Week 4 – From the Sick Bed

Smugly, I have been declaring myself the cockroach, being only one of the few staff members who have yet to fall to COVID. However, this week I have been knocked off my rather high pedestal, becoming another statistic. Thankfully I have a team of amazing teachers, EAs, deputies and office staff who know how to keep the school running effectively. My thanks go to Ms Michelle Moyes and Ms Tash Burke (Deputies) and Mrs Sue Hutchinson (School Officer) who have kept the office running, supporting our teachers and students. I look forward to seeing everyone next week!

School Logo Design

If you haven’t seen it yet, Craig from Gumption has come up with a modern take on our existing Banksia logo. He has created a brand story around it which is amazing, and really captures the essence of Duncraig Primary School. Check it out:

We would appreciate your feedback about it. Already, we have had some feedback about adjusting the colours, and that there needs to be eight shapes to represent the years from Kindy to Year 6.

At this stage, we are just looking at the logo. From there, the School Board, with community consultation, will think about the need for adjusting the uniform (navy shirt perhaps?) There is no rush to transition into a new uniform straight away.

Assembly Superstars

This morning, the Year 3 students from Mr Miller’s class led our assembly and amazed us with their acting and public speaking skills, presenting an Anti-Bullying message. Well done Room 7!

Congratulations to our Merit Certificate and Student of the Month recipients for this week!

 

Parent Interviews – Early Closing

On Thursday 8^th June, our school will be closing early to allow class teachers to meet with parents prior to the Semester 1 Reports. Students will be dismissed after Period 5 at 12.10pm, to allow staff to have an early lunch and then commence interviews at 12.45pm.

Students who attend Zig Zags or Wonderland OSHC may be supervised at the school until 3.00pm prior to attending this service. Supervising teachers will be Mr Orzel, Mrs Whyatt, Mrs Wilderspin and Mrs Jackson, along with Education Assistants.

It will remain parents’ responsibility to cancel that service if you are collecting them from school early.

Parents can book interview times with classroom teachers by following this link: https://www.schoolinterviews.com.au/code/gvsjv

Interviews will go through to the evening, with the last availability being 6.35pm.

P&C Day

Tomorrow, Friday 19^th May, we say THANK YOU to our amazing P&C for contributing so much to our school. P&C volunteers are a shining light within school communities; their dedication and passion helping to provide WA students with the outstanding educational experience they deserve. And our Duncraig Primary School P&C lead the way in contributing to the success and well-being of our students. Thank you to our amazing P&C Executive team and the many parents who step up to volunteer!

Mathletics & Reading Eggs

Courtesy of our amazing P & C Committee, all K-2 students here at Duncraig PS have access to Reading Eggs and Maths Seeds. These programs are designed to tailor learning for your child’s individual needs. These multi-award winning online programs are highly interactive and personalise the learning journey to build your child’s reading skills at their own pace or a fun and safe digital platform. As your child progresses, they also have access to Reading Eggpress, which provides a huge online library of over 2500 e-books to enjoy.

Current Payments Available through Qkr!

• Year 6 Camp – payment of $300 needs to be made before 16 June.
• Year 3, 4 & 5 excursion: Two Feet & a Heartbeat – $23.50 to be paid by 16 June.
• World of Maths Incursion – PP to Year 6, payment of $7.50 before 19 May.

We are very keen to eliminate late payments as this causes quite the headache in the office, trying to track down payments on the day of an excursion/incursion. Parents will receive a reminder text if payment has not been made a day or two prior to the due date. After that, late payments will not be accepted.

Upcoming Events

School Photos – 31^st May & 1^st June

World of Maths Incursion – Thursday 25^th May

Early Close – 12.10pm for Parent Teacher Interviews – Thursday 8^th June

Kind regards,

Nicole Borbas,

Principal

Nicole.Borbas@education.wa.edu.au

 

To enrol your child at Duncraig Primary School visit our enrolment section.

Welcome Back!

Term 2 has got off to a fantastic start with all our students working hard and supporting each other.

This week we commenced our Early Learning Morning (ELM) Club. This is a literacy intervention session for our Year 1 and 2 students who are just needing a bit of a catch up to ensure they are achieving literacy benchmarks. Ms Burke has trained the Year 5 and 6 coaches who have volunteered to work with students each morning from 8.15- 8.40am. A lot of effort and time has gone into the creation of this early intervention initiative.

Next week, we will be commencing the MiniLit Intervention Program. Mrs Cole is overseeing this program, working with Mrs McConkey (EA) who will be delivering the program. MiniLit is an evidence-based, explicit and effective early literacy intervention program for teaching reading skills to children who are in the bottom 25% of the expected range for their age group in Year 1 or 2. There is scope to extend intervention programs into Year 3-6 later in the year once we have assessed the success of current programs.

Assembly Superstars

This morning, the Year 3/4 students from Miss Collett’s class led our assembly and encouraged us all to be kind to each other. Kindness was the number one ranked Value in our recent Values Audit, with parents, students and teachers recognising its importance and wanting to make sure it was prominent in our school culture. The students did a fabulous job at explaining what kindness looks like and feels like. Well done Room 5!

Congratulations to our Merit Certificate recipients for this week!

Year	Room	Teacher	Recipient
PP	14	Miss Phillips	Harper and Hudson
PP	16	Mrs Cowton/Mrs Edwards	Samuel and Maurice
1	17	Mrs Calton	Amira and Tom
1	18	Mrs Spiers	Lilly and Vedi
1	13	Mrs Firman	Jackson and Phoebe
2	12	Mrs Edwards / Mrs Wass	Dylan and Rachel
2	11	Mrs Cole	Blair and Freya
2	10	Mrs Adams	Edison and Shona
3	8	Miss Moorman	Alisi and Isla
3	7	Mr Miller	Jake and Eliska
4	6	Mrs Watkinson/Miss Coombes	Lebron and Zak
3/4	5	Miss Collett	Phoebe and Toby
4/5	4	Miss Finnie	Sonny and Bailey
5	3	Miss Oldroyd / Mrs Wensinger	Marta and Larry
6	1	Mrs Mosconi	Tayla, Raf and James
5/6	2	Mrs Jones	Charlie and Raphael
French		Madame Wilderspin	Joshua

School Logo Survey

Thank you to those parents who have responded to the School Logo Survey, sent out last term. A creative brief has now been written, and Craig from Gumption is now on to the job. Interestingly, here were some of the key ideas and thoughts that came out about Duncraig Primary School:

“Some families have moved to the area for the school”

“Support goes beyond school days”

“Many students and teachers stay on in the area after their time with the school is over”

“There is just a… Vibe”

“There is freedom to become yourself”

“Duncraig Primary School embraces a culture of inclusivity where kindness and approachability helps support a student on a learning journey that aspires to excellence, self-respect and respect of others. It is a school community with a long, reassuring, and positive history that supports the individuality and achievements of each and every student.”

I am looking forward to sharing Craig’s ideas with you all!

Current Payments Available through Qkr!

• Year 6 Camp – payment of $300 needs to be made before 16 June.
• Winter Interschool Sport Year 5 & 6 (selected students), payment of $32 needs to be made before 8 May
• World of Maths Incursion – PP to Year 6, payment of $7.50 before 19 May.

We are very keen to eliminate late payments as this causes quite the headache in the office, trying to track down payments on the day of an excursion/incursion. Parents will receive a reminder text if payment has not been made a day or two prior to the due date. After that, late payments will not be accepted.

Premier’s Reading Challenge

The Premier’s Reading Challenge is a literacy engagement program established in 2022 to:

• encourage students to read more books and enjoy reading
• improve literacy levels.

The challenge will:

• raise the profile of reading and literacy in schools
• give students a focus for their reading
• encourage students to enjoy reading and read more books
• encourage students to participate by being challenged
• offer incentives and prizes for readers
• build self-esteem, pride, school unity and a sense of achievement among students
• increase the involvement of parents in their child’s reading
• increase the number of library books borrowed
• contribute to increased literacy levels.

You can register your child for the challenge here:

The challenge – Premier’s Reading Challenge (premiersreadingchallenge.wa.edu.au)

From the French Room

Madame Wilderspin handed me an interesting article the other day, on the benefits of learning another language. These benefits include cognitive and learning benefits, and literacy advantages which are evidenced in the classroom and in education testing regimens. You can find the article, Literacy and Numeracy Outcomes of Students with Backgrounds Other than English in Australian NAPLAN Tests, in the latest Babel Magazine: AFMLTA | Babel.

Alternately, you can ask Madame about the article.

RATs, COVID and Sickness

We have plenty of RATs available at school if you would like to collect some more. Please call into the office to collect one or two boxes. As children naturally pick up colds during the coming season, please keep them home to prevent the spread of colds, flus or even COVID! Influenza vaccines are currently free from pharmacies, and the COVID booster is also being promoted in the community. You may like to take advantage of the easy (and free) vaccine protocols currently in place.

School Board Update

Our School Board meets twice a term. Our latest meeting was Monday 1 May. Here are some updates from that meeting:

• We heard from Administration in relation to the 2023 Funding Agreement and notably the appointment of a new gardener and the funding for the chaplain for an additional day per week. The Funding Agreement was noted by the Board.
• An update on the voluntary contributions was provided showing that 93% of families have now paid their 2023 contributions, up from approximately 70% last year, which is a fantastic result.
• We heard from the Principal, Ms Nicole Borbas, in relation to the staff professional learning experience which took place at the beginning of Term 2 on the topic of Culturally Responsive Professional Learning. An update was also provided on the roll out of ELM club which has recently commenced and the MiniLit program which will begin next week.  The program is currently being trailed with the school’s younger co-hort and then will continue to put in place older year level intervention.  We also received an update about the successful ANZAC Day ceremony which took place on the final day of Term 1.
• We heard from Administration in relation to the upgrading works of the female toilet blocks which have been agreed to by the Department of Education. These works represent the first round of upgrades and include re-painting, new lighting, new extractor fans and new wash basins. Smaller sanitary bins have also been replaced within the cubicles.  Further upgrades a plan to occur within the next 12 months. We would like to thank the Board members and Administration for the efforts in and engaging with the Local Member and the Department of Education in relation to this issue.
• The planning for the oval grounds upgrade was also discussed and it was positive to note the involvement of the new gardener with follow up care on lawn and reticulation issues thought the school grounds.
• The Board noted the Duncraig Primary School 2022 Annual Report and planned for regular updates on Board activities as a key outcome of the School Culture Self-Assessment Survey conducted in 2022.
• The Board commenced its review of the school policy framework, with the draft Duncraig Primary School Homework Policy being reviewed during the meeting. Following further feedback being provided by Board members and updates undertaken by Administration, a revised iteration of this policy will be further reviewed in an upcoming Board meeting.
• The Board discussed the Administration update in relation to the rebranding and school logo, with further review of design outcomes to be reviewed in the upcoming Board meeting.

The next meeting is scheduled to take place on Monday 12 June 2023.   

Duncraig Primary School Annual Report 2022

This report has been completed and can be found here: School Reports Duncraig Primary School (det.wa.edu.au), and also on our web site.

Upcoming Events

Year 5 & 6 Interschool Sport – each Friday afternoon

P&C Meeting – Thursday 11 May

Room 7 Assembly – Thursday 18 May

School Photos – 31 May & 1 June

World of Maths Incursion – Thursday 25 May

Kind regards,
Nicole Borbas,
Principal
Nicole.Borbas@education.wa.edu.au

Wow! What a Great Term 1!

It’s hard to believe that Term 1 has come to an end.

We are all very proud of our students and how they have worked so hard this term. We are also very proud of how we, as a staff, have ensured that quality learning, meaningful experiences and positive relationships continue to be the benchmark of Duncraig Primary School. Thank you to our very supportive parents. We couldn’t do our jobs without you!

On Monday, we celebrated our successful Term 1 with our P&C Colour Run. It was such a fabulous event. Thank you to Ms Nic Denny and her fundraising team. The event was masterfully coordinated throughout. Our amazing students managed to fundraise $30 500.

ANZAC Ceremony

This morning we recognised ANZAC Day with a beautiful service led by our Student Leaders. It was fabulous to see so many parents and community members in attendance. Congratulations to Juliet, Georgie, Courtlyn, Ethan and Cooper who spoke so beautifully. All students did us very proud with their respectful behaviour. A highlight for me was our school choir singing “The Last ANZAC” and the national anthems of Australia and New Zealand, and our bugler, Mr Jack Collinson, who added an authentic touch to the service.

Science Excursion

On Tuesday, 10 lucky students accompanied Ms Jackson to the Resources Technology Showcase at the Perth Exhibition Centre. The Resources and Technology Showcase gave students the opportunity to get up close to some of the world’s smartest mining machines and experience a behind-the-scenes look at the technology transforming the resources sector.  The students were able to interact with the latest technology including world-class virtual reality, drones, robots and all of the extraordinary innovation that is being developed and used across Western Australia.

PBS Update

Our PBS Team has been hard at work this term. Every fortnight, the team meets after school to plan the future directions of our school in building and maintaining a positive culture. As you know, our school values audit resulted in the following four values that will shape our behaviour expectations: Kindness, Respect, Responsibility and Excellence.

Using these four values we have come up with the acronym – BEST.

Be Kind

Excellence, everyday

Show Respect

Take Responsibility

Our Motto is, “Being our BEST at Duncraig Primary School”.

The contexts where we will be our BEST are:

Being our BEST in Learning Areas

Being our BEST in the Playground

Being our BEST around the School

Being our BEST in the Community

We are looking forward to sharing more with you as we build our Behaviour Matrix and start embedding the BEST culture in the school.

Happy Holidays

I would like to wish all our students and families a great holiday. Term 1 has been such a positive term in comparison to Term 1 in 2022, when COVID was messing with our lives! No doubt COVID will continue to impact us, however, we are much better placed to deal with it now.

If you manage to get away for the holiday period, have a fabulous break! We look forward to welcoming our students back to Term 2 on Wednesday 26^th April.

Upcoming Events

Wednesday 26 April – Students commence Term 2

Friday 28 April – Interschool Sport Commences (Every Friday)

Thursday 4 May – Room 5 Assembly

Kind regards,
Nicole Borbas, Principal
Nicole.Borbas@education.wa.edu.au

 

New Bank Details

We have changed banks and have new details as follows:

Duncraig Primary School
BSB: 066 192
Acc: 10659523

The old account will remain open until the end of term.

We have exciting news! Qkr is here!  This is an excellent app for not only paying for all your children’s activities in one place, but now there is no need for paper permission slips as its all on the app.

With a press of a button, you will be able to give your permission for your children to attend all the great events we have here at Duncraig Primary School.

It’s extremely easy to use, we have attached step by step instructions, but if you have any issues, please give us a call.

Please note, this will be our preferred method of payment going forward.

This is also the method Duncraig Senior High School and most of the other local high schools use for payment collection.

Download the app now!

Asbestos Removal over the Holidays

Due to some structural work being undertaken over the April holidays, I have been informed that asbestos removal will be taking place. Please be aware that no authorised persons should be on the school site over the April holidays. Please let your children know if they use the school as a thoroughfare. Zig Zags OHSC has been informed and they will be conducting their school holiday program at Glengarry Primary School over the April school holidays.

NAPLAN Legends

Over the past week and a half, our Year 3 and 5 students have been undertaking NAPLAN assessments. I have been very impressed at how calm and prepared they are as they complete them. Congratulations to all our Year 3 and 5 NAPLAN students for their perseverance and positivity. If your child was due to sit a test but has been away, Miss Moyes and I have been running catch-up tests this week.

Values Survey

Thank you, all parents and students who responded to our Values Survey. We had 153 responses. Respondents were asked to rank our existing values in order of relevance and importance. They were also asked about other values that may be important for our school. Overwhelmingly, Kindness and Respect were voted the most important values. Other values that the school community felt were important were Responsibility and Excellence/Striving. This survey will help inform the Positive Behaviour Support team on how to refine our values and build our positive behaviour expectations at Duncraig Primary School. This is an ongoing and consultative process.

Student Leaders

On Wednesday 22^nd March, Mrs Mosconi accompanied our Year 6 Student Councillors to the GRIP Leadership Conference at the Perth Exhibition Centre. Students travelled with Mrs Mosconi to Perth by train, and then made their way to the Exhibition Centre to learn about being impactful leaders in our school.

We can’t wait to hear about what they learned and how they will put it into practice at Duncraig Primary School.

ANZAC Ceremony

Parents and families are invited to attend our ANZAC Commemorative Service on Thursday 6^th April at 9.00am in the new undercover area.

Assembly Super Stars

At today’s assembly, the Year 1 students from Mrs Firman’s class wowed us with their Maths knowledge. It was wonderful to see how much fun they have when they are learning Mathematics – using games, stories, rhymes, and role plays.

Congratulations to all Merit Certificate recipients and Students of the Month! Check out our attached list of students who were recognised at this week’s assembly.

ECO Team Report

Our Duncraig Eco Team have been involved in a recent rubbish audit, after all students worked collaboratively to help clean up our school. Buddy classes worked together and collected 10 large bags of litter from around our school. Overwhelmingly, most of the litter collected was plastic waste. It is commendable to see groups of students in our school who are taking an active role in leading the way to keep Australia, and especially Duncraig Primary School, beautiful!

Numero Club

Before school on Thursday mornings, Year 4-6 students join Mrs Watkinson to hone their skills in Numero. Numero is a mental maths and problem solving game that increases students’ maths fluency. Congratulations to our rising Numero champions.

Upcoming Events

Friday 24^th March – Harmony Day Dress-up (Dress in orange or cultural attire)

Monday 3^rd April – P&C Colour Run 1.30pm

Thursday 6^th April – ANZAC Service 9.00am

Wednesday 26^th April – Students commence Term 2

Kind regards,
Nicole Borbas,
Principal
Nicole.Borbas@education.wa.edu.au

We are over half-way through Term 1 – can you believe it?

Our students have well and truly got into school mode now, with many of them achieving great results and trying their hardest. I always enjoy seeing great work when students come and show it to me in the office!

NAPLAN 2023

Next Wednesday, NAPLAN commences for our Year 3 and Year 5 students. NAPLAN assesses literacy and numeracy skills that students are learning through their regular school curriculum. Students sit assessments in writing, reading, conventions of language (spelling, grammar and punctuation) and numeracy. The questions assess content linked to the Australian Curriculum: English and Mathematics.

Students are not expected to study for NAPLAN. You can support your child by reassuring them that NAPLAN is a part of their school program and reminding them to simply do their best.

Jennifer Ryan’s Retirement

This Friday 10^th March, we formally farewell Mrs Jennifer Ryan, and wish her well in her retirement. Mrs Ryan has been the Manager Corporate Services at Duncraig Primary School for 27 years and has worked for the Department of Education for 34 years. Mrs Ryan’s favourite colour is pink, so a pink themed afternoon tea will be held to honour her work at Duncraig Primary School.

Clean Up Australia Event

Last Sunday 5^th March was Clean Up Australia Day. This week two of our teachers, Miss Collett and Ms Jackson attended a City of Joondalup Clean Up Seminar, to assist them to plan Clean Up events, build a culture of responsible waste management in our school and undertake waste audits. Next week, students will participate in Clean Up activities around our school. And a rubbish audit will follow. I must commend our students who are really making an effort to keep our school clean.

School Values

Our Positive Behaviour Support team have worked with staff and collected survey data from the students and the community, to identify the most relevant and necessary values to shape our school expectations. Thank you to everyone who has completed this survey. Overwhelmingly, Respect and Kindness won out as the most important values. Other values that ranked highly were Responsibility and Excellence. The PBS team will now be working with staff and students to identify how those values may look in many contexts around the school.

Annual Open Board Meeting

On Monday 13^th March, the DPS School Board will hold their Annual Open Board Meeting. Any interested parent may attend. You might like to know how the School Board operates or what our priorities for 2023 will be. You might like to just come along and show your support. Everyone is welcome! Our meeting will be held in the conference room at 5.00pm.

Assembly Super Stars

Today we enjoyed our second assembly for Term 1. The Year 2 students from Room 10 talked to us about emotions and the best ways to manage them. They did a fabulous job at acting out the different emotions, as well as speaking in front of the assembly and memorising their lines. Well done Year 2s!

Here are our merit certificate recipients for this assembly, and a belated Student of the Month.

2023 Merit Certificates

 

Host class:     Room 10             Date: 9 March 2023

Year	Room	Teacher	Recipients
PP	14	Miss Phillips	Jimmy and Elijah
PP	16	Mrs Cowton/Mrs Edwards	Emmeline and Nikolas
1	17	Mrs Calton	Jules and Ella
1	18	Mrs Spiers	Niamh and Stella
1	13	Mrs Firman	Evan and Harlo
2	12	Mrs Edwards / Mrs Wass	Edie and Sam
2	11	Mrs Cole	Vincent and Miguel
2	10	Mrs Adams	Tanner and Freya
3	8	Miss Moorman	Evelyn and Jax
3	7	Mr Miller	Douglas and Caris
4	6	Mrs Watkinson/Miss Coombes	Deacon and Vihandu
3/4	5	Miss Collett	Scarlett and Hunter
4/5	4	Miss Finnie	Denby and Thomas
5	3	Miss Oldroyd / Mrs Wensinger	Joshua and Maddie
6	1	Mrs Mosconi	Zane and Julia
5/6	2	Mrs Jones	Brooke and Charlotte
French		Madame Wilderspin	Ethan

 

Early Intervention News

At Duncraig Primary School, we recognise that some students require extra assistance to reach their outcomes. Learning intervention adds an additional layer onto classroom instruction. For some students, just an extra 10 minutes reading each morning will make an amazing difference.  We have invested resources into training and setting up MiniLit Intervention groups. Next term we are commencing MinLit early intervention. This evidence-based, Tier 2 small group reading program is for students in the bottom 25% of the expected range for their age group in Year 1 and 2. The program provides explicit instruction in phonemic awareness, systematic synthetic phonics for reading and spelling, letter formation, and connected text reading.

Additionally, we are planning an Early Learning Morning Club, for students to work with older peers to practise and test their sight word knowledge, knowledge of initial sounds, blends and digraphs, and decoding skills.

At this stage, most of the intervention practices are aimed at the P-2 students and are literacy -based. We plan to expand this in the future.

Upcoming Events

Monday 13^th March – Duncraig PS School Board Annual Open Meeting 5pm

Wednesday 15^th March – NAPLAN Commences

Tuesday 21^st March – P&C Meeting 7pm

Thursday 23^rd March – Room 13 Assembly

Friday 24^th March – Harmony Day Dress-up (Dress in orange or cultural attire)

Monday 3^rd April – P&C Colour Run 1.30pm

Thursday 6^th April – ANZAC Service 9.00am

Kind regards,
Nicole Borbas,
Principal

Nicole.Borbas@education.wa.edu.au

 

Our First Assembly

Today we held our first assembly for 2023. It was wonderful to see so many parents and families attending. Mrs Cole’s Year 2 class presented the Enormous Turnip as a multi-media Reader’s Theatre. They were very clever.

Congratulations to our merit certificate recipients and to our very first Students of the Month award winners, being recognised for Courage and Commitment.

Before and After School Safety

Students have been reminded about riding bikes and scooters through the school grounds before and after school. This is not appropriate as there are often many students around, and smaller children with parents. Please encourage your children to walk their bikes or scooters through the grounds before or after school if you are accompanying them.

P&C Colour Run – The Colour Run is back!

The P&C are running our second colour run at the school on April 3^rd and the children and staff are super excited!  This is such a popular and important fundraiser for the P&C and has given us the opportunity to support the students with Maths and Literacy programs over the past couple of years from K-6.

To ensure that our littlest of children can enjoy the event, Kindy and PP children will run first around the oval and then move into the centre of the oval where they will enjoy obstacles and activities.  In there they will still get COLOURFUL, probably WET but definitely they will have FUN! Our Year 1 – 6 will run the oval once all are in the centre.

Parents are most welcome to join their little ones on the day, the more that join in the greater the fun for the whole school community.

NAPLAN 2023

From the 15 March, Year 3 and Year 5 students will be participating in NAPLAN Assessments.

The schedule of testing events is as follows:

Wednesday 15 March – Year 3 Writing (Handwritten) & Year 5 Writing (on-line)

Thursday 16 March – Year 3 & 5 Reading

Monday 20 March – Year 3 & 5 Conventions of Language

Tuesday 21 – Year 3 & 5 Mathematics.

The testing window is open until Monday 27  March, so if students are absent, we can catch them up.

Parents who are wishing to withdraw their children from this process must complete a withdrawal application. These need to be submitted by 8 March.

School Board Nominations

We have an amazing, hard-working School Board, and you could be a part of it too. We are calling for parent nominations to be part of our School Board. The term is ideally for three years. We meet twice a term for meetings that last about one to one and a half hours.

If you are interested in joining the Board, please email me and I will send through a nomination form. Nominations close on Friday 3 March 2023.

Voluntary Contributions and Charges

It’s not too late to pay for your Voluntary Contributions if you did not include payment on the booklist.

Your contributions help pay for:

• Consumable Art & Craft Supplies
• Hygiene & Medical Supplies
• Sunscreen
• Extra Classroom Supplies

Contributions are $60 per student. You can pay by direct deposit:

Account Name: Duncraig Primary School, BSB: 016-495, A/C: 340948316, Ref: Family Name

Please contact the office if you would like assistance with this.

Information from the Marmion Dental Therapy Centre (DTC)

Children commencing Pre Primary or who are new to this school, will soon be offered enrolment to attend the Marmion DTC.

This is a free dental service to all school age children from Pre Primary to the end of year 11.

The DTC is located at Marmion Primary school and operates school hours as well as some school holidays. If you choose to enrol your child it is your responsibility to bring them to their appointment.

This is not a compulsory service, and we advise prior to completing the form that you thoroughly read all the information. If you do wish to enrol your child please return the completed form either to the DTC or to your childs school office.

We can be contacted on 94471275 if you have any questions.

2023 Student Free days

I would like to advise parents that our Student Free Days for 2023 will be the first Monday of each term:

Term 2 – Monday 24 April. Students return on Wednesday 26 April

Term 3 – Monday 17 July

Term 4 – Monday 9 October

The last day for students in 2023 will be Thursday 14  December.

Upcoming Events

Thursday 9 March – Room 10 Assembly

Monday 13 March – Duncraig PS School Board Annual Open Meeting 5pm

Wednesday 15 March – NAPLAN Commences

Tuesday 21 March – P&C Meeting 7pm

Kind regards,

Nicole Borbas,

Principal

Nicole.Borbas@education.wa.edu.au

 

 

Welcome to the 2023 School Year!

It has been an absolute joy to walk around and reconnect with students and their families over the past two weeks. 2023 has got off to a fabulous start. From the newest members of our school in Kindy to our latest group of Year 6 Leaders, everyone is ready to do their best and make Duncraig Primary School a great school. Welcome to our new families. I sincerely hope you enjoy your time at our school.

School Values

Our Positive Behaviour Support Team has been working with the staff to prioritise our school values and determine what other values may need to be included as part of our behaviour expectations. We would like to hear from our parents too. Please take two minutes to complete this quick survey.

Your opinion about our school values would be greatly appreciated. We plan to ask our Years 3-6 students to complete this survey also. Thank you!

School Board Nominations

We have an amazing, hard-working School Board, and you could be a part of it too. We are calling for parent nominations to be part of our School Board. The term is ideally for three years. We meet twice a term for meetings that last about one to one and a half hours.

At our meeting this week, the School Board met for a Meeting-Meal at the Carine Tavern and were introduced to the newest members of our Admin team, Mrs Jenny O’Connor (MCS) and Ms Tash Burke (Deputy Principal).

If you are interested in joining the Board, please email me and I will send through a nomination form.

Voluntary Contributions and Charges

It’s not too late to pay for your Voluntary Contributions if you did not include payment on the booklist.

Your contributions help pay for:

• Consumable Art & Craft Supplies
• Hygiene & Medical Supplies
• Sunscreen
• Extra Classroom Supplies

Contributions are $60 per student. You can pay by direct deposit:

Account Name: Duncraig Primary School, BSB: 016-495, A/C: 340948316, Ref: Family Nam

Please contact the office if you would like assistance with this.

2023 Student Free days

I would like to advise parents that our Student Free Days for 2023 will be the first Monday of each term:

Term 2 – Monday 24 April. Students return on Wednesday 26 April

Term 3 – Monday 17 July

Term 4 – Monday 9 October

The last day for students in 2023 will be Thursday 14 December.

Upcoming Events

Friday 10 February P&C Welcome Evening

Thursday 16 February P&C AGM 7.00pm in the school staffroom

Monday 20 February PP-Year 6 Well-being Incursion

Thursday 23 February Room 11, Year 2 Assembly

Weeks 2 & 3  Parent Information Meetings with Class Teachers

Kind regards,
Nicole Borbas,

Principal
Nicole.Borbas@education.wa.edu.au

End of Year Celebrations

Around the school this week, and last week, there has been a hive of activity and festivities as students and teachers celebrate the end of the school year. Check out the photos from around the school!

The Kindy kids have been very busy, enjoying a Messy Mud Play Day and entertaining their parents at the Kindy Christmas Concert.

Tennis Tournament

Students from Years 4-6 participated in the Interschool Tennis Tournament on Friday 9 December. Congratulations to all our competitors and thank you to Mr O for organising this event.

 

Book Awards

Congratulations to all students who won Book Awards at this year’s PP-5 Presentation Assembly. Pictured here are our Lion’s Literacy Award recipients.

Edu Dance Concerts

Our Pre-primary – Year 5 students amazed us with their dancing skills last week at the Edu Dance Concerts. The energy that they all participated with was truly fabulous. Well done to all our amazing dancers!

Year 6 Student Leaders decadent breakfast

Staffing Update

I am pleased to inform you that teacher staffing has been completed, with Miss Brittany Moorman joining us in 2023 as the Room 8, Year 3 teacher. Miss Moorman is a Graduate Teacher who has been working in the metropolitan area and has also worked in the remote community of Pia Wadjarri.

Whilst we welcome one new staff member, we also say goodbye (for now) to another. Ms Leah Clegg has been offered a position of Principal in Semester 1 at Takari Primary School. Whilst we are sad to see Ms Clegg go, we are excited for her and support her leadership aspirations. She has been an unwavering support for me this year, and she has the proven ability to lead a school and connect with her community. All the best Ms Clegg!

Book Club 2022

This year, your support of the Scholastic Book Club has earned our school $1260 in Rewards. These reward dollars are used by Ms Linda Key in the library to purchase more books to suit the K-6 range. Thank you for supporting the Book Club and investing in your children’s interest in books!

Thank you also to Mrs Anna Collie, who does a wonderful job as Book Club organiser!

Class Lists

Class lists are completed, and they can be HERE.

Please note that these lists may be subject to change.

Merry Christmas and happy holidays to all our families.

For some students, the end of 2022 marks the end of their families’ association with Duncraig Primary School. As principal, on behalf of staff past and present, I would like to thank these families for choosing Duncraig Primary School and for their contributions to their child’s education and to the success of our school.

For those families who will be staying with us, we look forward to seeing you in 2023 for another great year!

Kind regards,

Nicole Borbas,

Principal

Nicole.Borbas@education.wa.edu.au

 

Year 6 STEM at Duncraig Senior High School

Our Year 6 students have been engaged in STEM activities at Duncraig Senior High School, each Tuesday as part of their secondary transition. This activity has been for all students, regardless of their secondary destination in 2023.

Farewell Year 6 Students

We will be bidding farewell to our Year 6 students on Wednesday 14^th December. The day will begin with a Graduation Assembly and morning tea, commencing at 9.00am in the new undercover area. Our students will be having a celebratory day and then completing the celebrations with the Year 6 Graduation Dance. I am looking forward to seeing the dances that the students have been learning through Humphreys Dance School.

Student Feedback Surveys

Year 4-6 students have been invited to complete a Student Feedback Survey for 2022. The survey is also open to younger students who can access the survey, with support from home. The survey can be found here: https://forms.office.com/r/T1kBumULC7

As we embark on our school improvement agenda, we are very keen to include student voice to find out about how students enjoy learning at Duncraig Primary School, and how we can improve student outcomes, relationships and learning experiences.

2023 Classes

Please see below our teaching staff for 2023:

Kindy A – Mrs Leonie Hetebry

Kindy B – Mrs Rachael Waters

Kindy C – Mrs Rebekah Rossi

Pre-primary – Room 14 – Mrs Tara Phillips

Pre-primary – Room 16 – Mrs Malinda Cowton/Mrs Kelly Edwards

Year 1 – Room 18 – Mrs Helen Spiers

Year 1 – Room 17 – Mrs Lindsay Calton

Year 1 – Room 13 – Mrs sandy Firman

Year 2 – Room 12 – Mrs Susie Wass/Mrs Kelly Edwards

Year 2 – Room 11 – Mrs Jenny Cole

Year 2 – Room 10 – Mrs Elena Adams

Year 3 – Room 8 – TBA

Year 3 – Room 7 – Mr Stephen Miller

Year 3/4 – Room 5 – Miss Alex Collett

Year 4 – Room 6 – Mrs Jo Watkinson/Mrs Angela Coombes

Year 4/5 – Room 4 – Ms Maddy Finnie

Year 5 – Room 3 – Ms Louise Oldroyd/Mrs Felicity Wensinger

Year 5/6 – Room 2 – Mrs Amy Jones

Year 6 – Room 1 – Mrs Tarryn Mosconi

Science – Ms Nadine Jackson

Physical Education – Mr Ted Orzel

Music – Mrs Jan Ruscoe

French – Mrs Janet Widerspin

Junior DOTT – Mrs Angela Coombes/Mrs Kelly Edwards/Mrs Danielle Martin

I had intended to publish class lists by this date also, however, due to an incomplete staffing profile, I will put it off until Wednesday 14^th December, at the latest. My apologies!

Staff Farewells

You may notice a couple of names missing from our staff list. We would like to wish Mrs Sara Orford all the best for her year as she embarks on parenthood. Mr Mathew Zanatta will also be taking leave for 2023 in order to live and work abroad. Two big, very different adventures for our staff members! We are looking forward to welcoming them back after 2023.

In the administration office, Mrs Jennifer Ryan will be taking Long Service Leave from the start of the school year before her retirement in March 2023. Her replacement, Mrs Jenny O’Connor, will be commencing 2023 with us. We will be recognising Mrs Ryan’s retirement in 2023, however, I would like to acknowledge her support in my role as Principal this year. She has been a professional and knowledgeable member of the Admin Team.

Edu-Dance Concerts

I have had a sneak peak, and the students are doing some amazing dancing in their Edu-Dance rehearsals. I am very much looking forward to the concerts on Monday 5^th and Wednesday 7^th December. These concerts will start at 2.00pm, so arrive at 1.50pm for a prompt start.

Thanks for a great 2022!

There are still two more weeks (nine days, but who’s counting?) left of the school year. The final week will be very busy with classroom pack-ups, class parties, our Year 6 Graduation and end of year celebrations. My newsletter in Week 10 will be very brief – mainly concentrating on class lists. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Duncraig parents and community for welcoming me to this amazing school in 2022. I have been supported by two great deputies, Ms Leah Clegg and Ms Michelle Moyes, helpful office staff, an enthusiastic staff, a pro-active P&C led by Donna Baker, and a forward-thinking school board. I am looking forward to an even better 2023, as we continue to strive for excellence and make our good school a great one!

 

Kind regards,

Nicole Borbas,

Principal

Nicole.Borbas@education.wa.edu.au