Newsletter 8 - 2 June 2022
Dear parents/carers,
Wow, we are half way through Term 2 already. Thank you to everyone who has supported our staff in teaching your children by having them at school on time and attending regularly.
It was great to see so many children participate in our “Walk Safely to School Day”. The fruit and drinks organised by Ms Ngatia were a big hit, thank you!
Congratulations to all of our competitors in the Interschool Cross Country, you represented our school proudly. Well done! Thank you to Miss Hamid for training our team during PE.
If your children are missing some items of their school uniform, please check the lost property basket outside the front office. Having your child’s name on all of their clothing makes it easier for items to be returned, thank you.
Collecting Children
If you need to collect your children from school, please ensure that you sign them out at the front office. Please be aware that if you come during recess and / or lunch time it may be difficult to get your children straight away as they will be in the playground. Our office staff will alert the teachers and they will send your children to the office, this may be at the end of recess and / or lunch time. Your patience with this is appreciated.
Free Rapid Antigen Tests (RAT)
The free RATs for each student from the Department of Education have now been delivered to the school.
These free RATs will support our students to continue to attend school for face-to-face learning and will minimise disruption to their schooling. You will be able to test your child at home if they are feeling unwell. You can also use these RATs if your child is a close contact to enable them to test daily and continue to attend school, as long as they receive a negative result, remain asymptomatic, and wear a mask if they are in Year 7 and above. If your child is a close household contact, has had a negative RAT and is not symptomatic we encourage them to wear a mask at school.
Parents/carers can collect now collect the RATs from the front office in the Administration building.
You must sign for the RATs as you receive them, 1 box per child enrolled at South Ballajura PS.
If your child becomes symptomatic they should stay home and be tested for COVID-19. You should notify the school if your child tests positive for COVID-19. Refer to healthywa.wa.gov.au for information on close contact definition, testing and isolation requirements.
Thank you for your continued efforts in keeping our school COVID-19 safe.
ESC Principal`s farewell message
As this will be my last newsletter before going on long service leave and then retiring, I just wanted to take the opportunity to say a fond farewell to everybody and how much I have enjoyed the rewards and the challenges of being the ESC principal for the past 21 years at South Ballajura Campus. We were purpose built shared site in order to provide the Best of Both Worlds for students with a disability.
I was a foundation ESC teacher, and primary school parent in 1994 when the campus opened 28 years ago. I have worked with about 14 primary school principals and 13 deputies to build an inclusive campus culture, and although this is a never ending journey, we have certainly moved a considerable way along the continuum.
I believe the increase of students on the Autism spectrum has taught everyone so much more about “learning together- growing together “ and helped us to better embrace diversity to create a sense of belonging for all.
There have been many highlights during my time here. 2015 was a very positive year for SBESC when we were one of four finalists in the DOE Primary School of the Year Education Awards & also became an Independent Public School. Both successes were a community team effort. We are fortunate to have a very dedicated school board and have utilised IPS staffing flexibility to employ a wonderful school speech pathologist to improve our progress in becoming a communication accessible school. We have worked hard with Rotary, Lions & CCY on projects to create inclusive, engaging indoor & outdoor learning areas, especially the ongoing development of our bike track area since 2007! The Bush Tucker Garden incursion finally happened this morning, & I think the plants enjoyed the rainfall more than the staff & students!
Last year’s Public school review, was also affirming and encouraging for our school community as we aim to make a significant difference in the life of every student & their family.
It has been rewarding leading such a dedicated staff to bring life to our vision. SBESC enables students to flourish both at school and in the wider community through specialist expertise and strong partnerships.’ I have been a champion of the campus ‘You Can Do It’ program from the very start, & refined our ESC Community Access programs which also provide inclusive opportunities for buddy mainstream classes. Our talented Facilitators providing highly successful Signing, Drumming, Jump Jam lunchtime clubs where students thrive, along with recess Playskills, CAMPers and buddy class R2R sessions. These are amazing ‘win – win’ inclusive opportunities. Apart from COVID impacts, special events and performances have brought our campus community together & encouraged all students to shine.
‘RUSTY’, South Ballajura`s very own digger, that I presented at the ANZAC assembly, will be located outside the ESC Principal`s office, near the flagpole. He will remind you as you come to the office to uphold the spirit of the ANZACs; courage, honour, mateship, freedom, & service to others.
My last day at school will be next Friday, 10 June and I am delighted that my final assembly will be integrated one, presented by TA7, TA8 and TA5.
In retirement, I still look forward to days full of variety, different challenges & rewards. I wish the same for you all.
Cheryl Lennox
ESC PrincipalYear 6 Camp Fundraiser
Well done to all the year 6 families and staff who have been busy selling chocolates to raise money for camp. Just a reminder that money is now due back, so we can start to finalise our camp arrangements. Please make all payments at the front office.
