Alkimos Primary School eNewsletter

Dear Alkimos PS Families

Welcome to the second half of the term. It’s hard to believe that we are already at this point. In recent times, our school has been a very busy place, with many exciting activities taking place. Last week, the Two-way Science lessons were a huge success. Miss Sutton and Ms Birchall have introduced this to Alkimos, where the foundation of these lessons is Learning On-Country, using our local natural environment to teach Aboriginal heritage through Science. It was fantastic to see so many family helpers during the lessons- what an excellent response! There is more on this later in the newsletter about Two-way Science.

In keeping with the theme of learning about and looking after our community, many classes could be seen last week venturing out with gloves and rubbish bags, making sure our school were contributing to Clean-up Australia Day. I am delighted that our students support this important cause. Miss Castleden is our staff champion, driving our sustainability and environmental education, and is doing a brilliant job of it too.

I’d like to thank families that could make it in here for Mrs Chaloner’s farewell assembly. Your kind words and sentiments really touched Mrs Chaloner, and the lovely assembly reflected the regard in which Mrs Chaloner will always be held here, being our foundation Associate Principal and pivotal to the school’s success. We wish Mrs Chaloner every success in her new role of Principal at Clarkson PS.

Social Media This week, families of Year 6 students would have a received a message from Mrs MacLean, explaining that we’ve been talking to this group about the latest social media issue that arisen, even though this took place out of school. I’d really appreciate you reinforcing this discussion at home, emphasising the negative consequences that inevitably arise when social is used inappropriately.

Your Move @ Alkimos PS Our school has signed on to be a part of Your Move in 2023. Your Move is an exciting free program that provides information and support to help schools and communities find more active, healthy ways to get around. Your Move works with individuals, schools and workplaces to find ways to spend less time in the car and more time doing the things you really enjoy. There are many aspects and activities to Your Move that are being planned, including the National Walk Safely to School Day on 19 May- watch out for more information about this, to be sent home on Connect. Mrs Leeming is our enthusiastic leader of Your Move, so let’s all support this excellent initiative.

Parking Exploring and encouraging more people to walk or find another way to school is positive for so many reasons- for example, it’s better for our health and our environment. An overlooked reason is the safety aspect- more walking and bikes means less cars being parked. Last week, it was disappointing to see several cars double-parked (that is, blocking others already there), and parking on pathways and paved areas, in particular on Benenden Avenue. Can I please remind everyone that safety and courtesy when parking is essential, and makes our community are far happier place.

Alkimos PS School Board

Alkimos PS is very fortunate to enjoy the support of a proactive and engaged School Board. The Board will meet for the first time in 2023 this Monday evening, to discuss a range of matters, including a review of the school budget. This year, the Board currently comprises of these members:

Chair:

Simon Cox

Parent and Community Representatives:

Bianca Marson-Whait, Karen Nociti, Mel Ravat, Jackie Snart

Staff Representatives:

Tom Bagnall, Susanne Cochrane, Andy Gorton, Sara Sparks

P.& C. Association It was terrific to see such a strong turn-out at last night’s P. & C. AGM. On behalf of the school community, I thank the outgoing office bearers for their hard work in making 2002 such a success for the Association, and I welcome this year’s Executive:

President:

Nicole Page

Vice President:

Tracy Davies

Secretary:

Kendall Singleton

Treasurer:

Jade Laxon

Executive Committee:

Kerry Bell, Alta de Jager, Ashley Gilson, Michelle Hoen, Scott Lewis

Assembly Another great assembly for our school community is scheduled for tomorrow, when the shining lights in CR 6 and CR 8 host this event. I know that the theme connects to on-line safety; a very timely topic given my earlier message about social media issues in Year 6. As always, I look forward to seeing you there.

Staff Celebrations On behalf of our school community, I wish Miss Tegan Letcher, and her partner Ian, the very best as she finishes with us tomorrow, in preparation for the exciting arrival of her first child. We look forward to meeting your new family member soon Tegan!

Next Monday, we welcome the return of Mrs Marsha Rowley, having taken time away for her wedding. Congratulations Marsha and to your husband Ben; we hope there are many happy and wonderful years ahead.

Regards,

Andy Gorton

PRINCIPAL

Dear Families,

As we move through the term, id like to highlight 8 March 2023, this being International Women’s Day. I have been thinking of inspiration Women in my life past and present old and young. I hope that you can take the time to mention to those you have in your life, what great women they are and how they have an impact on your life.

