Newman News Term 4 Week 6: From the Deputy Principal Primary

Kindergarten 2023 Orientation 

It was wonderful to welcome our 2023 students to the Marian Campus on Monday morning. Students and their parents had the opportunity to meet their Kindy teachers and spend some time familiarising themselves with their Kindy classrooms and classmates. Parents were also invited to an information session and morning tea in the Marian library, to assist them in their child’s transition into Newman College.  

There are still a very few limited places available across our 5-day, 4-day and 3-day Kindergarten program for 2023. If you know anyone who is considering Newman College for their kindy child in 2023, please encourage them to contact our Registrar, Ms Jo Dunn at registrar@newman.wa.edu.au as soon as possible.  

Marian Assembly  

Last Friday, Pre-Primary Green students led us in an amazing assembly that showcased their co-constructed Talk4Writing text “The Three Chickens Gruff” with a very grumpy onion that lived under the bridge. It is wonderful to see these examples of the students writing showcased, and brought to life through a dramatic representation of the story.  

Well done also to all our amazing Merit Award winners, who demonstrated in many ways the College’s pedagogical pillars of Collaborate, Celebrate, Challenge and Create.  

Lavalla Assembly

On Friday, students from 4 Blue presented a wonderful play called “The Pirates and the Monster”! This was a lovely story which shared the message that education will open a lot of ‘hidden passages’ and we can share in its treasures! We also acknowledged the efforts of students receiving the Catholic Performing Arts Awards. Congratulations to all students on their success over these past few weeks! 

Remembrance Day services 

Remembrance Day was respectfully marked across the College, with students at both Marian and Lavalla observing a minute’s silence in their respective Remembrance Day Services.  

Students at both campuses were reminded of the significance of the day, as we all continue to show our gratitude for the fallen service men and women who bravely fought to provide us with the freedoms that we enjoy today.  

Year 5/6 AFL Dockers Cup 

 The Year 5/6 AFL girls competed on Monday 31st October. The team went through the pool games undefeated. We then played IONA College in the final as they were also undefeated from their pool. 

 The final was a tense battle, with our girls coming away victorious. The team should be very proud of their display of sportsmanship and football skills, they played at a very high standard throughout the whole day. 

 A big thank you to Miss Tildi Sergeant for helping to coach the team on the day and the parents who came along and supported.

Swimming lessons 

This week, students across Year 1 to Year 6 began swimming lessons in our College pool. There have been lots of excited faces as they embark on this 2-week program that is run by the Newman Swim Club.  

There are also some items of lost property on each campus as a result of these lessons. You may wish to pop past and see whether any of these items belong to your child/ren.

2023 Transition Afternoon

Next Friday 25 November, students from Kindy to Year 5 will undertake a transition session, which is designed to provide students with a smooth move into their 2023 class.  

Students will be informed of their 2023 classroom allocation and will then spend a session with their 2023 classroom teacher and classmates. This session will be focused on familiarising students with their new learning space and undertaking some fun activities.  

Class lists will be distributed to families that afternoon, and parents are encouraged to support their child’s placement and successful transition by engaging in positive discussion about the process and excitement about the future possibilities for their child. No changes to class allocations will be possible, once class lists have been distributed.  

Year 3 Transition – 2023

On Friday 25 November, all current Year 2 students will attend a Transition Day at the Lavalla Campus, in preparation for 2023. 
 
The purpose of the day is to familiarise students with the Lavalla Campus, and will involve a range of lessons and activities that will allow them an experience of the Campus.  
 
Students should wear their blue Newman College sports uniform and bring their school bag containing recess, lunch, a water bottle and the College hat. 
 
Families can drop students off at the Campus from 8.15am, and students can assemble in the Lavalla Hall where their Year 2 teachers will be waiting. Students should be collected from Lavalla from 2.45pm. 

iPad Program – 2023

To enhance learning opportunities within the classroom, from 2023 Year 2 and 3 students will be provided with access to new College owned and controlled iPads. The iPad bundle will include use of the iPad with 256GB of storage, Logitech Rugged Combo, Touch Keyboard and Apple Pen. All software will be included. 
    

  • The iPads will be stored and charged at school in locked cabinets located in every classroom 
  • Students will have access to the same College owned iPad at school until the end of Year 6 
  • At the end of Year 6, students will be required to return the device to the College 
  • Parents and Students will be required to sign a Responsible User Agreement that outlines their obligations and responsibilities 
  • If a student leaves the school at any time before the end of Year 6, the device will be restored to factory settings and repurposed 
  • There will be an ICT levy of $300 per year on your child’s fee account 

Students in Year 3 to Year 5, will continue to utilise their BYOD iPad device as per the previous arrangement.   

 
Any questions regarding the iPad program should be directed to Tom Brajdic at  ictsupport@newman.wa.edu.au 

iPad safety and security 

We continue to encounter challenges with student’s appropriate use of digital devices on a regular basis.  Many of these challenges occur outside the school setting but become problematic when they affect a range of Newman students. Further, many of these problems could be avoided with appropriate controls being implemented by families on their child’s device. 

The College utilises a Cyberhound appliance that allows us to allow/block websites and filter internet traffic looking for inappropriate or concerning language the students have used. Additionally, we also have mail filtering for all emails sent and received to the Newman email domain which looks for inappropriate content. However, with Apple iMessage the College cannot pick up inappropriate content due to the way that the iMessage service works, whereby Apple encrypts the message when it is send it and it only gets unencrypted on the recipients end. 

Parents can disable iMessage for their child. Parents should be establish their child’s device as a “child” account that you create through Apple family. This will allow you to disable built in apps including iMessage and FaceTime.  

Other services like FamilyZone also allow parents to control usage, by locking the app during certain times of the day. However, your child would still be able to see the messages outside of those hours. There’s more information on how iMessage keeps your messages safe here and how you can block built in apps on Apple Family here.  

Families are reminded that students ARE NOT permitted to use any messaging service during the school day, and we ask parents to support this policy by not contacting or replying to their child through their iPad at any point during the school day.  

Year 6 Ceremony and Awards 

Primary Christmas Carols and Awards evening 

Wellbeing

As we move closer to the end of the year, we recognise that the students are starting to get tired and ready for the summer holidays. During this week, we have taken the time to remind students about the importance of still following school routines and ensuring they are being respectful and polite to their peers and staff.  

This gives us the opportunity to reflect on ourselves as Marists and our Marist Theme for the year; “Known and Loved, Dignity For All”.  We are being called not simply to recognise the dignity of all, but let the world know about it by the way we live our lives for and with others.  

Mrs Edwina Battersby 

Leader of Wellbeing PK-6