Newsletter 01 - 11 Febuary 2021

Dear parents and carers

Welcome back to a wonderful 2021. It has been an unusual start to the year but I would like to thank everyone for your patience and understanding as we commenced our year.

I would like to welcome our new students to our school. Although we are a small school, we are like a big family. We have all worked hard to create a positive learning environment whereby our students make plenty of friends and thrive with their learning.

This year our school will be hosting the Interschool Athletics carnival. This is a sensational and positive event for the school which offers some wonderful possibilities for fundraising for our P&C.

Our school vision is ‘Preparing our students for tomorrow’. We would like to achieve this by;
*creating a solid foundation in English and mathematics;
*developing positive social skills and supporting students to behave in a positive manner;
*creating an awareness of living in a multicultural country and fostering empathy, care, respect and tolerance.
*developing skills in technology and science and
*developing a love of learning, problem solving and creativity.

Our focus this year is to consolidate the following programs to enhance the learning of our students;
*Talk for Writing
*Explicit Direct Instruction
*Instructional Skills
*Music
*Physical Education
*Humanities and Social Sciences
With support from Edith Cowan University and Scitech, we are looking forward to a wonderful year.

NEW STAFF AND ROLES in 2021

I would like to welcome Mrs Danni Whitcombe to our school. Mrs Whitcombe will be in Room 1 and teaching the Year 1
students.
Mrs Walters will be sharing a classroom with Mrs Reza Zadeh (Room 16) on Monday and Tuesday and working with Mrs Warr (Room 2) on Thursday and Friday.
Mrs McGee will be sharing a classroom with Ms Coventry on Thursday and Friday.
Ms Salame, along with supporting our Auslan program, will be working in some other classrooms this year.
Mr McGeever will be taking physical education and music with some classes.

Please note the rest of the staff list elsewhere in this newsletter. We look forward to supporting all of our staff and continuing to make student learning a focus for our school.

SCHOOL BOARD

I would like to thank and congratulate our wonderful school board for their efforts last year. We are very fortunate to have some dedicated and committed parents, staff and community members who have a desire to improve our school.
Thank you to;
Mrs Nay Hta
Mrs Fardowso Osman Abdelle
Mr Son Nguyen
Mr Carlos Salmani
Mr David Boothman (School Board Chair)
Dr Gill Kirk (Edith Cowan University)
Mrs Johanna Stalley (Scitech)
Mrs Wallace (Staff Member)
Mrs Jody Brown (Staff Member)
Mrs Van Dijken (Staff Member)
We are seeking one more parent to join the School Board. If you can assist, please complete the form below and send it through to the office.

INTRODUCTORY CLASS MEETINGS – FREE SAUSAGE SIZZLE

TUESDAY, 23 February 2021 commencing at 3.15pm
Please see the note accompanying this newsletter.

CLASSROOM DOORS OPEN 8.30AM – LEARNING STARTS AT 8.45AM

We would prefer to have students arrive at school as close to 8.30am as possible. This enables our students to get themselves organised, change home readers, etc. It also enables your child to ease into the day and not feel pressured. Arriving to school late, puts your child in a difficult position especially if the class has already commenced learning or doing their work. If students arrive prior to 8.30am, then they are to go to the library. There will be a teacher on duty.
•Late students must go to the office for a late note before going to the classroom.

CANTEEN

We no longer have a canteen. Please ensure that you have organised morning tea and lunch for your children. The school does not provide lunch for students. If you have any ongoing difficulties in this area, please make an appointment to see me.

PARKING

I have received numerous complaints from parents and from the home owners who live along Cymosa Place (near the pre-primary classrooms). I would like to organise a small group of parents to assist me in working through a solution to this ongoing problem. If you are interested, please email me on dryandra.ps@education.wa.edu.au. I will then organise a time to consider some strategies. The amount of traffic and congestion is dangerous and could result in a child or parent getting injured. It is my intention to put in place a solution to the parking issues at Cymosa Place by the beginning of Term 2. If you want to provide feedback, this is your opportunity.At the moment the expectations are highlighted below. ONLY parents with students in pre-primary and kindergarten will be asked to park on CYMOSA PLACE. Older brothers and sisters can also be picked from CYMOSA PLACE.
For the rest of the school, you will need to consider these other options.
a. DRYANDRA DRIVE. Use the gates near the old ‘Kiss and Drive” near A Block (Room 1, Room 2).
b. MCFARLANE CIRCLE near B Block. (Room 5 and Room 8)
c. DRYANDRA DRIVE and utilise the parking bays in the Dryandra/Pendula Community Centre.
( Rooms 16, Room 17, Room 18)
d. The kiss and drop is available for all students in Years 1-6. To ensure this is used correctly please do not park in this area.

