Quality teaching and learning is paramount at our school.  Professor John Hattie has identified that the classroom teacher accounts for about a 30% variance in student achievement. So a focus on quality teaching is of utmost importance. What teachers know, do, and care about is very powerful.

In his analysis of hundreds of international and national educational interventions and data, Dr Hattie, determined that “for students moving from one year to the next, the average effect size across all students is 0.40.” Hattie’s research places particular emphasis on programs with effect  sizes above 0.4 as worth having and those lower than 0.4 as needing further consideration.

Here are some of the 136 effect sizes:
Class size   0.21
Homework   0.29
Teacher clarity   0.75 organisation, explanation, guided practice, assessment
Teacher credibility  0.90 4 key factors: trust, competence, dynamism, immediacy.

At our school we focus on supporting teacher growth in teacher clarity and credibility.  We do this in a number of ways:

• Teachers embrace a rigorous, whole school approach to the teaching of literacy and numeracy.
• Collaboration is highly valued and staff collaboratively plan, assess and moderate.
• Teacher expertise is shared through professional learning, modelling and mentoring.
• Our teachers are completely abreast of curriculum changes and timelines for implementation.
• Additional teacher and student support time is regularly timetabled. Both Eileen Burns and Leanne Rogerson are Level 3 classroom teachers who work shoulder to shoulder with staff. Leanne, as Learning Support Teacher, assists  staff to individualise learning programs and write Individual and Group Education Plans.  Eileen Burn’s  role this year is in literacy support.  She provides in class support, specifically in Years 2, 3 & 5 as well as withdrawal literacy and EAL/D support.  Yvonne Dennis, Assistant Principal works weekly in the Year 1 classes, Deb Hands works in the Year 4 & 5 classes, Melinda Harris in Year 6 classes and I am working in the Kindy and Pre Primary classrooms.

All our Year 4-6 students enthusiastically participated in today's Swimming Carnival and demonstrated a tremendous amount of team spirit.

The Year 1-3 swimming carnival will be held next Friday 17 March. The Year 2-3 Carnival will be held from 11:10-1:10 and the Year 1 Carnival from 2:00-3:10.

 
Results are as follows:
1st Llewellyn 526 points
2nd Klein 502 points
3rd Julius 443 points

Congratulations to the following Champions:

Year 4 Boys                                         Year 4 Girls
Champion - Harrison Sartori             Champion - Helen McCaul 
Runner Up - Ciaron Doyle                Runner Up - Madeleine Tyter 

Year 5 Boys                                         Year 5 Girls
Champion - Archie Gilchrist             Champion - Isabella Shymko 
Runner Up - Tom Mengler               Runner Up - Carlie Ferguson  

Year 6 Boys                                        Year 6 Girls
Champion - Jules Fredonnet            Champion - Leila Read 
Runner Up - Bailey Alexander          Runner Up - Laura Rutherford

Thank you to Andrew Longhurst, staff and parents who contributed to the success of the day. The food stall was hugely popular and our thanks go to our Year 4 parents for doing a great job in running it. Thank you also to the Healthy Hub for providing healthy fruit and vegetable platters for our children. Click HERE to view photos of the day.

Our 3 factions are named after previous principals.
James  Klein, Principal 1900-1903
Elizabeth Julius, Infant School Headmaster 1900-1902
Robert Llewellyn, Principal, 1920-1933.

The Interschool Swimmimg Carnival will be held on Thursday 16 March. Selected students will represent our school at the Interschool Swimming Carnival at HBF Stadium next Thursday. We know that they will represent our school with pride and embody Our Best motto. Thank you to Elena Nesci, our before school swimming coach and Andy Longhurst for preparing our students.

Everyone Belongs is the 2017 Harmony Day theme.

All children are encouraged to dress in country of origin colours or  orange on Thursday 24 March as Orange is the colour chosen to represent cultural diversity and an inclusive Australia.

