Dear Parents

Travelling overseas is great and I always get the “check it out” feeling when I see an original artwork or significant landmark.  I confess to being an audio guide enthusiast and love hearing the stories to rooms in castles, standing in the same place as a particular king or queen, and looking for a face in the background of a painting.

I can tell when my thoughts turn to school because I start to look for the school excursion groups in museums and for the frazzled teacher trying to put thirty children on the train.  I hang over school fences to check out the grounds and buildings and comb newspapers for school stories.

It is interesting to read some of the universal themes about education:  system-wide testing, meeting the mental health needs of children, standards of school facilities, school security and the finances.

I noticed a small primary school in Oxford had limited parking so people double and triple parked and the staff on lunch time duty were busy keeping the children out of the path of a tradesperson as he backed the ute through the playground at peak time.

So holiday stories aside … I am thrilled to be back at school.  I love being here and seeing children, staff and parents.  It was a delight to return to the office and see children’s art on the walls, look through a pile of work for the Gold Book and find out what has been happening in my absence.

I would like to thank Mrs Lorena Rock for being the principal in my absence.  I appreciated all of the additional work she undertook to ensure the good running of the school.  It is certainly testament to her skills that handover consisted of things that have been completed and resolved.  Thank you also to Mrs Louise Swain, Mrs Jen Townsend, Mrs Bronwen Mears and Mrs Jane Gillies all of whom worked additional days and took on additional responsibilities.  Thank you also to Mrs Marjorie Commijs, Mrs Linda Gennoe, Mrs Vicki Roberts, Mrs Sharron Procter and Mrs Leanne Beeck for ensuring that the office continued to run smoothly.

MOTHER’S DAY CELEBRATIONS

I hope that all of the school mums and grandmothers enjoyed Mother’s Day and were spoilt with something special.  Thank you to all of the teachers and education assistants who played their part in organising treats for mums.

Nails and hair done by Abby and Maya for their Mums on Mother’s Day Spa Day in Room 1

SKATEBOARDERS AND SCOOTERS

Every weekend young people use the school grounds as a skate park.  Probably unintentional but their actions mean that the steps gets broken, rubbish is left around the school and metal doors and drink fountains get more dents.  If you see people on the school premises without permission, please call 1800 177 777.  We need to make a joint effort to get Mount Hawthorn off the Top 10 list of best places to skate.

CARPARKS – ADVANCED NOTICE!

In order to create more bays for staff in the school carpark which is on the corner of Killarney and Scarborough Beach roads, work is being carried out to bituminise some of the spaces.  The date for work has not been confirmed but the carpark cannot be used for two days by staff.

CONGRATULATIONS

Dylan from Year 6 Room 21 is one of sixteen students selected to play in the 12’s School State Hockey Team. Dylan will compete in a Bunbury Carnival in June for final selection and then hopefully travel to Cairns to represent WA in August.

YEAR 6 SPEECHES

One of the distinctive programs for our Year 6 Leaders is the public speaking competition, with fifteen students (five from each room) participating in the final in the Lesser Hall at Braithwaite Park last Wednesday. All the presentations were of a very high standard and were entertaining and informative.

We would like to congratulate the following students:
1st place – Shaun (Room 23), 2nd place – Bay (Room 23), 3rd place – Harry (Room 22 ) and 4^th place Chloe (Room 22).

STEM

Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEAM and ARTS)

In the junior block we have been busy setting up a STEM construction zone.  The Year 1 children will be participating in a STEM project to make their own model “Pet Shelter”. This activity will be a part of the Science and Design Technology Assessment for Term 2. Parents are invited to check out the first stage of the construction zone.  Please donate any recycled garbage that you think might be useful for our projects. Thank you – Mrs Russell (Year 1 – Room 12).

YEAR 2 EXCURSION 

On Tuesday the Year 2 classes went on an excursion to Yanchep National Park where they found out about the ‘secret life’ of koalas, visited Crystal Cave and learnt about some of the artifacts and practices which form part of traditional aboriginal lifestyles through the Aboriginal Experience. It was an interesting and informative day of learning for all. – Miss Reeve (Year 2 Room 7)

FRIDAY IS “WALK TO SCHOOL DAY”

The Prime Minister encourages everyone to participate in the 17th annual National Walk Safely to School Day. The Year 6 leaders will be at each school entrance with stickers to reward all students who walk to school on Friday.

NO FAX

Please note that we no longer have a fax machine, therefore documents should be sent via email to mounthawthorn.ps@education.wa.edu.au

TERM ACCOUNTS

The Term Accounts for Term 2 activities are now due. Please make payment via cheque, cash or credit card (Visa or MasterCard) by returning the account to the class teacher or at the Administration Office.

IMPORTANT DATES

For the very latest updated information on coming events please check the School Website.

20th May – Walk to School Day and Assembly Year 4 Room 34

24th May – Year 3 Scitech Excursion

25th May – School Board Meeting

27th May – Assembly Year 4 Room 40

31st May – Parent Liaison Meeting (morning), Grandparents Day Year 1 Rooms 1 and 10 and Faction Cross Country for Years 3 to 6

1st June – Parent Liaison Meeting (afternoon)