8/8/2019 NFPS Community News Winter 2010L

1/2

Subscribe

We invite parents of prospective

students to subscribe to our fortnightly

school e-newsletter to keep up-to-

date with events, achievements and

programs at North Fremantle Primary.

Email tiffany.pinkerton@det.wa.edu.au

there are really nice kids

North Fremantle Primary School

Community News Winter2010

2010 is an exciting yearfor North FremantlePrimary School.A new Principal and new teaching

specialists in literacy, maths, music

and art are some of the changes that

are contributing to an exciting, busy

and happy school community. The

school verandahs are buzzing.

With this issue of NFPS Community

News we aim to share with our

neighbours in North Fremantle all

thats currently happening at your

local primary school.

A little school with big ideas

Meet the Principal

Waiting for our new

principal to step on stage

at our rst assembly in

2010 was a bit like waiting

for the curtain to go up on

opening night at a big show.

All eyes were on the new leader of our

school as Fiona rst spoke of her vision

for our school and the year ahead.

With half the school year now gone,

Fionas true character and range of

expertise has become clear.

My motivation is to provide the best

possible education for every student inmy care, says Fiona.

Her emphasis on individual needs

and achieving personal potential is

clear. She is also big on supporting her

teaching staff.

I want teachers, as well as students, to

be continually striving to improve.

My role as a school leader is to

minimise the many demands on

teachers and allow them to focus on the

business of teaching, explains Fiona.

I do everything I can to empower my

teachers to be effective. My standards

are high, but I think Im realistic.

Early teaching experiences in the

East End of London, in rural Western

Australia and in Perth challenged

Fionas ability to connect with diverse,

sometimes challenging, groups of

students.

A desire to make a difference in this

area eventually led Fiona back to

university, where she won a scholarship

to complete an Honours Degree in

educational counselling.

This change of focus led Fiona into

working with at-risk secondary students

and then in curriculum development forsome years.

Fiona has been a school principal for

the past four years, mostly at Osborne

Primary School.

During this time, she instigated the

renovation of a derelict, heritage

listed dwelling in collaboration with

the local community to be used as a

kindergarten. Enrolments in this kindy

program have now doubled.

Fionas contemporary and practical

approach is a welcome addition to

North Fremantle Primary.

aprogramforpre-kindykidsandparents

NorthF Primary

Monday,6Sept201011am12.30pmNorthFremantlePrimar

Play and Learn Program for

Pre-Kindy Kids

A new group for young children (younger than kindy age) and

their parents has begun at North Fremantle Primary. Each

session features a guest speaker for parents and supervised

activities for children. Our guest speakers so far this year -

Occupational Therapist Amanda Clarke and Social Worker

Peta Millard - were very warmly received and shared some

fantastic insights with the parents present.

The sessions are held 11am - 12.30pm in the Kindy Room.

Play and Learn dates for the remainder of 2010 are:

28th June - Positive Parenting9th August - Early Years Learning

6th September - Speech and Language

1st November - 123 Magic

29th November - Resiliency & preparing your child for school

RSVPs are essential. Please telephone the school on

9335 2743 to register your place for any of these dates or

to be added to the mailing list.

Making Maths Count at Home

- Tips from our Numeracy Specialist

Look for opportunities to involve your children in doing and

talking about maths.

Making counting and maths part of your daily routine with young

children while playing, eating, getting dressed, climbing stairs or

jumping.

Find, read and say numbers y ou see out in the community. Look

for big numbers.

Use maths for a purpose while shopping, cooking, and building

outside, travelling, using time and playing games. Be creative.

Encourage learning basic facts to 10, then 20, then to 100.

Addition and subtraction comes rst while multiplication and

division makes sense later.

Making a Great Reader

- Tips from our Literacy Specialist

Let your child choose what they want to read. Offer lots of

choices like magazines, brochures, online information and

comics as well as books.

Encourage children to follow their favourite authors and visit the

library regularly.

Keep reading as a pleasure rather than a chore.

Remember that having a go is more important than getting it

right. Allow your child to experiment with reading strategies and

working things out for themselves.

Give your child time to work out words without jumping in to give

the answer too quickly.

Share books with your child everyday but also encourage them to

read independently even if they cant actually read yet.

Praise all your childs attempts at reading!

ContactNorth Fremantle Primary School30 John St.

North Fremantle WA 6159ph: 9335 2743

North Freostudents were

asked what they likedabout their PrimarySchool; some of their

responses appearthroughout this

newsletter...

Enrolments forKindergarten

and other yearsare now open to residents

of North Fremantle andsurrounding suburbs.

