International Women’s Day 

Last Monday the staff celebrated International Women’s Day with a delicious breakfast.  It was a great opportunity for the staff to acknowledge the work of the women within the school and the broader community.

Neurodiversity Day

Next Monday, 15 March Joondalup Schools will be celebrating Neurodiversity Day. Neurodiversity Day celebrates that it takes all kinds of different minds, and celebrates these differences. Staff and students are encouraged to wear as many colours as they can on Monday in recognition of this day.

There are lots of famous people who think differently. 

• Daniel Radcliffe of Harry Potter fame and Cara Delevinge have dyspraxia.
• Justin Timberlake and Emma Watson have ADD.
• Muhammad Ali and Sir Richard Branson have Dyslexia.
• Lewis Carroll, who wrote “Alice in Wonderland” was autistic.

Harmony/Ride to School Day

Next Friday 19 March we are celebrating both Harmony Week and Ride to School Day. Students and staff are encouraged to walk, ride or scooter to school, while wearing orange as this is the colour representing Harmony Week. Harmony Week celebrates Australia’s cultural diversity. It’s about inclusiveness, respect and a sense of belonging for everyone.

Cycling or walking are simple ways for children to incorporate physical activity into their everyday lives. Children and young people need to participate in at least 60 minutes of moderate physical activity each day to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Research shows that children who ride or walk to school are more likely to arrive at school alert and ready to learn. We have created meeting points where families and students can meet teachers before school to ride/walk/scooter to school together. We also have a course set up around the school for all students to participate in during the school day. See attached information.

Connect

Thank you to everyone who has accessed Connect.  I strongly encourage you to have a go at using it and persevere. I understand that it is a bit clunky and doesn’t appear to be family friendly.  Trust me, it gets better.  When the staff first used it, there was some reluctance and now, we use it every week to find staff news.  Please make sure that you check the Library tab as this is where staff place important documents.   The Connect app allows you to see the notices but you do need to use the website with the browser to find some information. 

If you believe that you would like Connect access and did not receive a P number, please contact the school as we can fix this.  Most families like having one P number so that anyone can see the information.

Third Party Approval

As previously written in a newsletter, parent permission is required for the students to use specific types of apps and access websites whilst at schools.  These websites and apps require logins where student information is stored outside of the Department.  Please click on the link below to complete the form online. 

This MUST be completed by Friday 19 March and you will need to complete a form for each child.

School Development Day

Just a reminder that there is a School Development Day on Friday 23 April 2021.  This is the last Friday in Week 1 of Term 2 and backs onto the Anzac Day long weekend.  The date has been selected as it allows the Kindy to Year 2 teachers to participate in a two-day course on a different way to teach writing.