From the Principal’s Desk

Burrendah Primary School – Independent Review Findings As you may be aware Burrendah Primary School became an Independent Public School in 2013. As a result of being an Independent Public School we have had increased autonomy and flexibility allowing us to better meet the needs of our unique school community. Our Business Plan 2013 – 2015 articulates our response to this autonomy and flexibility. As 2015 is our third year of being an Independent Public School we have recently had an external review by the Department of Education Services (DES).

The purpose of the independent review is to provide assurance to the school and its community, the Director General of Education and the Minister for Education on the extent to which the school has met its commitments as outlined its Delivery and Performance Agreement (DPA) and associated Business Plan.

The focus of the review is on:

How well the school has implemented the self-review

How well the school has improved student learning (achievement, progress and engagement) for all students

How well the school has created an environment that promotes learning and student well-being

How well the school is placed to sustain and improve its performance

Prior to the review the school is required to provide documentation to the DES reviewers that relate to the above focus areas. Following their analysis of our documentation and student achievement data they visited the school for two days. This visit involves interviews with a cross section of staff, students, parents and community members to develop an accurate picture of the school‟s performance. A report is then written which is initially shared with the School Board and then the school community. Given that this document is now signed off by the relevant authorities we are now able to share this with the school community. A copy of the review findings is available in our school web page under the heading About Us – Independent Public School.

Details of the independent review findings can be found on the schools web site. However, I will quote the reviewer‟s conclusions and commendations:

Conclusion “Burrendah Primary School has embedded a safe, inclusive and supportive learning environment for its culturally diverse student population. While consistently achieving high standards of student academic performance compared to „like schools‟, the school continues to prioritise the development of the whole child.

A committed leadership team and engaged staff have collaboratively established a learning environment underpinned by high expectations, innovative pedagogy, positive community relationships, evidence-based self-review processes and informed Board oversight.

The staff have achieved many of the Business Plan targets and are confident of sound progress against the remaining targets by the completion of the current DPA.”

Commendations “The following areas are commended:

Whole-school commitment to high-quality ongoing self-review of significant set of valid academic and non-academic data to inform teaching and learning judgments and adjustments

The Year 7 2014 cohort‟s outstanding performance compared to statistically similar schools in both numeracy and literacy

The high-quality EAD/D program that in addition to effective teaching and learning adjustments for the 163 students classified as ESL Stages 1 or 3, support the parents of these students through the Parent Network Group

The development of highly effective partnerships

The effectiveness of whole-school, phase and year-level strategies that support the induction for students arriving during the school year

The establishment of a nurturing learning environment for the culturally diverse student population

The leadership team‟s continuing refinement of the self-review practices to ensure timely and effective teaching and learning adjustments.”

Note there were no recommendations, which was another positive and acknowledges our own review processes as being both thorough and proactive in nature.

The Burrendah Primary School community is very proud of all that has been achieved in our first term as an Independent Public School and believe the findings in this report are a true reflection of our school community. We look forward to building on these achievements as we look to our second term as an Independent Public School.

Phil Bradshaw Associate Principal 24th September 2015

Term 4 begins on Wednesday

14th October 2015

Senior Athletics Carnival During week 9 the students from years 3,4,5 and 6 completed their athletics program. The long jump, triple jump, throwing for distance and 400m events were held early in the week. On Friday, in perfect weather, all the students dressed in their faction colours to compete in a series of athletic events in the Annual Faction Athletics Carnival. By lunch time all students had competed in 8 events and were getting ready for the leaderball and tug of war challenge. When the shuttle relay events brought the carnival to an end all students had displayed great effort to support their teams and develop their skills.

The f inal result was: First – Nairn Second – Moreau Third – Gwai Fourth – Canning

The year champions were: Year 3 Champion Girl – Jade Gabriel Year 3 Runner up Champion Girl – Ella Huynh Year 3 Champion Boy – Bailey Morgan Year 3 Runner up Champion Boy – Ashton Warner Year 4 Champion Girl – Ella Hambley Year 4 Runner up Champion Girl – Poppy Dicker - Heys Year 4 Champion Boy – Ben Lee Year 4 Runner up Champion Boy – Kyle Windham Year 5 Champion Girl – Holly Morgan Year 5 Runner up Champion Girl – Airi Kawamura Year 5 Champion Boy – Ben Henley Year 5 Runner up Champion Boy – Kerollos Bekheet Year 6 Champion Girl – Jaydine Lim Year 6 Runner up Champion Girl – Kayla Heinz Year 6 Champion Boy – Corey Warner

Year 6 Runner up Champion Boy – Thomas Musumeci

Congratulations and well done.

