
Community
NEWSLETTER TEXT ONLY VERSION

Newsletter 12 - 13 December 2021

Dear parents and carers
It has been a memorable, remarkable and surprising year. As we review the year, I think it is important to highlight some of our achievements.
Significantly our school performed soundly in the NAPLAN testing this year. We were able to achieve better results than similar schools in all of Year 3 and Year 5 tests. This is a terrific result and shows that the programs, that we are putting in place, are starting to have a positive impact. Well done to all of our students and fabulous staff.
Along with our parent interviews, this year we hosted a ‘Learning journey’. It was great to see our students showing their parents or guardians their classroom and proudly highlighting their best work. Engaging with our community has been a highlight this year.
Harmony Day was extra special this year when Williams Primary School came to visit. This was a highlight for our students as we got to proudly display our multicultural diversity to the wider community. Our trip to Williams Primary School was also a special event. We got to visit a country school and see examples of country life. I am sure our students will treasure these memories in years to come.
Once again we had lots of special events which helped to enrich our learning. The kindergarten to Year 2 students managed to brave the rain and go to the Naturescape in Kings Park. We also had the Literature Centre program and excursions to the WA Ballet and the Barking Gecko Theatre. We also hosted the local schools with the interschool athletics carnival. This was a great success and further promoted our school. Mr Cumming did a magnificent job as coordinator.
Our second year of Auslan has been sensational. Our students are steadily becoming more skilled. It really has been a joy to see. Thank you to Ms Salame and Ms Mondy for their support in this area. We have also had a great year with Talk for Writing, Humanities and Social Sciences (HaSS) and our Explicit Direct Instruction approach. Thank you to Mrs Wallace and Ms Owers for being our terrific coaches.
It has been a big year for our Year 6 students. They participated in the Science Quest at Dianella Secondary College, RAC excursion to South Perth, Passport to Success and the involvement in competitions like the Australian Maths Competition. Most recently, the students attended the Swan Valley Adventure Centre. Thank you to Ms Young for her passion and leadership in supporting our senior students.
We have had messy mud days in the kindy/pre-primary, the Brownes Dairy visit and our WA Day family picnic. Remember our Tug of War? We can’t forget the Mother’s Day and Father’s Day special days in the early childhood and even the Fathering project paper plane competition! We have had TUFF club, Breakfast Club and Learning Clubs.
This year, to celebrate our Positive Behaviour Support (PBS) rewards we have had free dress days, movie days, ice cream treats, class cooking, board game days and lots more. For the first time, we had Day Zero-which was a lot of fun. Next week, we have our end of year reward- which is also part of our PBS rewards. Thank you to Mrs Kroczek for organising the water slides. I would like to thank the PBS committee for working really hard for our school.
This year, all of students got bright new desks- which helped to make our classrooms more inviting. We also finished our Aboriginal garden. We will now add more plants and add our decorative rocks. We are looking forward to painting those poles which will finish that area nicely. It really is a terrific part of the school.
Our school community have been wonderful this year. I would like to thank our P&C for supporting us so enthusiastically. The bike raffle, the voucher raffle, the jump pit and now supporting the kindergarten and pre-primary playground have been P&C initiatives.
I would like to thank our wonderful P&C. In particular, I would like to commend and acknowledge our P&C President, Andi Hancock, for her enthusiasm and willingness to support our school. Andi has a big heart, is extremely generous, and actively promotes our school. Thank you also to the other members of the executive; Megan Wallace, Aaron Tedesco, Fran Trichet. Thank you to the parents who have come along to help throughout the year. Your efforts have been appreciated.
We are very lucky that our School Board is working to understand our strategic priorities and provides us with advice on how to achieve our goal. With a working partnership with Edith Cowan University and the Child and Parent Centre at Westminster, we are very lucky to have this type of support. I would like to thank our School Board Chair, Associate Professor Gill Kirk for her tremendous support and Julie McKay for linking our school to all of those importance services in the area. A big thank you to our parents, staff and community representatives on the School Board.
All of these learning experiences were made possible due to the professionalism and commitment of our staff. They have worked hard to organise these events for our students. They genuinely care and wish to make Dryandra PS a wonderful school. Thank you to all our staff.
Finally, I would like to acknowledge our students. I am immensely proud of the way that they have focussed on their learning this year. Not only have they shone with their classroom learning and contributions but their behaviour this year has been exceptional.
Farewell to our departing staff
We received notice last week that Ms Young won a temporary position at Wanneroo Primary School for 2022. We would like to thank Ms Young for her considerable efforts in working with the Year 6 students over the last three years. She is an exemplary teacher, creating wonderful learning opportunities for her students. She has created a warm and caring environment for her students and developed positive relationships with her parents. Ms Young has worked hard to support the school’s improvement agenda contributing to the school’s leadership committee and curriculum committee. We all wish Ms Young all the best and look forward to her re-joining us in 2023.
I would like to thank Mrs Danni Whitcombe for working with us in the Year 1 class this year. We have appreciated her positive approach and for creating a warm learning environment. Mrs Whitcombe was able to support us on the Positive Behaviour Committee and the Friendly Schools Plus program. Mrs Whitcombe had a sincere and warm approach with her students. We wish Mrs Whitcombe all the best for next year.
Final Thoughts
Don’t forget that we have our final community event of the year with our traditional Christmas End of Year Concert tomorrow Tuesday, 14 December. I will definitely be cracking open the Christmas tie for that one! Hope to see everyone there!
Thank you to everyone for a great year. Enjoy your holidays and we look forward to seeing everyone back and cheerful next year. Keep safe!
Thank you
Paul Biemmi
Principal
Newsletter 10 - 12 November 2021

Dear parents and carers
I think that you would agree that the trip to Williams Primary School was the highlight of the year. After many weeks of planning, the excursion to Williams Primary School was a tremendous success. The students were absolutely enthralled and excited to participate in the range of activities that were organised. It was like a mini-Royal show! There were farm animals, sheep and cattle dogs, farm machinery, emergency service vehicles (with very loud sirens) and even a sheep shearing demonstration.
Williams Primary School then lavished our school with a delicious lunch and even a ‘show bag’.
I would like to thank all of the parent helpers who came along to assist. This was sincerely appreciated. Thank you to; Ms Sharon Gillett, Ms Joy Yacub, Mr Nik Ivanovski, Mrs Phoebe Hall, Mr Son Nguyen and Mrs Norma Abbott.
I would also like to acknowledge and thank all of the staff for their professional approach and enthusiasm in supporting our school on this excursion. Our staff went above and beyond the call of duty to ensure that our students had this wonderful experience.
Thank you!Once again, our students demonstrated a high standard of behaviour and were perfect ambassadors for our school.
Finally, I would like to thank the staff and community of Williams Primary School for hosting such a magnificent day. Not only were they generous with their time, but the whole community was involved. This did help to establish the partnership of our two school working together closely in a variety of different ways. Thank you to the principal, Ms Gordon, her staff and the community for their extraordinary efforts and hard work. Thank you
STAFF CHANGES AND FAREWELLS
As you might be aware, we have a number of staff who will be going on parental leave before the end of the year. It is important that we acknowledge and give them our best wishes.
Ms Libby Taylor our school psychologist, commenced her parental leave at the end of October. Ms Taylor has been our school psychologist for the last 5 years. Her contribution to our school has been invaluable.
Mrs Claire Warr in Room 2, will be commencing her parental leave on the 22 November. Mrs Warr has been at the school since 2012 so she is a long standing staff member. Miss Pusey will replace Mrs Warr in Room 2 for the rest of the year.
With Ms Pusey going to Room 2, Mr Minh Nguyen will replace Ms Pusey in Room 16 on a Monday. Mr Nguyen will also replace Ms Pusey in some of her other roles and will be coordinating PE and sport on a Thursday and Friday.
Mrs Hannah Dwyer has been working in Room 17 for a couple of terms. She is also going on parental leave commencing the beginning of December. Ms Dwyer has been extremely hard working, professional and has developed great relationships with the students, staff and parents. Mr Cumming will resume teaching in Room 17 for the rest of the year.
We wish all of our expecting parents our collective best wishes and hope that they enjoy this phase of their lives with their new bundles of joy. We look forward to catching up with them and their baby at some stage next year.
NAPLAN 2021
Our school continues to make steady gain in our NAPLAN results. We are continuing to perform at a higher level than schools that are similar to Dryandra Primary. In fact, we were higher than our ‘like schools’ in all five testing areas for both Year 3 and Year 5.
In the chart below, we performed better than expected. This is represented on the chart in green. The results in ‘yellow’ indicate that we performed as expected. If we performed below expectation, then you would see ‘red’ boxes. You can see that we have not achieved any red boxes. This is a wonderful result for our school and students. It highlights that the programs that we are implementing are having a positive impact and that our students are continuing to consolidate their learning.
KINDERGARTEN VACANCIES 2022
I am pleased to see to announce that we have created extra positions for our kindergarten class in 2022. If you are aware of any friends or relatives who still have kindergarten aged children who are yet to enrol, please ask them to come and see me.
