Please assist us in reducing vandalism at the school by contacting one of the telephone numbers listed below if you notice any suspicious behaviour on the school grounds.

Welcome to the Week 6 Newsletter. It is hard to believe that we are halfway through the final term of the year already. It has been a busy term for us at Byford PS, and it will continue to be as we have many events coming up including Swimming Lessons, Kindy and Pre-Primary Orientation, End of Year Concert and Year 6 Graduation.

Planning 2021

Part of our preparation for 2021 is class structures and placements. This can often be a stressful time for school staff and families. While we are planning class structures and placements it is important that we have as much information as possible to make informed decisions that best meet the needs of our students and school. Firstly, I ask that any families that are not planning on returning to Byford PS in 2021 to please let the office know. This will ensure that we have accurate projected enrolments and will hopefully reduce the risk of having to restructure classes once the school year commences. Secondly, if you have any class placement requests based on the educational needs of your child please also forward these onto me. It is important to note that with over 360 students it may not be possible to meet all requests, but all will be considered. Please email this required information to Byford.PS@education.wa.edu.au and attention it to Jody Harrington.

Bus Parking Bay (Clifton St)

Just a reminder that the bus parking bay at the front of the school on Clifton St needs to be left for buses only at drop off and pick up times. There have been a few times recently when the after school care bus has been unable to park as the bay has been in use. We thank you for your assistance with this matter.

End of Year Concert

Due to the fact that we are still in Phase 4 COVID-19 Operating Guidelines our End of Year Concert will look a little different from previous years. As we will be unable to adhere to the one person per 2sqm in an inside venue, the concert will be held outdoors this year. The BPS End of Year Concert will take place on Wednesday 9^th December and be held on the school oval. The event will begin at 4:45pm with a formal assembly including the book awards and concert items performed by the students. After the formal part of the evening families will be invited to stay for a picnic dinner if they wish too. The oval will be sectioned off into a picnic blanket area at the front, and chair seating / standing at the rear. A more detailed program will be sent home closer to the event.

Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to introduce themselves to me over the last five weeks. You will find me out and about in the playground most mornings and afternoons so feel free to say hello when you see me.

Jody Harrington
Principal

Ph 9526 6300

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

Save these dates:

• Monday 23rd - Friday 4th December - Swimming Lessons
• Tuesday 24th November - Byford PS Kindergarten Orientation day (9 - 10am)
• Wednesday 2nd December - Parent Thank You Morning Tea (10:30am)
• Thursday 3rd December - Community Kindergarten Orientation day (9-10am)
• Friday 4th December - Pre Primary Parent Information Session (2-3pm)
• Tuesday 8th December - BPS Kindy Orientation day (9-10am)
• Wednesday 9th December - End of Year Concert (To be confirmed)
• Monday 14th December - Students Reports sent home
• Wednesday 16th December - Year 6 Graduation (3pm start)
• Thursday 16th December - Year 6 Excursion.  Last day of school.

Swimming Lessons

Just a reminder, swimming lessons commence on Monday 23^rd November and will be held at the Armadale Aquatic Centre (76 Champion Drive, Seville Grove) starting on Monday 23^rd November to Friday 4^th December.  Cost is $65 per student.

Students are to come to school in their bathers with their uniform over the top.  They will wear this to the pool.  Students need a separate bag to take to the pool with a towel, goggles etc.  This all needs to be clearly labelled, including the bag.  At the conclusion of the lesson, students will dry off before boarding the bus and will get changed into their school uniform upon returning to school.

It is advisable that students wear goggles whilst swimming as the chlorine in the pool may be very strong.  Students with long hair must have it tied up before arriving at the lessons.  It is not appropriate to wear jewellery or to bring expensive items to the swimming pools.

Students will not be able to purchase anything from the pool canteen.

Kindergarten & Pre Primary Information Sessions

Parents/Guardians of children who have been accepted and will be attending Kindergarten and Pre Primary at Byford Primary School in 2021 are invited to attend an information session.

Pre Primary Session is Friday 4th December 2020 at 2:00 - 3:00pm.  At this session you will be given an information package and be able to have a look at our facilities.  Please come to the Front Office and you will be directed to Room 12.  If you bring your child that you are enrolling, a supervised activity will be provided for them.  During this term your child will participate in orientation sessions during the school day as part of the transition program. 

Kindergarten Session at Byford Primary School

Blue Group - Tuesday 24^th November 2020 at 9:00 - 10:00am. 

