P r i n c i p a l ’s M e s s a g e

The Davallian Grow with Respect No. 3 2nd March 2017

Dear Parents and Community Members,

A6 – Year 2 Assembly – Mrs McIntyre Well done to the awesome Year 2’s from Mrs McIntyre’s class who last week hosted our school assembly. The theme of the assembly was based on the fabulous Dr Seuss story ‘The Sneetches’. Well done to Mrs McIntyre and the fabulous students from A6 who led the assembly like seasoned professionals.

Expression of Interest – Parent Representative School Board (3 Year Tenure) This week all parents were emailed with information advertising a vacant parent representative position for the school board. There is one (1) positive vacant. Expressions of Interest from parents are now called for and are to be forwarded to Geraldine Vaughan, as described in the email, by 3.10pm on Monday 13th March 2017. Late submissions will not be accepted.

The Social World of Children It is well documented the importance of appropriate social skill acquisition in primary schools so as to develop well rounded, socially competent and confident children, adolescents and adults. Kids Matter (Australian Mental Health Initiative) has great information on the subject with the attached information a great source of advice and guidance for staff and parents alike. I hope you find it informative and helpful.

Year 4/5 New Furniture There was certainly a buzz around Mr Brooke’s Year 4/5 class on Monday afternoon with the arrival of their new classroom furniture. The class has been involved in designing a floor plan for the classroom and collaboratively arrived at a chosen plan. This new contemporary furniture certainly provides a lift to the classroom and allows for more flexible learning spaces to be utilised. Our Year 3’s are next and it is hoped their furniture will arrive in the coming couple of weeks.

Election Day Activities Our P &C are always looking for an opportunity to raise funds for the school. At the up-coming State election on 11th March, our P & C will hold a sausage sizzle, cake stall and a second hand book stall here at school during the day. If you have second hand books you would like to donate (kids and adult), you can leave them in the front office and they will be collected. If you are willing to bake something then you can deliver your goods to school on Friday 10th March or deliver directly to the stall on Saturday 11th March. Many hands make light work, so if you can spare a few books, a cake or two or even some time to man a stall, our P & C would love to hear from you.

Skateboards and Bikes at School – After Hours Parents are requested that students do not ride skateboards or bikes around the school buildings after school hours. A number of students have been spotted riding skateboards through the staff car park or bikes close to buildings on the school oval. Your assistance with this issue is greatly appreciated.

Mobile Phones and Photographs A reminder to parents to ensure appropriate usage of mobile phones is undertaken whilst on the school grounds. This includes taking images of students without parental permission and providing phones for students to play with whilst on the school grounds. Thank you for your understanding and assistance in this regard.

Principal’s Message

Associate Principal’s Message

P&C News

School Notices

Community Notices

In this issue

Davallia Primary School 6 Juniper Way Duncraig WA 6023 T. 9447 6633 F. 9448 6366 E. davallia.ps@education.wa.edu.au www.davallia.com.au SMS student absences to 0408 924 839

Dogs on the School Grounds – Reprinted from last week It is always a lovely thing to see parents exercising their dogs with a walk to or from school with their children. Just a reminder to all parents, irrespective of the size of the hound, it’s cuteness, whether they are on a leash, muzzled, has no teeth, only one leg, is blind, deaf, fits in your handbag, cries if left home, it’s only a puppy, it would only lick you to death or it’s not your dog so I can’t leave it etc etc etc NO DOGS are permitted to be brought into or nearby the school buildings. Should parents choose to walk their dogs to school, they are expected to be tied up at the boundary and away from the main thoroughfares or pathways. This is set in place not only for the safety of students but also the safety of your dog. This week I have reminded 4 parents regarding bringing their dog into the school grounds. If parents feel uncomfortable about leaving their dog on the boundary, then maybe a walk to school is not for your dog. Thanks for your understanding.

Year 5/6 Interm Swimming I wish to congratulate our senior students on the manner in which they have conducted themselves during Interm Swimming at Sorrento Beach. Feedback from staff and Dave, the Centre Supervisor has been that our students have been fully engaged, beautifully mannered and a delight to work with. Well done and thanks for leading by example. Interm Swimming is an invaluable aspect of the curriculum with Water Safety being of utmost importance for our students. For our Year 5 and Year 6 students it is also considered a preparatory activity for Year 6 Camp, which is always water based activity and beach oriented.

Labour Day Public Holiday - Monday 6th March Wishing you a relaxing long weekend with Monday 6th March being a public holiday. Looking forward to seeing you child(ren) back at school on Tuesday 7th March.

