From the Principal's Desk

Dear Members of St Joseph’s Family,

Wow, what a start to the year it’s been – Covid restrictions, fire and now flood!  We can only hope that we have had our fair share of disasters for a little while?  While we had some leaks on both campuses, a couple of small paving sinkholes and some flooding in the Uniform Shop, we came through the storms with relatively minor damage.

If there are any of our families who have suffered significant damage in the floods, please let us know if there is any way in which we can help.

Primary Assembly

Today, the Primary Campus celebrated their first Assembly of the year.  Congratulations to all our Merit Award winners.  There was great excitement as each class received their Faction Token boxes and we were lucky enough to have Mr Frank Davis join us for a smoking ceremony to help take away any worries, cleanse our spirit and start the year off in a positive mindset.

 

 

 

Swimming Carnival

Next Tuesday, 9 March, is the Years 4 to 12 Interhouse Swimming Carnival.  This event has been moved to a day-time format to ensure that we have maximum participation from the students.  This is a compulsory school day so we expect all students to be there.  House points can be earnt for participation in all events, including the novelty events.

The P&F will be running a sausage sizzle at lunch time and will also be selling drinks.  A coffee van will be in attendance as well for the adults. All adults are asked to remain on the opposite side of the pool to the students.

Save the Dates

School Community Mass : Saturday 13 March @ 5:30pm in St Joseph’s Church.  This is followed by a sausage sizzle on the grounds of the Secondary Campus.  This is also a great opportunity to have a look at the new buildings and landscaping.
Parent Session : Helping my child’s mental health as they transition from late Primary years through the early Secondary years.  Monday 15 March @ 6:30pm in the Primary Performing Arts Centre.  More information is provided in Our School section.
Colour Run : Friday 19 March.  Information and sponsorship information is coming home today with students.  Copies can also be found on the School’s website.  This is the P&F’s major fundraiser for the year so we are asking all families to help with the fundraising.
Easter Egg Raffle.  Donations of easter eggs can now be sent into School.  Tickets for the raffle will be sold by student leaders on both campuses in the final weeks of the term.  The more donations received, the more prizes can be made.

God Bless

Andrea Woodgate
Principal 

Our Faith                                                  

Project Compassion “Aspire not to have more, but to be more”

Our Lenten Project Compassion journey this week focuses on 22 year old Oliva who lives in Tanzania with her farmer husband, two young sons and an adopted niece and nephew.  She didn’t have the opportunity to go to school growing up and was embarrassed that she couldn’t read, write or count.  Around 25% of Tanzanian girls and women over 15 years cannot read or write, with many families unable to afford school fees or uniforms.

As an adult, Oliva now runs a kiosk and works as a farm labourer, but her business was losing money because she couldn’t add up. Then Oliva enrolled in Caritas Australia-supported literacy and numeracy classes.  She also set up a classroom at home to teach her neighbours, for free, because they were too shy to attend larger classes.  Oliva has now graduated, as have some of her students. Attendance at her classes is growing, her kiosk is thriving and Oliva can help her children with their homework.  She aims to become a Pastor and run for leadership in the next local election.

Oliva aspires to “Be More” and wants to help her community to achieve its vision of a better life for all.
“I am proud to be a teacher who helps others to achieve their dream” Oliva says.

Please consider supporting Project Compassion through its annual Lenten appeal.

Lloyd Reidy
Religious Education Coordinator

Primary News                                            

Crunch & Sip

At Assembly this morning, I discussed a program we are introducing on our Primary Campus called Crunch & Sip.  Crunch & Sip is a time during the school day for children to re-fuel with vegetables or fruit and rehydrate by drinking water in the classroom.  For many of our students they wake up early, have breakfast by 7:30am and then are not given the opportunity to eat until Morning Tea at 10:50am. For the majority of these children, this is too long without food.  Their brains and stomachs need refuelling to be engaged in their learning.