Important New Dates
Please note the new dates for some of the school events that were planned.
P&C – Tuesday, 16 Nov at 7.00pm
School Board meeting– Wednesday, 24 Nov at 7.00pm
2022 New Kindergarten Parent Meeting- Wednesday, 24 Nov 11.00am
2022 Kindergarten Transition – Thursday, 25 Nov 9.30am-10.30am
Year 6 Swan Valley Excursion – Monday, 6 Dec all day
Kindy/Pre-primary Assembly and Class Book wards – Tuesday, 7 Dec
Thank you Parent Morning Tea- Tuesday, 7 Dec 10.30am
Year 6 Graduation- Thurs, 9 Dec 5.00pm –7.00pm
Christmas Concert-Tues ,14 Dec 2.00pm
Thank you
Paul Biemmi
Principal
Congratulation to Luka from Room 1 who was the winner of the $100.00 gift voucher which was kindly donated from The Square Mirrabooka. Our thanks to them for helping with this fundraiser.
Aussie of the month winner for November
Linda Nguyen Room 17
IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER
November Mon 15 - Wed 17 - Literature centre incursion Tue 16 - P&C meeting 7.00pm Wed 24- Kindy 2022 New Parent meeting 11.00am School Board meeting 7.00pm Thurs 25 - 2022 Kindy students transition 9.30-10.30am Tues 30 - Room 17 excursion to the Ballet
DECEMBER Mon 6 - Year 6 Excursion to Swan Valley Adventure Centre Tue 7 - KP Assembly & Book awards/Thank you morning tea Wed 8 - Class Christmas Concert 2.00pm Thur 9 - Year 6 Graduation Ceremony 5.00-7.00pm Mon 13 - Reports sent home Wed 15 - School Board meeting 7.00pm Thur 16 - Faction reward day & End of term 4
2022 SCHOOL COMMENCES MONDAY 31 JANUARY
Out and about at Dryandra
Mrs McGee and Mrs Hutchinson are just one of our mother daughter duos at Dryandra PS. This unique situation sees us with two generations of the same family following their passion of teaching. I sat down with them both and found out a bit more about these special ladies.
Mrs McGee– Graduated teaching many moons ago and has a Bachelor of Education, Bachelor of Arts and a Graduate certificate in Early Childhood.
Her time here started in 1999 and her favourite memories are the ones made every day she is educating the students.
When not teaching Mrs McGee spends time with her 2, soon to be 3 grandchildren and her hobby is sewing.
She loves going overseas to Rottnest. Her favorite food is a vanilla slice.
Mrs Hutchinson– Has been teaching for 9 years and her favourite memories are when Mrs Hutchinson sees some of her K/PP students graduate. Other schools she has taught at include Nollamara and Deanmore, but Mrs Hutchinson just loves being at Dryandra.
Hobbies include Pilates and overseas holidays.
Mrs Hutchinson has a son Van, who is 2 .5 years old and is expecting a daughter in April 2022.
Her most favourite holiday was her honeymoon to Switzerland and she gave skiing a go.
Her favourite food is a biscuit dipped into a nice cuppa tea.
In just 3 words, how would they describe each other-
Mrs H-clever, friendly & loving
Mrs McGee-knowledgeable, stylish & caring
Ms Van Dijken & Mrs Warr are our other mother daughter team at Dryandra.
I have had a chance to chat to both of these ladies and here is what I have to share with you.
Mrs Warr has been teaching for 9 years and in this time she has been at Dryandra and Newborough Primary schools.
Her most memorable moment is when past students come back to see her.
In her spare time Mrs Warr likes to go for walks with her daughter Winnie along with her dogs Chilli & Ninja to their favourite parks.
Mrs & Mr Warr are expecting their 2nd daughter in December.
Ms Van Dijken has spent most of her adult life teaching, and this has been 40 years plus some. Her early years were spent teaching in the country. This year has been especially enjoyable with the students in Room 8. Time spent at Dryandra is 22 years this year.
In her spare time Ms Van Dijken enjoys gardening, going bush walking, golf and overseas holidays.
Having 3 daughters of her own Ms Van Dijken has 2 grandsons ,1 granddaughter with another due in December.
Her own family has 8 children in which she is the eldest.
A pet cat named Keiko is a faithful companion and has recently moved into a new house with her.
Mrs Clough
Room 1 students performed their rendition of "The Rainbow Connection" for their assembly item .Students enjoyed learning the song and the meaning behind it, finding yourself and following your dreams, which connects to our school PBS value of caring. The students spoke eloquently and invited the whole school community to join in the AUSLAN actions in the chorus. Well done Room 1 for their amazing efforts and for demonstrating caring, learning, and working together. They also had an impromptu performance of the song whilst they were lining up for the bus on our return from Williams. I know it was probably magic! -Mrs Whitcombe
Kindy /Pre Primary 1- Mrs Wallace/Mrs Hutchinson Venesia Dalipova , Evan Htoo, Mohammad Maher & Hunter Taylor | Kindy /Pre Primary 2 - Ms Coventry/Mrs McGee Jamie Dimer, Malak Al-Saadi, Hasan Siringul, Kylah Driscoll, Sila Aksahin & Ali Mohammadi |
Year 1 /2 Room 1 - Mrs Whitcombe Summer Siraj & Shoo Sher Day Sher Mar | Year 2 Room 2- Mrs Warr / Ms Pusey Yagmur Siringul & Omar Elkadiri |
Year 2/3 Room 5 - Ms Tracy Walters Nasrudin Nasir , Manawa Guess & Athena Findlay | Year 3 Room 8- Ms Van Dijken/ Mrs Fairhead Jarrah Cameron-Stacey ,Sumaya Ismaile, Shevayah Bennell, Rueben Anderson ,Nasteeho Nasir & Day Sa Ma Htoo |
Year 4 Room 16 - Ms Dunstan Noah Gahan, Jedd Hall, Aysegul Aksahin, Rayan Siraj, Melanie Asanoski, Sylas Foster, Jamyshia Anderson, Nikola Ivaneza, Violet Miller, Noah Websdale, Fatmagul Aksahin, Nasiira Hassan Nasir & Janice Li | Year 5 Room 17 - Mr Cumming/Mrs Dwyer Esther Tha , Kailynn Dhu, & Kader Compaore |
Years 6 Room 18 - Ms Young Noor Hamden, Karrar Ahmed & Nile Mohamed Kheir | AUSLAN - Ms Salame Aliya Gelato Room 16, Wanvisa Gillies Room 18 & Jafar Al Zeidan Room 8 |
Great work everyone |
Newsletter 10 - 23 September 2021

Dear parents and carers
I cannot believe that we are at the end of another term! Where has the time gone? We have continued to make lots of progress in our priorities. Our school is continuing to focus on our Talk for Writing program and our Explicit Direct Instruction approach in English. We have been trialing a new mental maths strategy called Maths Mastery and it is showing some positive results. We have been implementing Literacy Pro in the Year 3 to 6 classes to improve home reading and we have purchased about 900 new books for the library. This is a great achievement. Some classes have also been working on Literacy Planet which has a focus on spelling and reading. Our goal is to make some decisions in readiness for our new business plan commencing next year.
LEARNING JOURNEY AND BOOK FAIR
The ‘Learning Journey’ was a tremendous success. Thank you for your support. It was lovely to see students sharing their work with their parents/carers. The expression on the children's faces and the pride in the eyes of the parents was very special. It was a wonderful opportunity to come into the school and see the hard work and achievement of the students. We enjoyed sharing our achievements with the wider community. We look forward to hosting another Learning Journey next year.
The Book Fair was sensational. This really helped to create a sense of community. Seeing parents and students visiting the display and purchasing books was very inspiring. Encouraging reading is the cornerstone of future success and it was pleasing to see the library buzzing with excitement. Thank you for supporting this venture for our school. We raised about over $1000 for our library. A big thank you to Mrs Brown, Mr Walters and Mrs Stephen for organising and coordinating this event for our school. Well done!
Congratulations to Mr Cumming and Mrs Wallace!
Congratulations to Mr Cummings for coordinating the recent Interschool Athletics carnival. It was a magnificent event! Thank you also to all of our staff who helped to make it a wonderful school event. I would also like to thank Andi Hancock and our parent helpers for organizing the sausage sizzle. Our student participated enthusiastically and coming 4th overall, against some other bigger schools, was a great achievement. Well done Dryandra!
I would also thank Mrs Wallace for organising the Kings Park excursion for our junior classes. This was an enjoyable and engaging excursion which the children just loved. Thank you also to all of our parents for coming along to help out! This excursion really helped to create a sense of community. Thank you to everyone involved and for making it such a special event for our students.
NEW BUSINESS PLAN 2022-2024
I would like to thank all of the parents who completed our survey on our vision and belief statements. This commences our planning for our new business plan which will include the staff and School Board. The following information has been collated from the survey. The majority of parents support our vision and values statements.
