Alkimos Primary School eNewsletter

How quickly this term is flying by! With only 4 weeks to go, teachers are busy completing assessments ready for Semester One reports, and students are starting to wrap up topics. We are also finally at the end of our swimming lessons for 2025, and these have been overwhelming positive – even though it has completely exhausted students and teacher! We have put in preferences to take part in swimming lessons again in 2025 and will provide an update when we know if these will be offered to us.

On Monday we will also mark walk / ride to school day (hopefully the weather holds off for us). On this day, we encourage students and families to walk or ride, or if this is not possible, park slightly further away so that the last part of the journey can be on foot. Some of our student leaders will be around in the morning to hand out faction tokens / some stickers for those that walked or rode!

Thank you to those families that made it to Mr Gorton’s farewell last week; whilst very emotional, he appreciated the kind words that were shared with him on the day and will be back to visit in the future!

New Playground

Work is still ongoing with planning for our playground, with this now being progressed to the Department of Education’s project management team. The process can be quite long winded, but we expect to start seeing some movement on this (and hopefully some installation work) occurring in Term 4. Whilst we have seen some designs and got some feedback from students, the final designs may change when the process goes out to tender. When a final design is in place, we will share this with everyone, so watch this space!

We are also looking at adding some extra elements into our Early Childhood Playground, and once we have a bit more of an idea of what will come first, we’ll share these in a future newsletter.

Behaviour

Recently, we have been having conversations with our older students around some of the behaviour we are seeing at school, particularly around respect, following instructions and arguing / back chatting with staff when they disagree with something. Sometimes these are easily resolved, however in the case of significant or repeated incidents, a member of the school leadership will call families.

If this occurs, I ask that you please support the actions taken by the school, and discuss strategies with your child to prevent this happening again. Actions may include discussions with students, loss of lunch / recess time or loss of Good Standing points for senior students.

This is a major focus for us at the moment, so I am expecting that there will be more instances in the short term where families are contacted, but this should reduce very quickly.

Good work / Sporting Achievements

Recently, one of our Year 6 students competed in a Statewide Trampolining Competition! She placed 2^nd for her division which is absolutely fantastic! Well done, Diana!

We have also had some superstar Year 1’s sharing their reading and writing skills with us lately from CR3 and ECE6! It is great when this happens as we get to see just how far they have come – well done!

Upcoming events

This term, we have a lot of events coming up; please make sure to check the SchoolZine calendar regularly for updates, but these include:

Monday 9 June - Walk / Ride to school day
Friday 13 June – P&C Crazy Hair and Socks day / CR13 and CR24 Assembly
Monday 16/Thursday 19 June – School Photos
Friday 20 June – Winter Carnival (select Year 5/6 students)
Wednesday 25 June – Year 6 Bake Sale
Friday 27 June – Year 5/6 Respect Workshop
Friday 4 July – Faction Cross Country

I hope that everyone has a great weekend, and I look forward to seeing everyone around the school over the next few weeks!

Regards,

Tom Bagnall

Acting Principal

Dear Families,

Brekkie Club

With this week being the last of swimming we are hoping to see our numbers increase. Remember brekkie club every Thursday morning 07:40am in the art room. Lashings of toast, jam, honey, vegemite and spaghetti and beans, we also have fruit and hot Milo ?

Competition Time Winners

Lily CR12

Korrine CR5

Autumn CR14

Adalyn CR12

Vouchers will be available to collect from the office

Swimming Payments

With the conclusion of In-Term swimming tomorrow, please remember that final payments are required by 6 June, unless you have already entered into a payment plan. I thank you for your co-operation with this.

Kind regards

Sara Sparks

Manager Corporate Services

Web Article

Dear families.

We are thrilled to announce that our four-week swimming program has officially ended—and what an amazing experience it has been for everyone involved! From the very first splash to the final lap, students have shown incredible enthusiasm, resilience, and growth in their swimming skills.

It’s been wonderful to see our students building confidence in the water, supporting each other, and celebrating their achievements. A huge thank you to our dedicated staff, swimming instructors, and families for their ongoing support throughout the program. We’re so proud of all our students for embracing the challenge with such positivity and determination. Well done, everyone!

We have a lot more fun things coming up this term, so watch this space.

Parents of Year 4 students, I will be communicating PEAC Testing Information in the new week or so.

