ELC Updates & Reminders - 4.3.25
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ELC Events are listed at the bottom of this item.
ACCESSING LINKS WHICH MAY BE PROVIDED IN THESE BULLETINS
If you are not able to access links via your phone, please contact our IT Department at it@stmarks.wa.edu.au as it is important that all our families are able to access various links when they are provided. Our IT Department will be able to talk you through the steps to make this possible. Alternatively, the School App can be downloaded to another device (tablet or pc).
NOTICE FROM DEPUTY HEAD OF PRIMARY – EARLY LEARNING
Exciting Staff News!
Hannah Stone is engaged to be married to her partner Daniel. We are all very excited for Hannah and look forward to hear what happens next.
Encouraging Respect at School
We’ve started introducing our ELC Values Lions across the ELC, and Respectful Rory is helping children learn and practice respect in their daily interactions. He carries a special bag full of hearts, which are given out whenever acts of respect are observed at school.
We encourage you to reinforce this at home by discussing what respect looks like in your family. You might even create your own way to acknowledge respectful behaviour!
Some examples of respectful actions include:
- Using polite greetings
- Giving compliments
- Showing kindness
- Helping others
- Caring for the environment
- Using good manners
- Listening attentively
- Sharing with others
- Taking turns and waiting patiently
- Asking for permission
- Respecting personal space
- Following rules and routines
- Being honest
- Cleaning up after themselves
By working together, we can help children build a strong foundation of respect in all areas of their lives. Thank you for your support!
Linda Sweet
Deputy Head of Primary – Early Learning
REMINDERS
- Contacting the Early Learning Centre: Email elcreception@stmarks.wa.edu.au or phone 9403 1398.
- If your child will be late, absent or leaving early: Email absentee@stmarks.wa.edu.au or use the App.
- Please include your child’s first name, surname and class in the subject line of emails to the School.
- Any changes to child collection arrangements should be emailed to elcreception@stmarks.wa.edu.au.
If possible, please try and establish a regular routine for collections so that changes are kept to a minimum. - Apply sunscreen to your child before school every day. School hats are required every day.
REPEATED FROM PREVIOUS WEEK
KINDY SCREENING (please note that this only applies to KINDERGARTEN students)
- KINDY Speech & Occupational Therapy
Assessments by External Therapists
31 March to 11 April 2025 (form required before 10 March please - follow link provided below)
We are currently planning for all Kindergarten children to participate in our recommended St Mark's Kindergarten Speech and Occupational Therapist Screening Program later in Term 1 (from 31 March). All the Kindergarten children will be individually assessed by two external therapists: Julia Dekenah, a Speech Therapist, and Vanessa Wheeler, an Occupational Therapist. (Detailed information is provided via the link below.) These assessments will take place in the Early Learning Centre during the school day. On completion of the screening program, reports will be provided to parents by the external therapists.
To allow your child to participate in this screening process, please follow the link provided below and complete the short permission form on Page 2. Remember to include your child’s first name and second name on the form. In order to maintain confidentiality, therapists’ email addresses have been provided in the information sheet so that completed forms can be scanned and emailed directly to them by parents. It would be appreciated if this could be done as soon as possible (by 10 March at the latest). Thank you.
In order to maintain confidentiality, the therapists would like to be able to communicate with parents directly via email. Parents/carers have therefore been asked to provide one preferred email address on the form. However, if there is a necessity for communications from the external therapists to be shared separately with a second parent / carer, a second email address may also be provided.
LINK to information sheet and permission form from external therapists (permission form is on Page 2): Information Sheet and Permission Form
- KINDY Health Assessments by Government Community Health Nurse
An enveloped Government form, including an information sheet,
has been sent home with your child for parents to complete and return to teachers before 10 March please
In addition to the speech and occupational therapy screening mentioned above which is a St Mark’s initiative, a Government-appointed Community Health Nurse will visit St Mark’s to carry out general health checks covering vision, hearing, growth, teeth and mouth and general health and development on all the Kindergarten children. Community Health Nurses deliver school health services in primary schools across Western Australia. They are employed by WA Country Health Services or Child and Adolescent Health Service (in metropolitan Perth). The nurses work with children, families and teachers within each school throughout the year. Most families will have had contact with these health services from birth (through neonatology and child health services).
These health checks will take place in our Early Learning Centre during the school day and are likely to commence early in Term 2. Parent permission is required for these health checks to occur, and parents are therefore asked to complete and return the form provided as soon as possible (before 10 March please) if they would like the health checks to be done. A return envelope has been included for parents to use in order to maintain confidentiality. All returned envelopes will be passed on to the Community Health Nurse. Remember to include your child’s first name and surname on the envelope. Thank you.
TERM 1 EVENTS
- ELC CHAPEL – Wednesdays 1.15pm to 1.45pm in the Chapel
K-Y1 students will attend Chapel Services in the Chapel on most Wednesdays
- PP & Y1 HOUSE ACTIVITY DAY – Friday 28 March
This usually takes place on the last Friday of Terms 1, 2 and 3 but will need to be a few weeks early this term due to swimming lessons. The Pre-Primary and Year 1 students will need to wear their House shirts on this day. They will participate in various fun activities in their House groups.
- PP-Y4 IN TERM SWIMMING LESSONS – 31 March to 11 April
More information will go out via Consent2Go (C2G) closer to the event date.
Parents will need to respond to the C2G invite – please do so as soon as it is received.Paper copies of Government consent forms will go home for parents to complete and return closer to the event date.
- KINDY OT AND SPEECH ASSESSMENTS – 31 March to 11 April
Detailed information has been provided including links to forms which will need to be completed and returned directly to the OT and Speech Therapists.
- KINDY HEALTH CHECKS WITH COMMUNITY HEALTH NURSE – early Term 2
Paper copies of Government forms have been sent home for parents to complete and return as soon as possible.
ADVANCE NOTICE OF EARLY TERM 2 EVENTS
- PP-Y5 IH CROSS COUNTRY CARNIVAL – Friday 2 May, 9.00-10.15am for PP & Y1 (approximately)
All Pre-Primary and Year 1 students will be participating in this event on the Secondary Oval – House shirts required. Parents are welcome to watch. Due to building works at St Mark’s, the event for Y2-5 students will take place at Mawson Park this year.
- ELC MOTHERS’ DAY CELEBRATIONS – Wednesday 7 May, 8.30-10.30am
All K-1 Mums or other special person are invited to attend. Kindy Starfish are also invited to attend the celebrations.
- K-12 ST MARK’S DAY CELEBRATIONS – Friday 9 May
Students will participate in special activities or events
- K-12 SCHOOL PHOTOS – Monday 12 to Thursday 15 May
Class schedule still to be confirmed. Individually named photo envelopes with specific identification bar codes will go home with each student early in Term 2 for parents to complete and return. For identification purposes, each student (K-Y12) will need to have their individual photo envelope at school on photo day even if photos are not being ordered.