I would like to thank everyone for their conscientious efforts and enthusiasm for supporting our students. I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday. Please keep safe and I look forward to catching up with everyone next term.
Thank you
Paul Biemmi
Principal
To celebrate book week, Room 2 have been learning about the famous author, Dr Seuss! Did you know that his real name is Theodor Geisel? And that his middle name was SEUSS? Room 2 did an AMAZING job on Thursday and their hard work paid off! They should be very proud of their assembly and the hard work they put into learning the song, setting goals, and creating interesting characters (just like Dr Seuss )
Kindy /Pre Primary 1- Mrs Wallace/Mrs Hutchinson Maria Nelkoska | Kindy /Pre Primary 2 - Ms Coventry/Mrs McGee Ahmed Suror & Raiyan Salmani |
Year 1 /2 Room 1 - Mrs Whitcombe Dina Yasir & Righteous Abulo | Year 2 Room 2- Mrs Warr / Ms Pusey Aleigha Foster & Yasmine Al Lihiwi |
Year 2/3 Room 5 - Ms Tracy Walters Katrina Nguyen, Manueline Anderson & Melvin Nguyen | Year 3 Room 8- Ms Van Dijken/ Mrs Fairhead Sahana Khan & Charlea Rogerson |
Year 4 Room 16 - Ms Dunstan Jessy Htoo & Tyler Nguyen | Year 5 Room 17 - Mr Cumming/Mrs Dwyer Mia Le & Alyssa Moss |
Years 6 Room 18 - Ms Young Amy Huynh, Angeli Thang Ceu, Bradley Trio & Lian Hlawn Ceu | AUSLAN - Ms Salame Violet Miller Room 16 & Manueline Anderson Room 5 |
HASS — Ms Owers/Ms Pusey Mehreen Kaur & Room 8 | Great work everyone |
School Board News
On the 25th August, the Dryandra School Board met for their first meeting of the term. We welcomed our new nominated parent member to the Board, Sharon Gillet.
The key focus of this meeting was to brainstorm and discuss the ways in which we viewed the school’s vision and values and how we felt this should be expressed. The existing vision was shown, and the Board were invited to state whether they felt it reflected how we viewed the school and the school’s direction.
A vision is an aspirational statement; it reflects the people within the school and makes an announcement about who we are to the rest of the world. Many schools adopt a short catchy phrase that will grab your attention and in just a few words say who they are and what they are all about.
The most common words in school visions include Religious affiliation, Community, Safe, Excellence, Potential, Skills, Global, Prepare, Achieve and Life-long. These words express the soul of the people shows where they are headed. The words do not focus on a finite outcome, that will come and go in a short matter of time.
The school had set up a survey for feedback on the vision. The vision is old and reflects who the school was, not necessarily who it is now. If you cannot see yourself in the vision, then the vision needs changing. The Board spent time working through the survey and contemplating word choices, how relevant they thought they were, as well as if those words would continue to drive quality and map the way forward. Words are powerful; they are what we use to persuade, explain and connect with others. Words express who you are; hence, it was a long meeting of thinking, reflecting and one of healthy debate. We are hoping that the vision is developed and is reflective of who you are and who you want to be.
Dr Gill Kirk
School Board Chair
IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER
OCTOBER Mon 11 - Term 4 commences Wed 13 - Swimming lessons commence Thur 21 - P&C Disco 4.00-6.00pm Fri 22 - Swimming lessons end Mon 25 - School Development Day-No Students
NOVEMBER Tue 2 - Aboriginal parent meeting to support Year 6 transition into High school 2.30pm P&C meeting 7.00pm Thur 4 - Room 1 Assembly Fri 5 - Dryandra road trip to Williams PS Wed 10 - School Board meeting 7.00pm Wed 24 - 2022 Kindy Parent meeting 11.00am Thur 25 - 2022 Kindy students transition Tue 30 - Room 17 Excursion to Ballet
DECEMBER Mon 6 - Year 6 Excursion to Swan Valley Adventure Centre Tue 7 - KP Assembly & Book awards/Thank you morning tea Wed 8 - Class Christmas Concert 2.00pm Thur 9 - Year 6 Graduation Ceremony 5.00-7.00pm Mon 13 - Reports sent home Wed 15 - School Board meeting 7.00pm Thur 16 - Faction reward day & End of term 4
HEAD LICE
Lice are tiny brown insects that move around the hair and scalp. Nits are the eggs, which are tiny, white and stick to the hair. These will hatch within a week and become lice (which are active for several weeks). Signs and symptoms include itchy scalp and evidence of lice and nits on close inspection of the hair.
At home -Buy nit comb and solution for washing their hair from your pharmacist and follow the instructions carefully. -Check other household members and treat if lice or nits are found. -Once treated, your child can return to school the next day. Notify the school to be on the watch for other outbreaks.
Tie long hair back when your child is attending school and check their hair regularly.
Aussie of the month
winner for September - Soe Oo Room 18
Interschool Carnival 2021
Thank you to our P&C Sausage sizzle helpers (L-R) Amira, Sophita, Fartun, Jenny , Fardowso & P&C President Andi.
Please see the PDF for winners.
Other Notes
Our friends at The Smith Family kindly donated 7 Basketballs to our school. These were provided by the team from Highgrove Bathrooms. Thanks to The Smith Family and Highgrove.
The Fathering Project invited Dads and students along for a fun Pizza and Paper plane making night on Thursday 2 September. This involved making a pilots license and some creative paper planes. Thank you Mr Ward, Mr Biemmi, Mrs Whitcombe & Ms Salame who stayed behind to help make this a success. Stay tuned for the next event.
Book Fair voucher winners Bradley, Ela, Asmina, Lujane, Mehreen & Ava all took part in the Book fair coloring in competition . They all won a $10.00 gift voucher which they spent at the Book fair.
Newsletter 09 - 26 August 2021

Dear parents and carers
Dryandra Primary School is committed to creating an engaging and vibrant learning environment. We organise key events to celebrate learning and to provide opportunities for students to experience something exceptional. NAIDOC Week, Science Week and the faction and interschool carnivals help to motivate learning, offer opportunities in other areas, that they wouldn't ordinarily experience, and create a sense of belonging. This week we had Book Week, which included a visit from a real author, a treasure hunt and a talk from the head librarian from the Mirrabooka library. We also had a grand book parade which helped to celebrate the joy of reading. Well done to our wonderful students for their excellent participation. Thank you to Ms Young, Mrs McGee and Mrs Jodie Brown for organising this special event for our school.
Learning Journey- 7 September from 4.30 pm to 6.30 pm.
The most important event this semester is our 'Learning Journey'. This is our first evening event for many years. We would love an opportunity of opening our classroom doors and highlighting all of the terrific learning across the school. You will be able to see various displays, demonstrations and your child's classwork. Please make it a priority to come along as your child would love to share their learning with you. If you have any queries, please don't hesitate to contact me at your convenience.
Fathering Project (2 September from 4 .00 pm to 5.30 pm)- Paper Planes and Pizza
It is evident that when fathers participate and engage with schools, the learning from our students improves. Our chaplain, Mr Ward, is organising a fantastic event for our fathers, including uncles, grandfathers or any significant male in the lives of our students. We are holding a special paper plane competition and pizza afternoon. Don't hesitate to get in touch with the office if you wish to attend.
Survey
A reminder to please complete these quick surveys as this will assist us in creating a new school plan. Your help would be appreciated.
Vision and Valueshttps://forms.office.com/r/8477sMEs5V
Beliefs and Expectations about Student Behaviourhttps://forms.office.com/rlgEUhJ29mQ5
Rights and Responsibility of Students, Staff and Parentshttps://forms.office.com/r/YkDrGR9hf
A big thank you to Meredith Hammat MLA, Member for Mirrabooka, for donating the bike, which was raffled by the P&C. We raised about $380, which will contribute towards our excursion to Williams Primary School in Term 4. We will commence a new raffle shortly for a $100 gift voucher kindly donated by our P&C President, Andi Hancock. This raffle will again help raise funds for our Williams excursion.
Positive Approach
I want to thank everyone for your positive and supportive approach. Remember, if you have any queries or concerns, please don 't hesitate to contact me when convenient. By all working together we can create that positive learning environment which can benefit all of our students.
Thank you
Paul Biemmi
Principal
ASSEMBLY NEWS
This assembly was presented by the students from Room 5 who danced to 'Can't Stop the Feeling ' a very catchy song which had the crowd clapping along.
