29th August 2025

Dates to remember

Dates to remember – view live calendar on side panel of newsletter, website, or communication app.

Principal’s Report

Dear Parents and Community Members,

On Monday night, the annual Open Community School Board Meeting will be held in the staffroom at 6:30pm. Whilst all School Board meetings are open to the school community, the annual meeting is specifically designed to give non-Board members the opportunity to come along, observe, and see how the School Board operates.

Our meetings are interactive, and members consistently report that they thoroughly enjoy being part of the process. Below are some reflections shared during the round-table discussion at the most recent meeting, which capture the value members place on being involved:

Round Table Reflections (15 mins)

• “Great to hear different points of view—it’s very helpful.”
• “Looking forward to seeing the NAPLAN results.”
• “Enjoy hearing the strategic updates.”
• “Will seek additional feedback in regard to the canteen.”
• “Received good feedback from children on the bullying workshop.”
• “Looking forward to a future Parent Compass App.”
• “Appreciate being part of the school, hearing about what is happening, and being able to ask and answer questions.”
• “Would like to know more about the school’s bullying workshop, particularly in light of recent media reports on bullying rates.”
  
• “It’s great to be involved in such a high-functioning School Board.”

Agenda items at this meeting will be 2026-2028 Strategic Plan, NAPLAN 2025 results and Class placements & Split classes.

Class Placements – 2026

The end of the school year is a busy time. It involves setting up the structures for the following year, including creating class groupings. Ashdale Primary School prides itself on forming heterogeneous classes where all classes are similar e.g. there is no streaming of students into ability groups.

There is also a great deal of time spent on ensuring students are placed in classes which are created using a variety of data. This allows teachers to identify potential relationship issues based on historical data.

Class groupings are formed before the allocation of a teacher, as all teachers should have a sufficient skill set and practices to teach any class in a particular year level. At Ashdale Primary School, we don’t ask parents/caregivers to request teachers or friendship groups. More information will be released next term about the student’s participation in the selection of friends in this process.

Further information is available on the school’s website on this link:

https://www.ashdaleps.wa.edu.au/class-placements

Sensory Tool Procedure

At Ashdale Primary School, we are committed to supporting the diverse needs of all our students. We are pleased to inform you that we have recently introduced a Sensory Tool Procedure as part of our inclusive education practices.

Sensory tools (such as fidget toys, noise-reducing headphones, and wobble cushions) are being used by students who may benefit from them to support self-regulation, concentration, and wellbeing throughout the school day.

To ensure consistency and purposeful use, a clear procedure has been developed outlining:

• When and how sensory tools can be used
• Which tools can be used and their intended use
• Teacher monitoring and student responsibility

This approach aims to create calm and focused learning environments while empowering students to make appropriate choices to support their learning.

The sensory tools procedure is available on the Ashdale Primary School Website. If you have any questions, please email our Student Services team.

Speak-Up Awards

On Monday 18th August, three of our Year 6 students represented our school at the Speak-Up Award Competition. A huge congratulations to Aarjav K, Keerthi K and Ritaj D, who delivered their speeches beautifully, making us all incredibly proud.

In the lead-up to the event, these students demonstrated outstanding dedication and effort, often giving up their own time before and after school and during break times to rehearse. Being selected to represent our school was an achievement in itself, and they embraced the challenge with enthusiasm and determination.

Although we didn’t progress to the finals this year, they all did extremely well against tough competition, and gave it their all. The standard was exceptionally high. 

Well done, Aarjav, Keerthi, and Ritaj — you’ve done yourselves and our school proud!

Katherine Thorley - Year 6 Teacher

Premier's Telethon Challenge - Storytelling Competition Shortlisted Entries

Thank you to all the students who participated in the Premier's Telethon Challenge storytelling competition, creating posters and stories exploring the theme 'kids helping kids' and how we can shape a better and brighter future. 

