9 February 2017

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

Welcome to all our new students, their families and all those who have been with us before. Staff have been back for a week preparing for the new school year. It was lovely to see our students back keen and excited about the challenges ahead. We also welcome two new teaching staff. Mrs Claire Warr with year ones, Mr Iain Freeman with year four-fives and Mrs Keet who will be Wednesday teacher in Mrs Boulos’ year five classroom, Mrs Andrea Kurasho who is our new Japanese Language teacher and Ms Irene Parker our new Education Assistant. Mrs Sandy Sinclair has retired and Ms Emily Anderson has taken parenting leave with the safe arrival of little William on January 1st.

Thank you to all parents for your preparation of students in school uniform and the friendly and warm manner everyone bounced back into school with. The staff and I look forward to catching up with old friends and meeting newcomers. Please make yourself known. If you have any queries, good ideas, problems or concerns at any time please let my staff and I know. We are keen to understand and help!

Nearly all students wore the school uniform and a hat to wear out in the sun during the breaks. This is so important as it gives a sense of identity and belonging as well as being most functional. Having clothing, pens, pencils etc. labelled clearly with names is most helpful. The P&C have once again been fantastic with their support running the uniform shop. Many thanks Melissa McNally and the team and Mrs Fiona Irwin and the booklist team who packed and distributed all the booklists. They all did a brilliant job.

We know that preparing our children for school and settling into good patterns really helps with learning (and sanity at home and school). Please ensure your child (ren) have a substantial breakfast, plenty of sleep and get to school in time to prepare for the day ahead. Every day at school is important. Don’t let TV and electronic devices rule your life. A little time and effort put into these areas now will set up a great year. We remind everyone that our school policy is that any students with mobile communication devices, including mobile phones, are dropped off at the front office before school and picked up after school. The exception to this is the years 4-6students participating in the bring your own devices program.

NATURE PLAYGROUND OPEN

On Monday we ‘officially’ had children playing in our brand new Nature Playground. It is awesome! Our first group had a ball exploring, building and playing. The school has developed a roster so we don’t have overcrowding and the children can settle in and play with similar age group peers to begin with. Normally Monday is Pre-primary, Tuesday years 1/ 2, Wednesday years 3/ 4 and Thursday years 5/6. As the pre-primaries are still getting used to their own play area I allowed the year5/ 6 to be first. Over time we will morph the age groups in and probably at some stage (apart for the pre-primary) open up to all children. Our duty roster has changed so we provide coverage of the new Nature Playground and I will assist to provide an extra hand, especially whilst there is the novelty factor. The playground has been examined by Kids-Safe and minor adjustments made to ensure soft fall and minimise injury. I have also briefed the children using values – Kindness, Respect, Teamwork and Challenge Yourself rather than rules. These values are the ones our Positive Behaviour team are considering across the school so you’ll hear more about them later.

There has been a huge effort over the last year to get our P&C 60TH Anniversary present from the P&C up and running. At this point I won’t go into acknowledging our planners and helpers just yet saving that for when we do an official opening later in the year. The works are still ongoing enhancing an already impressive place for children to Think, Create and Collaborate (Our motif)

CLASS STRUCTURES AND STAFFING

Following your feedback in last year’s parent survey and from staff we have made every endeavour to reduce the number of students and limit the number of split classes across the school. This year we have an additional class in primary. There are still splits but that is unavoidable. Each class has at least two or three less students than last years’ classes meaning greater attention to each child’s learning and wellbeing. This comes at a cost as we have an extra teacher, classroom, furniture and support to provide putting a fair strain on our budget.

ARRIVAL AT SCHOOL

Parents are reminded that students should not arrive at school before 8:15am. Teachers open classrooms by 8:30am (Except Kindy). Students from years 1- 6 may play a variety of games in the main quadrangle or play in the playground located in front of the Music room between 8:15 and 8:30am. This area is supervised by the Principal and Deputies. At 8:30am ALL children are directed to move to their classrooms to get ready for the day.

School commences at 8:40am Sharp! Late arrivals need to go to the office with their parents to sign in and get a late note. If a late student is not accompanied by a parent the parent will be contacted. Lateness disturbs learning for ALL children.