Kindy /Pre Primary 1- Mrs Wallace/Mrs Hutchinson Mystique Cameron-Stacey, Zaynab Rind-Mohammady Mahamedamin Gudle & Alibaran Cokgezici | Kindy /Pre Primary 2 - Ms Coventry/Mrs McGee Ikshitha Bharatish Kumar, Kylah Driscoll |
Year 1 /2 Room 1 - Mrs Whitcombe Jenna Adam & Shuhive Ismaile | Year 2 Room 2- Mrs Warr / Ms Pusey Kayla Nguyen & Altiah Kickett |
Year 2/3 Room 5 - Ms Tracy Walters Vy Vu ,Rooney Za Thang & Pyi Tun | Year 3 Room 8- Ms Van Dijken/ Mrs Fairhead Joy Htoo, Lujane Yasir, Jessie Nguyen & Eh T Gar Gaw |
Year 4 Room 16 - Ms Dunstan Xavia Toomath, Emine Daglar, Emilee Foster Jessy Htoo & Tyler Nguyen | Year 5 Room 17 - Mr Cumming/Mrs Dwyer Aleesha Farrell, Brendan McKenna & Noah Mohamed Kheir |
Years 6 Room 18 - Ms Young Nabiil Hasan Nasir, Swayne Tullock & Doh Doh Htoo | AUSLAN - Ms Salame Charlea Rogerson Room 8 & Amy Huynh Room 18 |
HASS — Ms Owers/Ms Pusey Kieran Quiroz Room 5 & Room 16 | Great work everyone |
P&C NEWS
The winner of the bike raffle was Luka from Room 1. Thank you to Meredith Hammat for the donation of this fabulous bike along with a helmet and chain.
ROOM 1
The students in Room 1 have been honing their Talk for Writing skills. They have been creating a persuasive text that convinces the reader that the "Big Bad Wolf" is really a "Big Good Wolf" in disguise. The students needed to give three reasons to convince the reader that the wolf is indeed, a good guy. They talked the story through together and then built the actions to help them remember the story and repeated and repeated until they KNEW the story and reasons and finally started writing their stories. They did a wonderful job. The next step is to innovate the text. We can't wait to see what they can do
IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER
TERM 3
Sept Thur 2: Fathering Project Pizza/Paper plane night 4.00pm —5.30pm
Fri 3: P&C Father’s Day stall Mon 6Book Fair
Tue 7Learning Journey 4.30-6.30pm Book Fair
Thur 9: Assembly Room 2 @ 2.00pm
Wed 15: Interschool Jumps & Throws @ Dryandra PS
Thur 16: Kings Park Excursion K-Yr 3 all day
Fri 17: Interschool Carnival all day @ Dryandra PS
Thur 23: P&C Disco 4.00pm-6.OOpm
Fri 24: Last day to pay for Swimming lessons Ground Zero End of Term 3
TERM 4
Oct Mon11: TERM 4 commences
Jeans for Geans
We like to thank everyone in the Dryandra community for getting into the spirit of our "Jeans for Genes- Day and donating a gold coin at Dryandra Primary School. We raised a grand total of $154.00 which was amazing. This money was donated on behalf of our school and will go towards Important research that may help in finding cures for diseases that could save children’s lives. Thank you once again.
Kind regards
Mrs Whitcombe and Mrs Walters.
SCIENCE WEEK IN ROOM 16
During Science Week Room 16 were exploring the effects of forces. Although we can't see forces, we can feel their effects all around us. We first read the story Henry the Flying Emu by Niraj Lal. The story details how an emu who can't fly has a dream to be able to fly around the world. He uses his knowledge of science to try to help him. He attempts to use a lever to propel him into the air, however, gravity makes him fall back to the ground again. Our STEM challenge therefore, was to create a parachute for Henry so that he could fly and land gently back on the ground. To create our design, we chose materials based on their properties. For example, we could have selected a paper bag to make the parachute because it is light. We could have chosen to use long string to attach the parachute because we discovered that there will be more air resistance if the string is longer. We also discovered that the more air resistance the parachute has, the more slowly and gently it will travel to the ground. We then tested our parachutes to see if Henry could land safely. These are the designs we came up with.
Newsletter 08 - 06 August 2021

Dear Parents and Carers
Our school is very lucky to have hard working volunteers to support our P&C committee. Ms Andi Hancock was recognised by the Department of Education for her exceptional efforts in coordinating the activities of the P&C to support the school. Recently, the P&C donated funds to create our jump pit for the upcoming faction and interschool athletics carnivals. This will prove to be a wonderful school asset which will be enjoyed for years to come. The P&C has also donated funds to our Harmony Day, NAIDOC Week and is also supporting our whole school excursion to Williams. Ms Hancock always works conscientiously and diligently. She always has the best interest of the school at heart and will happily take on any task. With our P&C meeting coming up on Tuesday, 10 August at 7pm, I know that Ms Hancock would love to see new parents attending the meeting.
School Vision and Values
Our school is currently reviewing our vision and values as part of our new business plan. This will consider the direction of the school and begin to guide our programs and strategies. We would appreciate your feedback and input as well. Please complete the very short survey to gauge your thoughts and views. https://forms.office.com/r/NZPMawZ0vu
NAIDOC WEEK
Last week our school celebrated NAIDOC week with a range of activities in the classroom and across the school. I would like to sincerely thank Mrs Wallace for coordinating a group of teachers and volunteers to highlight an important focus in the school. Our NAIDOC assembly was very special and I would like to thank Ms Cherie Slater for performing her lullaby. It was very heart-warming to hear our students sing, ‘Feel the fire’. Well done everyone!
I would like to thank Ms Jade Byrne-Cameron for sharing important Aboriginal artefacts and artwork to the students.
This week we have commenced planting flowers, shrubs and ‘bush tucker’ in our Aboriginal garden. This will become an important focus for our school in future NAIDOC celebrations. Well done to everyone for helping to create an inclusive and welcoming place for our Aboriginal families and students. This is a credit to our wonderful school and community.
Learning Journey (Parent Evening)- Tuesday 7th September 4.30-6.30pm
This year we will be holding our first parent evening called a “Learning Journey”. Please put the above date in your calendar. Your child will be taking you on a journey on the learning that he/she has undertaken during the term. I am sure that you will enjoy coming to the school and seeing their wonderful work. We hope to see many members of the school community attending.
Kiss and Drive
We ask that parents to please not park in the ‘Kiss and drive’ at the beginning or the end of the school day. Your child needs to be waiting for you at the kiss and drive. If your child is not there, you are to continue to loop around until they arrive. If you leave your car in the kiss and drive, you will block other parents who are waiting to leave. We also ask that you do not park in the little car park near the kiss and drive as this stops other cars from continuing their loop as they wait for students to arrive. Your support in this matter is appreciated.
Email addresses/technology survey
Thank you to parents who have responded to our request for your email address and completed our technology survey. We need to be aware of these elements in case there is a lockdown. If you haven’t completed the survey, please see the link below. Thank you for your ongoing support and willingness to assist the school during these difficult and challenging times. https://forms.office.com/r/gkngV1k5Vv
Thank You, Paul Biemmi
Principal
Newsletter 06 - 17 June 2021

Dear Parents and Guardians
Congratulations to Room 8 for their wonderful assembly last week. I would also like to thank all of the parents who came along to the assembly. Our assemblies are the public face of the school. By showing your support, you are helping to create a sense of belonging and pride in the students. We have a lot to be proud of at Dryandra. We have great students, a dedicated staff and supportive families. Let’s celebrate our strengths and actively promote all of the great things we do to our extended families and wider community. By growing our student enrolments, the school can extend the number of programs that we can offer. So by inviting family and friends to enrol their children in our school, everyone benefits. Please see me if you can assist further.
COMMUNITY PICNIC
I would like to commend Room 16 and Ms Dunstan for their wonderful assembly item last week. It was lovely to learn about the history of Mirrabooka and interesting facts about the area. In particular, I was impressed by the confidence and clarity of the students’ public speaking skills. It was a tremendous effort. Well done!
SCHOOL DEVELOPMENT DAY
While everyone was enjoying a 4-day long week-end, our staff were busily participating in one of our school priorities. Instructional skills help to create active participation in all of our students. When students are actively engaged, their learning increases. Our staff are beginning to embed instructional skills across all parts of the curriculum. This will enhance critical thinking, problem solving and collaborative skills. We are at the early stage of our journey, but we are beginning to see the impact of these strategies in motivating and enhancing the learning process. We look forward to sharing some examples of the instructional skills in future newsletters and our FACEBOOK page.
WILLIAMS PRIMARY SCHOOL VISIT
It is official. We are all off to Williams Primary School on Friday, 29 October. This is a whole school excursion; Pre-Primary to Year 6. We will be seeking donations from businesses and other community organisations so that we can minimise the cost of the excursion. However, I need your help. Can you seek donations from your employers or other local businesses to help subsidise the cost for our school? Every dollar that we raise, means that the overall cost is lowered.
MLA Meredith Hammat, member of Mirrabooka, has donated a bike for us to raffle off to assist us in raising funds for our excursion. Thank you Meredith for your generous offer.
If you have any additional ideas, please let me know.
BUSY BEE– TUESDAY 22 JUNE AT 1.00PM
The P&C is organising a busy bee to help spruce up our school. If you can spare an hour, we would appreciate your help and support. Please contact the office and our P&C will be in touch with you. Thank you for your assistance.
