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Newsletter 8

Dear Parents and Carers Quiz Night

What a fabulous community event last Saturday night with hundreds of parents and many staff joining in this fun and social fundraising event. Funds raised on the night were to support the completion of the Nature Playground which has been very popular with students by adding another play dimension during school breaks and a degree of physical challenge for students who engage with the climbing equipment. Well done to the P&C, and especially the events committee, who did an amazing job organising the night, setting up the hall, seeking donations and prizes, running the bar, silent auctions, raffles and cleaning up afterwards.

Special thanks from the committee to all of the sponsors, especially our neighbours in the shopping centre. Approximately $10 000 worth of donations were received for the quiz night, a tremendous gesture from our generous local businesses.

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National Reconciliation Week

This week classes have been celebrating and discussing the importance of reconciliation and many teachers have drawn on resources provided by Reconciliation Australia at www.reconciliation.org.au

“At its heart, reconciliation is about strengthening relationships between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and non-Indigenous peoples, for the benefit of all Australians.”

“… A reconciled Australia is one where our rights as First Australians are not just respected but championed in all the places that matter …” Kirstie Parker – Board Member, Reconciliation Australia

How amazing would this be!

Our Aboriginal culture is fascinating, something we can all be immensely proud of and as well as this, our students have enjoyed developing their understanding of the need for reconciliation.

Senior School Choir

This fantastic choir gave an amazing performance at the whole school assembly this morning by singing both “We are Family“ and “Humpty Dumpty” which at times was in two part harmony.

Congratulations to our Senior Choir and Miss Darby who has trained them so expertly.

NAPLAN Online

The 2019 tests concluded last week with no further issues, after the initial log on problems experienced Australia wide. Well done Year 3 and 5 students, class teachers and Mrs Martin for coordinating this so efficiently, effectively and for maintaining a calmness throughout the school.

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Device Management Workshop – Friday 21 June

Parents are invited to the next school workshop, commencing at 9:00am on Friday 21 June in our Library on managing devices at home. This will be conducted by teachers and will contain numerous practical suggestions for managing the content that children see online, and the time they spend doing this. As the last workshop was so well received, I look forward to seeing many parents attend and gain some insights.

Cold and Flu Season

From all reports, this will be a bad year for colds and influenza. Already we have had a number of students with nasty colds …and subsequently, staff falling victim to these winter ailments. I urge parents to help by keeping sick children home to recover, as when they are unwell, they are not effective learners. This also helps prevent the spread of infection to others.

I appreciate your understanding and support.

Mr Wilkinson is Retiring

After 28 years of dedicated teaching service at Rostrata Primary School, Mr Wilkinson has announced his retirement, finishing on Friday 28 June. We sincerely thank him for all that he has done for so many students and the school and wish him the very best for the years ahead.

Coding Club Our revamped before school coding club has been a huge success with the students to the point that classes are at capacity. Next term, there might be another opportunity for new students to join, so watch for the announcement and get in quick!

Biggest Morning Tea

For many years, staff have held a Big Morning tea fundraiser for the Cancer Council and tomorrow we are looking forward to doing this once again, and look to beat last year’s total which was in excess of $1500. This is a great effort from our staff and another demonstration of our CARE belief that the school community upholds.

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Western Australia Day – Public Holiday Monday 3 June

The school will be closed on Monday for the gazetted Public Holiday commemorating Western Australia Day. Students and staff return to school on Tuesday 4 June.

B Cluster Toilets

Work has commenced on the renovations to the student toilets in B cluster. We anticipate that works will be completed by the end of next week. In the meantime, students from B cluster are sharing the C cluster ablutions and this has worked very well.

CARE Focus for the Fortnight – Sharing

Teachers throughout the school will be teaching lessons that focus on “I share school resources, equipment and spaces.” The ability to play and share with their friends is a key life skill for students to learn, practise and master. Once again, parents can help by reinforcing this focus at home so that children learn the importance of transferring these abilities across different contexts. Thank you for your support.

New Classroom Arriving

The arrival of the new classroom has now been pushed back to the school holidays and we look forward to using it throughout second semester.

Vale Mr Joe Paolino

After a long illness, Mr Paolino passed away on Friday last week and his funeral service was held yesterday. Our thoughts are with his family, Claudia, Dante and Ally. As a school community, we will reach out and support them in any way that we can. Rostrata Primary P&C and staff

BARRY FRANCE

School Principal

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CARE TOKEN WINNERS

Congratulations to our latest C.A.R.E token award winners. You’re the best!

