Port Augusta West Primary School Term 2 week 3
Principal Report
Term two is well underway with several exciting events already undertaken and more scheduled on the calendar.
I would like to thank the Parent Club for all their efforts in putting together the wonderful colour run which allowed students to wrap up a successful term one. It was lovely to see so many smiling and happy children celebrating the end of term together. The video below certainly is a reflection of the enjoyment of the colour run. Last week saw the Parent Club run a magnificent Mother’s Day stall, where the children were able to purchase something for the mums, grandmas and carers in their lives. We thank the parent volunteers again for this amazing display of gifts and really appreciate their efforts.
I am excited to announce that we have purchased 60 new chromebooks for our Middle Primary and Learning Pathways classes. These will replace our current classroom computers and will allow for improved performance and reliability, whilst supporting a modern curriculum and enhancing student engagement. Thank you to the Parent Club who contributed a significant amount of money towards the new chromebooks. We are pleased to be able to keep up to date with the latest technology and provide our students with the best resources that we can.
We welcome our new mid-year reception students who will begin their transition to school in week 5 this term. To welcome our new families, we will be hosting a PAWPS Big Breakfast on Tuesday the 27th of May from 8:15am. Our classrooms have had a slight shuffle around to accommodate for our mid-year receptions. Mrs Keeler and Miss Rigden’s class have moved into unit 2 in classroom 2A, which will allow our new receptions to settle into unit 3 in classroom 3D, alongside the other early years classrooms. This allows for a consistent environment, where our youngest learners will feel safer and more secure in a familiar shared space. In time, we also plan to introduce collaboration between early years classes, including flexible groupings and shared resources. I am also very pleased to share with you all that we welcome back Mrs Alice Cornhill from parenting leave in term 3. Alice is looking forward to sharing her knowledge and experience in the new reception class.
Thanks to Mr Menzies and Narelle who supported our middle year leaders at the Grip Leadership conference last Friday. I am looking forward to seeing our leaders put into practice some of the knowledge and learning that they were a part of.
We have been busy working towards finalising our Bullying and Harassment Policy. The final draft will be taken to Governing Council on Monday for approval. An up-to-date bullying policy is essential in schools because it establishes a clear, consistent framework for preventing, identifying and responding to bullying. We look forward to sharing with our students to continue to provide a safe and inclusive environment where all students feel valued and respected.
It is great to see our Yr 6 students proudly displaying their new polos and hoodies. They certainly look pretty amazing.
Breakfast Club is continuing on Thursday and Friday mornings from 8:15am. This initiative is very well supported by our students, and we are eager to continue to provide this service. Whether is a piece of toast, a bowl of cereal or just to pop in for a morning chat - it doesn't matter! EVERYONE IS WELCOME.
Finally, it is so exciting that our very first whole school Positive Behaviour for Learning goal has been met!
Wheels Day – Here we come! ‘Watch this space’ - more information to come.
Sarah Bury
Every Child ~ Every Classroom ~ Every Day
Year 6 - Class of 2025
One of our favourites turns the big 6-0!
Deputy Principal
Our middle primary leaders attended the Grip Leadership conference as part of their SRC and House Captains roles for 2025. The sessions included 'the responsibilities of student leaders', 'leadership through friendship' and 'new ideas to help others'. The facilitators spoke about the importance of being an example, being a helper, being a voice for others and being willing. A number of interactive activities, for example miming instruments, guess who with the crowd and we also collaborated with other schools to share ideas. The conference was very upbeat with lots of live music and our leaders were very engaged with the activities.
Last Friday, a small group of PAWPS students went to a student conference down at the Lea Memorial Theatre. First, the people introduced themselves and told us what we were going to do. Our favourite part was when one of the presenters dressed up as Woody from Toy Story and sang ‘You’ve Got a Friend in Me’. Overall, it was really fun and enjoyable for all the students involved.
Sophie Williams
I enjoyed watching Narelle up on-stage dancing, when she had to follow others' movements and lead the crowd. I learnt that there are different types of leaders and sometimes you can be out the front and sometimes behind the scenes.
Aadi Gharu
I really enjoyed the interactive games including reverse charades which showed us how to communicate with others. Postcards was another fun game where you had to guess the Country from the crowds' actions. 'Guess Who' was another favourite game of mine. We hope to try this out at school.
Lacey Thomas
Grip Leadership
Assembly Awards
Our Assembly times allow us to acknowledge our students based on the three values of our Positive Behaviour for Learning Program. These values include Respect, Resilience and Relationships.
Congratulations to the students who were awarded certificates for their efforts during the week 3 Assembly.
Children's University
Yesterday our Children's University members met in the library to hear which group/teacher they have been assigned to for 2025. As we have such a large number if CU members, we have decided to group them with a staff member and this is who they will be assigned with for the year. Each group will meet once per term to have their passports checked and the online activities will be logged by their teacher online.