We would like to congratulate our two shortlisted Ashdale Primary School entries for the Premier's Telethon Challenge storytelling competition. Our lower primary (K-2) entrant is Jisha from LA15 who submitted a story and poem on being kind to each other at Ashdale Primary. Our upper primary (3-6) entrant is Seraphina from LA16 who submitted a comic strip on kindness and acceptance of others.

Best of luck to both our entrants.

Enrolments 2026 Kindergarten to Year 6

If your child/ren won’t be returning to Ashdale Primary School in 2026, can you please advise the office by email    ashdale.ps.enrolments@education.wa.edu.au                      

Office News

School Voluntary Contributions (including P & C Contribution)

Have you paid the voluntary contribution $60/student and P & C Levy $40/family?

We encourage payments via the Qkr! app – this is a very simple and quick process and alleviates the need for busy parents to come into the office or send money in with students.

Instructions on how to download the App are available on our website from the link below or see the Qkr! Tip article below.

• Alternative payment methods (cash/eftpos/credit card) are available through the front office.
• Families may pay the Voluntary Contribution in instalments.

Legends

P&C News

By now, all students should have brought home their official Colour Run packs – we’ve seen that lots of students have created their profiles and are already fundraising, what superstars! The winner of this week's competition for the highest number of sign-ups in class is LA04 Purple with 19 signups!

Every student in this class will receive a pencil delivered to their class by the end of the week.

Can you believe it? Our awesome Principal Mr. Watson and Deputy Principal Mr. Hoft have said yes to being SLIMED! Raise $100 or more and go into the draw to win - we will be choosing 6 students to do the honours of sliming Mr. Watson and Mr. Hoft! Sliming will take place on Thursday, September 11^th at lunchtime - let’s all pitch in a few bucks to make sure you're the one to do the sliming!

Last weekend two of our P&C members, Nadia and Sam, had the privilege of attending the P&C WACSSO conference. They joined our P&C secretary, Nicole, who also happens to be a WACSSO State Councillor. The conference fosters connections between various schools, allowing them to exchange ideas on enhancing P&C initiatives, understanding legal rights, and engaging the community. Our delegates returned with valuable insights and are eager to share their experiences and newfound knowledge at the upcoming P&C meeting on Tuesday 2^nd September at 7pm in the staff room.

This year, our P&C will be farewelling some of our long-term members as their children move on to High School. We will be looking for new members and volunteers to take on committee roles, including Treasurer and Fundraising Co-ordinator. These roles are not only essential to keeping our P&C running but they provide the opportunity to be involved with a strong and vibrant P&C who are dedicated to making the Ashdale Primary School experience incredible for our kids. Could you be the right fit? Please come along and see what it is all about or email us at pandc.ashdaleps@outlook.com.

Father's Day Stall

We’re thrilled to offer you a chance to pick up a special Father’s Day gift while supporting our P&C! 

Join us on September 4th from 2:45pm to 3:45pm! 

We need parent volunteers to help with setup, sales (cash and Eftpos), and to pack away the tables afterward. 

Can you spare some time? Let’s make this a successful event together https://signup.com/go/UYQgkuy

Community News

After-school indoor cricket program in Term 3!  

When:

• Wednesday 4:00-5:00pm
• Starts 3^rd of September
• 4-week program

What:

• Indoor Cricket Blast centre – students take part in activities to better understand the game of cricket and learn skill development! Finishing off with more game-like activities in the final weeks and for the older students!

Who:

• Cricket blast – ages 5-10(both girls and boys)

Where:

• Playpoint Indoor Sports – Ballajura

This is a funded program so it is free to participants, however spots are limited.

DoE SECURITY

Please help to keep our school safe!  As part of our school community, we ask that if you see any unusual behaviour, evidence of theft or vandalism of our school outside of school hours, could you please contact school security on the number below. 

Please do not approach any individuals, just contact security and they will investigate the situation or contact the Police.  Working together will help protect our school.

9264 4771 (24-hour number) or 9264 4635