Issue Eight

Term Three

The Community

September 2017 An Independent Public School:

40 Braemore Street, Armadale, Western Australia 6112 Phone: 9399 3255 Website: www.challiscommunityprimaryschool.wa.edu.au

Expressions of interest are being asked for a Parent Representative on our Challis Community Primary School Board. Members of the Board have been active in setting high expectations and pursuing improvement in student achievement all of which is starting to merge in the data. There is much more to be done, but the evidence is irrefutable that the school is making a huge difference to the learning outcomes of the students and over time their life opportunities. The Board’s role is focussed on policy and direction setting, and on holding the school to account for its performance on your behalf. The day to day running of the school is the province of Mrs Musumeci and her leadership team who calmly and ably ensure Challis Community Primary School provides the best possible academic, physical and social and emotional education and care for each child. Application forms are available from Reception. Please complete this form if you are interested in applying for this position, and submit it back to Reception by Friday 15th September. Parent Representatives are elected by their peers so nominations will be open to a vote system and the successful candidate will be informed by Friday 13th October.

The school has been a hive of activity since the last newsletter. A basketball game against the PERTH Wildcats, stories by candlelight in the Library during Book Week, a book drive that enabled every child in school to take home their own book, a visit by Bunnings in Year 1, a Shed activity for Dads of the older boys, an excursion to Kelmscott Farm for the Kindy children, making rockets with Dads in PP, Fathers Day afternoon tea in Kindy, filming of the documentary in the Year 4 music classes and a successful sausage sizzle to raise money for 2018 Year 6 camp are just some of the activities that staff, children and parents have enjoyed over the past two weeks. As a school we have continued to teach and reinforce our four behaviour expectations daily (Respect, Responsibility, Safety and Excellence). Our specific focus is on learning to become Resilient. The children are being taught that Resilience is defined as “the capacity to cope well with times of adversity or hardship (and even be strengthened by them). It is the ability to bounce back from difficult times to a fulfilling life while retaining a positive sense of self”. The components of resilience include: 1. Courage 2. Managing feelings 3. Humour 4. Relationship skills 5. Self-knowledge (ability and character strengths) 6. Goal setting skills 7. Optimistic thinking skills 8. Helpful thinking skills (eg not catastrophising) Children in all PP-6 classes have been thinking about situations that might be difficult e.g. someone won't play with them, someone says something unkind etc and also thinking of ways to cope with or manage those situations. As parents there are a couple of actions we can take that will strengthen resilience in our children. The first action is to stop ourselves from trying to solve the problem for them. Instead ask open ended questions that helps children to work through the difficult situation and

think of solutions that they are happy with. The next action we can take to build resilience is to not catastrophise the situation. Remember that even if another child has done or said something unkind to your child, they are all children and importantly, someone else's children. As such, young children need opportunities to learn from their behaviour and this is best done through calmly discussing how to solve problems and ways to behave differently next time. Another important step in developing resilience is to give your child the time and space and freedom to try the strategies without asking every day when they come home "Did anything happen today?". This adds unnecessary pressure and has the opposite effect of developing resilience. Trying a positive approach such as "Tell me three fantastic things about your day and one thing that you wish you could do differently" helps to focus on positive thinking and not dwelling on petty issues. With the SPORTS CARNIVAL scheduled for Week 9 (Thursday 14th September for K-2, Friday 15th September for yrs 3-6), it is a terrific opportunity to keep reinforcing skills that will build resilience. P AND C MEETING I look forward to meeting more parents at the next P and C meeting which is scheduled for Tuesday 5th September at 7pm. CHALLIS ANGELS A huge thank you to our wonderful parent volunteers who form the Challis Angels. These Angels complete a multitude of tasks that saves time for the teachers, enabling them to concentrate on planning, assessment and their teaching. We very much appreciate the time that is given by these wonderful parents on Mon-days. If you have any spare time on Mon-days and you would like to assist the class-room teachers with their preparation, you are very welcome to join the Challis Angels in the staffroom any Monday. The week ahead is busy and exciting as always at Challis. We hope to see you at school for any of the fun events. Lee

Expression of Interest for a

Parent Representative on our

Challis Community Primary

School Board.

Leading News……

WE ARE VERY PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE THAT MRS KAREN WARREN HAS BEEN SELECTED AS ONE OF THE

FINALISTS FOR THE WA EDUCATION AWARDS IN THE WA EDUCATION ASSISTANT OF THE YEAR CATEGORY.

MEDIA CONSENT

Please don’t forget to sign your childs

media form to give permission for

them to be in our ‘Don’t stop the

Music’ Documentary.