COMMUNITY PICNIC – 3 JUNE
Thank You, Paul Biemmi
Principal
This assembly was presented by the students from Room 8 held on Thursday June 10
Kindy /Pre Primary 1- Mrs Wallace/Mrs Hutchinson
Victoria Htoo , Zahirah Khairi-Ngaha , Emily Chin Par & Xavier Eggington
Kindy /Pre Primary 2 - Ms Coventry/Mrs McGee
Stacey Sariago & Aiyanah Lawford
Year 1 /2 Room 1 - Mrs Whitcombe
Bejna Cokgezici & Nadine Mohamed Kheir
Year 2 Room 2 - Mrs Warr /Ms Pusey
Lindy Beukes & Aarav Patel
Year 2/3 Room 5 - Ms Walters
Shiny Glory & Abdulasis Abdulasis
Year 3 Room 8 - Ms Van Dijken/ Mrs Fairhead
Jafar Al Zeidan & Kim Huynh
Year 4 Room 16 - Ms K Dunstan/ Ms Pusey
Lucy Da Luz, Rojda Gul Cokgezici, Sean Sariago, Isaac Hlawn Ceu, Kayden Thaimadan & Tay Ho
Years 5 Room 17 - Mr Cumming
Joanne Al Hilaly, Rebecca Bawi Hung, Latrell Bin Toet & Deegan Cartledge
Years 6 Room 18 - Ms Young
Fatima Al Minshidawi, Wanvisa Gillies & Tony Silver
AUSLAN – Ms Salame
Pyi Tun Room 5 & Lucy Nicholson Nelkoski Room 18
HASS – Ms Owers/Ms Salame
Lindy Beukes Room 2 & Room 5
Wonderful Effort!
IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER
JUNE |
|
Fri 18 |
Interschool @ Koondoola |
Mon 28 |
Student reports sent home today |
Tue 29 |
Interschool Lightning carnival at Kingsway sporting complex– commencing 9.30am |
July |
|
Fri 2 |
END OF TERM 2 |
Mon 19 |
TERM 3 COMMENCES |
AUGUST |
|
Thur 13 |
Room 5 Assembly |
Mon 16 |
Science week until Friday 20 August |
Wed 18 |
Faction Jumps & throws |
Fri 20 |
Faction Carnival |
Mon 23 - Fri 27 |
Book Week |
September |
|
Thur 9 |
Room 2 Assembly |
Interschool Sports Results
Week 6 V Boyare PS
Football - Boyare a lot def Dryandra not many
Soccer – Dryandra 4 def Boyare nil
Netball A – Boyare 11 def Dryandra nil
Netball B – Dryandra 4 drew Boyare 4
School Faction Shirts
We now have a new supply of all our Faction shirts available from the office. Priced at just $25.00 each
Newsletter 05 - 20 May 2021

Dear parents and guardians
This week I had a visitor who said to me that we had a lovely calm school. When I reflected on this comment, it filled me with pride. We have been putting in place a number of measures over the last few years to create a positive place for students to learn and have fun. With the introduction of the ‘Positive Behaviour in Schools’ framework, we have been teaching our students the behaviours that we expect. Our students are loving our PBS rewards with students earning faction rewards, class rewards soon, there will be a whole school reward. Interestingly, this year we have had more students to the office for good behaviour or excellent work than having to manage behavioural problems. This is a credit to our teachers and parents who are supporting our positive approach in the school.
Our Friendly Schools Plus program is helping to build social skills and supporting students to manage their emotions and solving little playground difficulties.
Our school has a designated school psychologist, Ms Taylor who works at our school every Monday. We also have our school Chaplain, Mr Ward, who is here every Wednesday and Thursday. He supports the school with the ‘Breakfast Club’ and is beginning to set up the ‘Fathering Project’ in the school. The school also provides a learning support coordinator, Mr McGeever, who support teachers develop appropriate educational plans for our students with learning difficulties. Mrs McGee is coordinating ‘Reading Mastery’ which is helping students with their reading.
If you would like to contact our school psychologist or our chaplain, please have a discussion with our deputy, Mrs Kroczek. She will coordinate a meeting at your convenience.
Our school is committed towards creating a positive learning environment which supports students achieve their best. By supporting our students to be successful, we are ‘Preparing our students for tomorrow’.
CONGRATULATIONS ROOM 16
I would like to commend Room 16 and Ms Dunstan for their wonderful assembly item last week. It was lovely to learn about the history of Mirrabooka and interesting facts about the area. In particular, I was impressed by the confidence and clarity of the students’ public speaking skills. It was a tremendous effort. Well done!
WELL DONE ROOM 18
Ms Young and the students in Room 18 went along to a STEM excursion being organised by RAC. In keeping with our school vision, the students were exposed to future technology like a driverless bus, examining road safety, recycling and coding. Once again, the students of Dryandra Primary School exhibited excellent behaviour while on excursion. Congratulations to Ms Young and Room 18 for a sensational effort!
FATHERING PROJECT
Thank you to Mr Ward for organising our first ‘Fathering Project’ meeting. Thank you to the fathers who came along to support the important event for our school. Even though we had to wear masks, the meeting was a tremendous success. The goal is to organise various activities so that we can bring community members into the school. Mr Ward is planning a fun event in the near future so we hope to get more male family figures into the school. The research indicates that when ‘fathers’ are actively involved in their child’s education, the child becomes more confident and successful in their learning. We look forward to the next event and hope that you can come along next time.
WA DAY CELEBRATIONS AND WA PREMIER PORTRAIT COMPETITION
This year our school will be participating in the WA Premier school competition. We have asked our students to paint a portrait of two former premiers. So we will be focussing on Sir John Forrest (WA’s first premier) and Mr Colin Barnett (WA’s 29th premier). The winning portraits will be displayed in our school library. Please encourage your children to participate.
COMMUNITY PICNIC – 3 JUNE
We will be having a community picnic on Thursday, 3 June commencing at 12.55pm. We are inviting families to come along and have a picnic with your children. We will then be playing games throughout the lunch period. It would be terrific to have as many parent come along so that we create a family positive community event.
School Development Day (Friday, 4 June) and WA DAY Public Holiday (Monday, 7 June) Just a reminder that there is no school on the above dates due to a School Development Day and WA DAY public holiday.
Thank You, Paul Biemmi
Principal
Out and about in Dryandra
IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER
MAY |
|
Fri 21 |
Interschool v Hudson Park at DPS |
Fri 28 |
Interschool v Dianella at DPS |
JUNE |
|
Thur 3 |
Community Picnic |
Fri 4 |
SCHOOL DEVELOPMENT DAY - NO STUDENTS |
Mon 7 |
WA DAY PUBLIC HOLIDAY - NO STUDENTS |
Thur 10 |
Room 8 Assembly at 2:00pm |
Fri 11 |
Interschool v Boyare at DPS |
Fri 18 |
Interschool @ Koondoola |
Tue 29 |
Interschool Lightning carnival at Kingsway sporting complex– commencing 9.30am |
July |
|
Fri 2 |
END OF TERM 2 |
Mon 19 |
TERM 3 COMMENCES |
AUGUST |
|
Thur 13 |
Room 5 Assembly |
Mon 16 |
Science week until Friday 20 August |
Wed 18 |
Faction Jumps & throws |
Fri 20 |
Faction Carnival |
Mon 23 - Fri 27 |
Book Week |
School Faction Shirts
We now have a new supply of all our Faction shirts available from the office. Priced at just $25.00 each
DRYANDRA PLAYGROUP
EVERY WEDNESDAY
FROM 9.00am—11.00am in Room 6
Please remember to bring along a hat and a piece of fruit to share.
If you need any details please contact our school office on 9345 6400 for further details
We look forward to seeing a lot of young children from 0 to 3 years old
Interschool Sports Results
Week 1 Friday 30 April
Football- Westminster 70 def Dryandra 1
Soccer– Dryandra 10 def Westminster 0
Netball A– Westminster 26 def Dryandra 0
Netball B– Westminster 10 def Dryandra 0
Best players for these game – Aleesha Farrell, Nile Mohamed Kheir, & Ria Alain.
Week 2 Friday 7 May
Football—Roseworth a lot def Dryandra not much
Soccer– Dryandra 5 def Roseworth 2
Netball A—Roseworth 18 def Dryandra 0
Netball B—Roseworth 4 def Dryandra 0
Best players for these games– Mohamed Alshami, Kylah Cameron Stacey, Wanvisa Gillies
Kindy /Pre Primary 1- Mrs Wallace/Mrs Hutchinson
Elijah Richman, Frederick Mynn & Haneen Alshami
Kindy /Pre Primary 2 - Ms Coventry/Mrs McGee
Dominic Camarda, Momina Rahimi & Ismahan Muhiyadin
Year 1 /2 Room 1 - Mrs Whitcombe
Luka Ivanovski & Joseph Glory
Year 2 Room 2 - Mrs Warr /Ms Pusey
Henry Wai & Philos Nguyen
Year 2/3 Room 5 - Ms Walters
Spencer Dawson, Kieran Quiroz & Abdullah Al Temimi
Year 3 Room 8 - Ms Van Dijken/ Mrs Fairhead
Dylan Le & Anh Truc Vo
Year 4 Room 16 - Ms K Dunstan/ Ms Pusey
Aliya Gelato, Billy Beukes, Osman Abdulasis
Years 5 Room 17 - Mr Cumming
Asmina Khan, Jenny Wai, Melody Nguyen & Mohamad Elkadiri
Years 6 Room 18 - Ms Young
Mohammed Al-Saadi & Soe Oo
AUSLAN – Ms Salame
Esmeralda Dalipova Room 8, Veli Siringul Room 16
HASS – Ms Owers/Ms Salame
Room 1 & Kader Compaore Room 17
Wonderful Effort!
