10 August 2017

From the Principal

Dear Parents and Families,

I am excited to be back!

Teachers have been using different literacy and maths strategies as part of our business and the cluster plan. Consequently, we have noticed some improvements in children’s skills. In reading fluency most of our students have passed the high benchmarks. These benchmarks for each year level have been set by people who devised the standardised tests. Thanks to many parents who have listened to their children read as your support has made a considerable difference.

Teachers are also making significant changes in how they give, and are increasing the frequency of giving, feedback to students on their learning. Indeed, we are working towards a ‘no hands up’ strategy. This encourages all students to think as the teacher can nominate anybody to respond to a question. So, no one can escape questions!

While I often visit one to two classrooms per day, teachers are going to visit each other’s classroom this term. This is a big step for teachers. They plan together and now learn from each other inside their classrooms.

Thanks to all parents, carers and grandparents who came to the open night. Despite the cold weather we had a strong turnout.

Dr Tony Beswick
Principal

Newsletter Articles

School Calendar

Students Not Returning to Landsdale in 2018

Please let us know if your children currently in Kindy to Year 5 will no longer be attending Landsdale Primary School next year due to moving house or changing schools. All schools are funded according to our enrolments so it is very important that we plan on accurate student numbers. Families who know they will not be returning to Landsdale Primary School in 2018 are asked to click on the attached link or phone the school.

Jennifer.Shepherd@education.wa.edu.au

2018 Kindergarten Applications

If you still haven’t put your Kindergarten application in for next year, please see the ladies in the front office urgently as we are nearing full capacity.

2018 1-1 Laptop Program

Preparations have begun for the next year’s 1-1 program for students in Year 4 in 2018. We annually evaluate our program to ensure our students have the best opportunities to acquire essential skills in digital technologies for their future. The parent funded 1-1 program is vital to this goal and we recognise and value your commitment to your children’s education.

This year we have examined which device to base our program on, the iPad or the Macbook Air. We have been working with Ms Marrion’s class of year 3/4 students to see how the Macbook Air and iPads match up for learning tasks.

The students devised a survey for which device is preferred by students for their learning and staff were also surveyed. Overwhelmingly the Macbook was the preferred device. The top reasons from staff were that the Macbook:

• was more powerful and had more features to the applications common to both Mac and iPad eg. Pages, garageband, iMovie.
• was easier to use both for staff and students when accessing tools for learning like the internet, google suite and network resources.
• has better management tools for common applications and student safe use of the internet and network resources. Eg being able to have the school image, Parental controls and Remote desktop.

Students also found the Macbooks more powerful for their learning tasks and easier to use. They also thought that the bigger screen and keyboard were an advantage of the Macbooks.

While we did find it possible to have both devices working in the same class, it will need time to develop the skills, strategies and management processes to make it effective.

We took our findings to the school board with the full results of our investigation and they have endorsed our decision. The Macbook remains our device of choice and will be supported fully by the school. We do recognise that the financial commitment for parents is significant and so are investigating possibilities for more flexible payments or leasing options. We have also decided to include the option of the iPad however decisions on which model and how they will be managed are in the process of being worked out.

For more information and discussion please attend our first parent information session:

When: Wednesday 23rd August
Time: 5pm – 6pm
Where: LA 16/17

Mac Books in the Music Room

In upper-school Music class, students use their Mac Books heavily, gaining a relevant and meaningful understanding of music in the 21st Century. In 2017 they have used their Macs as an instrument, research tool, music mixer, and as a means to create original music.

In our most recent assignment, students learned about music in media. They learned about how music affects your emotions; and how movies, television and advertising uses it to manipulate a viewer. Students then applied their understanding, and were given a silent film to record sound effects, and score music for. We used the program Garageband and the computer microphone to record our own sound effects for the film. The students also used the AppleLoops function in Garageband to score background music for the film.

On the Ball …. With Mr P

Interschool Cross-Country

Congratulations to all our students who competed in the Interschool cross-country event at Kingsway Sporting Complex last Friday. The students should be very proud of their efforts and Landsdale achieved 3rd place, which is a significant improvement on the previous years’ results. A big congratulations to Angeline F and Leon A for taking out the champion boy and girl award.

