Issue 3 9th March 2012

John Street, North Fremantle WA 6159 Ph: 9335 2743 Fax: 9335 6575

NEWSLETTER
FROM THE PRINCIPAL Fiona Kelly
UP-COMING EVENTS Thurs 15 March Assembly (YRS 5,6,7) Tuck shop Fri 16 March PP,1-2 Sculptures by the sea Wed 21 March Harmony Day Thur 22 March K-PP Teddy bear

I hope you all had a wonderful long weekend. Its lovely to hear the children talk about the great adventures they have been on with their families, either locally down by the river or further a field for those that took the opportunity to travel. One of our schools (many!) distinguishing features is the strong sense of community among the families, particularly the way in which all of the parents keep an eye out for each others children. At times there are events that happen in a school either before, after or during the school day, that causes concern. If you have, or hear of, anything that is concerning you or other parents, please speak to your childs classroom teacher, or myself, so that we can address the matter. Our strength is in open communication and working together to keep our school a happy and safe learning environment for all.

Teaching Children Responsibility In order for our students, your children, to become confident, fully functioning adults with successful relationships and careers, we need to teach them responsibility. At school we endeavour to achieve this in a number of practical ways. I have chosen to outline some practical strategies in todays newsletter so that as a team we can work together to encourage the students of North Fremantle Primary School to welcome responsibility and approach life with an energetic eagerness to learn and accomplish. Practical suggestions: 1 Give children age-appropriate tasks to take responsibility for. Let a child do whatever he/she is capable of doing. As soon as they are able to wash or dress themselves, encourage them to do so. Dont do it for them. Add new things to the list as they are able, such as making the bed or setting the table. Dont overwhelm your child with too many tasks. Take into account your childs ability level and temperament. Success and praise will motivate him/her to do more. Expect your child to be responsible. When you give a child a task, discuss a time frame for its completion and then let your child take it from there. Allow him/her to complete the task in their own way without hovering or constantly reminding. If the task doesnt get done see what you can do to help your Help your child to organise them schoolwork. Help them to estimate how long homework will take and plan time accordingly. If necessary help him/her to make an after school schedule so that there is enough time to do homework, complete chores, play, and relax. Homework dont do it for them. Homework tasks are set at a level that children are capable of doing on their own. Of course, all children need some help every now and then and like to be tested with for spelling or vocabulary, but parents should not need to sit and help with every aspect of homework. If your child is struggling, please discuss this with the classroom teacher. Let your child take responsibility for his/her own mistakes. Dont rush to save them. Offer advice, but do not take over. If your child owes someone an apology, support them to make amends appropriately. Teach children to manage money. Children should learn not to spend more than they have. Dont let them think it is okay to borrow money when they want something and pay back later this is poor training. Encourage your child to wait until they have saved the money and to enjoy the sense of achievement when they can afford the item they want.
Email : NorthFremantle.PS@det.wa.edu.au For Teachers: Room ?@North Fremantle.PS@det.wa.edu.au (please insert which room number your child is in)

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Room 1 - Lisa Miller

The last two weeks have been so busy they have absolutely flown by! We are learning all about our friends families and the things we like to do. Last week we made biscuits with faces on them. First we looked at the ingredients and talked about what we could use to make our facial features. After mixing together the icing we created faces made with lollies. They were YUMMY.

Room 2 - Liz Smith

A big thank you so much P&C; were having a wonderful time exploring the new climbing equipment. In addition to a lot of climbing weve been taking full advantage of this lovely weather to retell known stories, make background artwork for the classroom, recreate dreamtime stories, use the puppet theatre we made and explore the concepts of capacity through water play. We had a great time at the World of Maths incursion organised by Mrs. Vinci. Next Friday (16th March) well be on an excursion to the Sculptures by the Sea exhibition in Cottesloe permission slips will be coming very soon. Please see Miss Lizzie if you are able to assist.

Room 3 - Bev Lane

We are having a very mathematical week. In class we have been making maths puzzles and we had a fabulous time at the World of Maths incursion. Sophie P and Preston demonstrated excellent problem-solving skills. Next week we are going to Cottesloe Beach to participate in a sculpture workshop. Notes will be sent home soon. We would love as many grown-ups to attend as possible. Grown-ups are also welcome to come to our class any time to work with the children either regularly or when you have some time. Well always find something for you to do and the children love having their grown-ups working with them.

Room 4 - Claire Henneberry

In room 4 we had a great time yesterday at the World of Maths incursion. We have been working well in our spelling and reading groups and enjoying going to library on Wednesdays. Using instructional strategies we have been learning about nouns and adjectives. Look at our turtle backs!

