Dear families

Staff news

On Thursday we will farewell some of our staff who have made valuable contributions to the school. 

Mrs Sandi Hird is retiring after many years as a teacher.  Mrs Hird decided that she wanted to be a teacher when she was in Year 5 and she has fulfilled that dream and then some.  She has been a dedicated teacher who has always wanted the very best for the children, to have a strong connection with families, and to work alongside and support her colleagues.  Mrs Hird’s deep care of ‘her’ children meant that no one was overlooked or missed out.  From the end of term notes, open nights for families and endless games and toys, Mrs Hird made sure that she had something for everyone.  Mrs Hird’s care was not limited to the children as she was always aware of the needs of the staff around her.  If there was a need for someone to step up, Mrs Hird was the go to person.

Mrs Peta Chance is also retiring after a career of more than 30 years.  Mrs Chance has spent most of her career with the youngest children. She has always had a focus on early literacy and numeracy, and ensuring that children have the necessary skills to navigate the school environment.  Mrs Chance was an excellent listener whose advice was always welcomed by staff and parents.  If there was a deadline, Mrs Chance made sure that she was well ahead of it, and you never needed to ask twice for anything. 

After many years at Joondalup Primary School, Mrs Kim Daniels is taking 12 months leave to try something different.  Rather than spending her day with children, she is joining the growing workforce in the mining sector.  Mrs Daniels has been a constant in many children’s day as she has provided valuable support as they have learnt new things.

Miss Charlotte Taylor has been appointed to Springfield Primary School next year.  She is joining the staff as a full time Pre-Primary teacher.  Thank you to Miss Taylor for doing a wonderful job in the Pre-Primary classes.

Mrs Dawn Toomey and Mrs Alana Coutts have been in Year 5, Room 10, and both have also been a valuable relief teachers. We appreciate their willingness to step up to take on a range of teaching roles at short notice.  I am sure that we will see them again next year.

Mrs Zulyani will be taking leave at the end of this year and will be welcoming a new baby to her family. We wish her all the very best as she enjoys being a new mum. 

Staff news – Congratulations!

Mrs Stacey Young has accepted a contract as Deputy Principal at West Greenwood Primary School for Term 1 next year.  It is such exciting news and Mrs Young is more than capable of fulfilling this role.  Mrs Young is a stand out teacher and school leader.  Her students are richer for her teaching and we always benefit when she steps into an Associate Principal role.  West Greenwood PS is lucky to have Mrs Young on their staff.  We will miss Mrs Young next term.

Twenty Plus Club

Last week we recognised the staff who have been at Joondalup Schools for 20 or more years.  This select group enjoyed lunch together and was our opportunity to acknowledge their commitment to this school.

School banking

School banking has wrapped up. Our school banking has been coordinated by a number of people over the years and I would like to thank them for the time they have given.  The last of our coordinators are Meg Turkich and Jenny Hermans.  Thank you for helping our children build their savings accounts.

New School Captains, Faction Captains and Choir Captains

Congratulations to the School Captains, Faction Captains and Choir Captains who have been selected for 2022. 

Student Captains

Faction Captains

Choir Captains

A huge thank you to the outgoing councillors and captains for all their work during 2021.

Graduation 2021

Congratulations to the Year 6 Graduating Class for 2021.  We had a wonderful ceremony today where we celebrated the end of primary school for our students.  I would like to thank Miss Mercer and Mr Cutler for all of the work they did to make today (and this week) so special for the students.  Thank you also to the many staff who have undertaken so many jobs to make everything as close to perfect as possible.

A number of students were recognised for excellence across many areas and we extend our congratulations to each of them.  A summary of their citation is as follows:

Carols by Candlelight

We enjoyed a fabulous Carols by Candlelight last week.  It was very well attended and audience feedback was very positive.  Thank you to Miss Rhiannon O’Connor for her expert organisation and musical talent which made the night possible and to Mrs Jayne Butler for her support of the School Choir.

Mrs Helen Sweet created another amazing artwork that was used as a backdrop for the event.  It was the collation of student work showing all of the different skills the children have learnt throughout the year.  As always, Carols was a team effort.  I greatly appreciate the work of staff from across Joondalup Schools who cooked the sausage sizzle, set up, packed away, attended rehearsals and helped on the night. 

Enterprise Day

Congratulations to the Year 6s for organising a fantastic Enterprise Day, they raised an incredible $2387.25 which is a record!  Last Friday afternoon children were able to use their tickets to participate in activities and purchase items from stalls that were planned and organised by the Year 6 children.  Money raised is being used for next year’s Year 6 Camp.  This is the outgoing students way of paying it forward.

Important dates for 2022

Please note that the school office is closed from Friday 17 December 2021 at 11.00am and will reopen on Monday 24 January 2022 at 8.30am.  During this time any emails sent to joondalup.ps@education.wa.edu.au will not be responded to immediately and phone messages will not be regularly checked. 

Best wishes

I would like to acknowledge the work of the staff who have done an amazing job throughout 2021.  Once again, we have managed to pack the year with a range of exciting opportunities for the students and their families.  The staff have continued to show a high level of commitment to the education, safety and well-being of all students.  It is a privilege to work alongside such an excellent staff. 

To Miss Tammy Hanrahan, Mrs Carol Perry and Mrs Stacey Young, thank you for always having my back, playing a crucial role in decision making, and leading the school to always improve.

To Miss Natalie Farina, Mrs Jessica Barrett and Mrs Marie Earley, thank you for being so welcoming of our many children, families and visitors and for being on top all of the school activities.

