Newsletter - Issue No.118

Mr Smith – Principal

Dear parents and caregivers, 

Here we are on the final day of Term 1. At this point time, it is important to stop and reflect on the term that was.  

Term 1 Highlights 

Term 1 has been amazing here at East Butler PS and below are some of the highlights. 

-Clontarf Academy AFL clinic with our Year 6 students 

-P&C Colour Run which raised a whopping $3500+ for the school! 

-School Open Night 

-Harmony Day celebrations 

-Completion of the bike track in our Early Childhood Area (thank you, Mrs Johnston!) 

-National Ride to School Day Breakfast and Coffee Van 

-Interschool Sports for Year 5 and 6 students in basketball and cricket 

-RAC incursion on a variety of topics for our students 

-Easter Hat Parade and cake stall 

-Year 6 Big Day Out 

-ANZAC Commemoration Ceremony 

All these events and opportunities make East Butler Primary School a special place for our students, staff and community. Thank you to anyone that had a hand in making these events happen. 

School Review- December 2024 

As you are aware, our school went through a review at the end of 2024. I am pleased to say that the school and School Board have received official communication that we have passed this review in all domains. This is a fantastic achievement and verifies the great work that has been implemented over the past two years.   The school will now fall into the regular public school review cycle which is anticipated to occur before the end of the year.

New Student information System and Attendance System  

Next term, our system for recording student information and attendance is changing. As of Tuesday 13 May, we will be transitioning to Compass. Some families may have used this previously, particularly if you have students in high school. Most of these changes with the new system will be in house, however there will be some changes that you may notice at the start. This will primarily be with the absentee texts coming from a different sender, and the ability to click a link in this message to provide a reason. We will continue to provide updates on this platform as we draw closer to the transition.  

School Board Member Update 

Nominations for a parent representative position on our School Board has closed. We received one nomination and welcome Natarra Croft (Raven-J's mother) to the position! 

Have a safe and restful school holidays with family and friends. Just a reminder that students return for Term 2 on Monday 28 April. 

Kind regards,

Reece Smith
Principal

Deputy Principal

Easter Hat Parade

Thank you to all the students and families who worked hard to produce their Easter Hats and attend today's Easter Hat Parade.

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Easter Cake Stall

Thank you to all our families for your cake contributions and to the P&C Volunteers who ran the Easter cake stall earlier this week. It was a great success and lovely to hear the beautiful manners of all our students. Another amazing fundraiser for our school which raised $890! 

Highest Fundraiser for the Colour Splatacular

At our assembly after the Easter Parade, Mr Smith presented Huntleigh from Room 4 with a special certificate and prize as the lead fundraiser of this event for our school.

Well done Huntleigh and thank you again to all families who contributed. 

Michelle Head
Deputy Principal

Manager Corporate Services

2025 Voluntary Contributions

Thank you to all the families that have paid their 2025 Voluntary Contributions, it is greatly appreciated as the funds received so far have supported your child’s education by enabling the school to purchase extra materials, services, and resources. 

To assist families with cost-of-living challenges, we offered discounts for families with two or more children paying their Voluntary Contributions during term 1 and they were also entered into a prize draw to win a hamper valued at over $150. 

Congratulations to Suzzie from Kindy 1 who was the lucky winner drawn at our assembly last week!  

Voluntary Contributions can still be paid throughout the year.

Payment Methods:

• EFT
• Cash
• Direct Deposit

Bank Details:
East Butler Primary School
BSB: 066 058
Account No: 10024364

If you have any questions regarding your contributions, please don’t hesitate to reach out.

Kind regards,
Jae Halden
Manager, Corporate Services

P&C Colour Fun Run

Colour Fun Run

The P&C Colour Fun Run held on Friday 7th March was a fantastic event which the whole school enjoyed. Thank you so much for all the hard work of the P&C Committee and the volunteers who helped out on the day.

