Newsletter 11, Term 3, Week 2

FROM THE PRINCIPAL

Welcome back everyone to a very cold and wet Term 3!!  We have much ahead of us including athletics carnivals, music events, Book Fair and Open Night. You can keep yourself informed through the newsletter or the calendar that appears on our website. Open Night will be occurring on Tuesday 19th September (Week 10) from 4 – 6pm. This is a great opportunity for parents and carers to come into the school so that your child can share their wonderful learning with you. I encourage all parents to keep in touch with your child’s teacher particularly if you have any concerns about their learning.

MOBILE PHONES AND SMART WATCHES

The Department of Education does not permit student use of mobile phones/smart watches unless for medical or teacher directed educational purposes. Students from Kindergarten to Year 6 are not permitted to have mobile phones/smart watches in their possession during the school day. For this reason, ALL students are required to hand in their mobile phone/smart watch to the office prior to school commencing and to collect them after school. Any child who does not abide by this will have their phone confiscated which will then need to be collected by parents. We are aware that we have some students who are keeping their phone in their bag and not handing them in. I ask that parents reinforce with their child the importance of handing in their phone/smart watch.

MRS CLAASEN LEAVING

I wish to announce that Mrs Claasen (School Officer) will be leaving Wellard PS on Friday 11th August to take up a position at Warnbro Community High School Education Support Centre. Mrs Claasen has been at Wellard for 6 years (was the first appointed staff member after me) and is wanting to access experience in a secondary setting. There is a possibility that Mrs Claasen will return to Wellard PS at a later date. I would like to thank Marina for the wonderful contribution she has made to Wellard PS. I greatly admire her strong work ethic, attention to detail and the super organised way in which she goes about her work. On behalf of the Wellard School Community, I would sincerely like to thank her and wish her all the best in her new position.

Mrs Angela Whisson will be filling in for Mrs Claasen in her absence. Welcome Mrs Whisson!!

NEW CAR PARK

We continue to experience delays in the completion of our new car park. The completion date has now been put backwards to late August – mid September depending on weather. I do apologise for this, but it is beyond our control.

TRAFFIC WARDEN

I would like to welcome back Mike, our Traffic Warden. No one was happier to see him back than those staff who had to fill in for him during his absence. Special thanks to Mr Matrozis and Mrs Gibson for their ongoing support with this situation. Welcome back Mike!!

CONFIRMATION OF KINDERGARTEN ENROLMENTS FOR 2024

Thank you to those parents who submitted their child’s Kindergarten Application for Enrolment for 2024. We’ve had a number of parents who have taken enrolment forms and are yet to return them. It is most important these are submitted as soon as possible so that we can begin our planning for next year. When enrolment is confirmed, we will also ask parents for their preference of days. This will all be explained in the correspondence.  Please note that we will not be confirming the exact days that Kindergarten children will be attending until early Term 4. This is because we would like to organise for parents and their child/ren to visit the Kindergarten before we make any decision about grouping students. The school is very aware that parents need to attend to childcare arrangements in planning for 2024.

CONFIRMATION OF PRE-PRIMARY ENROLMENTS FOR 2024

Last term, all Kindergarten parents received a form to complete in regard to enrolling their child for Pre-primary for 2024. It is most important these forms are completed and submitted by Friday 22nd September. Please contact the office if you have any queries.

KINDERGARTEN ENROLMENTS FOR 2024

Wellard PS still has some vacancies for Kindergarten for 2024, but they are filling fast. To be eligible for enrolment, students need to be born between 1st July 2019 and 30th June 2020. When enrolling your child, you will need to come into the office and provide the following:

  • Copy of your child’s Birth Certificate
  • Up to date Immunisation Records
  • Proof of Address that you reside in our local intake area – preferably a utility bill in your name that is no older than three months.

Please note that students who live within our local intake area will be prioritised for enrolment. Our local intake area can be found within “Schools Online” on the Department of Education’s website.

VOLUNTARY CONTRIBUTIONS

Payment of Voluntary Contributions is now due. Funds raised through these contributions are used to purchase resources etc. to complement the educational programs we run throughout the school. Thank you to those families who have already paid their contributions. As a school we are always conscious of the costs we seek from parents in relation to educational activities.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kindergarten – Year 6 - $60 per child per year.

Our preferred way of payment is by using our Qkr App, please see attached PDF for details.

 School contributions can also be paid at the office or by direct deposit

Account Name: Wellard Primary School

(Please use the student’s surname as reference)

BSB: 066 040    Account Number 19901412

CHAMPIONS SOCCER CARNIVAL

This Friday 28th July, we have a number of students who will be representing Wellard Primary School at the Champions Soccer Carnival which will be held at Beale Park in Spearwood. I would like to wish them all the best and thank Mr Paparone and Mr McIntyre for spending a great deal of their own time in preparing students for this carnival. Good luck!!

