24 October 2014

From the Principal

Dear Parents, Carers and Community Members

The term has started very smoothly and I am enjoying getting to know students, staff and parents. This week our Year 6/7 students were on their annual camp in Pinjarra. I spent Tuesday with them and witnessed some of the great fun that they were having. Our Year 7 students only have a few weeks left before they graduate and start attending Ashdale Secondary College. Their graduation ceremony will be held on Wednesday November 19th. Our Year 6 students will also be starting high school in 2015 and will graduate on Tuesday December 16th.

Each year parents are requested to pay voluntary contributions of $60. This money plays an essential part in the funding of programs across our school. At present, approximately 77% of parents have paid their voluntary contributions. We thank those parents who have already paid. Your money has made a difference to students in our school. We have calculated that if the remaining parents paid their contributions that we would have an additional $7800. This money would purchase approximately 10 computers or 15 iPads or 260 quality books or maths equipment or science equipment or numerous other essential learning tools. The money that parents contribute is important to us and will benefit your child so please consider paying your contributions as soon as possible.

During the year students have been having fun climbing trees as part of the school’s nature play focus. I strongly support activities such as this but am also responsible for ensuring student safety is maintained. I have asked students to refrain from climbing trees until the activity can be properly assessed. A Kid Safe representative has attended the school and made a number of recommendations which we will act on. I will let you know what they recommend in a subsequent newsletter.

Recently the Federal Government raised the National Terrorism Alert Level. While the likelihood of a terrorist related act occurring in Madeley is low we should still be diligent in reporting any suspicious behaviour that we may witness. School Watch encourages the school community to report any suspicious activity in and around school grounds, after hours and on weekends, as well as during school holidays. Telephone 1800 177 777 (freecall) or 13 14 44 (WA Police). Parents who visit the school during the day (outside drop-off and pick-up times) are required to sign in at the office.

In Term 3 parents were given the opportunity to comment on the effectiveness of our school by completing a school survey. We had a return rate of approximately 20% and we thank all the parents who took the time to complete the survey. Items that rated highly included:

• My child likes being at school
• I can talk to my child’s teachers about my concerns
• The school is well maintained
• Teachers at this school expect my child to do his or he best
• My child feels safe at this school

We will look at all the responses including the comments as part of our school review and planning process for 2014 – 2015.

To help promote stronger communication between school and home I have created a Principal’s Blog. The address for the blog is http://mrbevansprincipalblog.blogspot.com.au/ . I will post information on topics that are relevant to the Madeley Primary School Community.

Have a great weekend.

Stephen Bevan
Principal

School Contributions

Payments can be made in cash or by eftpos at the School Office. Additionally payments can be direct credited to BSB: 633 000 Account No: 141 100 479. Please use your child’s surname as a reference.

Positive Parenting Program Seminar Series - Term 4 2014

At Madeley Primary School - Places in Sessions 2 and 3 are still available. It’s not too late for parents/carers to attend our free parenting seminars to learn practical, positive and effective ways to:

• strengthen bonds with their children;
• encourage children’s social and language skills;
• develop children’s emotional self-regulation, independence and problem solving ability;
• manage common behavioural concerns.

Parents of children aged between three and eight years are welcome to attend.

Venue: Madeley Primary School (please sign in at Administration Office)
Cost: Free – however bookings are essential.

For more information, or to register to attend a free parenting seminar please:

Complete the slip in the attachment below and return to Madeley PS Administration Office
OR contact Karen Paton - email karen.paton@education.wa.edu.au

Looking For Donations Please

Term 4 Important Dates

Please refer to the School Calendar on the sidebar of the Newsletter for regular updates.

Wacky Workout Wednesday!

What a wicked turnout we had on Wacky Workout Wednesday! A big thank you to all the students, parents and teachers involved in our awesome aerobics. It was a beautiful day for some fun in the sun and everyone came dressed in their best workout gear. The K – 5 students did a fantastic job getting their groove on for National Walk to School Day.

Thanks so much for showing such fantastic Madeley spirit.