We have also created a CU See Saw page for us to communicate with you all. Keep an eye out for messages on this platform. Please see Jane, Courtney or Sarah B if you have any questions regarding CU.
Below are the groups:
Classroom Chatter from 3A
Term 2 Week 3
We’re so excited to share some of the wonderful learning experiences your children have been enjoying in Reception this term. It’s been a busy few weeks, and the children have been engaging with a wide range of activities that help them build essential skills in a fun and supportive environment.
Literacy
In Literacy, we’ve been focusing on identifying and stating individual sounds, which is an important step in early reading. The children have also been working hard on blending these sounds together to read simple words. We’ve been diving into some engaging stories, helping the children develop their narrative skills by retelling events and discussing what happens in the books we read together.
Maths
Our Maths activities have been all about patterns, number recognition, and forming numbers correctly. We’ve also been measuring different items and learning how to sort objects by size, shape, and other attributes. The children have been very hands-on with their learning, and it's been wonderful to see their confidence grow in using numbers and mathematical language.
P.E.
In PE, we’re getting ready for Sports Day by learning a variety of movement, teamwork and coordination skills. These sessions are not only helping to build their physical abilities but also their resilience and confidence.
We are also excited to continue our buddy partnership with the Year 5/6 class, building friendships and supporting each other through shared activities and learning experiences.
We’re looking forward to a fantastic term ahead, full of learning, laughter, and new discoveries.
As always, if you have any questions or would like to know more about what we’re doing in class, please don’t hesitate to reach out.
Classroom Chatter from 3C
Whyalla Dolphin Adventure Cruise – Term 1
My favourite part of the excursion was when the dolphin blew water out of his blow hole at me - Braxton
I loved it when the dolphin came up to the boat and looked at me – Trae
Steven fed the fish, and we could see them through the glass bottom – Lynton
I liked when the dolphins followed us in the boat – Lake
It was cool when we fed the fish through the glass, and we got to see the dolphin put its head up – Toby
The dolphins jumped out the water – Asher
My favourite dolphin was named Aurora – Liara
I liked when Steve went in the shallow water, and we could see crabs – Blake
I really liked seeing the dolphin's fin and them jumping out the water – Daisy
It was fun when Steve said 3,2,1, blast off then he drove the boat really fast - Mason
Positive Behaviour for Learning
With our PBL journey this year, the school had started implementing our positive rewards system where teachers provide students tokens for displaying positive behaviours that teachers had taught to the class. Students were able to vote for one of 3 rewards after receiving the token, options were having a Milkshake Day, a Movie Afternoon or having a Wheels Day. At each assembly students from each class deliver their counters and deposit them in a plastic tube. Once the tube is filled to the top, the reward will be planned in the term calendar.
I am happy to announce that the Wheels Day Tube was filled right to the top on Monday and the whole school will receive that reward! All the staff here at PAWPS are proud of the student's positive behaviour throughout the year and we hope that they keep up the great efforts. Students will continue to learn positive behaviours and demonstrate them to their peers and staff. We have introduced the last colour counter this week in class being the green colour, this is based on our school value of Relationships.
I look forward to seeing which reward students will vote for next.
Paul Kalfas
WHEELS DAY - HERE WE COME!
PASS Sports Day
Last week, Year 6 students from PAWPS attended PASS Sports Day, held at Braddock Oval. They participated in a range of athletic events throughout the day with some students winning ribbons against fellow primary students from other schools. Towards the end of the day, we competed in the relays and were fortunate to come 2nd in the boy’s relay, and 4th in the girl’s relay. They showed great sportsmanship and a positive attitude throughout the day.
Mother's Day Stall
Thank you Parent Club!
School Performances
This week saw a wonderful performance called the ‘Frog Prince’, a South Australian touring cast from State Opera South Australia who visited our school. All the students were lucky enough to enjoy the performance on Wednesday, and it was all that we hoped it would be. The Frog Prince is a modern retelling of the classic Grimm tale, where a spoiled princess encounters a sassy frog and an unlikely friendship blossoms. They embark on a fantastical and uplifting journey, learning lessons about friendship and the importance of looking after the environment along the way.
On Thursday we welcomed Artist: Edgell Junior Edgell from the Patch Theatre Company. Edgell shares his own personal story exploring his family and Ni-Vanuatu culture. This was done through blending the magic of light and simplicity of storytelling. Using UV light in a custom-built tent, the classroom is transformed into an intimate performance space where stories and imagined worlds come alive as glowing drawings appear on the walls and floor. Following the performance, our students were invited to create and illustrate their own stories in glowing UV light.
The Frog Prince
Glow and Tell
Parent Information Session TERM 2
We invite our families to come along to hear about the RWI phonics program this term. Presentation room to be advised. Please RSVP to the front office by 21st of May and please indicate if you will require a creche on the evening.
MISCELLANEOUS