Room 16 presented our Assembly Thursday 13 May, which was all about Mirrabooka. We were given some very interesting facts about our suburb. Thank you Room 16.
Congratulation to these successful Merit award winners.
Aussie of the month winner for May: Noah Mohamed Kheir Room 17
Room 18
On Wednesday 12 May, the Year 6 students went on the RAC Imagine Excursion in South Perth. We arrived there by bus and were split into 5 groups. There were 6 activities for us to do:
- Riding the driverless intellibus
- VR goggles watching the RAC rescue helicopter
- The Old Mill tour
- Coding skills
- Laser measurements and engineering
- Transport STEM challenge
It was a great day. We had many photos and many exciting experiences. We would like to thank Ms Young and our helpers Mrs Hall, Ms Alain, Mr Ward and Ms Salame. It was one of the most exciting days we have had!
By Lian Hlawn Ceu and Tony Silver
Dad dates
A ‘dad date’ can be anything, from dinner plus a movie, a special lunch or breakfast, a walk on the beach, a shopping trip, or a trip to the park, the city, or a show. Spend that date time just listening to them. Be deliberate about creating these special times, e.g. write such plans in your diary.
“I love having one-on-one times with the girls, going out for dinner at a restaurant or for a milkshake, or playing soccer together. The simple things often end up being special times with them.” – Father of four and Australian National Test Cricket Team coach and Justin Langer.
At times, despite the best intentions, you will have to miss an arrangement you have made to spend time with your child. The way you as a dad respond to such incidents sends a strong signal to your child.
Top Tips
Dad Dates are best practiced with one child at a time, meaning-on-one time with-one else and no interruptions.
Dad Dates are an opportunity for connection and help your child to feel like they are valued, loved and worth your time.
Dad Dates don’t have to be elaborate; a simple coffee, or just going for a walk are easy ways to create one-on-one time.
Block out time in your calendar or diary for dad dates – don’t leave it to chance.
If you can see that circumstances mean you are not going to be able to meet a commitment you made to your child, let them know ahead of time if at all possible.
Don’t make excuses or buy gifts as a payoff for not making it; just reschedule as soon as you can.
Dad Dates can sometimes be special – try taking your child somewhere they’ve been wanting to try, this will help them notice you listening.
For more information about the fathering Project contact David Ward at the school on 9345 6400
New members of the Dryandra fathering project are William Foster, David Ward (chaplain), Kyikyi Glory, Tha Teh Htoo, Abdallah Hammad, Mahamoud Nour & Rory Murray from the Fathering Project.
Newsletter 04 - 30 April 2021

Dear parents and carers
Once again the beginning of the term has been disrupted by COVID 19 with the school having to accommodate various restrictions. I would like to sincerely thank this wonderful community for your tremendous support. It is by working together that we can overcome these small hurdles. Thank you again for your patience and positive approach. Hopefully, this will be the end of these disruptions and we can concentrate on creating a positive learning environment for our students.
ANZAC 2021
Last week we held a wonderful ANZAC service. This was conducted by our Year 6 Student Leaders. They did a magnificent job in managing the service and commemorating such an important Australian tradition. ANZAC day is a solemn and sad occasion as it reminds us about the horrors of war, the senseless waste of life and how we should do everything in our power to avoid such a thing from happening again in the near future. The displays in the library, the poppies near the flag pole and all of the classroom activities helped to teach our students about ANZAC day. I would like to thank Ms Dunstan, Ms Salame and Mrs Kroczek who helped to organise the ceremony and invited all of the special guests. Thank you to the parents and members of the community who supported our school with this ceremony.
SCHOOL BOARD NEWS
I would like to congratulate Dr Gill Kirk as our new School Board chair. Dr Kirk is a lecturer at Edith Cowan University and has supported the school over the last three years. Along with Dr Kirk, I have asked all of the School Board members to write a little bit of information about themselves so that you can get to know them as well. This will then provide you with an opportunity of approaching the members if there is any feedback that you would like to give the school. You can find this elsewhere in our newsletter.
IMPROVING WRITING
Our school has been implementing ‘Talk for Writing’ across the school. This is a strategy which has a strong focus on rehearsal and oral language. Before students commence writing, they are aware of the structures and vocabulary which are necessary for success. I have been so impressed by the quality of the writing and the effort that some students are demonstrating. The school has organised key teachers to support other colleagues in this process. We have been collecting and analysing writing data and discussing how to improve student writing. ‘Talk for Writing’ is a key strategy which is linked to our whole school improvement agenda.
Fathering Project – Wednesday, 5 May at 6.30pm
Our chaplain, Mr David Ward, is organising the Fathering Project to visit Dryandra PS. It would be terrific if we had a few fathers come along and hear about the project. The ‘Fathering Project’ is about building connections and relationship in the wider community. We will have some special guests coming to the school to share their experiences so we would really appreciate parent participation.
This group will start next Wednesday 5 May at 6.30 pm in the schools Conference room. If you are available to come, please call Mrs Clough on 9345 6400. Please support the school in this endeavour.
Thank You, Paul Biemmi
Principal
Out and about in Dryandra
IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER
APRIL |
TERM 2 |
Fri 30 |
Interschool v Westminster at DPS |
MAY |
|
Wed 5 |
Fathering Project at 6:30pm in the Conference Room |
Fri 7 |
Interschool @ Roseworth |
Mon 10 |
NAPLAN |
Tue 11 |
NAPLAN |
Thur 13 |
Assembly Room 16 |
Fri 14 |
Interschool @ Nollamara |
Mon 17 |
NAPLAN |
Tue 18 |
NAPLAN |
Fri 21 |
Interschool v Hudson Park at DPS |
Fri 28 |
Interschool v Dianella at DPS |
JUNE |
|
Fri 4 |
SCHOOL DEVELOPMENT DAY - NO STUDENTS |
Mon 7 |
WA DAY PUBLIC HOLIDAY - NO STUDENTS |
Thur 10 |
Room 8 Assembly at 2:00pm |
Fri 11 |
Interschool v Boyare at DPS |
Fri 18 |
Interschool @ Koondoola |
Tue 29 |
Interschool Lightning carnival at Kingsway sporting complex– commencing 9.30am |
Positive Behaviour Support News
The next values that we will be focusing on for Weeks 3 and 4 of Term 2 are ‘Working Together- We stay in the assigned areas’. This means students should be playing in the designated areas and only visiting the toilets, classrooms, etc. when necessary. Students at DPS have great range of play equipment on both the oval and the junior playground to play on, as well as loose parts to play with.
Dryandra Primary School Board members 2021
Name: Dr Gill Kirk
Years at Dryandra Primary School: 3 years
Role on the School Board: Chair (former secretary)
Children at Dryandra Primary School: No
How would you describe yourself e.g. best quality, talent? I would describe myself as quiet and hard working. My best quality is that I am patient and compassionate.
What are your hobbies? I like to think of myself as a bit of an artist and enjoy charcoal drawing, it is just finding the time to do it.
What do you like about Dryandra Primary School? I like Dryandra Primary school because it is the epitome of multiculturalism. The diverse range of nationalities, befriending and working together prepares the children at Dryandra to effectively engage in a globalized world. How empowering. Research supports cultural competence, but who can really be competent at such a diverse thing? These children will have achieved this more than many others. Cultural competence is the first step to walking confidently into a multicultural society. It disassembles boundaries and opens the world to them. This is something unique to this school, and something that should be embraced.
Why did you want to be on the School Board? To be a part of something unique.
Name: Sharon Gillett
Years at Dryandra Primary School: 7 years
Children at Dryandra Primary School: 1
How would you describe yourself? An Australian born childcare worker who has previously been heavily involved in the Dryandra Primary School P&C over the years. I love to travel and have been blessed to do so as I love learning about other cultures. I also ‘show’ rabbits competitively.
What do you like about Dryandra Primary School? The school’s facilities , the teaching staff and Carole who are doing a wonderful job.
Why did you want to be on the School Board? As my daughter is heading towards the end of her primary school journey I’d like to be involved and have a say. Also, I am only available to meet in evenings due to work so the P&C is out for me this year.
What is one suggestion for improvement that you would like to discuss with the School Board? More efficient spending on beautifying the school.
Name: Son Nguyen
Years at Dryandra Primary School: 6 years
Children at Dryandra Primary School: 2
How would you describe yourself? Happy and see the glass half full, not half empty. Never give up attitude.
