Welcome Back to Term 3
We have a busy term to look forward to, jam packed with learning, fun activities and events. Whilst I am grateful we have had a somewhat ‘normal’ start to our school term, I am thinking of our colleagues, and the students and families in Victoria as they move back to learning from home. Whilst we are in phase four, I thank you for continuing to drop off and meet your child/ren at classroom doors this term, as this ensures the safety of all students and staff.
So far this term, students have enjoyed Crazy Hair Day, Interschool Cross Country, K/PP Teddy Bears Picnic, and an Earth Aware day, where students participated in cooking, gardening, making recycled seeded paper and learning about our water systems. Students participated in two of these activities this session, and will complete the other two activities next Earth Aware Day, in Week 8.
Attendance: Attend Today, Achieve Tomorrow
At Jarrahdale Primary School, we want your child to achieve the very best. To get the best education, they need to attend school every day. Going to school every day is the single most important part of your child’s education. Students learn new things at school every day. Attending and participating in school will help your child develop important skills and knowledge to help them learn and social and emotional skills such as good communication, resilience and team work.
We are closely monitoring attendance this term and are in the process of updating our Attendance Policy and Procedures to ensure we are supporting every student and family to maximise learning and achievement opportunities. We will be in touch and hope to work with you this term if your child’s attendance has been identified ‘At Risk’ so far his year.
Staff Update
We welcome back Mrs Sophia Bowers, who is teaching Phys. Ed. among other things.
We also welcome a new Chaplain, Glenda, every Friday.
Glenda will be running BUZ (Build-Up-Zone) programs in classes
and is also available for students, staff and parents for a chat.
School Board Update
We welcome Nathan Cox to the role of Board Chair for the remainder of 2020. I know he will do an amazing job.
I would like to thank Salli Galvin for her leadership, time and efforts as she steps down from the role, to continue serving on the Board as a member.
Interschool Cross Country
Congratulations to all our competitors who participated in the Cross Country in Week 2. It was a wonderful event and I was very pleased with our competitors and our Senior students for the sportsmanship they displayed on the day. It was wonderful to see the perseverance and amazing athletic ability that our students have—well done!
Canteen
Thank you to all students and parents whom are now ordering at the canteen in the morning. This is working well, thank you to our students, families and of course our Canteen Volunteers for supporting this.
NCCD Data Collection
The Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability (NCCD) takes place in August every year. The NCCD is a collection that counts: the number of school students receiving an adjustment or ‘help’ due to disability and the level of adjustment they are receiving to access education on the same basis as other students.
Students are counted in the NCCD if they receive ongoing adjustments at school due to disability. The NCCD uses the definition of disability in the Disability Discrimination Act 1992. Schools provide this information to education authorities.
The name of the school and the name of the students is not reported. Information about the different types of needs and the programs and resources the school uses to overcome barriers and support children with special education needs is collected. This is compulsory for all schools and is detailed in the Australian Education Regulation 2013.
For more information, please don’t hesitate to contact me, or visit the NCCD Portal.
Positive Behaviour Support
To further support a whole school approach towards the achievement of a safe and supportive school environment, underpinned by a culture of high performance and high care, staff have recently engaged in professional learning in Positive Behaviour Support (PBS).
PBS is a whole school framework which helps schools create positive learning environments and research notes that staff and student engagement with the PBS framework supports increased academic performance, improved safety, decreased problem behaviours and supports a positive school culture through informed decision making. As a school community, we all share responsibility for developing and upholding our school values and beliefs that guide the behaviour of everyone in our school; staff, students, parents and community members. This is achieved by developing proactive systems to define, teach and support appropriate student behaviour.
A key aim of PBS is to create a positive school community with consistent expectations in all areas of school life. From the classrooms to the ovals, from the front gates to the playground, PBS will help students understand what is expected of them and provide motivation to fulfil those expectations.
An important part of this process is engaging with all stakeholders, including the School Board, students, parents, staff and the wider community.
Please see below for our Purpose Statement, developed by our WA PBS@JPS Team.
Purpose Statement: The purpose of the WA PBS@JPS Team is to establish a common understanding of expected behaviours in the school community through a consultative process in which all contributions from all stakeholders are valued. The beliefs, language and actions will be explicit and clear to the whole school community. This will develop a safe, supportive and positive learning environment and will improve behaviour, teach social skills and achieve higher educational outcomes.
I look forward to seeing you out and about at our whole school events throughout the term. Take Care.
Cherie Dobbs
Principal