Starting on Monday 15 March, we are asking students to bring to school a fruit or vegetable snack each day.  This will be in addition to their morning tea and lunch.  Classroom teachers will then invite students to eat their healthy snack while completing their school work around 9:30am.  For our junior classes, this may be while listening to a story being read, or for our senior students they can have their snack available on their desk during a writing task.  Thank you in advance for supporting this program.

 

May you all have a lovely weekend with your families.

Michelle Christian
Head of Primary

Class in Focus:  Pre Primary Gold

Wow, what a busy time we have had in Pre Primary Gold!  The last five weeks have flown by, we have had so much fun learning about the amazing people that work and serve in our community.

Throughout the term we have been learning about the Alphabet and the sounds the letters make, practicing our letter formations and identifying words that rhyme.  We love getting messy when we complete our activities and get to play with colourful playdoh, coloured rice, paint and shaving cream.

                               

In Numeracy, we have been learning to count to 20, practicing our number formations, recognising what numbers come before and after and learning to play Bingo.  We all look forward to Fridays when we can watch our weekly episode of Numberjacks.

During our Religion lessons, we have been learning about how we are all special and how God made us unique.  There are no two people who are the same.  Being different does not mean being better.  It means that each person is called to use their unique gifts in their lives to be a good friend, a good family person, a good school person and a good community person.

The last two weeks we have been participating in swimming lessons.  We have all loved going on the bus to the Swimming Pool and learning how to swim with our friends.

           

We can’t wait to see what the next four weeks of term have in stall for us and we are excited to start learning about Jesus and the Easter story in preparation Easter.

Liz Grubisa
Pre Primary Gold

Class in Focus: Year 3 Gold  “Exciting Start to our School Year”

The start of Term 1 of 2021 has been both exciting and busy.  Getting to know each other through games and activities that allowed us to show each other who we were and what we liked to do was great.  We all have talents in drawing, writing stories as well as building and construction with the different construction activities undertaken.

Weeks 2 and 3 saw us going to the pool for swimming lessons.  The weather was hot so the pool was a welcome relief for the students, not so much for their teacher who would have loved to have gotten in the water with them!  The students developed their swimming strokes and most passed to the next level.  For those that did not, they only missed it by a fraction, one more week and that would have seen them pass.

The start of Genius Hour was a highlight for all.  Some students were excited to see what activity they had been placed into.  Not all got their first choice, but that is a good learning point; “you don’t always get what you want”.  After the first couple of weeks, they are all enjoying it and are committed to what they are doing.

                                           

Religious Education, Mathematics, English, HASS, Science, The Arts and Design & Technologies are all well underway and the learning experiences are both challenging and enjoyable.  The rest of the year will see our students both encouraged to learn at their ability level as well as being extended to develop further as their full potential.                                                   

Kathy Pollard
Year 3 Gold Teacher

Secondary Newsf

Learning Area in Focus:  Science

Year 7
With the first few weeks of Secondary schooling over, students have spent considerable time on learning the safety precautions of the Science Laboratory and how to safely light a Bunsen burner.  For some students, this was their first time lighting a match, which they did successfully.

All students attained a Bunsen Burner license to signify their safety skills.  In preparation for their first Science Report, students have been conducting short skittle and ball bounce height experiments.  The importance of understanding the scientific method such as how to write a hypothesis, differentiating between dependent and independent variables and drawing a graph from data, is key to each student's successful secondary school life in Science.  Students will delve into all things related to Chemistry for the second half of Term 1.

Year 9
Year 9 students are now half-way through their Earth and Space Science topic.  Students have been studying about tectonic plates and their movements by creating plate models and studying how the energy of earthquakes is measured and creating their own seismograph to measure this energy release.

Year 10
Term 1 sees Year 10 students delve into Physics theories.  Students have spent the last five weeks learning about speed, acceleration, electromagnetic waves, gravity and Newton’s Laws of Motion.  They will now use the skills learnt in the creation of rockets to support these theories.  Students are enjoying constructing and personalising their rockets with paint.  They will launch the rockets on a local farm next week to obtain data to calculate key details about their rocket, including maximum velocity, acceleration and projected altitude.  We look forward to a successful morning of rocket launching.  In previous years, some launches have seen rocket altitudes of over 350 metres.

Years 11 & 12
Integrated Science
The Year 12 Integrated Science students recently conducted water sampling at Bernard Park to compare its water quality with another sample from Grass Valley.  Students used a variety of techniques and different technology to determine the abiotic factors of pH, temperature, nitrates, phosphates, turbidity and dissolved oxygen of the water bodies.  The students also researched the land use and history of the area to explain their results and predict how these abiotic factors may affect the organisms that live in this aquatic environment.

The Year 11 Integrated Sciences are working to understand concepts of osmosis and diffusion across semi permeable membranes. They are using a deshelled egg immersed in different solutions to make observations.

Physics
The Physics class have been expanding their understanding of heat and thermal equilibrium by conducting a series of activities testing a variety of substances, including a range of metals to examine their rate of heat loss.  This has enabled an improved understanding of why particular materials are utilised for specific purposes or in certain locations.  These students will be conducting the experiment to generate data for their second task on Friday, which is looking at calculating the amount of energy used to change the state of a substance, which will mean once again the students are using a variety of digital sensors and probes to generate the data.

Year 12 Chemistry
The Year 12 Chemistry students have just completed their first task, which tested their understanding of chemical equilibrium reactions. These are reactions that analyse changes in a balanced system and predict outputs when alterations of volume, pressure, concentration, temperature or even to some of the specific chemicals themselves.  This approach to equilibrium has connections to Industrial Chemistry where the scientists are trying to maximise the yield of a particular reaction.  Over the next few weeks, these students will continue to study this at a deeper level, while applying these principles to acid-base systems.

In addition to all this practical work and experimentation, the students have a few upcoming class events to look forward to.  This includes the Year 12 Biology group to the Harry Perkins Centre on 15 March, where in the BioDiscovery Centre they will be using a polymerase chain reaction test to search for mutations.

Astrophysics Incursion
On Tuesday 16 March, the Year 10A and Years 11 and 12 Physics students will have a visit from ICRAR, the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research, where the team will get the students to conduct a range of practical activities relating to the electromagnetic spectrum and astrophysics.

Desert Fireballs Incursion
On Thursday 25 March, all Year 9 and Year 10 students will be involved in a presentation and a series of activities from the Desert Fireballs Network team from Curtin University.  This event will enhance the students’ appreciation of processes on earth and how they link with other bodies in the solar system, through impacts and what scientists learn from collecting evidence of these.

Arabella Adeline, Ryan Sinclair, Jada Yengkopiong, David Bundock, Nita Budas & Mark Gargano
Secondary Science Learning Area team

Learning Area in Focus:  Technologies  

Over the past few weeks, the Year 11 students have been learning about and practising how to ‘Mise en place’ – a French culinary phrase used to describe specific food preparation techniques.  They have created some masterpiece salads, stir-fries and bruschetta.

                                                                              
The Year 10 students have begun their “Barista experience” and are learning how to create a prefect cup of coffee.  Staff have been enjoying their boost of caffeine every Monday and Friday morning and students are getting great feedback on their craft.

Kylie Wallis
Food Science & Technology Teacher

Operation Hub

Operation Hub is a group of Secondary students at St Joseph’s School.  We have taken over the old staffroom on the Secondary Campus, which we have turned into a new classroom and named ‘The Hub’.  This semester, we are learning Maths and English skills through an Enterprise program.  Our focus for Semester One is to plan and run a Mother’s Day Stall, to be held on the Primary Campus in Week 3 of Term 2.

Some of our students are also working on individual projects this semester.  These include cooking, writing a children’s book and writing and creating our own Minecraft movie.  Mrs Beglin is also taking the students through the ‘Peaceful Kids’ program, which promotes mindfulness and meditation.  This is a fabulous opportunity to wind down on a Friday afternoon after a busy week.  The students and educators are relishing the opportunity to create fun learning opportunities that are catering to our student’s needs.

Ruth Adams
Learning Diversity Coordinator

Past Student Success

Every year, the University of Western Australia hosts a competition for those students who have used their online remote robotic telescopes, the Spirit telescopes, for imaging throughout the year.

We are pleased to announce that our 2020 Year 12 student, Francisco Nguyen, was the winner of last year’s competition, with his image of the Orion nebula.  This image was created by using the SPIRIT 1 telescope, by writing the appropriate code utilising an ACP plan to upload the program remotely to the telescope to take images in three different filters (red, green and blue) with an exposure of 90 seconds for each.  Using Adobe Photoshop, the filter images were mixed by layering each ‘colour’ image, and then layering multiple versions together.  Some adjustments were required to balance out the filtered colour, which helped to create the final submitted image.

Francisco’s award will be presented at the Astrofest Astrophotography Exhibition at a special ceremony at Curtin University on Saturday.  Francisco is currently in his first-year studies as a Murdoch University Bachelor of Science (Medical, Molecular and Forensic sciences) student.  Congratulations, Francisco.

School graduates:  where are they now? 

Jeklyn Wallis - 2019 Graduate
Since finishing school, I spent 2020 working at the newest Dome Cafe, in Northam!  It was here I expanded my customer service skills and gained a new side to it - in hospitality.

It turns out that it is a bit more difficult than being able to show someone what aisle the spanners are in (from my Mitre 10 days).  I also worked a few months in ‘The Temperance Bar’, and built up my skills as a Barista, which I have found quite a passion for.  I don’t think I will ever find something more satisfying than good feedback on a coffee!

Towards the end of 2020, I needed a change as those 5.00am starts at Dôme were really starting to bring out my ‘not-a-morning-person’ side.  Since about Years 9 or 10, I have always wanted to have a go at being a ‘Governess’.  This means that I support children with their learning on isolated stations with the School of Air Education.  It is quite difficult to get into if you haven’t had previous experience as either a teacher, early childhood carer, or an ‘au pair’.

This is how in the space of two weeks last November, I crazily ended up where I am now - on the outskirts of Derby, living in as an au pair.  An ‘au pair’ is basically a live-in Nanny, but call me a nanny and I will not be impressed, I’m not old enough yet!

I look after two young girls, 8 and 12 years old.  My job basically consists of all the daily errands for the girls whilst their parents are at work.  The 8 year old can be a bit of a handful, with random bursts of all emotions and quite demanding of my attention.  She is though a pleasure to be around, she calls me her ‘favourite Jeklyn’, but I’m fairly certain she’s never met another.

The 12 year old, well she’s almost a teenager and has just started high school, so that’s enough said.  So full of attitude, but we are working on that and I have ample experience there!

We also have two dogs, which I don’t like because they aren’t my dogs, and a pet snake which I feed the frogs that end up in the pool to, which is very cool!

I also brought my coffee skills up to Derby and landed a job in a local cafe.  When I started, they’d had no barista for six months and no one even knew how to clean the machine.  So that’s where I came in and, now they have the northwest’s most fastidiously arranged coffee counter with returning customers, as they are getting real coffee, not instant.

I haven’t yet got into any sports or activities up here yet, mostly due to the weather - it’s currently wet season up here and we don’t fancy playing netball in the mudflats.  In the next three months, everything should start to kick off and I’m hoping to get into some netball and possibly volleyball.

The social life up here is very limited, but as a small community we try to make the most of it, so the sports and events (when on) are very popular.  I have made a couple of friends, but to be honest as people grow up to late teens they tend to escape Derby as fast as they can.

I’m currently in the process of applying for a certification through the North Regional TAFE, but my indecisiveness has not allowed me to pinpoint specifically which course yet, although I am aiming towards the education side, I know that much.

Luckily in my time here so far I haven’t had much go wrong, well only two emergency trips to Broome for dog surgeries, one trip to the Emergency Department with the 12 year old, the 8 year old trying to run away in the first week and almost hitting a cow.

Overall, I’m having a great time, having an experience that is slightly above average.  I’m thinking of staying until around July at this stage, hopefully a little longer because I don’t want to miss the Derby Rodeo in August!

Surprisingly, I do also miss Northam, my favourite place where everything is in my comfort zone.  Along with my back-flipping dog Sadie and my favourite youngest sister, Heidi.  So not sure what the future has to offer, but looking forward to the continuing adventure.

Meg Lawrence - 2017 Graduate
I’m currently sitting in the J Warren Library at the QEII medical centre.  I’ve been attending lectures since 8.00am this morning and am now on a quick lunch break before I spend the afternoon in clinical skills workshops.  Today we are focusing in on cardiovascular examinations and how our findings may translate to a clinical diagnosis.

To think this is my 4th year at university, and 4th year away from St Joseph’s School seems surreal.

Last year, amidst the craziness we called 2020, I managed to complete my undergraduate degree - a Bachelor of Biomedical Science, majoring in Medical Sciences.  Upon receiving my results at the end of my final semester, I was delighted to receive a distinction and three high distinctions.  This meant I had fulfilled the requirements to retain my direct entry into Medicine and was able to go straight into second year in 2021.

So far, second year medicine has been quite exciting and hands on.  We are learning how to take a history, examine patients and come up with a list of possible diagnoses.  I even did my first venepuncture and learnt how to suture (albeit badly).  It’s challenging and stressful, but also exhilarating.  The next eight weeks are preparing us for the wards, when we begin our rotations in late April, my first is Psychiatry.

To say I’m half-way on the path to becoming a Doctor and already a University Graduate is an incredible feeling and I am so excited for what the next three years have in store.  My caffeine intake may be significantly increasing with each year, but so too is my drive to complete this Degree and get out into the field of Medicine.

Mark Gargano
Years 7-12 Curriculum Coordinator

Our School

Parent Session: Helping my child’s mental health as they transition from late Primary years through the early Secondary years

This parent session planned for Monday 15 March at 6.30 pm is aimed at parents of children from Years 5 to 8 but all parents are welcome to come along to the Primary Performing Arts Centre.  An overview of the content to be discussed is below.

Speaker:  Jo Drayton, Suicide Prevention Coordinator Wheatbelt Community Alcohol and Drug Service
Most common young people mental health issues:
• anxiety,
• depression,
• eating disorders,
• non-suicidal self-injury; and
• ways to support young people to achieve optimal mental health.

Speaker:  Rose Power, Department of Education- Road Safety and Drug Education Branch
• increasing knowledge on the impact alcohol can have on the developing brain,
• outlining the guidelines around alcohol use for young people and the steps you can take as parents to support these,
• considering ways to use technology more safely,
• providing ideas about ways to open up conversations about alcohol use and online behaviour; and
• exploring examples of how to talk together about family rules and expectations to keep young people safer around alcohol and in the online environment.

2021 SunSmart Schools Tennis Classic

The SunSmart Schools Tennis Classic is the largest participation tennis tournament in WA and has been running since 1935.  The Tennis Classic comprises the Slazenger Cup (Years 7 to 12), Herbert Edwards Cup (Years 7 to 9) and the Academy Plate (Years 3 to 6). Teams from St Joseph’s School will be competing in the Herbert Edwards Cup and the Academy Plate over the next few weeks and we wish all our players the best in these competitions.  We will keep our School community informed of the results as they come to hand.

Every Child Counts

As we draw closer to the State election, Catholic Education WA (CEWA) has launched a campaigned entitled ‘Every Child Counts’ to raise awareness around the issue of equitable funding to Catholic schools.  All political parties are currently making many promises as part of their campaign and CEWA’s key election request was for equitable access to school funding initiatives being pledged or announced by the Government for 2021 and beyond to ensure all Catholic schools can better support the growing student population in contemporary, world-class facilities, as well as nurturing their mental wellbeing.

CEWA have asked the incoming WA Government to recognise the contribution of Catholic Education in WA, and to support our role as a partner in educating tens of thousands of Western Australian children.  We need the support of every school community to ensure the voice of parents is heard.  I encourage you to read more about the ‘Every Child Counts’ campaign at https://www.everychildcounts.net.au/

Andrea Woodgate

2021 School Fees

The Business Manager is in the process of finalising Family Accounts for 2021.  To assist families, we invite anyone who has a Health Care Card or Pension Card and wishes to claim the discount to come in with their current Card to allow the Business Manager to reflect this discount in your School Fees Account prior to the annual fees being issued.  It is anticipated that the Family Accounts will be emailed out during the coming week.

Canteen and Uniform Shop Online Ordering

We are pleased to advise that our online ordering system is now in full operation.  Parents and caregivers should visit Online Shop to place all Canteen or Uniform Shop orders. 

We take this opportunity to thank everyone for their patience during our data changeover - it has taken many hours of work to get to this point.  Should you experience any difficulties accessing either the Online Shop, please let us know as soon as practical.

Steve Johnson
Business Manager

Our P&F

Term 1 Events

On Tuesday, 9 March, the P&F will holding a sausage sizzle and selling water and juice boxes at the Interhouse Swimming Carnival.  The kiosk will be closed for the duration of the event.  However, the coffee van will also be on the grounds for parents to purchase a hot drink.  We will be setting up from 8.30am and are in desperate need of helpers throughout the day.  Please register via the online volunteer page at https://signup.com/go/SfQTDww  We love being able to provide food and drinks for the students, staff and spectators so please pop over and help out when you can, even if it's just half an hour.

The COLOUR RUN is fast approaching and information has been sent home today via the students.  Some key details that you need to know:
When:  FRIDAY 19 March (Week 7)
Time:  12.00pm-1.00pm Pre-K to Yr 2 *
           1.15pm-2.30pm Yr 3 to Yr 12
(* Pre-Kindy students are invited to take part in the event, however, they must be accompanied by a parent or guardian as this is not their usual school day.)

Donations can be made with cash (detach the form on the back of the booklet sent home) or online via a new fundraising platform we have set up. It is much easier this year to make a donation online.  Details on how to donate online are in the booklet sent home.

In order for the day to be a success, we need as many hands to help out as possible.  Only registered volunteers will be allowed in the zones, all other spectators will have specific areas to watch and enjoy the fun.  Please register to be a volunteer via the link: https://signup.com/go/SiFEOXN

Lots of things are in the pipeline for the School and students for this year, so come along to our next meeting and be part of the conversation.  We would love to see more faces at our meetings and, in particular, some representation from our Secondary families. Join us next Thursday 11 March at 6.45pm at the Duke's Inn.

Remember to join our Facebook page;
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1764507137145087/?ref=share

Georgia Haddrill
President

Our Community

Centre for Faith Enrichment

The Centre for Faith Enrichment is pleased to promote their Courses and Events for Term 1, 2021.  Faith based courses are available during the day, evenings and online.  To view all courses or for more details, please visit our website: https://cfe.org.au/courses/ or email us  cfe@perthcatholic.org.au

Northam Residential College ~ Boarding Opportunities

Have you ever considered boarding at Northam Residential College for your children?  Here are some reasons why families choose to board at Northam Residential College:
Northam is able to provide the very best public or Catholic education and course options in the Wheatbelt.
There are amazing Government subsidies available to significantly reduce the boarding fees.
Your child can participate in any sporting or recreational activity they choose as we will transport them to and from that activity each time.
Healthy and nutritious home style meals provided each day by our own college Chef.
Your child will have their own private, comfortable, and secure bedroom.

Northam Residential College is a home away from home.  Perfectly located on the edge of town, we provide all the structure, routine and support your child will need to succeed.  Please contact us to find out just how affordable and worthwhile boarding at Northam Residential College can be.  T: 9621 0077 E: Northam.ResCol@education.wa.edu.au

EXTEND Before & After School Care

Come along to Extend and enjoy an engaging program of activities with your Extend team!  Enjoy an indoor and outdoor program of high and low energy activities, plus healthy food to fuel healthy bodies.

At all times our COVID safe practices are in place.  If you see us cleaning our surfaces, or the children and Educators washing their hands regularly, don't be surprised!  We look forward to welcoming your children to our program and encouraging them to embrace existing friendships and make new ones.

To enrol and book, head to https://www.extend.com.au/families/enrolments-and-bookings/  For more information on your school’s program, visit https://www.extend.com.au/families/find-myschool/  For further assistance contact us at support@extend.com.au

2021 SunSmart Schools Tennis Classic - Country Academy Plate

The 2021 SunSmart Schools Tennis Classic Country Academy Plate will be on Thursday 4 March at the Beverley Lawn Tennis Club between 9:00am-2:45pm.  We are calling any Years 4-6 girls and boys who have tennis tournament experience!  Please express your interest in nominating your budding tennis star to compete in the St Joseph’s School Teams for 2021, in a private message to Aimee Leeson or email to aimeegrandison@yahoo.com.au (children who have participated in continuous coaching can also express their interest).

The Country Academy Plate is a mixed competition comprising teams of a minimum of two boys and two girls.  Four players are listed for the singles matches and then any four players from the team can play the doubles in a round.  Participants must play in their order. Schools nominating more than one (1) team in any given event must rank their teams from strongest ability to lowest ability.  For example, St Joseph’s School Team 1 will be stronger than Team 2, which is subsequently stronger than Team 3.

This event will not be supervised by teaching staff.  Parents are required to transport their children to Beverley and supervise (or arrange with another parent to transport and supervise their child).  Aimee will nominate the Team/s with Tennis West and provide any further information required.  Please register your child's interest to Aimee by 7.00pm Friday 19 February – today.

Auskick 2021

Auskick 2021 will kick off on Friday 14 May from 4:00-5.00pm on Bert Hawke Oval for eight weeks.  Auskick is for boys and girls from 5 to 8 years of age.  It helps build ball-skills, hand-eye coordination and teamwork.  It is a requirement that you register and pay online to secure your place and we strongly suggest that you register early so that your child receives their Auskick pack before the first session. Cost is $70 per player.

To register visit http://www.play.afl/auskick  If you are experiencing difficulties registering your child please email aflauskick@afl.com.au  Please keep in mind that this program is only possible with parent assistance to help keep the evening running well.  Please consider registering yourself to lend a hand when registering your child. 

#BounceForward Reset Go!

The Shire of Northam is holding a Winter Sports Activation in the Wheatbelt event on Thursday 11 March at the Northam Recreation Centre from 3.00-6.00pm.  This free event is for the whole family to enjoy.  Come along and participate in activity sessions with the State Sporting Associations.

Come and try Scouts!

Scouting is fun and adventurous, and youth aged 5 years (and in Pre-Primary) to 25 years can join!  Northam Scout Group meet on Mondays and Thursdays after school at 46 Burnside Avenue, Northam.  Joey Scouts (ages 5 and in Pre-primary to 7 years) meet Mondays from 4.00pm-5.30pm, Cub Scouts (ages 8 to 11 years) meet Thursdays from 4.00pm-6.00pm, Scouts (ages 11 to 15 years) meet Thursdays from 6.30pm-8.30pm and Venturer Scouts (ages 15 to 17 years) meet Thursdays from 6.30pm-8.30pm as well.  Rover Scouts (ages 18 to 25 years) meet in Mundaring.

Anyone wishing to join Joey Scouts, Cub Scouts, Scouts or Venturers is welcome to come along to our meetings and try for free for a few weeks.  We are also looking for adults in the community that would like to become an adult volunteer with Scouting, from parent helpers, committee members, and Leaders – many hands make light work, so please contact us to find out more about becoming an adult member of Scouting.  Please contact Amanda Abbott, Group Leader, for more information on 0409 206 607 or gl.northam@scoutswa.com.au .

Northam Lawn Tennis - Junior Coaching

The Northam Lawn Tennis club advises that junior tennis coaching is now open for enrolments.  Sessions take place each Wednesday afternoon and will commence on Wednesday 10 March.  Lessons cater for all abilities and ages from 4 to 18 years and are conducted in small groups with experienced coaches.  Please contact Lynne on 0427980989 or request an enrolment form from lynnetagliaferri@hotmail.com 

UWA (& UniHall) Open Day

In 2021, UWA and UniHall will be hosting its Open Day earlier than usual.  Come along on Sunday 28 March between 10.00am-2.00pm. Explore living on campus at UWA’s own residential college - Unihall.uwa.edu.au/openday   For further details, please contact Prue Kraft, Marketing and Communications Officer, University Hall • M426, 130 Winthrop Avenue, Crawley WA, 6009 9273 3488 • prue.kraft@uwa.edu.au

Uniform Shop 

Opening Times:                             Mondays - 3.15pm to 4.45pm       
                                                      Thursdays - 2.45pm to 4.15pm                               

Can’t Get To The Shop?

With all the fabulous rain has come some not-so-fabulous flooding in the Uniform Shop change-rooms and storeroom.  This means that the change-rooms are out of action for the next little while, and that the Shop will be much cosier than usual due to big boxes filling it!  Families who find they are unable to attend the Uniform Shop during opening hours are able to place an order accessing the Online Shop here or via the SchoolZine app.  Please note that we are no longer processing orders received by phone or email.

Please keep in mind when ordering, that your items will (almost always!) go home Tuesday and Friday of each week, as Monday and Thursday are the days the Shop is open.  When placing an order via the online shop, it will appear on a report the following day.  For example; if you place your order on Monday, the report issues on Tuesday which means it will not be organised until Thursday and so go home on Friday.

Term 2 - Winter Uniform

As we are half-way through Term 1 and moving towards Term 2, families may like to take advantage of the current opening times to plan ahead and purchase Winter Uniform items before the end of Term.

The Uniform Shop will be open on Thursday 15 April during the 2nd week of the holiday period for current and new families.  The opening hours will be 9.00am to 12.30pm for current families.  New families are encouraged to book a 15 minute timeslot from 1.15pm to 3.00pm to allow time to try on items for correct sizing - please contact our Admin Offices to secure your preferred timeslot.

Please feel free to email me with any questions!

Michelle James 
Primary - 9621 3524

Canteen News

Primary Menu & Helper Roster

Our new Canteen menu has been well accepted by the students and staff.  We are very pleased with the success of the Online Shop for ordering!  As we move into Lent, the Canteen is offering the option of a fish burger every Friday until the end of term. 

Primary - Week 6

Tuesday	9 Mar	Julie Sandrini, Janine Bell
Wednesday	10 Mar	Gilly Hancock, Cara Jansen
Thursday	11 Mar	Julie Sandrini, Tammy Speciale
Friday	12 Mar	Lisa Hasson, Desrae Smith

Primary - Week 7

Tuesday	16 Mar	Julie Sandrini, Leah Smith
Wednesday	17 Mar	Chantelle Davis, Hayley Rak
Thursday	18 Mar	Julie Sandrini, Karen Carter
Friday	19 Mar	Desrae Smith, Juana Paynter

Both Canteens require help!  To run efficiently we require parent helpers and this term, we will start with two shifts per day.  If you are able help out, please sign up online at  https://signup.com/go/LQaHAbC

We are both looking forward to working with you.  If you have any queries, please contact us on the number below.

Kerri & Angela
Canteen - 9621 3525