Primary Update – Term 1 Week 5
The past two weeks have been an exciting and productive time in our Primary School, filled with events that highlight the enthusiasm, spirit, and leadership of our students.
Our Years 3–6 Guild Swimming Carnival was an outstanding success. It was wonderful to see so many students confidently participating, giving their best efforts, and showcasing their swimming abilities. The atmosphere around the pool was vibrant, with students who were not swimming cheering enthusiastically for their friends. A special acknowledgment goes to our dedicated Guild Captains, who worked tirelessly throughout the day to keep the energy high and the spirit in the bays alive. Their leadership and encouragement were truly commendable.
In addition to the carnival, several of our Year 6 student leaders took part in the Safe Route to School initiative. As part of this project, the students helped paint colourful footsteps along key pathways leading to the College. These markings will provide a friendly visual guide for students walking or riding to school and will support our ongoing commitment to promoting safe and active travel. For families wishing to encourage cycling, we would like to remind you that the Lavalla Campus has two bike racks available, one located behind the basketball courts near the oval, and the second positioned to the side of the music room.
Last week, our Year 6R class led the first assembly of the year, delivering a thoughtful and inspiring message centred on the importance of celebrating our differences and striving for personal excellence. It was a beautiful reflection on the values we aim to nurture in all our students, and we are very proud of the confidence and maturity the students demonstrated on stage.
This week is Hearing Awareness Week and our TSH (Teach Speak Hear) team have shared some fun activities to promote hearing awareness at Newman College. The team from TSH support children with hearing loss at Newman College and have a long and supportive connection with our school.
This week in the Early Years classes, Zita Ferriera (Teacher of the Deaf) showed children how different animals hear. The children were fascinated, learning lots of fun facts about hearing.
Did you know these fun facts?
- Elephants can hear low frequency sounds very well and they have huge ears which can detect sounds from very far away. They also feel vibrations of sound through their feet.
- Dolphins pick up vibrations from their jaws to hear sounds underwater.
- Bats can use very high-pitched sounds and echolocation to move around.
- Moths use their antennae to hear. The Greater Wax Moth has the best hearing in the world and can hear the highest pitch sounds better than any other creature on Earth.
Our sense of hearing is amazing!
To promote good hearing and ear hygiene at home here are some important reminders:
- Look after your ears – Please never insert anything into your ears to clean them, except for your elbow (go on, try it!). Ears are very efficient at cleaning themselves. Cotton buds can cause further complications if inserted inside the ear. If your child has blocked ears, please see your GP or a health professional.
- Promote hearing protection at home – Many types of hearing loss can be avoided. Please ensure children have limited time with headphones on and that the volume is not too loud. Repeated exposure when listening with the volume too loud can cause permanent hearing loss that could be avoided. Headphones which have reduced volume settings can help avoid this, as well as limiting the amount of time children wear headphones at home.
- Did you know that just 7.5 minutes near a loudspeaker at a music concert can damage your hearing? Concerts often project sound through the speakers at 120 decibels which can cause permanent hearing loss. You can protect your ears by wearing ear protection or moving further away from the speakers but still enjoy the show!
- Babies can detect sound in the womb from around 22 weeks.1.2-1.7 babies in every 1000 live births will be born with a hearing loss. Newborn Hearing Screening can detect hearing loss early, so children can have the best support they can have from an early age and the best start to their hearing journey.
- If you have any worries or concerns about your child’s hearing, chat to your family GP or book them in for a hearing assessment. They can not only check their hearing but can also check their ear health for things like fluid in their ears and ear infections.
Need a mindful moment at home? Try this fun hearing and mindfulness moment as a family:
Lie on the grass outside or at the park as a family. Close your eyes and listen for a few minutes. Encourage your children to tune into sounds around them in the environment by just using their ears. How many different sounds could they hear? What made the sounds they could hear?
Enjoy the serenity and have a happy Hearing Awareness Week!
State Sporting Achievement
Congratulations to the following student for the state achievement in their sport:
- Harry Bluff (Year 4). On Saturday 21 February, Harry competed in the Surf Life Saving WA Nippers Championships. After progressing through multiple heats, he went on to win the Under 10 Boys Flags event.
- A huge congratulations to Cruz Priolo (Year 6), who won the first-round final of the Asian Series during the holidays, earning an invitation to compete in the remainder of the championship season. Cruz also achieved first place at the Southern Sprint Championships in Albany last week.
State and National Representation is an honour and an important stepping stone in an athlete’s journey. We commend these students for their dedication and commitment to their sport. If your child has achieved state or national recognition in their sport or extra-curricular activity, we would love to hear about it so we can celebrate their success. Please let us know the details by filling out this form. https://forms.office.com/r/qaCxCYLNX6
Mrs Laura Christopher
HEAD OF PRIMARY
