6 September 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 2017. Please note dates are subject to change.

Principal’s Introduction

WAGSMS Concert

On Friday 25th August students in both the junior and senior choirs represented the school and themselves with distinction at the annual Western Australian Government Schools Music Society (WAGSMS) concert series at the Crown Theatre in Burswood.

The students who participated on the night performed with great distinction and clarity. It was not only delightful to see such a high quality, polished performance the children clearly enjoyed their opportunity to shine. The way both groups responded to Mrs Holmes’ direction really showed great rapport developed during those many early morning practice sessions. The choice of songs, Operatunities by Mary Donnelly for the junior choir and Irving Berlin’s, It’s a Lovely Day Today and ‘Steppin’ Out With My Baby were fantastic tunes and allowed talents to develop and shine.

The choir costumes looked sharp and vibrant. Parent helpers Lucy Thistleton and Kim Gorte were so enthusiastic and helpful. The children stood out with their choir uniforms and new pants provided by the P&C. Our piano accompanists Sayuri Shigematsu and Craig Hewitt gave so willingly of their time and musical talents to assist with practices and on the night. I spoke to both afterwards to thank them and they said they really enjoyed helping out and were thrilled with being able to help. We are so lucky to have them. Many thanks to all the parents and family members who came along to support the children.

The only sour note was that Miss Tucknott, who so generously gave of her time to assist, managed to break a thumb on the stair rail as we left the concourse. She has had surgery and is now on the road to recovery.

Faction Athletics Carnival

Congratulations to students for their excellent sportsmanship and competitive endeavours out our faction athletics carnivals. We were fortunate to be able to squeeze in the jumps, throws and distance running events on a wet and windy Tuesday 29th August. Given the forecast for strong wind and rain and cold conditions for the Friday we made an early call to postpone the main athletics event to Monday that looked a lot brighter and warmer. The Bureau of Meteorology certainly got it right providing excellent weather enjoyed by competitors, spectators and staff on Monday.

Thank you to all the parents and staff who assisted Ms Williams, who once again did a brilliant job, set up and run the carnival. Many hands make light work. Next week our school hosts the Ocean Net Schools Athletic carnival on Wednesday and Friday. The school team will be announced shortly. Again we will need some parent helpers on both days so if you can help please let Ms Williams know.

See later in the newsletter for a wrap up of the carnival.

Open Board Meeting – Monday 11th September. 7:00pm in the Library.

Come along and see how your School Board operates on behalf of our school community. At this open meeting the Board we will examine the future of schooling and try to predict what our school might be like in 2050. You may be surprised at what we have found out in our research. The meeting will also include many of our regular features.

Keep this date in mind and come along. This is a great opportunity to work with the Board and maybe inspire you to nominate next term for predicted parent or staff vacancies that will be on offer commencing next year.

For a little background here is a link to an animated TED talk by British creativity expert Sir Ken Richardson that is enlightening and fun.

Student Toilets Makeover

Thanks to the generosity of our P&C and the drive of our Positive Behaviour Support (PBS) committee our junior and senior toilets are getting a makeover. When students were surveyed late last year about their behavioural concerns around the school this came out as their number one issue. Smelly, unfriendly, unattractive, poor toilet paper and a place where some children were disrespectful of the facilities and antisocial in their behaviour. Not an unusual issue in many schools and some public and work places you may say.

The toilets will be thoroughly cleaned, light fittings and vents repaired, the walls, ceilings and doors given a good lick of brighter coloured paint, new liquid soap dispensers, higher quality toilet paper and the outside brightened up with artistic murals we hope students will help design, paint and enjoy.

As part of our whole school approach to embrace the school’s values of Respect, Teamwork, Challenge Yourself and Kindness students will be explicitly taught expected behaviours through a series class and school learning activities. One component of this is appropriate behaviour and healthy practice using the school toilets. Teachers are currently designing contextually interesting learning activities in readiness for a start at the beginning of 2018. Many classes have already tried out some of the activities when we focussed on class movements around the school recently. We have noticed a difference where this has occurred and look forward to similar with the toilets.