Room 5 - Monica Parkes/Leanne Vinci

Sophie, Sean, Crystal and Lewis

James and Lini

World of Maths wow, what a fun morning! It was great to see the students in rooms 4 and 5 using their cooperative learning skills, whilst collaborating in small groups to solve maths problems. The levels of concentration, engagement and fun were clearly noticeable.

Art - Margie Campbell

From the time you wake up in the morning until you go Well no longer will there be long hot summers in the art to bed at night, you will always be using maths. room, instead we will be working under the cool breeze of the airconditioning. While the new airconditioning system was being installed it gave us the opportunity to go out of the school grounds for art. We moved our art room to Gil Fraser Oval and drew the grandstand. The students were trying hard to focus on all the vertical and horizontal lines they could see. They then transferred this detail to paper and used a fine line marker for their drawings. The observational skills of the students were fantastic and I was very impressed by the length of time students were able to stay focussed on the task.

Music
In music room 5 have been learning some rhythmic patterns and notes. We have also begun learning the recorder starting on some nice little pieces. Mrs Branch loves giving out little rewards for students who try their best. I learn violin, so each week on Mondays, I go to East Fremantle Primary School and have a lesson with some East Fremantle students who learn the same instrument as me. Mrs Branch will be testing year 4 students later in the year who maybe included in this programme. Written by Romany Bailey Brown Year 6

Councillors Report
This week the councillors would like to send a message to all students. Play safe Look out for others Speak nicely to your friends when youre playing Share the sports equipment Dont forget to pick up your rubbish. When you are out in the playground and you have got a problem come to the councillors and we will help you sort it out.
Over the past few weeks we have been commencing sessions with Teachers and Students either familiar with the Bluearth program or new to the program. Your child(ren) may have mentioned Bluearth recently or you may have seen the Bluearth Coach out in the playground over the past few weeks and wondered what it was all about. For those newly acquainted with Bluearth, heres some information by way of an introduction. Bluearth is a movement and activity based programme that uses the physical domain to help children better understand themselves, peers, teachers and the important relationships that exist between them. By creating an inclusive environment in which a range of individual, partner and group activities take place, and through skilful guidance and questioning, amazing results have been recorded. In order to create sustainability of the programme Bluearth provides on the job training for teachers in the school. The Coach will be working with some teachers and their classes throughout 2012 on a regular basis please feel free to speak with the Coach or your childs teacher if you would like to know more about the program. Alternatively you might like to visit the Bluearth website www.bluearth.org Bluearth Family Challenge Visit www.bluearth.org/challenge for an activity you may like to try at home!

P and C
Firstly our next event coming up on the school calendar is the annual Easter Sundowner. This is our 4th year we have run this event and its always a highlight for both the kids and parents. Look out for the form coming to you next week. We take pre-orders for dinner with full bar facilities available. Were also going to have a kids and adults tee ball game, Easter games and Egg Hunt. The event will be held on Friday 30th March at the Gil Fraser Hall from 5pm. Our biggest fundraiser for the year will be our own cookbook. Plans are under way to make ours to stand out from the rest in our own unique North Freo style. We are asking families to submit one recipe for consideration in the book (we will only be including 20 recipes in total). The recipes are to be submitted via an email address which is nfps@live.com.au and please include a one paragraph story about why its your favourite recipe. Recipes to be emailed no later than Thursday 5th April. We will be launching the cookbook in Term 3 with our annual Community Cake Bake competition. Uniform Shop You can collect an order form from the administration office. Please leave payment with your form in the box marked uniform orders and your order will be sent home with your child, otherwise the uniform shop will be available by appointment on a Monday morning and afternoon. Please contact Pip Sivwright to discuss a suitable time. Ph: 0409 298 118. If no answer please sms and she will get back to you.

A message from the School Health Nurse

Parents of children in Pre Primary / Year 1 Students in Pre Primary or Year 1 who have not had the recommended School Entry Health Assessment (usually conducted in their Kindergarten year) are eligible for this service in 2012. If you would like your child assessed, a form is available from the School Administration. Please complete, sign and return the consent form to the office.

NFPS has partnered with Scholastic Books for 10 years, offering their catalogues four times a year. The school benefits from your purchases by spending the school credits on things like merit awards, in class book sets and library stock. Check the specials for some good valuable titles. Please return your order slips to the box in the office and we will find you when they arrive. Please be a little patient with delivery as they sometimes come by road from the Eastern States. (Remember the floods on the Nullarbor?) If you have any queries please see Glenda Farmer (parent from room 3).There is a spare voluntary seat if anyone would be willing to assist with dating the catalogues and distribution. Kind regards Glenda Farmer The Federal Government has recently released a report into the future of education in Australia (both public and private schools). The Gonski Report makes recommendations about how education should be funded and implemented in your child's lifetime. The government is seeking your comments about this future. Visit: www.schoolfunding.gov.au/ for the report and feedback mechanisms.

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