School Leadership Update
Parents and Caregivers,
I write to inform you of some notable changes in the existing leadership structure at Warriapendi Primary School. Late in Term 2, we formally advertised for a new Associate Principal to fill the position vacated by Erin Turner. A panel consisting of two female Principals from metropolitan schools, Mr Slavin and myself, ran a very competitive process that resulted in the appointment of Mrs Roxanne Righton from Upper Swan PS. Mrs Righton brings with her a passion for high-impact, evidence-based approaches to teaching and learning, and is a welcome addition to our team. She possesses energy and a desire to support staff in designing and delivering high quality lessons, while working closely with the broader school community to build strong relationships.
Following this appointment, we received confirmation that Mr Slavin had been appointed Associate Principal at a new school being built in Landsdale. This is a well-deserved opportunity that Mr Slavin could not let slip by. While it is a big loss for our school community and will no doubt be hard for all involved to say farewell to him, it is an important step in his career and something we wish him nothing but the best for. Mr Slavin has contributed an enormous amount to Warriapendi Primary School during his time here, both in a teaching and administrative capacity. I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge his efforts and the professional manner with which he welcomed me to the school last term. He is an outstanding leader and will no doubt add a huge amount of value to his new school.
Fortunately, as a result of the competitive process we ran, we have been able to appoint Mrs Deann Jones to undertake Mr Slavin’s role. Mrs Jones brings a wealth of experience working in schools such as Koondoola PS and Ellen Stirling PS. She has a passion for supporting students at educational risk and a strong knowledge of contemporary, evidence-based teaching and learning models.
I would like to take the time to acknowledge the impressive job that Mrs Lannigan has done as acting Associate Principal for the first half of 2022. Her support during my transition to the school was outstanding and I am very excited to see her supporting staff and students via her coaching role throughout the remainder of this year.
We look forward to seeing you all back on site this coming Tuesday and hope that you have the opportunity to meet our new team members. Should you have any questions about these recent staffing changes, please feel free to phone the school or see me during morning duty this week.
Sincerely
Matt Pinkard
Principal
Change of mandatory vaccination requirements
Dear parents and carers
The WA government announced that from 10 June 2022, the mandatory vaccination policy would be updated in line with health advice. This means that staff in schools and residential facilities will no longer need to be vaccinated.
The triple dose vaccination requirements only remain in place for those working in healthcare and health support, workers in residential aged care, and workers in residential disability settings.
The change also means that parents and carers who regularly visit, volunteers, third party providers and contractors are not required to be vaccinated to enter a school or residential facility.
It is also important to remember that the removal of the vaccine mandate does not mean the pandemic is over. We continue to follow health advice and COVID-19 safe protocols, such as staying home when sick, wearing a mask as required, taking a daily RAT when identified as a close contact, and having good hand hygiene. I encourage you to visit the HealthyWA website for further information about COVID-19.
If you have any queries, please contact (08) 9345 6100
Thank you for your support.
Matt Pinkard
Principal
National Sorry Day
Parents and Caregivers,
Today is National Sorry Day, a time for us all to acknowledge and understand Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who were forcibly removed from their families and communities.
To become a reconciled and culturally responsive society, we must look deeply within our own hearts to understand the injustices experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. We must use our empathy and compassion to understand the deep trauma and suffering the Stolen Generations and their families have endured. Let’s acknowledge their bravery and strengths.
The Stolen Generations continue to be brave in sharing their stories, and this year I want to share the project ‘Stolen Generations’ Testimonies’ and encourage you to take some time to listen and recognise the experiences of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
I also recommend you watch the live stream of the Sorry Day event to memorialise the 25th Anniversary of the tabling of the Bringing Them Home Report in Australian Federal Parliament in 1997. This will be streamed from the newly completed Stolen Generations Memorial within Moort-ak-Waadiny (Wellington Square) in East Perth. It will include a Welcome to Country, Smoking Ceremony, speakers and musical performances.
