Newsletter Number 1

Our Vision To celebrate the journey of learning by preparing students for their future through a caring, nurturing learning culture, where all students have the

opportunity to achieve personal and academic success. MESSAGE FROM THE PRINCIPAL Dear Parents and Carers, What a delight it is to back at school after the break. Seeing all of the happy and enthusiastic faces certainly makes me feel as though I have the best job in the world. I would like to take this opportunity to welcome all of our new families to the Calista Primary School Community and welcome back our existing families. It has been terrific to see the way that the students have all settled in so well this year. It has been a fantastic smooth start. I feel that this is due in part to some of the new initiatives that we are trialling and seem to be working really well. During the latter part of 2019 we decided to introduce the WA Positive Behaviour Support (WAPBS) framework to our school. The philosophy behind this is that just like Literacy and Numeracy; Behaviour is something that has to be explicitly taught and framed in a positive way. It involves us having specific behaviours which we teach on a fortnightly basis and continue to re-inforce throughout the year. We have started the Term with a focus on “We greet one another positively”. You may have noticed staff and students making a real effort to say good morning to each other every day and start the day in this positive way. It certainly sets the tone for the rest of the day and gives everyone a happy start. I know that being on the gates each morning and greeting students and their families has been a highlight in my day and certainly something that we will be continuing. Our next focus is “We move around our school by walking” and we are already noticing a difference on our verandahs and walkways as a result. We will be talking about some other initiatives throughout the Term and also at our Assembly on Friday. You may already have noticed that Fitness has not been occurring in the mornings before school. Having fitness outside of school hours has been a bit problematic as many students were not able to participate. In addition, staff were busy preparing for the day and supervision was difficult. This meant that the start to the day was erratic and made students harder to settle. We have decided to incorporate fitness into the morning program and it will occur 15 minutes prior to recess each day (weather permitting). This allows the students to be in their classrooms in the morning to prepare for the day ahead, chat with their teachers and friends and settle for the 8.30am start. The fitness prior to recess gives them a good burst of energy and also meets the requirement of at least 2 hours of physical activity per student per week. We look forward to seeing the difference that this will make when it begins next week.

This year has seen us have more Kindergarten enrolments than we have had in several years. We currently have 78 Kindy students on our roll and this can only be a positive thing for our school as it ensures the continued growth of student numbers. We started the year with 3 Kindy groups and a K/PP to allow us to take extra enrolments. However, we were not expecting quite so many. This means that starting next week we will be moving to 4 Kindy groups and 3 Pre Primary groups. We are delighted to welcome the Kindy students to our school and look forward to a long and happy educational partnership with their families. This Year Miss Jasmine Beynon has returned to Calista after a year travelling and working in the UK. Miss Beynon is teaching Year 2 in Room 11 and is doing a fantastic job with her students. We really look forward to her sharing with us her experiences and ideas that she has gained from her travels. We are very happy to have her returning here with us. You may also have noticed that we have some new staff joining us this year. We were very fortunate to be able to appoint Miss Sophie Vacher to our school; before anyone else had chance to grab her! Miss Vacher has spent some time teaching at East Kenwick PS and Pinjarra PS and is now teaching one of our Year 6 classes in Room 1. We also welcome Miss Kristy Perring to our staff. Kristy has done a lot of relief work for us here and we are now in a position to be able to give her some time in our Early Childhood Classes. Miss Perring will be providing DOTT to our Kindy and Pre-Primary Teachers by taking their classes and has already begun doing a fabulous job. . Please join me in making them all welcome at our lovely school. All of our staff have been working really hard since coming back to school. I am really fortunate to have such a dedicated and committed group of people working with me each day. I never cease to be amazed by how much they care for the students and families of Calista. Many of them even spent a large chunk of their holidays at the school ensuring that things were organised and ready for the start of the school year. I look forward to 2020 and the wonderful year that we are going to have. Take care and have a fantastic fortnight. Kind regards Cathy de Thierry PRINCIPAL

WHAT IS THINKUKNOW? At the Assembly this week; Sergeant Gary Benzies spoke to parents and students about the ThinkUKnow Program. ThinkUKnow is a national program delivering online child safety information in schools and organisations to parents, carers, teachers and students from the first year of school to Year 12. It is developed in partnership between the Australian Federal Police, Commonwealth Bank, Datacom and Microsoft. The program gives parents, carers, teachers and students information on how to stay safe online. Topics included within the presentations are specifically aimed at educating and increasing awareness about online child sexual exploitation including avoiding unwanted contact, online grooming, self generated content, sexual extortion and how to get help. Gary is going to be running a session with Staff at our School Development Day. He is also keen to come to Calista to run an information evening for parents. If you would be interested in attending such an evening session, then could you please contact the School Office on 9419 2355. If we have enough interest then a session will be organised.

Up Coming Events! Friday 28th February – Pupil Free Day Monday 2nd March – Public Holiday

40km Speed Limit All road users are reminded of the 40km speed limit around the school in the mornings and afternoons. Please slow down. Nothing is so urgent that it justifies exceeding the speed limit as you drive past the school. Also a reminder, please DO NOT park in the Bus Zones, Kwinana Physiotherapy Centre car park (this is reserved for their customers), or on verges around the school as this is a fineable offence by the local Council.

Gate access and open/close times The following are the gates which parents and students can access the school. Gate 1 – next to child and parent centre Gate 2 – main entrance (near cross walk) Gate 3 – next to administration building Gate 4 – on Chilcott Street Gate 5 – next to undercover area In the coming weeks these gates will be numbered. Please be advised that the school gates do not open until 7.45am on Breakfast Club days and 8.00am on other days. Please DO NOT drop your child/ren off before these times for safety reasons. If a child presents early they will need to sit outside the Deputy’s office.

Administration access Access to our Administration Office for parents and the community is now only via the front door. This ensures the continued safety of your children and allows us to monitor the school site more thoroughly.

Family Fun Disco Friday 3rd April we will be holding our annual family Disco between 3.30pm and 5.30pm. This is a great opportunity for all families to meet and greet. Details will follow.

Update Information Please remember to update your personal details through the office or via email (Calista.ps@det.wa.edu.au). Emergency phone numbers held on school data base need to be updated regularly. EMAIL ADDRESSES should also be updated to enable us to send our newsletters electronically and for sending student reports. In the coming weeks your child/ren will bring home information on the school mobile phone policy, photo permission and student update information. Please complete and return.