MARMION PRIMARY SCHOOL Newsletter Term 1, Issue 2 COMING EVENTS “The Little School in the Bush” WEEK 4: 21 February 2014 Dear Parents Student Leaders Head Boy: Luke Smith Mon 24 Feb - Fri 28 Feb Interm Swimming Lessons Head Girl: Zaan Dunne Dolphins Sharks Stingrays Captains Luke Smith Sarah Kirkbride Tadgh Dupuy Amber Ridley Jarred Barber Zaan Dunne Vice Captains Will Hutchings Sophie Smith Aaron Ladage Danielle Bordin Aiden Muller Dani Rolfe WEEK 5: Mon 3 March LABOUR DAY HOLIDAY Thur 6 March Parent Assembly - Rm 8 Luke Tadgh Jarred Sarah Amber Sophie Danielle Zaan Fri 7 March Yr 4-7 Faction Swimming Carnival @ Challenge Stadium William Aaron Aiden Dani In-Term Swimming REGULAR EVENTS Uniform Shop Thursdays: 8:30 - 9:20am Cliverton Court, Marmion WA 6020 Phone: 9246 3422 Fax: 9246 4006 web address: www.marmionprimary.com Canteen Open Monday, Wednesday and Friday School Banking Friday @ 8:15am For more calendar details please follow this link School Calendar In–Term swimming has started very smoothly and students are participating well. I wish them every success in gaining their next certificate. Please ensure goggles and towels are labelled clearly. It has been pleasing to note that lost property has been at a minimum this year. I thank parents for their support of this program. It is vital that all students are safe in and around water. Swimming Carnival A reminder that the Year 4-7 Faction Swimming Carnival will be held on Friday 7 March at Challenge Stadium. This is a great event and we hope to see parents coming along to support the students. Parent Class Meetings It was fantastic to see the majority of our parents attend these meetings. While they are designed primarily to provide you with information about your child’s class and its routines, it is also a great opportunity to build the all-important relationship with your child’s teacher. Communication between parents/carers and the classroom teacher is vital in ensuring children understand the importance you place on learning. I would like to acknowledge the classroom preparation of our teachers and our Deputy Principal Marina Maclean for their presentations to parents of students (Kindy – Year 3) on Monday and Tuesday night. SCHOOL SECURITY 9264 4771 Ian Herbert PRINCIPAL National Assessment Program Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) is an annual national assessment of all students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9. The program will continue in 2014 with students being assessed in reading, writing, language conventions (spelling, grammar and punctuation) and numeracy using common national tests. All students are expected to participate in the testing. A major purpose of NAPLAN is to provide schools, parents and caregivers with information about student performance. The tests are scheduled for the mornings of Tuesday 13 May, Wednesday 14 May and Thursday 15 May. Any catch up testing must be completed by Friday 16 May. All schools must complete the assessments on the same days. Further information for parents of students who will be involved in testing this year is contained in a brochure accompanying this newsletter. Please contact me if you require further information. Support-A-Reader Program: More Tutors Needed We recently sent out a note seeking Tutors for this program. We still require more volunteers to ensure this program can be offered to as many children as possible. Support-A-Reader is an intervention program which gives children the opportunity to participate daily in reading in a one-to-one situation. It allows children who need additional assistance to gain confidence through the support of caring adults. Its main aim is to encourage children’s independence as readers and, through sharing the pleasure of reading, to develop a genuine desire to read. An information session will be conducted by Mrs Barbara Carter for all volunteers on Thursday 27 February at 2:20pm. If you are able to assist on a regular basis please return the form or contact the coordinator Saz McDermott. Coordinator: Ms Saz McDermott (for Mrs Glenyse Lillico while on leave) Monarch Butterflies As part of our Biological Sciences unit in Semester 1, B1 & B2 will be distinguishing between, and classifying, living and non-living things. To complement the work being done in this unit, we are very fortunate to have had an expert come in and teach us all about Monarch butterflies. Our expert, Mr Moore, has provided us with an enclosure that includes eggs, caterpillars, pupae & chrysalises and a fully grown Monarch butterfly, so that we study the different stages of the life cycle of a butterfly from our very own classroom. We have even been lucky enough to have witnessed one butterfly hatching from its chrysalis! Thank you Mr Moore for helping to create an authentic learning experience, which has us all curious, motivated, and ready to learn more. New Drums for the School Last year 2013 Erica Robinson co-ordinated the collection of shopping dockets from Woolworths and was able to purchase a set of bongo drums and congo drums for the music room. The children appreciate this gesture and thank all parents for presenting their dockets to Erica. Thank you and we will have fun making music. www.facebook.com/MarmionPrimaryCommunity [email protected] GENERAL MEETING Our first meeting was held during the week with funding agreed to for the annual computer leases, 2014 graduation ceremony and for venue hire for the swimming carnival. Several ongoing issues were raised and will continue to be discussed over the coming meetings, primarily that of shade options throughout the school including planting new trees and installation of permanent shade structures over play equipment and school hats. EVENING ON THE OVAL The very popular “Evening on the Oval” will be held on Friday 14th March from 5.30 – 8.30pm. Frankie G will be performing and there will be food and drinks for sale. For those who haven’t attended before, it is a great evening held on the grassed area between Year 1 and PP and is for all families at the School. Bring a picnic blanket, some nibblies and drinks and enjoy the company of other school families. Tickets on sale soon. KRISPY KREME Order forms for the Krispy Kreme fundraiser will be sent home with the children early next week. Grab some donut orders from family and friends and return your order form by Wednesday 12th March. Our donuts will arrive on Friday 28th March for you to enjoy!!! LIBRARY FUND NOW TO BE KNOWN AS THE TECHNOLOGY FUND As discussed at the meeting on Wednesday night, the P&C has received a ruling from the ATO that our Library Fund can no longer be a tax deductible item. We will continue to request from all families the voluntary payment and hope that everyone will continue to support this fund. As a result of the ruling, we have the opportunity to rename the fund to better represent what the funds are used for, hence the new name of the TECHNOLOGY FUND. All money provided to this fund pays for the schools computer leases and to ensuring the students have access to technology in their learning. CANTEEN VOLUNTEERS As the school year gets underway, so too does the call for volunteers to staff the canteen. If you have time to spare on a Monday, Wednesday or Friday morning, please speak to the lovely ladies in the canteen and put your name down, even if it is just for one morning a term. MONDAY WEDNESDAY FRIDAY 24 FEBRUARY 26 FEBRUARY 28 FEBRUARY Anna Hermann Joslyn Ness Jane Cousins Naomi Jeffs Help required 3 MARCH 5 MARCH 7 MARCH PUBLIC HOLIDAY Jane Cousins Ailsa Dempsey Vanessa Bramley (8:45—11am) Pamela Anderson Christine Patterson Julie Edwards The Canteen is open as usual for the rest of term and a very big thankyou for all of the volunteers for coming forward - we managed to avoid closure. Please contact Patti Morgan on 0418 933 875 or just call into the canteen if you would like to help! ADVERTISE HERE! $11 for Business Card sized advertisement per Newsletter or $40 for the Term Email your details to: [email protected]