To the School Board and P&C Association – Thank you for the vital role you have played in the school.  I have appreciated your input and valued your commitment to the school through your gifts of time and expertise.

To all of the children and their families, have a very happy Christmas.  Enjoy the school holidays and take some time to chill out with family and friends, to get outside and play, read a few books, and not worry about getting ready for the school day.  I will see everyone on Monday 31 January 2022 when I can hear lots of holiday stories.

Ms Selley

Principal 

As a part of the Technologies unit this year, students had to investigate food and fibre. In Room 13 we looked into where food products came from and the best ways produce is harvested. This allowed the students to develop a sound understanding of several farming techniques.

Students then used this understanding to build a farming biome which could be developed on Mars. Each students' biome would have had a working relationship with the biomes surrounding it, to ensure that their biome was sustainable and continued to produce their product year round.

What the students produced was not only informative, but accurate. It is reassuring to think that if we ever did need to move to Mars, we could potentially have some brains from Joondalup leading the way.

I wish to thank all my students for the hard work they put in to making the performance so very good on Friday 3 December at Lakeside Joondalup Shopping Centre. A big thank you to Mrs Zulyani Samini and Ms Bev Shaw who helped me on that day.

The students performed two Indonesian dances and played the angklung. The Year 3, 4, 5 and 6 musicians played Hark the Herald Angels Sing, Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, Joy to the World and Silent Night. The Year 5 and 6 dancers performed a traditional dance of West Java. The Year 4 boys performed an Indonesian bamboo dance. At the end of the show the angklung players sang ‘Selamat Hari Natal’ or We wish you a Merry Christmas. The show was part of the Christmas Celebration activities. Many shoppers applauded the Joondalup Primary School students.

Well done, my students.

Seven students from Joondalup Primary School participated in the Indonesian Language Competition this year.

Georgie and Kyran took part in the NAILA (National Australia Indonesia Language Award) speech competition. Milly, Alice and Kyra took part in the WILTA (Westralian Indonesian Language Teachers’ Association) video competition.

Ben and Ronnie took part in the 2021 Side by Side languages competition run by the Modern Languages Teachers' Association.

All students received certificates of participation. Well done to all those who took part!

Ibu Mulyana

Indonesian Teacher

On Friday 3 December a select group of Year 6 students played a good spirited game of basketball against some of the staff.

The Year 6 students had the opportunity to try out during the term, with a team of 13 being selected to represent the students. The students chosen, trained every Wednesday during lunch time, honing their basketball skills in the lead up to the big game.

Once the big day came round there was a lot of competitive energy being shared between students and teachers. After the tip off it was all engines firing. The staff started off to a flier, scoring baskets with ease. However, as the game progressed, age caught up to the teachers and they began to fatigue. The students used all of what they had developed over the previous weeks, and passed the ball exceptionally well. This led to them narrowing the margin very quickly.

After a few big last minute scores by the students, they were able to pull away from the teachers and win in a nail biter. The final score stood at, 23-24.

Both teams played very well and it was a lot of fun. Credit to all that participated by showing such good sportsmanship and courage for stepping outside of their comfort zones.

Teachers, time to start training for next year!

Wanjoo to Summer. The Noongar Season ‘Birak’ is represented by the colour red as it symbolises heat, sun and fire.

During Birak season the rain eases and the warm weather really starts to take hold. The afternoons are cooled by the sea breezes from the south west.

Traditionally this was the fire season. An almost clockwork style of easterly winds in the morning and sea breezes in the afternoon meant that this was burning time of the year for Noongar people and they would burn the country in mosaic patterns.

There are several reasons for this, including fuel reduction, increasing the grazing pastures for animals, to aid seed germination and to make it easier to move across the country.

There are many fledglings venturing out of nests in Birak, though some are still staying close to their parents such as magpies and parrots. Reptiles will also be shedding their old skin for a new one.

With the rising temperatures and the decreasing rainfall, it's also a time for the baby frogs to complete their transformation into adulthood.

After School Garden Club

We have had a great year in our after school garden club. Thank you to all those who attended including students, parents, grandparents and our wonderful staff helpers. You have all been dedicated, hardworking and joyful about the wonders of vegetable gardening, worm farming and composting. Check out the photos.

Recycling and Reuse Hub

Our recycling bins have arrived and will be formally launched after the signs have been made. This initiative is such an important one in Sustainable practices as it highlights to our students just how much we need to RETHINK what we buy and use. Could you use a refillable coffee pod instead of the thousands that we send to be recycled each term? This year we have sent 18 284 items to be recycled. Can you imagine what our schools is possible of doing when our new system rolls out? Our partner in this mission is Terracycle Australia.  In some of our sustainability classes we have reused the thousands of coffee pods for our Christmas Wreaths and are well on our way to finishing our bottle top mural, called Plastic Free in the Sea.

Finally, an enormous thankyou to all those wonderful students, staff and parents who have supported Sustainability its vision for the future and myself this year. It has been humbling and rewarding learning and sharing together to make a difference to our Earth and everything that relies on it. YOU ARE THE FUTURE!

Happy gardening and sustainable thinking,

Sandra Bennett – Science/Sustainability Teacher (JESC). Sustainability Coordinator (Joondalup Schools)

Joondalup Schools P&C now have their own website. Please log on and sign up to receive reminders for events. You will receive one notice seven days out and one the day before. Never miss a P&C event again! https://joondalupschoolspandc.org.au