How can it possibly be the end of Term 1 already?! Time flies, as they say.  And we certainly have been having fun learning together at our wonderful school, Safety Bay Primary.

This term, in addition to the ongoing high quality teaching and learning, our school continued to provide students with a range of extra-curricular opportunities to extend and enhance their learning experiences.  Students have had visits from the Lighthorse Brigade on Purple Poppy Day, participated in interschool summer sports carnivals, attended team building camps and leadership conference, just to name a few.  It is great to see our students have so many diverse opportunities to shine and demonstrate their unique talents.

I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the efforts of the staff of Safety Bay  Primary School, who continue to go above and beyond for each and every one of our students.  Whether it is early starts for Breakfast Club, or late stays for STEM Club, our staff give so much of their time and energy to ensure that we maximise the opportunities for learning.

One of my favourite parts of this role is meeting our new families and introducing them to our school learning programs and grounds.  We consistently receive feedback about the welcoming enrolment process and the calibre of our school grounds.  For those who have been here for several years, you may remember there was a time when our well-used oval looked like it could use a little TLC.  Over the past 18 months, and with a huge effort from Phil Reeves, Carrie-anne McDougall and Diana Tindale, our lush playing fields are now one of the first things to be noted on school tours.  I would like to recognise the work of our office, grounds and cleaning staff for making our school such an inviting place to play, work and learn.

I have been particularly impressed this term with our student leadership group.  From each of their firsts; be it assembly, sports set up or board meetings, they have demonstrated their skills and willingness to grow as leaders.  I had the pleasure of attending the GRIP leadership conference with this group in week 8 and was inspired by their consideration of their peers and our community in seeking ways to continue to improve the school experience for our Safety Bay learners. 

Our school would not be what it is without the ongoing support from our school community. We have welcomed a number of new members to the School Board this term and are pleased to announce the appointment of Lee Emmerson to the role of Board Chair and Hannah Kalkman to the role of Board Secretary.

I would also like to thank our dedicated P&C, for their ongoing commitment to supporting our students and community.  This term, I would particularly like to acknowledge P&C fundraising co-ordinator, Lorraine Harding, for the huge contribution towards the 2023 Colour Explosion.  This is a favourite school event, and this year was no exception.  Thank you, P&C, for a day full of colour, smiles and celebration!  I encourage any community member who has been considering joining the P&C to get in touch and become part of this fabulous group.

As we move into term 2, I look forward to building on the successes we have already experienced this year.  Take time these holidays to do what brings you joy, spend time with those you love and rest and reenergise for a great second term.

Take care and see you all back ready to learn together on April 26!

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Please read below a few housekeeping messages from the front office.

Voluntary Contributions
Just a reminder for those that haven't made payment towards students voluntary contributions.

It is vital the school receives your family’s contribution which is used to purchase materials and resources for the classroom to support learning in; literacy, numeracy, science, information communications technology, humanities and social sciences, art and physical education.

Please help us to maximise the quality of our teaching and learning programs.  Voluntary contributions are set at $60 per child in Years 1-6 and $50 per child in Kindy.  This equates to only $1.50 per week.

Payments may be made by QkR!, eftpos/credit card, cash or via direct bank transfer:
NAB Safety Bay Primary School
BSB 086 918
Account  02 949 1771

Thank you if you have already paid.

Uniform Orders
Any online Tudor Uniform orders will be filled and available for collection from the school office on 26th April. 

Attendance
Please continue to notify the school via the SMS 0437 418 753 if your child will be absent from school. 

FREE RAT (Rapid Antigen Tests) TESTS
We have received a large delivery of RAT tests. These may be collected from front office or from classroom teachers. They must be collected by a parent or carer.

IMPORTANT DATES
Put these dates on your Calendar!
24th April - Staff Development Day (no students attend)
25th April - ANZAC Day
26th April - Students Return
15th May - NAIDOC Week
31st May - School Photos
1st + 2nd June - School Photos
5th June - Western Australia Day (Public Holiday)
15th June - RASSA Winter Carnival
23rd June - Cross Country

 

 

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School Development Days - Term 1 2023

At our School Development Days at the beginning of the term, in addition to reviewing the school operations and policies, staff completed professional learning on the following:

• Planned for spaced retrieval practice in your levels
• Using Apple Classroom to facilitate learning and promote cyber safety
• New Staff Induction, including Compass modules
• A half day session on Protective Behaviours, with a focus on delivery for diverse need and promoting respectful relationships
• Epilepsy response training (week 3)

New Student Services Team Members

We are pleased to have school psychologist, Alison Monsoon, assigned to our school on a regular basis. Alison has experience in both the Primary and Secondary settings and is keen to support our young people and families. We also welcome back our Early Childhood – focused school psychologist, Verity Gray. Verity attends the school twice a term and supports early intervention referrals.

