2014!

Well - 2014 is so nearly here, and so to the new school year. As you can see, there is no rest for the wicked and we are straight back into planning the new year's activities.
I know that there are a fair proportion of year 7's who are eager to know if they are back in Rom 10, or whether they will be demoted to Room 9, and while I have the new class lists, and could easily tell you - I'm not going to. Well, when did I ever say I was nice? You'll just have to check your name on the door of the classroom on the first day like everyone else.:)

Blogger invites...

Just noticed that all the invitations sent out to parents on the 3rd of November are still open. Seems like there is some problem with the email system for blogger. I will try and have a look at it this week.

Year 7 transition

The next (and final) year 7 transition day will be held Friday week (Friday the 13th!!!). This day will be a full day from start to finish. Bus children will go straight to the high school and be picked up from there at the end of the day.

Armadale waterslides

The end of year excursion for year 6 & 7 is currently being planned. Like last year we will be going to the Armadale Aquatic Centre for a couple of hours of wet and wild fun.
The cost last year was somewhere around $30 for the day, but we will let you know an exact figure very soon.
We anticipate that it will be held on the very last day of term for students.

Camp 2014 (Oh God...)

Yes, I can't believe we're already talking about it either! Still, needs are dictating our timetable at the moment. Next year parents can expect camp in the last half of Term  4, and a bill of somewhere between $400 - $450.
Still - if this year's camp was anything to go by the children will have an absolute ball, and they won't be able to avoid learning something even if they try to!
Photos of this year's camp will be posted to the ENPS website very soon.

And now we're back...

Hello again everyone,
I'm sure you weren't expecting too much communication during camp week - and I think I needed the whole of the next week to recuperate! Plus of course there was the little matter of end of year reports to deal with...
But we're back now or better or worse. I'm seeing a lot more page views for this blog, so that's quite encouraging. Feel free to add your own comments or questions if you like.

Camp countdown

The Year 7 camp to Woodman Point is now only 2 weeks away. A final consent and medical form went home today which is due ASAP please.
There is a timetable in with the notes today which says 'September' and not 'November'. Please ignore the error. All other details should be correct.
Student camp booklets which offer fuller details of activities should be going home Wednesday this week (fingers crossed).

Homework

Homework cycle 13 started today, and will be due on Friday the 13th, which I am sure will be bad luck for someone.
Orange notes went home for cycle 12 today. Those still missing homework for cycle 12 are Jade, Alivia, Jess C, William, Arthur, Jade Amy and Tyson. Homework which was partially submitted but not signed by a parent was Chelsea, and Ashleigh.
Orange notes still outstanding from cycle 11 are Alivia and Chelsea. These notes or homework are now a month overdue.

Welcome new authors

A warm welcome to the parents who have joined the blog as new authors. If you have any comments or questions to make on any topic, just leave them on the blog and I will try and get back to you as soon as I can.

The Vi Barham Award for Academic Excellence

The Vi Barham Award for Academic Excellence is given to students whose academic results are nothing less than extraordinary. Students from all schools in the Great Southern region (about 70 different schools) are eligible for the award.

Congratulations go to both Elizabeth and Shaun for their stellar performance in the 2013 Naplan tests. Their results were of such magnitude that they were selected for the short list for the Vi Barham. They will compete against 8 other students from other schools for the award, and we wish them both the bets of luck.

Homework

Well, it may be my imagination but it seems that we had a better uptake for homework in cycle 12. Maybe the children are realising its importance at last - or else they are realising the threat to lose their end of year excursion is very real indeed...

Cycle 13 homework has been delayed due to inclement photocopiers, and will be given out this Monday 4th Nov. This will mean there is just enough time to complete it before camp week :)

High School Transition Days

Just a quick reminder to all Year 7 parents that the high school transition days will be on the following dates;
Oct 30 (or Nov 1), Nov 12, Dec 13

While I realise that the High School sent a lot of forms home in one hit, and that there was bound to be some confusion attached to that - from my end I still need a health form signed off for the dates above. To date I am missing health forms from the following students;

Shaun, Jade, Alex S, Roberta and Langford.

NAPLAN results

While we are still waiting for the printouts, NAPLAN results became available to me in the final week of Term 3. I would like to congratulate the following students for achievements and / or improvements across these most dreaded of tests;

Richard, Ella, Jade, Alex, Fraser, Chelsea and Lochie.

Special mention must go to Shaun, who would have placed first in just about any other class in the country that didn't have Elizabeth, whose results were just extraordinary in almost every way.

Growth & Development

Because of the rain and the sports carnivals, our Growth & Development sessions have been re-scheduled to Week 1 and 2 of Term 4.

Please note that the following students are yet to return a signed consent so that they can take part;

Jessica B,   Chelsea,    Alex S,    William

Learning Journey 2013

Please don't forget to check out the school during this year's Learning Journey. If you haven't received prior notice about the Learning Journey it means that your child hasn't been handing you all of the notes and newsletters that have been sent home!

Please come along and check out all the classrooms - you don't have to restrict yourself to your child's class!

There is a book fair in the library, a free sausage sizzle and soft drinks are on sale (proceeds go towards year 7 camp).

The Learning Journey runs from 5-7 pm on Monday, September 23. Come along and see some great examples from the kids.

Sports Carnival - Rain Stopped Play

Well - it was a gallant effort on everyone's behalf, but we just couldn't get through the whole sports carnival today. Persistent rain and cold winds finally put a stop to the events at about noon.
The next plan is to try and finish the carnival on Thursday, 26th Sept. We only need about 3 hours to do so, so let's cross our fingers and hope for some sunshine!

Homework (Cycle 11)

Just a quick note to let you know that cycle 11 homework was has been given out, and will be due Monday, 23rd Sept.
Homework was given a week late, and so the package is a little smaller than usual to account for the shorter time frame.

Missing Orange Slips

The following students have not, after more than a week, brought their Orange Slips back to class...

Chelsea, Skye, Tyson, Alivia, Alex-Jack and William.

A further note has been sent home today. If these students can not get their notes signed and brought back to class then they will face unpleasant consequences. You have been warned!

And while we're communicating - here's a little whinge...

Unfortunately, much of the need for this degree of communication arises because many children in Room 10 are displaying an unfortunate tendency to misplace, forget or discard any newsletters or information sheets that should be going home regularly. Too many children in the class need constant reminders and / or the threat of punishment before they are sufficiently motivated to keep up a consistent line of communication. Here are my rules;

• All children should have a Home Folder, which is simply a plastic or cardboard folder. Anything and everything that is meant to go home and be seen by parents is supposed to go into the Home Folder.
• The Home Folder goes home every afternoon, and returns every morning. It is supposed to live in your child's schoolbag, and not be left at home or at school - EVER.
• Children should by now be in the habit of taking their folder home and having it actioned immediately, but unfortunately they're not. Please help them to get into this routine, as the sooner they do, the sooner they'll be able to focus on more sophisticated tasks. 

For the recent Perth excursion, some children were given three copies of the same note, and others were unable to tell me whether they had submitted any notes to me at all. I spent far too much time chasing my tail for children who should have demonstrated greater independence by now. Some of these children will go to high school in 4 months time, so if I sound frustrated - I am.

And suddenly it's five years later...

Well - it has certainly been some time since I posted on this Blog! Issues with privacy and policy were the main reason that I stopped creating classroom posts back in 2008, but as much of this has now been sorted I feel it is high time we knocked the dust off this blog, in order to further enhance our classroom to home communication.