Voluntary Contributions 2023

Thank you to all those families who have paid their voluntary contributions, you will note that a statement of account will be coming home this week. I would like to advise that this is department policy, and we understand that they are voluntary.

I understand many in our community face financial hardship and with the cost of living increasing, school payments are unachievable. With this in mind, we have made some decisions that will help our community. You will note from the Schedule of Contributions and Charges previously issued, that there is a significant change.

All incursions for 2023 will be funded by the school, this will ensure that all students will have the opportunity to attend.

Our hardworking P & C have been asked to fund the buses for sporting excursions, so there will be no cost to our students. I thank Mr Wulf for being conservative with his budget and funding these for 2022.

We have taken out exercise books from the 2023 personal items list (booklists) these will also be provided for your child at a cost to the school.

We feel that these small changes will help our families, and although Department of Education policy states that schools will send home statements of unpaid billing items, I would like to advise that the $30 contribution is Voluntary and can always be paid in a number of ways.

In cash, in person or over the phone via EFT

By direct transfer to our bank account BSB 066 058 A/C 1029 3855 Stating your child’s name and Voluntary Contribution as the reference.

Brekkie Club

Last Friday we had 20 students at brekkie club. Remember to remind your child if they would like to come. We’d love to see students come to the art room for 07:40 for a scrummy breakfast of toast, beans, spaghetti, and fruit. Please ask your child to enter via gate 1.

School parking and dropping off

Again, we have had an accident in our car park with the bollard being damaged today. Can I please remind you all to continue to turn left when entering the car park. We have had 3 accidents since school started where the bollards have been hit – causing extensive damage to card and the bollards. These are raised for the safety of our students walking into school on the car park crossing. This area is not for student drop off at any time of day. We will continue to have the bollards up during the day. We are looking at ways to mark the pavements to encourage students to walk the safer way into school after using the crossing, this will mean that parents will need to use caution when driving in and out of the car park.

Lastly, if you need any assistance with connect, or any other issues please feel free to contact us in the office, we are always happy to help.

Kind regards

Sara Sparks

Manager Corporate Services

It is hard to believe that we are already over half-way through the term! It is flying by and it has been fantastic to see all the amazing work going on around the school. Our Student Leaders have been hard at work planning a community project that they will be working on with the City of Wanneroo, and our Faction Captains will soon be chosen too!

NAPLAN Online – Years 3 and 5

Next week, our Year 3 and Year 5 students will begin NAPLAN testing. This takes place over a 9-day period, which begins on Wednesday morning. During this time, we ask that if you are moving through the school to drop off or collect students during the day that you bear this in mind as classes may be taking part in assessments. Your child’s classroom teacher would have notified you of the times they will sit tests through their weekly Connect messages.

As mentioned previously, these assessments give us an overview of areas of need within our school, but do not override the in-class assessments which give us a more up to date understanding of where your child is at.

Results for NAPLAN testing will be received later in the year (usually Term 3) and will be distributed to families once we receive them; if you have any questions or concerns about your child’s progress in the meantime, please feel free to make an appointment with their teacher.

More information on NAPLAN Online testing can be found at: https://www.nap.edu.au/naplan/faqs

Graduation Shirts – Year 6

This year, we have chosen to try and design our own Graduation Shirt for the Year 6 students. With our first ever cohort of students graduating this year (having been with us since Kindy in 2016), some of these students contributed to the design. This has been sent off for a digital version to be created and we look forward to sharing it with everyone soon.

The artwork that was incorporated into our design was made by Hamsattou, Imogene, Eliah, Brennan, Lily and Nala; with a special mention going to Nala and Eliah for putting everything together.

Social Media and Cyber issues

This week, all Year 6 students have been spoken to about a number of social media issues. Whilst this is especially relevant to the Year 6’s now, we feel that it is a good opportunity to remind the community and families of other year levels about the issues that can arise.

Many students will have access to social media and messaging services at home, and will come across instances of inappropriate language, hurtful comments or threats. As part of Digital Technology lessons, students are encouraged to block, report and tell a trusted adult if they come across issues like this.

Another port of call that is extremely helpful, both for students and for families, is the office of the eSafety commissioner. This website contains a huge amount of information for families and students, and helps people identify what to do in the case of cyber problems.

More information can be found at: https://www.esafety.gov.au/

Regards,

Tom Bagnall

Associate Principal

We’ve had another great couple of weeks at our fantastic school!

Work Placements

This semester, Pre-Service Teachers from ECU will be undertaking their professional practice in some of our classrooms. We also have some training Education Assistants and high school students joining us for their work placements. Please speak to your child’s classroom teacher if you have any questions.

