Parent survey: one-to-one laptop program

Landsdale Primary School’s one-to-one laptop has now been operating for two years. The parent community has been deeply involved in this initiative from the very beginning, providing advice and direction through the laptop steering committee and, of course, providing funding for the laptops.

We sincerely value the input of the parent community and are again seeking your feedback about the program. We invite you to complete a short five minute survey that will assist us to make sure that our program continues to meet the needs of your child and your family.

You can access this survey by clicking on the following link: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/Ashdale_Laptop_Parent_Survey_2012

We will use this feedback to help achieve our goal of providing your child with a rich and engaging 21st century education.

Student Farewell

For ten of our LA31 students, the next two weeks will be their final days at Landsdale Primary School. We wish Cameron, Madi, Jayde, Vanessa, Sereia, Ashlee, Jerome, Ja’Relle, Alyssa and Luke all the very best at their new schools.

This Wednesday will be the final assembly of the year and we will be making a small presentation to these students in recognition of their time at Landsdale. The assembly will be held this Wednesday the 12th of December at 2pm. (Please note that the assembly is Wednesday, not Tuesday as stated in some notices).

We hope you can join us in thanking these children and their families for their contribution to Landsdale Primary School over many years.

Balloon photo by Corey Holms, used under Creative Commons licence.

Grading and the Australian Curriculum

Student reports will be sent home on Monday 17 December. I am currently finalising these and wanted to remind you of an issue which may affect your child’s grades.

All schools in Australia are currently making the transition to the new Australian Curriculum. As discussed at the parent night at the start of 2013, this new national curriculum is more rigorous than the Outcomes and Standards Framework that was previously used in Western Australia.

Because they are now being measured against higher standards, many students in Western Australia (and in LA31) will find that their grades are slightly lower than in previous years. This does not mean that a child has ‘gone backwards’ academically; it is simply means that they are being measured against a different and more challenging yardstick.

Naturally, everyone prefers to see their grades improving and this is unlikely to be the case for many Western Australian students this year. However, please know that, following this adjustment, your child’s grade will now more accurately represent their achievement relative to all students nationwide.

As always, please contact me by email or phone (08 9302 4100) if you have any queries about your child’s academic progress.

Photo by flickr user lordsutch, used under Creative Commons licence.

African Drumming

For the last two weeks, the students in LA31 have been lucky enough to take part in a series of African drumming workshops run by Paul from Akwaaba African Drumming and Dancing. The students had a fantastic time and developed their sense of rhythm through dance, drumming and playing on the ‘African Playstation’ (ask your child to explain).

The sounds that the children generated were just amazing. Have a look at the attached video and see just how talented they are!

Many thanks to Mr Angel for organising this fantastic learning opportunity.

Secret Santa

As the school year draws to a close, we are giving the students in LA31 the opportunity to take part in a ‘Secret Santa’ present-sharing game. In this game, students draw a name out of a hat and make or purchase a small gift (maximum value of $7) for their chosen classmate. These should be wrapped and marked with the name of the person receiving the gift but not the name of the person giving it.

We ask that all students who are taking part return their presents by the final day of school, Tuesday 18 December.

Thanks again to all parents for your support in making this such a wonderful year for the LA31 students.

Christmas image by flickr user vsmoothe used under Creative Commons licence