As always, visitors to my office with their fantastic work, makes it all worthwhile. Well done to these students from CR24 and CR23. Lastly, CR16 amazed me with their creations of beanstalks. It was funny to watch Miss Hinds try and climb them ?

Cheers,

Mr. Chrimes
Associate Principal

Dear Families

We certainly have had a very busy few weeks since our last newsletter in our fantastic school. As well as swimming lessons and planning for Mr Gorton’s Farewell, staff have been consolidating programs and writing reports.

We have had a very wet start to June this week as we head into the Noongar season of Makuru.

Makuru is the wettest and coldest time of year, marked by clustering clouds. Traditionally, Noongar people moved inland as waterways and catchments started to fill and food sources shifted from sea to land, in particular the grazing animals such as the kangaroo or ‘yongar’. A well as a food source, animals provided people with many other things, such as animal skin cloaks and tools.

During Makuru, animals pair for the upcoming breeding season. Upon the lakes and rivers of the South West, you'll also start to see a large influx of the Black Swan or 'Mali' as they too prepare to nest and breed. Blueberry Lilies and Purple Flags adorned the landscape with blues and purples.

Fundamental Movement Skills with Alkimos College

This term, our kindergarten students have been working with some senior students from Alkimos College as part of their FMS program. Each Wednesday, students from the college come to APS and engage our students in varied activities aimed at building their fundamental movement skills.

What Are Fundamental Movement Skills?

Fundamental Movement Skills (or FMS) are the basic skills children need to move confidently and enjoy being active. These skills help build a strong foundation for playing sports, joining in games, and staying healthy.

There are three main types of FMS:

Locomotor skills – moving from one place to another, like running, jumping, hopping, and skipping.
Object control skills – using hands or feet to control objects, like throwing, catching, kicking, and striking.
Balance and stability skills – keeping the body steady, like balancing, twisting, and stretching.

At school, we help students develop these important skills through fun games, activities, and targeted lessons. These skills support physical fitness, contribute to social development and are linked to cognitive development, including co-ordination, concentration and planning! Learning FMS at a young age helps children feel more confident, stay active, and enjoy physical activity throughout their lives!

Have a lovely week.

Kind regards,

Kirstin MacLean

Associate Principal

Web Article

It has been so great to see all our students playing well in the playground, helping each other out when needed and using our Peer Mediators for support. You will have noticed that we have “Conflict Resolution” posters around our school. These have been placed in play areas to remind us of the types of strategies we can use when we have a disagreement or misunderstanding in the playground. Having these around our school to refer to will help us to continue to further develop our personal and social skills and strategies.

Hope to see you around the school soon.

Kind regards,

Melinda Papadopoff

Program Coordinator (SLP-ASD)

REFRAMING ROUTINES - HELPING OUT KIDS COOPERATE

Getting kids to follow instructions isn’t always easy. Whether it’s getting dressed in the morning or going to bed at night, routines can help things run more smoothly.

Here are some simple tips for making routines work in your home:

Stick to the Same Order
Kids feel more secure when things happen in the same order each day. For example, a morning routine might be: wake up, eat breakfast, brush teeth, get dressed, put shoes on, and pack the school bag. Repeating the same steps each day helps kids know what to expect.
Set Clear Limits
Routines help children know the rules—like when it’s time for bed or when screen time ends. Being consistent helps children feel safe and understand what’s expected.
Give Clear Instructions
Some kids do well with simple reminders, while others may need pictures or a checklist they can tick off. Choose what works best for your child.
Support According to Age and Needs
Little ones might need more help, while older children might just need a reminder. Children with additional needs may need routines that are adapted just for them.
Praise Their Efforts
Notice and celebrate when your child follows the routine. A simple "thank you" or a favourite breakfast can go a long way in encouraging them.

With patience and practice, routines can make daily life easier and help children feel more confident and cooperative!

For more ideas on using routines or helping children cooperate, you might like to check out one of the online parenting programs. If you have children aged 12 and under, Triple P Online can help. For new parents, Triple P Online for Baby has practical advice on navigating your baby’s first year. For teens, you could try Teen Triple P Online. For parents and carers of children with disability, you might be interested in Stepping Stones Triple P Online.

Renee Rees

School Psychologist

Mrs Marche Smith

At Alkimos Primary School, our chaplain, Mrs Smith, plays a special and important role in supporting the wellbeing of our whole school community. Mrs Smith is someone students, families, and staff can talk to, share with, and turn to for support, encouragement, and care. She helps create a kind and welcoming environment where everyone feels safe and respected. Marche is an integral part of our student services and wellbeing team, her strong local community connections continue to increase opportunities for local services to support a range of initiatives within the school.

