Category: Principal Blog

Term 2 Week 5 2019

Dear Parents and Caregivers, We are already half way through term 2 and I am sure all families are looking forward to the extra-long weekend coming up at the end of this week. A school development day is scheduled for this Friday (31st May) and as such students do not attend on Friday. Monday 3rd June is a designated public holiday. I am pleased to welcome some new members to our school board and report that all school board mem- bers will be undertaking board training this week along with a number of other board members from other schools. The school board plays an important role in contributing to good school governance so that school resources are used efficiently and community expectations and the school’s priorities reflect the needs of students.

NAPLAN

All year 3 & 5 students were provided with opportunities to complete NAPLAN online testing and I am pleased to report that we did not experience the major difficulties experienced by many other schools with the online platform. Teachers and students reported that they were not unduly affected by some minor glitches which we were able to manage effectively. Due to the difficulties and adjustments having to be made by a large number of schools Baler will be taking a cautionary approach to the results of this year’s NAPLAN when making comparisons around how Baler has fared against state and national results. We are proud of the way all of our students completed the testing and thank Ms Orford for her diligence and ex- tensive planning.

Violence in schools

Earlier this year the State Government released the ‘Let’s Take a Stand Together ’ document in response to Violence in Schools. Fortunately, at Baler I am pleased to report that most students behave respectfully. At times though a very small number of students across all schools can be physically aggressive. This is never acceptable and this document sets out 10 actions to help school staff, families and communities work to- gether on this complex issue. I encourage all families to read my letter to the community explaining this document and the ‘Lets’ Take a Stand ’ statement. Both are contained within this newsletter.

Good standing

As part of the “Let’s Take a Stand Together ” statement every public school is required to add ‘good stand- ing’ requirements to it Behaviour Management Policy. A good standing requirement stipulates that stu- dents who do the wrong thing will have privileges removed – such as being banned from certain school activities. Students can earn ‘good standing’ back by making amends and behaving well. What this means and the specifics of how this will look at Baler is still being determined by our Behaviour Committee. Once a draft has been ratified by staff this will then be presented to the school board for discussion and endorse- ment in order for it to be shared with the whole school community in a future newsletter or Skoolbag app notification.

Congratulations

Congratulations to the following staff members who have recently welcomed additions to their families. Mr Bald- win & Miss Muir, Mrs Jensen, Miss Tree, Miss Owens – congratulations to all of you and welcome to the wonder- ful world of parenthood! Last term we had a number of children in Years 4-6 who were selected to take part in academic extension pro- grams fun for the Hedland network of schools. Congratulations and well done to all students involved. I am al- ways in awe of the achievements that the students involved in this program are able to demonstrate. Baler stu- dents were provided with opportunities in both Coding and Public Speaking. At the conclusion of the six week course students were invited to present their work to parents and friends. This included a Public Speaking Com- petition held at Matt Dann Theatre. This term 10 students have been selected to take part in Music and Robotics. Other opportunities for our students coordinated by Miss Orr are within the area of Student Leadership. Our stu- dent leaders have recently put a proposal together and written to myself and the P&C seeking support for a sen- sory garden that they wish to develop at the back of the school. They want this to be a calm and tranquil place for students and staff and wish to develop it as a parting gift and their legacy to the school. Our future is in good hands with motivated students like this!

Parent Interviews

All parents should have been offered the opportunity for a one on one parent interview with their child’s teacher and should have received an invitation to make an appointment earlier in the year. With student reports being issued at the end of this term I again encourage parents to contact teachers. What is in your child’s report should not be a surprise and an interview is an ideal opportunity to have a more in depth conversation with the teacher in regards to your child’s progress. An interview as opposed to an incidental conversation allows the teacher to be prepared and have relevant work samples ready to share with you.

ANZAC Assembly

In week one of this term we held our ANZAC assembly and the many positive comments from parents, staff and community echoed my own thoughts. This was a special event at which all students were equally respectful and reflective. The choir was outstanding and the student leadership team who hosted our assembly supported by Miss Orr was equally outstanding. Thank you also to Mr Green who coordinated the art work and back drops. We have a number of significant events happening this term. Please keep an eye out for skoolbag reminders and can I please remind all families to make sure you turn notifications on, on the app so you do not miss these im- portant reminders.

