts as a fundraiser for our school. You are, of course, welcome to purchase from other suppliers, however we’d greatly appreciate your support to enable us to purchase additional resources for our school. Please bear in mind that there are some items (eg student diaries, library bags) which are only available for purchase through the school.

2016 Yearbook - $15

The 2016 year book will be available to purchase for $15. Please provide cash in the exact amount.

Tuesday 13 December - Verandah outside our admin office from 8:15am-8:45am and from 5.45pm before Presentation night at Karrinyup Leisure Centre

Wednesday 14 December - Verandah outside our admin office from 8:15am-8:45am

2017 Voluntary Contributions

The Voluntary Contributions fees have been established and approved by the School Board, in line with Department of Education requirements. The contribution fee for 2017 will be $60 per child.

While contributions are voluntary, the quality of our teaching/learning programs will be enhanced by your contribution, which is used to supplement expenditure in the following areas.

• Reading Resources
• Mathematics Resources
• Art/Craft
• Technology

Total Contribution $60

The P&C contribution will remain at $25 per child for 2017.

Payment is requested at the commencement of the school year, however this facility is also available on your 2017 Requirements List for your convenience (if purchasing through the P&C).

SIMS- Clarinet – Christmas Carols

Students Ruby Dunn and Tyler Dorney and School of Instrumental Music Teacher Mr Bruce Gillam performed a few Christmas carols around the school last week.

Deputy News

Thank you

This year has been an incredibly busy and rewarding year for us in the Deputy office. We have seen the students complete some amazing tasks including the school musical, Year 5/6 enterprise fete, athletics and swimming carnivals, junior and senior choirs, class assemblies and some wonderful work within their own classes. We have been very privileged to work with an amazing staff including teachers, education assistants and administration staff, we are very fortunate to be involved with such an incredible team. We also have the opportunity to engage with parents, P&C and community members throughout the year to ensure our students have every opportunity for success. We appreciate everything you do and would like to thank you for everything you have done throughout the year. We hope you have a fantastic break over the summer, an enjoyable Christmas and we look forward to seeing you all for a wonderful 2017!

Nick Stenhouse and Karen Tucknott
Deputy Principals

ICT Update

This year has been a very progressive year for Newborough Primary regarding ICT. In regards to hardware we have begun a replacement schedule of the interactive whiteboards, replacing 3 with new Eboards. We added a bank of laptops, housed in trolleys which are used mainly within the lower and middle grades. Our Year 5 and 6 students have participated in a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) program. By all accounts the program has been quite successful in terms of engaging students in the curriculum as well as increasing their ICT skills. We have decided to extend option of participating in the BYOD program to the Year 4 classes. This decision was made after seeing the benefits of having access to IT on demand rather than having to wait to access the laptops, which is done on a rotational basis. The ability to have a device on hand means we are able to cater for the need to develop student ICT Skills and Literacy in a timely manner. With the implementation of the Digital Technologies curriculum and NAPLAN going online in 2018, we feel extending the opportunity to participate in the BYOD program to year 4s gives us the best opportunity to cater these areas. We have also considered the financial implications for parents wishing to purchase a device and realise spreading the cost of a device over 3 years as opposed to 2 is more economical. More information regarding the BYOD program can be found under the ‘For Parents’ tab on the website

We have already begun taking exploration steps in to the Digital Technologies curriculum and the world of coding. The Year 5 and 6 students have been engaging in a Code.org program, while students in Year 3 have been using the Scratch program to create their own digital game! We have seen the younger students exploring programming by navigating the BeeBots along set courses. 2017 sees us continue to build our skills in this area, and the focus on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) will mean an exciting year ahead.

Attendance

As you may be aware, we have been working on improving our attendance throughout the year. In our Business Plan we have a target of achieving 94.5% attendance rate. Our current rate of attendance this semester is 92.6%, which is short on our expected target. We would like to congratulate the 27 students, who have 100% attendance throughout the year – this is a fantastic effort!! We realise there may be times students cannot attend school due to illness or family matters, in these instances we ask that parents inform the school by one of the following methods of communication:

• Phone: 9446 1025
• Text message: 0409088585
• Email: Newborough.PS.absentee@education.wa.edu.au
• In Person or written note to a teacher.

Pottery News

Our pottery classes for the year are complete. The last pottery group made some lovely Christmas creations as you can see from the photos.

I hope the children who have participated this year have enjoyed the classes and I hope some will return next year to create again.

