24th May 2024

Dates to remember

Dates to remember – view live calendar on side panel of newsletter, website, or communication app.

Principal’s Report

Dear parents and community members, 

Book Week 

Last week Ashdale Primary School celebrated  Book Week. It was great seeing everyone sharing the Magic of Reading, dressing up as book characters for the costume parade and all classes visited the book fair over the week. Classes explored the Jennie Baker book, Window, and how change over time can be shared through pictures as well as listened to our visiting author, Mark Greenwood, a historical children's writer, who shared some of the process he goes through when writing historical books. These activities provided classes with valuable insight to help them in creating their page for our 20 year Ashdale Timeline that will be on display in Term 4 at Learning Journey. A special thanks to Mrs Sonja Topping and her literacy team in organising the events that make up Book Week. 

Faction Cross Country 

Well done to Mr Watson and Mrs Grinceri on another successful Faction Cross Country event. It was wonderful to see so many students participating and earning points for their factions. It was the first time that the number of Year 6 female participants out numbered Year 6 male participants. Congratulations to our winners!! 

AEDC 

Our school will take part in the AEDC between May and July this year. The AEDC is a national census that is conducted every three years by the Australian Government, in partnership with state and territory governments. It measures how children have developed by the time they start their first year of full-time school. 

Uniforms 

As the weather cools down, now is the time to make sure you child has a school jumper. New jumpers can be purchased through Wanneroo Uniforms, alternatively the P&C have a second hand uniform shop and Facebook page. Please make sure your child's name is on the jumper as we often have a large number of jumpers end up in lost property, located in the Revolution Block alcove. 

Keeping safe online 

The Ashdale cluster of schools have partnered with ySafe by Qoria, Australia's leading cyber safety experts, to provide our parents, students, and teachers with the best possible cyber safety education support. As a part of our partnership with ySafe, we have received access to the Online Safety Hub. Families are able to access this via the following link: https://ashdale.onlinesafetyhub.com.au/ 

Kind regards 

Debbie Terry 

Important Information - Local Area Intake for Ashdale Secondary College from Jacquie Bogunovich, Principal

Ashdale Secondary College enjoys an excellent reputation, placing considerable pressure on enrolments.

As an independent public school, we are bound by the School Education Regulations 2000 to enrol all children from within our local intake area as a priority.

Any places remaining after these children have been accommodated must be offered according to the priority order as outlined below:

1. Children who qualify for an approved Specialist Program; (does not include our Soccer or Netball Academies)
2. A child who lives nearest the College who has a sibling who is enrolled at the College for that year, other than a sibling who is enrolled at the College to participate in a Specialist Program;
3. A child who lives nearest the school who:
1. Does not have a sibling who is enrolled at the College for that year; or
2. Has a sibling enrolled at the College for that year to participate in a Specialist Program

Literacy News

We had a wonderful time celebrating the magic of reading during our book week celebrations. We loved seeing all the wonderful costumes at our annual Book Week Dress Up parade, there was a lot of magical inspiration. Many students participated in our Guess the Book competition at lunchtimes, reading the book summary clues and guessing the title of many popular library books. Congratulations to all our entrants that knew the book and to those that were our lucky winners.

Students (and teachers) enjoyed listening to author Mark Greenwood’s writing experiences, he has inspired lots of history hunters at Ashdale. Mark said he had an amazing few days himself and enjoyed meeting such lovely students. Mark has since sent us some additional writing tips for our budding authors, which you can share with your child.

On Thursday night, the year ones returned to school in their pyjamas and enjoyed some books by lamp light in the library. Thank you to our year 6 volunteers who read our year 1s their bedtime stories.

Thank you to all the families who supported our book fair and those who donated books to our library. We hope you all enjoy your new books!

We continued our celebration of reading with National Simultaneous Storytime. Our students enjoyed the book Bowerbird Blues by Australian author and illustrator, Aura Parker along with over 2 million children across Australia.

It has been a big celebration of reading this term which has coincided with the commencement of 2024 Premier’s Reading Challenge. We hope this inspires and motivates our students reading and encourages them to continue celebrating the joy of reading by participating in this year’s challenge. There are some great prizes to be won, as well as all the wonderful adventures to be had. All students have received a bookmark this week with the details, or you can go https://www.premiersreadingchallenge.wa.edu.au/ for more information.

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Year 3 Herdsman Lake Incursion

Last Thursday in the undercover area and around the school the year 3 students were treated to a science incursion from Herdsman Lake.

Some of the activities they engaged in were:

Animal adaptations

How animals use camouflage and mimicry to avoid predators and therefore survive in their environment. They discussed strategies used and animal defences.

