POYNTER PRIMARY SCHOOL Issue 1

19 February 2020

Coming Events Monday 17 - 27 February

Year 6 Swimming

Wednesday 19 February

Parent Information Evening 5.30pm

Y4 - Rm 5, Rm 6, Rm 16

K/PP - EC1, 2, 3 & 4

Thursday 20 February

Parent Information Evening 5.30pm

Y2 - Rm 1, Rm 2, Rm 15

Friday 21 February

New Families Welcome BBQ 5pm

Monday 24 February

Parent Information Evening 5.30pm

Y3 - Rm 7 & 8

Y5 - Rm 11 & 12

Friday 28 February

School Development Day

Students do not attend

Monday 2 March

Labour Day Public Holiday

Wednesday 3 - 6 March

Year 6 Leadership Camp

Saturday 7 March

Ladies Wine Night - P&C event

Wednesday 11 March

Year 6 Leadership Assembly

Next Farmers’ Markets

Saturday 22 February

Saturday 7 March

Education Security

9264 4632 (24 hours)

Absentee SMS:

0437 311 380

QKR!

Install Qkr! App for school payments

CONNECT

www.connect.det.wa.edu.au

39 Poynter Drive DUNCRAIG 6023

INDEPENDENT PUBLIC SCHOOL

POYNTER NEWS

poynter.ps@education.wa.edu.au T: 08 9448 4036 www.poynterps.wa.edu.au

Remember our next School Development Day is

Friday 28 February - students do not attend on this day.

From the Principal…

Welcome back everyone, and a warm welcome to all our new families, I hope that you have all had a

restful and exciting holiday break. You should have all received a welcome letter from me via Connect

on the first day of school but if you didn’t, please check with the office to ensure that we have your latest

email address on Connect.

Our year started very well with no last minute changes to our class structures. Once students commenced we had a very

smooth start to the year with our new families settling in well, our students eager to start (only a few tears), our parents

well due for a break and our staff ready to go. It was great to see all our students back for day one. Thank you for having

your children so well organised for the term.

I completed the Census for Semester 1 last Friday and we are at 502 students for 2020. This is slightly lower than last

year due to the large number of Year 6 students that transitioned to high school and the lower enrolments in Kindy.

However, lower numbers have not affected our staffing and we are able to offer the same programs that we have

successfully been offering over the last few years.

Thank you to the 40 new parents that attended the Whole School Parent Information Evening (PIE) last week. It was also

good to see some familiar faces come and join in. I have placed the PowerPoint presentation on Connect. As we enter

into Week 3 and our year level PIE sessions kick into gear, I would like to encourage you to attend these sessions. These

sessions will give you an insight into your child’s classroom and your child’s teachers.

This year we welcome three new staff, Mr Palmer, our new Deputy Principal, Mrs Charissa Dingle who has taken over Mrs

Allen’s role in the office for the year and Miss Kate Sullivan who is teaching in the Year 4/5 on Fridays. We also welcome

back Mrs Ward who is teaching in the Year 1/2 on Wednesdays and Mrs Perrett in the Library.

OPERATIONAL MATTERS

Kiss & Drive

It is important for you (or anyone who picks up your child/children from the Kiss & Drive) to be aware of the following:

Students are kept within a designated area, ready for parents to collect them.

Students are not to move beyond the gate or fence until the car has come to a complete stop in the Kiss & Drive

Zone.

It is a dangerous practice for your child to enter the vehicle from the road side.

For the safety and wellbeing of our students they are instructed not to run towards the cars or get into cars when

the cars are double parked.

The Kiss & Drive works on a ‘flow system’ so all cars move through the Kiss & Drive, so please do not go around

cars.

If you can avoid it, please try not to do a U-turn out of the Kiss & Drive at the busiest time.

The Kiss & Drive is not a stop zone, so do not leave your car unattended and if requested to move by Admin please

do so.

Thank you for your support in this matter and ensuring the safety of your children.

Reminders

As the new school year begins and situations change I would like to remind you that:

If you are dropping your child off between 8:00 and 8:30 I need you to notify me. This is to ensure that someone is

at school as there is no-one on yard duty at that time.

All students who are here between 8:00 and 8:30 are to congregate in the front of the school until they are

dismissed.

