Issue 14 – Term 3 11 September, 2018

30 Sunray Ave Piara Waters WA 6112

Phone: 9397 8300 Email: aspiri.ps@education.wa.edu.au

Principal’s Words

As we draw near to the end of a busy third term it is worth mentioning some wonderful activities and projects in our school. Firstly, thank you to Ms Evans and Mrs McGlashan and the support team of volunteers for a wonderful Father’s Day event. It was pleasing to see so many Fathers, Grandfathers and supporters attending. We hope you had a wonderful time. Thank you also to our school community members, Mrs Van Wyk and the Budiarto family for their generous donations of sausages and pastries on the day. As a school, we are committed to sharing our expertise within and outside our system. Recently we have hosted Practicum teachers and Education Assistants from various Universities and TAFE colleges. As we say goodbye, we trust that they have had a very productive time with our talented team and trust that they take their learnings and experiences with them to make them the best practitioners they can be in their future careers. I would like to offer my thanks to Mrs Douglas who has been sharing her knowledge of Loose Parts Play with our colleagues in other schools. She is currently working with the team at Grovelands Primary School to develop their strategies and resources. Ms Tanubrata is currently organising a series of events for a Multicultural day in our school. This will be held this Friday, 14 September and I hope everyone will support this great initiative.

Welcome to our new Associate Principal, Pippa Lovel This week we will be welcoming a new staff member. Pippa Lovel will be joining us as an Associate Principal on a temporary contract. Mrs Lovel comes to us with diverse experiences in school leadership at a number of schools in the Karratha region and is passionate about developing quality teachers and supporting students with diverse learning needs. Mrs Lovel will be undertaking an active role in the management of staff and projects across the school as well as helping us with planning and resourcing for the stage 2 school for 2019. I know you will join us in making Mrs Lovel very welcome. As this will be the final newsletter for term three I would like to take this opportunity to wish all of our staff, students and families a very restful, safe and enjoyable term three break. A reminder to our community that Monday, 8 October is the first day back for all students at Aspiri Primary School.

Noel Morgan Principal

Associate Principal’s Words

Welcome to all our new parents and students

A warm welcome to all our new parents who are receiving this newsletter for the first time. We are looking forward to meeting you all in 2019. You will receive an orientation package in early Term 4 with details of personal requirement lists, uniform suppliers, term dates and the orientation program for early childhood and primary school students. This package will also give Kindergarten parents the option to indicate their preferences for days.

You will receive this orientation package via email so please make sure you have provided the school with accurate contact details.

In the meantime, please refer to the Aspiri PS website where you will find a range of information including our 2018 Parent Handbook or follow us on Facebook. http://aspirips.wa.edu.au/

Student Behaviour and Well-being Policy

In Term 4, 2018 we will be launching our Student Behaviour and Wellbeing Policy. The Student Behaviour and Wellbeing Policy is implemented at Aspiri Primary School to meet the needs of all students, staff and the community as part of our commitment to providing a safe, supportive and responsive learning environment. It includes a range of strategies to promote positive behaviour including details about the roles and responsibilities for students, teachers and parents; rewards and consequences; and a code of conduct that includes a behaviour matrix. The policy has been ratified by the inaugural school board and is available for viewing on request.

As part of the policy we are introducing a White Card Merit system to recognise and encourage positive behaviour and work ethic. This is a progressive system that continues from Kindergarten to Year 6. Students may receive a White Card for improvement, excellence or thoughtfulness in the classroom, playground and/or for following our code of conduct (behaviour matrix).

The White Cards are given on the spot. All subsequent awards resulting from an accumulation of White Cards are presented at Assemblies. Students are responsible for looking after the White Cards and should put them in a special place at home until they have accumulated 6 cards. These will then need to be returned to school to receive the Special Award Card.

6 White Cards = 1 Blue Special Award Card

3 Blue Cards = 1 Bronze Award of Excellence

2 Bronze Awards of Excellence = 1 Silver Award of Excellence

2 Silver Awards of Excellence = Aspiri Primary School Gold medallion

Multicultural Day Friday, 14 September

At Aspiri PS we are incredibly proud of the many different cultural, religious and language groups in our school. We are looking to celebrate this diversity with the students and support them to learn more about each others backgrounds and heritage. On Friday, parent volunteers will work with small groups of students to share a little of their culture. This may include learning to count or sing a song in another language, sharing a cultural dance or bringing a cultural artefact to share.

