Rockingham Beach Primary School Aspire and Achieve Together

Term 1 Issue 2 2016

18 February 2016

30 Bay View Street, Rockingham WA 6168 * t: (08) 9527 1802 * f: (08) 9592 5488 * email rockinghambeach.ps@education.wa.edu.au website www.rockinghambeachschools.wa.edu.au

FROM THE PRINCIPAL Dear Parents and Carers, What a fantastic start to the term. I have had the pleasure of seeing some great work that children have been doing in their class. A big thank you to all the parents who have offered to help and support our school in so many different ways. Classroom helpers are always valued. Thank you to all parents and families for coming along to the ‘Meet the Teacher’ meetings this week after school. Teachers really appreciate the opportunity to meet with you and share their classroom policies and procedures. It is a great time to get your questions answered. Please keep in regular contact with your child’s teacher – communication is so important.

Many thanks to those parents who drive to pick up their children and are abiding by the guidelines for using the Kiss and Drive Zone. It is less congested on Bay View Street and traffic seems to be moving much more quickly through the Zone. Everyone appreciates the consideration you show to other parents when using it correctly.

Visible Learning This year, we will continue working towards our goal of being a ‘Visible Learning’ school. Visible Learning is described in the research by Professor John Hattie and identifies the strategies and attributes that make the most difference to student learning. Our plan for school improvement focuses on maximising our impact on student outcomes. We are putting into practice several of the top strategies including sharing learning intentions and success criteria with our students to enable them to develop their assessment capability. Teachers are building their skills in providing timely and specific feedback to students. Look out for the next Curriculum Newsletter where we will provide more detailed information about Visible Learning.

Effective Learner Qualities Last year, in collaboration with students, we identified five key qualities that successful learners demonstrate and have committed as a school to helping our children develop these qualities. You will see them described on posters in every classroom. They are: Determined, Curious, Resilient, Resourceful, and Reflective. Each newsletter, I will describe in more detail what each quality looks like.

Determined: students who are determined: work hard, they persevere in the face of difficulty,

they understand that effort creates success, they are purposeful and set goals for their learning, they are focused and motivated, and demonstrate grit. Students develop determination when they are challenged; when they have to struggle. Put children in difficult but doable situations and don’t help them too much. Teach them to recover and grow from failure. No-one starts out as an expert – everyone fails at first. Praise the effort more than the accomplishment.

Pre-Primary and Year 1 On-Entry Assessment Program This week, our Pre-Primary and Year 1 students commenced the On-Entry Literacy and Numeracy testing. Our school tests Year 1 students at the start of the year to determine their strengths and areas for improvement and to ensure each child has made progress since their Pre-Primary assessment. At the completion of the testing, we will be sending home reports to parents indicating their child’s performance. If you have any concerns about your child’s progress, please make an appointment to see their teacher.

Primary Device Program Last week, the Department of Education announced a new program of matched funding to enable schools to add to their stock of digital technologies. Each school was assessed on several criteria and a capped amount of funding was made available to the school. Our cap is $32 007. This means that if we can also match this amount, we are able to purchase $64 000 worth of digital resources. As this is a one-off opportunity, we have managed to find this within our budget. We will soon have another 60 iPads in the school, along with charging cabinets, another MacBook, and Apple TVs. Mr Upchurch and Mrs Henning will be very busy when they arrive getting them ready for students to use in classrooms.

Learning Qualities

Resilient

Learn from mistakes

Strive for accuracy

Committed

Optimistic

Find humour

Have a go

Practice makes progress

courageous

For your diary

23 Feb Assembly Rm 14

7 Mar Labour Day (Public Holiday)

8 Mar Assembly Rm 15

9 Mar Summer Carnival Yr 4-6

14-24 Mar Swimming Lessons P-6

25-29 Mar Easter

5 Apr Assembly Rm 6

Merit Certificates

No Merit

Certificates awarded this

fortnight

Super Readers

Riley Busk

Ismail Gok

Toby Jones

P&C Annual General Meeting Next Tuesday, the P&C will be holding their Annual General Meeting in the staffroom straight after the assembly. All positions are vacant. The current committee members are not able to continue in their roles due to work and family commitments. They will be available to support the new office bearers over the year. Please give serious consideration to nominating for one of these important positions. Without a committee, the P&C cannot continue to operate. The implications for the school are that there will be no canteen, no uniform shop and no fundraising events, which help provide resources for your children. In recent years, the P&C have supported the Early Childhood playground upgrade and air conditioning in the library. You don’t need to be experienced, just enthusiastic and willing to give it a go. Please come along and show your support for our school – a strong school depends on the strong support of its community.

Mathletics Mathletics is Australia’s most used educational website. It covers the full primary curriculum and is fully aligned to the Australian Mathematics Curriculum. It is adaptive as it tailors questions based on the ability of individual students. Mathletics provides immediate feedback to students, teachers and parents. There is 24 hour access at both home and school.

By now, your child will have received their login details for the online maths program Mathletics. Please see your child’s teacher if they have not brought their login slip home. Thanks to those families who have paid the $10 per child subscription. This goes towards the school’s site licence for Mathletics. If you have not paid yet, could you do so as soon as possible? Thank you for your support of this great initiative to assist your children’s understanding and skill in mathematics.

