Newsletter 9th September 2020
Principal's Message
Faction Carnival
We had two wonderful carnival days – the junior carnival on Thursday and the senior carnival on Friday. The weather was perfect and the children participated beautifully, showing great sportsmanship. Thank you to Mrs Stanford for all her preparation and work leading up to and on the day. I thank all the staff too for their work preparing the students and looking after them on the day. Thank you also to the parents who came along to support the children and particularly to Leanne, Mel, Frances and Rowena who helped with the judging; the DUCKs who cooked the sausage sizzle; the P&C who organised the lunch orders; and Martine (ex-parent) who MCed the Friday carnival as she has done for a number of years. Thanks also to Charlotte, a prac student from UWA, who was Mrs Stanford’s right hand on the day. Congratulations to all the competitors and especially to Cygnet who won the shield. For more results, please see the Sports section below.
Cyber Safety
As we head toward the school holidays, it is timely to ensure you are aware of what your children are doing online. Last year Paul Litherland visited the school to run cyber safety workshops with Year 5/6 students and with parents. This is a biennial event so this year we do not have this scheduled. However, I encourage parents to visit the eSafety Commissioner’s website if you require general support regarding online safety. The website can be found at: https://www.esafety.gov.au/parents.
Building Work in the School
As you might have noticed, we have had some work happening in the onsite kindergarten. They have put in ramps for wheelchair access. They will be putting more in between the staff carpark and office over the holidays. There are a few other places that they are upgrading to meet modern standards, including the ramp next to the undercover area, some walk ways and the door into the library. We will all have to be patient and flexible while this important work is occurring.
Explaining Hand Hygiene
I came across this video clip on Facebook last night and thought it was a great way to explain the importance of hand hygiene using a little experiment or two. Take a look.
Values and Honour Awards
INTEGRITY
Being honest and standing up for what you believe is right. Doing the right thing even if it is hard.
High School Scholarships
Special congratulations to the following students who have been accepted into the 'Specialist Music Program' at Como Secondary College: Hannah, Cooper, Alex and Kyle.
A double up for Cooper and Alex who have also been accepted into the 'Specialist Emits Program' at Como Secondary College. Well done, boys!
Sports News
Faction Carnival
Wow!! What an amazing week we had, beginning on Monday with the jumps and throws, 400m events on Wednesday, the Junior carnival on Thursday and the Senior Carnival on Friday. We had many outstanding performances over the week including Leon Yr. 6 breaking the Throwing record and Harper Yr. 6 breaking the Yr. 6 Long and Triple jump records and the magnificent staff flag race team beating the parents. Great effort Staff! Well done to all students for their effort in the individual races and the team games, you were all outstanding in your attitude and displaying the True Sport values.
Thank you to the many people who helped over the week, parents Mel, Leanne, Francis and Rowena, volunteers Martine, Charlotte (UWA), the many parents who assisted with the set up and pack down, Mr Rowely for marking the oval many times, and the staff for their support and help over the week. Last, but not least, the Faction captains who worked tirelessly throughout the week to organise and lead their factions.
Banksia Bear (Junior Carnival trophy) was won by Cygnet, who then went on to win the overall shield with 2226 points, followed by Investigator 2054 points, Parmelia 1869 points and Endeavour 1770 points. Cygnet broke Investigator’s 8 year winning streak. Congratulations, Cygnet.
The Best Organised faction was won by Endeavour with team captains Laila and Jacob doing a fantastic job with their team on both days.
Cygnet and Parmelia tied for the Tug of War trophy. The competition was held over the 2 days.
Congratulations to our individual Medallion winners. Below is a group photo of medallion winners:
Year 3 Champions: Charlotte and James.
Year 3 Runner Up: Sarah A and Harper.
Year 4 Champions: Ava F and Zakaria
Year 4 Runner Up: Mackenzi and Lawson.
Year 5 Champions: Isla and Kieran.
Year 5 Runner Up: Ava R, Marcus and Ethan S
Year 6 Champions: Beau and Harper
Year 6 Runner Up: Hannah R and Ryan.
Inter School Athletics
The Inter school team will be chosen based on performances in the Faction Carnival. We compete next week on Tuesday and Thursday.
