2 December 2016
Newsletter Articles
Principal’s Report
Welcome to week eight of a productive and busy term. We hope you are enjoying the lovely weather to spend some time outside with your family.
Students have been busy completing work for the term and teachers are finalizing reports and Individual Language Plan reports to be sent home to parents at the end of term. Work Sample Files will be given to students in the last week of school and we hope you enjoy reading through them on the holidays.
Our exiting students are having an exciting two weeks with Transition visits. They have lots of stories about the friends they are making and the new experiences in their home schools.
Induction meetings for new parents are completed across all sites and we look forward to welcoming new families and students to our school next year.
The Junior Book Awards at RLPS campus will take place at 9.00am on Monday 12th December and we look forward to seeing the PLDS families attend. The Book Award ceremony at Bungaree will be held on Tuesday 6th December and Mandurah campus will be on Wednesday 14th December. Pinjarra’s Book Awards is on the last day of the term on Thursday 15th December.
You will find further information about the events of the last few weeks from all sites in this newsletter.
PLDS teachers had a productive and informative day last Friday analysing data at the Whole School Review. The purpose of the day was to look at student data and plan effectively for 2017. We also reviewed the data from surveys to schools, parents and teachers which provided us with valuable information about adjustments and improvements for 2017.
Monday 2nd December will be the final meeting of the School Board, who will join us for lunch. We would like to thank members for their contribution to our school in our second year as an Independent Public School.
The PLDS and RLPS School Board recently endorsed a slight change of the break times for students at the Rockingham Lakes Campus. The start and finish time, along with class time will remain the same. Please see further information in this newsletter and we look forward to your support of this initiative in 2017.
I would like to welcome new Speech Pathologists to the PLDS team. Miss Bronte Ranford has joined the Speech Pathology team along with Miss Caris Read who has joined the Outreach Team.
On behalf of PLDS we would like to sincerely congratulate Mrs Jodie Schicker on her well-deserved award as WA Teacher of the Year.
A final reminder about the annual School Picnic on Friday 9th December. We look forward to families and students coming along to share a day that is always an enjoyable way to finalise the school year.
Shelley Collins
Principal
Back to School 2017
As we start to plan for the New Year, we are pleased to announce that we have partnered with Staples for Back to School 2017.
To take the hassle out of ordering your school supplies, we have already updated the Staples Back to School system with our selected list of items which you can order from. The Staples Back to School program is a safe and secure ordering platform, and you can have your goods delivered straight to your door.
How to order:
- Log onto the link below
- Type in our School ID (956023) to access a list of items that we have selected.
- Follow the prompts to place your order.
http://www.staplesbacktoschool.com.au/
From the list of items we have selected you may also add any additional products that you require to purchase at special Staples Back to School prices. For more information, please refer to the FAQs on the Staples Back to School Website, or contact the dedicated Staples Back to School customer service on 1800 268 625.
Mandurah Campus
Don’t forget we have our final assembly on Wednesday the 14th of December where class book awards will be given out. Everyone has been working hard all year and we are very proud of the efforts that all students put in to their learning. Two students from each PP-3 class will be lucky enough to receive a book award for either Academic progress or Endeavour. We look forward to seeing their beautiful books that they’ll receive. Parents, Grandparents and significant others are invited to attend. The parents of book award recipients will be notified by their classroom teachers.
We also have our NED reward day on the final day of school, Thursday 15th December. This term we will be participating in ‘Miss Greave’s Amazing Race Around the School’. We look forward to seeing what challenges she has organised for us.
RLPS Campus
Kindy
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas in ECE 3. We have been writing letters to Santa, wrapping presents for under our class tree and enjoying some Christmas crafts.
When we got to school on Monday we discovered a cheeky Elf had come to visit us. We named him Elfie and each day when we come to school he is hiding somewhere new! Elfie bought us a book which explained that he watches us all day and flies back to inform Santa about our behaviour at night. We are all excited to come to school and see what our cheeky Elf is doing!