Students are also encouraged to come on Friday to school dressed in traditional clothing or a costume to represent their heritage or language background.

No hat, no play!

The Department of Education has a sun safe policy that includes guidelines for schools in regards to protecting students from over-exposure to UV rays. One strategy that we implement at Aspiri PS to meet these requirements is a no hat, no play policy. We have observed that a large number of students are not bringing a hat to school at the moment. As we start moving towards the warmer weather, your child will not be able to play without a hat so please ensure that their school hat is in their bag everyday.

Birthdays

Please note that Aspiri PS does not allow students to bring cakes, cupcakes or party bags to school on their birthday. There are a range of reasons why schools might make these decisions including food allergies, sugar intolerance, parental choices around healthy eating and cultural/religious diversity. On your child's birthday, the classroom teacher will plan a range of activities to make the day special, for example, singing happy birthday, giving your child special roles and responsibilities for the day, a birthday card from their peers etc.

Parents/caregivers are also advised that party invitations cannot be given out by the teacher or EA, distributed during school hours or placed into student trays/pigeon holes.

Developing Positive Social Skills, Friendships and

Resilience

It is important that young children have opportunities and are given strategies to develop positive social skills, friendships and resilience. We can support children to develop in these areas by acknowledging that we all have good and bad days and that friendships change, evolve, and sometimes end. We can also teach them strategies to manage conflict, teasing and rejection. If children don’t develop these skills when they are young, they can struggle to cope with complex relationships and adversity when they get older.

Bullying is not tolerated at this school. Children are encouraged to report all acts of bullying so that action can be taken. However, it is important that parents are aware of what bullying is and what bullying isn’t, so they can work together with their child and the school to promote a positive learning environment. Below is great visual on what is and isn’t bullying.

The Power of Positive Parenting

Date:

Times:

Venue:

TBA - Term 4

9.00am to 10.00am

Aspiri Primary School

The early years of a child’s life are vitally important to their future development, learning, health and wellbeing. We know that if every child has the best start to life, we can expect to see them thrive through to adulthood.

This program is based on some of the most extensively researched parenting program in the world. It is designed to strengthen parent-child relationships, and to prevent behaviour and emotional problems in children. It is for every parent.

Tea, coffee and a light snack will be provided.

Supervision for toddlers will also be available.

If you require further information, please don’t hesitate to email

Oshiel.tanubratu@education.wa.edu.au or phone 9397 8300.

Sheri Evans

Associate Principal

Road closure

Our builders have asked us to let our school community know that within the next two weeks, Aspiri Promenade in front of the build site will be closed during working hours to allow works to be completed along the verge. The road will be reopened each evening.

If you need further information, contact PACT builders.

Parent Workshop

Throughout Term 4 2018, Aspiri Primary School will be hosting a number of parent workshops. These workshops will support parents with understanding how public schools in Australia operate and how you can support your child get the best possible start to

their education.

Room 2 News

Following on from our numbat investigation,

Pre - Primary 2 are continuing to learn about

animals. We are currently researching Monarch

butterflies and a chrysalis in our class. We can’t

wait to see them transforming into beautiful

butterflies, like the one in Miss Graham's class!

Last week we started working on our Monarch

butterfly symmetry art. They look great and we

are looking forward to adding some bright

colours this week.

Room 3 News

The Pre-primary students have been excited to

watch two beautiful Monarch butterflies emerge

from their Chrysalis this week. They have followed

their lifecycle from egg to caterpillar to chrysalis to

butterfly! They look forward to releasing them

later in the week.

Room 6 News

Kindy yellow and red have been growing grass heads in their classroom. They have planted the seeds, took turns watering them and have loved watching them change and grow. Well done Room 6.

Interesting fact: Did

you know that an adult

Monarch butterfly only

lives for 2 - 6

weeks? Neither did we!