Jillian – C7 Emily – D4

Chloe – A3 Zuhayer – B6

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YEAR 6 CAMP EXPERIENCE

The year Sixes had a wonderful time at Point Peron Camp School, participating in rock climbing, rafting, and more. The food was exquisite and each night there was something entertaining planned. Everyone who came on camp had a magnificent time and it will be remembered as a highlight for this year. I would like to include a special thanks to all the staff that helped organise the camp, especially Mrs Baron for making camp memorable.

Levi Year 6 student

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BOOK-CLUB

MATHLETICS

Congratulations everyone who has gained Mathletics certificates this year. In the month of May we completed 1294 + certificates.

This is 163 more certificates than May last year. Well done!

How many can we achieve in the month of June? Can we beat May’s total?

Our total number of certificates this year is 5278

These classes achieved the highest number of certificates for each Block for May:

A Block – A4, B Block – B8, C Block – C7 and D Block – D1

Great results everyone! Keep it up!

Nina Trapp

Maths Co-ordinator

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CHAPLAIN

Technology and Sleep.

Children and adults routinely use electronic media to help them relax at night. Despite widespread recommendations to ‘switch off’, the majority of us would have to admit to using technology during the last hour before going to bed.

According to the Sleep Health Foundation (www.sleephealthfoundation.org.au) using technology at bedtime affects us by:

1. Increasing our alertness. The short wavelength, artificial blue light emitted by devices has the same effect as daylight- boosting attention, reaction time and mood. In addition, our production of the sleep-inducing hormone, melatonin, is reduced after as little as 1.5 hours of evening screen time. Furthermore, after only 5 nights of exposure to bright lights from mobile devices, a person’s natural body clock is delayed by 1.5 hours, making them want to go to bed later and sleep longer in the morning. (https://www.aastweb.org/blog/how-technology-impacts-sleep-quality).

2. Stimulating our mind, making us less ready to sleep. Researchers propose that interactive technological activities (games, messaging and making posts, surfing the web) are more harmful for getting ready for sleep compared to passive activities (listening to music, reading an e-book, watching TV).

3. People can become absorbed, and continue use longer than planned. We have all fallen into the trap of just one more episode, one more level, one more text, or one more email.

So why is the quantity and quality of sleep so important?

1. Deep sleep triggers the body to release the hormone that promotes normal growth in children and teens. This hormone also boosts muscle mass and helps repair cells and tissues in children, teens, and adults. Sleep also plays a role in puberty and fertility.

2. Ongoing sleep deficiency leads to an increased risk of heart disease, kidney disease, high blood pressure and stroke.

3. Sleep deficiency increases the risk of diabetes and obesity. In a recent study (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5669315/), the impact of bedtime electronic (computer, video games, mobile phone, TV) use and its impact on sleep quantity and quality and body max index (BMI) was investigated. The researchers found that children who used any device at bedtime and/or in the middle of the night had reduced quantity and quality of sleep. There was also a statistically significant association between bedtime technology use and elevated body mass index (BMI). Children with an increased BMI were more likely to be diagnosed with ADHD and more likely to be diagnosed with anxiety and/or depression.

4. Your immune system relies on sleep to stay healthy. Sleep deficiency may mean you have trouble fighting common infections.

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5. Sleep deficiency alters brain activity, resulting in trouble making decisions, solving problems, controlling emotions and coping with

change. Sleep deficiency has also been linked to depression, suicide, and risk-taking behavior.

6. People who are sleep-deficient are less productive at work and school. They take longer to finish tasks, have a slower reaction time, and make more mistakes. Errors on the road or at work can cause large-scale damage to the community (https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health-topics/sleep-deprivation-and-deficiency).

So, apart from switching off, is there anything else we can do?

1. Choose passive activities, rather than interactive activities.

Reduce blue light exposure by:

(a) Dimming the screen as much as possible for evening use. If possible, invert the screen colour of an e-reader (white font on black background).

(b) Wearing yellow light glasses, as these reduce the amount of blue violet light that reaches the eyes. Optometry Australia is currently conducting a review of the literature in the field about the effectiveness of these glasses at reducing eye strain. (http://www.optometry.org.au/blog-news/2019/3/29/blue-light-guidance-on-the-way/).