Thank you
Mr Donegan
Year 6 camp is coming up…….Keep an eye out for notes coming home soon!
Annual Walk to School Day 2022
Once again we were graced with beautiful weather which enabled to our annual walk to school day to begin and end really well. A huge thank you to all the teachers and support staff who manned the 4 starting points and guided the students back to the campus. There were plenty of healthy treats for the students to indulge in and this treat carried on at recess. The students were also super excited to receive their walk to school tattoo’s from the principal Mr Kovalevs. There were a few photo opportunities which captured the students enjoying their treats.
Thank you to all those students who participated we hope to see many more of you walking to school.
Cross Country
Alinjarra Primary School played host to the first Interschool Cross Country carnival for our Ballinjarra Network on Friday 27 May. 39 of our students were invited to run in the 750m, 1km and 1.5km races year group races. The weather was pristine for a morning of running and our students showed a lot of grit and determination in their respective races. Each race consisted of the top 3-5 runners of each gender and year group. Honourable mention to Yom Athian of Year 4 who finished in 4th place in her race! An outstanding effort! South Ballajura finished in fourth place overall and we are proud of our whole team for their resilience and team spirit on the day.
Jump Rope for Heart
In Term 1, South Ballajura participated in Jump Rope for Heart, a Heart Foundation initiative to encourage physical activity and raise awareness for heart disease. During Physical Education lessons students learnt new weekly skipping skills and attempted challenges as a class.
As part of their 40th Anniversary, Jump Rope for Heart sent out keyring gifts that students and families could use to access an online portal to view instructional videos, log skipping hours and raise funds for heart disease research.
With Covid restrictions still in place during this time we were unable to gather the whole school for a “Jump Off Day” however many of our students stepped up to the challenge, logging many hours of skipping at home and collectively raising $1997.79 for the Heart Foundation.
Our top fundraisers were: Kaiden - TA08, Mason - TA15, Mackenzie - TA13, Chayce - TA13 , Sonomi - TA08 and Shaune - TA10. Well done to all students who participated, raised funds or learnt a new lifelong skill.
Friday 3 June
TA02 Assembly 1.50pm - Parents welcome
Monday 6 June
WA Day Public Holiday
Friday 10 June
TA07, TA08 & TA15 combined Assembly 1.50pm - Parents welcome
Friday 17 June
NAIDOC Assembly 1.50pm - Parents welcome
Friday 24 June
Year 5/6 Winter Carnival (Kingfisher Oval)
Tuesday 28 June
Pizza with the Principal
Primary School -Term 3
School Development Day – Monday 18 July
Primary School students return to school - Tuesday 19 July
Education Support Centre - Term 3
Education Support Centre students return to school - Monday 18 July
Education Support Centre's School Development Day - Thursday 28 July
Primary School and Education Support Centre - Term 4
School Development Day – Monday 10 October
Primary & Ed Support Centre students return to school – Tuesday 11 October
A reminder that all students need to be wearing full school uniform. As the weather has become cooler, we have noticed a number of students wearing black or coloured logo/branded style jumpers and jackets.
These do not comply with our school uniform expectations, we ask parents' support to ensure that they are sending their children to school in the correct attire.
If you would like more information about the requirements of our uniform or where you can purchase them, please visit our website School Uniform Requirements.
My name is Proud and this year I have the honour of being a Prefect at South- Ballajura Primary School. One of my favourite subjects at school is Maths and the great thing about liking it, is that I get to lend a hand to my peers when they need it. I am also a volleyball player and would like to encourage anyone interested in the game to see me and I may be able to give you a few tips. The last thing I would like to share is the following quote ‘success doesn’t come to you; you go to it’.
ALIA National Simultaneous Storytime
The 2022 ALIA National Simultaneous Storytime took place on Wednesday 25 May 2022 reading the book "Family Tree" written by Josh Pyke and illustrated by Ronojoy Ghosh. Many classes participated by either reading the book or tuning in to one of the guest readers reading the book via video and conducting various class activities. Many thanks to TA01 whose artwork is decorating the front office and to TA07 and TA08 whose family (class) tree posters are on show in the library.
2022 Premier's Reading Challenge
The 2022 Premier's Reading Challenge is now on. The challenge is for students from Kindergarten to Year 10 to read a minimum of 12 books between May and 9 September 2022. Readers who log 12 or more books are eligible to go in the draw to win some fantastic prizes including family holidays and experiences across Western Australia.
Each week a student who logs a book title via their online account, will be eligible to win a unique Western Australian experience.
The weekly random prize draw will see a student and friend, accompanied by a parent or carer, enjoy a range of rewards including:
- Zip line from the Matagarup Bridge
- Fly in a helicopter over the world’s largest open cut mine in Kalgoorlie
- Swim with dolphins in Rockingham
- Ride a camel at sunset in Broome
- Attend a special event as a guest of Tourism Western Australia
(By registering for the challenge, students and parents agree to the challenge terms and conditions.)