Did you Know?

Toilets in the Modern World. Extract from Tim Lambert’s ‘A History of Toilets’

In 1596 Sir John Harrington invented a flushing lavatory with a cistern. However the idea failed to catch on. People continued to use chamber pots or cess pits, which were cleaned by men called gong farmers. (In the 16th century a toilet was called a jakes).

However in 1775 Alexander Cumming was granted a patent for a flushing lavatory. Joseph Brahmah made a better design in 1778.

Thomas Crapper did not invent the flushing toilet. That is a Historical Myth.

However flushing toilets were a luxury at first and they did not become common till the late 19th century. Also popular in the 19th century were earth closets. An earth closet was a box of granulated clay over a pan. When you pulled lever clay covered the contents of the pan. In rural areas flushing lavatories did not replace earth closets until the early 20th century.

John Worthy
Principal

Term Dates

School Directory

Library News

Process for Overdue Library Books

• If a student fails to return a library book an email will be sent home that day to parents as a reminder.
• If the library book is then not returned by the following borrowing week, parents will be invoiced for the cost of the book immediately.
• Students will not be able to borrow until the book is either returned or paid for.

We thank all students and parents for their assistance in helping all books be returned each week to the library to allow other students to also enjoy those books. A reminder that Library Bags are essential for students to care for our books. Our Newborough Primary School green reading book/library bags can be purchased from the Front Office for $6.95.

Please do not hesitate to either contact myself, Sharon Singleton or Deb Kirton on any questions in regards to our school library.

Lost Property

There is an increasing amount of lost property being left on school grounds, after hours and during school.

Please check the lost property rack, located outside the Uniform Shop, for missing items. Any items that are unlabelled and left over at the end of every two weeks are donated to the Uniform Shop for second hand resale or disposed of. We strongly suggest that your child’s property is clearly labelled to ensure it finds its way back to its rightful owner.

Late Collections of Students

Our staff are being increasingly asked to relay messages regarding the afternoon pick up of students at the end of the school day. Children should be informed at the beginning of their day, of their afternoon arrangements, for example attending afterschool care, family members/friends picking up. Early pick up of children disrupts the class and the learning of others.

Please note that due to the increased demand at the front office during this time, we may not be able to take messages to your children at the close of school however if parents are running late, the children are taken to the front office by their teachers and are supervised, and parents/guardians called to organise pickup, if necessary. Thank you for your consideration.

Absentees and Lates

If your child is going to be absent from or late to school, please advise us via SMS/email (preferred) or phone the school, advising us of the student’s name and room number, as well as the reason for their absence.

Keep the following details on hand for easy reference:

If your child is not in class by the time the roll is taken at 8.40am, please ensure that they come to the front office to receive a Late Pass before going to class, and have their ‘unexplained absence’ changed on the system. Our automated absences system sends out SMSs to parents of those students who have an ‘unexplained absence’ recorded for that day.

Schoolzine App

Have all our school’s information accessible at all times – download the FREE Schoolzine app to your mobile device to readily access the latest information in real time.

Newsletter, School Calendar, Term Dates, Dates to Remember – It’s now all at your fingertips!!

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.

Term 3 Pottery Classes

This term in pottery we made pots with hats and faces on them. We made boats with fishing rods, oars and fish baskets. Zara Yr 4

Pottery is awesome! I love making little animals and glazing them at the end of the term even though joining was a bit tricky and so was smoothing the joins. I’ve really enjoyed this term’s pottery class especially meeting lots of new friends. Ruby Yr 4

I like pottery and I made a pig, a baby pig, a cat and an elephant. I made lots of good animals and did nice colours and a very good cup. Eamon Yr 1

Pottery is fun, I mean not fun, really, really fun. Can I come again, maybe next year? I will miss it because I have to wait a whole year! I felt really excited when I just started, I felt really happy. It was the best. Margot Yr 1

I think pottery is really fun and I think sticking the arms and legs on was the hardest and I love pottery. Harper Yr 2

