Harmony Day Harmony Day celebrates Australia‘s cultural diversity. It‘s about inclusiveness, respect and a sense of belonging for everyone. It was wonderful to celebrate our Harmony Day once again this year with a range of activities in classes across the school. Celebrations commenced with a tremendous Harmony day Parade in which many children wore clothing representing cultures from around the world or dressed in orange costuming which is the celebration colour for Harmony Day. This was a very colourful and musical event and it was pleasing to see many parents and families also join us for the parade. . In addition to the Parade, a beautiful art installation of the House of Harmony created by the children was erected in the village green by our Visual Arts teacher, Ms Randall. This display featured the children‘s painted bricks with their messages of ―Diversity‖ and reflected this Harmony Day theme of ―Diversity is our strength‖. It was certainly an impressive display and congratulations must go to Ms Randall for her vision and hard work in coordinating this project. Many thanks also to the parents and staff who assisted in creating this display. Listening to the children sing the Harmony Day Song and our School Song at the end of the Parade certainly provided a picture of ‗perfect harmony‘. Thank you to all the parents who provided their children with such wonderful costuming for the parade. It certainly was a special cultural celebration. Reporting To Parents –Term 1 As this term draws to a close, teachers are beginning to prepare for the Term 1 Reporting to Parent Interviews. These are a most important aspect of the school Reporting Policy as it provides all parents with the opportunity to discuss their children‘s progress during these initial months and to establish areas requiring

AN INDEPENDENT

PUBLIC SCHOOL

improvement for the following term. This year Parent Interview Day will be held on the afternoon of Wednesday 6 April from 12.00pm – 5pm. The school will officially close at 12.00pm on that day when students will be dismissed for the day enabling teachers to conduct the Parent Interviews all afternoon through to 5pm. Teachers are very keen to speak with all parents. This process has been supported by both the School Board and the Regional Director as a valuable component of reporting. All parents will receive information in regard to their scheduled interviews next week. Kindergarten Red Group will have their interviews on Thursday afternoon, 7 April. 12.00pm—5.00pm I look forward to seeing all parents during these afternoons. School Board Awards – Term 1 Each term, the School Board presents an Award of Commendation to acknowledge the wonderful achievements and service of individual staff members and volunteer parents and/or community members working within our school. This is a wonderful initiative and recognises people in and around our school who help make Wattle Grove Primary a wonderful school. I encourage you all to submit a nomination. There are 4 major areas:-

Demonstrating Excellence in Teaching and

Learning (Staff Award)

Making a significant difference to individual

student/s (Staff Award)

Outstanding service to the school

community (Parent/Community Award)

Outstanding commitment to volunteering in

the school (Parent/Community Award) Nominations are sought from parents and staff for this term, with the School Board selecting two award winners who will be presented with their Award at the first assembly in Term 4. Wishing you all a safe and happy Easter

Julie Roberts Principal

From the Principal

IMPORTANT DATES - Term 1

March

25 Good Friday—Public Holiday

28 Easter Monday—Public Holiday

29 Easter Tuesday—School Holiday

April

1 Senior Assembly

6 7

Parent Interviews School closes 12.00pm Parent Interviews—Red Kindy

8 ANZAC Ceremony 9.00am Last Day for Term 1

26 Term 2 Commences

Reminder: Early Close every Tuesday at 2.30pm

Term Dates 2016: Term 1 ends 8 April Term 2 Tues 26 April - Fri 1 July Term 3 Tues 19 July - Fri 23 Sept July Term 4 Mon 10 Oct - Thur 15 Dec

The Official Newsletter of Wattle Grove Primary School Term 1, Issue 4

Harmony Day 2016 In this Issue:

Deputy Principal Corner:

On Tuesday, 22 March 2016 Wattle Grove held a Numero® staff professional learning session followed by a parent workshop in the evening. It was fabulous to see so many parents attend the workshop to learn all about how to improve mental maths computation in a fun and engaging way.

During 2016, Numero® will be implemented as part of the Wattle Grove Numeracy Program, with our school participating in the Numero® Interschool Challenge to be held later in the year.

Packs of Numero® can be ordered at the front office for $15 with part proceeds assisting the Wattle Grove P & C.

Kelly Peake Deputy Principal

Assembly News: Well done to Room 1 and Room 5 who presented an amazing assembly on Friday, 18 March. The theme of the assembly was Harmony Day. The students looked fantastic and spoke wonderfully. Thank you to all the parents who came and watched and for helping your children to dress up. Congratulations to all the students who were given awards on the day. Belinda Baines Pre-primary Teacher

Merit Certificate Winners Junior Assembly Week 7 —18 March 2016

Kindy Rm 2: Adelaide, Tanaka, Maddison,

Joel, Alice, Josephine

Kindy Rm 4: Drasika, Sophie, Mutsawashe,

Christian

PP Rm 1 Rayan, Lucas, Chloe

PP Rm 3: Jashwanth, Monet, Lola

PP Rm 5: Anna, Caitlyn, Willow

PP Rm 6: Naqib, Haritha, Amelia

PP/1 Rm 9: Kayla, Olivia, Kiara

Yr 1 Rm 7: Steel, Tariq, Indiana

Yr 1 Rm 10: Benjamin, Paige, Aadidev

Yr 1 Rm 20: Nadia, Zayan, Brianna

Yr 1 Rm 22: Luqman, Madelyn, Deep

Yr 2 Rm 14: Asha, Raiba, Tejas

Yr 2 Rm 16: Tane, Natalina, Isabelle

Yr 2 Rm 25: Ali, Jenny, Ali

Science Award: Javayce and Matilda

Values winners: Alvin and Abigail

Junior Visual Art: Year 1, Room 7

LOTE Award : Year 2, Room 25 Physical Education Award: Yr 1 Rm 10 Lachlan Yr 1 Rm 20 Brandon Yr 1 Rm 22 Mandy

Early Closure on Tuesdays The school closes at 2.30pm each Tuesday, to accommodate staff Professional Development. Children do not remain at school after this time and parents are expected to collect their children promptly at 2.30pm.

