Term 4 Week 2 21 October 2020

Newsletter Articles

Calendar of Key Events

From the Principal…..

What an exciting time we’ve enjoyed at PPS during the first few weeks of Term 4. We were very pleased to welcome back all students and families and to see the new building renovations which were completed in most areas during the holiday break. We are looking forward to a very busy final term of the year with many exciting events and areas of focus to engage students with learning.

Mini Museum

Last week a ‘mini museum’ was established with many old artefacts brought by members of our PPS team. Some were labelled to provide a description for students, but many others were left to promote curiosity and wondering. This focus on history is the beginning of our preparation for the bicentenary of Perth in Feb, 2021. Every class visited the museum for children to look at and talk about the objects and ask questions. The Mini Museum will be the spark for some writing tasks this week, ranging from recount and descriptive writing to narratives. This links with our priority of developing quality writers.

Reporting to Families Survey

The DoE is currently conducting a review of Reporting to Families policy and your views and thoughts are welcome. We know that reports are valued and often shared between family members and kept for many years into the future. Please provide your feedback by completing the short survey. The link can be found at: Family consultation survey together with some information for parents/carers.

COVID Update

Last week we shared a jointly signed letter from the Minister for Education, Jeremy Rockliff and the Secretary of the DoE, Tim Bullard. The letter is a reminder to everyone that advice from Public Health and from the DoE must be followed in schools, with many restrictions and guidelines in place to keep us all safe. The relaxation of the Tasmanian boarder lockdown next week, we are all reminded to be ‘hyper-vigilant’ with guidelines, protocols and procedures to help protect the freedoms we have all enjoyed recently. This means many of our Covid protocols are still in place and changes will only be made in line with Public Health advice. We are most appreciative of your co-operation with these restrictions and appreciate your understanding with any required changes.

Staffing Update

There have been minor changes to our office staff this term, with Tina Todman in the Acting School Business Manager role on Thursdays and Fridays. Leanne Dunn continues as SBM on Mondays – Wednesdays.

Book Week

This week is Book Week and all students were invited to dress as a character from their favourite book to celebrate the importance of reading in our lives. Many members of staff also came in costume. Reading continues as a high priority at PPS, with a significant commitment of resources tagged to helping every child to build their skills in reading for meaning. Our 100 Nights of Reading is designed to encourage children to spend time practising their reading every night.

Building Stimulus Project

During the holiday break a number of trades people were on site to work on a range of ‘mini projects’ across the school. Many of our rooms are now freshly painted and storage areas have been improved. The library has been refurbished and will reopen to students this week. Many thanks to everyone who has worked so hard to help these projects proceed. Thanks also to staff members who spent time packing, unpacking and moving things around during the holiday break.

Kindergarten and planning for 2021

We are now pleased to announce our planning for kindergarten for next year. Two kindergarten groups will be offered, with the following arrangements:

Our kindergarten staff team will be announced once details are finalised. We are currently waiting for confirmation from DoE about staffing movements to finalised our staff team at PPS.

Launching into Learning (LiL) continue this term with several groups and session times available for families. Please contact the office for more information if you are keen to attend and have not been before. Pre-kinder sessions serve as a valuable transition for children who will start in kinder next year and in helping children become familiar with the school and kindergarten environment. We look forward to welcoming all families to suitable sessions this term.

Focus on Values and Character Qualities

Our work on both values expressed in our strategic plan and the character qualities important for success are strong features of our school. On the weekend I came across the following quote which helps to remind is that slow, steady forward progress is the main game:

Be not afraid of growing slowly;
Be afraid only of standing still
(Chinese Proverb)

Students at yesterday’s assembly were recognised for their COURAGE within the school environment, whilst Social Intelligence, Self-Regulation and Aspiration will be the focus of future work and recognition this term.

Annual School Review and Improvement Planning

This term some of our focus will turn to our Annual School Review and Improvement Planning which are requirements by DoE for all schools. We will be considering the progress we have made towards our identified priorities and planning for future professional learning and initiatives. Our focus priorities for 2020 - 2021 are:

Developing quality writers to support success in literacy

Understanding learning protocols and developing a shared language to describe learning

Supporting wellbeing of all members of our school community.

Please talk with your child’s teacher or contact me at school if you have some thoughts to share about our progress towards these priorities.

Welcomes and Farewells

Welcome to Sahara who joined 2-3 Colson from the beginning of term. Wishing Sahara and her family a successful time at PPS.

Lee Craw
Principal

Classroom Awards

Tuesday 20th October

Prep BASE Assessments

Teachers will begin the second BASE assessment this week for all prep students. For more information on BASE Assessments please contact your child’s classroom teacher or visit the BASE Australia website:

Perth Primary School Student Attendance Data

Before School Care Hours – Located in the Hall

Happy Birthday

Jake, Ellah-June, Evan, Reuben, Nixon, Beau, Erich and Mrs Pavia and Mrs Butler.

2020 Professional Learning Days/Moderation Days

Friday 30th October 2020 – Professional Learning Day 3

2020 Term Dates

2020 PPS Support Staff

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