Kind regards, Karen Burgess

Term 1 Week 8 2019

Dear Parents / Guardians,

Well Cyclone Veronica and the following deluge made an interesting start to our week. I hope all families managed to ‘weather the storm’ without too much damage. A huge thankyou to our local SES, Police, Fire Brigade, TOPH and all other associated essential services. I have heard some wonderful stories of community spirit and some of the photos I have seen have made me realise despite the damage caused how lucky we were that we did not receive a direct hit. Thank you to all of our families in regards to our extra day of school closure whilst we made the school safe. We had a number of large trees down and some precarious branches, some very water logged (and smelly) classrooms and some ceilings that needed inspecting – our poor uniform shop also copped a lot of water damage to the carpet and the roof; but thanks to the amazing support of contractors we were able to reo- pen on Wednesday.

Congratulations to our Head Boy, Kye Richards and Head Girl, Noku Magwenzi, who have recently returned for a leadership camp funded by BHP. I know the rest of the leadership team is looking forward to hearing all about it and learning some of the skills they have been taught.

ANZAC Day

We invite our school community to join us on the first Thursday back at school next term (Thursday 2ndMay) at 8:30am for our ANZAC Service. Students involved in Scouts are invited to wear their scout uniform for the service.

Regional Executive Director; Recently Ms Cheryl Parkin commenced as Regional Executive Director, Pilbara Region replacing Mr Neil Darby. Ms Parkin has begun visiting schools across the region and is looking forward to meeting students, staff and parents at Baler Primary School. Further details regarding Ms Parkin’s visit will be communicated in the near future.

School Board

As an independent public school (IPS) we will be transitioning from a School Council to a School Board and as such we encourage and invite expressions of interest from parents and community members. We require a diverse range of members on our school board to ensure all areas of our school community are rep- resented.

If you are interested in joining our inaugural school board then please email the Principal, Karen Burgess Karen.Burgess@education.wa.edu.au, or the current School Council Chair, Michelle Boothey michelle.boothey@health.wa.gov.au

Our first transition meeting will be held tomorrow night (Thursday 1st May) and all expressions of interest will be considered and if necessary put to a parent / community vote.

What does a School Board do? How is it different to the P&C?

As an independent public school the School Board provides advice to the school around governance. It rep- resents the school community in the process of school planning and policy development, but is not involved in the employment of teaching or ancillary staff or the day to day operations of the school. A member of the school board may be invited to sit on the selection panel for a new Principal when required.

The school board plays an important role in contributing to good school governance so that school re- sources are used efficiently and community expectations and the school’s priorities reflect the needs of students.

Ms Karen Burgess Principal

Term 1 Week 4 2019

Dear Parents / Guardians,

Welcome back everyone and welcome to our many new families! This year again we have had a significant surge in enrolments which has resulted in the forming of a fourth kindergarten class and the re-structuring of our Year 2 class allocations. Despite this I am pleased to report that the 2019 school year has commenced very smoothly, with all students settling into their new classrooms and routines very quickly and I thank all families and teachers for their ability to make this happen and supporting children in this transition.

In 2019 our school focus will remain on the continued introduction and ‘roll out’ of the following areas and whole school programs. These areas are outlined in our School Business Plan which is available for the office and our soon to be published website. I also encourage you to ask your child’s teacher about them so you are aware of how they are implemented in the classroom and across the school.

  • Talk For Writing
  • Positive Behaviour Support (PBS)
  • iSTAR (explicit teaching model)
  • Community Involvement

School Staff

Our staffing has remained mostly consistent from 2018 and this is great news for the school and the com- munity. Having said that we do have some new staff joining us for 2019 and wish to welcome those staff members. Children and parents can be confident that as part of our induction program new teachers attended school during their holidays and are now well versed in ‘the Baler Way’. We are proud of our school values and vision; and encourage all of our staff to have this embedded in their teaching practice. I would like to extend a warm welcome to:

Mr Alex Beament – Yr 6 / Kestrel 5
Mr Jarrod Kuah – Yr 5 /  Kestrel 3
Miss Samantha Burke – Yr 3 / Jabiru 3
Miss Bryony Smith-Halvorsen – Yr 2 / Osprey 5
Mrs Kimberley Porter –  Kindy /  Sandpiper 2
Ms Deb Leonard – P/DOTT
Miss Lauren Phillips – Science

As well, we welcome Mrs Larado to the role of the Learning Club Coordinator and wish Mrs Owens all the very best on her maternity leave. We also welcome Mr Rikhraj into a new role as our Indonesian Specialist teacher.