From the Principal cont…

If you are running late, that is after the siren at 8:50am, please go through the front office for a late pass.

The front office opens from 8:00am to 4:00pm, please make sure that you make all enquiries between those hours.

At the beginning of every year we need to reset all passwords for all of our systems and do rollovers and additions,

this includes Mathletics and Literacy Pro. We will have it all up and running very soon, please be patient. Please

know that this takes approximately up to three weeks.

The term planners are available on Connect, please ensure that you access the planners regularly.

Don’t forget that our third School Development Day for the year is Friday 28 February so you get an extra long

weekend.

Board Nominations

This year we have three parent vacancies on our School Board. In the first week of school I provided you with the Terms of

Reference in case you are interested in nominating. If you would like to nominate for the Board please send me an email at

Keyla.jeffers@education.wa.edu.au with information about you and what experience you would bring to the Board.

Nominations are due to me on Friday 28 February by 3:00pm. No late nominations will be considered. If we have more

than 3 parents nominate I will run an election process with the school community.

Mobile Phones

A new mobile phone policy was introduced by the State Government as of the first day of school this year. For the purposes of this policy, ‘mobile phones’ includes smart watches and devices, and associated listening accessories, such as, but not limited to, headphones and ear pods. I have included the new policy in this Newsletter - please familiarise yourself with this policy if your child has a device. P&C Annual General Meeting

Don’t forget that the P&C will be holding their AGM on Tuesday 25 February at 7:00pm in the staffroom. Please come along

as this is one of the ways that you can be involved in the school community. Everyone is welcome!

Parking

Please remember to use the designated areas for parking. Parking on our neighbours’ verge is against Council Regulations.

Have a good fortnight and see you at the Market this Saturday. The City of Joondalup Mayor, Albert Jacob, and Councillors

Russ Fishwick and Suzanne Thompson will be there for a meet and greet!

Keyla Jeffers

PRINCIPAL

For the purposes of this policy, ‘mobile phones’ includes smart watches and devices, and associated listening acces-sories, such as, but not limited to, headphones and ear pods.

Rationale

It is acknowledged that when used effectively as a tool to enhance learning, mobile phones can play an important role in

education. A ban on their use, however, when not in direct support of education, will ensure that schools can provide a

safe and productive learning environment for students in their care. The decision to ban the use of mobile phones in

schools is intended to remove the potential learning distraction for students, protect the privacy of staff and students, im-

prove social connections at school and improve the health and wellbeing of students. While it is recognised that cyber-

bullying mainly occurs outside school time, banning the use of mobile phones will allow students to better engage with

their learning and with their peers, without the pressure felt when needing to respond to a mobile phone.

Schools are, and will continue to be, committed to the education of students, staff and their school community in the re-

sponsible and acceptable use of mobile phones.

There is no requirement for students to have a mobile phone at school. However, for security and safety purposes to and

from school, some parents/carers have supplied their child with a mobile phone.

Policy

As a minimum requirement, schools will implement a ban on the use of mobile phones for all students from the time they arrive at school to the conclusion of the school day, unless under the instruction of a teacher or staff member. Mobile phones should be ‘off and away all day’. This includes before school and at break times. All smart watches must be on ‘aeroplane mode’ so phone calls and messages cannot be sent or received during the school day.

Students from Kindergarten to Year 6 are not permitted to have mobile phones in their possession during the school day. If a student brings a mobile phone to school, an appropriate storage approach or location will be determined by the school.

Students from Year 7 to 12 are permitted to be in possession of their mobile phone during the school day. However, mobile phones must be turned off and neither seen nor heard. Exemptions to this include:

where a student needs to monitor a health condition as part of a documented health care plan approved by the

school principal (or delegate); or under the direct instruction of a teacher for educational purposes; or with permis-

sion of a teacher for a specified purpose. Breaches of this policy will be managed in accordance with the

school’s behaviour management procedures and the Director General Directive on Action to be taken with students

fighting or publishing videos of fighting. This may include, but not be limited to; confiscation (multiple offences may

require collection by a parent/carer) or loss of good standing.