Running Club
Running Club continues on Tuesday and Friday mornings on the oval from 8.00am – 8.30am. Come along for a great way to start the day. Our final run for the term will be on Tuesday September 22 when we will have a short run and breakfast.
Summer Sport registrations are now open so check out our local club's web sites and sign up.
School Nurse News
National Asthma Awareness Week 1–7 September 2020
With the changing of seasons from winter to spring coinciding with National Asthma Awareness Week (1-7 September 2020), this is a reminder that children and adults with hay fever (allergic rhinitis) and/or asthma should be using proven allergy and asthma treatments regularly and correctly. Airborne pollen increases from September to December in most regions, which can result in more hay fever and asthma symptoms.
Regular and correct treatment of hay fever and asthma is more important than ever in 2020, to avoid symptoms being mistaken for respiratory infections, including COVID-19, and to reduce sneezing and coughing which have the potential to spread infections.
Hay fever affects around one in five people in Australia and New Zealand. Symptoms include:
- Runny, itchy, congested nose.
- Irritable, itchy, watery and red eyes.
- Sneezing and coughing.
- Itchy ears, throat and palate.
Treating hay fever regularly and correctly is important for the following reasons:
- To maintain good general health and prevent complications due to hay fever, including sinusitis.
- To reduce adverse effects from hay fever, including tiredness due to poor sleep quality, impaired learning and reduced productivity.
- To improve asthma control if you have asthma and hay fever.
- To reduce sneezing and coughing due to hay fever, which can spread respiratory infections, such as colds, influenza or COVID-19.
Regards,
Nyria.
School Board
The next Board meeting will be held at 5:30pm in the staffroom on Monday 14th September. The Board will be reviewing the feedback obtained through the biennial National School Satisfaction Survey as well as ways of promoting the school and improving communication. The next open (public) School Board meeting will be early in Term 4 (26th October) where you will also be able to view the Art Exhibition.
P & C News
P & C Bookfair - Volunteers needed
As part of 2020 Book Week celebrations, the P&C are organising a Book Fair again to help the library stock up on new books.
The Book Fair starts on the first day of next term and continues for three days on Tuesday 13th, Wednesday 14th and Thursday 15th October. It will be open before and after school in the library. Hundreds of fiction and non-fiction titles will be supplied by Child Education Services (childrens bookshop in East Perth) and each book sold will earn a credit for the library to spend on books. The more books we sell, the more books the library gets!
If you or your child would like to purchase a book to donate to the library you are welcome to make a selection during the Book Fair. All books donated during the Book Fair will have an acknowledgement label recognising the donor placed at the front of the book. Your child will then have the option to be the first student to borrow the book if they wish.
As always, to make these events a success, some volunteer help is required. One person is needed for each morning and afternoon session for approximately one hour . If you would like to volunteer for one or two sessions please contact me at hennys@iinet.net.au .
Susan Henwood
Lego Masters Winners
Congratulaions to the following Lego Champions! Please see the P & C Facebook page for further information.
Group 1 KP – K1 - Theodore - Baddies Treehouse Hideout
Group 2 Year 1/2 – R5 - Max
Group 3 Year 3/4 –R10 - Chelsea - Diamond Hairdo
Group 4 – Year 5/6 – S1 - Matilda - OMG Band
Group 5 Adult/Family – Jarlett Family
Bonus Prize 1 – Tallest Building – Hill Family – 3.33m
Bonus Prize 1 – Tallest Building - Kids – R8 - David - 1.9m
Bonus Prize 2 – Best Scene (Kids) – R4 – Isabel
Healthy Lunch Box Choices
Kindergarten orientation video for parents to support healthy lunch box choices
The Western Australian School Canteen Association’s (WASCA) kindergarten orientation video is available to help parents to make healthy lunchbox choices for their children.
Community News
WATKINS SOUTHSIDE SWIMMING
Watkins Southside Swimming runs Swimming Lessons and Squads at the Wesley Pool. Lessons are available from 4 years of age and we run up to squad training level that operates year round.
Enrolments are now open for Term 4 2020 and January Vacation 2021. For more information visit the website www.watkinssouthsideswimming.com.au or phone 0407 564370.
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