INTERSCHOOL CROSS COUNTRY EVENT

Selected students from Years 3 – 6 will be participating in the Interschool Cross Country Oval at Thomas Oval, Medina on Friday 4th August. Mr Paparone has already sent home letters to those students who are participating. I wish them all the best and have no doubt they will represent Wellard PS with the highest level of pride and sportsmanship. A big thank you to Mr Paparone and Mr McIntyre for organising! Good luck everyone.

SCIENCE WEEK

We are very fortunate to have Mrs Kylea Singleton as our Science Specialist who will be organising a range of activities for Science Week which will be occurring in Week 10. (18th – 22nd September)

SCHOOL DEVELOPMENT DAY

Parents and guardians are reminded that we have a School Development Day on Monday 14th August (Week 5). Students DO NOT come to school this day as staff will be involved in professional learning.

WESTERN AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT SCHOOLS MUSIC SOCIETY

Under the guidance of Miss Ash Alden, our school choir has been preparing itself for their performance at the Mandurah Performing Arts Centre on the evening of Friday 1st September. Parents and guardians who are interested in attending can purchase tickets through the Performing Arts Centre Box Office at $28 per ticket. These went on sale as of Monday 26th June. I would like to acknowledge and thank Miss Ash Alden for preparing our school choir for this event.

USING EMAIL

A reminder to all parents, that corresponding with staff using email is a very effective strategy in communicating with the school.  All staff have email addresses making it easier to explain absences, request an interview or clarify questions about homework etc.  Please seek the email address of your child’s teacher through the front office.

DOGS NOT PERMITTED ON SCHOOL GROUNDS

Parents and guardians are reminded not to bring their dog onto school grounds (includes car park) at any time. Whilst your dog might be very friendly and affectionate, circumstances may occur where children are placed in a position of discomfort and/or danger due to the presence of your pet.

STRANGER DANGER

In light of a recent incident occurring at another school, I urge all parents to talk to your child or children about walking safely to and from school. Following are some suggestions to help your child/children stay safe.  Please ask your child to:

•      Always travel in company

•      Walk on the right hand side of the road so you face oncoming traffic

•      Wherever possible, leave space between yourself and the roadway

•      Stay in areas that are well lit

•      Stay in view – avoid going into areas that are hidden from view (such as parkland bush or behind shopping centres) and plan trips to avoid such locations

•      Be alert – earphones and headphones can reduce your awareness considerably

•      If you have a mobile phone, have it turned on and ready to dial an emergency number

•      If a passing car stops nearby never get too close

•      Do not hesitate to run from a situation in which you feel at risk

•      Provide this advice to brothers and sisters, especially if younger

•    Report suspicious behaviour to parents, school and the police, noting number plates of cars and/or clothing or distinguishing features of individuals.

Remember to call 131 444 or the local station to report an incident to police or 1800 333 000 to reach crime stoppers. Only call 000 in case of an emergency.

Kind regards

Geoff Miller

Principal

geoff.miller@education.wa.edu.au

VISUAL ARTS NOTICE

Well done to the Year 1 students for creating 4 colourful and creative canvases for display at school.

The artwork was created during Visual Arts lessons last term. Each Year 1 student contributed by either drawing, painting or printmaking on the canvases.

Each canvas represents one of our school values:

Be Respectful;

Be Responsible;

Be Resilient and

Be Kind.

They are currently on display in TB3 wet area. Families are welcome to come and look, as they are awesome! Once again, well done Year 1's!! See images on the next page.

Mrs Rochelle Protzman

Visual Arts Teacher

    

SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE

I am happy to announce that in recognition of our recent efforts to avoid and reduce waste, Wellard Primary School is now officially an Accredited WasteSorted School. The WasteSorted Schools program is administered by the Western Australian Government and provides teachers and schools with professional development, curriculum materials, support, and grants to help implement sustainable programs within the school.

WASTE FREE WEDNESDAYS

We look forward to seeing lots of waste free lunch boxes starting this Wednesday. Don’t forget, the less rubbish we produce, the better our environment will be.

SCHOOL COMMUNITY RECYCLING

A recycling station will be set up on a permanent basis outside of the science room. Whenever you have the following items, please bring them along to school and place them in the correct bins.

  • Batteries – D, C, AA, AAA, small round batteries
  • Moblie phones and accessories
  • Bottles tops – it would be great if you could rinse them first
  • Markers – whiteboard markers, permanent markers, textas, pens, highlighters

We are registered with Terracycle for the BIC recycling program. We can earn points and rewards for our school

From time to time we will also collect specialty items that a particular class may need such as empty tissue boxes, cereal boxes etc.

Wellard Primary Sustainability Committee