Schools may choose, in consultation with the school community, to maintain or introduce a mobile phone policy

that imposes further restrictions than those set out in this policy e.g. Year 7 to 12 students are not permitted to

have mobile phones in their possession during the school day.

All communication between parents and students, during school hours, should occur via the school’s

administration.

Student mobile phone information for

Western Australian public schools

DEPUTY PRINCIPAL

Hello Parents and Guardians,

I would like to introduce myself as the Deputy Principal at Poynter Primary School in 2020, taking over from Mr Joyce

who is on long service leave. I am excited to be returning to Poynter having worked here previously from 2013-2015.

My last four years have been spent in leadership roles working as Principal of Goomalling Primary School and Deputy Principal of Willetton Primary School. As part of my role, I will be working with our staff and students to continue to develop our STEM (Science, Technologies, Engineering and Mathematics) program at Poynter, among other roles. I will also be teaching our Year 1 & 2 students fundamental movement skills on a Friday morning working with Mr James as part

of our Health and Physical Education program.

Over the course of the year I look forward to meeting you and working in partnership with

our school community.

Scott Palmer Deputy Principal

FINANCE NEWS

A few reminders for parents as we commence the new year: Voluntary Contributions are now due at $60 per child for School VCs and $70 per family for

P&C VCs (if not paid via Ziggies). If you are unable or not planning to pay Voluntary Contributions, please email the office to have them removed. Years 3-6 - if you have not paid for your French workbook via Ziggies or at the office, $11.50 is now due in

order for your child to receive their workbook for French lessons (as per the booklists).

Please feel free to check with the office regarding any carryover credit your child/ren may have.

Qkr! App

In an effort to streamline your payments in 2020, we are using Qkr!, a payment application developed as a joint initiative between MasterCard and CBA and comes with all the security of MasterCard products. We will also be

incorporating permission into each ‘charge’, with information provided via Connect.

Carine and Duncraig Senior High Schools are already using this app, along with many primary schools in our area, so many parents may already be familiar with it. Please download the app in preparation for all upcoming incursions and excursions.

LIBRARY NEWS

I’m pleased to be back and looking forward to interacting with you all again.

Starting from 24 February (Week 4), we will be recommencing the book review competition for students from Pre-

Primary to Year 6.

When a student completes a fiction book review of a book that is borrowed from our Library, they can enter the draw to win a prize (forms available in the Library). Two winners will be drawn each fortnight. The winning reviews will be displayed in the Library and announced in the newsletter. The Library is a busy place, so if anyone would like to volunteer their time

on a Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday, it will be greatly appreciated.

Christine Perrett Library Officer

JADE’S JOURNEY We, as a family, are so excited that Jade has been able to return to Poynter Primary with all of her friends this year. We have been welcomed back by our amazing school community with lots of hugs, some tears, and of course, big smiles. In April 2019 Jade was diagnosed with ATRT - a rare and fast growing cancerous tumour of the brain. Jade has endured numerous operations, five months of chemotherapy with stem cell recovery and finally proton treatment in the USA. After all this, all Jade wanted to was to get back to school and to see everyone as she missed all her friends, teachers and classmates when she was away. She is so happy to be back! Jade is one amazing girl. She is so strong, resilient and cheeky and she makes us very proud. We are so grateful to all of you who have sent their love and strength, and have given us the support throughout all of Jade’s treatment and recovery. All of the children have been amazing too.

We know this journey for Jade and us as a family is far from over, but Jade coming back to school is a major milestone for her. Her smile says it all! From the bottom of our hearts we say thank you! Love Lee, Maria, Ruby and Jade.

SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGIST

Dear Parents & Caregivers, I would like to formally introduce myself. I am the new School Psychologist at Poynter Primary School. Some of you may have already seen me around as I started in Term 4 2019. I will be onsite on Mondays and every second Thursday working with both staff and students. My role as a School Psychologist consists of helping staff with planning, intervention and assessment for students with learning, behaviour and mental health concerns. This includes developing individual plans and implementing programs to ensure a holistic approach to student health and wellbeing. The School Psychologist is a school based referral service, which means I am only able to respond to referrals from staff. If you are concerned about your child and would like to access School Psychologist Services, please speak to your child’s classroom teacher or Deputy Principal, Lynne Cross. I wish everyone all the best for 2020!!! Maryssa Stacey School Psychologist

Welcome to 2020! We are already into Week 3 and we already have a busy musical schedule happening. The beginner instrumental programme is almost complete and student classes will be beginning scheduled lessons over the next two weeks. Instruments will be distributed along with hire forms and contracts for the programme. Please return all forms as soon as possible to the front office or to me. It is important to ensure that all correspondence is filled out and returned. Ongoing students have already commenced their lessons from Week 1. Please find below a schedule of lessons and rehearsals for all students involved in the programme from Year 3-6.