Numero!

At our Curriculum Meeting in Week 4, staff were introduced to an educational maths game known as Numero! The session certainly got our brains ticking on a Wednesday afternoon, and it was very clear to see which staff members have a competitive streak!

“Numero is more than just a card game. It is an invaluable resource for maths educators. Numero has been designed for use by students of all ages, and assists in developing understanding of numeracy concepts and problem-solving skills. A focused Numero program can significantly boost children's mental maths abilities, help improve achievement in mental computation testing, and encourage tactical thinking and thinking 'outside the box'.”

A huge thank you to our Maths Curriculum Leader, Miss Robinson for organising the afternoon and purchasing some Numero cards for the school. We can’t wait to get our students (and staff) playing!

Many Thanks,

Pip Ramsden
Associate Principal

Dear Parents / Carers

Last night I had the great pleasure of going to ‘The Piano Guys’ concert. I went knowing I would have a lovely evening listening to inspiring music but was not prepared for the uplifting (and often humorous) stories the artists told around the songs and, their purpose as musicians. The absolute joy on their faces as they performed was infectious and you could tell the audience was deeply moved by their passion to share their music.

I wanted to share with you one particular story that was shared with us. It was about continuing to fight when things are not going well or as Steve Nelson (cellist) said ‘things are a hot mess’. To bounce back, and to do this with grace. He told the story of his dad who he called his hero, and how he nursed his mum through a long illness. After she passed away, his dad remarried to a woman Steve called his ‘bonus mum’. Unfortunately she also became unwell and he again nursed her with grace and love during her illness and passing. As he said, it would have been so easy for his Dad to give up, be angry and bitter at what life had dealt to them, but he didn’t. He showed love and grace and continued to get up each day and ‘fight’ on.

This idea of resilience and responding with ‘grace’ is such an important skill for us all however we know at times it is really hard to do. Children who are resilient can recover from setbacks and get back to living their lives more quickly. And when children overcome setbacks and problems, it builds their confidence and helps them feel more capable the next time a problem comes up.

This story from The Piano Guys was the inspiration for their mashup version of Rachel Platten’s “Fight Song” and the beautiful “Amazing Grace”.

Here is a link if you’d like to watch the video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOO5qRjVFLw

Building Resilience

Focus on autonomy and responsibility

Autonomy and responsibility play an important role in building children’s resilience. You can encourage your children to take on responsibilities and develop a sense of autonomy.

It’s important to remember that as parents, it’s natural for us to want to protect our children from negative experiences, but it’s important not to shield them completely from life’s challenges. Working through difficulties and problems – with adult support as required – will give your child a chance to learn about themselves, develop resilience, and grow as a person.

Here are some ways you can build your child’s resilience:

Support your child but try not to solve every minor problem or disappointment. For example, if your child doesn’t get invited to a birthday party or didn’t get what they want for their birthday, you could talk about how they feel instead of trying to fix the problem.
Avoid predicting and preventing problems for your child. This might mean letting your child hand in homework that’s wrong or not replacing a broken toy. Overcoming small challenges builds your child’s resilience for bigger setbacks.
Help your child to identify and manage strong emotions
Encourage your child to have another go when things don’t work out the first time they try something. Praise your child for trying, no matter the result. You could say ‘I’m proud of you for finishing the race’ or ‘Well done for giving it another go’.
Build your child’s self-compassion. Self-compassion helps your child deal with disappointment, failures or mistakes by being kind to themselves. In turn, this helps them to move on from difficult experiences.
Make it a habit to recognise and acknowledge when things are going well. For example, during family meals you could each share one positive thing from your day.
Help your child to develop problem-solving skills in an age-appropriate way. For example, if a child at school says or does something unkind to your child, brainstorm how your child might respond next time.
Find a positive role model who has experienced similar challenges to your child. For example, your child might find support in an older friend whose parents have separated or who has lost a family member.
Taken from: https://raisingchildren.net.au/school-age/behaviour

Kirstin MacLean

Associate Principal

Hi Everyone

We are over halfway into term 1 and it is good to see students coping well with the changes the new year brings.

Part of the role of a chaplain is to make the community aware of some great resources that are helpful in challenging situations. There are various agencies that provide great services to the community that are easy to access and most of the time they are FREE.

I would like to let you know about the following:

FREE INFORMATION SESSIONS | Services Australia are running a series of information sessions about the services available to all Australians, starting with your Centrelink service.

Discover how Services Australia can support you with financial, community and family information.

