Port Augusta West Primary School Term 4 week 6
Principal's Report
A huge thank you to our wonderful families and community for the support with our first ever ‘PAWPS Big Breakfast.’ It was so pleasing to see the positive atmosphere and the strengthening of community connections. Thanks to the Parent Club and the staff who were here bright and early cooking the BBQ and preparing the breakfast for us all to enjoy. We plan on continuing the PAWPS Big Breakfast into 2025 and are looking forward to future opportunities to encourage a sense of belonging and promote positivity within our school community.
Term 4 is always busy with many planned events and celebrations. We welcomed our newest Reception students in week 6. Their transition interactions will continue over the following weeks as they gradually build up time in the classroom and adapt to routines in school. We also saw our Yr 6 students engage with the High School transition program throughout term 4 and they will participate in 2 full day visits to their respective schools on Monday and Tuesday of week 9.
The Children’s University Graduation is being held next Tuesday the 26th of November, and we are looking forward to witnessing our 19 graduates in an event which is being held at the Central Oval complex. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Jane Mount who took on the active role of the Children’s University Coordinator for 2024. This program would not have been possible without the dedication and support from Jane. We plan on continuing the Children’s University program next year, and we welcome new members.
It is exciting to see the new school uniform come to fruition. Our new refreshed school logo enhanced our school identity and looks vibrant on the new items. There is a two-year transition phase which will see the full implementation of the uniform at the beginning of 2027. Thank you to our families, students and staff who shared their votes on the design of the polo and jumper. There will also be optional items for sale if you choose to purchase. Please see the portal link below and ensure that your orders are placed by the cut-off date which is the 8th of January 2025. All orders will be available for collection on approximately the 20th of January 2025.
Our partnership with Flinders View Primary School and the lunch ordering system will continue next year. We are very grateful to the canteen at FVPS for their service and the Spriggy for Schools app appears to be working well. Due to the amount of lunch orders each day, we are looking for volunteers to assist in the canteen from 9am-11:30am each day. If you would be able to spare any of your valuable time to assist with this, please contact Sarah Bury at the school. Please note that there will be no lunch orders available on the last day of term.
I would like to welcome Amber Tomney and Courtney Aird to Port Augusta West Primary School for the 2025 school year. Amber comes to our school with 5 years of primary teaching experience in rural schools. She has knowledge and expertise in a junior primary setting, and I am confident that Amber will play a foundational role in the journeys of our youngest learners. Amber is very much looking forward to working as part of our collaborative team and has many essential skills that will support the positive and engaging experiences of all students. We also welcome Courtney to our team. Courtney is a graduate student who specialises in HASS and Literacy. She is a local girl who has a very deep understanding of our local area. She is excited to begin her teaching career at PAWPS and I am certain that our team is here to support Courtney every step of the way on her journey. I am excited to hear her fresh ideas and energy which I am sure will inspire our students.
During week 9, our students will engage with a transition lesson where they will spend some valuable time with their new teacher and classmates for 2025. More information regarding this will be distributed in due course.
It will be lovely to wrap up a wonderful year of learning and extra curricula events by celebrating with our whole school splash day. This will be occurring on Monday the 2nd of December. Students will meet at the Ryan Mitchell Swim Centre at 8:45am and will return to school by bus at 12pm. There will be a sausage sizzle for lunch and ice blocks. There will be no cost to families for this event. Dismissal will be at the usual time of 2:20pm. Please return the consent form which was sent home today.
Sarah Bury
Every Child ~ Every Classroom ~ Every Day
Big Breakfast
Deputy Principal's Report
Remembrance Day was commemorated on 11th November by the school with an assembly run by Mr Nicholls' year 6 students. The students prepared a power point, to educate the students on the meaning of Remembrance Day. They discussed why we commemorate Remembrance Day at local monuments and also explained the reason behind the timing of the service. Students also made poppies to wear to our service.
Assistant Principal
Throughout the term, students have been working hard on creating the best designs for our annual Family Night Posters. Students had to think creatively on how the information would be displayed and make their creations stand out. During Week 5, classes viewed a gallery of all the submissions and had voted for their favourite designs. Congratulations to all of the finalists who are listed below for receiving the most number of votes in the Upper Primary and Junior Primary cohorts. A big thank you to everyone who made a submission (We had 70 of them!).