Warriapendi Primary School is proud of the connections we have with the land upon which we meet and learn each day, and is constantly seeking new ways to develop effective, responsive relationships with our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families. Next week, students from Warriapendi Primary School will attend a special event at Binna Parkland as we learn more about National Reconciliation Week.
Sincerely
Matt Pinkard
Principal
Semester One Formal Reporting
Dear Parents and Caregivers,
As you are aware, COVID-19 continues to impact our school community and has presented us with challenges in managing both student and staff attendance. I am pleased that together, we have been able to make the best of this situation and ensure your child’s continued learning.
As we navigate through these challenges, we will need to do some things differently to ensure our focus remains on your child’s daily learning program. For this reason, Semester One reporting will look different to what we shared with you at the start of the year. The Department of Education has advised that the report will include the A to E grades (or equivalent 5-point scale) for required learning areas. Information regarding your child’s attitude, behaviour and effort will continue to be reported. Our school will provide a general comment that will reflect attitude, effort and progress for the semester given the ongoing disruptions.
Thank you for your continued support and encouragement as we work together to provide the best learning opportunities for our students. As we progress, I’ll be sure to keep you updated with any new information.
Sincerely
Matt Pinkard
Principal
Mark McGowan launches Premier’s Reading Challenge
Dear Parents and Caregivers,
Warriapendi Primary School was fortunate enough to welcome Premier Mark McGowan and Minister for Education, Sue Ellery, to our amazing school today. The purpose of the visit was to launch the Premier’s Reading Challenge 2022, a free initiative that promotes positive reading habits and provides students in Western Australia with opportunities to discover the joy of exploring amazing stories and magical journeys through books.
There was a large media presence and a number of other distinguished guests in attendance, all of whom were welcomed expertly to Warriapendi Primary School by our Head Girl, Mia Kelley, and Head Boy, Arsal Noman. Prior to the event commencing, Mia and Arsal conducted an Acknowledgement of Country, and spent time speaking with our visitors about their interests.
Following a press conference, the Premier and Minister met our wonderful Year 3 students and Teacher, Melissa Campbell in the library, where the Premier read them a book. It was a fantastic experience for all involved and really showcased our school. We have received plenty of positive feedback about the event already from our students and the broader Education landscape. Please keep an eye out on TV, news websites and ABC radio over the coming days for some footage from the event.
I would like to acknowledge the efforts of all of our staff and students for the way they prepared for today and then conducted themselves throughout proceedings. It was a great reflection of the high standards we set at Warriapendi Primary School.
Sincerely
Matt Pinkard
Principal
Changes announced by WA Department of Health
Dear Parents and Caregivers,
As announced by the WA Department of Health, a range of public health measures have eased as of 12:01am this morning. See below for the changes:
1. Students can attend school if they are close contacts, provided they:
- have no symptoms
- undertake daily RATs and return negative results
- wear a mask at all times outside the home
- parents notify the school on 9345 6100 before attending school as a household close contact
- avoid high-risk and large public gatherings
2. Students are not required to wear masks at school unless they are a household close contact as above.
3. Parents are welcome in classrooms but are reminded to socially distance from staff, parents and other students where possible. Do not enter the classroom if you are unwell.
4. Face to face parent meetings can resume with social distancing.
5. Assemblies can resume this term. We will communicate more information about this soon.
6. No close contacts will be identified from school. The only close contact rule that applies to students is the household close contact rule.
7. Students will be allowed to eat with the peer group they would have eaten with prior to COVID restrictions being introduced.
While parents are now allowed back in classrooms, please respect the morning routines established throughout the school as this time of the day is crucial for learning and developing independence. We are very excited to be able to return to many of our normal processes and thank you for your ongoing support of our school as we navigate COVID together.
Sincerely
Matt Pinkard
Principal
Covid-19 Room 10, Year 4
Dear parents/carers and staff
There has been a positive case of COVID-19 in Room 10, Year 4 at Warriapendi Primary School. On advice from WA Health, I am providing the following information. They attended school on Tuesday 26th of April.
Please note that under the regulations no students are considered close contacts.
