Palmerston Post

Week 6 ends of a high with an incredible rating from our recent Preschool Compliance Check. Every 4 years, preschools and early childcare centres undergo a Compliance check, similar to School Review, and this week our preschool has done our community so proud. Under the expert leadership of Felicity McNeice, our preschool team have delivered a very high level of administrative paperwork and hosted a visit from the Auditor. The results were strong and very positive – which is no surprise to us as we were already so proud of the amazing learning program that is delivered to our youngest students on a  daily basis. Please join with me in acknowledging and celebrating with this amazing team of teachers and educators!

Understandably, we all have concerns around the spreading of the Corona Virus, please be assured that the Directorate of Education are closely aligned with and actively working with the ACT Directorate of Health. Please refer to the below information sheet for further information.

I would like to thank the four nominees for their proposed commitment to representing parents by taking on a role within the School Board. I was thrilled to have four strong nominations and am delighted to announce Fang Yuan as the parent representative and look forward to a productive and positive working relationship.

Until next time – 

Kate Smith

When I was in primary school, I knew I was culturally different to some of my peers.  The prosciutto, salami, smelly cheese, gherkin and homemade bread told me I was a bit different when I compared it to the lunchboxes of my friends.  I considered myself to have big problems as a child - my skin was always a little darker, I would have to interpret for my parents when they came to visit my school and I was never allowed to sleep over a friend’s house.  Big problems for a 12-year-old.  I didn’t understand why my life had to be so difficult. 

Thirty years on and I now see my cultural background as one to be proud of.  I love the music of my culture; Croatian cakes are my favourite and I have a sense of pride for the country in which my parents were born.  However, in saying that I am also a very proud Australian.  I can see that this country, and its beautifully diverse people have provided me with such a beautiful life.  A life where I can order food inspired by exotic countries at the push of a button, a life where I can sit next to and learn from many friends who are also of a background other than English, a life where I can encourage those around me to be their best selves. 

Next Thursday (19 March 2020) our school will be celebrating and recognising many important events. 

·         20 March - International Day of Happiness (Theme – Happier Together)

·         21 march - Harmony Day (Theme – Everyone Belongs)

·         20 March - National Day of Action Against Bullying and Violence

 Staff and students will participate in several activities to acknowledge and celebrate the beautifully diverse people that make up our community.  The day will also highlight our school PRIDE values and reinforce that at our school we are safe, respectful learners.  These events will include;

·         Wearing orange to school, or traditional dress that is reflective of the student’s culture.

·         An art competition for Preschool to Year 2, and a writing competition for Year 3 to Year 6.  The work will reflect the theme Everyone Belongs.  Winners will be announced on the day and receive a prize.

·         All students will work on an individual activity of writing a positive message on a coloured ribbon.  These will be tied around the school. 

·         All students will work with their buddy classes to complete a design on a rock.  These rocks will be placed around the school.

·         Exploring literature about friendship, bullying, kindness and acceptance. 

·         Participating in explicit social and emotional wellbeing lessons.

 All students will also receive a rubber wrist band to promote unity and anti-bullying messages.  We look forward to a wonderful day that celebrates equality and inclusivity and highlights a call to action to say no to bullying behaviours. 

I have been so proud of our Year Six cohort this week who have shown outstanding leadership, lived our PBL expectations and demonstrated our PRIDE values.  Two Year Six boys, Taj and Declan in 6DE, have already taken on the challenge of composing a rap as part of the Harmony Day writing competition.  I had a go at rapping the words and it left me with a smile on my face and joy in my heart.  Here it is;

It's not just about the clothes we wear or how we look

And the colour of our skin, of the food we cook.

There's more to you and me than just what meets the eye,

There's all the different feelings we have inside,

Everyone is different in so many ways,

Wouldn't it be boring if we were all the same?

Celebrate your culture, your family history

And when we all together, celebrate diversity.

I can’t wait to read more next week.  Happy Harmony Day!

 Marijana Pasalic

Standardised Testing

This term, at our school, many students will undertake standardised classroom tests, predominantly in English and Maths, to enable teachers to gather evidence in order to understand where students are in their learning journey, at the start of their new year level.

In years 1-6 students will undertake the Progressive Achievement Test (PAT) in Mathematics and Reading Comprehension. In addition, in years 2-6 students will undertake PAT Vocabulary Skills; and, in years 4 and 5, students will also trial PAT eWrite, a narrative writing test.

The Progressive Achievement approach emphasises that:

·         the evidence obtained through assessment indicates where a student is at in their learning

·         this evidence then informs the next steps in teaching and learning for each teacher

·         students’ subsequent learning growth is then monitored using assessment instruments aligned to the same scale over time.

In this way, teachers will have a better understanding of:

·         what students are likely to know, understand and be able to do as a starting point

·         how much students have improved over time and what skills, knowledge and abilities they have been able to develop

·         how a student’s level of attainment compares with other students.

This is a shift from using assessment in a traditional approach where assessment is used to judge how much knowledge a student has acquired, towards using it to support, promote and monitor student learning progress.

Evidence-based differentiation, in turn, provides better opportunities for student engagement and progression in learning.

In addition, some students will undertake a Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT) as part of our school ‘cycle’ of measuring students’ reasoning skills. CogAT is a standardised ability/aptitude test which:

·         measures those thinking and reasoning abilities that are most relevant to school achievement (verbal, non-verbal and quantitative reasoning)

·         provides teachers with an understanding of each student’s relative strengths and weaknesses in performing a variety of reasoning tasks

·         allows teachers to design education programs that will enhance student strengths while supporting their learning needs

·         used in conjunction with PAT results, allows teachers to ascertain whether students are working to potential.

It is customary for students to undertake CogAT once every three years, at Palmerston. Kindergarten children will undertake CogAT in Term 3.

Helen Cox

Would you like to know more about helping your child learn to read?

Come to one of our free seminars lead by  executive teacher Nicole Taylor former literacy advisor of the U Can Read program at the University of Canberra.

You will learn all about the reading process along with helpful   and practical strategies that you can use at home to help your child’s reading.

 Session One:  Thursday 19th March , 6 to 7pm

Session Two: Wednesday 25th March, 6 to 7pm

Palmerston District School Staff Room

Koscuiszko Ave, Palmerston

RSVP:    info@palmdps.act.edu.au

Congratulations to the following students who received a PRIDE Award at assembly.

 PARTICIPATION – becoming involved, “having a go” and cooperating with others.

Wilbur - 3DT        Lacey - 5VS        Lily - 6CT       Tomi - 3MB         Ayush - 3NS        Amber - 1FS        Kenzie - 1BD        Hayley - 1RN        Bojan - KBR      Christian - KGM        Hanna - KMC        Lachlan - KGS        Marcus - 2DH        Ben - 2DH        Hugo - 1FD        Patricia - 1FD        Jerry - 1AS        Harshini - 1MP        Finlay - 2CC

RESPECT – having respect for self, others and their property.

Jasmine - 3DT         Thomas - 3DT        Riley - 5CW        Luka - 4RE        Kafka - KMC        Amelie - KNE        Maddie - KNE        Arav - KCS        Zoya - KCS        Ryker - 2MO        Lucia - 2SZ

EMPATHY - understanding and supporting others regardless of our differences

Maddy - 4FB        Reign - 4FB        Sophie - 5AD        Isabelle - KBR        Olive - KGM        Rohanpreet - 2SH        Madeline - 1AS

INTEGRITY – being honest, fair, responsible and loyal.

Connor - 5VS       Alicia - 6DE         Maeve - 3NS

DETERMINATION - being persistent and resilient

Imogen - 3JL        Matthew - 5AD        Alex - 5CW        Jack - 6CT        Jessica - 6DE        Kenzie - 4RE        Noelle - 3MB        Binayak - 1FS        Micah - 1BD        Lylah - 1RN        April - KGS        Vilai - 2MO        Carter - 2SZ        Jerzy - 2SH        Jake - 1MP        Joanna - 2CC        Trong - 2CC

Tuesday 17 March                                        Preschool Harmony Day

Thursday 19 March 6-7pm                           K -2 Parent Reading Seminar

Thursday 19 March                                       Harmony Day/ National Day of                                                                      Action against Bullying and Violence

Thursday 19 March                                      Preschool Harmony Day

Wednesday 25 March  6-7pm                    K -2 Parent Reading Seminar                                 

Tuesday 31 March                                        Preschool Teddy Bear Picnic 

Wednesday 1 April - Friday 3 April             Year 5/6 Camp - Borambola 

Thursday 2 April                                            Preschool Teddy Bear Picnic

Thursday 9 April                                            Term 1 Ends

Palmerston Primary is excited to offer the Commonwealth Bank School Banking program to all students.

School Banking is a fun, interactive and engaging way for young Australians to learn about money and develop good savings habits. Children who deposit money into their Youthsaver account through School Banking earn Dollarmites tokens, which they can save up and redeem for exciting rewards.

 The rewards available during 2020 are:

o   Terry Denton’s Activity Book

o   Mini Soccer Ball (size 2)

o   Treetop Stationary Set

o   Treetop Handball

o   Tomato Seed Kit

o   Magic Mist Drink Bottle

o   Emoji Wallet

o   Snakes & Ladders Game

 School Banking is also a great fundraiser for our school. Our school receives a Regular Savers Contribution of $5 for every 10 deposits processed per student as well as an Annual Contribution which is based on the number of students who made at least one School Banking deposit in the prior year.

School Banking day is Wednesday. Each week you need to deliver your book to the Front Office.

If you are interested in opening a Commonwealth Bank Youthsaver account for your child you can visit www.commbank.com.au/schoolbanking and click on the link to open a Youthsaver account. A School Banking representative will be available at the Information Session to explain how you can do this. In order to verify yourself and your child, you will need your driver’s licence and your child’s birth certificate, but if you don’t have these with you on the day, you can complete verification online at home.