PLEASE DISCUSS THESE OPTIONS WITH YOUR CHILD AND ENSURE THEY FULLY UNDERSTAND WHERE THEY ARE TO MEET YOU AFTER SCHOOL. If we all work together we can create less traffic congestion, improve student safety and create a more harmonious relationship with our neighbours. Please support this process.

SCHOOL HATS

In 2016 the School Council endorsed the proposal of enforcing the school hat for all students at all times and especially on excursions. This was undertaken as a safety measure whenever students were out in the community. The wearing of the school uniform creates a sense of belonging and pride in our school. It eliminates the peer pressure of wearing expensive basketball caps. Students without a school hat will be asked to sit in the under covered area during recess and lunch if they do not have the required hat. Students will have until Week 3 to have the appropriate hat. The Office has the school hat for $7.00.

PLAYGROUND – BEFORE AND AFTER SCHOOL

Just a gentle reminder that students should not be playing on the playground equipment before and after school. This is a safety issue because there aren’t any teachers on duty and we wish to keep students safe. In particular, kindergarten and pre-primary parents, we ask for your assistance in not allowing your children to play on the equipment because it encourages other students to also play when they need to be in the library.

VOLUNTARY CONTRIBUTIONS

We are asking for all of our parents to pay for their voluntary contributions. Thank you to all of the parents who have already paid their voluntary contributions. Dryandra Primary School has one of the lowest contributions in the State. We are asking everyone to make a real effort in paying these contributions because this helps to provide resources and consumables for our students e.g. art materials, classroom cooking etc. We accept Eftops and credit card payments through the office. Kindy voluntary contributions are $60.00 & Pre-Primary to Year 6 $40.00.

MEETING WITH YOUR TEACHER –PLEASE MAKE AN APPOINTMENT

It is important that you do not attempt to have an impromptu meeting with your child’s teacher at the beginning of the day. Usually, the teacher is attempting to greet students and organise lessons. We would like all parents to contact the office and leave a message. The classroom teacher will then contact you to make a formal meeting. Please also be aware that Wednesday afternoons are our staff and committee meetings days, so most teachers will be unavailable at this time. Thank you for your understanding.

CLASSES FORMATION 2021

The formation of the classes is a school decision and involves professional discussions with our teachers. As our student enrolments stabilise, it may be necessary to make slight adjustments to the classes. The school census will be finalised in Week 2 and this will determine our funding for the year. It may then be necessary to move some students to another class. Please be aware that this is a process that all schools have to manage and we ask for your patience while to undertake this exercise. We are all very excited by some of the initiatives that will be introduced this year and by our focus to support students with their learning. If I can be of any assistance or if you require any clarification, then please don’t hesitate to contact me when convenient.

Thank you
Paul Biemmi
Principal

DRYANDRA PRIMARY SCHOOL - 2021 STAFF LIST
PRINCIPAL		Mr Paul Biemmi
DEPUTY PRINCIPAL		Mrs Regina Kroczek
MANAGER CORPORATE SERVICES		Mrs Lee Geary
SCHOOL OFFICERS		Mrs Carole Clough Mrs Christine Stephens (Wed)
LIBRARY OFFICER		Mrs Jody Brown (Mon & Tue)
KP1	ECE 1	Mrs Megan Wallace Mrs Lauren Hutchinson (Wed) Mrs Jolanta Gagatek (EA)
KP2	ECE 2	Ms Teresa Coventry (Mon – Wed) Sherryl McGee (Thur & Fri) Mrs Michelle Murray (EA)
1	1	Ms Danni Whitcombe
2	2	Mrs Claire Warr (Mon- Wed) Ms Tracy Walters (Thur & Fri )
2/3	5	Mr Michael McGeever (Mon) Ms Kate Dunstan (Tue - Fri)
3	8	Mrs Marg Fairhead (Mon & Tue) Ms Sue Van Dijken (Wed - Fri)
4	16	Mrs Tanya Reza Zadeh (Wed-Fri) Ms Tracy Walters (Mon & Tue)
5	17	Mr Grant Cummings
6	18	Ms Angela Young
DOTT	13	Ms Liz Owers Mr Michael McGeever
LANGUAGES- AUSLAN	7	Miss Helene Salame (Mon - Thur)
AIEO		Ms Del Wedding (Mon& Tue)
EDUCATION ASSISTANTS		Mrs Dianne Brown Mrs Amal Mustafa
AUSLAN EA		Taylor Mondy
GARDENER		Mr Mike Delaney (M,T,W & Thur am only)
CLEANERS		Mrs Debbie James, Ms Michelle Collier, Ms Rania Mohammad & Ms Aisha Yahya
PSYCH	BLOCK D	Ms Libby Taylor (Mon)
CHAPLAIN	BLOCK D	Mr David Ward (Wed & Thur)