(c) Downloading the free f.lux software program for PCs and laptops (https://justgetflux.com) to decrease the evening blue light emission by computer screens.

(d) Switching on the iPhone ‘night shift’ setting or the Samsung ‘blue light’ filter.

In summary, although the use of technology will continue to be a major part of 21st century life, we should be aware that increased use may have repercussions. As parents, both for ourselves and our children (now and in the future), we are responsible for modelling and teaching ‘mindful’ and ‘protective’ use of technology, so that any harmful effects are minimized. https://www.sleepfoundation.org/articles/why-electronics-may-stimulate-you-bed https://www.sleephealthfoundation.org.au/technology-sleep.html https://www.sleephealthfoundation.org.au/pdfs/facts/TechnologyandSleep-0416.pdf

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SPORT NEWS

KINDY AUSSIE RULES CLINIC

Kindy Possums and Koalas participated in an Aussie Rules clinic ran by the East Fremantle Football Club last Friday morning. The students loved playing games and learning some new ball skills, and Coach Kyle was so impressed with their listening skills and great movements.

CROSS-COUNTRY PRACTICE

There has been a huge turn-out of runners at cross-country practice on Tuesday afternoons. If you are Year 3-6 and wish to hone your cross-country running skills, meet Miss Vedel and Miss Wyatt on the oval at 3pm.

RUNNING CLUB PARENT HELPER

We are looking for a permanent parent helper to help run Running Club on Thursday mornings from 8am to 8:30. Please let the PE Department know whether you are willing and able to volunteer your time Thursday mornings.

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CHLOE A.

Congratulations to Chloe A. for being selected for the Calisthenics Association of Western Australia’s State Team. Chloe will be competing at the National Calisthenics Championships in July. We wish you the best of luck with your competition, Chloe.

SPORTS CHALLENGE – PLANKING

Holding the plank position is fantastic for building core strength. How long can you hold a plank for? Tips for the perfect plank:

- Pull your belly button back towards your spine for strong abs and hips – no sagging tummy! - Don’t arch your back or stick your bottom in the air – keep your spine straight. - Look at the floor, not in front of you – you’ll end up straining your neck. - Don’t forget to breathe!

Perfect your planking technique in time for the next Sports Challenge… watch this space!

SPORTS QUIZ

The A-League football grand final was played at Optus Stadium on the 19th May. Who were the two teams that played? Who won?

Linda Vedel, Amy Wyatt & Suzie Leach Phys Ed Specialists

FREE CRICKET WICKETS & BAT

The PE Department have restocked our cricket supplies and need to get rid of our old stock. We are giving away one set of wickets and one free yellow used cricket bat per family until stock runs out.

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CLASS NEWS – Kindy Possums

Kindy Possums Enjoy Digital Technology lesson from their D5 Buddies

The very clever Year 2 and 3 students from D5 were great peer mentors and teachers last Friday when they taught their little Kindy buddies how to use the PicCollage EDU App on the iPads during buddy class. Together the students created a very creative All About Me poster with photos and images featuring the things that they had in common with their buddies. The Kindy Possums were shown some very useful skills such as how to take photos, insert text, headings, backgrounds and images into the poster from their much more experienced big buddies. We also enjoyed viewing the posters through the use of screen mirroring. The Kindy Possums always love spending time with their much admired big buddies.

Amanda Everett Kindy Possums Teacher

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ART NEWS

Year 3s have been learning about “dessert artist” Wayne Thiebaud. We were inspired to create these layered cakes.

They used their new colour mixing knowledge to create a tint and shade of a colour. They created a tint by adding white paint and a shade by adding black paint.

The addition of oil pastel icing looks delicious. The Year 3s were very proud of their work... and very hungry!

Kate Ainscoe Visual Art Specialist

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CLASS NEWS – A4

On Wednesday 22 May, teachers across the school took part in the National Simultaneous Storytime. The goal for NSS for 2019 is to have ‘one million kids reading!’ Across the nation, teachers read their students the chosen book for 2019 which is Alpacas with Maracas all at the same time. Then the children engaged in activities to follow. It was great to register and participate.