John O’Neill Principal

P r i n c i p a l ’s M e s s a g e ( c o nt i n u e d )

Winning Isn’t Everything. In life, sooner or later, we all learn that not everyone wins all of the time. If we’re lucky we get experiences early on that teach us that not winning is okay too. Recently I have been working with boys at Davallia who find losing very difficult to deal with. There are frequently tears and anger when a game of inconsequential sport ends with one team beating another. No trophies were awarded, no league table was impacted, no ceremony was staged but regardless of this, some boys were devastated. Why does this happen? It seems to me that these boys have not had much experience with losing. Maybe they have been protected from the hurt that defeat can bring. Perhaps like many children, they have been perpetual winners where everyone wins, nobody loses and everyone gets a trophy even for coming last. But what sort of a world is this preparing our children for? Competiveness is natural. Young children learn very early that winning is good. Little boys in particular want to win at everything but they often don’t understand how their ‘must win’ ways impact on their playmates. They become confused when a peer stops playing with them. They don’t automatically understand that their need to win, be first or be the best can hurt others. We adults have a part to play in building their empathy and awareness. Learning how to win or lose well takes practice. The older children get, the more experience they will have with winning and losing. The ability to bounce back after a loss becomes more important as children get older. They can’t afford to burst into tears and melt down in front of their peers when they are older, it just isn’t socially acceptable. Teaching resilience sets children up for success as they realise losing, like failure, isn’t the end of the world. It’s a chance to have another go, to improve and to reset. There is much more value in playing a game and competing than just the winning. Children should learn from competition the importance of teamwork and cooperation, of commitment to others, respect for our opponents, and learning to play by the rules. Losing or failing are consequences of having a go, not reasons to give up. We can all do our bit to support our future sports stars. By modelling and supporting them through competition, talking to them about their behaviour and allowing them to empathise with others will equip them for disappointment, as much as for success. In time, when they have survived losing a few games, lived through not being first in line or in a race or not died when they were not the very best at something, perhaps they’ll see that the end of the world is further away than they thought. In this very simple way, so many more moments in life, that could be very hard to negotiate, will be so much easier for them.

Mark Leaning Associate Principal

A s s o c i a te P r i n c i p a l ’s M e s s a g e

UNIFORM SHOP HELP NEEDED We are needing a few people to assist in the shop on Wednesdays from 2.30-3.15pm and Fridays 8.30-9.15 am. It's not hard! Don't be scared - be brave and come and be a part of what makes our school so awesome. Our strong sense of community and parents who are willing to volunteer are two of the things that make our school great. New parents - it's a great way to get to know others in the school and feel part of our community.

Marnie Huggins Uniform Shop Manager

P & C N e w s

BEFORE/AFTER SCHOOL AND VACATION CARE AT DAVALLIA PRIMARY SCHOOL Care for Kids OSHC run a great program on site at Davallia Primary School. Qualified carers, great activities, afternoon tea, ECRU accredited. Full Govt benefits and rebates apply. For bookings, meet us on site or contact us on 9246 9551 or duncraigoshc@careforkidswa.net.au

C o m m u n i t y N o t i c e s

RIDE2SCHOOL DAY Ride to School Day is a school and community event. This year Davallia Primary will be having its annual Ride2School Day on Friday March 17 in conjunction with Bike Week. We strongly encourage parents to walk or ride to school on this day with their children to promote the health benefits of cycling. Cycling is a free activity and great fun too. It helps improve the environment and keep our bodies fit and healthy. It helps alleviate traffic congestion around the school and students arrive at school invigorated and ready to learn. Children 10 years of age or over can ride by themselves, while children under 10 will need to be accompanied by an adult. An approved helmet is compulsory for this event. It is strongly recommended that students bring a lock to secure their bike in the bike racks. Students need to walk their bikes in the school grounds once they arrive. A mass photo of participants will be taken on the basketball court at 8.55 am sharp to celebrate the occasion. There will also be raffle prizes and lunchtime activities. These will include a ‘decorate your bike’ competition for the juniors and bike races on the oval and basketball court for the middle and upper year levels. So why not jump on your bike and support this fun event. Look forward to seeing you there.

Mr Greg Perry Physical Education Specialist

CONGRATULATIONS! Harry B & Maziar B from Year 6 recently had three weeks of WABL (Western Australian Basketball League) tryouts and last week they were chosen in the Championship (1st) Division Team for Stirling Senators. This is the boys first season playing in the Domestic Competition and first time trying out for WABL. They have displayed our Davallian values throughout the whole process and are to be commended for setting themselves a goal and persevering! Well done!

RECYCLING FOR ART A big thank you to all the wonderful Davallian community. You all helped collect in excess of 500 plastic bottles and the Art installation pictured to the right was formed. This formed part of The Material Murmuring Exhibition held at Spectrum Art Gallery ECU Mt Lawley Oct 2016. The concept was to create art out of waste materials. The great thing about this type of art is the ability to recycle it again and again. Thanking you Davallia.

Tania Fabris Year 3 Parent

RAC Little Legends Competition - $5000 could be Won! If you are looking for a way to possibly raise $5000 for the school as well as provide your child (ren) with some interactive online learning about road safety, the RAC Little Legends program may be something for you to consider. https://littlelegends.rac.com.au/landing

S c h o o l N o t i c e s