Yellow Group - Tuesday 8^th December 2020 at 9:00 - 10:00am. 

At this time, children will participate in an orientation activity.  Please come to the Front Office and we will direct you to where these activities will take place.  You will be provided with an information package for 2021 on this day.

Kindergarten Session at Community Kindergarten, Park Road Byford is Thursday 3^rd December 2020 at 9:00 – 10:00am.  Your child will be involved in organised activities whilst you are provided with information for a successful start to your child’s education.

Parent Helper Morning Tea

I would like to extend an invitation to our parents and friends who have helped in any capacity over the year to a ‘Thank You’ morning tea.  This will take place on Wednesday 2^nd December at 10:30am in the Library.  We look forward to seeing you there.

End of Year Book Prizes

At the End of Year Concert a number of awards are presented to students who have made significant gains in their education.  Parents, businesses and organisations are invited to donate a contribution towards the cost of these prizes.  All donations are acknowledged.   Thank you to those who have already donated a book award to the school.

If you are interested in making a donation, please contact the front office, or you can make a donation directly into the Byford PS bank account. Please enter BA and your name in the comments.

End of Year P&C Raffle

The P&C will be drawing the raffle at the end of year concert. In the past we have had some fantastic prizes. The P&C are calling for donations for the raffle. These can be placed in the baskets at the classrooms.

Food Hampers

Our local community is once again calling for donations of food items (non-perishable) that will be packaged in a hamper and donated to local families in need. If you can provide any items, please leave them at the front office or in the basket in the library.

Book lists for 2021 have been sent home, so please check your child's bag.  Spare copies will be available at the Front Office or click on the Year Level here:

All money, permission slips and order forms can now be dropped in at the Front Office by parents and students.  Teachers will no longer accept money in the classroom.  We have a new collection box which provides seperate slots for P& C Fundraising, Uniform Shop and BPS Excursions / Incursions & school fees.  Please enclose your form and money in a bag or envelope,  making sure you have included your child's name and room number.

Using the collection box will allow families to make payments quickly and not have to wait to speak with Admin staff should they be busy.  Spare permission slips and order forms will be availble here also.

West Byford Dental Therapy Centre have a new telephone number.

PHONE:     9526 6586

Please now contact us on this number.

If we don’t answer PLEASE leave a message and we will call you back as soon as we can.

Kind Regards Kay & Chantelle

West Byford Dental

On Tuesday 3 November, Byford Primary School held our “Early Childhood Family Sports Day”.  This involved our Kindergarten and Pre-Primary children, together with the children from the Byford Community Kindy.  Well done everyone, it was a great day.

This year, Room 13 have been lucky enough to be buddies with the pre primary students in Room 12. It has been wonderful to see the year fives interacting with the younger students, having opportunities to be positive role models and become the teachers!

The students have completed lots of different fun and interesting activities together, including: designing, making and testing paper planes, constructing 3D shapes from nets, iPad and computer sessions, reading books and completing puzzles, designing, making and testing spaghetti towers and also helping the younger students prepare for their sports carnival, helping them learn team games.

Later in the term, the year fives will be creating games for their buddies and writing these up as procedures. They will then use these to teach their buddies the games and play them. We have also got tent building and exciting Christmas activities to complete together!

Here are pictures of some of our activities.

We are excited to be revamping and improving one of our tired garden beds outside the undercover area. Mrs Sue Liddington has designed an amazing mural which she is creatively drawn and is painting. The design showcases our Byford community history with dairy farming and our picturesque foothill views to the east.

With the painting complete, work will commence on replanting and refreshing the garden bed with new plants and ground cover.

This work is in preparation for our upcoming one-hundred-year celebration in 2021.

We thank Mrs Sue Liddington for her artistic talents and hardwork in making this project possible.

Each month two students are chosen as our ‘Aussie of the Month’ and are presented with a badge, certificate and reward at our assembly.  It is awarded to an outstanding citizen in our school community. 

Congratulations to our winners this month: Melody H and Aiden W

As part of The Fathering Project involvement with your school I will be including helpful tips and ideas for all fathers and father-figures. I hope these tips will help, inspire and encourage all fathers and father-figures to be the best that they can be, as all fathers and father-figures are critically important in every child’s life. Click here for Tip 37 – Being Approachable.

Sunset Lawn Bowls

The Hungry Student - A Cookbook

The P&C is super excited and proud to offer a collection of fantastic recipes compiled from Byford Primary School families, students and the wider community.  The cookbook will be a spiral bound book printed in colour. Order forms are being sent home soon.  So order your cookbook today for yourself and family members, these will make a great Christmas present or gift for any occasion. 