Upper Primary Winners (from left to right) 1st - Indy Knibbs, Equal 2nd - Sophie Williams & Aadi Gharu, 3rd- Jack Edson, -4th Heeba Ghani
Junior Primary Winners (from left to right) 1st - Emilia Harkins, 2nd - Lilly Horner, 3rd - Jaysonjot Aujla, 4th - Scarlett Johnstone.
Paul Kalfas
Upper Primary Family Night Poster Winners
Junior Primary Family Night Poster Winners
Assembly Awards
Congratulations to our Term 4 Week 6, Assembly Award recipients, for continually demonstrating great Respect, Resilience and Relationships in our school environment. Students pictured below proudly display their certificates.
Premiers Reading Challenge Awards
Fresh Start Awards
Aadi Gharu and his family, pictured with The Mayor, Mrs. Linley Shine and Member for Giles, Mr. Geoff Brock.
About two weeks ago I was given Australian Citizenship. The ceremony took place at the Port Augusta Council Chambers. My parents, sister and I were presented with our Australian Citizenship certificates from The Mayor of Port Augusta, Mrs. Linley Shine and Member for Stuart, Mr. Geoff Brock.
I am very happy that I am now an Australian Citizen.
Aadi
Classroom Chatter from 3c
Procedure Writing
This term in English we have been learning about the structure of a procedure and how to write them. We have been learning this skill through making food and looking at recipes.
In Literacy lessons we have been making different food then writing the procedure. I liked making and eating the jelly. Evie
I liked making the jelly because it was raspberry flavoured and it was yummy! We had to write the procedure and use sentences. Lilly
I liked making the milkshakes because they were yummy and then we had to write the steps the next day. Iylah
Science
This term in science we have been learning about forces, push and pull, floating and sinking and gravity. We have looked at different types of toys and how they move, we walked around the school and looked at things that help to make our lives easier using a push and pull motion and we have looked at objects that float and sink and why.
I liked the lesson when we looked at which toys moved and how. I liked the toys that moved on earth. Linken
I enjoyed the lesson about floating and sinking because I liked making the tiny boats. Oscar
The lesson we tried to push the basketball into the water was really, really fun! Spencer
I liked the push / pull lesson when we walked around the school. We found doors, drawers, computers and chairs. Blake
Mrs. Maloney
Classroom Chatter from 2c
2C Spooky Science for Halloween!
2C have been studying three different states of matter - gas, liquids and solids in Science, and how some materials can change from one state to another with the application of heat or cold. We have also been studying weights and measures in Maths. We used our new knowledge to melt chocolate, mix it with other ingredients and shape it so that when it solidified, we had some spooky Halloween treats to eat!
Ms. Mount
Paul Rutter Art Workshop
Illustrator/Master of Arts in Animation
The students were thrilled with the Art workshops which were delivered by Paul Rutter last week. Paul is a South Australian children’s author and illustrator teaching drawing workshops to students from Junior to Upper Primary and Middle School years. He provided exciting drawing and animation workshops to students on themes relating to the Australian Curriculum. Paul’s drawing sessions included topics on Australian native wildlife, natural sciences, maritime history, creature design and 2D animation drawing techniques.
Students received a free activity book as part of their drawing class.
It is great to be able to offer a range of learning opportunities for our students across a variety of curriculum areas.
Coastal Care
Thank you, Jodie Harris, from Port Augusta Coastcare for the donation of books to our school Library. The books will give ideas on how students can help preserve our local marine and foreshore environments.
Display of books in our Library
SAPSASA Volleyball
Winners are Grinners!
On a sunny Friday filled with energy and excitement, 2 boys’ teams and 1 girls team participated in the SAPSASA Volleyball carnival. It was an incredible day of teamwork, determination, and plenty of thrilling moments on the court. The girls' team won several matches with great serves, quick reflexes, and well-executed strategies. However, the competition grew tougher as they progressed. In the semi-finals, they faced FVPS, a strong and determined opponent. Despite their best efforts and some amazing rallies, the girls fell short, bowing out in a hard-fought match. Meanwhile, both boys' team also displayed exceptional spirit and determination. Battling hard in the group stage, they had a mix of wins and losses, keeping their journey to the finals alive. In the end, one of the boys’ team triumphed, defeating SNPS in the grand final to extend their 6-year winning streak for another year. Thank you to Simone and Kiesha for their enthusiasm and support throughout the day. Well done to all involved!
Thanks, and Regards
Scott Nicholls
Year 5/6 Teacher
Miscellaneous