Junior Athletics Carnival We were very fortunate to have a beautiful spring day for last Thursday‟s Junior Athletics Carnival. The Pre-Primary, Year 1 and Year 2 students actively participated in fun-filled activities including novelty events, ball games, tabloids and sprint races.

All students displayed great sportsmanship and encouraged fellow team members which made the day very enjoyable. The support of the teachers, education assistants, Year 6 students, faction captains and Anthony (our groundsman) ensured the day was a great success.

Thanks go to all the parents that came along to share this special day with their children.

Janine Bain Junior Phys Ed Specialist

Students from PP – Year 4 have been given the opportunity of working with a geologist – Julia Ferguson from Earth Science Western Australia. We all thank her and Scitech for providing this excellent incursion for our students. PP – Year 2 students focussed on safety and scientific investigation. Firstly they carried out an investigation with UV sensitive beads and discovered that wearing their school hat protected them from harmful UV rays. They also donned hard hats and safety vests to construct open-cut mines in the sand pit.

Year 3 discussed the idea that “the Present is the Key to the Past” and how palaeontologists use knowledge of plants and animals living on Earth today to give them an understanding of the fossils they found from the past. Students were able to handle fossils like ammonites that were 260 million years old and laminaria, ancient shark teeth, that were 185 million years old. Using plaster of Paris they were able to make replicas of ancient fossils to take home.

Year 4 students discussed the difference between soil and sand. They carried out investigations with soil to discover its different parts.

Year 5 finished their unit of work on space by conducting an investigation with film canister rockets while the year 6 students concluded their work on earth quakes by constructing earth quake proof buildings.

4 students investigated soil

This has been a busy term in Science but we have all enjoyed learning Earth

and Space Sciences.

News from the Science Lab

Sherryl Crouch Science Specialist

A big thank you to the Burrendah Primary School P&C Association for the generous donation of $4360 to purchase the wonderful new shade shelters that were used for our sports carnivals. The shelters looked fantastic and they were simple to erect. They proved to be a great purchase and a fantastic item for the P&C to support.

Thank you for your generosity! As a result of money raised through our World Vision Market Day Stall and individual student and staff efforts we raised a total of $5050.25 for the 40 Hour Famine World Vision Appeal. We set a target of $5000 and the community must be commended for exceeding that target. Our school community has proven once again they have a heart for others less fortunate than ourselves. Thank you to everyone who contributed to this awesome total.

Students from Year 5 went to the Perth Mint and the Western Australian Museum on 9 September. We enjoyed watching gold being poured, finding out how much we would be worth if we were made of gold and we found that the replica golden nuggets weren‟t as heavy as the real thing. Sienna and Kohalu Room 6

The Year 4 students had an

exciting excursion learning all

about first explorers of Australia

and their journeys over here. We

visited the Shipwreck Galleries,

the Roundhouse and went on

board the Duyfken ship to

experience first-hand what it was

like living on board.

Culture Club: Japan At the final Culture Club for this term students learned more about the fascinating country of Japan. They were

shown (and dressed) in traditional Kimono (きもの) (着

物?)[1] . It is worn at important festivals or formal times; it

is the representative of polite and very formal clothing. However there are also less formal kimono worn for other outings, eg shopping, etc. Students then helped to make “Shiratama dango” Rice Cake Dumplings. These are made with shiratama-ko (glutinous rice flour), and are served with either sweet azuki bean paste or fruit salad – delicious! In addition, students played traditional Japanese games; a busy time at Culture Club!

Many thanks to all the parents who have helped at Culture Club this term; your contributions have been greatly appreciated.

Margot Evans EAL Specialist

KINDERGARTEN FUNDAMENTAL MOVEMENT SKILL PLAYSTATION

ACTIVITIES Kindergarten children have been exploring a constructed environment in the school hall and practising fundamental movement skills such as walking, climbing, balancing, jumping, and rolling. The children have been using the Stegel (or Lind Climber), ladders, balancing beams, jump box, scooters, stilts and rockers to gain skills and confidence in the use and control of their bodies. They are developing positive attitudes to physical movement, as well as skills for working with their peers by taking turns and co-operating in group activities.

All Ensembles and Choirs will begin again in the first week back at school, term 4 from Wednesday 14th October.

Weekend Workshop: There will be a weekend workshop scheduled for Saturday afternoon the 7th November. This will involve all Choirs and Ensembles and will be in preparation for our Music Concert on the 18th November. Details of this workshop will be released early next term.

