Dear parents and carers, staff, students and community

members,

Three weeks into the term already; shorter days, colder mornings and an increase in minor illnesses as the season starts to change. We understand the dilemma parents face when they get up in the morning and find that their child is unwell. It is often a difficult decision, whether to keep your child at home or send them to school and it does come down to your judgement, however if they really are unwell, school is not the place for them. This is particularly important as we have a student undergoing treatment for childhood cancer and therefore their immune system is very low. It is important that you let the front office know as soon as possible if your child has contracted any contagious illness. You are welcome to call, email or SMS through our Attendance Monitoring System. NAPLAN testing As part of our Positive and Supportive Learning Environment focus area and the expected behaviours we teach each week, this week‟s focus is „keeping things in perspective‟ under the Build Resilience area of our behaviour matrix. Each year our Year 3 and 5 students have to take part in national NAPLAN testing so I would like to share this excerpt from an article written to students which is very relevant: "We are concerned that these tests do not always assess all of what it is that make each of you special and unique. The people who create these tests and score them do not know each of you-- the way your teachers do, the way I hope to, and certainly not the way your families do. They do not know that you can play a musical instrument or that you can dance or paint a picture. They do not know that your friends count on you to be there for them or that your laughter can brighten the dreariest day. They do not know that you write poetry or songs, play or participate in sports, wonder about the future, or that sometimes you take care of your little brother or sister after school. They do not know that you have travelled to a really neat place or that you know how to tell a great story or that you really love spending time with special family members and friends. They do not know that you can be trustworthy, kind or thoughtful, and that you try, every day, to be your very best... the scores you get will tell you something, but they will not tell you everything. There are many ways of being smart."

.......... Source: Russell O’Neill

Darryn Martin Jeff Scott

Principal Associate Principal

“SEE RED” FOR A

DAY 13 May

RM 6 ASSEMBLY 20 May

HOCKEY CLINIC 1-2 June

NASHS Visit 3 June

WA DAY HOLIDAY 6 June

FACTION X-COUNTRY 9 June

RM 10 ASSEMBLY 10 June

CULTURAL INCURSION 13 June

INTERSCHOOL

X-COUNTRY 21 June

P&C MEETING 21 June

Issue: 7 11 May 2016 Coming Events

With the much loved Phil Goodall moving on to become a “roaming” Chaplain I have joined the Little Grove community as your new school Chaplain. My name is Belle Grant; the children are welcome to call me “Belle”. I come to you having served as a YouthCare Chaplain for almost three years at Albany Senior High School and also in a support chaplaincy role at Mount Manypeaks and Wellstead Primary Schools. Life has taught me many things. Perhaps one of the greatest lessons I have learnt is that it takes a village to raise our children. My husband and I have two children; Chrissy who is ten and Sam who is six. Being a working mum, studying psychology, having a husband who works ridiculously long hours and two gorgeous kids, I certainly know what it‟s like to feel like you‟re in training for the circus. I will be available to the school community on Wednesdays and Thursdays so please feel free to track me down. For those mums, dads, grandparents and caregivers who aren‟t able to pop into my office, you are more than welcome to email or call me, I‟d love to chat. As I said, it takes a village to raise our children. So if you or your beautiful children need some support or just need to chat, that‟s what I‟m here for. You can give me a call at school on Wednesdays or Thursdays or you‟re welcome to email me; belinda.grant2@education.wa.edu.au. Looking forward to the journey ahead…Belle

MESSAGE FROM OUR NEW CHAPLAIN

On Friday 3 May Mr Harrison (Student Services Coordinator), Ben Wyatt and Jennie Small (NASHS Chaplains) and/or Mrs Bolt, (Deputy Principal), will be visiting your school and the

Year 6 students. The students will be provided with information on subjects, teachers and events to look forward to in the future. They will also be provided with an enrolment package containing lots of information about Year 7 in 2017. It would be appreciated if you could complete and return the forms in the package to your child‟s teacher by Friday, 24 June 2016. On Tuesday, 14 June we will be holding a Parent Information Night for Year 6 to 7 from 5.30pm to 7.30pm. For more information please refer to the flyer inside the enrolment package. We look forward to seeing parents of Year 6 students. If you have any further queries regarding the Year 6 to 7 transition program, please feel free to contact Terry Bolt or Andrew Harrison on 9892 0611.

