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

As we progress through the term, it has been fantastic to witness the ongoing musical development of our students.

Our Pre-Primary students have been engaged in exploring various elements of music through activities that highlight musical opposites. These activities help students understand concepts such as loud and soft (dynamics), fast and slow (tempo) and high and low (pitch). For example, they participated in activities where they used scarves and a parachute to demonstrate these musical differences. They raised the parachute high and moved it quickly for loud and fast music, and lowered it gently for soft and slow music, visually representing the musical concepts of dynamics and tempo.

In the Early Primary years, the students are delving into sight-reading, focusing on rhythms and pitches of sol and mi. They recreated songs using popsicle sticks for rhythms and counters on staff sheets for pitch. Additionally, students showcase their skills by performing these songs on chime bars.

Transitioning to the Middle and Upper Primary years, the students have been immersed in soundscapes as an introduction to untuned and tuned instruments. They have been providing sound accompaniment using a variety of instruments to enhance short narratives. Think, using synthesisers to create spaceship sound effects, water manipulated in buckets for the sound of water crashing against rocks, shakers for rustling leaves and thunder tubes for the crackle of a storm.

It is great to witness the level of commitment from this year's newest and returning choir members. The students have been exploring vocal technique, vowel placement, and performing songs in canon. Additionally, they have been rehearsing solfege hand signs, sight-reading and learning songs for performance.

Mr Sutherland

Music Teacher

Both clubs have now started for the year and we have had a tremendous turnout. Running Club is on Wednesday and Friday mornings, with Sporting Club running on a Thursday. Students are still welcome to join but must submit a signed permission slip  before beginning.

Running Club Year 2-6 8:15 am-8:45 am

Sporting Club Year 3-6 8:15 am-8:45 am

Interschool Cricket

The interschool cricket boys team competed on Thursday 29 February and a huge congratulations to everyone on a great effort on the day, they all displayed excellent sporting spirit and teamwork.

We won 3 out of 4 games and finished 3^rd out of 14 teams. Throughout the day there was excellent bowling, batting and superb fielding displayed. It was a tremendous effort by all and most importantly the students enjoyed themselves.

AFL Clinic

The WAFC have been very generous in running a football clinic for two days at the school. The students engaged in all activities and enjoyed themselves. Thank you to Mitchell Gupanis the football participation officer for providing this to the school.

Joondalup Kinross are encouraging all girls and boys to play Auskick football for season 2024! Sign your child up today!

Rugby Clinic

Thank you to Rugby WA and the Western Force for supplying a 1-day clinic for some of our students. The lucky classes that were able to participate enjoyed themselves. Students are encouraged to join Joondalup Brothers Rugby Union Football Club if interested in the upcoming season.

Mr Morrey

Sport Teacher

The students in Years 4 and 5 have embarked on a creative journey exploring block printmaking with foam, drawing inspiration from the PBS birds. Each student carefully selected a bird that resonated with them, allowing them to connect with the Positive Behaviour Support program. Using foam as their medium, the students engraved each bird design with a pencil, creating detailed impressions that would later be transformed into beautiful prints. The block printmaking process allowed the students to experiment with texture, pattern, and composition, resulting in a diverse array of stunning artworks that showcase their creativity and dedication.

Our Year 6 students have drawn inspiration from Cromer's work to create stunning collages reflecting their creativity and imagination. Inspired by the renowned Australian artist Pete Cromer, our students have embarked on a creative journey to explore the vibrant world of collage art. Using a variety of paper, including ones that students painted. The students' artworks are a testament to their passion for art and dedication to exploring new artistic techniques.

We invite you to immerse yourself in the world of our students' artistic endeavours by visiting our art display in the admin office.

Mrs Thornton

Art Teacher

The Noongar season is Bunuru, the season of adolescence and the second summer and the hottest time of the year. Bunuru is also a time of the white flowers with lots of white flowering gums in full bloom, including Jarrah, Marri and Ghost Gums.

After School Garden Club     

The After School Garden Club is in full swing with many exciting things happening this term.  There are currently no places left.

Recycling Station  

Remember to keep on bringing in your items for recycling.  See the attached for what you can bring in. When dropping it in to the school please put it into the correct bin. Make sure items are not in a plastic bag and are clean. Our students diligently go through the bins in order to pack and send off for recycling and we don’t want nasty surprises for them. Our focus bin this newsletter is Coffee Pods – the need to be clean, not leaking and not in another bag. These are then packaged and sent to a local TerraCycle Material Recovery Facilities located in the same country in which the waste originates. Once sorted by category, the different material types are cleaned and then sent to third-party partners to process the materials into usable forms.

If you would like to know more about what you can do at home for recycling, go to www.terracycle.com.au

Chicken Coop

We are in the process of looking at the viability of a chicken coop here at school to close the organic waste loop. The students are very excited and will be involved in the planning. This a wonderfully exciting way to introduce students to sustainable practices and the science concepts around chickens.  

Containers for Change

Continue to bring in your Containers for Change bottles/cans (clean and LIDS removed). Place in the big blue bin near the library. Leave your ring pulls on but take your plastic lids off. Alternatively use our school ID number at a community drop off point C10339712

Did you know our blue plastic school bench near the front office was made from 15 000 600ml water bottles?

Stay tuned for our school scheme number on a key chain tag. 1 will be given to each family to make donating even easier.

New Orchard

Please enjoy these photos of some new additions to the orchard.

Happy gardening and sustainable thinking,

Sandra Bennett – Environment & Sustainability Teacher (JESC). Sustainability Coordinator (Joondalup Schools)                                     

If you have not already completed the online form for your child/ren please click on the link below.