Malibu School Newsletter - 2022 Term 2 Week 8

Principal's Pen

Dear families

I hope you are well. 

It has been a different type of term and we are slowly seeing the return of our Malibu staff. Although we have continued to have staff absences across the school, we have relied less on relief staff over the last couple of weeks. Hopefully this signals a bit of a return to normality and consistency for your children!

I congratulate our teachers and EAs who have supported with the reports, which are due to be sent home at the end of next week. I can preface that the reports have an incresed number of 'Unable to Assess' due to ongoing absences this semester. Families are encouraged to talk with your child's teacher if you have any questions.

Our cycle of planning continues with Semester 2 IEP meetings scheduled for 3pm to 8.30pm Wednesday 20th July (Week 1). More information will be sent home next week, with online booking options for the evening time slots. Of course, day time meetings with your child's teacher will still be available and I encourage you to contact your teacher directly to discuss a suitable time. 

Unfortunately we still have a few teacher movements to finalise for next term. I would like to thank teacher Tania Sarich who stepped in to one of our Senior classes this term and wish her every success moving forward. We hope to see Tania from time to time as a very valued relief teacher!

This week we have been celebrating an early NAIDOC and thank teacher Di for the fabulous coordination of  activities this year. Some of these have been in partnership with students from Safety Bay Senior High School and we look forward to bringing you photos next newsletter. 

Tomorrow we are holding a NAIDOC smoking ceremony and we welcome our families. The session will start at 9.30am and conclude at 11am.

Our end of year whole-school assembly will be held next Friday at 9am (last day of school) and we hope that all families can come. We are excited to return to whole-school assemblies and look forward to the largest amount of certificate presentations yet! Please let your child's teacher know if you will be coming along.

We hope to see you then.

Kind regards
Merrilee Wright

School Board Profile - Leanne Stewart

We welcome Leanne as our Malibu School incoming School Board chair. Leanne is married with two daughters, one graduated and one still attending Malibu School.

Leanne has worked in the Childcare Industry for over 20yrs and holds a Diploma in Children Services. When not working, her interests are reading, doing research, relaxing, having coffee with friends and meeting new people.

Leanne became involved with Malibu School Board to see the progress and development of our school and to see how the school operates during the course of the year. She has been on the Board for three years as a Parent Representative and has enjoyed the journey so far. Leanne has supported the school’s development of our new IEP process to ensure they are more aligned with the goals students are working towards as part of their NDIS plans. She has also taken on the administration role for the Little Stars Playgroup Plus, supporting new families with their applications to our onsite Playgroup.

As her youngest daughter is in her last year of school at Malibu, Leanne is keen to continue her involvement by leading the School Board in the role of Chair person, to ensure that Malibu School thrives for the future. We are grateful for the continued support of Leanne and congratulate her on her role as our incoming School Board Chairperson!

Malibu Staff Profile - Di Jacobs, Teacher J6

Di joined Malibu School in 2021 after a long-term dream to work here following a PODD PL she attended here 8 years ago! Now that she is here, her favourite thing about Malibu School are the supportive admin and class teams and the friendly environment to work in. 

Di's colleagues might describe her as organised, routined, work focused and easy going. She would like to be known for her ability to produce meaningful classroom engagement and ability to understand and support diverse behaviours. She is a supporter and innovator for students with complex communication needs. 

Before becoming an educator, Di studied Business Management and Advertising and did a range of retail and beauty industry roles. Almost famous as a child, she auditioned for Red Faces on Hey Hey It's Saturday with some friends at the age of 11 in a group called 'Spice Kids' singing a parody of a Spice Girl song. Although Di, regrettably, says she no longer remembers the words, we're pleased to have her in our Malibu team. 

SCHOOL PHOTO DAYS – TUESDAY 28th & WEDNESDAY 29th June 2022

Fotoworks will be taking our school photos again this year.  If you wish to place an order, please complete the envelope sent home land return it to school with the correct payment enclosed and sealed in the envelope (change cannot be given).  Please DO NOT pay via direct deposit into the school’s bank account.

Please return envelopes to school even if you do not wish to purchase photos.

We ask that all students come to school wearing their school uniform in readiness for the photos!

*Please note - students with no photo permission will not be able to sit in a class group photo. Please contact our front office if you would like to discuss this. 

Junior 2

This term we have continued on with our theme of “Under the Sea” and our classroom is full of bright and colourful sea creatures. In the last few weeks we have created Mermaids and Mermen, squid and some more beautiful painted fish. We celebrated Mother’s Day by inviting our wonderful Mum’s and Nanna’s into school to share some home cooked cupcakes and to receive their presents that had been made with lots of love.

We have been working really hard on our communication in J2 and WOW have we done well!!. We have it all happening in our classroom. Cooper is just amazing us all on his Eye Gaze Device, Raiden has been exploring a Liberator Device, Reef is learning to respond with a “yes” and “no” to an Auditory PODD and Xavier is just chatting to everyone. A big thank you to Tanith from Indigo Solutions who is supporting our students every Friday.

Raiden has just successfully completed 2 weeks of swimming at Aqua Jetty along with many of his peers from the Primary School and during this time Cooper and Reef have worked super hard in their standing frames. There is never a dull moment in Pre-Primary as we continue to attend our specialist programs of Sport, Science, STEM, The Arts and Music. As the wet weather kicks in, we find spontaneous moments to enjoy the outdoors as much as possible and we continue to welcome our “Little Stars” playgroup friends every Friday.