Until then I’d like to wish all the Newborough families a safe and happy Christmas and holiday period

Pottery Teacher

Pam Wimmer

• I like pottery because it is fun and you get to create stuff. My favourite thing about pottery is, you can create some things and at the end you get to glaze them and keep them. My favourite thing was the leaf plate.
  Grace-Year 3 Room 5
• I love pottery. I want to do this every day.
  Finn- Year 1 Room 3
• My favourite lesson in pottery was making Santa sacks. I also liked glazing our creations. Pottery was really fun this term.
  Lily-Year3 Room6
• I like pottery very much. My favourite part of pottery this term has been sculpting and creating the Christmas pencil holders. I also liked glazing the Santa sacks. It was so much fun! I hope that I can do it next year.
  Charli-Year 5 Room 8
• I love pottery especially when we did the Christmas things this term. Pottery is one of my favourite subjects.
  Natasha -Year3 Room 5

Nude Food – Food for Thought

During lunch supervision we have noticed a lot of students eating a healthy assortment of food in compartment lunch boxes. We applaud parents and students who are conscious of the environmental impact of plastic waste, including lunch wappers and commercial wrapping.

To further raise awareness of plastic waste and to reduce waste produced by Newborough students we will be celebrating a Nude Food Day twice a term. Nude Food is simply food packed without wrapping.

If you are buying new lunch boxes for 2017 keep in mind lunch boxes that allow storage of unwapped food. A few examples are below.

If you are interested in the Nude Food movement or would like recipe ideas, these websites may be useful.

Thank you in anticipation for your support.

The Sustainability Committee

P&C News - Thank You for an outstanding 2016

The aim of P&C activities throughout the year are to raise funds for our school that will enhance our children’s educational experience. A bonus is that a lot of these events also become an opportunity for the school’s students, families and staff to come together. This helps build upon the strong school community that already exists at Newborough Primary School. All of our activities and events could not have succeeded without the Newborough Volunteers – whether in organising, participating or supporting. Every little bit helps and we truly appreciate it.

In Summary, the P&C has raised just over $45,000 in 2016. This amount was initially kick started by $11,800 from the Class Booklists – a huge effort in coordinating all the student’s booklist needs for the beginning of the year, a process which has already begun for the start of 2017.

Community support for the school was tremendous with various larger organisations contributing over $5,000. These included Bankwest, Telstra, Rotary Club of Scarborough, Grill’d, Chemmart and Sun Fresh. Just recently Bankwest donated 65 retired lap tops to our school.

The highlights of the P&C calendar in 2016 were Moort Boodja, Election Day BBQ/Cake Stall, Quiz Night, School Disco and Movie Night. Regular P&C events also included the Easter Raffle, Scholastic Book Club, Show your Colours Day, Entertainment Books and Sausage Sizzles Galore. All of these culminated in almost $27,000 for our school. The school canteen also raised almost $2,000 with their Sippah Straws, Sushi Day and funds from the Athletics Carnival Sausage Sizzle.

Not all P&C events are about raising money however. Ride and Walk to School Days, Cyber Safety Incursion by Caitlin Bassett, Netball Open Coaching Session, Safety House Incursion, Movie Night and End of Year Picnic are all activities that were coordinated by the P&C.

Each year, the P&C aims to return a similar amount back to the school that has been fundraised. Since the end of 2015, the following contributions to the school have been made:

• IT upgrades – including laptop trolleys, IWB replacement programme - $13,500
• Nature Play – $18,000 includes the purchase of 2 rope climb features to be installed by early 2017;
• Canteen – new fridge - $2,200
• Year 6 Graduation - $500 donation to school;
• Literacy Resources - $2,500 in Scholastic Rewards returned to the school;
• World Vision Child Sponsorship;
• Support of the School Musical – Pinafore Pirates;
• Donation to school to purchase 3 new IWB prior to commencement of 2017 school year - $22,000.

The Newborough P&C is always looking for new ideas and suggestions on how to enhance our children’s school. All of the above expenditures have been made in consultation with the school. It is vital that the P&C is represented by parents of all year levels. Everyone is welcome to attend meetings, and we encourage all feedback and ideas.

There will be several positions vacant at the commencement of 2017 on the P&C committee and it is a great opportunity to become involved. Whether you wish to take on a role, or help out for a couple of hours at a P&C event – it is a great way to meet other parents and get involved in your child’s school. Please get in touch with any of our representatives to find out more. We look forward to meeting you!

Thank you to all the parents who have given up their time to be involved in the P&C this year, as well as the students, families and staff for their amazing support of our P&C throughout 2016.

We look forward to an equally exciting and successful 2017.

We wish you and your families a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

Sabine Pollock
Newborough Primary School P&C

Canteen News

Another year is almost finished I hope the children, teachers and staff have enjoyed food from the canteen. I would like to thank all the people who have helped throughout the year, without your help we would not have a canteen.