Miss Chloe Foulds & the TravelSmart Committee

ASC Year 7 Transition Program

For all students who are enrolled to attend the College in Year 8, 2015. This 4 week Program will start on Monday 24th November and continue until the end of the term. Four days have been allocated to specific activities designed to support students and provide them with opportunities for 2015.

Students attending the program on Monday 24th November are to meet in the College Foyer at 8.45 am and will attend an assembly in the Galileo Theatre. All students should bring their laptops as well as pencil case and notepaper.

Any questions regarding the Year 7 Transition Program should be directed to Nikki Pullella on 9302 7100 or email Nicola.pullella@education.wa.edu.au

Further information is available to download below; additionally Year 7 students will bring home copies of this information when they return to school next week.

ASC Uniforms

A try-on day at the College will be scheduled later in the year, details to be advised

Trash Free Tuesday – Zero Waste Lunch Day!

In week three of this term Madeley Primary School will be starting “Trash Free Tuesday” each week. This is to help with the amount of rubbish produced by our school, and means we will be having a Zero Waste Lunch on Tuesdays.

What is it?

Schools all around WA are reducing, reusing and recycling their waste and preventing litter in their school communities. One way of raising awareness on these issues and starting to change behaviours is to implement a Zero Waste Lunch day.

Running a zero waste lunch is an excellent way to educate students, parents, and school staff about where our trash ends up and how we, as individuals, can reduce the amount of trash we generate.

Why are we doing it?

Each year Australians produce 32 million tonnes of waste. This would fill a line of garbage trucks from Melbourne to London and halfway back!

In a recent National Litter Count it was found that WA had the most pieces of litter per capita than any other state.

By reducing the amount of waste from school lunches we can significantly lower the amount of waste we send to landfill and also significantly lower the amount of litter in our schools.

By bringing less waste into schools we can minimise litter, reduce waste to landfill, save money, and develop healthy eating habits. The intention is to reduce the amount of waste we would normally throw away, and to look for alternative packaging for our food. If you can not recycle or compost lunch waste at school take it home and do it there.

What will a Zero Waste lunch look like?

A Zero Waste Lunch contains no throwaway packaging and produces no food waste. It also reduces the amount of litter, as there is less waste to become litter. The typical homemade Zero Waste lunch is packed in a lunch box or bag. The food is put in reuseable containers rather than wrapped in disposable packaging. A drink is in a refillable bottle. All containers are resealable, so that leftover food and drink can be saved for later.

Some ideas are Tupperware or other reusable plastic containers, fabric or reusable plastic food wraps. Please look at the photos to see some amazing trash free lunchboxes already being used at our school!

How will we know we are decreasing the amount of waste we produce at school?

Each block will put all of their waste in a separate bin on Tuesdays. Students from GLA4 will weigh and record the amount of waste each block has, and monitor this throughout the term. The block with the biggest decrease each week will be acknowledged at assembly. Our goal is to have NO waste on Tuesdays, let’s see how close we can get this year!

Thanks for your support,

MPS Sustainability Committee

Sport Report

It has been a great start to Term 4 with the Year 1’s and 2’s trying to improve their jump rope skills with a skipping rope and the Year 3-7’s learning how to play badminton.

Just a reminder that all students need to wear a broad brim hat during Term 4 and with the weather warming up, a water bottle is essential.

Mr Moon.
Phys Ed

Madeley Students Star in ‘Unfashion Show’

Last term, students from GLA 1 and GLA 4 took part in a creative arts challenge set by Miss G where students were encouraged to formulate groups, pick a season and create a costume to clearly represent that specific time of year.

Students were encouraged to work collaboratively to use old recycled parts of clothing and scrap and recyclable materials to create a unique and innovative fashion label choice. Groups were encouraged to select appropriate musicality for their runway performance which fit their theme and season choice, each group then had to select a model and MC for their first Madeley Unfashion Show! Models had to walk with style and attitude, demonstrating the clothes, whilst the MC described how the group worked together in creating their costume and what materials and methods were used.

The performance was put on at lunch time on the 17th of October, to show the rest of Madeley Primary School what we had been working on this term. Some interesting comments about the experience were;

*Abby - “I enjoyed making items out of recycled clothing and showing that trash can be useful, I also liked performing in front of others.”