While our regular Defence School Mentor, Deb Batey, is on leave, we welcome Deb Rajecki to the role. Deb is highly knowledgeable regarding issues affecting defence families and her student Defence club sessions are already extremely well attended.

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Compass for parents is coming soon.

As a school we have been slowly learning how to use Compass and we are excited to say that the parent portal will be coming soon so watch this space.

Once our school goes live to parents you are able to access the portal via the web and also via the Compass School Manager App. This system will eventually replace all of those different spaces for all things school relates. Some of these include

Communicating with your child's teacher and seeing what the class is doing on the class page. 

The QR code below will take you to the Compass  parent guide, check it out and then watch this space for more information about the Compass Parent Portal and information nights.

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Information for parents –

When is it OK to miss school?

It is important for children to attend school all day,
every day.
When is it OK to not go to school?

An OK reason is one that prevents your child from getting to school.  This could include:

• your child is unable to attend because they are sick
• attending cultural or religious observances such as sorry time and funerals
• an unavoidable medical appointment
• an unavoidable natural event such as flood waters or a cyclone

The Principal decides if the reason given for your child’s absence is acceptable.

It’s NOT OK to miss school if your child:

• is celebrating a birthday
• is going on a family holiday
• is visiting family and friends
• has slept in or had a big weekend
• is looking after other children
• has sport or other recreational activities that have not been approved by the school
• has appointment such as haircuts and minor check ups

If possible, routine medical and other health appointments should be made either before or after school, or during the school holidays.

Do you need to let the school know if your child will be away from school?

Yes, you need to let the school know the reason why your child is going to be, or has been, absent from school as soon as possible.  Where possible, please discuss any upcoming absences in advance so we can let you know of important learning or activities your child will miss out on.

This requires a responsible person, usually a parent, to provide a reason for the absence within three school days.

Having information about why your child is missing school helps us plan for their return to school and work out whether we can provide any further help to you.

Why is going to school so important?

• At school, many concepts such as literacy and numeracy are taught in a sequence. Missing school means missing out on learning – which can often make it difficult to catch up later. This is particularly important in the early years when essential foundation skills are being taught.
• Going to school every day helps children learn the important life skill of ‘showing up’ – at school, at work, to sport and other commitments.

Research from the Western Australian Telethon Kids Institute shows that every day at school counts towards a student’s learning. Students who attend regularly, generally do better at school and in life.

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Student Leaderships have been appointed for 2023. The Student Leaders are indicated below. 
We are incredibly fortunate to have so many exceptional leaders within our school.

Student Leaders	Sports Captains	Board Representatives	Music Captains	Defence Club Leaders
Thomas	Braxton	Brea	Layla	Kenzie
Taleeyah	Lachlan	Emily	Rita	Holly
Kai	Maya			Mitchell
Maxton	Allegra			Isabelle
Eliza	Skye
Paige	Elise
Clare	Sam
Madison	Jet

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2023 INTERSCHOOL SWIMMING CARNIVAL

On Thursday 23^rd March, our squad of interschool swimmers excitedly and for some, nervously, headed to Rockingham Aquatic Centre to represent Safety Bay Primary School at the annual BASSA swimming carnival. This was our first time attending a BASSA carnival.  We were invited to attend because of the absence of our own RASSA Swimming Carnival. Unfortunately, our school was not able to earn points or individual points on the day as we were invited to participate on a trial basis. This hopefully will change for future swimming carnivals. None the less our swimmers were still able to compete on the day in their races and earn ribbons for their efforts. There were seven participating schools at the event and the events included 50m freestyle, breaststroke, backstroke and medley and freestyle relays. It was a fantastic day of swimming, and our participants swam their hearts out, cheered loudly and behaved superbly.

Every one of our children who participated swam as well as they could and did themselves and their school proud. In actual fact, they swam so well, that our school would have finished as the overall WINNERS with a substantial winning margin had we been eligible to earn points!!

A big thank you must go to Mrs White, Mr Pudney, Miss Sainsbury and Mrs Lamers who supported our fantastic athletes on the day.

We had a large contingent of parents who came along to support all of our swimmers. The children really appreciated it – thank you.

 

SUMMER LIGHTNING CARNIVAL

Our annual Term 1 Lightning carnivals for year 5s and 6s were held on Friday, 24^th March on a warm and sunny day that was perfect for competition! 

Three of the four sports – 2 Cricket teams, 2 Teeball teams and 2 Rugby teams travelled to Lark Hill for their carnivals and our Basketballers travelled to Mike Barnett indoor centre.

Congratulations to all of our students who represented their school and themselves admirably both on and off the field. It was very pleasing to hear and see great sportsmanship and behaviour shown by Safety Bay Primary School participants.