ATTENDANCE

Every day at school is important for every child from Kindergarten to year 6. Our attendance mantra is EVERY CHILD, EVERY DAY AT SCHOOL. This includes being on time and ready to start the school day.

The school and principal does not endorse children’s absences to go on holidays, greeting or saying goodbye to fly in fly out parents, special shopping trips and the like. These are unacceptable excuses that we hear too often. Parents are responsible and legally obliged to ensure their children attend school every day possible. Poor attendance not only severely impacts on your child’s learning but also on other children in your child’s class.

If you are having any difficulty getting your child to school let us know and we will try and help. Sometimes it seems easier to give into a child and keep them home for trivial reasons. This is fraught with short term and long term danger. We have had a lot of success in this area when parents and the school work together. Make no excuses for not attending school.

NEW TRAFFIC WARDEN

Our new Traffic Warden, manning the Newborough Street crossing in front of the school, is Mr Gary Hammersley. On his first day Mr Hammersley was very impressed by the lovely manners and warm welcome by everyone. He reported that 56 children crossed the road in the morning and 41 in the afternoon. He was really pleased to see how many parents walk their children to school and how safety conscious everyone is. He also reported that the WA Police had a mobile speed camera near the crosswalk in the afternoon and not one car exceeded the speed limit.

GOING BACK TO SCHOOL SAFELY

By David Gribble, CCCSF CEO

As kids and parents get back into the swing of school, it’s important to keep safety in mind.

Drivers, remember that as the new school year begins, children will be walking, crossing streets and maybe even fooling around a bit on their way to school. Stay vigilant and be sure to slow down to 40km in school zones.

Parents, take the opportunity now to talk with your children about getting to and from school safely. Read these tips from Constable Care to make the start of the 2017 school year a safe one:

DISABILITY ACCESS

You probably noticed a range of upgrades around the school to provide disability access, particularly for those in a wheelchair. We have had a disability parking bay modified, a ramp at the Administration front steps and adjustments to the entry doors in the office and one classroom (Mrs Hughes Year 2). The main access ramp has been adjusted and compliant safety rails replacing the old rails. The school is on the list for a transportable Universal Access Toilet that when it arrives will be located behind the junior toilets near the undercover area.

The new ramps will also be a bonus for deliveries and parents with prams.

BUNURU – Noongar Season for February/March

Bunuru is the hottest part of the year with little to no rainfall.

People would stay close to the coast and to reliable water sources due to the drying up of water bodies inland.

Fish were trapped and speared. They made up a large part of the diet and fish bones were a good source of calcium.

Many reptiles including Kurda (goannas) lay their eggs at this time and the Kabart (dugite snake) may be active during long hot days.

John Worthy
Principal

Term Dates

2017 Voluntary Contributions

The Voluntary Contributions fees were approved by the School Board, in line with Department of Education requirements. The contribution fee for 2017 is $60 per child.

While contributions are voluntary, the quality of our teaching/learning programs is further 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 remains at $25 per child for 2017.

Thank you to those families who have already paid their contributions through their booklist. If you have not yet done so, please consider paying your contributions either via direct deposit (bank details below) or cash (using the school’s clearly labelled envelope). If you would like to enter a payment plan, please contact Sharon Singleton, Manager of Corporate Services in our school office or by phone on 08 9446 1025.

BSB: 016 350
Account No: 3408 71304

Ripper Reader Program

The Ripper Reader program has been a great success over several years. We have had hard working Mums and Grandparents assisting and supporting many students with their reading skills. There has been so much positive feedback from students, parents and teachers and we all agree it is making a huge difference to the confidence of our students.

If you are interested in joining our fantastic Ripper Reader team please see Mrs Tennant in Room 3 or email vicki.tennant@education.wa.edu.au . It might only involve 10-20 minutes of your time!

Deputy News

2017 School Photos Information

Our school photographs will be taken in Week 5 on Wednesday 1st March and Thursday 2nd March this term. Students this year will be provided with an online ordering instruction slip and unique student ordering code for parents to follow and place orders on line via the MSP website.

Our School Photos will be taken on:

Wednesday 1st March 2017 (Family Photo's by Surname A-M),
Thursday 2nd March 2017 (Family Photo's by Surname M-Z),

Class Photos/Portraits

• Every Student will have their photo taken, whether they are purchasing photos or not, for the schools pictorial history.
• The school has chosen to use the online ordering system. And your child will be given an online ordering instruction slip and a unique student code for you to follow and place you order online via the internet.
• The expiry date for online ordering is 6 days from the last photo day date. Any orders received after this date are treated as re orders and will incur additional costs.

