Enjoy!!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays

The last week of school for 2014 has come and gone. Today staff have done some self-reflection on the year before cleaning up and enjoying a staff Christmas Party.

This week we said goodbye to our Year 6 students at their graduation and lunch. We wish them the very best for their start to high school next year. Many thanks go to Mr Taddei and all the staff who helped to organise the ceremony.

On Wednesday we recognized the achievements of specific students at the Awards Assembly. We congratulate all our students who received awards in 2014. Our thanks go to Miss Gull who organised the assembly and all the wonderful assembly items.

Finally, I wish every member of our school community a safe and happy Christmas and New Year. See you next year!

Sam Trott Remembered

The staff of Madeley Primary School have sent a card and some fundraising  to the family of Sam Trott who tragically drowned this week. Sam lived within the intake area of the Ashdale Cluster so we felt it was appropriate to support the family in this very difficult time. Many thanks go to Miss McNamara and her Pre-primary class for making our card and to our staff who donated money to the fundraising appeal.

School Board Meeting

The Madeley Primary School Board held its Term 4 meeting last night. Items on the agenda included:

1. A review of current membership of the Board
2. Discussion about the Board's 'Terms of Reference'
3. Discussion about the procedures to review the effectiveness of the Board
4. Concerns with communication and ways to improve this
5. 2015 Contributions and Charges
6. School student, parent and staff survey data
7. NAPLAN data review
8. Attendance data review
9. Discussion and endorsement of new/revised school policies.

At the meeting the School Board endorsed the 'Off-Site Nature Play' and the 'Behaviour Education' Policy. Both these policies will be implemented in 2015. Parents will be provided with information about these policies early in the new year.

Mike Kelly's (our current School Board Chair) tenure ends this term. This means that his position will need to be advertised at the beginning of the year. We would like to thank Mike for the excellent work he has done in leading the School Board. 

P&C Meeting

We had a good parent turn out at our P&C meeting last night which also happened to be our P&C President, David Belcastro's last official one. We thank him for all the work he has done in leading the P&C over the years. 

At the meeting the P&C approved the funding of some important programs/items including:

1. Literacy resources $2500 
2. World Book Online subscription $2085 
3. Subsidy to 2015 student leadership training $2500 
4. Display board purchases $2380 
5. Diabetes WA training $620   
6. Year 1 & 2 outdoor play resources $815 

 This is an example of the important work that your P&C does in supporting our school to provide the best possible education for your children. I encourage all parents to get actively involved in the P&C next year.

Madeley Primary School is now on Twitter

We are always looking for ways to promote communication with our community so we decided to join the world of Twitter. You can see our tweets and become a follower by searching for @MadeleyPS on Twitter. We will endeavor to tweet the latest events and information about what is happening at our school so you are kept fully informed.

PP Assembly

On Friday the school community were treated to an absolute amazing performance by our Pre-primary students. Their assembly play was wonderfully performed with all the elements of the assembly woven into the story. We are very proud of our Pre-primary students and the work they did to put on such a fabulous. We also thank the staff and parents who helped our students have such a wonderful opportunity to show off what they are capable of. We also thank Mr Moon for his willingness to be involved as the very pretty Little Red Riding Hood.

Little Red being tied up by pirates

Creating Classes

This week we will start the process of creating classes for the commencement of the 2015 school year. Teachers are working as a team to assign students to classes based on their knowledge of each child and their learning requirements. We thank parents who have submitted requests/suggestions about their child’s placement for next year. These requests will be considered as part of the placement process. Class lists will be placed outside the Library by Wednesday December 17. Parents are reminded that there is a very real chance that the classes will need to change at the start of or early in the school year. 

When creating classes we need to (where possible) ensure that student numbers in each class do not exceed the recommended numbers agreed to by the Department of Education and the State School Teachers’ Union. If this does occur we need to negotiate with teachers how this will be managed in order to support teachers with additional students. When there is a substantial growth in student numbers a school restructure is required. We cannot commence the school year with large numbers of empty seats as this impacts on the funding that we receive. The challenge is to try and create classes that leave enough spaces to allow for new students who may enrol. This becomes even more challenging when new housing is being built in the area as we do not know how many additional students we will receive or when they may start arriving. 

One problem that we always face every year is parents who do not like the class that their child has been placed in. While we do our best to accommodate reasonable requests this is not always possible. The trouble we have is that once class lists go on display it is difficult and often impossible to make changes. This is because we structure classes to try and allow room for new enrollments from all the various year levels. Thus, if one parent wants their child moved it can have a serious impact on the whole structure and sometimes means that another child must be displaced (swapped) which is not fair.  I hope this information provides you with an idea about the intricacies of creating classes which we go through every year. Student placements are not made lightly and a lot of experience and professional knowledge goes into creating the best classes possible.

Netball Champions

Today the Year 7 students took on the staff in a game of netball. The students kindly accepted a 15 goal head start which was not enough as the teachers won the game by 4 goals. Better luck next time Year 7's!!

Student Leader's Breakfast

Today we thanked our student leader's for all the work they have done in 2014 by shouting them to a breakfast at Zings in Hillarys. Our student leaders have been excellent role models and hard workers and we thank them for their efforts. Many thanks also go to Mrs Ovens who has been managing the Student Leaders in 2014 and who organised the breakfast.

Remembrance Day

Last week (on the 11^th) staff and students gathered around the flag pole for a short period and remembered members of the armed forces who had served our country in times of war. This was a simple but powerful ceremony which helped reinforce the importance of remembering our fallen. Lest We Forget.

Student Belongings

It is important that students have their belongings clearly labelled so that if they are lost they can be easily returned. This includes items such as jumpers, lunch boxes, water bottles etc. Staff cannot be responsible for ensuring every child keeps their property safe. Please remind your child that they are responsible for the safety of their own belongings.

School Arrival Times

We ask that students do not arrive at school before 8.15am (preferably 8.30am). This is because there are no teachers on duty. If your child does arrive early they are required to sit outside my office until I dismiss them at 8.30am to go to class. Students are still required to wait at the office even if their parents are with them. We need to have this consistent approach in order to ensure students who arrive early remain safe.

Taking Extended Holidays in School Time

School attendance has strong links with student performance which is why the Department of Education  requires parents to consult with the Principal whenever they want to take their child on extended holidays during school time. The best way to do this is to send me a letter or an email or give me a call.