Dear Parents, Students, Staff and Community Members,

We have an action packed last few weeks of school. 

The staff are very busy preparing this semesters reports for their students. I know staff value reports and place a lot of time and effort to ensure these reports accurately reflect each students individual qualties, achievement and progress. Staff have also been preparing for 2023, working on a reflective process through the school self assessment framework and preparing next years Operational Plans. We are also developing our strategic direction by creating our Strategic Plan for 2023 to 2025. 


THANKYOU

A very special thankyou to Mr Michael Drake-Brockman for the loan of his tip truck to deliver gravel for our Yarrning Circle and our grass tree. Our grass tree is a welcomed addition to Miss Mas and Mr Bailye's gorgeous garden. We have 2 flag poles ordered so the grassed area will look amazing.

 


ORCHARD 

A quick update on our edible garden... Our P&C orchard is looking amazing.  It flows beautifully into our developing Yarning Circle. The murals will be a beautiful backdrop to this special space.

MOSQUITOS

As per Education Department guidelines, we are not permitted to provide Stingose as a First Aid treatment for students. Stingose or a preferred treatment can be applied before school and if required during the day, students may bring from home and leave with their teacher.

Applying a repellent before school is recommended.

SEMESTER 2 REPORTS

Reports will be sent via email link to parents in Week 10 on Wednesday 14 December. Your child will also receive a hard copy as we transition to emailed Semester Reports. If you need to update your contact information, please phone the front office on 90755100.

2023 KINDERGARTEN DAYS

Next year we will be trialling a 3 day Kindergarten program. Students will attend Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday all year. As Kindergarten is not compulsory, families have the option of rest days as required.

PERSONAL ITEMS LIST

The 2023 Personal Items lists have been sent home; please contact the office if you have not received your child's list. All lists have been approved by the School Council and represent competitive pricing.

2023 STUDENT FORUM

We recently held the election process for our 2023 Student Forum. Our staff were impressed by all students who prepared thoughtful speeches and presented their speeches in front of the whole school and their families with confidence and poise. It was a very tight vote count. The successful students will be presented with their badges at the end of year concert.

Everyone is so excited to show off their acting skills on the big night!


FIRST NATIONS BEDTIME STORY WEEK - Mrs Bouckaert

This week has been National First Nations Bedtimes Stories Week, this is a Common Ground initiative that shares stories from the Dreamtime from across Australia. All students and teachers have gathered together in the Junior Classroom to watch a daily video.

On Tuesday we watched 'Star Dreaming', which was about the importance of the stars and the spaces between the constellations that helped guide the Wiradjuri People, from New South Wales, to know when to hunt for foods and how to navigate through the bush. 

On Wednesday we watched a creation Dreamtime Story called 'The Rainbow Serpent', this is a well-known story about how the lands and rivers were created and where the rainbow serpent has laid down to rest. This particular Dreamtime story was told by an elder of the Wiradjuri People.

On Thursday we watched 'Why the Kookaburra Laughs', this is a story about how the sky spirits asked the Kookaburra to sing each morning to help raise the sun. The story was told to us by an elder of the Wiradjuri People.

If any parents are interested in watching any of the videos, I am happy to send through a link, but I would caution parents that they should watch the videos first as some can be inappropriate for younger students. 

JUNIOR MALLEE LILEY PROJECT - Miss Hatton

Early this term Miss Hatton met with the other Junior Mallee teachers to discuss the Mallee LILEY project they had undertaken this year. LILEY stands for ‘Leading Inspired Learning in the Early Years’. This project has led to the development of a strong K-2 professional learning community in our Mallee teacher network and has enable us to share best quality practices across our region to support our students, school and staff.

JUNIOR MALLEE TEACHER NETWORK - Miss Hatton

In week 4 Miss Hatton and Mrs Bouckaert met with the Junior Mallee teachers to moderate students writing, discuss future planning and support in the network. Mrs Bouckaert presented a moderation maths piece and the teachers co-created a year two moderation task for Place Value. Miss Hatton presented the phonological awareness program she had designed with Lynne Scrimgeour from the South East Language Development Centre. It was a fantastic day that highlighted the vast knowledge and leadership the Junior Mallee teachers have built over the year.

MALLEE SENIOR TEACHER NETWORK- Mr Paterson

In Week 6, the Senior Room teachers from the five Mallee schools had their final meeting of the year. We moderated some students’ writing samples and undertook professional learning on ‘The Writing Revolution’. We also finalised our scope and sequence on mental computation strategies and set some targets for the 2023 Operational Plan. It has been a highly productive year for the Senior Mallee Network and we would like to thank the Mallee principals for providing us with the opportunity to meet.

END OF YEAR CONCERT PRACTICE

Kindy - Year 6 students will travel to Grass Patch Hall on Thursday 8 December and Monday 12 December in preparation for the End of Year Concert. Permission notes will be going home today. Mrs Bouckaert and the students have been very busy designing costumes and back drops. We are looking forward to another entertaining performance.

KINDY MAKE UP DAY

Kindy students will attend on Monday 12 December as their second make up day from the Term 3 Week 10 Interm Swimming program.


