ELC Bulletin - Term 2, Week 5

• ELC CHAPEL – Wednesdays 1.15pm to 1.45pm in the Chapel
  K-Y1 students will attend Chapel Services in the Chapel on most Wednesdays
  
  
• K-12 SCHOOL PHOTOS – 12 to 21 May
  Orders are online only – please order as soon as possible to avoid late fees.
  See article in last week’s Bulletin if more information is needed.
  
  
• Y1 INCURSION: ‘PLAY IN THE PAST’ – NOT Tuesday 27 May NOW Wednesday 28 May
  More details will be provided via Consent2Go or Seesaw closer to the event date.
  Students are encouraged to dress as children from the past for the day.
  1HAR: 12.30-1.30pm
  1WEL: 1.45-2.45pm
  
  
• KINDY HEALTH CHECKS WITH COMMUNITY HEALTH NURSE – Term 2, Weeks 7, 8 and 9
  Paper copies of Government forms were sent home to Kindergarten families at the start of the year for parents to complete and return. Thank you, completed forms have now been received for all participating students.
  
  
• PP & Y1 HOUSE ACTIVITIES - Friday 27 June
  Pre-Primary and Year 1 students will participate in various activities in House Groups.
  House shirts will need to be worn on this day.
  
  
• SEMESTER 1 SCHOOL REPORTS
  Primary (PP-Y5) Semester 1 Reports will be made available to parents via SEQTA at the end of the day on Friday 27 June.
  (Kindergarten students will only receive formal reports at the end of Semester 2.)
  
  
• LAST DAY OF TERM 2 - Friday 27 June, normal finish time

If your child will be arriving late, attending an appointment during the school day or leaving early, it would be very much appreciated if the procedures listed below could be adhered to. Thank you.

• Please notify the School via email to absentee@stmarks.wa.edu.au or via the School App before 9.00am of the relevant day so that the information can be recorded on our absentee system and teachers made aware. This is helpful for staff in case your child’s class will be elsewhere in the School at the time of arrival or departure. You are welcome to also include your child’s class teacher in the communication but they may not get a chance to read their emails before the start of the school day.
• Students will need to be signed in if arriving after 8.45am and be signed out if leaving before the end of the school day. Use the sign in/out sheet available in ELC Reception so that we are aware of what time students actually arrived or left.
• In all emails to the School, please include your child’s first name, surname and class in the subject line to ensure notifications are recorded for the correct student.

• K-Y1 Contacting the Early Learning Centre: email elcreception@stmarks.wa.edu.au or phone 9403 1398 (voicemail available).
• K-Y12 If your child will be late, absent or leaving early: email absentee@stmarks.wa.edu.au or use the App (before 9am).
• K-Y12 Notifications of holiday absences during school terms of three days or more: email principal@stmarks.wa.edu.au
• K-Y12 Please include your child’s first name, surname and class/form in the subject line of all emails to the School.
• K-Y1 Any changes to ELC child collection arrangements should be emailed to elcreception@stmarks.wa.edu.au (before 2.15pm). If possible, please try and establish a regular routine for collections so that changes are kept to a minimum.

Please follow the links provided below to add your name to one of the rosters if you are able to assist. Thank you.

These are shared documents which all ELC parents are able to view.

• ELC UPCYCLING ROSTER (no opportunities at the moment)
  ELC Shared Upcycling Roster
  
  

• ELC WATERING AND OTHER OUTDOOR TASKS (ongoing roster)
  ELC Outdoor Enviro Volunteer Roster
  
  
• OTHER ELC PARENT HOUR OPPORTUNITIES (no opportunities at the moment)
  Parents will be advised via the Weekly Bulletins or Class SEESAW pages when opportunities do become available. Parents will be able to access the shared roster via the link provided below to add their names for the advertised task(s).
  ELC Various Tasks Roster

We would like to inform all parents and guardians of the upcoming release dates for student reports across different year levels.

• ELC and Primary: Reports will be available on Friday, 27 June.
• Years 6 to 9: Reports will be available on Friday, 25 July.
• Years 10 to 12: Reports will be released on Wednesday, 25 June.

Please take the time to review your child’s progress and celebrate their achievements. If you have any questions or would like to discuss the report, we encourage you to reach out to your child’s teacher or year-level coordinator.

Thank you for your continued support in your child’s learning journey.

On Wednesday 21 May, our Primary School students joined thousands of others across the country to take part in National Simultaneous Storytime - a fun annual event where students all read the same book at the same time.

This year’s story was The Truck Cat by Deborah Frenkel, illustrated by Danny Snell. It follows a cat and a truck driver who are separated on their journey, and gently explores themes like identity, starting over, and finding connection. The story can spark conversations about what it means to belong - and how “home” can sometimes be found in the most unexpected places.

Mr Davies read to the delighted students in 1WEL and 2FUS were treated to an expressive reading by Mr Douglas, while Mrs Fransz was joined by Pluto the Story Dog in the library for a special reading with our Kindy students.

National Simultaneous Storytime is a simple but powerful way to remind us how much joy a shared story can bring. Reading together helps build a sense of community and shows students that books aren’t just for learning - they’re for enjoyment too.

Natasha Robertson
Literacy and Numeracy Coach (Primary)

We’d like to take a moment to remind all families about the importance of keeping children at home when they are unwell, especially when they have a fever or contagious symptoms.