Limited after school care is provided only for students who need to travel home by bus.

School Development Days 2016 A reminder to parents that the School Development Days for 2016 are:

Term 2 - Friday, 3 June 2016

Term 3 - Monday, 18 July 2016

Term 4 - Friday, 25 November, Friday,16 December These days are pupil free days and children do not attend school. Some of these days may also differ from other schools.

P&C News: The Uniform Shop is open Tuesday and Thursday mornings 8.30am – 9.00am.

The Canteen operates on Wednesday and Thursdays. Orders can be placed in the classroom basket before school or online by going to www.ouronlinecanteen.com.au.

Volunteer assistants are always welcome.

School Banking:

The students‘ school banking is available on Tuesday‘s

8.25 - 8.45am in the undercover area. It is provided by the

Commonwealth Bank.

Community Events Click on the links below Kalamunda Basketball—girls born in 2005 or 2006 Cannington Leisureplex April School Holiday program Kalamunda Junior Hockey Open Day UWA Sport School Holiday program

Darling Range Interschool Summer

Carnival

Last Friday, 18 March, Wattle Grove, Edney, Woodlupine, High Wycome and Dawson Park Primary Schools came together at Maida Vale Reserve to compete in the annual Interschool Summer Carnival. The five schools competed in cricket, softball and volleyball. Well done to all of the Wattle Grove teams that competed, they showed a high level of skill and sportsmanship. Volleyball A and Cricket B won their respective divisions. Many thanks to the parents who came along and supported the teams as well as helping out with the coaching. In particular Mrs Jayne Murray, Mrs Mary Cannon, Mr Williams and Teleysha Stocks and Mrs Tanya Ody. A huge thank you to Mrs Oliver and Mrs Lowther who helped out with the running of the day. Paul Sherlock Physical Education Co-ordinator

Book Review from Room 17 The Top Secret Diary of Pig

The Year 5 students in Room 17 have been reading The Unbelievable Top Secret Diary of a Pig by Emer Stamp. Below is a review of the book by Sebastian. The Unbelievable top-secret Diary of Pig by Emer Stamp is an outstanding read. I enjoyed this book a lot. I don‘t want to give too much away but I loved the part when he rode in the ‗Trocket‘ and, well, pretty much

everything. Full of surprises, you are guaranteed to get a laugh out of every page. Full of humour, it is the type of book that you can‘t put down. I give it 5/5 stars!

Values: Courtesy

Courtesy is being polite and having good manners. It is a gracious way of speaking and acting which gives others a feeling of being valued and respected. It is greeting others with respect. ―Please‖, ―Thank you‖, ―Excuse me‖, ―Hello‖, ―Goodbye‖, ―You‘re welcome‖ are not just words. They are courteous expressions that show people you respect them and care about them. Mrs Daphne Bennett Values Coordinator

Student Representative Profiles: Term One 2016

Skyler My name is Skyler. I am in Room 15. I have been at Wattle Grove for one year and this is my second year. I was in Mrs Hoskins and Miss Martin‘s class. Being at Wattle Grove has taught me to be the best person I can be and it is a pleasure to be in a safe and wonderful school. Before I came to Wattle Grove, I was moving from place to place and my family was moving me to different schools every year.

The things I really like about Wattle Grove are that whenever someone is in need of help students are always willing to lend a hand and care for other students. At Wattle Grove the teachers are also very helpful and kind. When you are at Wattle Grove, I feel safe and comfortable which is another reason why I love Wattle Grove.

The things I hope to achieve as a Student Representative is to treat everyone the way I want to be

treated and respect everyone with the utmost care and respect. I hope to make all new students

and everyone else feel as welcome as I have.

Elyas My name is Elyas and I am in Room 15. I have been at Wattle Grove for 5 years and I‘ve been looking forward to being as a Student Representative. My family come from Afghanistan, where difficult conditions meant we needed to migrate. We arrived in Australia when I was 5. I have three sisters and I‘m the older brother. I love to play video games with friends. I play soccer at Forrestfield United Soccer Club.

School has brought me many things that I enjoy now, such as Maths, Science, English, reading, friends, Music, Art, sport and now being a Student Representative. The challenging work here is great fun especially maths. The events in this school are excellent and very exciting to watch as students compete in many of them.

I will cooperate with any student that I have been chosen to work with, whether in the classroom or out. I will show respect to students, staff and parents, and I will show them the way I would want to be treated myself. I show great empathy, so I help students with any problem or injury.

Nina

Hello my name is Nina. I came to Wattle Grove Primary School at the middle of Year 3, in 2013. I come from Western Australia, Perth. My mum comes from Scotland and my dad comes from Australia. I am an only child, I am 11 years old. I am a member of Fox Wood Farm Equestrian Centre horse riding club and I also do swimming and I love to do craft. I have 11 pets and I hope to get a pet horse one day.

I love Wattle Grove Primary School because this school has high standards, friendly children and helpful staff members. This school also is nice and clean. This school has fun and challenging work to help educate kids and we always work to a high standard. I love the fun events, such as, free dress day, sports carnivals and special days such as Book week, Harmony day, Fun runs, Movie nights, excursions and incursions.

As a Student Rep I help think of ideas that we use for fundraising. I also provide a strong voice for the students to bring concerns and issues to the attention of the school administration.