22 February 2018

Newsletter Articles

A Note from the Principal

Welcome to the first official newsletter for 2018. We’re off to a fantastic start!

Thank you to all our parents and caregivers who ensure that their child/children are at school on time (8.20am), in the correct school uniform, with a healthy and nutritious lunch that includes a suitable crunch and sip snack.

You will notice a change in our newsletter distribution this year. You will receive a newsletter once per month instead of every fortnight.

As principal I am accountable for setting the optimum conditions so that Butler Primary School staff are focused not only on the best academic outcomes for each student but also on building independent, responsible and resilient young people. We cannot achieve this without our parent community being on the same page. We have a shared responsibility to ensure that our students are given every opportunity to flourish.

With this in mind, I offer a few words of wisdom with the aim of our staff and your child/children having a successful 2018.

• Let our teachers do their job; teach. Classes begin at 8.35 am and finish at 2.45pm. Parents are asked to have moved away from classrooms prior to class starting unless you are there for a pre-arranged appointment with the teacher. Students need to be ready to begin the day and the presence of parents and younger siblings can cause a disruption to this important settling process. Low key, happy farewells work best. At different times throughout the day the learning environment encompasses both inside and outside spaces. Whilst we encourage and appreciate parents and caregivers supporting teachers by volunteering as helpers, it is very challenging for teachers to have every student engaged and focused on the task at hand when parents utilise the main outdoor area as an afternoon meeting place prior to 2.30pm. Parents are asked to delay making their way into this area so that learning experiences can be completed without too many distractions.
• A word to our helicopter parents (no disrespect intended as I know our children pull our heart strings): Coddling, cajoling and controlling is a paralyser. It doesn’t always have to be Mum or Dad riding in on their white horse to solve every problem your child has, especially if it’s a problem of his/her own making. In life, things do not always go as planned. Give your child time to reflect on solving their own problems, think about what they need and learn from their mistakes. Of course, if problems persist or need adult intervention, talk to your class teacher as they are ones who are best informed about daily issues.
• All children will portray their own perspective about issues. This is normal behaviour however believe half of what your child says about us and we will believe half of what they say about you. We don’t always get it right. We are however always ready to solve the problem through a mutually respectful conversation that takes in all sides of the issue.
• Failure is ok in-fact it is inevitable. It is part of learning and it develops resiliency. I acknowledge that it is hard to watch our children fail. Let them learn from it and watch them grow smarter from it.
• Consequences for poor behaviour and bad decision making are a part of life. Sheltering your child from consequences does them no favours. The lesson learnt now may save your child from more serious consequences later in life.
• School is not a spectator sport. Please encourage your child to attend and maximise their participation in every aspect of school life. The opportunities available at Butler Primary School are second to none and it is my belief that when they are taken, they will lead to improvement and growth.

Enjoy the adventures of 2018 with us.

Mrs Julie Woodhouse
Principal

ATTENDANCE UPDATE

In the first two weeks of Term One, 78/721 students (approximately 10% of our school community) have attended school at a rate of below 90%. This is a concerning amount of students.

Research from the ‘Every Day Counts’ report (commissioned by the University of Western Australia’s Telethon Institute For Child Research for the Department of Education) very clearly highlights the close relationship between attendance and academic progress. Barring legitimate illness which the school is sympathetic to, all students should aim to attend school as close to 100% as possible.

It is critical that students at Butler Primary School attend well. Absences for reasons such as birthdays, rest days, catching up with family member days, appointments that could be made out of school hours, holidays in term time etc should be avoided.

As always, in cases of absence, we encourage parents to call as soon as possible to alert the school. All absences require an explanation. Please text to advise of us of any student absence on 0419 091 075 (preferred) or call us on 9562 1804.

If you are unable to contact the school, please see your child’s class teacher or write a short note outlining the reason for non-attendance. If you fail to give a reason for non-attendance, your child will receive an Absence Notification form for you to complete (see below). Please return this at your earliest convenience.

If you have any concerns about the attendance of your child please contact the school for support.

Attendance Reward

Congratulations to the students (and families) of PP4 and D2 who have achieved the highest attendance rates for the first few weeks of term. Students in PP4 and D2 will receive an extra recess play as a result of their 99.1% and 98.5% whole class attendance rate. Please see the table attached to see your class attendance.