*Taya - “I enjoyed playing with different types of materials, seeing what colours and patterns matched and clashed!”

*Jacob - “ I enjoyed this challenge, it was great to use different types of products and paints to see what worked and what didn’t, I really liked our tie-dye idea”

We would like to say a MASSIVE thank you to Elly Jones at Desiree Dance Academy and also Mrs Sascha Barbaro from Spoilt Brat Couture for donating multiple bags of scrap pieces of materials, your donations have allowed our students artistic sparkles to shine, from the bottom of our hearts- thanks!

Miss G
Performing Arts Co-ordinator

Lost Property

We have a large amount of lost property in the library at the moment. Numerous jackets, drink bottles and lunchboxes. Please remember to label all your children’s uniform items clearly and we will endeavour to return them to their owners.

Saver Plus Program

Saver Plus is a national matched savings and financial education program that assists people to save for education expenses, by matching their savings dollar for dollar up to $500.

The Program is funded by the Australian Government and ANZ and is delivered by The Smith Family and Anglicare WA in Western Australia.

Please contact Saver Plus on 1300 610 355 or at saverplus@bsl.org.au for more information. Click on the following attachment to download eligibility criteria etc.

P&C News

Thankyou

The P&C would like to say a big thank you to all the volunteers who helped to dig up grass and move the limestone blocks around the grass area on the corner of Martindale Avenue and Lockeport Approach. So a big thank you to John Italiano, Rob Cangemi, James Dillon, Jo Perry, Jason Rawling, Rohan Ingles, Dave Belcastro and Steve Haylan. We would also like to thank Stoneridge Quarries who donated the blocks. The reason this was done is to prevent parents from parking on the grass. There have been a few near misses of kids being knocked over by cars as you can only get to the grassed area by crossing a footpath and it is not a designated parking area. Please remember to park in marked parking bays or the gravel lot next to the oval only as this is for the safety of our children.

Crown Casino Evening/Fundraiser

Thank you for your support of the Crown Casino Evening. Orders are now closed and I am sure it is going to be a fun night out.

P&C Meeting

The next P&C meeting will be on Wednesday 29th October at 7:30pm in the library. New members always welcome.

Canteen News

Attached is the latest Canteen Menu for Summer 2014/2015. There are only a few changes but items from the Winter Menu are no longer available.

A further important request has been made regarding placing lunch orders. If you are not using the ouronlinecanteen.com.au website to order, please ensure that all lunch orders are placed in a lunch bag. Lunch bags are listed on the menu and can be purchased for $1.00 for 15 bags.

It is important for health and hygiene reasons that lunch bags are used at all times. Please support our Canteen Supervisor Rebecca in this procedure which helps her greatly during preparation time. If you would like to assist Rebecca for an hour or a morning please do not hesitate to contact her on 0402 603 343, volunteers are always welcome.

If you would like instructions on how to use the online canteen website to place your child’s order, please refer to the front page of the canteen menu.

Mariesa O’Donnell
P&C Secretary

Camp Australia News – Before and After School Care

Download the attached Camp Australia newsletter for more information about recent activities, holiday club and much more.

To book your child into Camp Australia for the upcoming Pupil Free Day on 31st October, please call 1300 105 342 or visit the website www.campaustralia.com.au

TENNIS COACHING

A tennis coaching programme will be coordinated by John Fairchild from Tennis Edge at Madeley Primary School before school over a seven week period. Students from years one to eight are invited to participate. Starting Thursday 30th October at 7.45 am on the Tennis Courts.

Keyed Up Music

Keyed Up Music runs guitar and keyboard lessons after school at Madeley PS in small groups from $17 per lesson. To enrol, go to www.keyedupmusic.com.au/enrolments.html or ring Therese on 1300 366 243.

Ph: 1300 366 243
Mob: 0401 085 030
Web: www.keyedupmusic.com.au

Grasshopper Soccer

The soccer programs run for 8 weeks on weekdays and weekends. Please view the attached flyers for details of all the venues. The program is held at Madeley Primary School on Wednesdays and is suitable for boys and girls aged 2 – 12 years.