Students can register online, or have their parents register for them. Once registered, students can:
- choose their own challenge avatar
- search over 7,000 books from the online booklist
- log the books they read during the challenge.
You can download a reading record - or see Mrs Larsen in the library - if you cannot access an online account.
We encourage students to explore different book formats - from historical novels to graphic novels, comics to newspapers or song lyrics to poems.
Learning a new language nurtures curiosity and openness in children - Dept. of Education
I am back this week after being on five weeks of long service leave and have been revisiting lessons learnt during my time away and assessing students ability to communicate and understand language learnt.
The Year 6s have been learning all about Indonesian food and ingredients used in Indonesian cooking. I am hoping to do some cooking for them before the end of the term.
The Year 4s have learnt about Sport and will be working on a survey to find out the most popular sport in their class.
Year 5 students have been working on a challenge on Language Learning Space entitled 'Delicious and Tasty'. The challenge is on Indonesian food and reviewing Indonesian restaurants.
Year 3 students will be building their vocabulary and learn to say classroom items in Indonesian as well as complete tasks in their portfolio.
Happy Learning! Selamat belajar!
Salam
Ibu Francis
Term 2 Teacher Changes
TA3
Ms Samarin (Mon - Wed) & Ms Paidre (Thu -Fri) are now team teaching.
DOTT
Ms Paidre HASS (Tue) in addition to Art (Mon)
Ms Sam DOTT Release in EI2 (Wed) and EI2 (Thu)
Virtual Reality (VR) Has Arrived
Last week, teachers were delighted to replace a virtual meeting with a face- to-face get together to explore virtual worlds and give our newly arrived VR headsets a test run before trialling in some student lessons. The QR code cubes will give us great opportunities for recording our own 3-D worlds. We are looking forward to opening new horizons for students with this exciting technology.
Mrs Lennox
TA11 Reading
The students in TA11 have been enjoying the shared reading sessions in the classroom.
Zain “I like reading with my friends because it’s cool!”
Kelvin " I like reading with my friends."
Yai "Shared reading is when we can share different books and stories with our friends."
Sorry Day & Reconciliation Week in TA5
TA5 have acknowledged May 26th as Sorry Day and May 27th – June 3rd as Reconciliation Week. We have learnt that reconciliation is important for all Australians to continue to work towards, and that we can do our part in TA5. We have been learning that understanding and valuing culture and language is one way to bridge the cultural divide. The students have been learning to count to 10 in Noongar language, as well as learning the Whadjuk Noongar names for different animals and places.
With the theme of National Reconciliation Week 2022 being “Be Brave. Make Change” we have discussed what it means to us personally by recounting times we had to be brave, and how that can be applied to reconciliation more broadly. I was also pleased to learn that some students even went home and discussed the Stolen Generations and Sorry Day with their family.
The students created some artworks inspired by traditional indigenous techniques and we plan to end the week with some indigenous inspired cooking!
Ryan Johnston, Classroom Teacher – TA5
Pia's Playground Parent Picnic
The Centre had a terrific attendance of parents and family members at Pia’s Playground Parent Picnic at Whiteman Park on Friday 13 May. The weather was a lovely, sunny Autumn day. It was a wonderful belated catch up for all the students, parents and teachers. Several new play items to were eagerly explored.
Term 2 Community Access continues with the Whiteman Park Education and teacher lead programs. The students will be investigating the recently revamped Environmental and Transport History Whiteman Park Educational Programs.
Playground Fun
Thank you
Bree would like to say a massive thank you to Kath and all who supported her for keeping the canteen going last week in her unplanned absence.
Without her hard work and dedication we would have had to close the canteen and that is never an ideal situation.
Also a big thank you to the school staff who even jumped in to help. I'm grateful to be a part of such a great school community.
Looking forward to being back this week.
Election Day Sausage Sizzle
A shout out to the P&C team for hosting a successful sausage sizzle on election day. Alongside out P&C team, we would like to give a special shout out to our amazing volunteers; Muhammad Yassin, Junaid, Anika, Christina and hubby, Ben, Jade, Edward and Julie, for taking time out of your day to help us out. Our next upcoming event will be a school disco around week 8 and week 9, please keep an eye out for further information to come. Well done everyone!
Ameenah Adam-Parker | Fundraising Coordinator
South Ballajura Primary School P&C
Term 2 Family Playgroup in Ballajura isn't far away!
When: Term 2 - Fridays Time: 9.30am – 11.30am
Where: Meerilinga Children and Community Service 2 Community Mews, Ballajura.
Dates: 27th May, 3rd June, 10th June, 17th June, 24th June