Hobbies: Football.
What do you like about Dryandra Primary School? It’s a great school, good teachers and students.
Why did you want to be on the School Board? To give my children and the students the best the school could provide for them.
What is one suggestion for improvement that you would like to discuss with the School Board? To be able to get more funding to provide better equipment for the students, so teachers don’t have to do it themselves out of the love for the school children.
Name: Jody Brown
Years at Dryandra Primary School: Children here from2009– 2017, Staff member from 2013.
Children at Dryandra Primary School: none
How would you describe yourself? I work as the Library officer and in my spare time I am a Dockers supporter and I love Speedway.
What do you like about Dryandra Primary School? Friendly and caring staff and lovely students.
Why did you want to be on the School Board? So that I could be a part of the schools growth and seeing it prosper in the future.
What is one suggestion for improvement that you would like to discuss with the School Board? Ideas on how to get more funding to improve the grounds.
Name: Fardowso Osman Abdelle
Years at Dryandra Primary School: 5
Role on the School Board: Parent Volunteer
Children at Dryandra Primary School: 5
How would you describe yourself e.g. best quality, talent? I am a Mum and I have finished my Child Care certificate and I am now studding Nursing.
What are your hobbies? To busy being a busy a Mum.
What do you like about Dryandra Primary School? I like to positive behaviour support and the different people from different countries.
Why did you want to be on the School Board? To show my community the school is multicultural and very accepting.
What is one suggestion for improvement that you would like to discuss with the School Board? I am still learning about the school board and what we can do.
Name: Nay Hta Htoo
Years at Dryandra Primary School: 4
Children at Dryandra Primary School: 2
How would you describe yourself? I am a mother of 4 who enjoys cooking. I would like to learn more English.
What do you like about Dryandra Primary School? It is close to my house and my family really like to teachers and staff.
Why did you want to be on the School Board? So I can learn what is going on around the school and help when I can.
What is one suggestion for improvement that you would like to discuss with the School Board? How to get more money to improve the grounds for the children.
Name: Paul Biemmi
Years at Dryandra Primary School: 5
Children at Dryandra Primary School: None-although my daughter did come to our school and put on a concert with other students from the University of WA.
How would you describe yourself e.g. best quality, talent? I am passionate about education. I believe that we can all achieve great things when we are inspired and supported. I love to laugh and joke around with my family. I adore my golden retriever puppy– who is quite cheeky. I also like to collect model cars. They are proudly displayed in my office.
What do you like about Dryandra Primary School? It is a great school. All of the staff always put the students first and consider how they can be supported. We are beginning to develop science and technology skills in the school. I am very proud of this achievement. Our school is supporting students to become successful learners so that they can achieve great things in the future.
Why did you want to be on the School Board? As a principal, I need to be on the School Board. I believe that it is important for me to support the improvement agenda of the school. We are very lucky to have a committed group of teachers, parents and members of the community who share this important vision.
What is one suggestion for improvement that you would like to discuss with the School Board? I would further like to develop our partnerships with the wider community. By enhancing these relationships, our school will become recognised as a lighthouse school of excellence in the future.
Name: Megan Wallace
Years at Dryandra Primary School: 5 years
Children at Dryandra Primary School: No
How would you describe yourself? Dedicated, fun and love learning new things.
What do you like about Dryandra Primary School? The fantastic staff, students and families.
Why did you want to be on the School Board? To help shape and be involved in creating a school with strong leadership.
What is one suggestion for improvement that you would like to discuss with the School Board? Building our community and involving families in all aspects of life at Dryandra.
Name: Sue Van Dijken
Years at Dryandra Primary School: 21
Children at Dryandra Primary School: No
How would you describe yourself e.g. best quality, talent? Friendly, calm & quiet natured but a very experienced, committed teacher
What do you like about Dryandra Primary School? I love the diversity & mix of cultures. I love the team approach, support and hard work given by all our teachers.
Why did you want to be on the School Board? Gives me the opportunity to meet up with other people in our school community and to get information, ideas and points of view from some parents.
Name: Carlos Salmani
Years at Dryandra Primary School: 4
Children at Dryandra Primary School: 2
How would you describe yourself? I am a husband, father of 2 , soon to be 3 children, I am hard working ,in my spare time I enjoy making things ,I speak 5 languages, I have a passion for cooking a variety of foods. My hobbies are different sports.
What do you like about Dryandra Primary School? Good staff and teachers.
Why did you want to be on the School Board? To help and give suggestions on how to improve the school.
What is one suggestion for improvement that you would like to discuss with the School Board? I am still deciding.
DRYANDRA PLAYGROUP
EVERY WEDNESDAY
FROM 9.00am—11.00am in Room 6
Please remember to bring along a hat and a piece of fruit to share.
If you need any details please contact our school office on 9345 6400 for further details
We look forward to seeing a lot of young children from 0 to 3 years old
OLD STUDENT DESKS FOR SALE
Single $20.00 Double $30.00
Please come to the office to pay and arrangements will be made for collection.
Room 18 are collecting buttons for an art project . If anyone has spare buttons at home they don't need ,please drop them off to Ms Young Rm 18. Thankyou.
The Easter Bunny hopped in to Dryandra before the holidays bringing some joy to the students around the school. The identity of this bunny is quite a mystery.
Newsletter 03 - 31 March 2021

Dear parents and carers
As we come to the end of the term, I would like to sincerely thank everyone for your support and positive approach. We have achieved a lot and created the foundation for a successful year.
FAREWELL TO OUR STAFF- MRS TANYA REZA ZADEH AND MRS MICHELLE INGRAM
We will be farewelling our long standing Aboriginal Indigenous Educational Officer (AIEO), Mrs Michelle Ingram. Mrs Ingram has announced her retirement and will be finishing her tenure at Dryandra Primary School at the end of the term. Mrs Ingram has had a magnificent career at our school. She has assisted many students in her 23 years at our school. Mrs Ingram’s caring, kind and nurturing approach has helped to build connections with the wider community. Aboriginal education in our school has been richer due to Mrs Ingram’s efforts to support reconciliation and cultural awareness. We sincerely wish Mrs Ingram a wonderful retirement.
Mrs Reza Zadeh has made the decision to resign at the end of the term. She has decided to pursue a different direction in her professional career. I would like to sincerely thank Mrs Reza Zadeh for her considerable contribution to Dryandra Primary School over her 10 years at the school. She has supported the school’s direction and implemented many programs to support our students. We all wish her well for the near future.
STAFFING CHANGES TERM 2
There have been a few changes to the classes as a result of Mrs Reza Zadeh leaving the school. These changes include;
Room 16- Ms Kate Dunstan (Tuesday to Friday) and Ms Madeleine Pusey. (Monday) Room 5- Ms Tracey Walters Room 2- Mrs Claire Warr (Monday to Wednesday) and Ms Madeline Pusey (Thursday and Friday) Room 18- Ms Angela Young (Monday to Thursday) and Ms Liz Owers (Friday)
I would like to warmly welcome Ms Madeleine Pusey to our school. Ms Pusey has taught at Mindarie Primary School and most recently at Southern Cross District High School. We look forward to her contribution in Room 2 and Room 16.
SCHOOL BOARD NEWS
Today will be our Board Chair’s last meeting and ends a 20-year association with our school. Mr David Boothman has been supporter of our graduation ceremonies, ANZAC services and advocated for our school in the local community. As a policeman, he supported the school with Blue Light Discos and then became a local councilor. He has provided a link to the City of Stirling and was on the panel when our school became an Independent Public School. We sincerely thank him for his considerable service and wish him all the best on his retirement.
Congratulations to Ms Sharon Gillett for becoming the latest member of the School Board. Ms Gillett was successful in the community ballot. I would also like to sincerely thank Mrs Sabah Ibrahim for participating in this process. It was a very tight result. It was pleasing to see that there was interest from the community on being on the School Board and the number of parents who participated in the ballot was pleasing. Thank you.
PARENT INTERVIEWS
Thank you to all of our parents and carers who participated in the parent interviews last week. We held over 130 interviews which is a considerable achievement. By participating in this process, parents are gaining an understanding of what their child has achieved and what they need to do to improve. I would like to thank all of the staff for efforts in preparing for the interviews. Thank you to everyone involved in the process.
HAPPY EASTER AND HOLIDAY
For parents who celebrate Easter, I wish you an enjoyable festive season. For staff, parents and students who are commencing their holidays, I wish you a safe, restful and enjoyable break.
I look forward to catching up with everyone on our return on the 19 April.
Kindest Regards, Paul Biemmi
Principal
Out and about in Dryandra
Good bye and good luck on your retirement Mrs Ingram.
IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER
APRIL |
TERM 2 |
Mon 19 |
Students return to school |
Fri 23 |
ANZAC Assembly 9.00am |
Mon 26 |
ANZAC Day Public Holiday |
Fri 30 |
Interschool v Westminster home |
MAY |
|
Fri 7 |
Interschool v Roseworth away |
Thur 13 |
Assembly Room 16 |
Fri 14 |
Interschool v Nollamara home |
JUNE |
|
Fri 4 |
SCHOOL DEVELOPMENT DAY |
Positive Behaviour Support News
DPS’s focus for the last week of term has been ‘Learning Lizard- We use class time to finish tasks’. We have been discussing how important it is to listen, participate and complete work, in the classroom. This way, we don’t miss out on play time and we can learn more and more each day!
