Winter appears to have finally arrived just in time for swimming lessons! The students are to be commended for their resilience during these cold mornings.
P&C
I would like to again thank the wonderful parents of Arbor Grove Primary and in particular those on the P&C. The fundraising activities undertaken by the P&C are always well supported by our wider school community. This year alone the P&C has contributed funds for:
- External speakers in the undercover area
- Blenderbike for Breakfast Club, and now
- A contribution to assist the school to put reverse cycle air conditioning in the school library.
We hope to have the library air conditioning completed before the warm summer months return. The new air conditioning in the library (replacing the evaporative system) will benefit all students as the building plays such a vital role in primary schools as both a learning and play area.
We hope to look at other areas of the school in due course as we all understand the limitations of evaporative systems.
I would encourage any parent thinking of joining the P&C to do so. You won’t regret it. The meetings are short and always a little bit of fun, and you get to be active in what is going on at the school and support your children through fundraising and other activities.
Semester 1
As Semester 1 comes to an end I would like to thank parents for their ongoing support of the school. With the announcement that we have moved to Phase 5 COVID restrictions I am pleased to announce that school will look very normal in Term 3.
As a result of this announcement we are busily organising a Parent Open Night for Term 3 and hope to be putting out information early in Term 3 regarding this event. It will be fantastic to see parents at the school seeing student work and connecting with classroom teachers.
This Semester the school has been busy implementing a new Spelling Program across the school. The PLD program is a synthetic phonics based program and well supported by extensive research. Teachers have noticed a significant improvement in student spelling across the school and the data the program provides informs teachers of ongoing planning needs.
Next term the teachers will begin implementing a new whole school writing program called Talk for Writing. Talk for Writing is an internationally recognised program based on the principles of how people learn. The movement from imitation to innovation to independent application can be adapted to suit the needs of learners of any ability level. Talk for Writing has had an outstanding impact in many schools across Western Australia and we hope to see some significant improvement in student writing in the coming years.
Term 3
I am very excited for Term 3 and would urge all parents to keep abreast of the newsletter or check the school web page regularly for information to events.
Term 3 highlights include:
- NAIDOC
- Book Week
- Harmony Day
- Faction Athletics Carnival, and
- Interschool Athletics Carnival
I am also pleased to see some of the teachers are busy organising incursions and excursions, fingers crossed the COVID situation doesn’t change.
Winter Carnival
I would like to congratulate all the Year 5 and 6 students that attended the recent Winter Carnival. Not only did they impress the other schools and spectators with their ARBOR Values, but they ended up bringing the trophy home in every event! What an amazing effort!
I would like to thank Mr Williams and all the staff that trained and supported the students on the day.
Swimming Lessons
Swimming lessons for students in Pre Primary to Year 4 have commenced. I have been very impressed with the smooth running of the swimming – all buses are leaving on time and returning on time and we have next to no lost property which is amazing (thank you parents for writing names on clothing).
School Survey
The biennial school survey is available for completion by parents until the end of Term 2. Please follow the link below to complete the survey. Your feedback is very important to the school and our ongoing quest to improve and provide improved outcomes for students.
https://www.schoolsurvey.edu.au/s/8astGYke
If you have any questions, please contact the school.
Glen Purdy