Kirsten Peel

Class Teacher

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CLASS NEWS – C6

The Yr 4s of C6 are exploring the properties of matter for Science. Mrs Wong has demonstrated how to weave threads of different strength with her spinning wheel and the students had the chance to try their hand.

Bernadine Blechynden

Class Teacher

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GARDEN NEWS

It is citrus season and our abundant mandarin tree has meant that many classes have had the opportunity to harvest and eat our very own mandarins from the garden. The windy weather has meant students are learning and thinking about where to stand when they are working in relation to their team- upwind or downwind.

The greenhouse has been a hive of activity as we want to get as much established and growing in the garden before the really cold weather starts, we have sown onion, leek, kale, spinach, broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage, potatoes and of course some flowers for the bees.

One of our garden beds had been taken over by tree roots from a sneaky nearby tree so the long process of removing all the soil and roots from the bed, rolling out root mat and replacing the soil has finally been completed! The bed is finally ready to plant in again.

Many thanks to all the volunteers who have come to the classes and helped out in the garden, your presence is appreciated. And of course the weekend chicken volunteers who care for our flock over the weekends.

Happy gardening !

Mrs Lasserre

Garden Specialist

CYSTIC FIBROSIS

Thank you to everyone who dressed in red and donated money for Cystic Fibrosis day. It was great to see everyone support a great cause. We raised a total of one thousand and seven dollars.

Year 6 captains

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CLASS NEWS – A9

Pre-Primary A9 have been learning some basic coding and de-bugging skills with BeeBots. We had to work in groups to get our bot though the maze, recording the commands we used on a whiteboard. It was really tricky but with teamwork and perseverance we managed it!

Sara Eldred

Class Teacher

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P & C NEWS

Quiz Night

The Quiz Night held last Saturday night was a huge success, and it was fantastic to see so many parents and other community members enjoying the night. A massive thank you to the Events Committee, with special mention to Sam and Megan, for all the hard work both on the night and in the lead up – we would not be the school we are without our wonderful parent volunteers.

As a result of the evening, we raised over $8000 towards the next stage of the Nature Playground, which is a great outcome.

I would also like to sincerely thank everyone who contributed in the form of prizes and donations – we are very grateful for your generosity!

Tristan Cameron P&C President

Second Hand Uniform Stall

We welcome any clean school uniforms (including hats & bags) in good condition. Shirts and jumpers with logos only please. Also Kindy shirts and jumpers with Rostrata kindy logos are welcome.

Please make your donations to the front office during school hours. They are then sold at the Second-hand Stall for $5 per item with all money going towards P&C funded projects around Rostrata Primary School. The next stall will be Thursday 13th June, 2019.

Many thanks, Second Hand Uniform Committee.

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Lost Property

Students and parents are strongly encouraged to LABEL all items coming to school with your child’s name and class. If you have lost anything, please check through the lost property which is located outside the library.

Rostrata Dads Evening Lawn Bowls Our next event is evening lawn bowls (just for the dads) at Rossmoyne Bowling Club: Friday 14 June, 6.30pm. We will be sending out an email to the dads on our list nearer the time. If you are not on our email list, send us an email at dads@rostratapandc.org.au and we’ll add you in.

Fathering Tip of the Week: tell your kids that they are special

Woolworths Earn and Learn

Rostrata is again participating in the Woolworths Earn and Learn rewards program and there are boxes located at both our local Woolworths stores (Riverton and Southlands). We also have a box in the school front office if you wish to drop your stickers off there.

Please ensure that your stickers are counted – ideally in a sealed envelope with the number written on the front. This makes it a lot easier for our volunteers, as counting tens of thousands of stickers takes a lot of time! Please note, there is no need to stick them onto the collection sheets, simply counting and placing them in a labelled envelope is perfect.

If you have any questions about the program this year, please contact P&C member Rosemarie De Bari at rosiejayne81@hotmail.com who is coordinating this year’s program.

Entertainment Book

The Entertainment Books are available as a book or digital membership app. Both are full of great value and you only have to use your membership once or twice and it will have paid for itself! Orders can be made online at https://www.entertainmentbook.com.au/orderbooks/842a43

If you have any queries, please contact Renee Warnes on 0439 470 746 or renee.phil@bigpond.com.

P&C Website

To keep up to date on all P&C related events and information, please check out our website: www.rostratapandc.org.au Cheers,

Tristan Cameron

P & C President

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