SIM Musical Aptitude Test: All students have now sat the SIM Musical Aptitude test and all test papers have been marked. If your child performed well in this aptitude test and has expressed an interest in learning one of the musical instruments on offer at Burrendah, you will receive a letter early next. THIS IS NOT A FORMAL OFFER but an expression of interest form which explains the program to you in more detail and your commitment to the program should your child accept this extracurricular commitment.

As I discussed at the SIM Information evening on Wednesday 16th September, there are many factors involved in the selection process for children wanting to learn an instrument in the SIM Program. Unfortunately, not all children will be chosen to learn a musical instrument. Final selection of students will be made in consultation with their class teacher as well as the instrumental tutors. Selection criteria are:

Student interest in learning the instrument offered;

Parental commitment and support;

Musical ability as demonstrated in class music lessons;

General ability in class, consistency of school work, attitude towards homework;

Physical suitability for the instrument on offer;

Performance results on the SIM Musical Aptitude Indicator.

I would like to wish you all a safe and relaxing holiday and I look forward to seeing

you all next term. Jenny Coleman Music Specialist

School Board Notes

Board Meeting 6 – Tues 15 Sep 2015 At last week‟s meeting, we were pleased to discuss the outcome of elections for parent and staff representatives on next year‟s Board. Election results are

Parent Representatives - Serene Whisson, Kate Floyd and Charmaine Martin

Staff Representatives - Kate French, Will Heron and Gail McLay

The Board was thrilled with the willingness of so many parents and staff to contribute to the governance of our school. This response indicates a growing understanding of the Board‟s role amongst parents, and keen desire to support the school and to oversee its performance. The community clearly has a strong desire to see Burrendah Primary School become an even better school than it is today.

We welcomed several parents who attended this month‟s Board meeting as observers. The Board extends a special invitation to parents to attend at least one Board meeting per year. However, all Board meetings are open, and parents are always welcome to attend as observers. It‟s a great way to learn about key aspects of the school Business Plan and how it is used by the Board to oversee how the school fulfills its role. If you would like to attend a future Board meeting, please let the school office know.

This month we reviewed the latest NAPLAN results with Mr Bradshaw, and compared them to overall targets set in the school Business Plan. Results are excellent and meet or exceed the targets. A clear difference can be seen between results from previous years and when compared against results from similar schools. NAPLAN results for our school will be available on the MySchool website in February 2016.

We continued work on the Business Plan for 2016-2018 by reviewing all the great work that‟s been done on this by staff so far. We also reviewed correspondence from parents wishing to be involved in re-opening the school canteen, and drawing our attention to excellent programs available for students. Such input and contribution is very welcome and greatly appreciated by the Board and the school. Next board meeting we will be reviewing the latest draft of the new Business Plan.

25th September Yr 6 Free Dress Fundraiser

25th September Last Day Term 3

14th October First Day Term 4

EAL/D Parent Group The EAL/D Parent Group meets regularly through the term. The group is open to all parents who speak another language, or who are from a non-Australian cultural background. Some parents are newly arrived, while others have been living in Australia for a period of time. Together we discuss matters which may be unfamiliar. It is also a social group and a good place to meet other parents who share common concerns.

This term the parents have been learning about Australian history. We have talked about the “Great South Land” which was initially settled by indigenous people arriving from SE Asia, then explored by European explorers to finally being settled by white people.

Aboriginal people are the past and present custodians of this country. They have a special relationship to the land and its animals.

During our final meeting of the term parent had the opportunity to explore some Aboriginal art techniques. They created their own „story stone‟, and also contributed to a group collaborative canvas as acknowledgement of us all coming together to learn and gain a „sense of this place‟, boodja.

The EAL/D Parent Group will meet again in Term 4 – look out for information and dates early next term. We look forward to seeing you!

Chris Tweddle & Margot Evans EAL/D Teachers

The Willetton DTC will be closed during the school holidays; In case of an emergency ONLY during this time, contact the following clinics;

Week One: South Thornlie DTC 9459 4270 or Riverton DTC 9457 5262 8am – 4pm

Week Two : South Thornlie DTC 9459 4270 or Campbell DTC 9455 6322 8am – 4pm

Outside working hours you may contact 9325 3452 or your local private dentist.

Thank You Willetton DTC

Communicare Riverton Vacation Care

29 September – 9 October Hours: 7.45am – 5.45pm

Lots of fun activities including excursions to bowling and Kings Park For an enrolment form please go to our website www.communicare.org.au to download the form

Or pick one up from our Head Office 28 Cecil Avenue, Cannington or from Riverton OSHC, Noongar

Way, Riverton. Enrolments close 21 September 2015

We would like to acknowledge the generous donation of sports equipment for our students to use at recess and lunch time from Hasan Kazi and the High Road Caltex service station.