From the

Principal's Desk

Wishing all our families a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

As we approach the final days of the school year, it’s incredible to see how much has been accomplished over the past twelve months. Each school newsletter has been filled with exciting learning experiences in the classroom, memorable moments on the stage and sporting field, and special celebrations and awards - 2024 has truly been a year of growth, achievement, and community spirit.

At the beginning of 2024 when I joined Burrendah Primary School, I made a commitment to spending my first 12 months at the school observing and learning about the school, listening to the students, teachers and community feedback, experiencing the processes, procedures and traditions in place, and getting to know what things make the school great and what can be improved. As a new principal I feel this is an important leadership approach as it supports me to make informed decisions about the school’s future based on the specific needs and wants of the Willetton community. It has been an exciting, busy, eventful and sometimes challenging year as I worked to understand all the new information that comes with the principalship in a new school. Most of all it has been a wonderful experience, and I am very very proud of the all the great things we do at Burrendah Primary School. 

In 2025, we are looking forward to applying the knowledge gained to make changes that will streamline and update our processes with the aim of:

• Aligning our school resourcing to areas of need based on data and evidence, with a particular focus on improving our facilities. 
• Increasing the ease with which our parents and community can communicate with us, with a particular focus on making it easier for you to pay for and give consent for special events and excursions. 
• Improving our organisation behind the scenes so that we can prioritise time spent on students and their learning. This includes updating our policies, guidelines and procedures so everyone can locate the relevant information and understand how the school operates. 
• Providing opportunities for our team to work together with other high performing schools in WA and across Australia so we can ensure we are at forefront of innovation in education. 
• Providing clarity around our school improvement agenda through publishing our new Business Plan for 2025 – 2028. 

We can’t wait to put these plans in action in 2025 and hope you will enjoy seeing the improvements as the year progresses.

Classes for 2025

At this time of year, schools across the state schools are busily trying to confirm their enrolment numbers and allocate students to classes. All schools are different in their ability to confirm their arrangements and will differ in when they can communicate this information. Some schools that have steady and predictable enrolment patterns can communicate class placements at the end of the year. Other schools which have more fluctuating enrolment patterns cannot confirm classes until the beginning of the new school year. 

At Burrendah Primary School, we serve a multicultural community where our enrolment numbers can fluctuate throughout the year by up to 60 students. We also often receive the bulk of our new enrolments in the first week of each school year. This is because many members of our community often arrive from overseas over the Christmas holiday period. This means that in the week prior to the school year starting there are often lots of changes to the structure of our classes and teachers. 

For this reason, and to avoid the disappointment of last-minute changes (and the anxiety a last-minute change can cause), we will publish our class lists on Tuesday 4 February. 

On this day we will be opening our classrooms for 30 minutes, so your children can see their classroom, meet their teacher and drop off their personal items and stationary boxes before the first day of school on Wednesday, 5th February.

2025 Class Requests

With reference to class placement requests, the teachers and school leadership team have considered each request carefully. While we cannot approve all requests, we do our best to understand the circumstances of each request, and where appropriate and possible, accommodate the request. 

As per our Class Placement Policy, requests for a specific teacher and not to be in a composite will not be considered. The policy can be found on our website https://burrendahps.wa.edu.au/sites/default/files/inline-files/Class%20Placement%20Policy%202024_0.pdf

Shortly, parents who have made a request will receive a confirmation email that the request has been received and considered. Confirmation of whether the request has been successful will not be confirmed until class lists are released prior to the start of the school year. 

Goodbye and Good Luck

As we conclude another school year, we will be saying goodbye and good luck to some of our staff who will be leaving us to pursue other adventures. I would like to acknowledge the following staff:

Mrs Patricia Paxton will be retiring at the end of 2025. Mrs Paxton joined the school in 2008 when she explored a career change into education from optometry. Mrs Paxton always has a bright cheery smile to greet our students and a passion for mathematics. In the time I have worked with her I have known her to have a strong sense of citizenship and a moral purpose for contributing to the team and a positive school culture. Mrs Paxton will be missed but has assured me she will return in a relief capacity in the coming years. 

I would also like to congratulate Mrs Julie Scaramella who has been successful in winning a part time Level 2 School Officer at Campbell Primary School. Mrs Scaramella originally joined Burrendah Primary School as a parent, then moved into an education assistant role in 2006. In 2009, she moved into the role of a School Officer where she was part of a team who contributed to the smooth running of the school for the next 13 years. We wish Julie all the best in this new endeavour and know that she is excited about learning new things and adding new responsibilities to her portfolio.

I would also like to wish the following staff the best of luck as they pursue other adventures:

• Ms Deborah Chow has accepted a 12-month contract at Rossmoyne Primary School. This opportunity will enrich Ms Chow's experience and expertise, and we look forward to learning about her journey in the near future. 
• Ms Nicole King we be leaving teaching for a period to spend more time with her family, especially her two beautiful young daughters. 
• Mrs Ashleigh Powers will be taking maternity leave in 2025, and we wish both Mrs and Mr Powers the best of luck on this next adventure.
• Mrs Amy Gatchell will be joining Brentwood Primary School, and we wish her all the best in this new opportunity and know it will add value to her teaching experience. 