Transition to High School A message from NASHS

All schools in Australia, including Independent and Catholic schools, will participate in the Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability every year. The Data Collection is an annual count of the number of students with disability receiving educational adjustments to support their participation in education on the same basis as students without disability. All education agencies are now required under the Australian Education Regulation 2013, to provide information on a students‟ level of education, disability and level of adjustment to the Australian Government Department of Education. Data will continue to be de-identified prior to its transfer and no student‟s identity will be provided to the Australian Government Department of Education. The collection of this information from states and territories will inform future policy and program planning in relation to students with disability.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Mr Darryn Martin on 9844 4888 or the Western Australian Department of Education NCCD Helpline on 0477 741 598.

Nationally Consistent Collection of Data for School Students with Disability

The clinic is open Monday to Friday, 8.15am to 12noon, and from 12.45pm to 4.30pm. We see children from pre-primary through to year 11 and while they

are aged 16. We endeavour to see our patients every 12 months, but unfortunately we are running behind schedule. Please phone us to make an appointment if you feel your children have not been seen in over 12 months. If your contact details have changed in the last two years, please contact the clinic – we may have tried to get in touch with you. Our contact number is 9841 3498. If we do not answer during the work day, please try again as we do not have a receptionist to answer phone calls. We will also be visiting the school at some point during term two or three to conduct our annual orthodontic checks on pre-primary, year three and six students. This is NOT a dental check-up visit, it is to see how your children are developing orthodontically.

YAKAMIA DENTAL THERAPY CENTRE

Our Junior area has received a new (second-hand) slide . This has proven very popular with the students. We would like to thank the City of Albany for donating the slide and our gardener Mr Reeves and our head cleaner Mr Tanner for installing the slide for the students over the holidays.

New slide for Juniors

CANTEEN NEWS

Roster:

Fri 13 May Christina D & Julianne D

Wed 18 May Suzanne M

Fri 20 May Ashley C & Justine P

Wed 25 May Elani R

“SEE RED” FOR A DAY

“See red for a day” fundraiser (Ride for Logan) Friday 13 May 2016 Dress in red for a gold coin donation. Logan (a former student) passed away September last year. He was involved in the HeartKids Teen Camp that is struggling to get Funding. 19 of Logan‟s friends and family are going to cycle from Perth to Albany to raise funds. If you want to know more, please visit their website: https://logansride.everydayhero.com/au/Daniel-leary

The Canteen would just like to thank everyone for their great support in making the first Happy Hot Dog day such a great success. There will be another Happy Hot Dog day later in this term.

CANTEEN HAPPY HOT DOG DAY

Last week we conducted a parent workshop on helping your child with reading. It was a huge success and the handouts are available on our website. Thanks to Mrs Tite for organising this. Here is some other important information about helping your child with their reading at home or getting them ready to read.

I want my children to read I want my children to be readers. I want my children to have big dreams. How can I help my children learn to read?

I show them that reading mat-

ters I help them find books they like. They see me read. We go to the library together. We read before bed every night.

We spend

time together We talk a lot. I talk to them about what we're doing. I ask about their day. They ask me about the world. I tell them what I know.

I help them hear

the sounds in words

when we talk I help them hear how baby and bubble start with the same sound. I help them hear that kitten and mitten rhyme. We sing songs. We say nursery rhymes together. They are getting ready to read. I am helping them.

I teach my children that

things have names I teach them the colours, the foods we eat. I teach them the animals and the kinds of weather. I teach them walk, run, jump, fly. I teach them is, was and will be.

I help them

practise reading They read their favourite book out loud. I read it too. We take turns. They read it over and over. I don't mind. They read until the words sound right. I say, "Great job reading!"

I help them understand what

they read I say, "Tell me about the story. What happened? Who did what? Why? How did it end?" We talk about it. I say, "What do you think about the story?" And I listen.

Reading can help

our dreams come true I show them that reading matters. We spend time together. I help them hear the sounds in words when we talk. I help them know what words mean. I help them practise reading. I help them understand what they read.

Acknowledgement: This was

written by RMC Research Corpo-

ration under a contract with the

Partnership for Reading, National

Institute for Literacy

FAMILY READING

CONTRIBUTING TO CHILDREN’S ANXIETY

Twenty-first century living is taking its toll, and many children are finding it hard to cope. Some parenting practices can make things worse. As in all parts of our lives, finding the right balance is always the best, if sometimes the most difficult, goal.

POSITIVE BEHAVIOUR PROGRAM

The key behaviours expected by all members of Little Grove Primary School community are:

Open to learning Be responsible Show respect Build resilience

Groovy Grover Faction Rewards The factions are earning Groovy Grovers each week for showing behaviours that portray our four key areas.

