Term 4 - Week 9 2021

Principal's Article

Dear Parents/Carers,

The end of the school year has arrived and I would like to take this opportunity in the final newsletter of the year to thank all those involved with the school for their hard work during 2021. It has been another massive but successful year. Our parents and carers, community volunteers, teachers, education assistants, administration staff, cleaners, gardener, and the many other community supporters we have, thank you all for your ongoing support, you are the people who make our school a great one.

A huge thank you must also go to our School Board for the time you take to ensure as a school we actually do what we say we are going to do. Also thankyou to our wonderful P&C and our volunteers, we appreciate all your efforts to make this school a more vibrant and enjoyable place for our children to learn.

Since first joining the school nearly 9 years ago, it has been my honour to be Principal of this wonderful school. The time since has gone incredibly fast for me and the joy and privilege I feel every day leading such an amazing school has not diminished. This is a fantastic school, one which we can all be very proud of. Another year has come and gone, with many great achievements for students and our school and I am very much looking forward to returning next year to continue working with you all.

Class Lists

Lists for 2022 will be posted on each class door on the 16^th of December. There has been lots of work on developing the make-up of classes, however some students may be moved around in term 1 for a number of factors so we get the best fit for each individual student.

Building project

The building work will continue into 2022 and once the refurbished classrooms are finished a few of our classes will be on the move, which will be really exciting to have new facilities for our students. As the building project continues, the kiss and drive will be moving, we will keep you posted with these changes.

School times

There was overwhelming support amongst the school community to change the school Start and Finish times for 2022. The school day will now look like this:

Doors Open        8.30 am                               

Lessons begin    8.45am

Recess                  10.45am – 11.05 am

Lunch                    1.05pm – 1.45pm

End of day           2.45pm

Year 6 Graduating Class of 2021

The Year 6 graduation assembly was an emotional and rewarding time for parents, staff and students. We would like to wish the Graduation class of 2021 all the very best on their next adventure in a Senior High School. It has been my absolute privilege to get to know you all!

Staff Leaving

Mrs Rose will be on leave for the whole of 2022 to be with her family down south. Everyone at Westminster are very envious of her sea change, but would like to wish her all the very best.

Enrolments

Families are still making enrolment enquiries for 2022 and the number of students we have at Westminster ESC for next year has risen to over 70, which is huge. This means we have a new transportable classroom for 2021, this will mean we will have 9 classes.

PBS

This year we have commenced our Positive Behaviour Support (PBS) journey which is a whole-school framework that helps create a positive learning environment for students.  This is achieved through a system that defines, teaches and supports appropriate student behaviours.

There is a dedicated PBS team appointed in the school, however, the entire staff at Westminster ESC are committed and will be involved in the design and implementation of PBS in our school.

Therapists Approval Forms

If your child is going to attend therapy off site during the school day, then it is important requirement that you fill out the Therapist Approval Form for the commencement of 2022.

And finally I’d like to take this opportunity to thank you all for your continued support throughout this very interesting year! Enjoy the holidays, enjoy time with your children and see you all in 2022.

Kind Regards,

Gary Hobson

PRINCIPAL

Our Vision

Important Dates

Lego League

Selected students participated in the Lego League Competition held at Aveley Secondary College. Students demonstrated great team spirit and displayed enthusiasm.
Congratulations STEAM Team for winning the "Core Values Trophy" for exhibiting Discovery, Innovation, Impact, Inclusion, Teamwork and Fun.

Book Award Winners

Specialist Subjects - Award Winners

News from Room 6 & 7

Room 6 and 7 have had an amazing year! Our classes have collaborated a lot this semester and what fun we have had. Some of these have been celebrating NAIDOC day, Indigenous Literacy day, venturing off to the park across the road every Wednesday, Outdoor Education Day and learning how to play  T-Ball.

On NAIDOC day, mainstream organised a rotation of fun activities that educated us on the history of Aboriginal culture. On one of the stations, Mrs Rose had a collective canvas where students each had a turn painting dots which outlined a tree. Indigenous Literacy Day was also a hit. For this, we started the lesson off with shared reading where we read the book ‘How the Birds Got Their Colours’. We then broke off into rotations where each station had a fun activity that related to aboriginal culture. On one station, the students glued colourful feathers on a bird template and at a different station, we had a play dough activity to represent the colours and characters from the book. On the last station, students had tubs of yellow and red sand and drew a variety of Aboriginal symbols.

As part of our Geography and Health focus this semester, Room 6 and 7 ventured off to the park every Wednesday. In Geography, we looked at different places within the community and the different activities we could explore in the playground. The Health aspect to this excursion was how to act safely in the community by staying close to the group, not running away and looking left and right before safely crossing the road. The students all made a tremendous effort to ensure these goals were achieved. Their favourite part of going to the park was taking turns being pushed on the swing. They all waited so patiently for their turns; well done everyone!

Nothing is better than getting out of the classroom and learning amongst nature. For this, we all walked around the school looking for certain things such as flowers, bees, spiderwebs and pinecones and tallying how many of these we see. It was so much fun and was a great opportunity to get some vitamin D!

The most fun activity we did was learn how to play t-ball. Mrs Fitzgerald scored us a sports grant and had the option of either playing t-ball or learning gymnastics; but because we are already A+ gymnasts we thought we would try and learn something different. A coach from a local T-ball club came out every day for a week and taught us the basic skills in fielding, balling and batting. We made sure we wore our helmets as safety was a priority and by the end we were not far off being the next mini Babe Ruth’s.

So many fun things to finish off what has been a great year. Room 6 and 7 wishes everyone a Merry Christmas and a happy new year. 

Year 6 Camp

In week seven, the year six students had a fantastic time participating in the Year Six Camp as day trippers or camping over at the Keith Maine Centre at Whiteman Park. The camp is held in celebration of the students’ final year of primary school and to help boost social skills development and encourage independence when accessing community facilities.

The students had three fun filled days of excursions, as well as time to swim and relax with a range of free play options at the campsite.

Day one we visited the Swan Valley Cuddly Animal Farm, where the students interacted with farmyard animals, including patting, bucket feeding, bottle feeding and visiting the animals in the paddocks. In addition, everyone loved the big bouncy castle, merry-go-round, playground and the tractor train ride was a huge hit!

Day two everyone was up early ready to take on the day. We had the perfect weather for Outback Splash where everyone had great fun at the water attractions. Octopus Bay and Splash Island waterslide playground were very popular. It was great to see students (and teachers) gaining confidence to work their way up to bigger and more ‘scary’ slides, including the waterslide tower’s Blackout slide!

By afternoon the campers were still full of energy when they returned to the campsite, swimming and playing indoors and out. Day two the campers were a little quieter at dinner time, and bedtime was more welcomed. Come the morning of day three there was barely a peep out of the campers until about 8 am.

On the last day we packed up, had a relaxing morning at the campsite and then visited Pia’s Playground. Everyone was a little slower day three, but still had a wonderful time playing on the magnificent equipment or chilling in the shade.

It was terrific to see the students having fun together and the comradery and support they showed towards each other through-out the camp. There are sure to be some lovely memories that the students will look back on from this great experience. A big thank you to all the staff involved, too!

Year 6 Graduation

The Year 6 graduation assembly was an emotional and rewarding time for parents, staff and students. We would like to wish the Graduation class of 2021 all the very best on their next adventure in a Senior High School. It has been my absolute privilege to get to know you all! 

Congratulations to all our Award Winners!

Voluntary Contributions 2022

Swimming

School Board Members