Open Night:
Thursday night last week saw a huge crowd of families and other interested community members participating in our Open Night activities. There were garden tours, opportunities to view and discuss with children the work they had been doing in class, performances that highlighted some of the programmes that we offer at Wesburn and, of course, lots of yummy food cooked in our kitchen. It was wonderful to see parents dancing with their children to ‘The Cobbler’s Song’, and to see how skilful students have become in Auslan (Australian Sign Language). Congratulations to all the students who performed on the night. Congratulations and a big thank you to the many people involved in making the evening such a success. This includes staff, several volunteers and students who worked all day to ensure that there was plenty of delicious and fresh food for everyone.
School Performance:
Talking about performing … next term is the whole school performance entitled ‘Great Southern Land’. Of course, everyone will know of this because letters and repayment slips went out some time ago. If you have not started to pay it is vital that you do straight away as the students start rehearsing early term 3. A word of warning: You will be ‘blown away’ with the talents of all the students as they sing and dance their way through a variety of well-known Australian songs. It will bring tears to the eyes of many people in the audience (some due to laughter and some due to immense pride).
Thank You:
Many of you will have noticed that the concrete has been extended at the school entrance and near the toilet block. This has greatly improved the safety of the area between the gate and the 1/2 classroom. Thank you to Sharon, Glenn and Ben who came up last weekend to complete this job.
Help Your Child to Read and Write:
Many parents ask regularly how they can help their child to read and write. The following are just a few simple suggestions that might help:
· Provide a place - a desk or table with a smooth, flat surface and good lighting is a good place to write
· Have the materials - provide plenty of paper, lined and unlined, and things to write with, including pencils, pens, and crayons
· Allow time - Good writers do a great deal of thinking. Your child may dawdle, sharpen a pencil, get papers ready, etc. Be patient, they may be thinking.
· Respond - Show you are interested in what your child has written. Ignore minor errors, particularly when they are just getting ideas together.
· Don’t you write it! - Don’t write something for your child that will be handed in to school as his or her work. Never rewrite a child’s work. Meeting a writing deadline, taking responsibility for the finished product, and feeling ownership of it are important parts of writing well.
· Praise - Say something good about your child’s writing.
Until next week …
Anne