With pottery you need to do zig zags when you attach stuff. Levi Yr 1

I think pottery is very fun. I like doing the thumb pots. I learnt how to make a pot. I think I will be a pottery teacher when I grow up. I love pottery. Rose Rm 4

Sports News

Faction Athletics Carnival

Due to a wet weather forecast, our traditional Friday Athletics Carnival day was reluctantly postponed until Monday of this week. It turned out to be a positive call for everyone who were able to attend and enjoy a beautiful Spring day. It was wonderful to see a fantastic turnout of parents, grandparents and friends supporting the children in their events despite the change of date. Once again I would like to say a very big thank you to all of the parents who were able to assist with the carnival jobs. Your efforts were greatly appreciated by all of the staff and children and greatly assisted to make the carnival run so smoothly. Congratulations to all of the children in every faction and event who participated with great enthusiasm and effort. It was wonderful to watch you participate so enthusiastically and with good sportsmanship.

Congratulations to Corbett Faction who maintained their lead that they held from the Long Distance, Jumps and Throwing events proving too strong and yet again were declared the champion team. Manning finished in second place and Connor finished in third place.

Thank you to all of the teachers and staff members who assisted with the training and selection of their faction teams and for your assistance with the Athletics carnival. A very big thank you also to Tim Riley, our hard working gardener for the continued effort you have put in to make the oval and track so wonderful for our carnival. I would also like to thank the P & C for providing a sausage sizzle lunch for the children and families and the Kindy parents who provided delicious coffee and snacks for the Newborough community throughout the day.

On the day, every child showed great individual effort, sportsmanship and at times, resilience to keep trying to do their best. Congratulations to the following children who were awarded the individual championship medallions –

Interschool Athletics:

This year, Newborough Primary School will be hosting the Interschool Athletics Carnival at Newborough Primary School This is the first time in over 30 years that the school has hosted the carnival on site.

• On Wednesday morning the 13th September, the jumps, throws and long distance running events will be held from 9.30am to 12.30pm.
• The will be held on Friday 15th September, also at Newborough Primary main carnival School from 10.00 – 2.30pm.

If your child has been selected for this carnival, their excursion and consent forms will be coming home this week. All students who have been selected for the interschool carnival, must return their permission forms to their classroom teacher by next Monday 11th September.

We would greatly appreciate any assistance from parents to set up the oval for both the Wednesday morning and Friday events from 7.30am onwards. We would also appreciate assistance with some of the events on Wednesday and some jobs on Friday. Please see your child’s paperwork to complete these forms if you are able to assist.

Good luck to all of our school team competitors. GO NEWBOROUGH!

Kris Williams
Physical Education Teacher

The People’s Pick

Do you have a favourite teacher or support staff member?

Now is your chance to shine a spotlight on our incredible teachers and school staff members and tell the world what makes them shine.

As part of the WA Education Awards, The People’s Pick is an opportunity for parents, students and our community to get involved and recognise the dedicated and talented staff in our school.

Simply pick who you want to recognise; create a video, photo or testimonial showing what makes them incredible; and upload your message at the first link below or on our Facebook page below that.

Then share the message on your Facebook page and tell your family and friends to vote for it. If a message for one of our staff receives the highest number of votes, our school will win a $1000 Modern Teaching Aids voucher.

Share your message before 5.00pm on Friday 13 October 2017 and stay tuned. The People’s Pick will be announced on Friday 27 October on World Teachers’ Day and all staff recognised will be acknowledged via the website below:

P&C News

Canteen Manager Position Available

We are looking for a new part time Canteen Manager to start in Term 4 (or sooner).

The Canteen Manager is a paid, part time role, with at least 20 hours per week during the school terms. We are looking for someone who can take ownership of all aspects of running the canteen including menu updates, ordering, record keeping and some volunteer management.

The hours are suitable for parents at the school with a 8:15 am start and finishing by 2:15 pm Wednesday to Friday (with some work outside of these times for ordering and paperwork).

If you or someone you know is interested to know more, contact the Newborough P&C by email newboroughpcsec@gmail.com or call Josh on 0415770728 (email preferred).