Thank you also to our families for your support in this successful fundraising event. The P&C received just over $3500 in funds which will go directly to support our school which is an amazing effort!

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Special News:

Harmony Day - Wednesday 19th March

Harmony Week is the celebration that recognises our diversity and brings together Australians from all different backgrounds. It was wonderful to see students dressed in orange and completing classroom activities acknowledging Harmony Day with an emphasis on “Everyone Belongs”. 

Well done to Room 4 who ran the assembly on this day linking in Harmony Day.

National Ride2School Day - Friday 21st March

Our school participated in the National Ride2School Day and encouraged students to walk, ride, or scoot to school and use their wheels to promote active travel.  

We had a tremendous turnout with many children and parents riding to school and then enjoying delicious pancakes, toasties, smoothies and the coffee van. Many thanks to Chaplain Misick, Mrs Utley and the P&C for coordinating the event as well as Mr Birch, Councillor Smith and all the staff who volunteered their time before school to ensure the event’s success.

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Room 7 - Engineering Design Challenge 

This week, Room 7 took part in an exciting engineering design challenge. Their task was to create a skyscraper model that demonstrates both structural integrity and earthquake resistance, using age-appropriate engineering principles.

The children had a fantastic time planning, designing, and constructing their models, using various recycled materials. Their creativity and teamwork were truly inspiring, and I couldn't be prouder of their efforts. It's amazing to see how their enthusiasm for learning shines through in every project!

Mrs Peskett

Year 6 Big Day Out 

The Year 6 students enjoyed their first Big Day Out event at Laser Corps in the Swan Valley earlier this week.  Their sportsmanship and comradery were amazing, and they had a great time.  We would like to say a special thanks to our parent helpers who volunteered their time, we truly appreciate them.  With their beautiful values, we are looking forward to taking the Year 6 students to more special Year 6 events this year.

Mrs Allen

Interschool Carnival

This term our Year 5 and 6 students had an amazing time at the summer Interschool Carnival.  Although we did not bring the shield home at this stage, each of our teams performed amazingly and they should be proud of their efforts.  

We thank Mrs Retallack for organising this event.  Here are the results:

Basketball Boys A Team

Kindy Enrolments Now Open

Kindy enrolments are now open for 2026!  If your child will be 4 years old by 30^th June 2026, you can now enrol them for Kindy.

In-Term Swimming Lessons - Term 2

2025 Swimming lessons will take place at Water Ponyz Swim School in Merriwa during the first four weeks of Term 2 for students in Years 1 to 6.  The dates are listed below:

Group 1 – Rooms 1, 6, 8 & 10

Week 1 – Wednesday 30^th April 2025 to Friday 2^nd May 2025

Week 2 – Monday 5^th May 2025 to Friday 9th May 2025

Group 2 – Rooms 4, 5, 7 & 9

Week 3 – Monday 12^th May 2025 to Friday 16^th 2025

Week 4 – Monday 19^th May 2025 to Wednesday May 21st, 2025

Further details regarding swimming groups, parent helpers and times will be forwarded to families as soon as these become finalised.

Dates to Note:

School Development Days in 2025  

Last Day of Term 1, 2025  

Friday, 11^th April is the last day of school for students in Term 1.  Students will return to school on Monday, 28^th April 2025.

School Development Days in 2025  

Friday 30th May 2025

Friday 29^th August 2025

Monday 13th October 2025

Friday 19th December 2025                        

Breakfast Club

Breakfast Club is available to all students each term from Week 2 to Week 9 on Tuesdays and Fridays from 8.00 am until 8.20 am in the Undercover Area next to the Canteen.

All students are welcome to come along, and we look forward to seeing you there!

ACT, Belong, Commit

Have you ever noticed how good it feels to help others or set and achieve personal goals?

Making our health a priority and improving our mental wellbeing in 2025 is a great idea! Setting a goal is the first step in making a change.