Nature Journaling

Using the INIWIRMO prompts to observe and sketch then write about observations adding relevant annotations of a gumnut found in the environment.

INIWIRMO (I notice, I wonder, it reminds me of…)

Invertebrate Identification

Responsibly gently respectfully taking a sample of soil and leaf litter from the environment then collecting invertebrates. Viewing them under the microscope and identifying them as well as how many were present.

Nature Walk Fauna Survey

Identifying native and introduced species of bird in the school environment. Recording numbers.

Looking at the connection between the skeleton of their heads particularly the beak shape and how this related to where and what they feed on in the environment.

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Year 6 Student Kavi Bhangu Breaks State Hurdles Record

Year 6 student, Kavroop (Kavi) Bhangu has recently broken the U11 Girls 80m Hurdle state record. Kavi dominated the field and smashed the previous record of 13.05 seconds, setting a new record of 12.86 seconds. Congratulations to Kavi on this amazing achievement!

Legends

Chaplain's Chat

The parenting journey is beautiful but can also bring challenges. It is very common for parents to go through tough seasons raising their children, however thankfully there is support available and lovely community resources to tap into such as the Ngala program that has been running at our school.

Another great free parenting resource that has come to my attention is: 

The Triple P Parenting programs (ONLINE), as recommended by Dept of Education/School Psychology Services.

They have their Standard Triple P parenting program, Baby Triple-P, Fear-less Triple-P (Helping parents of anxious children), and their new Family Transitions Triple P program (for families going through separation and divorce).

Head to their main website https://www.triplep-parenting.net.au/au/triple-p/

This is a great free of cost resource that can be completed anytime around your busy schedule. My husband and I have done some sessions in the past and we found it very helpful.

Inspirational Quote:

“Parenting is not a perfect journey, but a perfect opportunity to love and guide your child.” – Peter Krause

Kind Regards,

Denise Hodgson 

Chaplain 

A Message from the School Psychologist

School Refusal

School refusal is a term that describes the behaviours of children who regularly avoid going to school and/or have difficulty staying at school.  This is different from truancy, as often family and friends know the child is not attending school.  Family and friends are often unable to get the child to attend school despite their best efforts.  School refusal usually affects the whole family, not just the child.  There is no one thing that causes school refusal, but there are some factors that drive school refusal behaviour:

• To avoid fear-evoking situations in the school setting and to escape from uncomfortable feelings (like sadness, worry, fear of being separated from a parent)
• To escape from negative social situations or evaluative situations (like uncomfortable peer interactions, shyness, taking tests, giving an oral presentation)
• To receive attention from significant others outside of school (such as attention given from parents and extended family in response to tantrums, crying, clinging, separation anxiety)
• To pursue tangible reinforcement outside of school (increased screentime, like gaming, watching movies, viewing popular internet sites)

If you are concerned that your child may be a school refuser, these are the most common signs to look out for:

• Distress and anxiety related to going to school
• Tearfulness before school, sometimes resulting in conflict between family members
• Frequent complaints of physical illness before or during school (such as headaches, tiredness, complaints of a sore stomach, stomach upsets)
• Refusal to get out of bed, leave the house or exit the car to go to school
• Difficulty attending school after disruptions to school routines (like holidays, school sporting events, school camps)
• Frequent absences from class, including being late or frequent time spent in the sick room

The effects of school refusal are significant.  It can negatively affect a child’s learning and development.  It can affect friendships as well as social standing due to missed opportunities to connect with friends and other students.  The longer the problem persists, the more difficult it is for the child to get back into the routine of going to school, so it is very important to respond early.

If you think that your child might be school refusing, make an appointment with your GP for a health check (to rule out any possible physical illnesses).  If your child is given a clean bill of health, talk to the school about your concerns as soon as possible.  When parents and school work together to support a child with school refusal behaviours, that child has a much better chance of overcoming school refusal.

(Information obtained from headspace.org.au)

A Message from the School Health Nurse

School Entry Health Assessment

All children in Western Australia are eligible for a School Entry Health Assessment when they are of school entry age. The School Entry Health Assessment is provided by the local School Health Nurse. It is an excellent opportunity to look at the health and development of your child at the beginning of school life.

The assessments are simple, non-invasive, quick and easy. They screen for problems which are best addressed, if picked up and treated early. The assessments include:

• Vision
• Hearing
• Teeth
• Growth (including weight, height and Body Mass Index).

Your child’s results will be sent home after their health check has been completed. Results are always treated confidentially.

Please note, if the assessment results for your child suggest there may be a concern, the School Health Nurse will contact you to discuss.

