West Lakes Shore School Newsletter

Dear Families,

We hope all families had a great long weekend. Staff used the Pupil Free Day to analyse gaps in student mathematical assessments and moderate co-designed math tasks. Several staff lead workshops to share their own mathematical practice. Staff were also challenged with key mathematical problems. With no answers given we were tested to ‘try and try again’ to work out solutions and share our methods with each other. Mistakes were welcomed and they helped us to learn. We attach a question or two for families to have a go at. When working out answers it is important to encourage children to record their methods and explain their answers. This allows us to see children’s deeper understanding and their ability to apply what they know into new problems. Students achieving at higher levels are those who record their methods to show their understanding and explain their answers to show their reasoning. 

Have a go at our Mathematic brain teasers, watch our ZOOM Wellbeing Warriors video, congratulate our House Leaders and discuss the PEACE Pack Affirmations with your family.

Be Strong, Be Kind and Stay Safe,

Carol, Helen, Fay and Rozika

Throughout the school we have a whole-school focus on recognising and reinforcing positive behaviours. It is important that we teach children that being kind, being a good friend and managing our emotions are things we should always do and that these are positive ways of being. To promote the many wonderful ways students exhibit exceptional behaviours all staff, including teachers, office staff and our groundsman, will be keeping an eye out and affirming behaviours with our ‘be kind’ tickets. The slips inform students which of our PEACE Pack affirmations they have displayed. Our aim is to promote ‘kindness builds kindness’ and that ‘positivity breeds positivity’.

This week our student Wellbeing Warrior Leaders led a whole-school spotlight session via Zoom WELLBEING WARRIOR VIDEO LINK to launch this initiative. Each week they will hold sessions to draw out students names for some spotlight surprises. Ideas staff and students have come up with, include things such as visiting leaders to discuss what they did, having their behaviours highlighted in whole-school communications, getting a canteen voucher or a wellbeing lucky dip and collating all tickets towards house points for our house teams. Rewards are not the intent of this whole-school positive behaviour approach though one year 6 student highlighted the purpose when she acknowledged that ‘sometimes kindness comes back at you’. Other year 4 students discussed how the initiative is intended to promote the good role model behaviours so we ‘teach on’ these to others and a Year 3 class summed it up as a way to ensure we have a happy, safe and positive school all of the time.

Our 2020 House Leaders are taking responsibility for house points and are currently working together to decide when and how they will do this.

We congratulate all of our House Leaders and look forward to working with these students to define their adapted House Leader responsibilities this year.

Our social work students have been working with groups of students during lunchtime on Wednesday. Last week they worked with some year 3 students to make origami frogs and this week some year 4 students learned Taiwanese bamboo dancing. Children have enjoyed these cultural activities and getting to learn more about our social work students. If you see them please come and say “Hi” to Chia-Lin, Wenyue, Felix and Lachlan 

West Lakes Shore is now accepting enrolment enquiries for vacancies in all year levels, especially Reception, in 2021.

We strongly encourage families who know of others wanting a place in Reception, or other year levels in 2021, to enquire with our enrolment officer, Janet Massey.

Current families please do not forget to enrol your Kindy children if they are due to start next year - this is not automatically done.

We currently have a small number of vacancies in different year levels for any families wishing for their child/ren to be considered for a current vacancy.

For current families whose child/ren are taking up an alternate school placement in 2021, please email janet.massey644@schools.sa.edu.au, as soon as possible. This supports our whole school staffing and class structure processes and helps us to provide your child with the best possible transition. 

This includes those families moving interstate/overseas, and current year 6 students that will be moving into the Catholic/Independent school system for Year 7. 

Did you know that your 3-5 year old should be getting 11-13 hours of sleep a night?  And that the amount of sleep your child gets affects their ability to focus, get along with others, and be ready to learn?

The following link is useful to read if you would like some further information on children and sleep. Raising Children website

• Friday, 3rd July 2020 - Last day of term 2 - Early dismissal at 2:15pm