Whether it's through listening, offering a friendly chat, helping with emotional challenges, or just being there when someone needs a hand, the chaplain is a trusted person in our school.

Mrs Smith also helps us learn about and live out important values like:

Care – taking the time to look out for others and making sure everyone feels valued.
Respect – treating all people fairly and kindly, no matter their background or beliefs.
Compassion – understanding how others feel and offering support with a kind heart.
Service – helping others and making a positive difference in our school and wider community.

You might see our chaplain joining in with classroom activities, lunchtime games, school events, or facilitating various programs and activities. Most of all, the chaplain is here to care, listen, support, and walk alongside every student on their journey through primary school, helping them feel connected, valued, and ready to learn.

What the Chaplain Does Not Do

It’s important to know that while the chaplain is a caring and trusted support person.

They do not:

Provide professional counselling
Offer specialist mental health, psychological, or allied health services

These services are delivered by qualified professionals outside the chaplaincy program.

How Does the Chaplaincy Service work at Alkimos PS?

At Alkimos, the school chaplaincy service provides wellbeing support to students identified by teachers as experiencing concerns at school. This service offers a safe and supportive space where students can connect and talk openly, however, it is important to note that chaplaincy sessions are not formal counselling or therapy. Instead, they are designed to provide short-term pastoral care within the school setting.

Referrals to the chaplaincy service are made by the classroom teacher. Student engagement with the chaplain is reviewed every 6 to 8 weeks, and ongoing support may be offered on a case-by-case basis. Referrals may be placed on a waitlist depending on our chaplain's current caseload.

The Student Services team regularly reviews all referrals. In some cases, based on the nature of the concerns raised, families may be encouraged to seek external therapy services. A qualified child psychologist or counsellor can offer specialised, consistent, and long-term care that goes beyond the scope of school-based support.

We work on an opt-out system at Alkimos Primary School. Please contact the school office if you have concerns about your child seeing the chaplain. This can be done by email, Alkimos.ps@education.wa.edu.au, or by contacting the school office on 9562 9800.

Mental Health Support

Psychologists help diagnose and treat mental health issues in children.

You don’t need a referral to see one, but a referral from your GP (known as a Mental health Care Plan) allows you to claim a Medicare rebate.
You can choose a psychologist or ask your GP for recommendations.
Some private health insurance policies with extras may cover part of the cost – check with your provider.

Below are details for the new ECU Health centre in Yanchep.

ECU Counselling Services (Yanchep):

ECU health centre in Yanchep offers affordable counselling sessions ranging from $10-$30
Sessions are run by students who are completing their Masters of Counselling and Psychotherapy
No referral is needed.
Communitycounselling@ecu.edu.au; 6304 7222

If you’re ever concerned for your child’s immediate mental state or wellbeing, crisis support is available through services like Kids Helpline (1800 55 1800), Lifeline (13 11 14), or your local child and adolescent mental health service. These services can provide guidance and urgent support when needed.

Good Day Everyone

Hope everyone is keeping dry!

This term we started with our first 2 groups for the In Real Life Program for all our year 5 students. It is an interactive program designed to assist students to build their friendship skills and social wellbeing. It is run in small groups of 8 (1 boys and 1 girls group) and goes for 45 minutes a week over 8 weeks.

In the first sessions we covered how friendships are going for each student, challenges students might face, and how to deal with conflict in friendship groups. The students are learning about different ways to deal with friendship issues in a healthy way.

In discussions among the students, they shared some unhealthy conflict resolution happening in their year group. Unhealthy practices they identified were gossiping, negative online group chats with individuals targeted, name calling and pre-arranged physical fights among the boys. These can all influence an individual negatively and cause mental health issues if not resolved.

The In Real Life Program teach students how to resolve conflict and friendship issues in a confident and healthy way. This takes practise and time, and students are given opportunities to role play and talk it out in their groups.

The model the In Real Life Program use have 5 steps:

Important to remember -Keep the issue only between you and the person involved

Talk it out with the person in a calm way
Two sides to the story, listen to their part of the story
The main Issue, how did the issue start?
What can we do? Things we can do differently to move forward with the friendship
Get back on track, say sorry, forgive and let it go

We want to grow our friendships and mature together so one day we will have great friendships and relationships. How important is it to have friends you can trust, who support you and have your back?

“Conflict isn’t the end of a friendship but a chance for it to GROW!”

Take Care

Marche Smith (school chaplain)

Respect: The Foundation for Growing Successful Human Beings

Dear Families,

As you look at the photo included with this newsletter, we invite you to reflect on a powerful idea:

“It’s not what we do for our children, but what we have taught them to do for themselves that will make them successful human beings.” - Ann Landers

This message is at the heart of what we strive for every day at our school. Respect isn’t just a word we mention in assemblies or display on posters; it’s something we live and breathe through our actions, our words, and the way we treat each other—students, staff, and families alike.

Why Does Respect Matter?

Respect is more than good manners or polite words. It’s the foundation for every healthy relationship and a thriving school community. When we show respect, we help everyone feel safe, valued, and ready to learn. Research shows that respectful classrooms are calmer, more focused, and more enjoyable for everyone (KidsMatter, 2018). Respect builds trust and friendship, helps us work together despite our differences (Beyond Blue, 2023), and prepares our children for life beyond school (Australian Human Rights Commission, 2022).

Keeping Respect Front and Centre

We know that respect isn’t a “one and done” lesson. It’s something we need to talk about, model, and practice every day—at school and at home. Habits of respect are built over time, through small actions: a friendly smile in the morning, patience when someone makes a mistake, listening without interrupting, and looking out for each other.

Our community is always growing and changing, with new students, families, and staff joining us each year. By continuing to focus on respect, we ensure that everyone feels welcome and understands that respect is a core value here. Even in a caring school, misunderstandings and disagreements can happen. Respect is the key to resolving these moments kindly and fairly.

Empowering Our Children

The included photo is a reminder of the bigger picture: our goal is not just to do things for our children, but to teach them how to do things for themselves. When we teach and model respect, we’re giving our children the tools they need to navigate challenges, build strong relationships, and become resilient, thoughtful, and successful members of any community.

Let’s keep these conversations going at home. Ask your children what respect looks like to them, share examples from your own lives, and celebrate those small moments when you see respect in action. Together, we can help our children grow into the best versions of themselves.

Thank you for being such an important part of our respectful school community.

Warm regards,

Alkimos Respectful Relationships Team

References:

Australian Government Department of Education. (2024). Respectful Relationships Education
Beyond Blue. (2023). Building Respectful Relationships
(2018). Respectful Classrooms
Australian Human Rights Commission. (2022). Respect: What does it mean?

Dear families,

Alkimos students have been busy in the Art room this semester, creating many beautiful pieces, as well as developing and practising their skills. We started off the year with oil pastel self-portraits - reviewing warm and cool colours, facial feature proportion, and a focus on drawing eyes for the senior students. This was a wonderful opportunity to get to know the students and their abilities.

Lately, the Year Ones and Twos have been investigating the collage artwork of Eric Carle, (author of ‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar’). Techniques used by the students included mixing primary colours to create secondary colours, using tools to create textures in painting, layering of collage materials, and creating symmetry. They experimented with shape, colour, space, and texture to create their collage butterflies.

Year Three and Four students have been undertaking the printmaking technique of embossing. They learned that embossing has been used since Ancient Egyptian times to decorate gold and silver, as well as in Medieval times to decorate leather objects. Using thin copper plates, the students created a design that incorporated a variety of lines, (E.g. curved, straight, zigzag) as well as raised and indented patterns. They then selected tools to transfer their design onto the metal. Students also looked at modern artworks from New Zealand and Argentinian artists.

Year Five and Six students have been creating one-point perspective paintings that use zentangles to simulate texture, depth, and movement. They have practised the art elements of line, texture, and space. Students have practised and utilised three different watercolour techniques - ‘wet on dry,’ ‘wet on wet’ and ‘salting’ to create different effects.

Below are photos of the finished products, as well as some ‘work in progress’ examples.

Kind regards,

Mrs Wittam, Mrs Richardson and Miss Bagnall

Exciting News: Our Composting Journey!

A huge thank you to our amazing students who have eagerly been depositing their food waste into our designated bins throughout the day. Your enthusiasm is truly inspiring! ?

We also want to extend our gratitude to the dedicated staff for following the roster and ensuring each class gets a chance to collect food scraps, break them down with shovels, and add them to our compost area. This teamwork has been fantastic!

This year, we've been accumulating compost in preparation for our Miyawaki Forest. The compost will be used to enrich our soil ahead of our planting day on August 6th. ??

