Today was Dress as a Hero day and what a way to end a fabulous term. You are my heroes! I chose to wear a Subi School t-shirt covered in photos of our wonderful kids celebrating Everyone Belongs during Harmony Week, as well as a photo of our staff who make a difference every day. Here is an excerpt from my address to the children at today's Heroes assembly.

Who are heroes?
You might be thinking to yourself that you are not a hero and you might look in the mirror and you don’t think you see a hero, but heroes are everywhere.  Heroes are every day kids. You might not wear a cape or underwear outside of your clothes, and that’s probably a good thing, but you can make a difference to the world.

Ordinary people like you and I can decide to be extraordinary. If you want to be awesome, treat people like they’re awesome.   

It’s about strength. Not picking up a car type of strength, it’s about a different type of strength; strength of character, being kind, being there, showing love and compassion.

Who’s been a hero to you?  It might be your parents, grandparents, friends, teachers.

You don’t need a cape, and you don’t need money. You just need to care. You have what’s inside of you and you have everything you need to make somebody’s day.

Some heroes go into a dangerous situation like firefighters and the police. There are the COVID-19 heroes; essential workers, doctors, nurses and teachers around the world.

Some heroes become a hero because they are at the right place at the right time and they do the right thing, for example, if they see an accident and they give first aid or ring an ambulance.

Then there are another group of heroes - our volunteers. They are reliable, they do stuff without asking and make great contributions like our Social Justice Group, Ministry of Sustainability, Student Representative Council, Peer Mediators, Our School Board, P&C, CLPs and our parents that volunteer and help at our school.

What can you do to be a hero?
Be kind, do the right thing and stand up for the right things. If someone is having a tough day, look out for them. Be there for others, say nice things, smile at people, show kindness, courage and love.

Heroes are found everywhere. 

The world needs heroes -  And that hero could be you!

Thank you everyone for an incredible 13 years at Subiaco Primary, collectively living up to our motto Our Best. We all proudly embrace our school creed – A school is not a building but a gathering of minds and hearts and place and friendly guidance and help.

I have been overwhelmed with thank you emails, flowers, cards and tokens of appreciation. I will treasure your heartfelt comments forever. Your generous donations will pay for new speakers to be installed in the upgraded under covered area, helping to continue the tradition of celebrating dance, music and having fun!

I look forward to embracing the challenges and opportunities of my new role as well as returning to Subiaco Primary at the end of my secondment. I know you will join with me in welcoming  Beatrice Bouska, who will take up the principal position at Subiaco Primary for the start of next term, when I take up a secondment as a Collegiate Principal.

"How lucky am I to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard."  Winnie the Pooh.

To see photos of Hero costumes click HERE.
Click HERE to view the Local Heroes Assembly, (password subiaco).

Dear Parents and Members of the community.

Hello to the Subiaco PS school community. I am extremely excited about joining the school and building strong relationships with students, staff, parents and the wider community. I bring over 30 years teaching and leadership experience both in Australia and in the International School system in Asia, Europe and the US. Most recently I was Principal at Piara Waters PS.

I believe every student can be successful given the right support and encouragement and will aim to ensure this continues to occur at Subiaco Primary. I want every day at our primary school to be some of the ‘best days of their lives’ for our students.

I would like to acknowledge the great work undertaken by Carolyn and her team and I look forward to working with a dedicated and committed staff. Our Teachers and Education Assistants have the biggest impact on a student’s learning, so I will be supporting and challenging the staff to be the best teacher they can be, and to be that teacher a child remembers positively for the rest of their lives.

On a more personal note, I’m married with two adult daughters, both of whom are currently in University. My oldest is a medical student and my number two is studying to be a chemical engineer. My husband is a computer system engineer in the private sector.

I look forward to meeting with many of you over the coming weeks.

Kind Regards
Bea Bouska

I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a safe and restful holiday break. Students resume on Monday 19 April.  During the first week back, Friday 23 April is a School Development Day with teachers engaged in professional learning that day. There is no school for students that day, and this leads into the Anzac Day long weekend with Monday 26 April a public holiday.

The Annual Report articulates and demonstrates our commitment to excellence and our relentless pursuit of achieving Our Best. It has been endorsed by our School Board and aligns with our Business Plan. To read the one page summary click HERE. To read the full version click HERE.

Our second meeting for Term 1 was held last week – the focus was reviewing the finances and how they are being used to target school priorities within our Business Plan. As a Board we do not develop the annual budget, rather we endorse the budget following our in depth discussion and analysis of what school assessment data is telling us, identifying trends and areas we consider significant. A key question is; Are we making appropriate progress against our focus area targets? On the school website there is a carefully planned timeline to ensure we are on track to achieving our milestones. Read more HERE. We thank the newly appointed Manager of Corporate Services, Natasha Harlond for her informative budget and finance presentation and answering our questions regarding the financial aspects of the school.

We also took time as a Board to celebrate Carolyn’s exemplary leadership of our school over the past 13 years. Her passion, commitment and expertise have helped our school go from strength to strength and create a unique setting with excellence in education and community partnerships at the heart. We wish her all the best in her new position as Collegiate Principal within the Education Department. There is no doubt there are high expectations for the new Principal, and Carolyn has worked tirelessly with her staff to prepare for the change in leadership and ensure a smooth transition. As Board Chair, it has been an absolute pleasure and a privilege working alongside Carolyn.

At our school we strive for positive and purposeful communication. We create a connected community when we share information, model respect and give consistent messages. To read the Communication Guidelines that have been co-developed with and endorsed by our School Board click HERE.