Phone the school ofce on

9335 2743 or come in and

complete an enrolment form

to secure your childs place for

the 2011 school year.

when I camehere everybodywas nice to me

8/8/2019 NFPS Community News Winter 2010L

2/2

Parent survey

A recent survey of parents captured

the value of being part of a local school

community.

Parent responses to the survey

reinforced our position as a unique,

inclusive & vibrant school community.

The results of the survey have

contributed to a major to-do list

that has been compiled by staff and

parents. This includes::

New music and art programs

Intensive literacy & numeracy programs

A plan to enhance and beautify the

school grounds, making the most of

the natural leafy environment;

Upgrading the library;

New art and music building

(construction began this term)

Enhancing the school vegetable

garden and incorporating it into

lesson plans and opportunities for

outdoor learning; and

New ofce & meeting spaces for staff

Parent survey

A recent survey of parents captured

the value of being part of a local school

community.

Parent responses to the survey

reinforced our position as a unique,

inclusive & vibrant school community.

The results of the survey have

contributed to a major to-do list

that has been compiled by staff and

parents. This includes::

New music and art programs

Intensive literacy & numeracy programs A plan to enhance and beautify the

school grounds, making the most of

the natural leafy environment

Upgrading the library

New art and music building

(construction began this term)

Enhancing the school vege garden

and incorporating it into lesson plans

and opportunities for outdoor learning

New ofce & meeting spaces for staff

Teacher Appointments

North Fremantle Primary has been

granted permission to select its teachers

through a merit selection process to

meet the specic needs of our school,

rather than through the traditional

transfer system. New principal Fiona

Kelly and deputy principal Leanne Vinci

are the rst new staff members to be

appointed through this process.

it is water wiseand it grows its

own fruit andvegetable patch

the wholeschool respects

one another

Toe-tapping music report

Students have been captivated by the

enthusiasm and fresh ideas of music

teacher Kelly Branch this year. Children

of all ages love the weekly classes which

include singing in harmony and using

musical instruments to enhance their

performances.

Our school choir performed beautifully

at the schools concert at Burswood this

month.

Can you help?

We are seeking support from the multi-

talented North Fremantle community in

these areas:

Website design and management

IT

Painting, carpentry and decorating

Native gardening/landscaping

Carpentry

Guest speakers for Play and Learn

parent education in all areas of

childhood development and preparing

for school.

If you have any skills in these areas

and a little time to devote to your local

community, we would love to hear from

you. Please contact school councillor

Rebecca Maddern on 9336 4848.

New art programs have seen the students produce

some beautiful artwork.

Art coordinator, Margie Campbells creativity and energy have been infectious and

many students have demonstrated a renewed enthusiasm for creative endeavours.

Sport report

North Fremantle students are a t and active bunch. Tennis

lessons are held on site with a professional coach before

school on Wednesdays and Fridays. Our famous surng

lessons are also on offer again this term as a morning wake-up

call for our kids at Leighton Beach with Surng WA.

We also participate and compete in netball, football & athletics

as part of collaborative teams with other local schools.

Mixed-age classes

Mixed-year classes are a

feature of student life atNorth Fremantle PrimarySchool and the preferred

option for many well-established schools in

Australia. Teachers, suchas Year 2/3s Bev Lane, use their expertiseto take advantage of having a range of age

groups in each class.

According to Bev, mixed-age groupingschallenge teachers to consider each child

as an individual.

There is greater emphasis on individual

needs, abilities and personalities and lesson rigid year-level expectations.

Students gain strength from the range of

interests and abilities in our class, both

academically and socially, says Bev.

From an early age, children are welcomed

into the school community not just by staff,

but by older children, who quickly learn

their names and include them in play and

classroom activities.

Its a great boost to a young students self

condence when older children recognise

them and include them in their games

or help them master the monkey bars,

according to parent of three boys at North

Fremantle Primary, Sarah Allan.

Parents are often surprised at how much

their children enjoy interacting with kids

from other year groups.

we have a big

spider webplay thing!

News Flash!A mid yearEducation Dept review reportsthat North Fremantle Primary

is exceeding expectations in all areas.

Congratulations to the team of staff!

positive integration of alyeargroups

a very caringnurturingfeeling

all staff approachableand helpful

wonderful loc great communi

active parent

everychild is

diversity of kids

my child feels safe

warm,

welcoming

atmospher

e

small

localsiz

e

thekidsa

reverypr

oud

oftheirschool

somepa

rentco

mment

s

fromthe

survey