Parents, we encourage you to continue the language and remind students of this message, too! In-class learning is so valuable!!
All students have been Working Together Wallaby’s, earning 100s of tickets for their class and faction. Room 2 recently celebrated with two rewards, free dress and cooking!!
On Friday 26 March some of the Year 6 students went to Dianella College for a Science Quest Day. The students participated in activities such as spaghetti tower building, geology , forensics and chemistry. They had a great day -though Dryandra might need to practice its spaghetti making skills!
The happy students from Room 1 went and joined in on the Messy mud day in the Early childhood on Monday.
Room 18 are collecting buttons for an art project after the holidays. If anyone has spare buttons at home they don't need ,please drop them off to Year 6 Ms Young Rm 18. Thankyou.
OLD STUDENT DESKS FOR SALE
Single $20.00 Double $30.00
Please come to the office to pay and arrangements will be made for collection.
DRYANDRA PLAYGROUP
EVERY WEDNESDAY
FROM 9.00am—11.00am in Room 6
Please remember to bring along a hat and a piece of fruit to share.
If you need any details please contact our school office on 9345 6400 for further details
We look forward to seeing a lot of young children from 0 to 3 years old
Newsletter 02 - 10 March 2021

Dear parents and carers
The children got a big surprise last week when a 'cow' visited our school. Yes, it was a real one! What a great way to teach children about the milk and dairy industry. Thank you to Mrs Whitcombe, who organised the Brownes Dairy visit. Along with sampling yummy yoghurt, the students even got to milk the cow! WOW! What an exciting day!
SCHOOL DEVELOPMENT DAY- INSTRUCTIONAL SKILLS
Last week, our school participated in an 'Instructional Skills and Engagement' workshop that focussed on creating opportunities for our students to become more engaged and creative in their work. Instructional skills assist students in developing their thinking and collaborative skills. As our vision is ''preparing our students for tomorrow, " our students will need to be flexible in their learning, cooperative in their approach, and begin solving real-world problems. Our challenge is to create opportunities for students to learn and practise these skills.
Instructional skills will be utilised in the integrated curriculum areas, e.g. science, health, learning technology and HASS (Civics and Citizenship, Economics and Business, Geography and History). Mrs Kroczek will be supporting teachers in this area.
We will continue our "Explicit Direct Instruction" focus in English and mathematics. Ms Owers will be coaching teachers with this strategy.
Talk for Writing will continue to be implemented this year. Mr McGeever and Mrs Wallace will also be coaching teachers in this area.
With these three essential strategies, we will be enhancing all of the skills a student will need for the future; academic, social and emotional.
I am very proud of our entire staff on how they are implementing these strategies in their classroom. I am excited to see students steadily developing these skills to help them learn and grow. Our school is definitely creating a foundation for future success.
LITERATURE CENTRE
The Literature Centre visit was a tremendous success. Year Four, Five and Six students learnt amazing facts about Ned Kelly and enjoyed a story called the 'Green Sash'. The junior classes had fun with 'Who's afraid of the Quite Nice Wolf'.
We would like to sincerely thank the Literature Centre, Crown Resorts Foundation and the Packer Family Foundation for sponsoring this event for our school.
HARMONY DAY
We have a memorable 'Harmony Day' planned for our community. We have decided to hold a 'Harmony Day' lunch and have invited Williams Primary School. Williams is a small wheat belt town approximately 160km south-east of Perth. We will be having a special assembly, multicultural lunch and then a range of activities throughout the day. For us to undertake this event, we really need your help. COVID 19 restrictions prevent us from accepting home-cooked meals. Instead, we are opening up our canteen for the cooking to be done at school. We look forward to hosting this marvellous event to celebrate our diversity with the broader community.
PARENT INTERVIEWS - THURSDAY 25 MARCH
We will be having our parent interviews in Week 9. These interviews are an excellent opportunity to find out how your child is progressing. This year, we will be trialling a new online booking system. A letter will be going home shortly with all of the information on how to make the interview appointment either on your computer or on your phone/iPad. If you have any problems, please come into the office to see Mrs Geary , Mrs Clough or me.
I cannot believe how quickly the term is progressing. Thank you to everyone for your support and willingness to make our school a great school!
Paul Biemmi
Principal
DRYANDRA PLAYGROUP
EVERY WEDNESDAY
FROM 9.00am—11.00 am in Room 6.
Please remember to bring along a piece of fruit to share.
If you need any details please contact our school office on 9345 6400 and we can answer any of your questions.
We look forward to seeing a lot of young children from 0 to 3 years old
Kindy /Pre Primary 1- Mrs Wallace/Mrs Hutchinson Harun Hashi, Nawaal Nasir & Denis Daglar |
Kindy /Pre Primary 2 - Ms Coventry/Mrs McGee Ara Beukes & Mosab Hammad |
Year 1 /2Room 1 - Mrs Whitcombe Iris Htoo & Shing Liang Kee |
Year 2 Room 2 - Mrs Warr /Ms Walters Zoie Hall & Myat Phu Htun |
Year 2/3 Room 5 - Ms Dunstan / Mr McGeever Isiah Ladyman, Zarif Mohammad Nurudin, Valon Belica & Hasan Al-Saadi |
Year 3 Room 8 - Ms Van Dijken/ Mrs Fairhead Esmerelda Dalipova & Shimbi Rashidi |
Year 4 Room 16 - Mrs Reza Zadeh/ Ms Tracy Walters Veli Siringul & Reyhaneh Sadeghi |
Years 5 Room 17 - Mr Cumming Harmony Websdale & Jason Dawson |
Years 6 Room 18 - Ms Young Ameer Al Zeidan & Lucy Nicholson-Nelkoski |
AUSLAN – Ms Salame Asmina Khan Room 17 & Valon Belica Room 5 |
HASS – Ms Owers Aarav Patel Room 2 & Students of Room 18 |
Great work everyone. |
ASSEMBLY NEWS
Year 6 Room 18 held the first assembly for the year and focused on goal setting. They showed a video of students and staff they had interviewed and asked what their goals were for 2021.
Room 18 were also delighted to be the first class to receive Ms Ower's HASS award. They have named the mascot Ms Wookie and she has been working hard in class! Thank you Ms Owers for choosing us.
Positive Behaviour Support News
Welcome back! DPS’s focus for the first few weeks of the year has had a large focus on ‘Learning Lizard- whole body listening’. We have also looked at ‘we bring our equipment to school’ and ‘we come to school on time’. The next values that we will be focusing on for the end of the term are:
Working Together - we wear school uniform (Week 7)
Caring - we go to the toilet with a partner/ sit on the toilet seat/ flush the toilet (Week 8)
Learning - we use class time to finish tasks (Week 9)
Parents, we encourage you to continue the language and positive message at home, too! The classes have new goals for 2021! Junior primary students have a class goal of 300 points and the upper primary students have a goal of 500 points. All classes are flying and off to a positive start to the year!
OLD STUDENT DESKS FOR SALE
Single $20.00 Double $30.00
Please come to the office to pay and arrangements will be made for collection.
BROWNES DAIRY INCURSION
As part of the STEM program this year, students from Kindergarten to Year 3 took part in an incursion from Brownes Dairy. They had a first hand experience with a real life cow. Students were shown how a dairy operated and produces the milk products they have in their homes. Students also got to taste 3 different flavors of yoghurt, and meet Curley Sue the dog. The opportunity of milking Stella the cow was a great hit with everyone.
SCHOOL PHOTOS INFORMATION
Our School Photos will be taken on: Tuesday 23rd March 2021 .
Class Photos/Portraits: Every Student will have their photo taken, whether they are purchasing photos or not.
The school has chosen to use the online ordering system. Your child will be given an online ordering instruction slip and a unique student shootkey.
• Log onto www.msp.com.au and follow the prompts to place your order.
• If you lose your shootkey the school reception will have a copy to quote back to you.
The expiry date for online ordering is the 29.03.2021
Any orders received after this date will incur a $30.00 archive fee. You can email your order request through to reorders.perth@msp.com.au or call our office on 08 9240 8000
IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER
MARCH | |
Thur 18 |
Williams PS visit, Room 17 Assembly/Harmony Assembly |
Tue 23 |
School Photos |
Thur 25 |
Parent Interviews |
Wed 31 |
School Board meeting 7.00pm |
APRIL |
TERM 2 |
Mon 19 |
Students return to school |
Fri 23 |
ANZAC Assembly 9.00am |
Mon 26 |
ANZAC Day Public Holiday |
MAY |
|
Thur 13 |
Assembly Room 16 |
JUNE |
|
Fri 4 |
SCHOOL DEVELOPMENT DAY |