Some tips to get started include:

1. Choose our approach:By setting a positive frame of mind, we are more likely to achieve our desired outcome.
2. Set mastery goals as well as performance goals:Performance goals (e.g. learning the piano in six months) may work for short-term objectives and are measurable. Mastery goals (e.g. learning each of the major piano chords) is a smaller, milestone achievement that can keep us motivated.
3. Set well-defined goals:Try using the SMART criteria (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timed). An example of this is “I will do 30 minutes of jogging, 5 days a week, for the next 4 weeks."
4. Have an action plan:Specify where, when, and how a goal will be implemented. 
5. Plan for setbacks:Anticipate barriers and challenges that may interfere with action plans and decide how you will overcome them.

Your Move

Your Move school – benefits of Your Move

We are a member of the Your Move Schools program.

Your Move encourages students and their families to get active by walking, scooting and riding to school. Making a small behavioural change a few times a week can result in huge benefits for your child and the community, including:

• Reduced congestion, travel times and parking problems around schools;
• Improved safety for everyone at drop-off and pick-up times;
• Reduced carbon dioxide emissions around the school;
• Lifelong improved health and emotional well-being due to instilling positive exercise habits at a young age;
• Improved concentration and academic performance;
• More sustainable and cost-effective transport outcomes, such as reducing the need for investment in parking that may only be utilised for a short period each day, and reduced road infrastructure maintenance costs.

We earn Your Move points by posting stories and photos of our active transport adventures on the website; these can translate into grants to fund active transport facilities and activities for the school and other rewards. If you’re interested in volunteering to be part of our school’s Your Move program, get in touch with our Your Move Champion Mrs Utley

SunSmart

OFFICE NEWS

Voluntary Contributions

Thank you to those parents who have already paid their voluntary contributions through the booklist and other methods– this certainly helps the school to ensure that resources are made available to the various year groups for this school year. Please remember that you are always welcome to enter into a Payment Plan with the school.

Online Payments to the school

Online payments are our preferred method of payment.  If you would like to make an online payment to the school (for contributions, excursions, etc), please use the following bank details:

Can you please ensure you provide the student’s name and what the payment is for when you make any payments.  More information is below regarding paying money to the school.

Daily Absences

If your child is absent from School, can you please advise your child’s name, room number and reason for absence.  This number is accessible 24 hours and we would be grateful if you could please notify us as early as possible of any absence or lateness.

Late for School?

If you have students who arrive late for school please sign them in at the office on the Ipad and ensure they collect a late slip to hand to their teacher.  This will update the system and ensure that you do not receive a text message advising that they are absent from school.

Connect

Connect is a fantastic tool for the school to keep in touch with families of East Butler Primary School.  If you are not receiving Connect messages please contact the front office and we will be happy to help.

In-term Leave

For any in-term leave, a form is required to be submitted to the school.  This form is available for printing below or in hard copy from the front office.  If you are taking your child/ren on holiday during school, the absences will be marked as “unauthorised vacation”.  This is a Department of Education directive.

Lost Property

The lost property box can be found in the Administration block.    The P&C have kindly offered to go through the lost items every week and return any named items to the students’ classrooms.  At the end of every term any items still remaining in the box will be donated to charity.

SCHOOL DATES 2025

MEDICAL PLANS

If your child has a medical condition which requires a medical plan, we would like to refer you to the documents below.  Please complete the relevant plan for your child’s medical requirements. 

If your child is taking medication on a permanent basis, please complete the Form 2 Generic Health care plan. Should your child require short-term medication (i.e. antibiotics, Panadol) please come to the office to fill out an “authority to administer form”.  All medication is to be kept at the office.

If your child requires a long term plan, this will need to be signed by their doctor prior to bringing it into the school.  Once we have the information we will then draw up a plan and circulate this information amongst the staff at East Butler Primary School to ensure that the medical needs of the student are met in accordance with their personal plan and Department of Education Policy.

