Around the Primary

Dear Parents

Thank you to all those who attended our primary school assembly today - it was indeed a first-rate presentation of the magnificent learning that occurs across the Learning Areas in the classrooms. The whole primary community was entertained by the Year 6B students who shared their reports with us about Australian Prime Ministers, famous Indigenous Australians, the super camp to Canberra and also their chosen Saints for Confirmation. The students then added to the performance by beautifully reciting the poem, 'To You My Namatijira' by Kath Walker and demonstrated their fantastic African drumming skills with Mrs Morell. Congratulations to Mr Casey for coordinating this wonderful assembly.

Special thanks to the Year 5 and 6 students who represented our school at Interschool Sport yesterday. Our hockey and soccer teams travelled to Newman College and netball and football games were played on the College grounds. All teams tried very hard and we are so proud of their efforts. This was yet another perfect opportunity for our students to shine on the sporting field.

The Western Australian Monitoring Standards in Education (WAMSE) assessment program measures the performance of students in aspects of Science and Society and Environment. This complements information from the National Assessment Program Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN). The assessment program is for students in Years 5, 7 and 9 and takes place during week 3 of Term 3 (6th - 10th August 2012). Each assessment has two parts with each part taking 45 minutes. This week all Year 5 students received a Parent Information Brochure providing parents with more information about the assessments for this year. If you have any queries about this assessment please feel free to talk to your child's teacher.

On Wednesday evening, Jenny Baker, a speech pathologist, visited the College and provided valuable information to our PrePrimary parents regarding the upcoming Early Intervention Speech Screening . Jenny and her team of speech pathologists from Fremantle Speech Pathology Services will screen all PrePrimary children this term for Oral Narrative, Verbal Comprehension, Speech Production, and Phonological Awareness. This screening will provide valuable information to parents and, of course, our teachers about the speech and literacy development of the children. Moreover, our teaching teams will then be able develop suitable literacy programs for the chidren. Special thanks to Mrs Gardner, Miss Monastra and Miss Hayes for hosting the session and thank you to all the parents who were able to join us on the night.

To further support children's literacy development, it is important to set aside time for reading with your children. I hope the following handy hints will help to build your family's love of reading.

  • Set aside time for reading every day and a goal for the number of books your family will read in a week. By reading to your children you open up the world of books.
  • Share reading time by reading with your children. Let them fill in missing (predictable) words as you read. With older children read one page or chapter to them and then let them read the next one.
  • Encourage your children to read to you books they choose. Remember to ask them about what they read, what they liked or disliked, why they chose the book, what they learnt and how they felt about what they read

Most of the children are in correct school uniform and they look fantastic! Children attending John XXIII are expected to wear the correct uniform each day. Copies of the uniform requirements are available on the website. We do require all children to be groomed and dressed correctly. It is most important that all students have neat and tidy hairstyles. It has come to my attention that some children may need to visit a hair-salon this weekend to ensure they are looking their best before the start of the new week.

As the term has progressed, the lost property has accumulated. Parents are urged to check their children have all their uniform items clearly and permanently labelled. Please take the time to come and look through the lost property box, located outside the Mary Ward Centre for any missing items. All unclaimed lost property will be returned to the Uniform Shop at the end of the next week for second hand sale.

Finally, the Year Six students are looking forward to their Confirmation Retreat next Friday 22nd June. Please keep the confirmation candidates, sponsors and their families in your prayers.

Kind regards

Antoinette De Pinto
Head of Primary

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NEXT WEEK AT A GLANCE:

Monday 18th June - PrePrimary Speech Screening continues

Friday 22nd June - Mass (Kindly prepared by 3B)

Friday 22nd June - Confirmation Retreat

We enjoy gathering together as a Primary School Community to celebrate Mass with Fr Gaetan