Special Award Presented at Assembly Friday 30 July 2013 Elaura Borin Ashleigh Williams Rachel Mackie Caitlyn Minus Zac Wilson Stella Pearse Meshach Jeremiah Jesse Marlin Halen Grant Georgia Watts Vesna Hawkins Erin McElwee Ciara Mather Amy Epis Valea Vuna Taylah Ashworth Blake Hughes Mason White Alyssa Green Caitlin Griffiths Jake Kraljevich Caitlyn Barnett Zack Taylor Blake Brown Madison Calderwood Jaime-Lee Williams LOTE: Kierah Lawler, Tristan Hall

UPPER SWAN PRIMARY SCHOOL 1204 Great Northern Highway, Upper Swan 6069

Telephone: 9296 4622 Fax. 9296 4775

Newsletter Issue 11 Term 3 School Website : www.upperswanps.wa.edu.au 13 August 2013

Our Purpose Our Purpose Our Purpose Our Purpose We will createWe will createWe will createWe will create a a a a caring learning environment that provides caring learning environment that provides caring learning environment that provides caring learning environment that provides

students with the opportunity to develop the academic and social students with the opportunity to develop the academic and social students with the opportunity to develop the academic and social students with the opportunity to develop the academic and social skills they need to achieve their individual potential.skills they need to achieve their individual potential.skills they need to achieve their individual potential.skills they need to achieve their individual potential.

SCHOOL BANKING Every Wednesday 8.15am – 8.45am in Library Regards ~ Louise Burke and Rebecca Anderson -

School Banking Coordinators

DATES TO REMEMBER TERM DATES

Term 3

Tuesday 23 July - 27 September

Thursday 12 September School Athletics

Monday 23 September Photo Day 1 (Years 1 – 7)

Thursday 26 September Photo Day 2 (K – PP)

Uniform Shop - Open Tuesday afternoons 2.30pm –

3.00pm Thursday mornings 8.30am –

9.30am Enquiries: Jenelle … 0411 183 099

Term 4

Tuesday 15 October - 19 December

Editorial If you wish to contact the Principal - Stephen.Green@education.wa.edu.au

Parent Satisfaction Survey – Please Complete by August 30 Every two years we conduct a formal survey to find your level of satisfaction on various elements of our school. Topics include the quality of learning, teaching standards, classroom learning environment, behaviour standards and your relationships with staff. Your opinion is important to us. We will be grateful if you can find the time to complete it.

Survey results will be published in the school newsletter and 2013 Annual Report. The School Council and P & C will be involved in examining the results and giving advice on how we can improve our school.

The survey can be accessed on line by going to http://apps.det.wa.edu.au/dest/25934

It is open from 13/8/13 until 30/8/13. Two years ago we had 38 responses. It would be great if we could top that.

Year 1 Activity Afternoon On Monday, 5th August, all year 1’s participated in an activity afternoon aimed at supporting their well being after the passing of their friend and class mate, Charlotte Peachey. One of the activities involved painting rocks that will be used in the remembrance area we are creating. Rachel, Charlotte’s mum, came along. She sure is a courageous lady. Thank you to Miss Duffield and Mrs Guy for organising the afternoon; to the staff who chipped in to help and to the parents who were able to be there. More photos can be seen on the room 7 page of the school website.

Science Week Activities This Wednesday and Thursday we are celebrating Science Week. On Wednesday there is a program of incursions to suit different year levels. The cost is $3 payable to class teachers. On Thursday afternoon year 1 to 7 children will be split up into teams for a quiz based on everything students have learned in Science this year. Interschool Cross Country – 9th August Last Friday afternoon the year 4 to 7 interschool cross country was held at Altone Park. We competed against seven other schools. Every Upper Swan student gave their all to make sure they finished as well as possible. Because of that attitude we were able to get high placings in all races. Winning the shield was an unexpected bonus that was the result of every child’s willingness to aim for personal best. The positive approach was typified by Kristen Atkinson and SJ Kleynhans. They helped out the team by competing in the year 7 events even though they are year 6’s. Perhaps the performance of the day was from year 3 student, Ashleigh Candy. She was there to watch her sister compete. We had a spare place in the year 7 race. With the permission of the other schools, Ashleigh was allowed to compete in the year 7 race. She finished in 8th place out of 24 competitors. Thanks to Mr Taylor for inspiring our students, to the children who dedicated themselves to training and to the many parents who were able to support the team.

