From the Principal
Dear Families,
This term has once again been an extremely busy one, and quite a long one as far as terms go. On top of all the learning, students have enjoyed a variety of activities such as: Lightning Carnival, Armadale Arts Trail, swimming lessons, Reconciliation Week activities, and the Years 3/4 excursion to Canning River Eco Education Centre as part of their study of biology. Students have also engaged in Friday Clubs rotation, Buddy Day, a sustainability incursion, and the 100 Days of Learning incursion Utterly Rubbish Adventure. The Wombat’s also cooked up a storm in the Wombat’s Kitchen and raised funds for graduation.
The STEAM exhibition coupled with our hosting of the Cancer Council ‘Australia’s Biggest Morning Tea’ (aka PVS’s Biggest Afternoon tea) to support the Cancer Council was well attended. We thank Mr H for the exhibition, and Mrs Rowlingson and her team of cooking champions for organising. We also thank our kind community for bringing in a plate to share, and for donating to this worthwhile cause.
The community has also been able to participate in some enjoyable events. The P&F hosted a Mother’s Day breakfast and handed out egg and bacon sandwiches to our lovely mums. Big shout out to all the awesome dads who cooked!
The wide variety of opportunities provided to our students have been enjoyed by all, and I sincerely thank everyone involved in organising these activities.
P&F
I wish to thank the P&F for all their efforts this term. They all worked really hard to engage the community spirit through various initiatives, and have raised a considerable sum of money. Without the community contributing we would not be able to raise the funds, so we also thank the community for their generosity. Please have a read of Chair Jessica Verlint’s report in this newsletter for a more detailed reflection.
Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP)
As many are aware we have been working with Ethan Chadd from Yongar Solutions on our reconciliation journey. Ethan and our four local Elders have supported us to complete our RAP and now we are at the stage where it has been lodged with Narragunnawali and we hope to be able to share it with our school community once approved.
These are very exciting times for our school’s reconciliation journey, and students have really enjoyed the activities provided. During Reconciliation Week Dylan and Jayden from Ngalak Nidja provided an interactive, educational experience which included an introduction to Noongar language, and the history behind a variety of traditional artefacts such as the Karli, Kitj, Miro and Bwoka. Jayden then demonstrated the sounds of Australian wildlife through didgeridoo, and taught some traditional dance moves. They finished their session with a storytelling of ‘The Smart Yongka’ and students were delighted to learn more about the Noongar culture.
We are now looking forward to celebrating NAIDOC week with our students. This will be celebrated the first week back in Term 3 due to the fact it falls during school holidays.
Parent Teacher Interviews
Staff have held parent teacher interviews which were extremely well attended. The daytime appointments were well received, and the feedback provided was positive. Pre-Primary to Year 6 teaching staff have also been busily writing reports, and these will be emailed out at the end of term. Please check your junk folder if they are not in your inbox. Please contact the school to let us know if you did not receive them, and we will ensure you receive them upon return to the office in Term 3.
AGM
Term 2 is an important time for the school as we hold our annual AGM. The AGM provides a forum for families to learn about school finances and funding, for the Board to pass any special resolutions, and to welcome and/or elect new members. For those of you unable to attend I have posted the annual report on the website should you wish to have a read.
I hope you all have a wonderful break and I look forward to seeing you all back at school on Monday the 22th of July.
Warm regards,
Louise Lont