Our SRC helped develop 4 survey questions, for students, about inclusion. 179 Year 5/6 students responded with 78% of students indicating that they feel included most of the time. Our SRC reflected on the survey and their advice included:

• That it takes time to get to know people.
• If people aren’t accepting you for who you are, find someone who will accept you.  That’s what real friends do.
• If you are invited to a party and someone else is not, be aware of hurting people’s feelings. 

To continue strengthening our school to ensure all children feel included, our duty teachers will help out at handball when needed, Jamie in her Chaplain role will continue to work with the Social Justice Group children on Buddy bench activities and key messages will be delivered at sub-assemblies.

To read the full survey click HERE.

Preliminary site works for our new undercover area commenced yesterday, with works continuing over the school holidays and completion and handover happening on Monday May 3 next term.

The school carpark, entrance and undercover area was gated and fenced off yesterday, and will remain fenced for the first few weeks of the construction. Parents and students will be able to enter and move around the school as per usual but via gates in a couple of areas along Bagot Road.

The only areas not assessable to the school community will be the undercover area and the carpark.

Apologies to staff and the school community for any inconvenience with parking and access to the school/grounds.

The Subiaco Farmers Market will move up to Earthwise next weekend Easter Saturday 3 April and resume on the school grounds in the new undercover area as of Saturday 7 May.

Thank you to all parents who attended this week’s parent teacher meetings. The feedback I have received is that the meetings are highly valued by parents and teachers as a way of sharing the progress and achievement of your child. Parents who missed the opportunity to meet with the classroom teachers are encouraged to make contact with the class teacher early next term.

Thank you to the staff and parents who placed funding round submissions. Early next term funding submissions will be reviewed and approved by a committee of four; two P&C Executive members and two school representatives. The allocation of funds will align with the priorities articulated in the 2020-2023 Business Plan. Successful funding round submissions will be announced in the newsletter and ratified at the Term 2, P&C General Meeting.

Our swimming program came to an official end on Monday at the Interschool Primary Champion Schools Swimming Carnival. This event was held at HBF Stadium. Subiaco competed against Carine, Floreat, Manning and Wembley. I am delighted and extremely proud to announce that we won the Meritorious Shield for the Gold Division competition. We also finished 2nd in the overall standings, only missing out on the top honours by 20 points. It was a teriffic team effort from the 30 swimmers that competed on the day. There were so many highlights, exciting and memorable moments throughout the day. Artyom Yavishev (Year 4) and Ethan Potter (Year 6) were awarded the Individual Champions for their age group. Griffin Murray (Year 5) and Dariya Yavishev (Year 6) both placed in the top 3. Without a doubt the highlight of the day was Ethan Potter breaking a record in the 50m Breaststroke. This record had stood since 1998. What an amazing swim.

Finally, on behalf of the students, parents and staff we would like to extend our thanks to our amazing swim coach Elena Nesci. It has been a pleasure watching how much the students have improved across swim program. The students loved these sessions and seeing their faces after a great swim, knowing all the hard work has paid off was priceless. We had one swimmer swim a 7 second PB at the Interschool. We are truly blessed to have Elena on our team.

Unfortunately the Subiaco Children’s Centre on site is at capacity. Our school has been contacted by Cherry Fuapala, OSHC Manager Mulberry Tree Leederville, who is able to take waitlisted children or those requiring places. They require a minimum of 7 before they are able to send a bus. Please contact the centre direct for more information 0429 451 525.

We are still accepting new families for before school care and parents are still welcome to enrol for the after school waitlist.

The P&C is once again selling Entertainment Memberships as part of the school fundraising activities.

Memberships start from $69.99 and as a special offer until April 15, 2021 you receive a bonus $10 or $20 gift card.

To order your Membership online visit www.entbook.com.au/8u3063

Suspicious Activity On School Grounds
On weekends and holidays we sometimes have unwanted behaviour and vandalism on our school grounds. Please call Education Security on 9264 4632 or 9264 4771 if you see anything suspicious.

Uniform Shop Winter Stock
The Uniform Shop is fully stocked with Polar Fleece maroon Jackets and our new maroon fleece track pants perfect for cooler days. Simply place orders at our online uniform shop by visiting the school shop at https://shop.subiprimarypc.com.au/

School Photos
The whole school photograghs will take place in Term 2 on Tuesday 4 and Wednesday 5 May. Information on ordering etc will be sent out via Compass closer to the day. All ordering will be done online. This year the school will be engaging the services of MSP Photography, the change in service providers has been ratified by the School Board.

School Grounds After Hours
We would like to remind parents that students should not be on the school grounds out of school hours unless accompanied by an adult. This includes not only after school, but on the weekends and during the school holidays. The school grounds are being used more and more by a wide range of community members, and the school staff cannot be held responsible for the safety of the students outside school hours.

Mobile Dental Van
The Dental Mobile will be closed the school holidays except for April 12-13.

Emergency cover for the closure is Beaconsfield Dental Therapy Centre / Phone 93358758. The Mobile will re-open on the Monday 19 April for Term 2 at Nedlands Primary School. Should an emergency arise after clinic hours or during a public holiday please contact the emergency service on 1800 098 818.

Click HERE for other Community News and School Holiday activities. This document includes information on activities available around our community for children and families.

SUBIACO PRIMARY SCHOOL
271 Bagot Rd, Subiaco WA 6008.
Phone: 08 9207 7900
Email: subiaco.ps@education.wa.edu.au