School Development Day Change

Please note our school development days for 2019, however due to the availability of a presenter there has been a change to the date in term 4 so I urge all parents to update their calendars from previously advised dates. Students do not attend on school development days.

Term 1: Thur 31st Jan / Fri 1st Feb
Term 2: Fri 31st May
Term 3: Fri 2nd August
Term 4: Fri 18th October *

As an independent public school (IPS) we will be transitioning from a School Council to a School Board and as such we encourage and invite expressions of interest from parents and community members.

School Board

If you are interested in joining our inaugural school board then please email the Principal, Karen Burgess, or the current School Council Chair, Michelle Boothey on baler.ps@education.wa.edu.au . Please include a small biography and an outline of what you would like to achieve or explore through being part of our school board. Of course if you would like further information before submitting an expression of interest then please contact me on 9172 1955 and if I am not available I will ring back – alternatively you can contact the current School Council Chair, Michelle Boothey for further information as well.

What does a board do? How is it different to the P&C?

As an independent public school the School Board provides advice to the school around governance. It represents the school commu- nity in the process of school planning and policy development, but is not involved in the employment of teaching or ancillary staff or the day to day operations of the school. A member of the school board may be invited to sit on the selection panel for a new Principal when required.

The school board plays an important role in contributing to good school governance so that school resources are used efficiently and community expectations and the school’s priorities reflect the needs of students.

The functions of boards are covered by legislation and include both approval and advisory roles. Some of the matters boards may make decisions on include fees and charges, book lists, sponsorship and dress codes. Boards make these decisions with the principal who ensures the decisions adhere to legislative and policy requirements. Principals also seek the advice of boards so as to understand local community views. The board does not involve itself in the day to day management of the school but operates more at a governance level.

Before an appointment is made to a school board DOE requires a criminal screening check to be undertaken – this is funded by the school. All board members will be offered training.

Electronic Newsletters

The School Newsletter will be distributed on the last Wednesday of every month via email but everyday updates will continue to be sent out via the Baler Primary School App. Please download this from the App store.

Voluntary Contributions 2019

A schedule for the 2019 Contributions and Charges was sent home with students at the end of last year. The Baler Primary School Board has endorsed the following rate for voluntary contributions:

Kindergarten—Year 6 $60 per child. School voluntary contributions are overdue. Sound Waves Student Book are charges therefore payment is required for these text books.

Payment can be made by cash, chq and EFTPOS at the front office.

Direct debit into the Baler School account

BSB:06 6543

ACC:1003 0777.

Ref: Student name

Thank you to all Parents who have paid contributions and charges for 2019.

By paying these charges and contributions each year the money is being used for the school and students. Please contact the school office on 91721955 if you have queries regarding this account.

Karen Burgess Principal

Term 4 week 4 2018

We are now a few weeks into Term 4. This is an exciting term for everyone, especially our Year 6 students who are preparing for the next stage in their education and thinking about what life might be like beyond Baler Primary School. They have their high-school transition week this week where they get to under-take a full week of integration into the ‘life of a high-school student’. We wish them all the best and hope they enjoy every minute. 

As we have now entered cyclone season I would like to request that all families make sure the school office has your most up to date contact details. As a school we will use our tex-ting system as the first form of notification for families in regards to this so it is imperative that we have your correct details. Procedures in relation school closures in the event of a cyclone have been included in this letter and I encourage all families to keep this handy. 

This term is also our reporting term. All parents are encouraged to make regular contact with their child’s teacher, however if you have any concerns about your child’s progress then it is best to make an appointment to discuss this with the teacher. Appointments al-low the teacher to gather all of the relevant information to share with parents and take the time to discuss concerns without interruptions. Report results should not be a sur-prise to you as a parent. 

I would like to extend a huge thank you to all families who managed to attend our recent Open Night. It was fantastic to see the school ‘abuzz’ with families and students sharing their achievements. I thoroughly enjoyed walking around all the classrooms from the Vet-erinary Clinic in Sandpiper to receiving my own bag of popcorn for ‘popping in’ in Jabiru 6. The hard work of all students and the pride they had in that was clearly evident. AND ….. thank you to our amazing P&C for keeping us all fed and watered! 

Finally, I would also like to remind all families to make sure you keep a copy of the school’s term planner handy so that important events are not missed. We have many up-coming events and hopefully our term planner will help to remind families of what’s what – as always please contact the classroom teacher or the school office with any queries. 

Karen Burgess Principal