V

SPECIALIST OPEN DAY PRE-PRIMARY AND YEAR 3 11 AUGUST 2017

On Friday 11th August, Year 3 and Pre Primary parents and classroom teachers were invited to the Specialist

Open Day. This was a very exciting day. Between 9am and 11am each class moved through many rotations. The

Open Day, which was held for the first time this year, was aimed at providing an opportunity for parents to

experience and engage in the wonderful learning that their children gain on Specialist Days. Parents were able

to join the children as they moved through a morning of short, highly interactive and engaging activities. The

activities were facilitated by the Specialist Teachers. Everyone was able to observe and take part in activities in

Science, Health, Music, Digital Technology, Sport, Geography and Art.

Everyone had a fantastic time.

Students were heard saying that they loved Singing and dancing, working with robots, making gliders

Having Mum and Dad help with the activities, doing fantastic stuff, Jumping into the sand, making Australia, playing soccer Testing the catapult, throwing the balls, EVERYTHING. When my Mum came to school, controlling the robots

To the Challis Community, I would like introduce myself.... my name is Amanda Wood and I am your new Social Worker. I started working at Challis PS last Monday 21 August. Please feel free to contact me if

you need any assistance... you can find me in Student Services! ( Ask at Reception).

On Friday 25th August we successfully hosted a game between the Perth Wildcats and our very own Challis Leopards at the Salvation Army Hall. We had a fantastic afternoon filled of fun, prizes and many laughs. Challis children showed the ‘Challis Way’ throughout the whole afternoon of events, resulting in the Perth Wildcats team pledging their support and committing to continuing our partnership in 2018. They were very impress with our school as a whole. Well done to all who attended for making the day a success. We look forward to the Year 5’s continued success as they work towards achieving their goals as part of the ‘Wildcats Aspire Program’. We are very excited to extend the program in 2018.

Parents were heard saying that they loved Watching my boy skipping, getting up and moving,

All programs were great – do not change anything.

How enthusiastic the teacher was.

I have more of an idea of what and how they learn so that I will

be able to reinforce this learning.

The experiment was great fun.

Everything was perfect. Working with my child.

How excited the kids got.

Well done all teachers.

Digital Technology

Physical Education

Music

Art

Health Science

HASS

ANNUAL INTERSCHOOL CROSS COUNTRY EVENT

On Friday 18th August Challis took part in the annual interschool cross country event at Armadale Primary School, competing against five other primary schools. Three boys and three girls from years three through to six competed against their peers from other schools, running a similar distance to that which they ran here at Challis earlier in the year. It was the first time for many and they were introduced to a proper cross country track through bushland that involved crossing running water several times and patches of thick mud that undid many competitors. We had our share of cheers and tears but regardless of what was happening, throughout the event our students were outstanding representatives of Challis, demonstrating good sportsmanship and supporting not only our own team but students from other schools who needed some extra encouragement. As a team we came in fourth place, 30 points behind third and 100 points ahead of fifth. A special congratulations goes out to Stanley Walker from year 6 who achieved his goal of placing in the top 3, earning himself a medal for finishing third.

Shante Anderson (y3) Joypreet Jabbal (y3) Imogen Beard (y4) Leisha Douglas (y4) Logan Robles (y4) Campbell (y4) Lirah Eades (y5) Paige Goldfinch (y5) Cooper Percy (y6) Kelsey Morrow (y5) Toby Belcher (y5) Ashlee Wilson (y5) Amelia Eades (y6) Kyla McNamara (y6) Rory Harrington (y6) Stanley Walker (y6)

Challis Book Week Assembly

Wednesday 24th August

M8

Year Three staff Where's Wally?

K2 and K3 Assembly

Immunisation Clinic Challis Child and Parent Centre 9.15—11.00 a.m. Walk in 1.00—3.00 p.m. Appointment only. Tel: 6151 1308

22nd

September

20th

October

17th

November

15th

December

TERM PLANNER TERM THREE 2017

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

Week Eight

September

4 5 6 J3 and J4 Assembly 7 8 Senior Dale Fest

Week Nine

September

11 12 13 Year 3-6 Jumps and

Throws

14 Junior Sports Carnival 15 Senior Sports Carnival

Week Ten

September

18 19 20 W3 and W4 Assembly 21 22 End of Term Three

TRY NEW ADVENTURES AT GIRL GUIDES The Armadale Active Girl Guide Unit is seeking girls aged 10 to 13 years who want to try new things, make friends and enjoy nature. The Unit has planned an action-packed term that includes plenty of games and skills, as well as cooking and artistic adventures, and outdoor activities. Girl Guides take an active role in planning their own program of activities. In Australia, our mission is to empower girls to grow into confident, self-respecting, responsible community members. This means learning through fun, teamwork and community service.

Those parents interested in a two-week trial for their daughters should contact 9479 9800 or membersup-

port@girlguideswa.org.au, or complete the form at www.girlguideswa.org.au

MORNING TEA THURSDAY ALL WELCOME. Held in Parenting Centre Thursday Mornings.

MORNING TEA FOR THE WORLD Please come along to our weekly “parents group” to establish

FRIDAY 9-11 relationships with other parents from all over the world.