Swimming Lessons In-term swimming lessons are in Week 7 and 8 this term. All students in Pre-Primary to Year 6 will be attending. Information and permission slips will be sent home this week. Swimming lessons are an integral component of our Physical Education program and it is expected that all students will participate unless a child has a medical certificate or significant health reasons outlined in a letter from parents. The cost for the nine lessons is $30 per student which covers the bus and entry to the pool each day.

Early Childhood Playground If your child is in Kindy or Pre-Primary, you will have noticed the improvement to the playground area that took place over the holidays. The creek bed has been extended to include two water pumps, sand pit and wooden logs seating area. Children will be able to put water into the creek which will then flow into the sand pit, allowing them to build in the wet sand. I am sure you will agree it looks fantastic!

Voluntary Contributions Thank you to the families who have already paid their voluntary contribution for this year. Fees are $60 per child or $150 for three or more children. This assists us in providing additional materials and programs for students to maximise the quality of our teaching and learning programs. One resource your Contributions will subsidise is the school’s site licence for Mathletics. With your payment, we are able to reduce the cost per child to $10 for the year. This is a significant reduction from $99 per child per year that you would pay if you were to subscribe privately. Please help us to make this very worthwhile program available to all our Year 1 to 6 students.

If you have already paid your contributions, your name has been entered in the draw to win a $50 uniform shop voucher. To be part of this draw, please pay your contribution before the 11th March 2016. The draw will occur the following week and the winner notified by phone.

Contributions can be paid in full or instalments by EFTPOS at the school office, or by Direct Debit into our account:

Bank: ANZ Account Name: Rockingham Beach Primary School Account Number: BSB: 016 440 A/C: 3409 05594 Please enter Student/Family name as a reference.

Kind regards,

Jacqui O’Donnell Principal

KIDSMATTER BOOK REVIEW

The Grief Book : strategies for young people. By Elizabeth Vercoe with Kerry Abramowski

Wow. Can I repeat: WOW. This is a great book. So great in fact, that I finished reading it a couple of days ago and just so I didn't have to return it immediately to the school library I avoided writing this review until now. I repeat: This is a great book. While reading The Grief Book I felt like Elizabeth Vercoe truly loved and cared for me. Every page, every sentence, every word oozes love and compassion to the reader. Unfortunately this means that by halfway through the book I found I had tears in my eyes and I then proceeded to read the next 104 pages in a blubbery mess. I had to keep wiping the tears away to see the words. What I don't like about the book is its title. I think there is a lot more scope than the title gives credit for. I probably would have called this book TEENAGERS : HOW TO COPE WITH YOUR ANGST! or maybe TIPS TO STAY SANE UNTIL YOU BECOME AN ADULT! I wish I owned this book as a young person. I think if I had this book on my bookshelf as a young person it would have been read almost weekly to determine the best strategies for dealing with the week just gone and the week I would be facing next. If I find I miss The Grief Book after handing it back to the library I may just end up buying my own copy. If you read it, you probably will too! The Grief Book : strategies for young people can be found in the school library. You can borrow it on your child's library card.

School SMS Number

0419 963 145

Please assist us by sending an SMS to the number above if your child is absent from school for any reason. You do not need to wait to receive notification they are absent.

Canteen Number

9527 7212

EFTpos available for transactions over $5.00

Mathletics

Our students are having lots of fun using Mathletics as part of their maths program in Years 1 to 6. They have been given their Username and Passwords so have access to the program at home. Notes went home last week asking parents to pay the $10 and this provides students with access 24/7 for 12 months as the school is subsidising the fee through voluntary contributions. If you have not paid yet, please do so as soon as possible. This makes it fair for everyone and all students reap the benefits of using this outstanding resource to further their mathematical development.

On Entry Testing During weeks 3 – 6 of Term 1 children in Pre Primary and Year 1 will be participating in the Department of Education’s state-wide On-entry Assessment Program. The purpose of the program is to provide teachers with an opportunity, early in the year, to collect information on the essential literacy and numeracy skills and understandings of each child in their class. This will assist your child’s teacher to develop informed teaching programs, designed to reflect individual needs and foster each child’s learning. It is anticipated that all children will be included in the assessment. If you would like further information, or to discuss your child’s participation, please contact your child’s teacher. Further information can also be found on the On-entry Assessment Program website at the following address. http://det.wa.edu.au/educationalmeasurement/detcms/navigation/on-entry/information-for-parents/

Breakfast Club

Breakfast Club will be held on Monday, Wednesday and Friday this year in the Art Block wet area

commencing Week 3. Parent permission must be given for children to attend.

Sue Magowan Deputy Principal

YOUR P&C NEEDS YOU! The P&C are aware that at this time of year this is the last thing on people’s minds but be need to notify everyone that in 2016 all of the current P&C position holders will be stepping down. What does this mean to you? It means that there needs to be fresh faces willing to step up at our AGM on 23rd February 2016 (after assembly) and take the following positions listed below: President Vice President Treasurer Secretary Uniform Shop Co-ordinator You must be aware that without these positions filled there ceases to be a P&C. Without a P&C there will be no canteen, no uniform shop, no events (disco’s etc). Most of the current members will still be around to assist a smooth transition to the new position holder. If you are a Mum or Dad with some spare time please speak to Kerry Brown or Kelly Chatfield to find out how you can help at your school. Don’t forget that as well as these main positions we also need committee members to assist.

Thank you to all our Sponsors for supporting our school