Program Kaartdijin Term 2 2025

In 2025, Burrendah Primary School will be preparing to move across to the Kaartdijin Information System in Term 2 in line with all Department of Education Schools. If you have a child at Willetton SHS, you may already be familiar with this system as they have been part of the trial in 2024.

Kaartdijin is the Noongar word for ‘knowledge’ or ‘wisdom’. It represents the traditional knowledge and cultural wisdom passed down through generations within the Noongar community. It emphasises the value of preserving and sharing their traditional knowledge and way of life. 

Kaartdijin uses select modules from the Compass Software package, a commercial cloud based product designed for schools.

Benefits for primary school parents include: 

Using Kaartdijin (Compass) allows you to access up-to-date and meaningful information about our school and your child’s progress. Kaartdijin includes many different features, including the ability to: 

• monitor your child’s attendance, and enter an explanation for absence or lateness 

• communicate with your child’s teachers, and update your family contact details 

• view your child’s timetable and the school calendar 

• monitor your child’s homework and assessment tasks 

• download and view your child’s progress and semester reports 

• book parent-teacher conferences 

• pay and provide consent for events and school fees

Benefits for teachers include: 

• quick and easy web-based attendance taking 

• detailed student profiles, allowing staff to access crucial information in one place 

• built-in templates and reports to streamline important activities like managing student wellbeing and behaviours 

• easier ability to plan excursions from start to finish 

• easier access to their own and students' timetables. 

Semester 2 Student Reports 

Last Friday, 6th December, student reports were shared with families. These reports provide an overview of your child’s progress and achievements across the year. 

In August this year, the WA Minister for Education announced some changes that affect how teachers across all Western Australian Schools report on student achievement and progress. 

The changes are as follows: 

- Reports will still include grades for all subjects, and in the case of English and Mathematics, grades will be included for each strand (i.e. Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening, Number and Algebra and Measurement and Geometry). 

- Only a general comment will be included (there will be no comments provided for subject areas). In the general comment teachers may provide information on overall academic progress, and social and emotional learning. 

- If your child is receiving a 'D' or 'E' grade, the teacher will either provide a comment in their report or arrange to meet with you in person to explain the grade allocation. 

- SEN and EAL/D Reports will still be available for students who fall within these categories. 

The Department of Education WA believe by simplifying the reporting process, teachers will be able to prioritise teaching and assessing, and other forms of feedback to both students and parents.

If there are any questions or concerns about the new format, please make an appointment with your child’s teacher. 

If you would like to discuss your child’s report, I encourage you to reach out and make an appointment with their teacher. These conversations are a valuable way to reflect on the year and plan for continued success in 2025.

End of Year Events 

Our end-of-year events have been in full swing, with the Junior and Senior Awards Assemblies held in Week 9. These ceremonies celebrated our students’ achievements in areas aligned to our School Values: Reach, Resilience, Responsibility and Respect. It has been wonderful to see so many of our students recognised for their efforts and achievements – congratulations!

Looking ahead, we are excited to celebrate our Year 6 students during their Graduation Ceremony and lunch in Week 10. This milestone is always a heartfelt and inspiring event as we send our graduates off to the next stage of their learning journey.

The grand finale for the year will be the Edu Dance Concert, which promises to be a vibrant and energetic showcase. Rehearsals have been outstanding, and the choreography and music will undoubtedly leave the audience smiling, clapping, and toe-tapping along.

Musical Soiree Tuesday 26th November 

On Tuesday 26th November we had the wonderful opportunity to showcase the incredible talent of our students, their IMMS teachers and our Music Teacher Ms Coleman. 

I am truly honoured to be the principal of a primary school that offers such an exceptional specialist music program. The number of students who learn an instrument at Burrendah Primary School, and the opportunities they have to train and perform as part of an ensemble is unparalleled in my experience. I wish to emphasise to our parents and carers that this program is one of the best in the state and we should not forget to pass on a special thanks to Ms Coleman for all the time she volunteers to coordinate the program. 

This pride and appreciation extends to our wonderful choir, who also performed on the evening. Each of the soloist were outstanding and the choir as a group were a pleasure to listen to. Their performance at the Massed Choir Festival and at the Soiree shone brightly and were a standout at both events. 

I would also like to commend the audience who attended on the night and supported our students. 

First Lego League Regional Competition

Our First Lego League Teams competed on 6th December in National Competition at Curtin University. At the time of writing our newsletter we don’t know the outcome of competition, but we are immensely proud of their efforts and know they will have made us very proud. We acknowledge the hard work, dedication and expertise of Mrs Crouch who leads, mentors, and gives an enormous amount of time to supporting our teams. 

As we wrap up the year, I want to thank all our families for your continued support and partnership. Together, we’ve made 2024 a year to remember. Wishing you all a safe and happy holiday season, and I look forward to welcoming you back in 2025.

Our students will return on Wednesday 5th February.