Beth Hutchinson
Deputy Principal

Merit Certificate Recipients: Week 3 – Senior Assembly

Congratulations – Pre Primary Holiday Readers

Congratulations - Year 1 Holiday Readers

Choir – Woolworths Butler Opening December 2017

Miss Jurgowiak

WHAT’S ON IN?...........

PP1

In Pre-Primary 1 we have been learning the routines of full-time school and getting to know each other. In Literacy, have been enjoying stories including The Kissing Hand, Smarty Pants and The Monster’s Party and we have been learning the letters s, a, t, and p. In Maths we have been practising the Principles of Counting using the numbers 1-10, learning the days of the week and patterning.

Mrs Sukiennik

PP3

Mrs de la Motte

3 Year Old Playgroup

In week 2 the 3 year old playgroup commenced again for the New Year. Parents and children enjoyed making new friends, catching bubbles outside and exploring many fine motor activities inside. The children were fascinated to meet some frogs and a couple of tadpoles that were visiting the classroom. The morning finished with some music and movement using coloured ribbons.

If you and your child are interested in joining the Playgroup this year please visit the school office to register. Playgroup runs Wednesdays on the even weeks of term from 9.30am- 11.30am. Children who will be attending Kindy in 2019 are eligible to attend.

Mrs Alison Johnston

Parent Parking

To help ease congestion around the school during peak times we encourage families to walk their children to and from school wherever possible, especially in fine weather or park at the Community Centre car park and walk your children across the oval.

All Staff park at the front of the school. This will free up all bays in the public car park off Cambourne Way.

Families are reminded that parking is not permitted on grassed kerbside areas around the Pre-primary car park and along Tollesbury Avenue, as well as the bricked median strip in Cambourne Parkway or across any footpaths. Parking is also not permitted in bus bays. Please consider the safety of all other road users and pedestrians when parking and leaving schools grounds.

Please also give consideration and respect to owners of properties surrounding the school.

All usual road and parking rules apply around the school and parking fines are issued by rangers (who visit frequently) to those not adhering to the road rules. Please download the map below for parent parking information.

School Payment Options Available

Butler Primary School now has eftpos facilities available in the front office!

Payment methods for charges and contributions can now be made via:

• Eftpos
• Cash or Cheque (please use the school money envelopes and place the sealed envelope in the black letter boxes. The boxes are located in the wet areas of each of the blocks and the office)
• Direct Deposit (reference student name and payment description.)
  BSB: 016 338
  Acc: 110391487

Absentee Messaging Service

Due to the ease of this service, the sending of a text message to Butler Primary School to notify us of your child/ren’s absence has been embraced by many families.Please send absentee messages through to 0419 091 075 with all of the following details so we can correctly update student records:

• Full name of your child/children
• Reason for absence
• Date of absence

Absences can also be phoned through to the office on 9562 1804.

As per Department of Education policy, it is the parent’s responsibility to notify the school of the reason for your child’s absence/s within three days of the absence. Failure to do this will mean that the absence will be marked as “unacceptable reason” affecting your child’s education and attendance record.

Students Arriving Late

Any student arriving late to school, after the siren sounds at 8.35am, will need to enter the school through the front office to collect a late note which is to be given to their class teacher.

Update Student Contact Information

If you have recently changed mobile numbers or moved address, it is important you update your contact information with the office. Please also advise if there is a change to any of your emergency contact information.

Siren Times

Please note the change in time for recess and lunch this year. The start and finish times for school remain the same.

2018 Siren Times

Donating Uniforms

Butler Primary School is seeking donations of uniforms, including polo shirts, dresses and suitable navy bottoms, especially in sizes 8-12. If you are able to assist please drop the clean clothing at the front office.

From the Library

Welcome to 2018 and welcome new families to the Butler Primary School community. We trust you all had a wonderful and restful holiday.

The Library is in full swing with all students borrowing their first books for 2018. It’s very exciting for us to see the enthusiasm from the children as they recommenced borrowing.

For new students to the Library and for experienced borrowers, we would like to advise our Library policies:

• Students must use a library bag to borrow. No bag, no borrowing.
• Students must return Library books every week, but can renew unfinished books. If a book is overdue by 2 weeks or more, a replacement fee will be charged which is based on the cost of the overdue book.
• Lost or damaged books will incur a fee which is based on the replacement cost of the book.

