Harmony Day at Subiaco Primary School
Harmony Day at Subiaco Primary School is a wonderful celebration of the rich cultural diversity that makes our school community so special. Our Harmony Day celebration will take place on Tuesday, 24 March.

To mark the occasion, we will be hosting a Cultural Breakfast on the verandah outside the library from 8:00am–8:45am, followed by a Harmony Day Parade in the undercover area at 9:00am.

A gold coin donation is requested to participate. This will help cover the cost of plates, cutlery and other supplies.

Students will receive a plate and can try a few small samples from a variety of cultural dishes. If you feel this may not be enough for your child, please ensure they have eaten breakfast before arriving at school.

We are still seeking additional food contributions to help make this celebration a success. Parents and carers are warmly invited to volunteer and bring along a cultural dish that represents their nationality or heritage. Sharing food is a meaningful way to celebrate the cultures, traditions and stories that make up our vibrant school community.

I am very much looking forward to seeing students proudly wearing clothing that reflects their cultural background, alongside others wearing orange to represent togetherness and harmony, at our Harmony Day Parade.

We warmly welcome our parents and carers to join us as we celebrate culture, connection and community together.

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Public Art Collaboration Opportunity for Subiaco Students - Rupert Street Pocket Park Project.
At Subiaco Primary School, we appreciate the opportunities that come through our connection with the City of Subiaco, which continue to provide valuable experiences for our students.

I would like to share some background to help our community understand the significance of the public art project we have been invited to be part of.

In 1996, artists Sandra Hill and Jenny Dawson worked with Subiaco Primary students to create the Subiaco Centenary Tiles in Postal Walk, an artwork that remains well-loved today. In 2023, when part of this artwork was removed to accommodate tree root growth, the City received many calls from former students who continued to visit their tiles. This response highlighted the deep and lasting connection our community has to this project and its storytelling.

This has led to a new opportunity to continue the story of the Waugyl, with a new public artwork being created in a park at 203 Bagot Road, extending the journey from Postal Walk through to Rupert Street.

Since the original project, Sandra Hill’s work has been recognised with the highly prestigious 2023 Red Ochre Award. Given her significant cultural commitments, we are very privileged that she has made time to once again collaborate with the City of Subiaco on this important project.

This opportunity has also been designed as an intergenerational community project, with the possibility that some of our current students may be the children or grandchildren of the original tile-makers - bringing this story beautifully full circle.

We are delighted that Subiaco Primary School has been invited to participate in this significant project in 2026.

• Year 3 students will be involved
• Approximately 24 students will participate (two groups of 12 students)
• Students will take part in a design and tile-making workshop led by artists Jenny Dawson and Peter Zuvela from J Shed Art Studio
• Workshops will be held in our STEAM room in May 2026 (date to be confirmed)
• Each student will create: A clay tile for installation in the park and a tile to keep as a personal memento.

The completed work will be installed in June, ahead of NAIDOC Week (5–12 July).

Students involved will also have the opportunity to:

• View the installation of the tiles
• Attend the official opening during NAIDOC Week

With four Year 3 classes and limited places available, I am very pleased to share that Room L9, with Mrs Sandy Thornett, has been selected to represent our school in this special project.

This is a truly unique opportunity for our students to contribute to a lasting piece of community artwork, connecting past, present and future generations of Subiaco Primary families.

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Subi Blooms – Creative Community Connection
We are also excited to once again be involved in Subi Blooms, another wonderful initiative supported by the City of Subiaco.

Parents may remember that last year, leftover flowers from the festival were transformed into bouquets by volunteers from Recycled Blooms. These were wrapped in beautiful artworks designed by Subiaco Primary students and delivered to new mothers and healthcare workers at King Edward Memorial Hospital and St John of God Hospital in celebration of International Nurses Day and a belated Mother’s Day.

We have been invited to take part again in 2026, and our Year 2 students will be involved in designing and creating wrapping paper.

The Year 2 teaching team are excited to provide this opportunity for their students, and we are incredibly grateful to our talented parent volunteers, Emma Benichou and Isobel Tarn, who have generously offered their time and artistic expertise to lead workshops with our students.

This is a beautiful example of creativity, service and community connection in action.

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NAPLAN
Over the past two weeks, our Year 3 and 5 students have participated in NAPLAN testing. I am very pleased to share that all scheduled sessions went ahead and ran smoothly. Teachers did an amazing job of keeping students calm and well supported. I also thank our parents for their part in supporting their child to engage in this annual snapshot of learning. While schools will receive some preliminary raw data in Term 2 to inform our teaching programs, we don’t receive parent reports until some stage in Term 3. We will inform parents in due course later in the year when these will be sent home.