Shelly, Sam and Desiree

Middle 3

This term in Middle 3 students have enjoyed being immersed in the Stephanie Alexander Garden Program, swimming lessons, an excursion to Kwinana Adventure Park and learning about coins that we use every day.  At the beginning of the term students enjoyed an excursion to Kwinana Adventure Park where they were able to interact with their peers and play on the different equipment at the park. We shared a lunch together with our friends in Middle 2 before heading back to school for the end of the day. During swimming lessons, we travelled every day to Aqua Jetty and learnt new skills when swimming in the pool.  In Mathematics we have been learning about Australian Coins and their values.  Students have enjoyed learning about the different coins.

Bev, Halima and Teresa

Senior 2

Our Adventure to Bunnings

This Semester, Senior 2 has been learning all about Work Awareness, and the type of work people do. Senior 2 and Senior 4 have been going out, into the community by taking trips to Bunnings in Rockingham. Our students have been exploring with their senses by touching and smelling a variety of plants and flowers. They observe the customers and what they may of come to Bunnings for. The students had the opportunity to meet new people and speaking to the friendly staff at Bunnings as well.

Thi, Courtney, Kylie, Mitchell, Angela, Moetu

Senior 3

The team of Senior 3 have been doing some fantastic things this term. We have been on several community excursions to Mandurah Foreshore, Lakelands Library and shopping centre. Students have shown independence through tagging on and off buses, talking to public persons such as the librarian. We have been recognising Reconciliation week in class, making hands for National Sorry Day on May 26th.

The class have been working well across all learning areas actively learning to count money with pretend shopping in class and using money in real life when purchasing food items from Muffin break and Coles. Students have located many signs and learnt about their meaning in and outside of the school.

It's great to see all students participating in work experience. Harrison is attending the radio station, Aiyana completes weekly mail runs, Amelia is completing office duties, Billy is working in the café, Riley went to Penguin Island and Joachim is working at Woolworths.

Zac and Aiyana have turned 17 in the last few weeks and lost of fun had. Aiyana and Joachim received an award for safe travelling on public transport.

Well done everyone on all the great effort this term.

Tania, Karen, Sam, Adam

Music

We commenced Term 2 with ANZAC day activities leading up to our ANZAC school service at end of the first week.

In Music, we learnt about songs that recognise and remember the spirit of the ANZACs. We developed an understanding of marching band music, as a style of music that is experienced during parades to commemorate this important occasion.

Primary students have continued to work on musical skills, such as rhythm and have used new instruments including the guiro, cabasas and frame drums. Students are developing the actions required to make wonderful sounds and showcase these instruments during songs, such as ‘Percussion Pop’ and ‘The Rhythm and the Beat’. We are also having a lot of fun playing in small ensembles to work on ‘The Nutcracker Dance’ by Tchaikovsky. Students are enjoying practising making a glissando (slide) on the xylophones, as well as using maracas, rhythm sticks and hand drums to participate and make amazing music!

Middle students are honing their skills on the bucket drums by practising 4 bar ‘bucket beat’ exercises. Students are using their drum sticks to play crotchet and quaver rhythms on different parts of the buckets: top, side, rim as well as tapping their drum sticks above the buckets. As we consolidate these skills, we are moving on to rhythm patterns in popular songs such as, ‘We Know The Way’ (Moana) and ‘Firework’ (Katy Perry).

Debbie Smith

Swimming

Over the last two weeks, our Primary students have been attending their interm swimming lessons. It has been all hands on deck for everyone! Our students have been having so much fun exploring the water and learning how to swim!

Gilbert & Son’s Peel School Program

Every time you shop at Gilbert & Son’s you are helping raise funds for our school. Thank you to those who have helped so far - check out our Leaderboard below!

Anyone can sign up - either instore or online. Thank you to our families and to Gilbert and Sons for your support!
https://www.gilbertandsons.com.au/support-our-schools

Community Noticeboard

Telethon Holiday Makers Program

Telethon Holiday Makers Program in Rockingham is for autistic kids and teens aged 10-18 years during the July school holidays. 

Details

Days: 5, 7, 12 and 14 July

Time: 9.30am – 4.30pm

Venue: Peron Health Training Centre, Rockingham

Enrolment: All participants must be enrolled before starting group. Please direct anyone who is interested in joining to our website to enrol by filling in the expression of interest form here or to call us on 9431 2111.

Activities: Visiting Rebound and the cinema, indoor archery, art activities, balloon volleyball, baking, cultural diversity activities and much more! See here for a list of all activities.

More information about our groups

As well as running the Telethon Holiday Makers Program, we also run social groups throughout the school year. Our social groups connect young people with autism with others and provides opportunities for social interaction, engagement and fun. Designed for specific age ranges, the social groups offer a regular program of events and activities for members. We provide a place where individuals can come to have fun, develop new friendships and learn new skills, enabling them to begin to apply social skills in a natural environment. Participants are invited to make decisions on what they would like to do throughout the term, both individually and as a group.

For more information, please contact us via email, phone on 9431 2111 or visit our website here.

Have your say

The Social Deck is working with the Department of Social Services to undertake community engagement on the draft National Disability Advocacy Framework. Disability advocacy helps protect the rights of people with disability by giving them a voice, promoting their interests and protecting their wellbeing.

Date: 22 June 2022, 11:00am – 1:00pm

Location: Perth Convention Centre, 21 Mounts Bay Rd, Perth

Register for the Perth event by following this link: https://events.humanitix.com/perth-community-forum-draft-national-disability-advocacy-framework-2022-2025

About the Framework and consultation

The new draft Framework is a shared commitment to disability advocacy between the federal, state and territory governments to improving access and outcomes for people with disability.

It aims to ensure all people with disability can access advocacy services and support. It will also help to align advocacy services and standards so they are nationally consistent.

We want to hear from:

• People with disability 
• Families and carers of people with disability 
• Disability advocates
• Other interested stakeholders. 

People can also write a submission using the submission guide.