For the last 5 years, the school has held end of Term One parent teacher interviews. Parent feedback is always very positive and the School Board has endorsed for 2017 one early school closure for the purposes of individual parent teacher meetings. These face to face interviews are an opportunity for teachers to share with parents about their child’s progress, achievement, strengths and focus areas and for parents to share their observations and ask questions.

These interviews will take place on the last week of Term One on Monday 3 April.  School will close at 12.00pm for that day only. Please mark this date in your diaries.

Parents can collect children at that time or children can make their way home in the usual way with permission from parents. Any students who are not able to be collected or supervised at home or at a friend’s house will have the opportunity to stay at school and be supervised by our specialist teachers. There is no change to the Subiaco Children’s Centre out of school care times and they will operate as normal. Parent interviews will start at 12.30pm with interview times to approximately 5.30pm. Scheduled appointment times will be arranged via an on line booking system that will be set up in coming weeks. If parents cannot make this time, then alternative times can be negotiated with the individual teachers

The role of the School Board is to set the long term future for the school. The Board’s role is strategic and does not have a role in the day to day operational management. At this week's meeting the Board worked through the first draft of the Business Plan which will set the strategic direction over the next 3 years.

To read how the Board, School Staff and P&C work together to support our school click HERE.

Congratulations to the following parents who were elected at the P&C Annual General Meeting held last week:

Election of Executive                            Committee Leads                              
President: Jodi Mansfield                    Events: Federica Battaglia
Vice President: Christian Sprogoe        Healthy Eating: Cy Rocchi
Treasurer: Virginia Borshoff               School Pool: Rowena Buxton
Secretary: Kerry Warburton               Uniform Shop: Lisa Barneveld
                                                    CLP: Phoebe Robinson and Lisa Barneveld
                        

Over 25 CLPs meet this week to discuss their role and yearly fundraising events. Carolyn gave an update of school data, school priorities and the development of the Business Plan. We thank all parents who have volunteered to be CLP this year.

Save the date! We will be celebrating our 120th birthday with children dressing in colonial costume, taking part in traditional games and dancing to the Mucky Duck Bush Band from 2.00-3.10pm that day. All parents are welcome to join in the bush dancing that afternoon.

Clean Up Australia Day Emu Stalk
Our Year 1-6 students showed how they cared for our school environment at The Clean Up our School event. 

Sensational Scitech
The Year 3 students were fully engaged in exciting, hands on activities at Scitech this week. They loved Bionic Me, Free Explore and the Planetarium. Click HERE to read some of the fabulous recounts of the excursion.

Click HERE to see some photos from the Year 3 SciTech Excursion

Nanga Bush Camp
The Year 6 students had a fabulous time engaged in outdoor activities such as night time rock climbing, jarrah  zip lining and flat water rafting at the Nanga Bush camp held in Dwellingyup last week. To see some photos click HERE.

Hockey at Subi
Over the last few weeks the year 1-4 students have been lucky enough to have hockey players from UWA hockey club come in and show them a few things.
If your child is interested in playing hockey this winter season you can register here
http://uwahockey.org.au/juniors/home/ or see Mr Longhurst for a flyer.
Click HERE for photos.

Peer Mediators
Our Year 6 Peer Mediators started this week.  The role of the Peer Mediator is to assist children in the playground to deal with minor issues, solve problems and find solutions.  To find out more about the Peer Mediator Program click HERE.

If You Could Meet A Character From A Movie, Which Character Would It Be?
Four Year 4 students answered that question and it was published in the ED section of the West Australian newspaper. Click HERE to read their answers.

We have a fortnightly newsletter that is emailed. Newsletter dates for this term are 3, 10 & 24 February, 10 & 24 March and 7 April. Hard copies are available at the front office or online HERE.

Put a team together for Subi’s very own amazing race and get set for a thrilling adventure through the streets of Subiaco from 9.00am to 1.00pm on Saturday, 1 April!