Please send your orders and payment back by Friday 20^th November 2020

School Concert Raffle Donations

The P&C is requesting donations of non-perishable food and other items suitable to be used for raffle prizes at the End of Year School Concert.  If you are able to help out with any donations, please drop them in the basket provided in your child’s classroom.  Please no food items that will expire before Christmas.  We are looking forward to some great prizes this year. Thank you for your support.

Raffle tickets will be sent home later in the term.

Christmas Raffle Tickets

It’s that time again… our annual Christmas raffle! Tickets are $1 each or 6 for $5. Please make sure you include your child’s full name and room number on each ticket. Please return the tickets and money to the front office by Wednesday 9^th December, ready for the draw at the End of Year Concert. Extra sheets of tickets will be available from the front office if required, also available on the night.  

P&C Meeting

Thank you for supporting the Byford Primary P&C 

Rishona Van Trier 

P&C President 

Canteen

The Byford Primary School Canteen is open for recess and lunch on Monday and Friday. Orders can be made direct to the canteen, or through QuickCliq  https://quickcliq.com.au/.

If you have any spare time on a Monday or Friday, volunteers are required to help in the canteen.

School Banking

School Banking is held in the Library every Friday morning at 8:15am.

New to School Banking?  There are three simple ways to get your child started. 

Uniform Shop

QuickCliq is our onling ordering system and it's an easy and convenient way to order your child’s uniform.  QuickCliq is approved by the Department of Education, it’s free, safe and secure.  You can use Paypal or Credit Card for immediate payment.  You can also use Direct Deposit.  To sign up, click www.Quickcliq.com.au 

If you are unable to order online, order forms (with cash payment) can be left at the Front Office.  Please ensure there is a name and contact number provided.

Orders can still be placed at the Uniform Shop which opens Wednesday (fortnightly, same day as assembly) from 2:15pm - 3:00pm.

To ease the financial burden on families over the year, we encourage parents to make payments throughout the year, to be assigned to fees, excursions and swimming etc. 

This can be as a regular weekly or fortnightly payment, or whenever you have funds available.  See the Admin Staff in the front office to arrange this.  You will be provided a breakdown of payments made, should you require.

Payment options are as follows:

• Cash
• EFTPOS
• Credit / Debit Card over the phone
• Direct Deposit – Byford Primary  BSB: 066-040  Account No: 19902028

Please enter the name of your child and the purpose of the payment in the description field i.e. A Smith Zoo Exc. 

Please DO NOT use this account for P&C payments

A ‘No Hat, Limited Outside Play’ policy is enforced at Byford Primary School all year.  Parents can assist us by reinforcing the need for protection from the sun by ensuring that students have a wide brim hat. Hats can be purchased through the school uniform shop next to Room 3.  Students who do not have a hat are instructed to play under sheltered areas such as the Undercover Area near the canteen. Caps are not acceptable as they do not provide adequate protection to the ears and back of the neck from the sun.

Byford Secondary College - 2021 Instrumental Music Program

Byford Secondary College provides excellent opportunities to help your child succeed. In keeping with this belief, Byford Secondary College offers new students coming into Year 7 in 2021 access to Instrumental Music Lessons provided by Instrumental Music School Services (IMSS). During Primary School Transition days Byford Secondary College provides an opportunity for any new students interested in joining the Instrumental Music Program to complete the Musical Aptitude Indicator test.  After this process, students may be offered a place in the Instrumental music program.

If a student is selected into the music program they will receive weekly instrumental lessons at no cost during school time and will be placed in classroom music classes in lieu of performing arts class in Year 7 and 8 and as an elective in Year 9 and 10.  Students accepting a place in the music program are expected to continue their instrument until at least the end of Year 10, with the opportunity to continue until Year 12. Students are also required to attend their instrumental lessons regularly, as well as performances and after school ensemble where applicable. 

If you would be interested in the opportunity for your child to join the instrumental program, please contact the Music Coordinator Jake Bignell via email at jake.bignell@education.wa.edu.au

Byford Carols

Due to the COVID restrictions still in place in the Shire of Serpentine/Jarrahdale, this year's Byford Carols will be a livestreamed event on Saturday 5th December commencing at 7.00pm. 

This event has been operating for the past 25 years in Byford and we look forward to the local community still being able to participate in celebrating Christmas this year.

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