Newsletter
Week 4 Term 1 Leinster Community School
Principal Message
Dear Parents and Carers,
I would like to share with you some of the priorities on my mind at a school level currently. My current focuses have included gaining trust in the community, the schools image in the community and behaviour of students.
Trust in the Community
Our message as a school to the community is "future focused". As a new principal at the school I am well aware of the changes in leadership that have occurred in the past 18 months. As an executive team, we have been working with staff in building trusting and caring relationships with the students, parents and wider community. This is of great importance to us. Please be mindful that there are limits to what can sometimes be divulged in relation to students and staffing but our mission is to be as transparent as possible. Should you ever wish to raise this topic our door is always open for a chat or clarification.
Image of the School
We are focused on lifting the image of the school by creating organised working environments for the students in all areas of the school. Some of the big changes in this area have been the employment of our new cleaner, Santina. We are pleased to welcome Santina to the team and our students are being encouraged to assist with appropriate hygiene practices to avoid the spread of germs and viruses. Our gardener, Mark has worked very hard to clear some of the clutter and ensure that our gardens are neat and tidy. There has been some painting of our external buildings. One significant mural that has been removed will be replaced in the future with artwork from current students and the Tjiwarl Indigenous people who the traditional owners of the land. We are excited about the maintenance works currently happening to uplift the image of the school.
Student Behaviour
Our first step in asking students to represent the school with a positive image in full school uniform. We are phasing out the old uniform by the end of term 1 and have been engaging with a new uniform supplier. The secondary students have taken ownership of their uniform and designed a special cap for all secondary's to wear. We are encouraging the students to display leadership in the school and take on small projects as they arise.
Another clear message we are delivering to students and staff is our message of no violence. We are working with students to display respect for property and one another. Our mission is to raise global citizens who can be role models in our society.
Thank you for your support!
Claire Barbosa
Principal
Important Dates
2 March: Labour Day Public holiday
10 March: Sergeant Holt Guest Speaker 8:45 am
10 March: P&C AGM 4:30 pm
11 March Board Meeting 5:00 pm
18 March: Year 5/6 Assembly 2:00 pm
20 March: Swimming Carnival
24 March: School Photos
25 March: Harmony Day
3 April: Inter school Swimming Carnival
7 April: Easter Hat Parade
9 April: last day of term
10 April: Good Friday Public Holiday
Violence in Schools
In 2018 a new policy came out with the Education Department giving principals autonomy to exclude students for violent behaviour in our schools. Our message to our children- the future generation of Australia is that violence is not OK!
We have been speaking to the students regularly about this message and we even have our local Police Officer- Sergeant Holt coming to speak to the students on Tuesday 10 March at 8:45 am. All are are welcome.Police visit
Absenteeism
Going to school is compulsory in Australia from Pre Primary onward. If a child is not going to be at school we require notification- for a number of reasons.
- As a school we collect data on absenteeism to establish truant-ism, illness, holiday?
- Other agencies working with particular children may request data on particular children from time to time.
- On the student's report there is a section that totals absenteeism for parent and school information.
In order to obtain accurate data it is essential for parents to inform the school of absenteeism in the following ways:
- Illness- phone call, verbal, Seesaw message, website message or respond to text
- Extended holiday outside of set holiday times- email to the Principal
Please refrain from asking your child's teacher to set specialised work in your child's absence. If you wish to continue your child's education whilst on holiday it is advisable to complete some reading, keep a journal/diary and incidental learning such as Geography, mapping and life skills.
Swimming Lessons
What a successful week of swimming! The swimming instructors commented that our High Schoolers were the best group of kids that they have ever had! We are proud of you all and all of the participation and stage awards that you all received!
Sexuality and Protective Behaviours
In the next couple of weeks each family will receive a free resource created by The Health Department called “Talk Soon, Talk Often.” This parent information book is yours to keep and is a resource to assist parents in educating their children about sexual development. It will provide you with information about milestones and what to expect at different ages and stages from birth to eighteen years of age. It contains many helpful tips on explaining facts, protective behaviours and relationships.
Our message to our students about relationships is "we are all friends at school." It is perfectly fine for the students to have a mixture of male and female friends but we are strongly discouraging talk of girlfriends and boyfriends and any sexualised behaviour at this young age.
Special skills
Do you have special skills to share? We would love to hear from you! Feel free to touch base with your child's teacher on how you can assist in supplementing student education in our community.
School Health Nurse
All Kindergarten children will undergo a health screen by a school health nurse. Please ensure that you complete and return the form.
ICT
On Entry
School Board
Results of the Lunchtime Survey
There have been some suggestions within the community to change the structure of our current lunchtime. Not having a strong opinion either way I decided to survey the community and see what was the preferred option amongst the teachers, parents and students.So here are the results:
- 31 Parents responded to the survey. 77% of parents preferred the children to eat first and 13% preferred them to play first. 10% did not have a preference.
- 10 Teachers responded to the survey. 10% of teachers wanted the students to eat first and 60% preferred them to play first.30% did not have a preference.
- 64 Students responded to the survey from years 1-12 and of those students 45% preferred to eat first. 55% preferred to play first.
It is interesting to see that there are the strongest preferences within the parents and teachers but higher numbers of students responded to the survey.
So the final decision will be based on the student vote since it is a decision about their lunch time. They will continue to play first and eat second with a reduced eating time from 25 minutes to 15 minutes(suggested by the students).
Please note that we have introduced an additional meal through our Crunch and Sip program to combat hunger and promote healthy eating.
Contributions and Charges
All parents at government schools in Western Australia are asked to contribute a voluntary fee. This money is very important and valued by the school and contributes to the students learning program, the books that we buy and the curriculum delivered. It is strongly recommended that all parents pay this charge of $80 per student. Please see the details of how to pay below.
Leinster Community School Bank Details
Bank: Commonwealth Bank
Account Name : Leinster Community School
Branch Number : 066 040
Account Number : 1990 1770
ABN : 18 922 748 795
Easter Raffle
The P & C have kindly organised an Easter Egg Raffle and will be selling tickets. Please bring in an egg or Easter themed surprise to add to our collection in the front office to be raffled.