Long Jump & Long Throw

During term 2, the jump length of students in years 3 to 6 were measured to see who would be selected to represent their faction at the long jump and or long throw event. The top three students in their respective year level, faction and gender are selected and the nominations are below.

The long jump and long throw day, as well as the distance running events, is being held on Monday 14th August. The program has altered slightly from previous years, but is still straight forward. If you can assist in any capacity, please contact me know on the email below.

Faction Athletics Carnival

Our Faction Athletics Carnival is upon us on Thursday, August 24. It promises to be an enjoyable day and a program is attached for your convenience.

Tem 3 Phys Ed Program

Term 3 is another busy one for the Physical Education program, with our school and Interschool Athletics Carnivals and events. The format for all programs will run similar as it did last year, but with some minor adjustments.

If you can assist in any of the following events please let me know at Royce.Puccinelli@education.wa.edu.au or fill out your details below.

August14 (Monday) : Faction Jumps, Throws & Distance Events
August 24 (Thursday) : Faction Athletics Carnival
September 12 (Tuesday) : Interschool Jumps, Throws & Distance Events*
September 14 (Thursday) : Interschool Athletics Carnival*

*All interschool events this year are being held at Ashdale Primary School.

Library News

AUDIOBOOKS NOW AVAILABLE ON OUR DIGITAL LIBRARY!

As promised, we are very excited to announce the launch of our new AUDIOBOOKS platform through Wheelers ePlatform One. This new initiative is fully funded by the proceeds of our “50c Frenzy Book Sale” that was held last term and raised $1,363.

Below are simple, step-by-step instructions on how you and your child can access Audiobooks & eBooks via the Landsdale Primary School Digital Library:

1. Visit the website:
   https://landsdaleps.wheelers.co
2. Download the free App “ePlatform by Wheelers Books” from the App Store for all your mobile devices.
3. Type “Landsdale Primary School” into the “Find Your Library” field.
4. Search and browse the 365 “Listening Favourites” audiobooks with the audio icon.
5. Sign in to borrow with your login details (available from your class teacher or the Library):
   UserName = FirstName.LastName eg: Jeremiah.Bullfrog
   Password = Library1 (same for all students)
6. Listen to the audiobook or borrow an eBook for a 2 week loan period. It will be automatically returned after the 14 days have expired.

**If you or your child has any questions about eBooks, audiobooks or our digital library, please ask Mrs Murray in the Library or send a message through the classroom teacher. We are happy to help you access this great resource. *

INVOICES SENT FOR UNRETURNED LIBRARY BOOKS

Invoices have now been posted out to the listed home address of parents for their child’s unreturned library books. Can you please ensure that the invoice is paid at the Front Office for the replacement cost of your child’s lost/unreturned book(s)?

Global Education - Community Survey

LA27 are working on Global Education projects that use literacy and numeracy skills to investigate and solve real world problems. Our group's goal is to investigate the amount of single-use plastic bags used for grocery shopping in our local community. We want to replace single use plastic bags with recycled or re-purposed bags when people do their grocery shopping.

To help us, please have one member of your family complete the attached survey as soon as possible. Only complete one for each family. Your name is not required and all information is only looked at as a total, and is treated confidentially. Information is used only for our project.

Please use the link below.

Thank you

Plastic Bag Team
Saif, Claire, Alissa, Daniele, Joshua, Zaki, Tyler and Ms Marrion.

Canteen Reminders

CANTEEN INFORMATION

Supervisor: Alison Belstead
Phone: 9302 4582
Opening hours: 8:30am to 1:45pm

PARENT REMINDERS

Online Ordering

Our canteen now has an Online Ordering facility with the company Quick Cliq.

This facility is easy to use and also very secure.

VOLUNTEER ROSTER

Please see the attached Volunteer Roster.