COMMUNITY NEWS

City of Wanneroo School Holiday Activities

Triple P Parenting Program

Triple P is the parenting program that helps make raising kids easier. It gives you tips and ideas to help raise happy and confident kids; see more of the behaviours you like and less of the ones you don’t; and have better relationships with your family.

The Triple P – Positive Parenting Program is available to parents and carers of children in Western Australia, thanks to the Department of Education, Child and Adolescent Health Service, WA Country Health Service, and the Department of Communities. Private providers also deliver Triple P.

Free Triple P Seminars are being offered in various locations. Other Triple P programs may be available in selected regions, with more to come in the future. Most providers offer free sessions. Some sessions may be offered in a virtual/video conference format.  Please follow the links below to Triple P courses available near you.

Saver Plus Community Program

What is Saver Plus?

Saver Plus is a free online community money skills program funded by ANZ and the Australian Government, and delivered by The Smith Family in WA:

• helping people to hit their savings goals,
• develop life-long savings habits, and
• receive up to $500 in matched savings from ANZ to assist with school expenses.

The Saver Plus community program has helped over 55,000 Australians take the stress out of back to school time. It’s free for eligible people to join.

At Saver Plus, we pair you with a savings coach while you budget and save over the next 10 months. You attend online workshops to learn tips, tricks and information to grow your budgeting and savings skills. Once you reach your agreed savings goal, ANZ matches your savings dollar-for-dollar, up to $500. You can use that money towards education costs such as uniforms, text books, laptops or extra-curricular activities such as sport or music.

You could be eligible to join Saver Plus if you:

• have a Centrelink Health Care Card or Pensioner Concession Card
• are at least 18 years old
  
• have some regular income from work (you or your partner) including casual, part-time, full-time or seasonal (we also accept child support and carer’s payment as income)
• have a child at school or attend vocational education yourself.

If you’re eligible, start now and we’ll help take the stress out of next year’s back to school.

To find out more, or to apply, go to www.saverplus.org.au or call  1300 610 355 

Cyberbullying

Cyberbullying: what is it and how to get help

Cyberbullying is bullying that is done through the use of technology. For example, using the Internet, a mobile phone or a camera to hurt or embarrass someone is considered cyberbullying. 

What does cyberbullying look like?

A cyberbully can be someone you know, or a stranger. They might send mean or hurtful text messages through social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter, or through sites where people can ask / answer questions.

Cyberbullying can also involve people sending photos and videos of you to others to try and embarrass or hurt you.

People spreading rumours about you via emails or social networking sites or text messages.

People trying to stop you from communicating with others.

People setting up fake profiles pretending to be you, or posting messages or status updates from your accounts.

How you can be safe from bullies online

Do not share private information like passwords, name and address, phone numbers with people you don’t know. This can also include sharing of photos of yourself, your friends and your family

Do not respond to messages when you are angry or hurt. Log out and stop messaging if you feel you are being harassed.

You can block, delete and report anyone who is harassing you online and on your mobile.

Find out how to report bullying and harassment on each of the different social networks that you use.

Keep a record of calls, messages, posts and emails that may be hurtful or harmful to you.

Set up the privacy options on your social networking sites like Facebook in a way you are comfortable with

Get help

Lawstuff provides legal information to children and young people in Australia. 

You can also go to the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) Cybersmart Program

If you have been bullied or witnessed others been bullied and need help, you can contact Kids Help Line (1800 55 1800), which is a free and confidential, telephone counseling service for 5 to 25 year olds in Australia.

Lifeline (13 11 14) is a free and confidential service staffed by trained telephone counsellors. 

The Australian Human Rights Commission (1300 656 419) has a complaint handling service that may investigate complaints of discrimination, harassment and bullying

OSH Club

Achievers Club WA

Installing the Schoolzine App

Our Newsletter is available through the Schoolzine App on your Apple or Android device.  This is a great way to keep in touch with everything going on at East Butler Primary School and we encourage you to download the app.  The details for downloading are as follows: