From the Principal

At West Beach Primary School we encourage our students to have growth mindsets, to persevere and learn from their mistakes. As a school community we want to provide quality learning experiences that support students to be engaged, develop growth mindsets and enjoy the challenges of learning.  To help us do this we are constantly reflecting on current practice and planning how we can improve the learning and wellbeing of our students. The Governing Council works with the school staff and leadership team to develop our Annual Site Improvement Plan. This year we will continue our focus on designing learning opportunities that provide intellectual stretch and challenge as well as including students in the learning design process.

In Term 3, work will begin on our new STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) learning Hub which has been designed as a part of the current Resource Centre. We hope that the building works will be completed by the end of Term 1 2018.

Next week we will welcome Nathalie Dunser our new Finance  Officer who will be working in the role until the end of Term 1. I would like to thank Malcolm Caire for his outstanding work as the Finance Officer over the last 4 months.

Providing opportunities for students to develop their Leadership skills also continues to be a focus across our school. Opportunities such as “Buddy class” learning activities, where older children learn with younger children, class meetings and circle time, Student Representative Council, Wipe Out Waste group, Play at Lunch Time Leaders, Sports Team and IT leaders, leading and presenting at assemblies all enable students to explore and experience different leadership skills and opportunities.

This year our SRC have decided to focus on the topic of “School Pride.” Students will be discussing what this means and identifying ways that we can demonstrate pride in our school and what we do here at West Beach PS.

During our Pupil Free Day this Tuesday 14th March, our staff will join teachers and staff from our Western Adelaide Shores Partnership schools to participate in Professional learning which will have a strong focus on learning design in mathematical problem solving, including assessment and moderation of learning tasks.This work is supporting us to develop quality teaching and consistency within our site and across our Partnership schools.

Harmony Day will be celebrated across the nation on  Tuesday 21st March. Harmony Day celebrates Australia’s cultural diversity. It’s about inclusiveness, respect and a sense of belonging for everyone.

It is a day for all Australians to embrace cultural diversity and to share what we have in common.

The central message for Harmony Day is that ‘everyone belongs’, reinforcing the importance of inclusiveness to all Australians. We are currently finding out the cultural heritage of students and families in our school community so that we can map this out as a display .

On Wednesday 22nd March we will celebrate Harmony day at West Beach PS. On this day students will be encouraged to wear orange or a traditional costume from their cultural background.

Students will have the opportunity to participate in a variety of cultural activities being run by some of our parents and students from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Backgrounds. Some of the activities will include Greek dancing, Martial arts, Henna painting, flower making, Chinese paper cutting and calligraphy, folk dancing as well as Japanese games and Kimono dress ups.

Parent/ Teacher interviews will be held during week 9 and 10 of this term. This is an important opportunity for parents and caregivers to discuss how their child is progressing with their learning and wellbeing. This year teachers will be developing and reviewing with parents Individual Learning Plans for students that are not yet reaching the DECD standards of Educational Achievement in mathematics and English. These plans help to identify specific goals and strategies that can be implemented at home and school to achieve these learning outcomes.

Over the next week, you will receive information about how you can book an interview time with your child’s teacher (s). This booking process is done through an online booking system. We encourage all parents to make a time to discuss your child’s progress. 

Thank you to the many parents that have come in to pay the Materials and Services charge for 2017. We really appreciate this prompt payment as this enables us to provide the resources that we need to support the quality learning programs that are implemented. There is also an optional excursion levy of $50 that parents can also pay for the year. Please remember that if you are planning to pay the excursion levy, then it does need to be paid before students attend an excursion this year.

If you have a question, concern or complaint concerning your child’s achievement or wellbeing then your first contact should be with your child’s teacher. If this does not resolve your issue then you may ask to speak with someone from the school leadership team, Tina Nesbitt, Coordinator, Tina Mouzakitis, Deputy Principal or Katrina Sexton, Principal.  After taking this step and you still have an issue then DECD have an Education Complaints Unit (1800 677 435) who can advise and support parents in this area.

Have a lovely long weekend.

Regards Katrina