Family Photos:

• Envelopes can be obtained from Administration.
• Family photos are being taken each morning before school. Please bring your children in on the days listed above via your child’s surname to avoid long queues.
• Please ensure that your family envelope with enclosed payment is handed to the Photographers on photo day.

Special/Sports Group Photos:

• If your child is in a Special/Sports photo you will receive a link and password to the online gallery after photo day, where you can view and order these photos if required. These photos will be packed and delivered with the school’s bulk order.

Students should wear their yellow school top or Kindy and Pre-primary t-shirts for the photographs. Teachers will remind you of the correct clothing before school photo day.

On-Entry Testing: Pre-Primary Students

Making sure your child has the necessary skills for future literacy and numeracy development is crucial.

During weeks 3 – 6 of Term 1 all Pre-primary children will be participating in the Department of Education’s state-wide On-entry Assessment Program.

The purpose of the program is to provide teachers with an opportunity, early in the year, to collect information on the essential literacy and numeracy skills and understandings of each child in their class. This will assist your child’s teacher to develop informed and intentional play-based teaching programs, designed to reflect individual needs and foster each child’s learning.

Some assessment tasks can be included in the daily teaching program and some will be carried out one-to-one, in a quiet area. This will provide your child and their teacher with valuable time together, as well as give the teacher the opportunity to observe the behaviours and processes your child uses in responding to questions.

In Literacy, the program includes:

• Speaking and listening
• Reading – recognising simple rhyming words, listening to and identifying the sound at the beginning of a word, and listening to and talking about two stories
• Writing – drawing a picture and, if appropriate, attempting to write their name and some words.

In Numeracy, the program includes:

• Number – looking at small amounts and numbers, matching and counting
• Measurement – comparing length and hefting (lifting objects to find out which one is heavier)
• Geometry – looking at shapes and showing an understanding of simple ‘position’ words.

With the purpose of the program being to meet each child’s learning needs in a play-based environment, it is anticipated that all children will be included in the program. If you would like further information, or to discuss your child’s participation, please contact your child’s teacher or myself. Karen Tucknott

Parent Curriculum Information Night: Tuesday 21st February

Newborough Primary School will be holding a Parent Information Night on Tuesday 21st February from 6-7pm on the Western Australian Curriculum mandated to be taught by all Government Schools. Please register your attendance by either emailing Karen.tucknott2@education.wa.edu.au au or leaving your name at the front office. Tea and coffee available

Positive Behaviour Support

We Need Your Feedback

Positive Behaviour Support

To enhance the strong behaviour processes we already have, Newborough Primary is working towards becoming a PBS school. Positive Behaviour Support (also known as PBS) is a whole school framework which focuses on promoting positive behaviour throughout the school. PBS is a consultative, collaborative, community owned and evidence based framework. It compliments existing school policies and programmes as well as suiting the specific needs of Newborough Primary. The implementation is a 3 year process as we need to ensure it is implemented with fidelity.

In order for PBS to run effectively, the PBS committee will be asking for input from teachers, parents and students. As parents, you will be able to share your thoughts and opinions in the upcoming parent survey which will be distributed this term.

. We hope that all parents take advantage of this opportunity and come along on this journey with us.

If there are any parents interested in joining the PBS committee, please come and see John Worthy or Bree O’Dea.

Please be aware that meetings are every Tuesday fortnight from 3:45-4:45pm.

Boot Camp

The staff at Newborough Primary School are keen to engage the services of a personal trainer and do a weekly bootcamp on the oval or undercover from 4-5pm on a Tuesday afternoon. We would like to extend this offer to any parents who may like to join us at this time. To make the session viable, we need at least 15-20 participants but no more than around 25-30. So far we have 11. This means we have places for around 5-15 parents who may like to join us for the six Tuesdays left of school from the 21st Feb to the end of term.

The sessions would be $10 each per session.

Our preferred PT at the moment is Loretta from L7 Health and Fitness. Her bootcamp would be circuits, boxing, bodyweights and fun! Please feel free to google L7 Health and Fitness.