This timetable is accurate at the time of printing. Some lesson times may vary over the next few weeks and other lesson

times and lesson venues will be confirmed as soon as possible.

Music

INSTRUMENT DAY AND TIME TEACHER VENUE

DOUBLE BASS TUESDAY Yr 6 09.30-10.00 Yr 5 10.00-10.30

Aimee Howells WANDOO ACTIVITY ROOM

CLARINET WEDNESDAY Yr 5 08.20-08.50 Yr 6 08.50-09.20

Bruce Gillam Wendy Garrity Tm 1

WANDOO ACTIVITY ROOM

FLUTE THURSDAY Yr 6 12.20-12.50 Yr 5 12.50-1.20

Julie Scarpel TUART ACTIVITY ROOM

BRASS (Trumpet/Trombone)

MONDAY Yr 6 15.15-15.45 THURSDAY Yr 5 08.00-08.45 Yr 5 15.15-15.45

Mandy Herriman WANDOO ACTIVITY ROOM

MUSIC ROOM

STRINGS VIOLIN/VIOLA

THURSDAY See Separate Timetable

Jade Martin WANDOO ACTIVITY ROOM

CELLO THURSDAY Yr 5 10.45-11.15 Yr 6 11.15-11.45 Yr 4 11.45-12.15

Alexandra Bak JARRAH ACTIVITY ROOM

PERCUSSION FRIDAY Yr 6 08.30-09.00 Yr 6 09.00-09.30 Yr 5 09.30-10.00 Yr 5 10.00-10.30

Despina Prastides-Brown

MUSIC ROOM

TRAINING BAND MONDAY COMMENCES IN TERM 2 Yr 5 07.45-08.45

Mandy Herriman MUSIC ROOM

ORCHESTRA TUESDAY Yr 5/6 07.45-08.45 STRINGS ONLY WKS 1-5 ALL IN FROM WEEK 6

Mandy Herriman MUSIC ROOM

SENIOR CONCERT BAND WEDNESDAY YR 6 07.50-08.45

Mandy Herriman MUSIC ROOM

SENIOR STRING QUARTETS TUESDAY QUARTET 1 15.15-15.45 WEDNESDAY QUARTET 2 15.15-15.45

Mandy Herriman MUSIC ROOM

STRING ORCHESTRA THURSDAY Yr 5/6 07.45-08.45

Jade Martin MUSIC ROOM

There is an updated Violin/Viola schedule which has been forwarded to string students. All timetables are posted into the

Connect Libraries for each instrumental group and will also be placed on the Music Room Noticeboard outside the Music

Room.

In order to maximise the potential success rate of our instrumental students, please consider the following:

How can parents facilitate success in instrumental studies?

Checking student journals every week and writing in practice times.

Communicating with the instrumental teachers via the journal

Demonstrating an interest in what the student is playing and learning

Providing a space for practice at home that is quiet with minimal disruptions with all the equipment required such

as a music stand, etc

Reminding the student where necessary to practice, take all required lesson materials and instrument to school on

lesson days, facilitating prompt and consistent attendance at ensemble rehearsals

Enjoy watching your child flourish and grow and learn new skills and ways of learning through their instrumental

studies

Encouraging your child through the difficult patches (and they will happen!)

Celebrating their success on achieving milestones

Take them to hear the experts – attend concerts at the Perth Concert Hall by the WASO or other orchestras such

as the Perth Symphony Orchestra, WAYJO and WAYO orchestras, etc.

Learn the language of music so you can converse with your child about what they are learning

Enjoy the journey!!

If there are any questions about the instrumental programme, please contact me and I shall answer as soon as I am able.

