The West #11 2024
Principal's Preface
Term 4 is an unusual time of the year. We have one foot in the future, as we prepare for the next school year, and the other in the present as we finish teaching programs, finalize grades and write reports. An important part of our preparation for next year is organisng classes so I would like to thank parents who emailed requests for class placements over the past few weeks. Taking time to do this helps us compile safe, supportive and inclusive classes. The closing date for parent requests has now passed. As a result, any that we receive now will be considered, but not guaranteed.
I would also like the parents who attended our PP/1 information session last week. This gave us the opportunity to explain how multi-age classrooms work and answer any question parents had. While parents often have a negative perception of multi-age classes, educational research shows that they are highly beneficial to student achievement, as well as their social and emotional development. In a multi-age class, teachers must teach to the individual child’s needs rather teaching to the middle with a ‘one size fits all’ program directed at a particular year group. In these classes, teachers ascertain the student’s level of skill and begin teaching at this point, regardless of their age. Students are organised into groups according to ability and need, ensuring teaching is targeted and at their level. One of the other benefits is that split classes allow older students to develop leadership skills, while younger students can use the older students as role models. This builds confidence, independence and social skills for all the students in the class. If you have any questions about split classes in general, please feel free to email or give me a call. Alternatively, if you wish to see an excellent PP/1 class in action, pop your head into TA5 next time you are in school.
Our Year 5 students are also preparing for next year, with many quietly nominating for next year’s leadership positions. Parliamentarian elections are taking place in the coming weeks and, as in previous years, each candidate will deliver a short persuasive speech in order to win the younger students’ vote. This is a daunting task. Putting yourself forward with no guarantee of success is a brave act. Not everyone will become a parliamentarian, and this will lead to disappointment. However, coping with setbacks builds resilience by demonstrating that we can recover and move on. Dealing with disappointment is an important part of growing up. In light of this, I wish our nominees the best of luck. Whether they win or lose, the experience they gain by ‘having a go’ will stand them in good stead for the next opportunity. Our parliamentarians for 2025 will be announced at the end of the term. Watch this space.
Enjoy the rest of the week.
Caroline Booth, Principal
TA8 Assembly Reflections
Following their amazing assembly in Week 4, our Year 2 students in TA8 reflected on their experience.
My favourite part of our assembly was:
How we got to tell the school what we learnt in Health about keeping healthy – Libby
My costume – Sienna
The National Anthem – Heidi
The jokes – Nate, Serena, Amariah
The Skeleton Shake – Thomas, Nile, Bianca, Serena, Jonathan & William
Saying my part in the microphone – Cameron, Lucai, Memphis & Antonino
On the day, I felt:
Nervous because my mum and dad were there – Eliza
Nervous and excited - Norah
TA8 Students
Halloween Disco
Thank you to all the witches, wizards & warlocks who attended our Halloween Disco 2024. We hope you all had a ghoulishly great time!
A special thank you to all of our parent helpers, especially our Yr 1 & Yr 5 parent volunteers.
Our P&C is grateful for our WBPS community and with your support we raised over $2500 for our school at this event!
Thank you & we look forward to bringing you more events in 2025!
WBPS P&C Events Team
Design & Technology in TA7
This semester in Design and Technology, TA7 has been focusing on the topic of food and fibre. Students have learnt and investigated where our food comes from, what makes foods, what and how different people around the world eat, and the design of food packaging. As part of this unit, students designed a plant container using upcycled items to grow cress seeds. Students designed and built containers, filled them with soil, seeds, and water, and watched as they grew from tiny seeds to tall cress shoots. Once the cress had grown, students harvested the cress with scissors so that they could use it to make curried egg and cress sandwiches. Many students had not tried this flavour of sandwich before but were eager to see their produce being used. The year 2s greatly enjoyed this activity and took home their plants to continue growing produce at home. Students will conclude their investigation by evaluating the healthiness of the sandwiches and what improvements we can make to make them healthier in the future.
Danika Abrahams, Year 2 Teacher
Tennis West Red Ball Competition
On Tuesday 29th October, West Balcatta Primary School competed in the Tennis West Red Ball Competition. Four schools within our Physical Education Cluster Network entered 14 teams of Year 3 and Year 4 students into the different competition groups held at Mount Lawley Tennis Club. The day of tennis encouraged participation and friendly competition against the other schools. Congratulations to the Year 3 Mixed Team 2 who finished in Third place. It was a great day of tennis in hot and sunny conditions. Thank you to Nat Katsaros, Dan Majoski, Frances Wyatt, Rowena Keaney and Meg King who managed teams and supervised the matches throughout the day. All our West Balcatta teams should be proud of how well they played and supported each other.
Geoff Dwyer, Physical Education Teacher
Lunch Clubs
Every lunch time at West Balcatta, we run a different activity for interested students. Throughout Term 4, our Loose Parts Team, along with Stephanie (School Chaplain), are facilitating the fun each Thursday. In Week 4, they hosted a sandcastle competition, which was a big hit!
There were many enthusiastic students participating, some working solo and others in groups, each building sandy creations. Everyone enjoyed the friendly competition, and we’re proud to announce the winners:
- 1st Place – James from TA10
- 2nd Place – Nile, Nate, and Michael from TA8
- 3rd Place – Bishaka and Anna from TA9
A big thank you to the Loose Parts Team for organizing this fantastic event! The creativity on display was impressive, and the winning sandcastles were a sight to behold.
Nido Visits West Balcatta
In line with our committment to fostering community connections, we recently welcomed children and staff from the Nido Early School across the road, to our early childhood area. Children had lots of fun exploring inside the Kindergarten classrooms and outdoor areas. They particularly loved water play and sand play. We sang songs and a few children said hello to their siblings in nearby classrooms. It was a lovely way for some of our Early Childhood teachers to meet the staff from Nido, and some of the children who may potentially attend West Balcatta PS Kindergarten in 2025.
Sharon Pearson, Associate Principal