10.30am, Wednesday 8, 22 March and 5 April at Clarkson Library.
RSVP ? CentrelinkInfoClarksonLibrary.eventbrite.com.au

1pm, Wednesday 8, 22 March and 5 April at Yanchep/Two Rocks Library.
RSVP ? CentrelinkInfoYanchepLibrary.eventbrite.com.au

Please let the office or the chaplain know if you are looking for a service in a particular area as we have a list of great resources that covers many fields of assistance. We can give you the necessary information or ways to access the services.

We would love your feedback on any services that you might have made use of.

Take Care,

Marche Smith

School Chaplain

Beacon: the cyber safety app for every parent and carer

Telethon Kids Institute is proud to deliver Beacon - a cyber safety educational app designed to keep parents and carers up-to-date with trusted, tailored information, to help keep their kids safe online.

Beacon is designed specifically for parents as a personalised, one-stop-shop for reliable information about the online world. It arms parents and carers with the knowledge they need to confidently help navigate their children’s digital behaviour and reduce harms we know are associated with being online and on screens.

The Beacon app integrates seamlessly into parents’ daily lives, delivering the most trusted and up-to-date information backed by behavioural science research, as well as personalised support, ideas and strategies at their fingertips to navigate the ever-changing online world.

The Beacon Digital Citizenship Framework outlines all the evidence-based topics found in the Beacon app (in the BROWSE tab menu) including information for each age group - pre-schoolers, young children, early adolescents and teenagers:

App and devicesprovides reviews of popular games, social media and chatting apps
Digital parentingsuch as managing screen time, online safety basics and role modelling
Relationshipssuch as cyberbullying, dating and social connections
Health and wellbeingsuch as mental health, body images and online/offline balance
Learning and educationsuch as school and technology, developmental needs and media literacy
Privacy and securitysuch as setting parental controls on devices, apps and consoles, digital footprint and cyber security
Online safetysuch as pornography, grooming and hard-to-have conversations

Safe and appropriate use of Social Media has been a topic of discussion with our older students this week but we know it is important to teach online safety to students from an early age. Below are some useful online safety resources to help guide you when discussing this at home with your child. (from BPS Digitech)

YouTube Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_h2Okywzin0

Kind regards,

Renee Rees

School Psychologist

The P&C are happy to announce that during the 2022 year, we were able to raise a total of $17,980.50 from the fundraising events we held. Part of the money raised was used towards funding the Bumblebees program run during term 4 and a donation to the year 6 graduation lunch. The remainder of the money has been put aside to fund sunshades for the new play area currently being planned.

Last night, our 2023 Annual General Meeting was held, and it was fantastic to see so many new faces come along and join our P&C. At the top of the meeting all office bearer positions were made vacant and nominations were called to fill them. Please join us in welcoming your P&C office bearers for 2023:

President – Nicole Page

Vice President – Tracy Davies

Secretary – Kendall Burnham

Treasurer – Jade Laxon

Executive Members – Scott Lewis, Kerry Bell, Alta de Jager, Michelle Hoen & Ashley Gilson

During the meeting the schools ‘wish list’ for 2023 was discussed, and we can now let you know some of the items we will be fundraising for this year:

The 2023 Bumblebees program which will be running from term 2.
The buses for taking our students to out of school sporting events during the year, and this was also extended to our school choir events.
Donation to the year 6 graduation lunch
Further funding towards the sunshades for the new play area if required

We are looking forward to bringing you a great year of events.

Icy Pole days –our Icy Pole days were held during week 3 and as always they were a hit, so much so that we sold out. Thank you to all students who came and grabbed one, with your support we raised $529.33. Term 4 will see them back again.

Subway lunch – Thank you to Subway Butler for providing our staff and students with their Subway orders last week. We kept them busy with 386 subs, wraps & salad bowls ordered. A total of $763.10 was raised from the sales.

Movie night – unfortunately we have had to postpone the Movie night we were planning due to having to check further on guidelines surrounding food trucks and the type of screen we can use. We are hoping to bring this back later in the year once we have been able to get the required approvals.

Easter raffle – planning is well underway for our annual Easter raffle with hamper donations starting to come in. Raffle tickets will go on sale in week 9, with prizes being drawn on Thurs 6 April at the Easter Hat Parade. If anyone would like to make a donation towards our raffle prizes, these can be dropped off to the front office any time prior to Tues 4 April.