We are the Butler Primary School organisers for the Scholastic Book Club. Book Club catalogues are distributed to classes twice per term. Orders and cash payment can be delivered to the Library before each closing date, but orders can be made online via the Scholastic LOOP site:

The first Book Club order has been processed and will be delivered to Butler Primary in approximately 1 week. Orders will be delivered to your child’s classroom.

Mrs Pengelly and Mrs Dowrick

Chaplain’s Corner

HI Everyone,

HELLO and WELCOME Everyone to our new school year! I hope you enjoyed your holidays and have settled in to Term 1 easily.

As we kick off our year let’s have a look at our school’s Core Values:

Integrity . Community. Respect. Responsibility. Aspire.

Integrity – the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles.

Synonyms: honesty, uprightness, probity, honour.

Community – the condition of sharing or having certain attitudes and interests in common.

Respect - a feeling of deep admiration for someone or something elicited by their abilities, qualities, or achievements.

- due regard for the feelings, wishes, or rights of others.

Synonyms: consideration, thoughtfulness, politeness.

Responsibility - the state or fact of having a duty.

-the state or fact of being accountable.

Aspire – to aim or seek ambitiously, to soar.

Our Values are an integral part of who we are as people and the way we live our lives. They shape us in to kind, considerate, honest, hard working members of our community. We should continue to aspire to being the best version of ourselves, and make our world the best place it could possibly be.

Take care of one another.

Kind regards,

Ms Hunter
School Chaplain

Thursdays and Fridays

Canteen Corner

Online ordering is available for the Canteen via the link below

Recess and 2nd bell lunch treats and snacks are still available through the canteen hatch.

Online Canteen Ordering

Please be reminded that we have a new online ordering system. It only takes a minute to sign up and the P&C will be using the same website for all future events like discos and sausage sizzles.

Sign up to QuickCliq now by using the link above

Mrs Siakia
Canteen Manager

P&C News

Welcome back to all BPS families for the 2018 school year. We hope you enjoyed the break and have now settled back into the school routine.

Thank you to everyone who attended the meeting on Wednesday. We appreciate your time and contributions to the P&C. The P&C would like to thank our outgoing treasurer, Emily Batchelor. We are so grateful for Emily's hard work and diligence keeping the P&C finances on track. We would also like to thank our outgoing secretary, Clare Marashlian, who has moved on from our school but contributed so much to the P&C during her time here.

Further updates regarding the structure of the committee for 2018 will be posted to our Facebook page.

Fundraising

Our fundraising coordinator Lucy Malins, is always on the lookout for people to join the fundraising committee. If you are willing to help or have a great fundraising idea, please contact Lucy via the P&C Facebook page or butlerps.pandc@gmail.com.

School Banking

THURSDAY is school banking day!

School Banking has commenced for 2018. Please remember to put your child’s deposit book and money into their grey classroom banking bag. The banking bag will be sent to the canteen with the class lunch basket. For more information regarding the program or to open an account, follow the link:

COLES SPORTS FOR SCHOOLS

Butler PS is registered for the Coles Sports for Schools promotion. Shoppers receive a voucher for every $10 at Coles. These vouchers can be placed in the collection bins in the front office and next to the canteen. The school can then put these towards purchasing sports equipment.

WIN A FREE FACTION POLO!!!!

Want a FREE faction polo? Simply pay your school fees by the end of this month and 2 lucky winners will be drawn. Good luck everyone!

For further information contact the P&C via email at butlerps.pandc@gmail.com or through the P&C Facebook page “BPS P&C Association” – please see details above.

NEXT MEETING

Wednesday, 21 March (Week 8) at 6pm in the staffroom.

BUTLER OUT OF HOURS SCHOOL CARE

Please feel free to drop into the centre or contact us on 0403 347 952 or butler.oshc@ymcawaa.org.au for any queries. Information is also available at the school office.

Kind regards,

YCMA

YMCA BUTLER – Pupil Free Day Care
EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST

COMMUNITY NOTICES

Brighton Seahawks JFC

IRENE McCORMACK CATHOLIC COLLEGE
Presents…….Peter Pan

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