20 March 2018

Newsletter Articles

Principal’s Report

Welcome to week eight of an exciting and productive term one.

Class Meetings across all campuses have been very successful with a high attendance rate from parents and caregivers ensuring we are continuing to provide opportunities for our families to be involved in their children’s education. We hope you have found the meetings informative and please feel welcome to make an appointment with your class teacher if you would like to discuss your child further.

Thanks also to parents who have updated contact details with the front office. It is essential that we have up to date contact numbers in case of an emergency. Please be aware that we are only able to release your child to adults you have included on your contact list. If your child is on the bus, please alert them to any changes in the daily schedule along with a note to the class teacher in the Communication Book.

PLDS teachers have almost completed transition visits to schools where we offer support to the schools and teachers of exited students. Part of our support includes providing oral language focused Professional Learning to schools. We have also invited the exiting school teachers to attend Professional Learning at PLDS.

Parents are currently attending Individual Language Plan meetings to discuss their child’s current language goals. All meetings are attended by teachers and Speech Pathologists to ensure we are keeping them informed about their child’s progress. Teachers have been using the format endorsed by the board at the last meeting, making our reporting to parents clear and informative.

We hope you are finding the update from our School Chaplain useful. Mrs Clayson has included some excellent resources and information about seeking help when needed. Our School Nurse has also included some valuable information about bike safety.

Tomorrow we will be celebrating Harmony Day and students are encouraged to wear orange to acknowledge this day of cultural respect for all who call Australia their home. The RLPS campus will hold the annual Happy Walk tomorrow to celebrate the day.

Tickets are on sale for the Easter raffle before and after school and I would like to thank families who have donated to the raffle. There is still time to add to the hampers and all donations are gratefully accepted.

Unfortunately we still have numerous students who arrive at school before 8:25am. (Parents can access it from 8:15.) Prior to 8:25, students who are not sitting with their parent, near to their class, MUST go directly to the Library. Unsupervised early arriving students impact on the teachers’ ability to prepare effectively for the day ahead. Please support the teachers and your child’s education by ensuring students do not arrive early. Thank you.

In this newsletter you will find updates from our four sites. The students at Pinjarra have been developing their semantic knowledge by learning about objects in the classroom. Students at Bungaree have been learning about the importance of friends and the students from Mandurah have been learning about the parts of the body. Students at the Rockingham Lakes campus have been developing pragmatic skills with the ‘You Can Do It’ program.

Voluntary contributions and charges are due by the end of term one. There will be more information to follow about the chance to win an exciting prize for fees sent in by the end of this term.

Have a safe and happy week.

Shelley Collins
Principal

Important information for Parents

Easter Break

Students return to School on Wednesday 4th of April after the Easter Holiday.

Chaplain

Resources

• Online digital Mental Health Resource through the Department of Health
• Parentline (Free as a resource through Kid’s Helpline)
• Parenting can be a tough job but also really rewarding. Talking to a Parentline counsellor can help you navigate difficult parenting dilemmas

What happens when you call?

• Deciding to talk to someone about your family can be a big step.
• You can ask for a male or female counsellor
• You can request an interpreter
• Your strengths will be recognised, with respect and understanding
• You can speak with the same counsellor for ongoing support
• You can call if you're a parent, step parent, grandparent, guardian or carer
• You'll be asked what you want to talk about and what you most need from the call
• Counselling is confidential unless you or someone else is at risk of harm
• Some Parentline services also offer web counselling

Caladenia Low Cost Counselling

About us: Caladenia Counselling is the community home of the Masters of Counselling program at Murdoch University. Our counselling centre provides safe, supportive and affordable counselling for people who are experiencing challenges in their lives or who are dealing with a difficult situation.

Why choose us? We are a low cost service and we work with people of all ages, backgrounds and cultures in a caring, professional and confidential way to promote wellbeing. Several counsellors have fluency in non-English languages. Children, adolescents, individuals and couples are all welcomed.

Who are our Counsellors? Clients who attend our counselling centre are seen by postgraduate students enrolled in the Masters of Counselling at Murdoch University who are supervised by experienced and qualified counselling staff.

Appointments We are available Monday to Friday between 8 am and 6 pm. $30 per visit, or $15 for concession card holders. In certain circumstances, fees can be waived at the discretion of the clinic supervisor.

To make an appointment please call 9360 7848 or email CaladeniaCounsel@murdoch.edu.au.