Uniform Shop News

Opening Times – Term 3

P&C President’s Report

If you would like information on joining the P&C or want to know what we do, please contact Amanda at anferguson1977@gmail.com.

Amanda Ferguson
P&C President

Entertainment Books Update

Please help us continue to smash our fundraising goal and support Landsdale Primary School by purchasing an Entertainment membership. We still have a few memberships left so hurry and get yours today so you don’t miss out on all the great additional offers coming this winter like El Publico, Jamie’s Italian, Bib & Tucker, iFly and many many more. You may only need to use it twice to pay for itself.

Please order today by calling me on 0403129438 or order online at the link below.

Regards,
Aberline Attwood

Visiting Bali?

Dear Parents and Community Members,

As many of you are aware, Landsdale Primary School has a sister school relationship with a school in Bali which was established almost 10 years ago. By far the most rewarding part of this partnership for Landsdale students has been when their families have visited our sister school on their Bali holidays.

The school is called SD 2 Kaba Kaba and it is around 20 kilometres, or a 45 minute drive, from the heart of Kuta.

If you would like to pay them a visit and find out what a day (or even an hour or two) in the life of a Balinese child is like, feel free to contact me and I can help you arrange it. Alternatively you can contact the coordinator in Bali, Alit Widia at alitwidia@yahoo.com and he can help you sort it out. Rest assured you will be made to feel very welcome.

Terima Kasih!

Belinda Scott
Italian Teacher
Landsdale Primary School

School Banking at Landsdale Primary School!

Win a family adventure holiday at Tokyo Disneyland!

This year, School Banking is running a Future Savers Grand Prize competition that will take one lucky School Banker all the way to Tokyo, Japan. The winner gets an unforgettable family trip, for up to two adults and three children, where they’ll explore Tokyo Disneyland with its amazing attractions, including the futuristic Tomorrowland, plus enjoy the fun rides at Tokyo DisneySea.

Students who make 15 or more School Banking deposits by the end of Term 3, 2017 will be automatically entered into the draw.

If you would like to know more about school banking, please ask for a 2017 School Banking program information pack from the school office or visit the link below.

Rowena Casilli
School Banking Co-ordinator

Ashdale STEM Expo Community Event – Tuesday 29th August

Family and community members from the Ashdale Cluster are invited to view fantastic STEM projects created by students from Ashdale Secondary College and Ashdale Cluster primary schools. Come along and see the exciting and engaging work that is happening in our Cluster, in the areas of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).

Tickets are FREE and can be registered through Eventbrite:

The Ashdale STEM Expo is running for two days and will be visited by over 1,500 primary and secondary students. It will feature an amazing array of STEM workshops and exhibits in:

• Science Experiments
• Robots & Drones
• Digital Video & Photography
• Computer Games
• Virtual Reality
• Robots & Drones
• 3D Printing
• Animation
• Workshops & Competitions
• Arduino Projects
• Career Stalls
• Maths Games
• STEM Guest Speakers

View the Ashdale STEM Expo website at:

If you have any queries, please contact ashdale.sc@education.wa.edu.au .

Wanneroo Joondalup Tee Ball Club

Wanneroo Joondalup Tee Ball club is entering its 42nd year, and a big focus for our upcoming season is to reach the wider community. They are a not for profit club that caters for a wide range of ages and abilities.

Tee Ball is fantastic sport for primary school aged children, where skills, co-ordination, mateship & strategic thinking are all part of the fun.

Please see the attached flyer about their registration day on 4th August.

Anglicare Relationship Seminar

Please see the attached flyer for a seminar being held in Joondalup on Monday 28th August.

City of Wanneroo – Artwork Exhibition

The City of Wanneroo Gallery in partnership with Fremantle Press is very excited to present the original drawings from acclaimed children’s book We All Sleep in an exciting exhibition for Children’s Book Week 2017. The exhibition will be hosted at the Wanneroo Library & Cultural Centre from 28th July to 26th August.

Landsdale Junior Cricket Club

Please see the attached Junior Cricket Club flyers regarding club registrations for boys and girls of all ages.