HELP NEEDED:

As this is a Production Year, I would really love to have a Music Parent Support Team of 2-3 parents who will assist the

Music Programme in the following ways:

Assist parents in ordering the Performance Uniform – Years 5 and 6 and selected Year 4s in the String Ensemble –

and dealing with second hand uniforms

Maintenance and laundering of the school vests which form part of the Performance Uniform.

Support tasks for the Production

Assist with concert organisation, etc.

This would be an evolving job description and would be much along the lines of the class coordinators. If you are able

and willing to offer some time throughout the year to the Music program, please send me an email

Amanda.Herriman@education.wa.edu.au

Thank you for your support and enthusiasm. I am looking forward to a fabulous year with the Poynter students and parent

community.

Mandy Herriman

MUSIC SPECIALIST

Music cont.

PHYS ED NEWS

Welcome back for 2020!

The year of Physical Education and Sport at Poynter Primary School is getting off to a

flying start with two exciting after school programs coming up - NRL League Stars and

Girls Master Blaster Cricket.

NRL League Stars commences this Thursday so be sure to register online if you want to

get involved!

I will be handing out nomination sheets to the girls interested in the cricket competition.

To register a team, simply fill out the details of six girls from Years 4-6 along with a

parent team manager who will need to supervise the team. Then hand the form back

to me before the start date.

All the information for both the NRL League Stars and Girls Master Blaster Cricket

can be found on the next page of this newsletter.

Gareth James

PE Specialist

SCHOOL NURSE

Welcome back to the new School Year. I hope you all enjoyed a safe restful holiday. My name is Sally Steffanoni and I

am the Poynter Primary School Community Nurse.

Community Health Nurses are primarily involved in early detection of health concerns and promotion of health and wellbeing for children and their families. All children are offered a School Entry Health Assessment during their Kindergarten year. This includes a vision and hearing screen, BMI, dental check and, if indicated, speech, language and

a general developmental assessment.

I am also able to do health assessments, vision and hearing on any other student (PP and above) that parents are

concerned about. Parents will need to fill in a consent form available from administration.

I also work with teachers to support health education sessions. I am available to provide information, advocacy and support to students (and their families) to help them make informed decisions about their health, wellbeing and

development and, if required, refer students to another health professional.

As I am the Community Health Nurse for several schools I don’t have a consistent day I will be on site at Poynter

Primary. However I can be contacted on 0414 896 506 or email on Sally.Steffanoni@health.wa.gov.au

I am available on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursdays. Please don’t hesitate to contact me with any request for

information or concerns.

Sally Steffanoni

Community Health Nurse

P&C NEWS

Welcome back to a new school year!

A warm welcome to all our new Poynter families. We look forward to meeting you at the New Families Welcome Sausage Sizzle on Friday 21

st February at 5pm–6:30pm in the Early

Learning Centre (Kindy & Pre-Primary area). Face painting and a bouncy castle will be available for the kids. A reminder to please RSVP to the ladies in the office so we can cater accordingly (see flyer for more details).

P&C ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

Our annual AGM will be held on Tuesday 25 February at 7pm in the Staffroom. All executive positions are up for election or re-election. To become a member, you are required to attend a meeting in person, complete the registration form and pay the $1 P&C subscription fee set by WACCSO. If you can’t make the AGM don’t despair, you can join at any of the meetings throughout the year.

Becoming a member gives you the ability to vote in meetings and be added to the P&C correspondence list. Please note you can still attend any P&C meeting if you are NOT a member you just won’t be able to participate in voting or be on the correspondence list.

VOLUNTEERS

Last year we struggled to fill important volunteer roles namely, Safety House Coordinator, Market Buyer and additional helpers for School Banking. This year these volunteer roles are again needed along with the role of Subway Co-ordinator(s).

Heather & Gabby have been our Subway Coordinators for the past few years and will be stepping down after this term. They are ready and waiting to show the next co-ordinator(s) the ropes! This is a great role to take on as a duo. A huge THANK YOU to Heather and Gabby for the past few years! Subway this term will be Friday 27 March.

