Miss Carol Selley with Eyob, Maya, Ava and Leo from Year 1

There is a lot to love about the beginning of the school year – sharp pencils, neat workbooks, new teachers, new and renewed friendships, and lunchboxes and water bottles that seal properly. It was wonderful to meet the students on our first day and I enjoyed visiting each class to say hello and find out about everyone’s holidays. A very special welcome to the Kindy children and the families who are new to the school!
As many of you may be aware, I have the privilege of being the principal for the next six months whilst Mr Mackesey takes on a new role as a Principal Consultant with the Department of Education.
My most recent position has been the principal of Kyilla Primary School in North Perth for the past three and half years. I have particular interests in curriculum and staff and student well-being. I thoroughly enjoy what I do as a school principal, loved (and still do) being a teacher and look forward to being in and out of classrooms.
At the beginning of this year we welcomed a number of new staff to the school. It is wonderful to have Miss Emily Reeve (Year 2), Mr Tom Norman (Year 5), Miss Anne Scott (Year 3), Mrs Donna Leibowitz (Kindy) and Miss Marni Adlam (Kindy) join the staff. Welcome back to Mr Geoff Pearson (Year 4) and Miss Mara Pizzino (Year 1); it’s great to have familiar faces return to school.
I would like to acknowledge the efforts of all of the staff who have spent considerable time getting things ready for a wonderful first few days. Many hours have been invested in moving furniture, setting up desks, creating labels, setting up classroom processes, and planning lessons so that the year started well. Thank you to the staff for their professional commitment to the children and their families.

Drew and Reilly Room 40

SCHOOL FACILITIES

As the school’s student numbers have continued to grow, we have acquired two more classrooms. These classrooms are the new homes for Year 3 students with Mrs Williams and Year 4 students with Mr Pearson. I think that Mrs Williams and Mr Pearson and the children enjoy one of the best views of the city. Interactive whiteboards have been ordered and we hope to have them installed very soon.

During the holidays the oval was improved by planting new turf.  The grass has had a few setbacks with the hot weather, but with the efforts of the gardener and some reticulation it’s heading towards the “looking great” stage.  In the very short term we have put up some temporary markers around the new turf and the children are not allowed to play on the oval before and during school.  Given that swimming lessons are coming up and the in-school tennis competition is gearing up I hope that the restricted play area does not impact too greatly. I do appreciate your support and know that the long term enjoyment of green grass outweighs the short term pain.

P&C ASSOCIATION

The P&C Association provides invaluable support to the school and what they do makes a huge difference. I would strongly encourage you to consider how you can play a part in the P&C Association, be it through regular attendance at meetings or holding an elected position for a period of time. The effort of many allows the P&C Association to do great things at Mount Hawthorn Primary School.

Library time for PP 17

CLASSES FOR 2016

So that you know where staff members are working, please click HERE to see who’s who and where they are located.

STAFF PROFESSIONAL LEARNING

Last Thursday and Friday the staff spent a very productive two days undertaking professional learning in a range of areas. Topics included Mathematics, instructional strategies, epilepsy and associated medication, STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics), as well as reviewing the year level strategic plans, setting dates for hub meetings and whole school events. The professional learning was a good way to set the scene for the coming school year.

Mrs McKenzie, Ms Galbraith and Ms Hogg

IMPROVEMENTS TO SCHOOL COMPUTER SYSTEM

From next Monday 8th February the school is changing the ICT standard operating environment to something new and better.  The improvements are being made by the Department of Education and are being rolled out to all public schools.  As a consequence of this work the school’s access to computers, interactive whiteboards and internet will range from zero to very limited.  The school administration will be ‘off line’ for two to three days and the classrooms for the full week.  Please call the school if you need to contact us for any reason.  If you decide to send an email please understand that it will sit in cyberspace for a few days before any of us see it.

PARENT INFORMATION SESSIONS

Each year parents want to know what is happening in classrooms and how year levels are going to make the school’s business plan and Department direction part of everyday practice. Teachers are also keen to tell parents about some of the things that they can do to ensure that their child has a great year.
If possible, parents should make alternative arrangements for minding younger children and siblings when attending these sessions.
Each session will run for approximately 30 to 45 minutes and will be held in the child’s classroom at the following times:

Kindy – Wednesday 10th February – 6.00pm Blue, Green and Orange

Kindy – Thursday 11th February – 6.00pm Yellow, Purple and Red

Pre-primary – Tuesday 9th February – 6.00pm

Year 1 – Tuesday 16th February 6.15pm

Year 2 – Tuesday 16th February 5.30pm

Year 3 – Monday 15th February 5.30pm

Year 4 – Wednesday 17th February 5.30pm

Year 5 – Thursday 11th February 6.15pm

Year 6 – Monday 8th February 5.30pm

SCHOOL WEBSITE AND APP

So that you know what is happening in the school, please remember to regularly check the school website and the Tiqbiz App (don’t forget to change your year selections on Tiqbiz). Everything that you wanted to know about the school is online.

GIFTED AND TALENTED

Please remember that applications for the Gifted and Talented Secondary Selective Entrance Programs for Year 7 2017 closes on Monday 8th February 2016.  You need to submit applications online.

ITALIAN LANGUAGE ASSISTANT

We are seeking expressions of interest from K-6 families to host an Italian Language Assistant from the University of Milan in term 2.
Ideally, it would be great to have 2-3 families involved who could provide accommodation for 3-4 weeks. In exchange, the Assistant will provide the family with 4 hours per week of household duties such as cooking, cleaning, babysitting and/or tutoring. The Assistant will attend school Monday to Thursday.
Last year, two Mount Hawthorn Primary School families had a wonderful experience hosting Elisa Giannoni. Elisa was an invaluable assistant who helped student’s fine tune their language skills and introduce them to contemporary Italian culture.
For further information, please contact Signora Monisse Anne.Monisse@education.wa.edu.au or on 9242 3677. The deadline for applications is Friday 19th February.