1 February 2018

Newsletter Articles

Byford Primary News

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.

Principal’s Report

Dear Families and Friends

Welcome to the 2018 school year. I trust that you had a restful and enjoyable break and that your children (and you) are excited to return to school.

The Quadrangle

Over the holidays the quadrangle was completed and it looks fantastic. We now have 5 four square and two hopscotch courts marked as well as the usual court markings. We all look forward to be able to utilise this fantastic resource. Many thanks to the Department of Education, Byford PS P&C and Byford PS for raising the money to fund this venture.

Staffing 2018

This year our staff has remained fairly stable. We welcome Ms Alison Frampton to our staff. Ms Frampton comes to us from Clifton Hills PS and will be teaching Year 1. We welcome a full cohort of kindergarten students this year (at this stage there are 51 Kindy enrolments). We are eagerly waiting for the transportable building to be installed. There have been some unavoidable holdups over the holidays and the Department of Education is working hard to have the building ready as soon as possible. In the interim, Room 15 Kindy will operate out of the wet area in the Music / Art room block.

The following is a list of staff for the start of 2018 and this is correct as the time of printing.

School Hours

Students are not encouraged to arrive at school before 8:30am. Students arriving before 8:30am are required to be seated in the Undercover area until rooms are opened at 8:35am. Games are not permitted at this time.

Gates to the Central Quadrangle and Room 9 & 10 areas will remain closed until 8:35am. All students and parents who arrive before 8:35am are to wait in the Undercover area. This is to ensure we can provide adequate supervision to ensure the appropriate duty of care is provided.

Please note students are to be in class at 8.35am to prepare for the days lessons.

Office Hours

Monday - Friday 8.15am – 3.30pm. Please note the office may be closed at recess and lunch times. If you need to see the Manager Corporate Services it would be appreciated if you could attend the office after 8.45am.

Late Arrivals at School

All students arriving at school after 9.00am must report to the School Office to collect a late pass before going to their class. The time they arrive at school will be recorded on the School Roll by the office staff. Students who do not collect a late pass will be sent up to the office by the class teacher to obtain one.

Leave Passes

To ensure the safety of all students, parents are requested, when removing students from school during the hours of instruction, to arrange for a Leave Pass from the school office before collecting the students from the classroom. Teachers will not release students from the classroom without a leave pass being presented and parents will be redirected to the office.

Attendance

Under the Education Act 1999 all absences from school must be explained. In order to access the full curriculum, and give your child the best chance of success, the Department recommends the rate of 95% attendance. The chart below gives a breakdown of the amount of time missed in a year, and if maintained, how it impacts on the future education of your child.

Legitimate reasons for absence are genuine illness, or medical appointments that could not reasonably be expected to be made outside school hours. We request you to advise us by phone or in writing, if your student is likely to be absent for an extended period of time.

If you remove your child from school for a family holiday during the term, permission must be sought from the Principal.

Student Update Forms

Student Update forms will be sent home with students during week two. Please check your details carefully and return your form to the front office as soon as possible, even if there are no corrections required. It is important that student records are kept up to date throughout the year. Should there be any change to address, contact, medical or access restriction details, please advise the school immediately.

Canteen

Our canteen will continue to operate Monday and Friday during Term 1. Mrs Taryn Chaytor will manage the canteen during this time. Our canteen can only operate if we have parent help on both days. If you are able to support the canteen by volunteering your time, please contact Taryn. Any time that you have would be appreciated – whether it is once a week, once or twice a term.

Sue Heath
Principal

Ph 95251337 / Mb 040 937 0903
Email: Suzanne.Heath@education.wa.edu.au

Chaplain Chatter

Hi Everyone

Happy New Year and I am glad to see you all back. I hope you all had an excellent break.

We have a whole new year ahead of us so let’s take time to set some achievable goals. I set a goal for myself. Let me encourage you to do the same. My first challenge this year is for you to set some goals and write a letter to yourself. Give that letter to me in a sealed envelope and I will post it back to you in last term. You can read your letter and see if you achieved the goals you set. I also encourage teachers and parents to do the same. There is an old American Indian saying, “If you have a goal, then you have a path”. So, let’s write those letters, let’s pave our paths

Have a great week, keep safe.

Joe Grida
Chaplain

Bus Bay

The bus bay on Clifton Street is a ‘No Parking’ area for all vehicles except buses. This bay is required for buses transporting our students to and from excursions, as well as for day-care providers who drop off and pick up each day. Byford Primary School has made a request to the Shire to have the bus bays repainted so it is clearly marked to avoid any confusion.

Payment Options for Excursions, Incursions and Voluntary Contributions

Direct Bank Deposit

Pay directly into the Byford Primary School’s bank account. Simply access your internet banking service provider and pay to the following account:

Byford Primary School     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.

EFTPOS

We have recently had an EFTPOS machine installed as an option for you to pay for school fees, excursions and incursions at Byford Primary School. The EFTPOS machine can ONLY be used to pay for Byford Primary School expenses.

• There is NO “cash out” option on the machine, and
• We are unable to take any payments for the P & C

Cash or Cheque

Payments by cash or cheque can be made at the Front Office for Voluntary Contributions. If you are paying for an Excursion or Incursion, please take your payment to your child’s teacher so it can be processed through their money book.

Don’t Forget Your Hat

Please remember to bring your hat to school each day, especially now that summer is fast approaching. It is important to protect ourselves from the sun. Your hat must be wide brim or bucket style.

Students who do not have a hat will not be able to participate in sport / fitness or any outside activity and will be restricted to the undercover area. So please remember - No Hat, No Play!

P&C Association & Year 6 Fundraising News

Annual General Meeting

The P & C are holding their Annual General Meeting on Thursday 8th February at 6:30pm in the Library. All positions are now vacant and need to be filled for 2018. Nominations can be sent via email to ByfordPrimaryPandC@hotmail.com before the AGM.

Should you have any questions please contact Hayley Edwards via Facebook or Email.

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

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

Canteen Menu available here:

School Banking

Banking will resume on Wednesday 7th of February. For the first two weeks we will be set up in the PP/ Kindy area, to encourage some of our young savers to join banking.

Uniform Shop

The Uniform Shop is open every Wednesday morning from 8:30 am – 9:00 am. Payment can be made by cash or cheque only. If you are unable to visit the Uniform Shop on a Wednesday, order forms (with payment) can be left at the Front Office. Please ensure there is a name and contact number provided.

Icy Pole Fundraising

Icy poles will be on sale every Wednesday at lunchtime from the Wet Area near Rooms 9 & 10. It’s a great way to cool down during the summer months and they only cost 50c.

Donations of icy poles can be made to the school to help support this fundraiser.

Community News

Help Us Keep Our Community Safe!

Neighbourhood Watch meetings are held at the Shire of Serpentine Jarrahdale Council Chambers, 6 Paterson Street, Mundijong on the last Thursday of each month.

Byford Basketball Association

Byford Basketball Association is now taking registrations for their 2018 season. The season runs from February to June and games are played on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday nights. Check out our flyer for more information.