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Parent–Teacher Interviews
Parent–teacher interviews will take place on Wednesday, 25 March 2026, with the school closing at 12:00pm.

Collection of Children
Parents are asked to collect their children at 12:00pm, or students may make their way home in the usual way with parent permission. Permission can be emailed to the school.

As all classroom teachers will be conducting interviews and classrooms will be in use, we kindly ask parents to arrange out-of-school supervision where possible.

TheirCare will operate as normal, with no changes to out-of-school care times.

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Year 4–6 Faction Swimming Carnival
The lanes are set, the pool is ready, and the weather has been ordered - it’s time for our 2026 Faction Swimming Carnival at the Claremont Aquatic Centre!

A day full of energy and faction pride awaits as students dive in to earn points for their faction. Every race, relay and finish will contribute towards crowning our 2026 Champion Swimming Faction next Thursday, 26 March.

All timed championship events will also play an important role in selecting our Interschool Swimming Squad for the upcoming School Sport WA Champion Schools Primary Swimming Carnival on Tuesday, 28 April.

Parents are warmly invited to come along, support our students and enjoy the excitement of the day.

Looking forward to a fantastic day in the pool!

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Looking Ahead to Term 2
We are fast approaching the end of Term 1, which has been an unusually short term due to the timing of Easter this year.

Students will finish school on Thursday, 2 April, and we will recommence for Term 2 on Monday, 20 April.

Please note:

• There is no Student Development Day on the first day back
• Our scheduled Student Development Day will take place on Friday, 29 May, leading into the WA Day public holiday
• This will provide families with a four-day break about midway through the 11-week term

Thank you to our staff, students and families for your continued support and engagement in school life.

I look forward to sharing further updates in our next newsletter.

Warm regards,
Heather McNeil

Several years ago the school participated in an art project with Jacksons to produce a range of dragonfly made out of fan blades. These were then hung on the wall outside the shop.

The Jacksons building is currently undergoing renovations and they have removed the dragonflys and returned them to the school.

If you are interested in collecting your child's art work please come to the front office and they will help you with collection.

Hangout on Hay has advised us that they need to adjust their daily cut‑off time for orders.

To support their food production schedule and maintain the high quality of their meals, the ordering cut‑off will now be 7:00am.

Please ensure that all orders are placed before 7:00am.

We also ask that you double‑check that you have selected the correct class and year group for your child when placing an order. This helps ensure smooth delivery and avoids any delays or mix‑ups.

Thank you for your support and understanding.

To register and place an order please visit https://schoollunchonline.com.au/

For 30 Years Scholastic's National Family Reading Month (May) has been bringing families together through the joy of books. We know that when children read regularly with their families and role models, they gain skills, confidence, and a love of reading that lasts a lifetime.

This May, let's make reading a daily habit, a family tradition and a gift that lasts forever.

The 31-day reading challenge encourages families everywhere to

• Read together for 10 minutes every day in May
• Share stories, discover new books, and make reading a part of everyday life
• Be part of a national movement creating lifelong readers. 

Register during the month of March to win one of 50 free book packs worth $150.

Register at https://scholastic.com.au/nfrm/nfrm-home/

Get involved with the P&C in 2026!
If you've ever thought, “I should get involved one day” — 2026 is your year!  Let’s make 2026 bigger, brighter and even more connected. Subiaco Primary has a wonderful community — we’d love you to be part of it. We are still looking for an amazing Events Coordinator (or 2) ...

Events Coordinator: This role can be taken on in its entirety or split into the two roles below in 2026. We’d love to hear from you if you’re interested!

• Events Admin Coordinator:  Love planning, lists and organising from home? This behind-the-scenes hero helps prepare everything ‘admin’ before the big day. 
• Events Ops Coordinator: Prefer being hands-on and feel like you’re a doer? This role is all about bringing the event to life, guiding volunteers, and creating that fun buzz on the day.

General Events & Fundraising Committee members: Join a great team of volunteers to help organise our fantastic events and fundraising activities. If you have events, graphic design, communications or just enthusiasm to get involved in our school community, please contact our Events & Fundraising team at events@subiprimarypc.com.au

Joining the P&C is fun, social and rewarding — and a great way to be part of the heartbeat of our school. You can give a little or a lot; every contribution makes a difference. We’d especially love to hear from anyone with specialist skills who could help bring fresh ideas to our 2026 events.

No prior experience is needed — just a willingness to get involved. Outgoing members will provide a full handover. To find out more about the P&C, what we do and how you can get involved, visit our page on the Subi PS website.

Class Liaison Parents
Thank you to all those parents who have put up their hands to be the CLP’s for their classes. If your class is yet to nominate a Class Liaison Parent (CLP) and you’re interested, please get in touch with Genelle Cox - CLP@subiprimarypc.com.au. This is an important and enjoyable role in connecting the school community. CLPs also assist the P&C by helping to promote events within their class and year groups and seeking volunteers for these events. Please notify your class teacher if you would like to volunteer as we would like these roles to be filled as soon as possible.

As part of the City’s 2025/26 Capital Works Program, infrastructure upgrades will be undertaken in the Rowland Street

Precinct, including improvements to the carpark, laneways and public spaces, along with essential drainage works.

Project timeline:

• February – March 2026: Installation of new mural artworks
• Early April 2026: Carpark construction begins (approximately 6–8 weeks)
• May 2026: Anticipated commencement of Kannis Lane upgrades

These works aim to improve safety, accessibility and drainage infrastructure, support local businesses and foot traffic, protect existing trees, and create a more attractive and people-friendly space.

Carpark construction:
Construction is scheduled to begin Tuesday, 7 April 2026, with works taking place 7.00am – 5.00pm, Monday to Friday (subject to weather).

To minimise disruption:
Works will be staged, with around two-thirds of the carpark remaining open.

• The construction area will be fenced, with detours in place
• Traffic controllers will manage vehicle movements
• Access via Xanthis Lane and Rowland Street will remain available
• Rubbish collection will continue as normal

Existing trees within the carpark area will not be affected.
Further information, including the carpark staging plan and project fact sheet, is linked.

Birthday Celebrations
If your child’s birthday falls on a school day and you would like bring in a treat for the class, please consider healthy, nut free alternatives. Commercially bought, individual cup cakes are acceptable but due to our healthy eating policy we would rather parents not provide chocolates or lollies.

Student Absences
Enter an Attendance Note on Compass
A parent explanation is required for all student absences. Please enter this on Compass. Parent reminders will be emailed every Monday for any unexplained absences.

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

Publications Permission
Upon enrolment, parents decide whether to give consent for their child’s name, photo or work to be published in school newsletters, school related activities, promotional material for the Department of Education and articles for the West Australian and community newspapers. This consent continues for your child while enrolled at our school. If at any stage you want to change the permission status, then you will need to notify the office in writing.

The 2026 Shaun Tan Award for Young Artists is back for another year of creativity and celebration
This visual art award encourages and celebrates imagination, innovation and creativity of WA young artists in years one to twelve.

Entries for the 2026 awards will open 9.30am on Friday 24 April.

More information at www.subiaco.wa.gov.au/see-do/things-to-see-do/community-awards/shaun-tan-award

Herdsman Lake Discovery Centre - Don't miss what's coming up!

Carnaby's Crusaders - Saturday 28 March - 10.00am
Get up close and personal with some of our most treasured & endangered native Cockatoos! Tickets and Info - www.wagouldleague.com.au/event-details/carnabys-crusaders-wildlife-session

Easter Egg Hunt 2026 - Saturday 4 April 10.00am
Hop into the Easter festivities once again in 2026, with an exciting Easter crafts session and egg hunt at Herdsman Lake Discovery Centre! Tickets and Info -  www.wagouldleague.com.au/event-details/easter-egg-citement-2

Critters Up Close!  - Monday 13 April 10.00am
Meet some of the smallest wonders of the animal kingdom with Critters Up Close visiting the centre for an engaging bug show! Tickets and info - www.wagouldleague.com.au/event-details/critters-up-close-bug-interaction-session

See what else is on our calendar... www.wagouldleague.com.au/

Spare Parts Puppet Theatre
Level Up! is a world-premiere, action-packed puppet adventure from Spare Parts Puppet Theatre that blends the excitement of video games with the magic of puppetry, creating the perfect school holiday outing for families who want more than just another day on the couch.

In a fun, fast-paced 50-minute show, kids and their grown-ups are drawn into the world of two friends inside a high-stakes video game, exploring friendship, screen time and growing up in a digital age through more than 80 colourful puppets, a gaming-inspired score and bold, imaginative design.

Running throughout the April school holidays, Monday 6 April - Saturday 18 April at the Centenary Pavilion, Claremont Showground, with family-friendly 10.00am and 1.00pm sessions daily, Level Up! is big-hearted, big-energy school holiday fun for young gamers and theatre-lovers alike.

Book your tickets now at https://sppt.com.au/events/level-up/

For other community classes, activities and events that are available to families in Subiaco please click HERE.

Saturday 21st March

This week the stalls are full of flavour, with purple cabbage that’s perfect for crunchy salads, fresh mushrooms for easy midweek meals, and the best cherry tomatoes you’ll find from Stakehill Produce — sweet, juicy, and bursting with sunshine.

It’s the kind of produce that makes meals feel effortless and delicious, whether you’re throwing together a salad or cooking something slow and simple. Pop down, have a wander, and stock up on the good stuff.

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