You can find out more about what to do if you are a close contact or if you are displaying symptoms at healthywa.wa.gov.au
Advice for all families and staff:
- The school remains open.
- If your child is not identified as a close contact, your child is not required to quarantine and should attend school.
- If staff are not identified as a close contact, they are not required to quarantine and should attend school.
- As for everyone in Western Australia, we ask that you monitor your child/yourself for symptoms of COVID-19 and get tested and isolate until you receive a negative result, if symptoms develop.
- If you or your child develop symptoms, please do not attend school.
- Please note that the Omicron strain can present with less typical symptoms such as diarrhoea, particularly in children.
If you have queries or concerns, please contact WA Health on 1300 316 555.
Kind regards
Matt Pinkard
Principal
COVIC-19 in Room 6, Year 2
Dear parents/carers and staff
There has been a positive case of COVID-19 in Room 6, Year 2 at Warriapendi Primary School. On advice from WA Health, I am providing the following information. They attended school on Wednesday 6th of April and Thursday 7th of April while infectious.
Any staff and student close contacts have been identified and contacted by the school. If your child was not in this class on these dates, they are not a close contact.
You can find out more about what to do if you are a close contact including testing dates at
healthywa.wa.gov.au
Advice for all families and staff:
- The school remains open.
- If your child is not identified as a close contact, your child is not required to quarantine and should attend school.
- If staff are not identified as a close contact, they are not required to quarantine and should attend school.
- As for everyone in Western Australia, we ask that you monitor your child/yourself for
- symptoms of COVID-19 and get tested and isolate until you receive a negative result, if symptoms develop.
- If you or your child develop symptoms, please do not attend school.
- Please note that the Omicron strain can present with less typical symptoms such as diarrhoea, particularly in children.
If you have queries or concerns, please contact WA Health on 1300 316 555.
Kind regards
Jacob Slavin
Principal
Warriapendi Primary School
Covid Room 5 Year 1/2
Dear parents and carers
There has been a positive case of COVID-19 at Warriapendi Primary School. On advice from WA Health, I am providing the following information.
They attended the Room 5, Year 1/2 class while infectious between Wednesday 30th of March and Friday 1st of April.
Please note that any student wearing a mask throughout the day in Room 5, Year 1/2 will not be a close contact. Additionally, any student who has recovered from being COVID-19 positive will not be identified as a close contact for 12 weeks following their isolation period.
Under very high caseload settings, children must take a PCR test or a RAT within 24 hours of becoming a close contact. Provided the test is negative, and the child has no symptoms, they may:
- continue attending school provided they don’t develop symptoms;
- attend before school care or after school care;
- attend sporting or cultural training, practice, or events organised through the school and held immediately before or after school; and
- travel between the student’s usual place of residence and their school, avoiding public transportwhere possible.
At all other times when they are not engaged in an activity listed above, these students should isolate at home. If these students have not developed any symptoms and returned either a negative PCR on day 6 or RAT on day 7, they may end isolation after day 7.
The end of isolation date and time for these students is: Friday 8th of April, 2:50pm
If a student develops symptoms or becomes a household close contact (for example, if a family member is confirmed positive), these arrangements above do not apply, and they must stay home and isolate for 7 days.
You can find out more about what to do if you are a close contact including testing dates at healthywa.wa.gov.au.
COVID-19 PCR tests can be accessed at a COVID Clinic.
A list of clinics can be found at healthywa.wa.gov.au/COVIDclinics.
Advice for all families and staff:
- The school remains open.
- If your child was not in this class at the same time as the case, your child is not a close contact.
- As for everyone in Western Australia, we ask that you monitor your child/yourself for symptoms of COVID-19. If you or your child develop symptoms, please do not attend school. Get tested and isolate until you receive a negative result.
Please note that the Omicron strain can present with less typical symptoms such as diarrhoea, particularly in children.
If you have queries or concerns, please contact WA Health on 1300 316 555.
Kind regards
Jacob Slavin Principal
Warriapendi Primary School