"That Elf is so funny, he was
looking at the fish" Taj
"Christmas means time with your
family" Elayna
"Santa will put presents next to my
tree" Dylan
"I love the reindeer because they're just so
cute!" Tyson
Uniform Shop
Please note the uniform shop will not be open week
10
Opening hours during the school holidays are:
Friday 27th January 9am – 2pm and Tuesday 31st January 1 - 2 pm
Changing Lunchtimes in 2017
Our School Board recently endorsed a change within our school day. While the start and finish time will not change, and the students will be in class for exactly the same amount of time, when the students eat and play will change significantly. Our school day will almost be reversed. The first break of the day will be for lunch, and the second break will be for recess. This is something that many other schools already do. There are many reasons for this change which include:
- Students eating their more substantial meal earlier in the day which helps with maintaining concentration and brain function. Lunches are also kept in bags for shorter periods, making them easier to keep cool.
- The longer play time is during a cooler part of the day – this is especially beneficial during summer.
As well as having lunchtime first, we are also going to switch around lunch itself. At the start of lunch, students will first of all, go and play. After 30 mins of playtime, the siren will sound and students will return to their classes to eat. This change is done to help ensure students enter class after lunch settled and ready to learn, rather than hot and still focusing on the game at lunchtime. The new times for the school day will be:
Start: 8:40am (no change)
Lunch Play: 10:50am – 11:20am
Lunch Eating: 11.20am – 11:30am
Recess: 1.30pm – 1.50pm
End: 2.50pm (no change)
Canteen operation will not be overly affected by these changes; it will still be open at both lunch and recess. Lunch ordering will not be affected, with the exception of course that lunches will be ready for collection at 11:15am.
All classes will still have ‘crunch n sip’ at a time that suits the class on a particular day. While some of these changes might take a while to adjust to, we are confident that the benefits will outweigh any adjustment difficulties. The changes will begin at the start of 2017 and be trialled for the whole year. There are a number of schools already structuring their school day like this with success.
We look forward to your support of this exciting initiative for next year.
Pinjarra Campus
During weeks 5 & 6 the students from rooms 28 & 29 attended swimming lessons at The Murray District Recreation and Aquatic centre.
The children travelled by bus to and from the pool. The students should be extremely proud not only of their achievements in the pool, but also their manners and behaviour.
|
William, Hunter and Alesiha |
Sienna working on her technique |
|
Blair on the pool deck |
Izabella completing a glide |
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Korbin waiting |
Bailey and Jayden having fun |
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Cody swimming laps |
Lachlan, Sam and Lizzie |
Congratulations on your amazing achievement, Room 28 & 29
Sensitive Santa at Warnbro Centre
Warnbro Centre is pleased to announce that they will be hosting a Sensitive Santa session on Wednesday 7th December from 5.30pm until 7.30pm.
Sensitive Santa is an opportunity for kids with special needs or families who need a little extra help and time with Santa in a low stimulus environment. The centre’s mall music will be turned off and the session is not available to the general public therefore there will be no ques. This way parents don’t have to wait in line during the busier times and it will be a less stressful experience for them. Bookings are essential and each session will run for 10 minutes. Parents are required to bring their own cameras to capture the special moment with Santa.
For bookings please contact Taryn Palermo via email - taryn.palermo@vacinity.com.au.
Sensory Friendly Flicks
Rocky Bay is proud to present Sensory Friendly Flicks – a series of movie screenings with modified lighting, sound and seating to suit children living with autism or sensory processing difficulties. These inclusive community events allow families to enjoy their favourite films in a safe and accepting environment.
Down South Therapy Services
Down South Therapy Services is a local mobile provider of Occupational Therapy, Speech Therapy and Physiotherapy services for kids. They are excited to be running School Readiness, Social Skills, Emotional Regulation and Lets Get Moving Groups in the January 2017 school holidays.
Better Health Program
