Kaya families

How quickly this term is passing us by.  It’s already November and Week 4 of Term 4.  As it happens every year, Term 4’s calendar is full of additional things for students, families and staff to celebrate and plan for.

Year 6 Camp

Since the last newsletter our Year 6 campers returned to school slightly less energetic and a little dishevelled after four days at Dwellingup.  They came back full of stories of splat ball triumphs, flying fox tricks, late nights, great food and the odd scary story from the night walk.   

What has become regular feedback Joondalup students have been singled out by Dare Adventure Camp staff as the group who willingly tackles everything, embrace the excitement of being at camp, and display exemplary manners and behaviour. I am very proud of each of them.

Camp staff always speak very highly of the school staff.  Our staff are recognised for their high level of engagement with the children, their own participation in activities, and quality organisation. Camp staff have also paid tribute to our staff for their adaptability and willingness to step in when an extra pair of hands is required.

I will always sing the praises of the staff but it is wonderful to see them recognised outside of our local school community.

A huge thank you to Miss Skye Mercer, Mr Harry Cutler, Miss Sanela Sivic, Mrs Jayne Butler and Mr Rhys Sutherland for their work leading up to and during camp.  Without staff who keenly give of their time and energy, camp would not be possible.

Please see our Year 6 Camp section in our newsletter for some photos and student accounts of their time away.

School disco

Complete with loud music, glow sticks, sausage sizzle and sushi, lollies and fairy floss over 300 children rocked Friday night’s P&C disco.  The children looked fantastic in their party clothes and enjoyed dancing the night away with their friends.  I would like to thank the P&C Association’s disco organisers Lisa Gibson, Stephanie Holt-Stewart and Shane Patton for their work to make the night so successful.  Thank you to all of the parents who volunteered to help with supervision, serve on various stalls and in the canteen, and with the set up and clean up. 

Swimming lessons

We have had one week of swimming lessons and there are three to go for the school.  Year 3 to 5 students are into their second week of the program and next week Pre-Primary to Year 2 students will begin their fortnight.  Thank you to all of the families who are making sure that children come to school ready for their lessons. 

Special fundraiser

Sofia is one of our Year 6 students and she is completing a special project.  I hope that you are able to support her initiative.

Hi everyone

My name is Sofia and I am a Year 6 student who participates in Primary Extension And Challenge (PEAC) program, run by the Department of Education. I have a project to raise funds to protect Vaquitas, a critically endangered marine animal.

I am holding a colouring in competition.  Everyone will receive a copy of the picture and it costs $1.00 to enter the completed picture into a competition. The year groups are Junior (years PP-2), Middle (years 3-4), and Senior (years 5-6) and there are prizes!!!  All money raised will be donated to the WWF. 

Please send your completed pictures to Room 10 by Monday 7 November.

Kind regards,

Sofia B

Staff news

I would like to extend our congratulations to Mrs Stacey Young who has successfully been appointed to West Greenwood Primary School as their Associate Principal.  This appointment brings to the end 19 years at Joondalup Primary School.  Mrs Young has taught across a range of year levels, been a leader in curriculum areas and an acting associate principal, volunteered to be part of events outside of school, and a wonderful support to her colleagues. We wish Mrs Young every success as she takes the next step in her career. 

It is with a balance of sadness, admiration and excitement (for her) that we prepare to farewell Helen Sweet, our wonderfully gifted Art specialist, as she makes the transition to retirement at the end of the year. Helen has a long history of providing an exceptional Visual Art program to the students of Joondalup Schools and has also made her mark on the Social Justice committee and a vast number of other school priorities. Helen’s positive nature and genuine care for our students will be missed. If you see Helen in the coming weeks, please feel free to pass on your congratulations and well wishes.

World Teachers’ Day 

Last week we acknowledged all of the staff with a special morning tea for World Teachers’ Day.  It was our opportunity to say thank you for the every day work, and much of what happens behind the scenes.  It is a job where teachers' work is never finished.  The Joondalup Schools staff are professional, committed and hard-working.  There are many recess and lunch time conversations about the needs of students, curriculum improvements and levels of achievement that filter into the classroom.  Classrooms are busy places with teachers teaching content and building the ability of children to learn for themselves.  Our students and their families are very fortunate to have high quality teachers who give generously of time, resources and expertise. 

Evacuation Practice

Joondalup Schools will be conducting a practise evacuation on Thursday 8 December from 2:00pm. The purpose is to be able to review our processes and identify any gaps in planning that may be evident. The practise allows students and staff to be reminded of what to do in an emergency. Please do not worry when you see this occurring on the day, when you arrive at the end of the day.

School development day

We have a school development day on Friday 11 November 2022 so there will be no school for students.  In the morning staff are going to do further work with the Dyslexia-Speld Foundation in Talk for Writing and the afternoon will be about our Positive Behaviour in Schools strategy.

Both topics align with the school’s current business plan in the ‘High Quality Teaching and Learning’ and creating a ‘Safe and Supportive Learning Environment’ areas.

Staff meetings

At last week’s staff meeting we reviewed our 2022 actions for the implementation of the strategies in the school business plan. 

Here are some of the highlights:

We have seen significant progress in the areas of literacy development through the     implementation of Talk for Writing, Sounds Write, and Heggerty Phonemic Awareness.  It is energising to see teachers working together, attending professional learning, and being committed to implementing the programs with integrity. 

The school’s work in sustainability continues to build and the children are currently collecting ‘feathers’ for their work as bin chickens. 

Positive Behaviour in Schools (PBS) is a strong focus for the school.  It is a framework for developing and promoting pro-social behaviour with consistency in schools.  The framework supports the school to have a common language about behaviour expectation and how we respond positively when those expectations are seen.  It will also see the development of a procedure for responding to behaviour errors with a focus on re-teaching what is expected at Joondalup Schools.  The development is staff led and informed by students and the community.  To make PBS part of our every day, it will be 12 months before we are ready to launch.  You will receive updates along the way.

As part of our implementation of the Aboriginal Cultural Standards Framework Joondalup Schools has renewed its Reconciliation Action Plan. 

Year 5 students have been provided with information about how to submit an Expression of Interest, be prepared to give a speech and vote in the upcoming Student Leader program.  There is plenty of discussion about the qualities of strong leadership, how they might contribute to the school, and the specific expectations for the roles. 

The school is a busy place and we are always doing things, reflecting and changing things to make Joondalup Primary School the best it can be.

Carol Selley

Principal