School Entry Health Assessment forms are currently being distributed for parents to complete. Please complete and sign the back page of the form before you return it.

Please return the form to the class teacher as soon as possible.

Kindy assessments start in February and will continue until December.

I look forward to working with you and your family. If you have a concerns about your child’s health, development or wellbeing please contact me on

Melanie Arnison: Community Health Nurse Ph: 0439 061 628 Melanie.Arnison@health.wa.gov.au

My work days are Mon, Tues, Wed, Thurs.

Anxiety – How To Help Your Child

All children experience anxious feelings as part of their normal childhood development. Some anxious feelings include fear, agitation, nervousness, worry and apprehension. Some children find it harder to get these feelings under control and may experience anxiety more intensely and more often than others.

Anxiety is when the level of fear or worry about something is out of proportion to the level of risk or danger. Thinking about the situation makes them more worried and tense.

If your child is experiencing anxiety try to:

• Acknowledge your child’s fear – don’t dismiss or ignore it.
• Gently encourage them to do things they’re anxious about, but don’t push them to face situations they’re not yet ready to face.
• Wait until they actually get anxious before you step in to help
• Praise him for doing something they’re anxious about, rather than criticising them for being afraid.
• Avoid labelling your child as ‘shy’ or ‘anxious’.

Your child might need some extra support if their anxiety stops them from doing the things they want to do or interferes with their friendships, school work or family life. If you are worried about your child, contact your local Community Health Nurse, School Psychologist or General Practitioner. For more information about anxiety in children go to www.raisingchildren.net.au or www.healthyfamilies.beyondblue.org.au

Office News

Kindy Enrolments are now open!

School Voluntary Contributions (including P & C Contribution)

Have you paid the voluntary contribution $60/student and P & C Levy $40/family?

We encourage payments via the Qkr! app – this is a very simple and quick process and alleviates the need for busy parents to come into the office or send money in with students.

Instructions on how to download the App are available on our website from the link below or see the Qkr! Tip article below.

• Remember to change the profile (year, LAs etc) for your children when first accessing Qkr! for the year
• Alternative payment methods (cash/eftpos/credit card) are available through the front office.
• Families may pay the Voluntary Contribution in instalments.

Student Update Forms

It is important that our school’s database is up to date with student’s current details.  Families can update their child’s details held at the school by completing an online form on the Ashdale Primary School website.  This is located under the home tab, or use the following link, 

If you require any further information, please contact the school on 6207 4500 or email Ashdale.ps@education.wa.edu.au.

P&C News

We enjoyed a fantastic day on May 10th with Mayor Lynda Aitken for our "walk to school" event. The children received stickers, temporary tattoos, and a piece of fruit for their mid-morning snack as rewards. Over 400 students participated in the walk that day, resulting in a wonderful turnout. 

Ashdale Primary P&C had its inaugural presence at the Kingsway markets last Saturday morning, featuring a booth where children could color Mother's Day cards and purchase books donated by Ashdale families for a gold coin donation. 

In June, the P&C will return for another interactive session, offering additional information about Ashdale Primary enrolment details and updates on the "Your Move" initiative to raise funds for our bike undercover area.

We are in the final preparations for our 20-year anniversary quiz night and we look forward to welcoming you in your finest Y2K attire this Saturday night. Best dressed wins a prize!

The doors will open at 6:30 pm for a prompt 7:00 pm start. Remember to bring along some spare change and your Tamagotchi! BYO food and drinks available for purchase (no BYO drinks permitted)

Ticket sales will conclude on Friday afternoon.

Our next P&C meeting is on Tuesday 28th May at 7pm in the staffroom. All are welcome to attend - we hope to see both old and new faces there!

OHSClub News

Community News

The Boost Program at Girrawheen Library

The Boost Program – for parents/caregivers of children aged 4-7 years

A FREE workshop series for parents and caregivers to learn how to support their child learning to read and write. The workshops include information, activities, and a take-home resource pack.

Bookings are essential, morning tea is provided.

Girrawheen Library

Part 1: Thursday 6 June, 9.30am – 12:30pm

Part 2: Thursday 13 June, 9:30am – 12:30pm

Register or express interest via email to natasha.stoiche@wanneroo.wa.gov.au or call 9405 5954

DoE SECURITY

Please help to keep our school safe!  As part of our school community, we ask that if you see any unusual behaviour, evidence of theft or vandalism of our school outside of school hours, could you please contact school security on the number below. 

Please do not approach any individuals, just contact security and they will investigate the situation or contact the Police.  Working together will help protect our school.

9264 4771 (24-hour number) or 9264 4635