Blue and Gold Factions have received five extended lunchtimes each this year.

Red Faction have received four extended lunchtimes this year. Our Factions have all passed the 1000 mark and will have their sausage sizzle on Monday 16th May 2016, weather dependent. Students with allergies will be catered for in consultation with their parents. Keep up the good work to reach for the next big target and rewards.

Results at the end of Term 2 Week 2

Blue Faction 1225

Red Faction 1070

Gold Faction 1316

Sharing too much. When your child comes

home from school with tales of mean girls, aggressive boys and insensitive teachers, remember that children feed off our emotions and can get more distressed when we‟re distressed. We need to try to keep our own anxiety in check while sympathising with theirs. We have to be the emotional rock: the person who understands and supports.

Advocating too hard. We all want to stand

up for our children, but our eagerness to advocate can sometimes actually raise anxiety levels. If your child shares a school problem with you, your first instinct is often to march into the school and try to resolve it. This tells your children that you don‟t have faith in them to fix their own problems. Your first priority should be to help them find a solution they can implement without your help, every time.

Compensating for weaknesses. Most

of us get our confidence not from compensating for weaknesses, but on playing to our strengths. Children can‟t always avoid their weak areas, but by focusing on strengths we build self-efficacy and confidence.

Overplaying strengths. Positive affirmation

can easily turn to pressure. Compliment children when they excel, but don‟t make their excellence a reason to

expect even more from them.

Having great values. Sometimes

children make poor choices, and the thought of family finding out can seem like a fate worse than death. Let your children know that while values are important, you understand the realities and temptations they face. Don‟t create a culture where your children are too anxious to come to you and admit they messed up.

Hiding your troubles. If we‟re struggling

financially or fighting with our spouse, we think our children are better off not knowing. But they suspect and if they don‟t know the whole story, they can blow it out of all proportion. Should we pile our own troubles on our child‟s shoulders? No, but it doesn‟t hurt to be honest about what our concerns are and, more importantly, what we‟re doing about it. By sharing what makes us anxious and how we deal with it, we‟re modelling practical ways to resolve anxiety. Acknowledgement: Karen Banes

Department of Fisheries Program with Year 5 and 6 students

Mr Davies organised to take part in the Department of Fisheries Educational Program in Term 1. This is an extraction out of their Thank You note to Mr Davies: “Working with your 5/6 science students over the

course of three activities has so many valuable

attributes. Not only are they receiving a full marine

based program, based on their local environment and

local species, but it allows them the opportunity each

time to build on their knowledge and understanding of

our fisheries science and management.

Our ultimate goal in delivering a fisheries education

program to school children is to increase understanding

of sustainable fishing, and ultimately encourage

contribution to a sustainable future. Year 5/6 students

are the perfect age to instil these messages, and we

thank you for allowing us to spend so much time with

your students.

It was also great to get to know them all, they are a

wonderful bunch of kids!

As always, it’s been a pleasure! We look forward to

working with you again next year. And I met many

other passionate, interested teachers in your staffroom

over the term! “

We are very pleased to hear that our Year 5 and 6 students are so well behaved.

EAGLES CUP

P&C PICTUREPRODUCTS FUNDRAISER

We played against Spencer Pk on Tuesday. After a tight and scrappy first quarter, LG were able to score 5 unanswered goals to open up a break on a much improved SP. Well done to all our new Yr 4‟s. We had many stars worth mentioning but it was a strong team effort that brought the win: 67pts to 30. Next fixture VS Demmark is at Denmark on Wednesday the 18th May.

This is a reminder that your plate, mug or other picture product need to be in at the office by Friday the 20th May 2016.

At the end of last term Years 5 and 6 were fortunate to have the W.A. Department of Fisheries visit Little Grove Primary School. Marine Education Officer for the South Coast Tahryn Thompson came to complete the final of three activities with the Science classes. In the first activity Fishy Features we examined how the physical adaptations of species helped them survive in their habitats. The second activity Real Fish – Real Science involved dissecting fish to examine internal structures and learn how fish are aged by studying their ear bones (otoliths). The third event involved taking samples of sand from different quadrats at ever increasing depths within the inter-tidal zone at Rushy Point Little Grove. Once the sand samples were gathered, they were sifted and the number of cockles present at those depths was counted. Other species found within the sand were also identified and recorded. Tests such as cockle sampling can help to indicate how healthy a marine area is and I hope that Little Grove School can continue this activity annually to gather useful data on our environment. Mr Davies.