Henley Beach Primary School Newsletter

In the coming weeks our Year 1 teachers will be administering the Department for Education’s Phonics Screening Check. Most students take between 5 to 7 minutes to complete the check (however there is not a time limit) with the results helping to inform teacher planning to support identified student needs.

Phonics is a vital foundation in learning to read and relates to the relationship between individual sounds (phonemes) and the letters that represent them (graphemes). A phoneme is often represented by a single letter, but can be represented by two letters (th or ck), by three letters (igh in the word high) and even by four letters (ough in the word although). Students learn how to connect letters (graphemes) and sounds (phonemes) through explicit phonics lessons that are implemented by our teachers. This includes teacher lead demonstrations and providing multiple opportunities for students to review and practise their phonics learning. If you are interested in finding out how you can help your child’s phonics knowledge or overall reading development, please contact their class teacher.

School Community Survey

Last week the Department for Education released the 2022 Parent/Carer Engagement Survey. The survey can be completed via an online link that has been sent to families by email. Please take the time to complete the survey as the information provides an important part of our school improvement processes and will help inform future priorities.

2023 Planning

Future enrolments are an important factor that helps inform the school’s class and staffing arrangements. In order to support our planning for next year, for families of Reception students (starting in 2023), if you have not already contacted the school regarding your child’s enrolment, could you please do so as soon as possible. Alternatively, we require families to inform us if their child will be leaving Henley Beach at the end of 2022 as soon as possible. This information helps us plan our class structures for next year. Also, if you know of families who are considering enrolling their children at Henley Beach, please encourage them to contact the school.

SSO Recognition Week

Next week is SSO (School Services Officer) Recognition Week. Our SSOs fulfil a variety of roles and responsibilities within our school including: administration, classroom assistance, student support and extra-curricular programs. Each of our SSOs make an invaluable contribution to the learning and wellbeing of our students along with the day to day operations of the school; we are fortunate to have such a committed group of SSOs and we thank them for their work.

Volunteer Opportunity

Our school benefits from volunteer assistance in a variety of ways which is always greatly appreciated. Along with current opportunities we would like to extend an invitation to any interested parents, carers and grandparents who may be interested in taking on the role of supervising our student crossing monitors. For any volunteers that do nominate, a current Working with Children Clearance will be required along with completing a short 30min training session provided by SAPOL. For anyone interested, please contact the front office.

Invacuation and Evacuation Procedures

 Each term, as a part of our school safety management plan, we practice whole school invacuation and evacuation procedures. These opportunities enable staff and students to become familiar with what they need to do in these situations and it also helps us refine and adjust our actions to ensure they occur efficiently. Yesterday we held an invacuation rehearsal. Please be aware that in the instance of an actual emergency situation that families will be notified in a timely manner.

HBPS canteen will be closed on Tuesday 23 August.

Please do not send money on this day.

Canteen will reopen on Wednesday 24 August.

Book Week celebrations are planned for next week, beginning Monday August 23. As a part of this we will be having our whole school parade on Thursday August 25 with the arrangements as follows:

Book Week Parade Theme: ‘Dreaming with eyes open”. All children are encouraged to come dressed in a costume/clothing connected to a favourite book or book character. Please ensure your child’s costume is age appropriate and reflective of our school expectations and values.

Families are invited to come along to a school parade that will be held on the Metcalfe Lawn from 9.05am. Bunting will be placed on the lawn and we request families view from this area.

Photography:

Staff will be taking photographs on the day which will be posted via Seesaw and Skoolbag. As per the school policy, please be aware of the following expectations for parents and carers around photography for the parade (please note that this information below applies to all school events):

· Be mindful of the privacy of other families when taking photographs or recordings and ensure only your own child/children are in the image.

· Images of other children cannot be taken unless you have consent from their parent/carer.

· Do not post/share group photos on social media without prior consent.

Reading

Following on from a previous newsletter item which gave some tips on how parents can support their children with reading at home, below are some more questions that you could ask your child when they are reading with you (one or two will be enough during each reading session).

During Reading

· What questions do you have about what you have read so far?

· What questions have you asked yourself as you have been reading?

· What did the author mean there?

· What word on this line tells us that…?

After Reading

· What has happened so far?

· Who are the main characters?

· Would you do the same as…? why/why not

· What words did the author use to describe a character’s personality and what they looked like?

· What did you learn about ….? (a character/setting)

· What feelings did a character have during the story – how do you know?

· If you could add another character, who would it be and what would they do?

The Premier’s Reading Challenge (PRC) is well underway at Henley Beach Primary School with just a few weeks to go. To enable us to do the administration required, the closing date for receipt of completed and signed Student Reading Records is Friday 9th September. Our display in the library is steadily filling up with the faces of students who have completed the challenge already and we are hoping that every child will eventually have their faces on display.

Student Reading Records are available from class teachers, and as children read the books, parents are encouraged to sign the form. Books which are read at school can be signed by teachers.

The PRC is something that we value at Henley Beach Primary and we recognise that parents and families value it too as a way to encourage and enjoy reading at home. Our library is well stocked and students are given opportunities to borrow with their class.

You can explore the PRC further by visiting the website where you will be able to find out information about the books, authors, ambassadors, guidelines and lots more. The book lists are available on the website and you can search by author, title, category and series in each of the three levels, R-2, 3-5 and 6-9. www.prc.sa.edu.au

Last Friday our school had a girls team and a boys team in the Primary School’s Basketball competition at St Clair Centre. The Girls won two of their five games. The Boys won three of their five games. All students played their best and showed great teamwork. 

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Events

Book Week Parade - 25 August

Movie Night - Friday 26 August

Excursions

Science Incursion - 31 August

Festival of Music Performance - 21 September

Yr3/4, Yr4 Maritime Excursion - 22 September

Last day of term

Friday 30 September (2pm early dismissal)

Pupil Free Days 

Monday 12 September

Friday 25 November

School Closure Days

Friday 9 September (Adelaide Show)

Late last term the service undertook a Re-Assessment and Re-Rating process by the Education Standards Board. OSHC services have quality standards that they need to implement to ensure proper care, safety and quality practices are in place. The service is proud to announce that we received a positive result from this assessment and our service is now meeting all National Quality Standards. 

I would like to thank all the OSHC families for their continuous support, the staff for their ongoing professionalism and enthusiasm to work, and the OSHC Advisory Committee who act on the Governing Council’s behalf to make key decisions for OSHC.

Notice

HBPS canteen will be closed on Tuesday 23 August.

Please do not send money on this day.

Canteen will reopen on Wednesday 24 August.

Book Week

To celebrate Book Week we are ‘dreaming’ up some special savoury and sweet snacks we are sure will delight. Snacks will be available to purchase over the counter at recess and lunch from Monday 22 to Friday 26 August. Get your coins ready, and tell your kids to keep their ‘eyes open’.