Kaya families 

Welcome to our second newsletter for Term 1. I hope that you enjoyed the long weekend. 

Positive Behaviour Support  

Congratulations to these children who were awarded the most Class Dojo points in their classroom in the past two weeks. We shared a special morning tea together outside in the sunshine.  

Well done to: 

Celebratory morning teas will be a regular special throughout the year and I am looking forward to seeing who joins me on Thursday 14 March 2024. 

Our fortnightly focus is ‘We are Respectful when we listen to the speakers using whole body listening’. We want to see this behaviour every day but especially at the assembly. I know that the staff gave out extra Dojos because they could see lots of whole body listening at the assembly today. 

The students have been enjoying our PBS strategy. Students like that Dojos can be given by anyone and at any time, they like the characters, and they like that everyone has the opportunity to get a reward. Staff feedback has been that it has made a difference to the overall tone of the school and the standard of behaviour has positively shifted.  

Connect and Respect – Communication with the school 

I would like to remind families of the Connect and Respect initiative that has been released by the Minister for Education. 

Part of the Connect and Respect initiative concerns communication. Please be aware that staff may not be available to respond immediately to family contact and that staff have the right to be able to respond when they are able.  

There has been a significant increase in the number of requests, either by phone or face-to-face, made of staff. Often these requests are unrealistic and fall outside of what we are responsible for as a school. For every phone message or request that needs to be relayed to an individual student, there is a disruption to a lesson and this impacts on the learning for everyone. If a teacher or education assistant is responding to a phone message or last minute request, they are not working with children. Please carefully consider if your message to your child can wait until they come home or if the problem can be solved outside of school hours.  

Student Health and Safety 

Nuts and nut products  

There are several students who are allergic to nuts and nut products. If these children come into contact with nuts and nut products it will cause an anaphylactic reaction. Whilst it is not possible to completely ban nuts, everyone has a responsibility to keep each other safe. Please be diligent in checking what is packed into lunch boxes and check food labels.  

Medication for students  

There are times when children require medication, such as antibiotics or pain relief, for a short time period. Please make sure that you contact the office so that the appropriate documents can be signed and the medication is stored correctly. Most staff will administer the medication but only if we have clear instructions signed by a parent. 

Assembly  

Today’s assembly was presented by the Year 4 students. They did an amazing job of focusing on inspirational women in the lead up to International Women’s Day.  

The next assembly will be held on Tuesday 26 March 2024 at 2:15 pm and will be presented by the senior classes in Joondalup Education Support Centre.  

National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) 

Year 3 and 5 students will commence NAPLAN on Wednesday 13 March 2024. The testing days are: 

• Wednesday – Writing
• Thursday – Reading
• Friday – Conventions of language (Spelling, Grammar and Punctuation)
• Monday - Numeracy

Staff have done a lot of preparation so they are ready to administer these assessments. Students have also completed practice tests so that they are familiar with the types of questions and how to use the NAPLAN online platform for the test. Year 3 children will be doing their Writing test on paper. 

If you would like to see what NAPLAN looks like, there is a public demonstration site for NAPLAN at www.nap.edu.au/naplan/public-demonstration-site.  

Harmony Week and National Ride to School Day 

We are celebrating Harmony Week and Ride to School Day on Friday 22 March 2024. Harmony Week celebrates Australian multiculturalism and in a school such as Joondalup Primary School, we have many cultures represented in our classrooms. Everyone is encouraged to wear orange as it is the colour that shows support for cultural diversity.  

National Ride to School encourages children to become more physically activity and to think about different ways to come to school rather than by car.  

Information about how we are celebrating Harmony Week and National Ride to School Day has been included in the newsletter. 

PJ Dress Up Day and Easter Hat Parade

On Thursday 28 March we will be having a PJ dress up day and Easter Hat Parade. Students are welcome to wear their PJs for the last day of term and also participate in a parade with their Easther hats from 9:00 am in the undercover area. Prizes will be awarded to the best hats. 

Interschool Cricket Team 2024 

Last Thursday Mr Morrey took 10 students to participate in an Interschool Cricket Carnival. Congratulations to Marley W, Jayden M, Jaxon R, Owen M, Arish M, Daniel T, Shazil S, Oliver S, Elliot G and Byron S. Mr Morrey returned to school a very proud teacher having seen his team do their very best! See Mr Morrey's section in this newsletter for more information and photos. 

P&C Donations – 2023 

A huge thank you to our P&C who were able to donate $13,898 to Joondalup Schools throughout 2023. The schools were able to buy much needed resources and equipment. The P&C are really active in our school community, we are really lucky. They have already planned a number of events for students throughout the year including a disco, colour run and Mother’s/Father’s day stalls. 

Ms Selley

Principal