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Kaya!
We have made it to Week 10, and what a term we have had. The students and teachers have worked very hard to maintain focus and engage in high quality, fun and meaningful learning activities. We are now into the third year of managing the restrictions and protocols around COVID-19 and I feel that as a community we are doing very well in this space. The resilience and independence of our students has continued to grow, and as a school, we have been very impressed to see this. As enjoyable and rewarding as it is to do things for our children, it is equally rewarding and inspiring to see them being able to carry their own bag, make their way to classes and get unpacked and ready to start their morning routine. All of this on the back of potentially enduring a RAT in the morning or being sent home early the day before. The change to daily routines can be a significant challenge for many of us but I am pleased and proud to say that the ongoing support of families, coupled with the outstanding dedication of staff, our students are managing marvellously.
Ride to School/Harmony Day
Thank you to Nerelle Phillips for coordinating another successful Ride to School / Harmony Day event. Thank you to the staff who supported the day by handing out raffle tickets, taking photos, passing out Harmony treats and delivering activities to help students understand each of these important messages. The decorations on the variety of ‘wheels’ were outstanding and the student and staff commitment to promoting Harmony Day through wearing orange was terrific! A big thank you to parents for supporting this day and encouraging your child to participate, it was great to see so many smiles in the sea of orange.
April Foolishness
Congratulations to all who got in the spirit of being foolish last Friday. There were some terrific outfits, crazy hair and a number of pranks that put smiles on faces across the campus! The day provided a much needed dose of fun, which was a breath of fresh air after a long nine weeks.
COVID Update
On Thursday 31 March, WA moved to a modified Level 1- high caseload setting. This has had very little impact on school activities and protocols as the following remains in place for Term Two:
- Parents will still be required to drop children at the classroom door, not entering the classroom.
- Assemblies cannot proceed for Education Support, as students are exempt from wearing masks.
- Mask wearing for staff and parents is still required when indoors.
- Mask wearing outdoors is still required when it is not possible to physically distance from others.
- Children who are unwell will still be required to stay home.
- Close contacts will still be required to test and isolate, only returning to school if they have tested negative and are asymptomatic. Isolation in the community for the full 7 days is still required.
- Staff and students who have tested positive are now exempt from being categorised as a close contact for 12 weeks following their COVID infection
Thank you to our whole school community for the generous donations for the annual P&C Easter Raffle. There were plenty of chocolates and treats in the office which were awarded to the raffle winners. With 135 prizes, the odds of winning were high. Congratulations to all the winners, and thank you again to our volunteers for your hard work.
This Friday, Joondalup Schools will be holding an ANZAC ceremony as ANZAC Day (25 April) will fall in the holidays. The occasion will be marked by an official ceremony with only Year 6 students attending, physically distanced. The remaining classes will join over WebEx from their classrooms and will observe the usual respect and protocols. Unfortunately, due to current restrictions, no special guests or parents are invited to attend.
End of term
Over the holiday period, you are not required to notify us of any positive cases as there is no need for us to complete any contact tracing during this period. We are hoping that all of you remain safe and healthy over the break and take the time to rest and reset for an exciting Term 2. On the last weekend of the holidays, you will receive an App notification in relation to any students and families who will be isolating when school returns. Please respond to allow us to best prepare to staff our classes appropriately, ensuring a smooth transition back to school.
Our first day back for Term 2 is Tuesday 26th April due to the ANZAC Public Holiday.
Annual report 2021
It is a pleasure to present to you the school’s annual report for 2021. The report is a celebration of the things that we enjoyed and did well, provides information about how the school has implemented the strategies in the Business Plan, and the areas on which we need to improve. I would like to thank the School Board for their endorsement of the annual report.
Kind Regards,
Anna Eason
If you notice any suspicious activity on School Grounds, please contact Security on 9264 4771 or the Police on 131 444.
Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) is the term used to describe a variety of communication methods other than speech. At Joondalup ESC, we believe that every student has a right to be able to communicate. We often have students at our school with complex communication needs (CCN) such as speech or language difficulties. We strive to give them a “voice” by supporting them to communicate using AAC.
To support our student’s communication and language development, we made the decision to have a whole school approach to communication. We chose to use PODD (Pragmatic Organisation Dynamic Display) communication books. PODD books were developed in Australia by Gayle Porter with the aim to provide continuous communication all the time, for a range of messages/topics and across multiple settings. We believe that modelling communication for a variety of different purposes throughout the day gives our students the necessary tools to have a “voice” and enables them to contribute in all areas of learning.
We also support our students using a variety of other communication aids. We use communication books, communication Apps, designated communication devices that have been provided through relevant therapists, posters and visuals to support our students with communication and understanding.
I was recently invited to speak to students at North Metropolitan TAFE who are currently completing their studies in Certificate 4 in Education Support. This was an amazing opportunity for me to go and talk to everyone about what AAC is, the importance of AAC and what it looks like in our school. I enjoyed sharing stories of the moments when our children with CCN have amazed us with their ability to use their communication systems to express themselves, and how having a “voice” has allowed them to make valuable contributions in class.
We have been able to share some of our old PODD books with TAFE so that they can use them when learning about AAC. During my visit to TAFE, I was able to briefly show the students how to use a PODD book and spoke about the basic navigation of it. We had a time for quick practice before I left.
My visit to TAFE was a great opportunity for students to ask questions about how communication devices are used at school, where do they get them from and how using AAC has supported our children. We are hoping to continue this relationship with TAFE with the possibility of visiting again in the near future.
At Joondalup ESC we understand that providing and using AAC is crucial in giving students with complex communication needs the necessary tools to enable them to communicate and to interact with others. If you have any queries regarding your child’s communication, please don’t hesitate to contact your classroom teacher or me at any time.
Regards,
Sue Norman
Room 9 and 16 decided dip their toe into the fashion world and create their own outfits made of newspaper. As you can clearly see they gathered inspiration from the leading designers in France, Milan and New York. It was a great time, with great laughs had between both classes.
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COVID-19 is in the community.
COVID-19 vaccination is safe and available for children aged 5 to 11.
It’s the best way to protect children from COVID-19.
Did you know?
- Vaccination offers all children strong protection against severe illness, hospitalisation and chronic symptoms.
- Most children who test positive to COVID-19 will experience mild symptoms, however there’s strong evidence to support vaccinating children.
- Children with pre-existing medical conditions are at greater risk from COVID-19.
- Vaccines give the immune system a helping hand to protect against serious illness and possible long-term effects from COVID-19.
- Reducing transmission in schools means education settings will be safer, can stay open, and children can spend time face-to-face learning, play time, sporting activities, and spending time with friends.
- Vaccination reduces the risk of children transmitting COVID-19 to other kids and family members.