EARLY CLOSE

Our School Council and Director of Education, Leila Bothams have approved an early close on Tuesday 13 December for our End of Year Concert. Students will attend school from 8:30am – 12:30pm. Students will need to arrive at the Grass Patch Concert Hall by 4:30pm for a 5pm start.

Mallee Year 6 Leavers Day

On Thursday 24 September, Caitlyn and I attended a Mallee Year Six Leavers Day in Esperance. We played soccer and basketball in the morning at the Adventureland Park and had recess there. We then went on a scavenger hunt along the foreshore. The scavenger hunt was about the early settlers of Esperance and local Aboriginal history. It was fun but very hot. Afterwards, we had Subway for lunch and played in the park at the Jetty Headland. After lunch, we went to the pool. We played on the inflatables, had races and had a “Smallest Splash Wins” competition. It was a really fun day.

By Charlie

Student Forum Speeches

On Wednesday, 16 November, the Year 2-5 students presented their speeches to be in the Student Forum in 2023. After the speeches, all the students and staff got to vote for the four people they think would be good Student Forum members. The results will be announced at the end-of-year concert in Week 10. Good luck to everyone who nominated!

By Ethan and Aidan

PEAC

During Weeks 2-5, Charlie and I went to Esperance Primary School for two PEAC courses. There were also students from Esperance PS, Castletown PS, Condingup PS attending the courses. There was a public speaking course where we learnt about writing and presenting a good speech. There was also a solar power course where we learnt how to build a basic solar car. On the last day, we showed our parents what we had done and raced our cars!

By Hunter

West Australian Opera Incursion

On Tuesday 8 November, we had some people come from the West Australian Opera come in and sing for us. There was a pianist and two singers. They sang lots of different songs and even did some dancing. Towards the end the pianist, played a long song in less than a minute. It was really cool!

By Kiana

Student Leaders Day

On Wednesday 9 November, Caitlyn and I went to Castletown Primary School for a Student Leaders Day. Sadly, Charlie and Hunter were at PEAC so they couldn’t come. We went to the Civic Centre where we did some team challenges and had a meeting like the Esperance Shire Council does. After lunch, we went to the Recycling Facility and saw that they do there. It was a great day.

By Lucas

Senior Room news

In Mathematics, the Senior Room students have been learning about money. The Year 3 and 4 students are currently learning how to calculate change whilst the Year 5 and 6 students are learning how to create financial plans. Here are some photos of the Year 3 and 4 students using coins and notes to calculate change.

Year 1's and Year 2's working on the concept of Time.

  


Our PP and Kindy elves practicing their building skills.

  

Second Spring
Wildflower season (season of birth) 

October - November

During the Kambarang season, we see an abundance of colours and flowers exploding all around us. The yellows of many of the Acacias continue to abound, along with some of the Banksias and many other smaller delicate flowering plants including the Kangaroo Paw and Orchids. Also during this time the Balgas will also start to flower, especially if they've been burnt in the past year or closely shaved.

One of the most striking displays of flowers to be seen during this season will be the "Mooja", or Australian Christmas Tree (Nuytsia). The bright orange/yellow flowers serve to signal the heat is on its way.

For the animals, October is also the most likely time of the year that you'll encounter a snake as the reptiles start to awaken from their hibernation and look to make the most of the warm to assist them in getting enough energy to look for food. It's also a time that many young families of birds will be singing out for their parents to feed them. Koolbardies (Magpies) will also be out protecting their nests and their babies.

Many things are undergoing transformation with the warm change in the weather.

Longer dry periods accompany a definite warming trend.

Click on the link below to read the Esperance SHS Newsletter 

Esperance Senior High School Newsletter

As a school, we are required to work towards improving the attendance of our students.

ATTENDANCE

Congratulations to the following students who have achieved 100% attendance so far this term:

Billie, Hunter and Pippa

Congratulations to the following students who have achieved at or above our school target of 93% attendance so far this term:

Ryder, Sailor and Layla.

At Scaddan Primary School, our goal is to ensure every student has the opportunity to achieve their potential.

Scaddan Primary School will maintain consistently high levels of student attendance with a target of 93% or above. The Department of Education classifies any student below 90% as an attendance risk.

We know that everyday at school contributes to learning, which leads to better engagement and higher academic achievement. This sets students up for life and creates better social and economic outcomes for Western Australian families sand communities.

The School Education Act 1999 requires children of compulsory school age to attend school. When a child is unable to attend, legislation requires that Parents and Carers provide written notification providing a reasonable cause for the absence of the child.

We encourage you to notify the school of any absence via email or by replying to the school messaging system.

Are you at least 14 years old? Want to learn lifesaving skills and CPR?

The Bay of Isles Leisure Centre will be holding a one day Bronze Medallion Course on Saturday 21^st January 2023 from 8.00am to 4.00pm. Cost is $195.00

If you need to maintain your current qualification, complete your Bronze Requalification on Saturday 21^st January 2023 from 12.30pm to 4.00pm. Cost is $95.00

Please express your interest to Michelle in Swim School on 9083 1703 or complete the enrolment form attached and return to reception or scan to swimschool@esperance.wa.gov.au. Attach a purchase order number if applicable.