Dear families

National Science Week 

A huge thank you to Mrs Nerelle Phillips, our Science Teacher, who did a wonderful job of helping us celebrate National Science Week.  Exploring the topic of “Deep Blue: Innovations for the future of our oceans” the children learnt about ocean pollution and its impact.  The children had a wonderful time with water, sand, toys and rubbish.   Mrs Phillips provided lots of additional information to the staff so that they could reinforce key environmental messages in their classrooms. 

Here is what the children had to say:

“I like the way we saved the ship from being a wreck.  We had to make a boat with magnets to get the metal out.”

-Ally, Elizabeth, Kyra and Lily, Year 4

“We liked using the equipment.  We liked making boats to see if they floated.”

-Micaiah and Wes, Year 6

“I liked scooping the oil from the water.”

-Jaxon, Year 6

“It was a fun week because we used lots of different things.  We took the plastic, rubber, metal and rubbish out of the water.  We watched “Under the Sea” to see what it is really like with pollution in the ocean.”

-Bridget and Anabella, Year 5

Cyber safety

Recently there have been some conversations between children, parents, and staff about the importance of cyber safety.  I have included an eSafety parent information sheet from the eSafety Commissioner for your information.

A few tips that will help us and your children:

• Be aware that not every parent has given permission for their child’s photo to be taken and shared.  This is particularly important at school assemblies and  the faction carnival.
• The “Student Mobile Phones in Schools” policy remains in place so that children use the school day for learning and being with friends and staff.  We will get in touch with you if your children need anything or we will just sort it out and let you get on with your day. 
• Social media (Tik Tok, Facebook, Instagram) are great until someone posts something that is hurtful.  Remember that what is posted tends to stay around in some form, even if it is deleted from the original site.
• Be aware of what your children are doing online.  Being part of the conversation about what is safe, responsible, and respectful lays a foundation for further conversations as your children get older. 

As part of our Health Education program, we are doing some work in classes, particularly in the older years, about responsible use of the internet. 

Faction tokens

Congratulation to the Blue Faction!

New playground equipment

The new playground equipment is in and being used by the children.  It is already loved and the bus passengers were keen to get on with their journey.  The boat has been permanently moored in Kindy.

School Development Days for 2021

The School Board has agreed to the following School Development Days for 2021.  School Development Days are student free and allow the staff to participate in professional learning, whole school and team planning, and assessment.  Joondalup Education Support Centre will have the same School Development Days.

Please mark these dates in your calendar for 2021 –

The first week of Term 2 will only be four days for the children as the school will have their School Development Day on Friday.  This day was selected as it allows the K-2 staff to participate in a two-day workshop on ‘Talk 4 Writing’, a new whole school process to improve the writing achievement of the children.  Education Support Centre will be attending an annual conference with other schools from Education Support Centres across the state. 

School Board meeting

At last Wednesday’s Board meeting, the following was discussed and decided upon:

This information will be sent home to all families in the coming weeks so that booklist orders can be placed.    

Looking forward

We have lots of things to look forward to in the coming weeks – Health and Wellbeing Day, Faction Athletics Carnival, Year 6 Camp, another assembly, installation of the new interactive panels in the classrooms, and new furniture.