Faction Cross Country – 2nd August It was encouraging to see so many children aim for their personal best in the cross country. Participating in the variety of school activities is vital to their development. It also develops the habits children need in later life; to give things a go and not opt out when the going gets tough.

This year Mr Taylor has organised a faction shield for the winning team. Every child who finished the course earned points, so it’s taking a while to do all the adding up. The shield will be presented at this week’s assembly.

Thank you to all the children who did the 100 Club training and showed great team spirit on the day. Thank you to Mr Taylor for his organisation and to the year 5 and year 6 students who helped with the set up and pack up. And thanks to all of you who were able to turn up to support your children.

Faction Cross Country photos can be found on Mr Taylor’s section of the school website.

Event First Second Third Fourth

Year 1 Boys

Liam Hrabar Nate Bindel Lincoln Wilson Robin Spycher

Year 1 Girls

Erin McElwee Ebony Renzullo Bella Graham Ella Nadenbousch

Year 2 Boys

Judd Benson Jamie Elezovich Ryan Varady William Meredith

Year 2 Girls

Jaime Henry Ella Brown Stella Pearse Nikayla Hughes

Year 3 Boys

Joshua McElwee Kaden Curtis Corey Hubbert Liam Last

Year 3 Girls

Ashleigh Candy Olivia Pollock Ella Thompson Ruby Gale

Year 4 Boys

Gustav McKeon William Evans Cian Burke Charlie Corner

Year 4 Girls

Grace Operchal Jessica Hubbert Portia Miller Ella Farrell

Year 5 Boys

Joseph Lyon Stevie Fletcher Jay Hrabar William Stannard

Year 5 Girls

Holly Alessandrino Emily Candy Lily Marshall Bailey Renzullo

Year 6 Boys

Cam Varady Corey Meyer Callum Tyler Jesse Pollock

Year 6 Girls

Sophie Thompson Mary Grace Hepworth

Elizabeth Tyler Kristen Atkinson

Year 7 Boys

Mitchell Brown Omar Ramirez Owen Fisher Tristan Hall

Year 7 Girls

Chelsea Wallis Briar Learmond Elise Straiton Krystah Lawler

Cooperative Learning: Mind Mapping

The strategy of the month for August is Mind Mapping. Mind Mapping is an excellent, engaging way for students to get their ideas down in a sequenced and creative way. Often it is used as a way to brainstorm ideas for a new topic, or can be used to summarise learning at the end of a topic. This is Room 8 working cooperatively within their teams to create Mind Maps. The students have been working on the structure of narratives and as a part of their exploration they watched an episode of ‘Shaun the Sheep’ and then they worked on mind mapping the narrative structure from the clip. The mind map was used to link the students’ ideas about narrative structure.

Encouraging Writing in the Early Years of School (PP / 1 / 2) Things You Can Do at Home To ensure that your child is encouraged to become a writer, consider the following questions. � Does my child see others writing at various times? � Does my child see me writing? � When I am writing, do I talk about whom I am writing for and why I am writing? � Is a place provided where my child can sit and write? � Does my child have large blank paper to write on and a variety of writing materials? � Do I encourage my child to hold a pencil correctly? � Do I talk about print I see in the environment, e.g. signs outside shops, traffic signs? � Do I talk about all the print I use in the home environment, such as calendars, diaries, TV

guides, catalogues, newspapers, instructions, and cookbooks? � Is my child encouraged to take notice of print, e.g. find words they know such as a Stop sign

starts with the letter ‘s’? � Do I display my child’s attempts at writing, perhaps by displaying them on the fridge or wall? � Do I praise and value all attempts at writing, and see it as ‘real’ writing? � Is my child read to every day? � Is my child encouraged to join in when being read to, e.g. turning the pages, holding the

book, reading the parts they remember? � Is my child encouraged to act out or retell stories he or she has heard?

TAKE HOME A BIG BROTHER OR BIG SISTER Give your children the wonderful opportunity to have an international big brother or big sister by hosting one of our exceptional international students arriving in Australia in February 2014 for their 3, 5 or 10 month programs. Our international students from France, Germany, Italy, Austria, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, the U.S.A, South America and Japan will live as a local, attend a local secondary school, arrive with their own spending money and comprehensive insurance cover – all arranged by Southern Cross Cultural Exchange. Visit us at www.scce.com.au, email scceaust@scce.com.au or call us toll free on 1800 500 501, request our international student profiles, and capture the spirit of family and friendship!

Every Day Counts for Students (The West Australian 7/8/13) WA primary school students are missing an average of 16 days a year, putting them up to six weeks behind in their learning, a landmark report has found. The study, the first to link school attendance records with results from national literacy and numeracy tests, found that any absence from school had a cumulative negative effect on students' future achievements in reading, writing and maths. The Telethon Institute for Child Health Research studied data collected from more than 400,000 WA public school students in the past five years. The report Every Day Counts concluded there was no safe threshold of tolerable absences. "In all analyses, average academic achievement on NAPLAN tests declined with any absence from school and continued to decline as absence rates increased," it said. Report co-author Steve Zubrick said he was surprised to find primary school students missed an average 16 days and high school students an average 24 days a year. He said many parents believed it did not matter if children missed a day here and there of primary school. But the study showed skipping 16 days - about three weeks worth of learning - would put a Year 3 student six weeks behind in their academic performance in maths, compared with a student who missed no school. "Missing school turns out to be a long fuse with a big bang," Professor Zubrick said. "One of the things we concluded from the data is that going to school is more than just learning maths or reading, it's about actually learning to show up." The report found school attendance patterns were developed as early as Year 1. Disparities in attendance rates in Year 1 carried into secondary school and became wider, so initiatives to improve attendance had to start early. Education Department Statewide services executive director Eirlys Ingram said schools were making a big effort to boost attendance, but the report endorsed the view they could not do so without the support of parents.

Charges and Contributions for 2013 (Approved by the School Council on Monday, December 3, 2012)

2013 Voluntary Contributions I would like to thank every family that pays the voluntary contribution. Your support enables us to provide the extra resources we need to enrich your child’s / children’s learning. The money we collect is a vital part of our school budget. If every family paid, it would boost our funds by more than $17000. That represents a lot of reading books, maths equipment and sports gear your children could have. Kindergarten to Year 7 One child at school $50.00 per year; Two children at school $100.00 per year; Three or more children $150.00 per year.

You are most welcome to pay the voluntary contribution gradually. The money collected from voluntary contributions will be distributed as follows: 33% Art / Craft supplies 33% Maths Equipment 34% Reading and Library books Other Charges – Kindergarten to Year 7 Charges are for activities that must be paid for in order for your child to participate. Payments are made on a “pay as they arise” system; meaning you are notified in writing when payment is required. The amounts listed here are the maximum you can be charged for the year. It is most likely the costs will be less than is listed. � Incursions / Excursions: There may be up to 8 excursions / incursions per class per year,

to a maximum cost of $120.00 per child for the whole year. That is an average cost of $15 per event. Some will be cheaper and others will be more expensive.

� Carnivals: $20.00 per child for transport to sports carnivals such as the summer and winter

carnival, cross country running and interschool athletics. When it is practical, the Education Department Policy requires all public school to use buses to transport children to and from school events.

� In-term swimming: Pre Primary to year 7 to a maximum of $55.00 per child for transport

and pool entry. � Special class events and activities: $50 to cover things like cooking, healthy eating days,

supplies for special art / craft activities linked to things like Christmas. � Year 7’s will also incur additional charges for particular items and events such as:

� Graduation Dinner and Graduation T-Shirts to a maximum of $125.00 � Term 1 School Camp to a maximum of $350

� Year 6 Dinner: For the last four years parents of year 6’s have organised a farewell dinner

for the children and their families. If this happens again in 2013 you will need to set aside up to $40 per child.

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