Recently, we’ve had instances where parents have requested their children be allowed to remain at school despite having a fever. For the health and safety of all our students, it is essential that if your child is showing signs of illness, particularly a fever, they must be kept at home and arrangements should be made for their prompt collection if they are already at school.

Additionally, we would like to remind all families that if your child has experienced gastro symptoms, they should stay at home for a minimum of 24 hours after the last bout of symptoms to prevent spreading the illness to others.

We truly appreciate your cooperation in ensuring that our school remains a safe and healthy environment for everyone. Thank you for your understanding and support.

Health Centre Team

K-12 School photos will take place during Term 2, Week 3.

Please note all orders are to be placed online and can be ordered here www.3p.net.au using the Shoot Key: C4E3K

ON PHOTO DAY:
• Please ensure your child is in the correct uniform, with hair neat and tidy
• Preferably no large side/high ponytails

SIBLING PHOTOS:
• Students must present to the photo area either before or after school
• Students cannot be collected from class
• Please place order using your eldest child‘s details

Please also take a look at the following flyer, which contains more detailed information: 2025 Photo Day flyer

Students must wear the formal winter uniform for school photos.

Please download the photo schedule here.

To Our Valued Members,

Last month, we announced that we would be holding a Special General Meeting (SGM) to vote on becoming unincorporated. However, due to unforeseen circumstances, the SGM will be postponed, and we will proceed with a General Meeting in its place.

We will still be hosting our General Meeting next week, Tuesday 27^th May at 7pm in the PAC followed by a seminar hosted by ECU's Juliana Peloche, she will be discussing the Impact of AI and how our students use this technology.

This is sure to be an interesting session and will be followed by drinks and nibbles in the foyer.

We hope you can join us.

Many thanks,

The P&F Committee

We are hosting a series of morning teas for our future families as part of our School Tours scheduled for Tuesday 3 June and Wednesday 4 June.

We are keen to make these three events a community effort and invite parents to donate a plate of homemade treats for one or more of the morning teas OR assist on the day. Parent hours can be claimed for donations, per the P&F's contribution guidelines ($30 worth of goods equals 1 hour of PCH). This is a great way to secure some early PCHs!

Please sign up here if you can assist.

Please note down the item you will be dropping off. Please ensure you label any catering if it is GF or DF; we do request that all items be completely NUT FREE (even better if you can note down the ingredient list). Please drop them off at the PAC kitchen in disposable plates/ containers!

Please drop the goods off to the PAC kitchen (in the foyer) on the morning of the Tour between 7am - 8.30am.

The annual St Mark's Busy Bee is scheduled for 14 June - 8.30am to 11.30am. This event is a great opportunity to bring our community together to support the School and will be followed by a sausage sizzle.

The focus for this event will be on mulching, building a path and a fence to support some pending trees planting and landscaping at the School. We will also be completing some general cleaning of the grounds and lockers.

Please bring your own tools on the day, including:

• wheelbarrows
• shovels, forks and spades
• sponges, buckets and squeegees.

Don't forget to bring gloves, hats and water bottles.

It would be great to see as many of our community members attending on the day.

Parent commitment hours are available for each family that attends and food and drink donations.

P&F Committee

Grab your Entertainment Membership this May and receive a bonus eGift card! You'll also be supporting All Saints Anglican School, Samoa in improving education and strengthening their community - it's a win-win! Offer ends May 31^st!

Purchase a $70 Single-City Membership (Perth, Southwest and Bali) – The P&F will donate the $14 to All Saints Anglican School, Samoa – purchaser receives a $20 VISA eGift card, as a thank-you!

OR

Purchase a $120 Multi-City Membership (Australia Wide, New Zealand and Bali) – The P&F will donate the $28 to All Saints Anglican School, Samoa - purchaser receives a $40 VISA eGift card, as a thank-you!

Click here to support our cause today: www.entbook.com.au/83g329 and get saving at all your favourite businesses!

Thank you to everyone who has helped to support this fundraiser so far!

Last Friday, our 4MAS class entertained the school community with a fun, engaging assembly all about Learning in Our Classrooms. With the sparkle and flair of Eurovision, the students linked the theme and songs of the iconic contest to our own school focus — making learning the real showstopper!

Their performance was not just entertaining, but also a great reminder that at our school we are “Life-long learners”. When judging the winner they proudly announced: “ALL OF US! Because learning is the real prize.”

In that spirit, here are some of the learning-focused initiatives we’re putting in place this year to support student growth and success:

• Knowledge-Rich Reading Units in Years 4 and 5: Students are reading engaging novels and content-rich texts to build comprehension, background knowledge, vocabulary, and verbal reasoning.
• SpellEx (Spelling Explained) in Year 4: Building on the work started in Year 3, this program provides explicit teaching of spelling concepts, terminology, rules and conventions.
• InitiaLit in Pre-Primary to Year 2: Our youngest students are continuing their progress in this evidence-based literacy program.
• Daily Review in Maths and Literacy: Strengthening retention by revisiting content regularly using retrieval practice and spaced learning.
• Number Basics Boosts: Teachers are using maths data to reteach number concepts that students may not have retained from earlier years.
• Bond Blocks in Year 1: A hands-on, evidence-based program that helps students build number fluency.

These initiatives reflect our ongoing commitment to high-quality, research-informed teaching — and to helping every student succeed. Because at our school, learning really is the prize for everyone.

Well done 4MAS, you've set a high bar for our assemblies this term!

Natasha Robertson
Literacy and Numeracy Coach (Primary)