Easter colouring competition – the P&C has decided to do a colouring competition this year with prizes for each year level. More details about this will be sent out soon via our Facebook page and connect message

Kind regards,
Alkimos Primary School P&C

This year we are implementing Two-Way Science in our languages and science programs. The foundation of Two-Way Science is learning on Country. Learning on Country involves Aboriginal people teaching cultural knowledge of country to students outside the classroom. We have a number of protected areas of bushland that neighbour our school. By taking students out on Country they will be able to connect with the land, plants and animals that live locally in our community. We observed how the land has changed, different temperatures associated with Boonaroo season, local flora and fauna. Student observations will link directly with what they are learning in science and Noongar language. Thank you to all the parent volunteers who helped to make this experience possible. We hope to go out in 3 different Noongar seasons this year and the other 3 Noongar seasons next year.

Kind regards,

Mrs Birchall and Mrs Sutton

Specialist Languages and Science Teachers

On Friday the 3^rd our school participated in Clean Up Australia Day. Every class cleaned up rubbish in a section of the school with the senior classes walking around the outside of the school as well. It was great to see so many students excited about keeping our country and community clean. There was lots of important discussion on why we need to put rubbish in the bin and use less packaging and go waste-free where possible.

Next week our Booja-k Karadiny (Caring for Country) students will begin our Waste-Free Fridays. This is where we count how many students bring a lunch with no packaging or rubbish in it. Students that bring a waste-free lunch go in the draw to win some fantastic prizes! We hope you can support our goal of 100 waste-free lunches on Fridays.

Thank you for keeping Alkimos Primary School beautiful!

Lisa Castleden

Classroom Teacher

Clubs have begun once again at Alkimos Primary School! Monday at lunchtime, students have had the opportunity to select from a Games and Construction Club or Mindful Colouring Club. Running Club is back again on Thursday before school and Dance Club is on offer Thursday afternoons. Brekky Club is back, but this year will be run on Friday mornings. Our students have really enjoyed participating in these different options this term and we look forward to being able to offer even more over the year.

Kind regards,

Mrs Renae Pace

Classroom Teacher

Attendance – Every student matters, every moment counts!

At Alkimos we know that regular attendance at school is fundamental to student learning. Every day counts; any absence from school has the potential to adversely impact student outcomes.

Consistent attendance and engaged participation are powerfully linked to success in education. We want your child to achieve their very best and feel safe and included. Developing a habit of going to school every day is vitally important so your child does not miss out on important ideas and skills they need for future learning. If your child is absent, please let the class teacher or school office know the reason why they have been away from school as soon as possible. Thank you to those who are notifying the school regarding their child’s absences in a timely manner. You can do this via email, phone call, note in their diary, letter to the teacher or using the absentee tab on the school website

Students who attend school less than 90% are considered ‘at risk’ by the Education Department and staff will notify you of this and work with you to help restore regular attendance.

In accordance with the Education Department Attendance Policy and the School Education Act 1999;

The principal will:

request a reason for a student’s absence be provided to the principal’s satisfaction;
where a student’s attendance is below 90% or is identified as a concern:

investigate the reasons for the student’s absence;
organise a parent/teacher meeting and/or case conference at the earliest opportunity to identify issues concerning the student’s absence; plan improvement strategies; and
include identified attendance improvement strategies in a documented plan.

Guidance

The School Education Act 1999 requires that an explanation of a student’s absence is provided within three school days from the start of the absence.
Principals should request a medical certificate for prolonged absences that are due to sickness or injury.

Are you able to volunteer some of your time to assist with Reading?

The aim of the Support a Reader Program is to give children who need additional assistance with their reading the opportunity to read regularly with a supportive adult on a one-to-one basis.

We would like to invite parent volunteers to be involved in this very valuable program next term. A commitment of one hour per week would be required. The program is ongoing and will run for the remainder of the year. Full training will be given prior to the commencement of the program.

Please see Mrs Cottam (ECE1) or the front office to register your interest.

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Term 1

Wednesday 1st February — Thursday 6th April

(holidays Friday 7th April – Sunday 23rd April)

Term 2

Monday 24th April— Friday 30th June

(holidays Saturday 1st July – Sunday 16th July)

Term 3

Monday 17th July—Friday 22nd September

(holidays Saturday 23rd Sept – Sunday 8th October)

Term 4

Monday 9th October— Thursday 14th December

(holidays Friday 15th Dec – Wednesday 31 Jan 24)

School Development Days (Subject to Change)

Tuesday 6th June (Week 7, Term 2)

Friday 25th August (Week 6, Term 3)

Friday 17th November (Week 6, Term 4)

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