Bungaree Campus

Room 3 have been learning about the importance friendship. Last week, we read ‘The Rainbow Fish’ which is a wonderful story that explores friendship and the importance of sharing with our friends so that everyone can have fun and be happy.

The class really enjoyed writing about their favourite part of the story and together, we created some beautiful artworks.

Pinjarra Campus

Room 28

The Kindy/Pre Primary class has had a wonderful start to 2018, making new friends and learning a lot. We have learnt our first 6 sounds and are working on recognising these in the names of objects in the classroom. We have even started learning how some of the sounds can fit together to make word families!

We had a visit from ‘The Men of The Trees’ and helped them to ‘prick out’ new trees for our school. The shade-house wasn’t quite ready for the seedlings so we worked together to clear away all the weeds and to tidy it up. They will come back later in the year to help us to plant them when they have grown a little bigger.

In art, we have looked at primary colours and how they make new colours when they are mixed in different combinations. We had lots of fun being messy and creative while discovering new colours!

We can’t wait to show you more of our hard work next time.

RLPS Campus

In 1.3 this term we have been focusing on the ‘You Can Do It’ character Gabby Get Along. We have been looking at what makes a good friend and what we can do when someone is by themselves. We have brainstormed what a good friend looks like and we made friendship flowers to show this. We have been practicing asking friends to join in our games, sharing our games with others and making sure that all students are included in what we are doing.

Ally says ‘getting along with our friends means being nice and holding hands’
Angus says ‘helping them if they fall over.’
Elora says getting along with our friends means ‘being nice and kind by playing with them and going to their house.’
Aisea says ‘playing hide and seek with them.’
TJ says ‘getting along by sharing robots with our friends.’
Abhinav says ‘being friendly and nice.’
Bay says ‘being friends with our friends’
James says ‘getting along is being nice.’
Romeo says ‘getting along means sharing and playing tag.’
Rafal says ‘getting along means playing tag with our friends nicely’
Nevaeh says ‘getting along is being friendly and sharing.’
Shaun says ‘getting along means playing with your friends and getting happy and shaking it off like a duck.’
Isaiah says ‘getting along is being friends.’
Jett says ‘getting along means being nice to each other’

Mandurah Campus

This Term in Room 18 we have been learning about our bodies. We have been looking at body parts and playing heads shoulders knees and toes. We used Valentine’s Day and Harmony day as an opportunity to look and our similarities and differences. The books we have been reading have taught us that we may look different and live in different places but we all love the same. We are learning how to be friends follow routines and have all settled well into the school year.

Miss Klem & Mrs Devlin

Community News

FREE POSITIVE PARENTING PROGRAM

You are invited to attend a Group Triple P - Positive Parenting course. Triple P teaches positive, practical and effective ways to manage common issues which most parents will face.

Parents will learn effective parenting strategies such as ways to encourage behaviour you like, how to promote your child’s development and how to prevent or manage common child behaviour problems.

The next FREE 8 week Group is held:

When: Wed 2 May – 20 Jun 2018
Location: Darius Wells Library, Kwinana
Booking: Booking in the link below
Available: Booking start 21 Mar 2018

Please phone 1300 749 869 for more information.

To find other available programs visit our website.

School Nurse

Bike safety - tips for children

Riding a bike is great fun and good exercise for children and teens. Here are a few tips to keep your children safe while cycling:

• Children under 10 should be supervised when riding a bike.
• Children should be taught the rules of the road before they ride by themselves.
• Riding in the driveway should not be encouraged. Children need to know that the driveway is dangerous. Teach them to stop at the end of the driveway, look, listen, and think about whether it is safe to cross the road.
• Every child needs a helmet that fits correctly. Helmets should be worn at all times when riding. Parents should set a good example by wearing a helmet themselves.
• Children’s bicycles should kept be in good condition and have the appropriate reflectors.
• Children should wear bright coloured clothing when riding.

Playground safety

Play is important for your child’s physical, emotional, mental and social development. Playgrounds are fun and provide children of all ages with excellent opportunities for physical activity. Here are some tips for keeping your child engaged and safe in playgrounds:

• Encourage your child to have fun and try new things.
• Visit different playgrounds in the community to keep things new and interesting.
• Arrange to meet friends at playgrounds.
• Always supervise your child.
• Encourage your child to take turns, play safely and think about others.
• Help your child to develop a simple set of playground rules.
• Remember to protect you and your child from the sun.
• Check how your child is dressed – clothing or hats with cords could result in injury.
• If you notice any damage to the playground, report it immediately.