About the Subway Role - this role entails setting a date that fits with your timetable and the schools, putting the information together and getting it out to the school community i.e. order sheets, collating orders, counting money and banking, placing the order, picking up the order, cross checking and delivering to the classroom. To count and distribute we call for additional helpers. The templates are all set up and ready to use. If you would like more information before sticking your hand up Heather and Gabby are more than happy to answer any questions. Please email poynterpandcpresident@yahoo.com.au .

School Banking - we still need another volunteer who can help out on a Thursday morning with school banking. You will be required from 8:20am until about 9am. For more information please contact poynterpandcpresident@yahoo.com.au .

“Volunteers do not necessarily have the time;

they have the heart”

P&C NEWS cont..

EVENTS - TERM 1

New Families Welcome Friday 21st February, 5pm-6:30pm RSVP to the office

P&C AGM Tuesday 25th February, 7pm Staffroom ($1 To Join 2020)

Ladies Wine Night Saturday 7th March, 4-10pm Tickets on Sale NOW

School Disco Friday 20th March More info to come

Subway Friday 27th March More info to come

ANZAC Ceremony Thursday 9th April More info to come

EVENTS - TERM 2

Casino Night Saturday 23rd

May THEME – 1920’s 100 years on

P&C Meeting Tuesday 26th May Staffroom 7pm

We look forward to meeting you all at some point in 2020!

Amy & Lisa

P&C Presidents

The P&C are calling for donations for the upcoming Fundraising Events throughout 2020 (Ladies Wine Night, Casino Night, Dad’s Night). The donations will be used in hampers for raffles or as

an individual prize for various fundraising events.

Please note that donations must be NEW, UNUSED and in ORIGINAL PACKAGING

Donation tubs and jars will be placed in the classrooms from:

Wednesday 11

th March to Friday 20

th March.

**All alcohol donations must go to the office**

Your support is greatly appreciated.

If you have other items to donate or know a business who may like to donate please contact poynterpandcpresident@yahoo.com.au

POYNTER PRIMARY FARMERS’ MARKET Hello from the Market,

Thank you to everyone that came down to support the Birthday Market. We had a great day.

Our new veggie growers are a young couple who started growing their own vegetables when they had their daughter and wanted to ensure that she was eating veggies with no chemicals. This grew into a home delivery business as friends and family wanted their produce as well. This is their first Market experience and they are thrilled with the

response to their seasonal produce. Come have a chat with Sammie and Brent from Henry’s Organics.

Ruby Organics, our new meat and poultry supplier, will also now have pasture eggs for sale by the tray and carton on

Saturday.

Coffee Cartel will be starting a “borrow a cup” table on Saturday. You will be able to borrow a coffee cup from the

table then return it after so it can be washed and reused by someone else.

Our next Market is this Saturday 22nd February and we will have the Mayor and the Councillors from the South Ward doing a meet and greet at the Market. If you would like to have the opportunity to have a chat with them, come down

between 9:00 and 12:00.

See you then.

Cheryl Hamel-Smith

Market Manager

Inclusion of the items below does not represent endorsement by PPS -

Keyed Up Music will be running Guitar Lessons as well as Keyboard Lessons at Poynter Primary School. Lessons start from $18.65 for a Keyboard group lesson and $19.20 for a Guitar group lesson. To enrol please go to:

www.keyedupmusic.com.au/enrolment-form

or if you need more information please ring

Therese on 1300 366 243

Inclusion of the items below does not represent endorsement by PPS -

We warmly invite you to a FREE trial session of the Poynter Bricks Challenge Class!

Keen to explore the scientific world through building exciting and inventive Lego creations? Sign up your young

engineers to have a taste of STEM in a fresh, fun and enriching workshop.

Trial Date: 26 February Time: 3:05pm-4:20pm Location: Library, Poynter Primary School Cost: FREE

Please follow the link to sign up: https://www.trybooking.com/BINWM

Hot-Shots Tennis lessons with InStyle Tennis! Tennis lessons at Poynter Primary school are held Wednesday 7.45-8.30am, starting week 2 of this term. All ages & levels welcome, and all new players receive a free New Balance t-shirt! Details and online registration at instyletennis.com.au/ 0433 777 195

Inclusion of the items below does not represent endorsement by PPS -

Inclusion of the items below does not represent endorsement by PPS -