Please email me if you would like to join us for a bit of fun and fitness. (PS. Men and women invited. We have at least one male on staff participating! Good on Mr Luxton!)

Karen.tucknott2@education.wa.edu.au

Regards
Karen Tucknott
Deputy Principal

P&C News

Uniform Shop

Order Form

Position Available

We are looking for a new Uniform Shop Co-ordinator as 2017 is my last year , please pop in or email your interest- newboroughuniforms@gmail.com.

Melissa McNally
Uniform Shop Co-ordinator

Canteen News

Opening Hours

Newborough Primary Canteen is open from Wednesday to Friday from 8:30am to 1:30pm.

Our Mission

Our mission is to provide healthy, tasty home cooked meals and snacks at a low price. We operate within the Western Australia School Canteen Association Guidelines and cater to some special dietary requirements. We use fresh local meat and produce where possible (sometimes from the school garden), use free range chicken and eggs.

Canteen Staff and Volunteers

I am Patty Vallini, the Canteen Manager, Christine Reger is our Canteen Assistant and P&C representative and Jessica Ghoshal is the Volunteer Roster Co-ordinator, who is contactable on the following email. newboroughcanteen@gmail.com.

The Canteen operates with the assistance of volunteers. Please look out for the Volunteer Roster form being sent home or follow the link below to the online roster.

Here you can add your name to a shift, view or amend. Any assistance is much appreciated, no experience is necessary. Mums, Dads and Grand parents welcome.

Our Online Canteen

The canteen is an online canteen and we encourage people to place orders using this service. You can register at the link below.

Please note online customers from last year need to update their child’s room number under the student tab. Our online canteen, have updated their logo to “Quick Cliq” logging onto the website remains the same.

Canteen Committee Meeting

On Thursday 19th February at 2.45pm, we will have a canteen committee meeting.

Any parent who has any interest in what food we serve or help us with fundraising ideas are welcome. Christine and I will be there also for any parent who has any dietary concerns or would just like to look at the canteen and see what we serve.

A copy of the Term 1 menu is on the school Website or a hard copy at the front office.

I look forward to meeting you, and wish you a great year ahead.

Kind Regards

Patty Vallini
Canteen Manager

School Banking

Hello and welcome back to School Banking for 2017. The new theme is "Future Savers" and there are new rewards for every 10 deposits made.

This year banking will be held on a Monday morning from 8.15am in the library. Commonwealth Bank is encouraging new bankers to open their accounts online or in a branch and If you need any further information on getting started i'm always happy to help.

As always we need and love parent helpers. So if anyone is available to supervise our Year 5 tellers please get in contact with me; Megan - 0410 101 035.

School Banking is a valuable program that teaches our kids about money and establishes good saving habits, it also supports our school by contributing to the P&C so i'd love to see you there.

Happy Banking!

Megan Cowan - School Banking Co-ordinator

Book Club

Scholastic Book Club catalogues were sent home earlier this week. Please ensure that when purchasing book(s) that you clearly mark:

• Child’s name
• Room number
• Book(s) being ordered.

Return correct money and form in a well secured envelope to your class teacher by Friday 17 February.

As per previous years, there is a new easier system for credit card payments- the LOOP system. It is done online and there is no need to return order forms. Any concerns, please let me know.

Spare brochures are available in the front reception area. Online brochures are also available at the Scholastic Website.

As always, if you have any queries regarding the Scholastic Book Club please contact:

Rhonda Yates, 0415 665 256 or simplyrhonda@yahoo.com .

Please continue to support the Book Club and enjoy the rewards that it brings to the school. Every purchase results in credits that allow us to order extra literary resources for the school.

Happy Reading!

Rhonda Yates
Book Club Coordinator

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

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 the link below:

For all enquiries please contact us on:

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

Scarborough Sharks Junior Basketball Club Registration

Scarborough Sharks Junior Basketball Club have recently opened up registrations for the 2017 Winter Competition run at the Basketball Stadium at Perry Lakes, registrations will be open until the 21st of February. The club is community based and focused on fun and fitness for players from U/8 through to U/18, you can join by yourself or bring your own team! Further information is on the club website at the link below or you can contact the Clubs Communication Officer at scarboroughjbc@gmail.com.

Ready Steady Go Kids

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 in the link below.