Newsletter 8 - 27 May 2021

Go Blue Assembly

What an awesome Go Blue Assembly we had on Tuesday! Our prefects did a terrific job as comperes and our clubs were able to showcase their hard work.

Special thanks to ESC teams who organised and rehearsed for this event- Our club facilitators and support crew along with the Go Blue Committee who did a great job in preparing for the event. This was a great opportunity for students from both schools to perform together.

During the day there were integration activities such as blue kite and whistle making, and numerous lunchtime activities, which looked like fun.

Thanks to our canteen ladies for adding blue jellies to the recess menu and to staff who got into the spirit wearing some blue, both modest and stand out apparel!

We hope you had a great GO BLUE DAY.

National Reconciliation Week

This week is National Reconciliation Week.  We at South Ballajura acknowledge the Wadjak Noongar people as the traditional owners and custodians of the land on which we work, learn and play and we pay respects to their elders past, present and emerging.

South Ballajura recognises, respects and values Aboriginal cultures as we walk a new path together.

As many will be aware, in Week 4 our Year 3 and 5 students sat the NAPLAN assessments.  These assessments give the school an overall picture of student achievement compared with other schools across the state and nation and individual information about your child’s achievement levels.  This information should be available in Term 3.

ALIA National Simultaneous Storytime

On Wednesday 19 May, ALIA National Simultaneous Storytime took place in the undercover area. All students listened to the story “Give Me Some Space”.  This has been the stimulus for a number of activities around the schools where students will be undertaking STEM activities around the theme of Space Travel and Rockets.

While considering children’s books, it was sad to hear today about the passing of children’s author, Eric Carle who wrote and illustrated the wonderful book, “The Very Hungry Caterpillar”.  If you have not read the book for a while, or are searching for a great story to read to your children, please consider this book as a place to start. 

Head Lice

We have had a number of cases of Head Lice in classes recently. It is important to treat head lice early to ensure they are eradicated. The following is from the Health Department and outlines the treatment options. Under the School Education Act 1999, if your child has head lice, a principal may keep him or her away from school until treatment has started.

Your child may return to school when all live head lice have been removed. There is no need to stay away from school if there are only a few remaining eggs, but you must continue treatment over the following 10 days to ensure that all eggs and hatchlings have been removed.

There are two effective head lice treatments:

• the 10-day hair conditioner treatment
• insecticide treatments.

See the following website for complete instructions.

https://healthywa.wa.gov.au/Articles/S_T/Treating-head-lice

A reminder of the Western Australia Public Holiday on Monday 7 June 2021.

We had a fantastic day full of energy and togetherness when we celebrated ‘Go Blue for Autism’ on Tuesday as one South Ballajura school community. There was a ‘sea of blue’ as the campus raised awareness of Autism with a range of activities. It was such an awesome assembly, particular thanks to our dedicated ESC Club Co-ordinators, staff and Campus students for their terrific performances – Drumming, Signing and the Jump Jam favourite ‘We will rock you’. During the day, students had such fun participating in a range of hands-on activities. Buddy classes made ‘blue kites’ in small groups and being a sunny day, they were able to fly the kites in the oval. Also, children made whistles and junior classes seemed to enjoy playing together with blue play dough.

‘Many hands make light work’ was so true with teaching staff working with students in classes, EA Facilitators supporting club performances, those of you who prepared and supported students on the day and canteen for selling blue jelly cup. It really was a team effort and a huge thank you to everyone involved for making the ‘Go Blue for Autism’ day so fabulous!

Week 4 was an exciting time on the primary campus with the Life Education van visiting the school. Healthy Harold the giraffe taught the children about living a healthy lifestyle, being a good friend to others and making positive choices in their everyday lives.

The children were able to interact with Healthy Harold while engaging in fun and interactive learning experiences inside the mobile classroom. The Kindergarten students had a fantastic time creating a trampoline with a sheet for Harold to get some daily exercise on and packing a healthy lunch box for him to take to school.

The Year 6 Prefects and Faction Captains had the privilege of attending the 2021 student leadership conference, where they learnt that they needed to be visible in their roles within the school. The students were all excited to meet the other student leaders across the WA.

We hope that the student leaders will continue to show integrity, respect and creativity in all they do around and beyond our school.

We thank these student leaders for their great behaviour at the GRIP conference.

Enrolments for 2022 Kindergarten are now open.

If you or if you know of any families with children eligible for Kindy next year, (born between 01/07/17 and 30/06/18), who are interested in applying to enrol at South Ballajura PS or South Ballajura ESC for 2022, please let them know to apply now.

Application forms for both schools are available from the front office or on the school website.

https://southballajuraps.wa.edu.au/documents

Please submit application with the following:

• Birth Certificate
• Medicare Immunisation History Statement
• Proof of current address
• Proof of Australian Citizenship
• Family Court Orders (if applicable)

Medicare Immunisation History Statements can be obtained using your Medicare online account through myGov or the Express Plus Medicare mobile app. Alternatively, you can call the AIR on 1800 653 809 to request a copy. These must be no older than 2 months.

Pre-primary 2022 (current Kindy)

2022 Pre-primary enrolments are now open.

Students already attending Kindergarten at South Ballajura Primary School or South Ballajura ESC this year are required to apply for Pre-primary 2022. Application forms for these students have been sent home. Parents can return application forms to the class teacher.

Year 1—6 2022 (current PP to Year 5)

Current students from Pre-primary to Year 5 are automatically enrolled in each subsequent year and therefore it is not necessary to complete another application. If you know any families who want to enrol at South Ballajura for next year, encourage them to call us now.

All applications for enrolment are due by Friday 23 July, 2021

Please note that an Application for Enrolment can only be made at one public School.

Primary School applicants will be advised in writing next term of their success in obtaining a place for 2022.

Education Support Centre applications may take longer to process due to verification of diagnosis to meet Department of Education eligibility criteria.

Learning a new language has benefits for children at school and in life - Dept. of Edu. WA

In the next fortnight, students in Year 3 will continue with numbers from 0 - 20 and will be making a number book. They will also be doing simple Maths in Indonesian.

Year 4 students will learn the names of different sports and to say which sport they like and dislike. 

The Year 5 students are continuing to work on a challenge in Language Learning Space exploring Fast Food, breakfast and hip-hop music.

Year 6 students will be practising how to order food from an Indonesian Warung (food stall).

Happy Learning! Selamat Belajar!

Salam

Ibu Francis

Updated menu for Winter 2021.

ESC Admin Team Professional Learning

Mrs Lennox, Mr Hume, Mrs Green, and Mrs Williams will be commencing a leadership course at the Professional Learning Institute this Thursday & Friday. Also, Mrs Joseph is excited to now be taking leave to be around for the arrival of her first grandchild.  Mrs Baldwinson and Mrs Field will be manning the ESC front office and Ms Tsakalos in TA5 will be Teacher In Charge. Please save any non-urgent enquiries until everyone (except Mrs Joseph) are back on site next week. Thank you.

Mrs Green and Mrs Field were on a 2 day PL last week to learn all about RM Billing which records student fees for Community Access, Incursion/Excursions. We hope to implement RM Billing by the beginning of Term 4.

Whiteman Park Education Programs

The Education Support Centre commenced the Whiteman Park Community Access Program on Friday 14 May with a historical tram ride for all the classes. The old Melbourne tram got given the thumbs up by lots of students, especially by those who had never been on it before.  The new physically challenging playground equipment was explored and proved a swinging success for staff and students alike.

In the following weeks, the students will participate in several Whiteman Park Educational Programs focussing on the Environment and HASS at the Revolutions Museum.  Students across the Centre will also focus on Technology skills using the school camera and class iPads. 

Meet the Board

Hi my name is Heather and I am director of Autism Alliance which provides a service for children with autism and their families. I have been associated with SBESC for 17 years.

I have two adult children and in my spare time I enjoy gardening, decorating and reading to further my knowledge of autism and other life challenges that impact children and their families.

Week 5

Week 6

Staff Development Days:-

• Friday 4 June 2021
• Monday 19 July 2021
• Monday 11 October 2021