There were 4 – 5 schools represented at each of the Black division carnivals in two divisions.

Our results for the day were:

CRICKET:
A” team: 1^st 
“B” team: 3rd
Overall: Champions
Thank you to Mrs White and Ms Blinston

TEEBALL:
Boys: 3rd  
Girls: 4th   
Overall: 4th
Thank you to Mrs Carter and Ms Holland for their coaching on the day and in the lead up.

RUGBY:
Boys: 2^nd   
Girls: ^1st   
Overall: Champions
Thank you to Mr McCaskie and Mrs Maumill for coaching and training the Yr 5s & 6s leading up to the carnival and on the day.

BASKETBALL
Boys team: 2nd  
Girls team:  3rd
Overall: 3rd
Thank you to Mr Pudney and Miss Venn for their coaching on the day and in the lead up.

Thank you very much also to the many parents who came along to the carnivals and supported our teams.

Mr Brown
Physical Education Specialist

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On February 24th we commemorated Purple Poppy day for the first time. This event was co-ordinated by our Defence School Mentor Deb Rajecki. On this day, individuals were encouraged to wear a purple poppy in recognition of the deeds and sacrifice our four legged and feathered diggers have made and continueto make serving alongside our troops. 
We were visited by the Volunteer 10th Light Horse brigade with service dog Kaya and horse Tanami, with another visit on 17th March with "Sarge" the horse.

We have been busy making Poppies and Wreaths for our ANZAC Ceremony for end of term.

DSM would like to congratulate the Riley family on the safe arrival of Lilliana on the 14th February, a baby sister, for Mitchell and Evelyn and another precious member of our Defence Community.



Deb Rajecki
Defence School Mentor

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NAPLAN 2023
NAPLAN for 2023 has been completed. Our students and staff are to be commended on the positve approach they have taken to all testing sessions. We had very minimal absences this year and look forward to receiving our results to celebrate our strengths and analyse areas for continued improvement.

GRIP LEADERSHIP
Last week our student leaderships group, including our student Board representatives, attended the GRIP Leadership conference at the Perth Convention Centre. Our students were among 1500 student leaders from schools across the metropolitan area who attended. 
Our students were exemplary contributors to the event and represented our school with pride. They learnt strategies for effective leadership and how to develop "big ideas" and bring them to fruition within the school setting. Ms Milne looks forward to continiuning to work with this expectional group of leaders this year. 

HARMONY DAY
While we didn't hold our usual Harmony Day assembly this year, due to conflicting events, it was fantastic to see so many meaningful learning activities occurring across the school. Classes were celebrating diversity, learning more about each other's cultures and the importance of inclusion. You may have seen some of the displays throughtout classes and common areas and the orange that overtook the school on Friday 24th March. 

ALCOA CHAMPIONS OF DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY
This year our school has been selected to participate in the Alcoa Champions of Digital Technology program. Alcoa Champions of Digital Technologies is a fully-funded ICT and Digital Technologies program for selected primary schools in the areas in and around Mandurah and Kwinana – supported by Scitech and Alcoa.
This full-year professional learning program is modelled on the highly successful Alcoa Champions of Maths program. Teachers are supported through a full year of professional development designed to increase their competency to meaningfully integrate digital learning across all subject areas, enhance student learning opportunities, and support other teachers in the school to do the same.
Our school’s involvement will be co-ordinated by Sue McCulloch and learning applied in both classroom activities and the senior primary STEM extension program.

STEM
Our ever-popular STEM Challenge nights commenced this year with the Year 1/2 family event. Students were provided specific Learning Intentions and Success Criteria to construct a throne for King Ted and design headwear fit for a king.

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P&C Annual General Meeting

The P&C Annual General Meeting was held on Friday 3rd March. We are pleased to announce the P&C Team for 2023:

President: Janelle Fleay
Vice President: Jonathan Peace
Secretary: Corrine Moseley
Treasurer: Kathryn Bunting
Executive Members: Lorraine Cameron, Loraine Harding, Emma Lohoar, Sarah Piccoli 
Fundraising Coordinator: Loraine Harding
Second Hand Uniform Stall Coordinator: Jenny Pettet
Social Media: Corrine Moseley

Colour Explosion Fun Run

The Colour Explosion fundraising event on Friday 31st March was a huge success! We loved seeing the school spirit in action as parents, grandparents, school staff and students all worked together to make it a fun afternoon for everyone. There were many students that could not have fit any more colour onto their shirts and had smiles from ear to ear. It was excellent!

We are very happy to announce that the event raised over $8000* that will go towards installing Water Bottle Refill Stations throughout the school. This was a student led project that we are excited to support.