A detailed job description is available below:

Earn & Learn

The Woolworths Earn & Learn promotion is ending on the 19th of September.

Don’t forget to keep collecting the Woolworths Earn and Learn stickers with your weekly shopping. Attach your stickers to the special Earn & Learn sheets; put them straight in the box at the Innaloo or Karrinyup stores, or the box at the school reception.

Once the promotion ends we have to get everything back to Woolworths by the 6th of October. To help with this, please return all your completed sheets and any loose stickers to school by Friday the 29th of September.

Canteen News

Please view the new menu by following the link below.

Volunteers

URGENT HELP REQUIRED

The canteen needs your help. Volunteers are required for Week 8, 9 and10. For the canteen to continue as regular we need 17 shifts filled, as at 1st September there is only one person who has volunteered for a shift

Our canteen makes approximately 200 lunches on a regular basis per week, if you include recess drinks and extras there are more than 700 items that filled per week. This amount is not possible to fill with only one person working (me).

Unfortunately if the shifts are not filled, I will have to run the canteen on a skeleton menu, there will be no recess or any special items available.

As always thank you to all our volunteers, special thanks to our grandmothers who have been coming in, the Johnson family for sending their Nanna and niece that were visiting from eastern states and a special mention to Sharyn Powell who has assisted several times in urgent situations

Patty Vallini - Canteen Manager

Book Club – Term 3

Thank you for your Scholastic Book Club orders for this term. All orders have now been placed. Once they have been received at the school, all books will be delivered to the classrooms for distribution by the teachers.

If you have any queries regarding the Book Club orders, please contact me 0415 665 256 or simplyrhonda@yahoo.com. Happy Reading!

Rhonda Yates – Book Club Co-ordinator

School Banking

Banking day is Monday morning in the library from 8.15am.

It has been great to see a few more savers making regular deposits but we would love to see more get on board as it not only promotes good saving habits but every deposit helps our P&C. Term 3 has seen the release of 2 more cool rewards and a new competition for super savers with high tech prizes up for grabs. More information on the competition, youth saver account and school banking program can be found at the link below.

This year I have had Tianna Regan helping me on a Monday (Thank you Tianna), but in Term 4 I will need the help of some student tellers, like we have had in the past. Any Year 5's or parents of students that are interested in helping please come in and see me on a Monday to put your name down. If there are any parents able to assist me by occasionally supervising on a Monday I would love to hear from you too 0410 101 035

Happy Banking

Megan Cowan -School Banking Co-ordinator

Entertainment Membership

If you haven’t already purchased your NEW 2017 | 2018 Entertainment Membership this year, this is your chance to support us and be rewarded with over $20,000 of valuable offers!

TOP 5 reasons to love your Entertainment Membership

• You will be supporting Newborough Primary School fundraising! We receive 20% of the purchase price for every Entertainment Membership sold.
• You can enjoy hundreds of up to 50% OFF and 2-for-1 offers from some of the best fine dining restaurants, popular cafés and family restaurants in your area.
• You’ll be ‘entertained’ all year long with valuable cinema, activities and theme park offers.
• Treat yourself to discounted eGift Cards from national retailers like David Jones, Woolworths, rebel and much more.
• Discover new places with more than 2,000 hotels and resorts, with exclusive accommodation offers.

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.hyder@gmail.com for more details. FEELING UNSURE? KNOCK ON A SAFETY HOUSE DOOR!

Halijah Hyder - Safety House Coordinator

Are you 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 can be found below.

Chaplain’s Chat

YouthCARE, which is the group who supports the Chaplain at our School, is running a fundraising Sausage Sizzle at Bunnings Innaloo (Cnr Scarborough Beach Rd & Odin Rd) on Saturday 16 September. We would value any support – maybe you can do your Bunnings shopping on that day! Come and buy a sausage for your Chaplain!

Some interesting reading on the parenting ideas website. A recent blog post on how to “Help your son get the worry bug under control” could be helpful, found below.

Ali Dee - School Chaplain