In fact, the collection of food waste has significantly reduced our overall rubbish, and we are excited to continue this composting process to benefit our school. This hands-on, life skill is directly linked to science and is a wonderful way for students to learn and grow.

Thank you to everyone involved for making a positive impact on our environment and our school community!

*The photo’s show some of the Compost journey we have experienced so far. Many of our students have loved helping with the process. Dr Grey Coupland has been coming out each week to check the compost temperatures, record the number of minibeasts present, turning the compost over and more recently incorporating biochar in half of it to see if there is a more sustainable way we can develop the pocket forest planting in future.

Kind regards,

Mrs Birchall and Mrs Sutton

Last term, the enthusiastic students of CR9 took on the important task of conducting a whole school waste audit. With great teamwork, they emptied all the bins onto a tarp and sorted the rubbish into different types of waste. Each type was carefully weighed and tallied, and the results are displayed in the graph below.

The audit was conducted on a lunch order day to ensure we captured the maximum amount of potential rubbish. Thanks to the efforts of our wonderful families providing waste-free lunch boxes, Alkimos Primary School has significantly reduced its rubbish over the past 12 months.

A huge thank you to all the students involved in the project and to our supportive families. Your commitment to a cleaner, greener school is making a positive impact every day!

Kind regards,

Monica Holthaus – Judith Birchall – Amy Sutton (Sustainability committee)

A Few Weeks Full of Creativity, Celebration, and Connection

It’s been a busy and heartwarming few weeks here at Atlantis OSHC, filled with creative expression, meaningful moments and lots of hands-on fun!

To celebrate Mother’s Day, the children poured love and care into creating beautiful handmade gifts. We also enjoyed a variety of engaging activities—from slime play and small world adventures with dolls and cats, to lively karaoke sessions and imaginative construction play. A particularly special highlight was making our kindness mindfulness flowers, each one blooming with thoughtful, positive messages.

Earlier this month, we recognised International Nurses Day by creating a vibrant collage poster to show appreciation for the incredible nurses in our community. The children also explored activities like yarning sticks, plaster painting, mindful rock stacking and shadow drawing, building creativity and calm in equal measure.

In the spirit of learning and sustainability, we celebrated World Bee Day by planting seedlings for the children to take home and grow—a wonderful way to support our bees and the environment. We also explored road safety through colourful sponge art inspired by traffic lights and cars.

One of the biggest hits lately has been our new mini ‘Minecraft’-style magnetic blocks—perfect for encouraging imaginative building and problem-solving.

Our July vacation care program is out now! Contact Nicole, Service Manager to book in!

www.atlantisonline.com.au

Kind regards,

Atlantis OSHC Alkimos Team

Attendance Every Day

At Alkimos Primary we know that attending school every day enables your child to get the most from their education and create a bright future. This helps them create more opportunities for their future and leads to better health, social and work outcomes. Every day your child learns something new at school. Every day they build on what they already know, growing their knowledge and skills.

While the majority of our students miss school for legitimate reasons such as illness, we do have a concerning amount of unexplained student absences.

If you receive a letter from the school noting days of unexplained absences for your child, please complete this and return it to the class teacher or front office as soon as possible. Over the next few weeks, teaching staff will be contacting families to follow up on any remaining unexplained absences.

Reminder – if a student arrives to school after the siren at the start of the school day, they are required to go through the front office, provide a reason for being late, and collect a late note.

Thank you for assisting us with this. If you have concerns regarding your child’s attendance or would like further information about how the school can help you and our child around this, please contact your child’s teacher or one of the school leadership team in the office.

Term 1

Wednesday 5th February — Friday 11th April

(holidays Saturday 12th April – Sunday 27th April)

Term 2

Monday 28th April— Friday 4th July

(holidays Saturday 5th July – Sunday 20th July)

Term 3

Monday 21st July—Friday 26th September

(holidays Saturday 27th Sept – Sunday 12th October)

Term 4

Monday 13th October— Thursday 18th December

(holidays Friday 19th Dec – Monday 2nd February 26)

School Development Days (Subject to Change)

Friday 30th May (Week 5, Term 2)

Friday 29th August (Week 6, Term 3)

Friday 14th November (Week 5, Term 4)

Alkimos Support a Reader Program

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. Full training will be given prior to the commencement of the program.

Please see Mrs Cottam (ECE6) to register your interest or leave your details and availability with the ladies in the office.

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