Here are the names of most of the volunteers that made all of this happen:

Kimberly Addi Elisha Allison Emma Beard Christine Berrigan Clint Blight Brooke Bolitho Linden Brooke Kathryn Bunting Lorraine Cameron Bridgitte Constance Janette Cook Shannon Discombe Michaela Driessen Lee Emmerson Craig Evans

Janelle Fleay Hannah Golby Loraine Harding Sarah-Jane Johnson Matt Kalkman Hannah Kalkman Louise Lawrence Emma Lohoar Claudio Maggioni Erin Maggioni Wayne McKay Emma McKenzie Sam Merritt Corrine Moseley Scott Moseley

Keri O'Keefe Christine Pace Jonathan Peace Matt Pearson Sarah Piccoli Andrew Polgar Isabelle Richardson Chris Richardson Emma Roberts Rita Sihombing David Thorpe Ryan Upton Kris White

You are legends and we thank you!

*The exact final fundraising figure was not available at the time of newsletter publication.

What’s coming up?

Second Hand Uniform Stall
Day To Be Confirmed
8.15-8.45am near the library

P&C General Meeting
Monday 1st May
9.00-10.30am Conference Room
Everyone welcome

Stay in the Loop

Follow the P&C Facebook Page for information about school and P&C events. 

www.facebook.com/sbpspc. 

You can also find your Facebook Year Group where parents and carers can ask questions, share info, get important updates and set up playdates.

Contact us
safetybaypc@gmail.com
www.facebook.com/sbpspc

 

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Look at our AMAZING canteen ladies and their wonderful Easter treats made for our equally AMAZING students!

We are so lucky to have such a wonderful Canteen serving up delicious healthy foods for our students and staff.

THANK YOU! ♥

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OSHClub News

This term at OSHClub Safety Bay, the children have worked on many different activities to enhance our environment, culture, community and relationships. We have spent many weeks learning how to be more culturally aware and how to be more sustainable for our environment. Children have worked extremely well this term In reducing their craft waste and we have even used our Coles bags to make dresses and shoes! During Harmony Week children were very excited to learn about different cultures and different foods. Children have really enjoyed making damper this term and learning all about It.

Our philosophy:

We believe OSHClub Is a safe and welcoming environment for children of all ages, we provide not only a safe place for your children to stay but valuable life lessons that will help them grow with us In future years. At OSHClub we are passionate about providing world class experiences and programs that add depth and richness to children’s learning beyond the classroom and school curriculum.

We have created 7 ‘Domains of Play’ to guide children and their educators in various child-led activities.

To reflect our new program, we are renaming Before and After school care to Rise Then Shine & Stay And Play, children have been enjoying the change as we now provide breakfast club and snack squad which Isn't just pre-made snacks It Is a time for children to use their skills, cook food and prepare food and to have these long life skills for future times.

If you are Interested In booking your child Into OSHClub go to:

https://www.oshclub.com.au/
or give our team a call/email on:
0419 695 783
Safetybay@oshclub.com.au

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Please click on the link to read the latest newsletter from Rockingham Flames. New season approaching and some great April school holiday programs available.

Saver Plus – helping take the stress out of back to school time
The Saver Plus community program has helped over 55,000 Australians take the stress out of back to school time. It’s free for eligible people to join.

At Saver Plus, we pair you with a savings coach while you budget and save over the next 10 months. You attend online workshops to learn tips, tricks and information to grow your budgeting and savings skills. Once you reach your agreed savings goal, ANZ matches your savings dollar-for-dollar, up to $500. You can use that money towards education costs such as uniforms, text books, laptops or extra-curricular activities such as sport or music.

You could be eligible to join Saver Plus if you:

• have a Centrelink Health Care Card or Pensioner Concession Card
• are at least 18 years old
• have some regular income from work (you or your partner) including casual, part-time, full-time or seasonal (we also accept child support and carer’s payment as income)
• have a child at school or attend vocational education yourself.

If you’re eligible, start now and we’ll help take the stress out of next year’s back to school.
To find out more, or to apply, go to www.saverplus.org.au or call  1300 610 355 



Better Health Program
Last chance to register for Free Healthy Lifestyle Program in Port Kennedy.

Location: Herb Graham Centre
When: Tuesday at 4pm for 10 weeks
Families can register here: https://betterhealthprogram.org/wa
  

 

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Please follow the link for some valuable information regarding concussion (head injury advice) provided by our school nurse. Especially with winter sports about to commence. 

Raising Children Network - Concussion

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We are pleased to be able to hold Literacy Development workshops for our Early Childhood parents this term, facilitated by Kindergarten teacher Kate Brown and members of the Curtin University speech pathology program. The workshops explore practical strategies related to the acquisition of early literacy skills. We have received highly positive feedback regarding the first session for Kindergarten parents, and will subsequently seek further opportunities for these throughout the year. 

Click on the link for more information.

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