Newsletter 9 - 10 June 2021

Congratulations to our Network conference committee for putting together a great program with excellent Western Australian speakers focusing on Mental Health & Wellbeing of staff, students & families. 

Throughout the morning breaks a video showing the life & energy at all our local network schools was playing.  It was created by a talented network teacher. Go Blue for Autism activities featured for South Ballajura Campus. The conference was a fabulous professional  networking opportunity attended by 350 local educators. 
North Metro Education Office Youth Support Worker, Ash Penfold, & friend Dylan, started the morning with skilful didgeridoo playing. Ash gave a heartfelt Acknowledgement of Country,  openly sharing some of the struggles that he has encountered in his life, including school life, as well as the turning points & choices that helped him to cope and gain strength from those life experiences,  so that he is now making a difference in other young people’s lives. 

Mental Health is a huge global issue given the increased multiple stressors & trauma impacting our communities. We need to remove the stigma surrounding Mental Health & raise awareness of what we can do more effectively to support each other.  
Former Police Commissioner, Karl O’Callaghan, Glenn Mitchell , Mental Health advocate & former ABC sports broadcaster, & Kristina Bedford, Registered Psychologist, all imparted useful information, some alarming statistics & personal insights. 

Our families might also be aware of some of these key messages that were shared: -Building resilience/ coping strategies is critical; Unconditional positive regard/ love is important for all; Prioritise your own self-care, so you can better care for others; Being mindful is more than meditation, it means being intentional /present, & fully engaged in your current activity, letting other thoughts go

Assembly 

TA7 entertained us at last week's assembly. Their Indonesian Counting song was lead by two very confident students, and all the actions and words were done off by heart. Their "Coming Home" item had the audience clapping along.

We are looking forward to TA2's assembly and Red Apple Day next week. 

Congratulations to award and YCDI prize draw winners.

ASSEMBLY CHANGE- Please note the Music Assembly scheduled for 22 June has been pushed back to the 29 June as we will not have a NAIDOC assembly. On the same afternoon, we will also have a visit from Gina Williams who will share a few songs with the whole school in the undercover area. During this last week of school, the students will be engaged in numerous NAIDOC activities around the campus.  

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 select group of Year 5 and year 6 students will be attending the Winter Interschool carnival tomorrow at Kingfisher Reserve, Ballajura. Netball, football and soccer games all begin at 9:30am and will run through to 2pm. Hopefully the weather won't dampen the excitement our students have in participating!

Parents are welcome to attend in support. There will be a coffee van from 10am-12pm as well as a canteen at the football oval available for spectators only. 

Wish us luck! 

At our assembly last week, another 6 students were awarded with their prestigious 'Bronze badge'.  Students are awarded faction tokens for displaying the South Ballajura Expectations in their classrooms and in the playground and when they reach a total of 300 tokens they are rewarded with a bronze badge as acknowledgement of their exemplary behaviour.  TA19 has many class members who have received their badges- fantastic work!  There are many other students who are very close to this milestone, so keep up the positive behaviours and collect as many tokens as you can.  

STEM Scientists at Work

 In STEM, students have been learning to drive BeeBots and Edisons using coding skills. Last week, they dropped their “L-plate” and put their driving skills to test. Students decorated Edisons and drive their Edisons on students-designed tracks. Other students applied coding skills and use BeeBots to play a game of Snakes-and-Ladders to learn about Internet safety. Stay tuned for more learning fun! 

Classroom Learning

You Can Do it Congratulations-TA11 

Well done and congratulations to Yai, Andrew, Zain and Havish from TA11, for receiving their 'You Can Do It' certificates. The boys have worked very hard this term to demonstrate the skills and values for building relationships and getting along.

Thankyou Teacher-in-Charge 

Meet the Board

Hello, my name is Debbie, and I am Chair of the ESC Board.

Prior to having a family, I worked in the Banking & Finance sector for several years. Since returning to the workforce after having my five sons, I have worked in Administration and Event roles as well as at State and Federal elections.

As a volunteer with Scouts WA, I have several roles including Group Leader (Leader of Adults) at Ballajura Scout Group; managing and administrating Social Media platforms for Scouts WA and assisting with organising and facilitating their major events.

In my spare time I love spending time with my family and friends; volunteering with Scouts WA to organise events and activities; researching different social media platforms and ways to effectively promote organisations and increase engagement; camping, reading; craft; going to the movies; watching tv (favourite shows drama, crime and medical) and attending council workshops as a way to meet other people in the community and build on my skills.

By utilising free workshops that are organised by local councils I have developed a broad range of skills including Board Governance and Management, Successful Development and Management of a Community Group (including workshops on Writing Business Plans and Strategic Plans, Budgets and Financial Management, Volunteer Management, Building Inclusive Groups and Building Stronger Connected Groups), Evaluating Projects and Plans, Event Management, Social Media Administration & Management. These skills have proven valuable in both my paid work as well as in my volunteer roles.

As an active member of the community, I believe that volunteering is a great way to help and support others as well as a way for me to be a positive example for my children. Giving time to help others brings me great joy and satisfaction and it is rewarding to see youth and adults working together to build better communities, increase youth resilience and leadership, and see our young people grow and develop into valuable community members. I love seeing how much they enjoy camps and activities that I organise and enjoy sharing the knowledge that I have in different areas.

Taking on the role of Board Chair was a step outside my comfort zone, and I am enjoying learning more about the daily operations and management of schools and how to effectively support the school as a Board member. 

TRIPLE P POSITIVE PARENTING PROGRAM

FUNDRAISING ITEMS FOR SALE

We still have 9 First Aid Kits and numerous boxes of Band Aids 25 per box for sale in the front office.

The First Aid Kits are compact, practical and great to keep in the car and are even small enough to take in a bag or back pack for when out and about.

The Band Aids are very cute, 5 bright colours in each box with cute ducks pictures on them.

The First Aid Kits are $15.00 per kit and the Band Aids as $3.00 per box of 25.

If you would like to purchase either a First Aid Kit or box of Band Aids please call into the Front Office where staff will be able to assist you.

Thank You.

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.

Updated menu for Winter 2021.

Staff Development Days:-

• Monday 19 July 2021
• Monday 11 October 2021