Special mention to Christine Reger for always being there when required and being our P&C Representative. Thank you to all our awesome volunteers, especially Ann Whitaker and Sharyn Powell who have volunteered for many weeks this year.

Thank you

A big thank you to Andy Howell who has been the Canteen Co-ordinator for the past 2 years. Andy and her son William will be leaving the school so we wish them all the best, Andy you have been simply awesome!!!

Last day of School

On Thursday the last day of school from 3pm we will be selling Paddle Pops and Sippah Straws (some take home packs available) to reduce stock levels. There are limited numbers so first come first serve.

Finally wishing everyone Happy Holidays !!!! We will be back next year.

Patty Vallini

Uniform Shop

Lost Property

As the year comes to an end , we have accumulated a lot of lost property, if your child has lost a jumper please come look on the rack , anything without a name will be donated back to the shop .

2017 Orders

If anyone has orders for next year please email them to me pay into P& C account , and I'll have them ready for booklist pick up day .

Merry Christmas and Safe Holidays

Regards
Melissa McNally
Uniform Shop Co-ordinator
newboroughuniforms@gmail.com

DoE Security

Keep an eagle eye on our school!

School Watch encourages the school community to report any suspicious activity in and around school grounds, after hours and on weekends, as well as during school holidays.

Telephone 1800 177 777 (freecall) or 13 14 44 (WA Police).

Please do not approach any individuals, just contact security and they will investigate the situation or contact the Police. Working together will help protect our school.

Community News

Barnes Karate

Kids Club Doubleview

Working in partnership with Newborough Primary School

The services we offer are:

• Before School Care - daily 7:00am – 9:00am
• After School Care - daily 2:30pm – 6:00pm
• Vacation Care – School Holidays 7:00am to 6:00pm

For more information visit our website at:

For all enquiries please contact us on:

Doubleview.kidsclub@mulberrytree.com.au or on (08) 9244 2920

Ready Steady Go Kids

Ready Steady Go Kids - Term 4 enrolments!

Enrolments are open for Term 4 with Ready Steady Go Kids, Australia's largest and most reputable multi-sport and exercise program for preschoolers (aged 2.5-6 years). With eight locations in Perth's northern suburbs, our high quality, physio-designed program teaches children the fundamentals of 10 different sports in a fun, non-competitive, team-based environment. Ready Steady Go Kids seeks to develop a lifelong passion for physical activity and sport, decrease childhood obesity, increase confidence and prepare children for participation in school and the broader community. We'd love to offer a free trial for your 2.5-6 year old child. Please visit the link below or call 1300 766 892 for more information.

Safety House

Newborough Primary School has been a proud supporter of the Safety House Program in our community for many years. We currently have 9 safety houses in our neighbourhood.

The Safety House Program is always looking for new volunteers from the local community to become a ‘Safety House’, if this interests you, please email Halijah: halijah.hyder@gmail.com for more details. FEELING UNSURE? KNOCK ON A SAFETY HOUSE DOOR!

Safety House Coordinator: Halijah Hyder

INTERESTED IN SAFETY FOR KIDS IN YOUR LOCAL COMMUNITY?

IT’S EASY TO HELP AND YOU COULD MAKE A DIFFERENCE

Safety House is a community based “Good Neighbour” program of volunteer householders organised by a local Safety House Coordinator. It’s easy to be a Safety House, it will cost you very little for a 3 year Working with Children Card and you could be doing something important to help protect vulnerable young children.

The program is supported by the school and the local Parents Association.

You can make a difference for kids in your local community.

WHO CAN BE A SAFETY HOUSE?

A Safety Householder must be a caring adult who is usually in or around their home during school travel times and be ready and willing to assist any child who might seek help at their door.

This is to make sure that a child in need will find someone at home if they knock on the Safety House door for help.

Your house must have easy street access to the front door, no screening walls or trees and a Safety House sign easily visible from the street. If you have a dog it should be secured behind a fence at the rear of the building or be kept under control in the house.

This is to make sure that a young child will be able to find the Safety House door easily and will not be frightened away.

Before you can be a Safety House, any eligible adult who is likely to help a child at the door must have a valid Working with Children Card. Also everyone living in the house aged fourteen and over must consent to having a continuously monitored police check which is fully paid for by Safety House. Your local Safety House Committee will help you fill out a simple Safety House WA application form.

We need to make sure that anyone who might answer the door at a Safety House has been carefully checked out.

For further information please fill in the coupon below and leave it at your local School Office or you can contact the Safety House Head Office direct by email at safety@safetyhousewa.org.au and our website is: