Wow! What a busy term it has been down in Block Four!

We have all been so busy learning and playing that the term has just flown by! Last week the Pre-Primaries presented their very first assembly item. We sang a song about the colours of the rainbow and we also said a poem called “I Went Walking”, which was also about colours. It was lovely to have so many Mums and Dad’s, Aunties, Uncles and Grandparents there to watch us. It was a little bit scary performing in front of the whole school, but our speakers did a great job and we really enjoyed ourselves. When we had finished the assembly we had morning tea with our visitors.

Today we have had a “Drive In” day at school. All of the Kindy and Pre-Primary kids had to make a box car (that’s about 100 cars!) and then we got to drive them up to the hall to watch a movie. The cars were all very flash! It’s great fun to do things altogether.

From the Pre-Primaries—Rooms 43, 44 & 45

Yakamia Primary School

Newsletter

Volume 20

27 November 2015

Principal: Julie Blythe

Deputy Principals: Yvonne Height, Helen Walmsley and Tristan Mackenzie

Ph: 9841 7533 Fax: 9842 1350

Email: Yakamia.PS@education.wa.edu.au

Assembly

Well done to the Pre-Primary students for hosting

the last assembly. It was a fabulous assembly

and you made a beautiful rainbow!

There are no more class assemblies for the year

due to Pursuit of Excellence and Graduation. We

hope to see some of you at these events.

Pursuit of Excellence

The Pursuit of Excellence assembly will be held

on Thursday 3 December in the Hall from 9am.

This is an opportunity to acknowledge a student

from each class who has strived the hardest to

achieve their very best all year. We look forward

to your attendance at this special assembly.

Winners and family members are invited to a

special morning tea in the staffroom at the

conclusion of the ceremony.

Year 6 Graduation

The Year 6 Graduation will take place on

Wednesday 16 December from 1.00 pm.

Students will be celebrating the completion of

their years at primary school with graduation.

Acknowledgment will be given to a range of

students for their specific achievements. I look

forward to seeing Year 6 parents and family

attending and wish all Year 6 students the best

for the future. I look forward to hearing about

you as you move forward to high school next year.

Student Leaders 2015

An important part of the Graduation Ceremony is

to announce the 2016 Student Councillors to their

peers. I am sure many students will take the

opportunity to stand for the leadership role. I am

confident that the eight students who will be

selected will represent the school wonderfully

well – to those who miss out please consider the

many other opportunities presented at the

beginning of next year.

Volunteers Morning Tea

A morning tea will be held for all parents and

school volunteers in the Yakamia staff room at

10.30am on the 15 December. This is our way of

thanking anyone for volunteering their precious

time to help out at the school. It can be in the

classroom, Before School Reading, sports days,

camps etc. In the coming weeks, if you don‟t

receive an invitation from your class teacher

please ask at the office.

Thank You!!

A big thank you to the P&C for all their support

this year. They have raised an amazing amount

of money for projects around the school from play

equipment to supporting our school chaplain.

Well done to all those involved and I look forward

to working with you all again in 2016!!!

Julie Blythe

From the Principal’s Desk

Page 2 Yakamia Primary School

P&C

Sundowner All welcome!!

Come join us to celebrate our achievements for 2015!!

Three Anchors, Middleton Beach

Wednesday, 2 December

At 5pm

Yakamia will use the same modified start in 2016

as in previous years, as it allows us to avoid the

dreaded restructure early in the year. It is

always difficult to predict exact numbers and

because of the uncertainty, staff have

overwhelmingly endorsed the modified start to

become part of our school process.

Traditionally class lists go up the day before

school starts with lists established based on

children attending the school during the previous

year – unfortunately not all students return and

new families move into the area leaving some

uncertainty to final numbers.

Therefore, the following process will be continued

for 2016:

Children arrive Monday 1 February

Year 1 to 3 students will meet in the

courtyard behind Administration (near the stage

area)

Year 4 to 6 students will meet in the Hall

Students will be formally welcomed at these

venues

Students will then break into year levels and

move to classrooms to rotate through a series of

pre-organised activities with identified teaching

staff

The only equipment students will need on

these days is a pencil case containing pencils,

textas, glue, scissors and ruler.

All other booklist items can be brought

on the Wednesday once classes are

established.

Numbers will be confirmed over the first two days

and class lists established. Students will gather

on Tuesday afternoon at mini assemblies where

classes will be assigned and notes issued to

students with details. Students will then visit

their classroom. Regular classes will commence

on Wednesday, 4 February.

This initiative offers the school a great

opportunity to have a really positive start,

develop a sense of community and enhance the

excellent culture that already exists at the school.

All students will meet and work with year level

staff giving them the chance to establish great

relationships right from the beginning of the year.

When collecting students on the Monday

and Tuesday the following applies:

Year 1 from Block 3

Year 2 & 3 from Block 1

Year 4 –6, please make arrangements

for a meeting place with your child

If you have any concerns or are unsure about

these arrangements please see the office for

assistance.

Kindy & Pre Primary 2016

Students in Kindy will receive a letter in the

coming weeks with their day and classroom

allocation details.

Students in Pre Primary will have their class lists

posted outside classrooms in Block 4 (Early

Childhood Centre) on Monday 1 February 2016.

Start of 2016

Page 3 Yakamia Primary School

Free Dress Day

In Week 9, Wednesday 2 December, there will be a free dress day for all students.

The day will be in support of Foodbank. Please bring some non-perishable, within

the „use by‟ date or „best before‟ date, food items to donate. Your support for Food-

bank is much appreciated, as they are also great supporters of our „Before School

Reading and Breakfast‟ program that runs in our school.

Student Event

At the beginning of the new school year your child

might be in a split class. By “split classes,” we

mean putting two consecutive year-groups

together in one class. If your child is younger you

may query - will my child be able to keep up? If

they are older - will my child be held up?

Over the years split classes have been the source

of controversy, with parents sometimes believing

that their child is being disadvantaged in some

way if they are placed in a split class.

The key to understanding splits is realising that

growth is determined in stages and not magically

by ages.

Split classes doesn't mean your child is dumb or a

genius. It doesn‟t mean that they will get work

that is too hard or not hard enough. Split classes

provide a range of levels of work, so the needs of

all children can be catered for, while providing a

supportive environment for all. At any one time,

both split and straight classes have groups of

students at a variety of levels. This is part of the

normal delivery of the curriculum.

Although a child might be chronologically older or

younger - their maturity, social needs, academic

needs and behaviour are uniquely their own. All

these factors are considered when teaching staff

and school administration determine class

placements. It is far better that they be grouped

according to need, in order to allow children to

gain confidence and skill by working at their

individual ability level. There is no hard and fast

rule that says a „straight‟ class will meet a child‟s

needs any better than a split class.

Split classes can provide significant benefits to

both the younger and older students in the class.

Older students can benefit from helping younger

students in co-operative learning situations. The

younger students have the opportunity of

enhanced learning experiences, where they are

ready for it. There are many examples where

younger children can show older ones a thing or

two! Role models and leaders can come from both

the younger and older children; the children who

excel at these traits do so irrespective of age.

There is no empirical evidence for any

assumption that student learning is hindered in

split classes. Ultimately, whether children are in

split or straight-age classes, it is not the age

combinations that matter. What matters is the

quality of teaching and learning and the

relationship between the child and the teacher.

Good teaching isn't determined by whether a

class is a split or not. Good teaching is

determined by the classroom dynamics and

whether the individual needs are met.

Split Classes

Page 4 Yakamia Primary School

Library Book Over Dues

The library would like all students to find all their library books and return them to the School

Library by the end of next week. If your child receives an overdue note could parents look extra hard

for the library book. If the library book can‟t be found then the Library requires payment for the lost

book/s.

Thank you for your help in this matter.

SeeSaw

For our SeeSaw parents don‟t forget that you can download any items in your child‟s journal to your

own device for safe keeping in the long term. Press the „three dots‟ and choose „share item‟, then „save

to gallery‟. If you encounter any problems please see Mrs McIntosh.

School News

Page 5 Yakamia Primary School

The Interschool Athletic Sports Carnival was held on the 26 November. The Yakamia

competitors definitely earned honour for their school. We competed against Flinders Park,

Albany, Denmark, Spencer Park, Mt Lockyer, Little Grove Primary Schools and Mt Barker

Community College.

The Senior and Junior Outright Shields were won by Denmark PS. Yakamia came 6th

overall in the Senior Carnival and 2nd in the Junior Carnival.

Mr McFarlane would like to thank parents for their support and help, the P&C for all their

hard work providing lunches and snacks, and the students for being on their best behaviour.

Congratulations to Lachlan Pietrala on coming equal 3rd in the Year 5 Boys Championship

points.

Interschool Sports

Interschool Sports Carnival continued ...

Page 6 Yakamia Primary School

Come along and see

the Yakamia kids at

the 2015 Christmas

Pageant. Well done

and thankyou Miss

Scott for organising

the students and art

for the parade the

theme we are

following this year is

“Time Travel”. Our

kids have worked

really hard to create

an awesome time

machine.

The Yakamia Library Christmas

mailbox is starting. If you would like to

send a card either homemade or

bought, to anyone in the school, please

write their name and classroom

number on the front and we will have

some of Santa's special helpers

deliver them. The Santa box will be

running in the library from Monday

30 November to 7 December.

Keep Albany Beautiful Colouring

In Competition

Well done to all the Yakamia

students who entered the above

competition. The winners from all

schools were announced at a special

afternoon tea on Wednesday 18

November. Congratulations to:

1st Yr 1 Georgia Whitelaw

2nd Yr 1 Alice Stonehouse

3rd Yr 1 Reece Simpson

2nd Yr 3 Ella Mackenzie

1st Yr 5 Amber Wilkinson

School News

Page 7 Yakamia Primary School

Honour Certificate Recipients—20 November 2015

Room Name Room Name

11 Chloe Lee

Charlie Whitfort

24 Corey Allen

Mitchell Manera

12 Jesse Owens

Josh Boocock

25 Jemma Carbonell

Kyse Smith-Bee

13 Kasey Pears

Emily-Rose Clapp

26 Liam Fitzgerald

Ryan Lazar

14 Sam Dwyer

Finlay Davis

33 Tegan Pears

Joel Gregory

15 Grace Frank

Bella Medbury

34 Joshua Manera

Teresa Alegria

16 Lucas Page

Zohar Amigo

35 Joseph Perry

Akaisha Hands

21 Harison White

Cooper Childs

43 Zane Wilson

Xanthe Gardiner

22 Tsharn Jackson

Sharni Ralston

44 Riley Udecz

Charmelle Umali

23 Shanica Perrin

Phoenix Woods

45 Jack Crannage

Duggan Wilkes

Energy drinks

Energy drinks are not suitable for children and

teens. They are also not recommended for pregnant

women, people with heart disease, or people who are

sensitive to caffeine.

Energy drinks typically contain;

caffeine (ranges from 30mg/250ml to

150mg/250ml, depending on the brand);

guarana (a caffeine extract from a plant);

sugar (in higher quantities than sports drinks);

protein (the amino acid taurine is often added to

these drinks), and;

Vitamin B.

The high caffeine content of these drinks can produce a

variety of unpleasant side effects. The high sugar

levels in these drinks can reduce the body‟s ability to

absorb water, meaning that it is dangerous to consume

these drinks before, during or after physical activity. It

is particularly dangerous to mix energy drinks with

alcohol.

For more information, go to www.drugaware.com.au

Top 5 Tips for Surviving Term 4

By Katherine Healy 13 Oct 2015

The Spring school holidays have flown by, and it‟s time

to head back to school for the last term of the school

year.

Fourth term is always a busy time of year – it‟s exam

time for senior students, there‟s a seemingly never-

ending list of end of year concerts, awards nights and

classroom parties to attend, with carols by candlelight

thrown in for good measure.

Parents are aware of the looming date of end of year

holidays, and the upcoming celebrations, which isn‟t

helped by your FaceBook friends sharing “Only 10

Fridays left until Christmas!” posts. (Yes, it is only 10

weeks… Everybody just breathe…)

Add work and family get-togethers on top of this, and

you could have a recipe for disaster, (or a mini-

breakdown) Never fear, we‟ve got this covered. Here

are Nature Play WA‟s Top 5 Tips for Surviving (and

maybe even enjoying) Term 4.

1. Spend time outside every day – it‟s good for you

and will lift your energy and sense of wellbeing

Try doing your homework in the backyard - fresh

air and a change of scenery

Set up a play date with friends at your local nature

reserve. is good a mental recharge.

Read a bedtime story under the stars.

Make your weekends count

Try not to fill your weekends with too many

organised activities

Spend time together as a family

Give yourself time to just „muck around‟

Play with your pets – it‟s good for both of you

Don‟t let the fun stop just because the holidays are

over

Use your sprinkler days to set up black plastic and

dish washing detergent on back lawn as a slippery

dip

Spend time together as a family

Give yourself time to just „muck around‟

Play with your pets – it‟s good for both of you

Don‟t let the fun stop just because the holidays

are over

Play real-life versions of your favourite video

games. Get a together some cardboard boxes and build

your own real-life Minecraft creation.Or for a real-life

Angry Birds, build a cardboard box tower, add some

strategically placed balls (Pigs) and fire tennis balls

(Angry Birds) at your construction until it collapses!

Take advantage of the great spring weather

Make a family tradition of heading out for a family

dinner on Friday night, fish and chips at the beach or

picnic at the park or in the bush.

Visit national parks and state forests – if you‟re

quick you‟ll catch the last of the wildflowers

Replace some of your screen time with green time

Watching screens soaks up a lot of mental energy

Being inactive makes you feel sluggish

Being outdoors helps recharge your batteries

We‟ll be getting our daily dose of vitamin N (Nature!)

to help us through to the end of the year, and we know

if you can find just a little time out each day, you‟ll feel

so much better for it.

Natureplay WA website - http://

www.natureplaywa.org.au/articles/top-5-tips-for-

surviving-term-413

Karen Johnson, Community Nurse

Community Nurse

Page 8 Yakamia Primary School

Please note notices appearing below are not necessarily endorsed by the

school. We provide this space for community groups to advertise to the

school community. It is up to parents to scrutinise the activity and

organisers for their child.

SCHOOL BANKING EVERY:

TUESDAY IN THE HALL

8.30 – 9.00am

Community News

Page 9 Yakamia Primary School

Please note notices appearing below are not necessarily endorsed by the

school. We provide this space for community groups to advertise to the

school community. It is up to parents to scrutinise the activity and

organisers for their child.