Race Around Subi sees teams of two to six people navigate their way around Subiaco on foot, taking on challenges at participating Subiaco businesses, community organisations and local landmarks in a race to the finish line. There are prizes to be won and a free sausage sizzle for all contenders.

This event is brought to you by Subi Voice of Youth – the city’s youth leadership group.Registrations are free and now open. Register your team today on the city’s website at www.subiaco.wa.gov.au/racearoundsubi. Registrations close Monday 27 March.

Assembly Timetable Term 1

Week 8, 23/3 - L5, Year 1 Mrs Mackesey/Maroni

Week 10, 6/4 - L1, Year 2 Mrs Wood

For the complete 2017 Assembly Timetable please click HERE.

School Development Days In 2017
The following School Development days have been ratified by the School Board.
Term 2:     Friday 2 June (Leads into Western Australia Day long weekend).
Term 3:     Monday 17 July – Day 1 of Term 3
Term 4:     Monday 9 October – Day 1 of Term 4

Term Planner
Click HERE to view the term planner.

NAPLAN Dates
Year 3 and 5 students will participate in the NAPLAN assessments which run from Tuesday 9 May to Thursday 11 May.

The City of Subiaco and Jolimont Primary School are teaming up with CLAN WA to present an Understanding Anxiety parenting workshop.

Anxiety is a normal part of children’s development, however it is estimated that up to 22% of children experience anxiety more intensely and more often than other children. This workshop assists parents in understanding anxiety and being able to recognise the signs and symptoms that a child may exhibit.

The workshop is free and suitable for parents or carers of children aged 0 – 12 years. Light refreshments will be provided. Bookings are essential as places are limited. Free tickets can be reserved online.

Thursday, 30 March
6.30pm – 8pm at Jolimont Primary School
www.subiaco.wa.gov.au/Things-to-do-in-Subi/events/2017/Understanding-Anxiety-Parenting-Workshop

We are encouraging all parents to subscribe to our newsfeed.
For up to date information on school activities, events and news subscribe to our newsfeed by clicking HERE. You will then receive an email from Feedburner with a link to confirm your registration. Don't miss out on crucial information.

Arrival at school
Please try to ensure that students do not arrive at school prior to 8.30am as no teacher supervision is in place. Students arriving before 8.30am are reminded of the need to assemble, with bags, on the stairs until dismissed at 8.30am.  Thank you for your support. For safety reasons we request that parents do not use the staff car park to drop off and collect students.

Updating School Records
If your address, telephone number or email address has changed, please contact the school office.

Bike Week
Bike Week is Western Australia’s annual celebration of people riding bikes – and the City of Subiaco is out to make sure it’s a great celebration! 

In 2017, the City of Subiaco is working with local businesses to double the excitement of Bike Week. Not only will we hold our annual Bike to Work Breakfast on Friday 24 March; we’re supporting Subi Farmers Market to hold their first Ride to Market event on Saturday 25 March.

Visit  the Bike Week 2017 website at http://www.bikeweek.com.au/ for a list of events to be held throughout Western Australia.

Click HERE to check out the Community News for local news, information and events including school holiday activities.

The City of Subiaco is developing a Heritage Strategic Plan to guide the management of the city’s rich and unique heritage and celebrate it into the future. The plan will provide a framework for the preservation of the city’s heritage across four key areas:

Knowing: Identifying and recording the places, stories and objects that represent the city’s rich history.
Protecting: Conserving, adapting and appropriately developing the city’s heritage places.
Supporting: Facilitating and encouraging the conservation and management of the city’s heritage.
Promoting: Increasing an awareness and appreciation of the city’s diverse history.

Have your say on the future of the City’s heritage by completing the online survey (or by registering interest in upcoming community focus groups) at www.haveyoursaysubiaco.com.au

Why not leave your car at home on Saturday 25 March … and ride your bicycle instead? The 1st 100 bicycle riders will receive a $10 gift voucher to spend at the market. Bicycle valet parking available.

Click HERE for the latest Farmers market newsletter.