29 August 2025

Messages From the Principal

School sports

This term is traditionally a very busy one with school sports. Last Monday our basketballers participated in a basketball tournament held at Bendat Stadium. Well done … thank you to Mrs Hess, Mr Seymour and all our parent volunteers who prepared our teams. A reminder that our faction carnival events commence in week 7, culminating in the carnival that is scheduled for Friday 5 September.

Embedded community engagement processes

Communities of support for the school’s vision and outcomes

High expectations, by the school’s communities, for student & school outcomes

School Board

Our next meeting will be held on Monday 8 September at 4pm in the Conference room. The first part of the meeting will be “open”, and I invite you to attend. Please contact our Chair Verity Broun if you are attending.

Student achievement

Students’ individual wellbeing

Participation in external networks

Book week

Last week we celebrated Book Week. Our English committee worked tirelessly to plan and prepare a week full of fun literacy activities during class and at breaks. The highlight was our parade held on Wednesday. It was wonderful to experience the kaleidoscope of colour in the costumes and the variety of character choices. Thank you to Mrs Clohessy, the English committee, staff and parents for making this a memorable event for all.

Students’ individual wellbeing

Community perceptions and attitudes

Embedded community engagement processes

Communities of support for the school’s vision and outcomes

Staffing changes

Mrs Gorrie commenced her maternity leave last Friday and I am pleased to announce and welcome Miss Jessica Rasmussen who will assume the role. I would like to inform you that Mrs Maisey will be on unexpected personal leave for the remainder of the term. Mrs Worthington will be teaching the class on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays and Mrs Jess Goodall, will be stepping into the role on Tuesdays for the rest of the term. Thank you for your understanding.

Focused resource decision-making processes

Design of learning environments – classroom, schoolwide

Works

Room 2 smell. Minor works are now complete in Room 2 with the replacement of a small ceiling and the smell removed.  The students have now returned to their room after the temporary relocation.  Thank you for your patience and support.

School resourcing

Aesthetic environment

An embedded revitalisation process

Design of learning environments – classroom, schoolwide

Mr Peter Jakimowiez
Principal

Messages From the Deputy Principal

Year 5 and 6 group photos

The following group photos will be taken on Thursday 4 September by Photo Hendriks.

Please take note of the uniform requirements for each group. Students may need to bring multiple items. Thank you.

Faction captains

Faction shirts.

Netball, football and soccer

School uniform shorts/pants - sport top/jersey supplied by the school.

All Year 6 students - Year 6 roles and whole cohort graduation photo

Year 6 graduation shirts.

Year 5/6 Interschool Sport photos can be purchased directly from Photo Hendriks. We will send you the link when they are available.

All other Year 6 group photos will be purchased by the school, and a copy given to your child at the Graduation Ceremony.

Mr Ben Taylor
Deputy Principal

Messages From the Manager Corporate Services

VacSwim

VacSwim have recently opened enrolments for the October and summer (December/January) school holidays and want as many families in the community to benefit from the programs as possible.

As we head towards summer a lot of families are starting to get back into the water or planning holidays by the beach, rivers or swimming pools. It is important that we help support children to stay safe and confident in the water.

VacSwim provides children 5 to 17 years of age with the opportunity to develop and progress their swimming and water safety skills during the school holidays across the State. There are programs for beginner, intermediate and advanced swimmers.

Students who complete Stages 13 to 16 through VacSwim enjoy the benefit of having their rescue award fees waived by Royal Life Saving Society WA.  It is a great opportunity for them and a huge benefit to the community.

Further information, details of locations and information on how to enrol is on the website. Enrolments are now open, and families can enrol online.

Mrs Jackie Kelly
Manager Corporate Services

EALD – English as Additional Language/Dialect

Young writers at work in Year 5

Our Year 5 students have been hard at work consolidating their understanding of paragraph structure through an exciting biography writing unit. To kick off the project, we visited the library where Mrs McBain had thoughtfully curated a collection of biographies for students to explore.

After selecting their inspirational figures, the students spent several weeks reading, researching, and taking notes. They are now in the final stages of drafting and publishing their own biographies, focusing on global soccer stars Lionel Messi and Neymar, as well as Australia’s first Indigenous tennis champion, Evonne Goolagong. We can’t wait to see the final results of their hard work!

Year 2 sentence superstars!

Year 2 students have been expanding their writing skills by learning to use conjunctions - those clever joining words that help make sentences longer and more interesting.

The highlight of the term was our thrilling “Escape Room” challenge! Students raced around the classroom, completing sentence-combining tasks using the correct conjunctions. We’re proud to report that all classes successfully completed the mission and “escaped” just in time for recess and lunch!

Celebrating writing in Year 1

Take a look at one of our proud Year 1 students showcasing his fantastic sentence writing progress! It’s wonderful to see our youngest learners developing confidence and creativity in their writing.

Multilingualism: a superpower at Dianella Heights Primary School

At Dianella Heights Primary School, we celebrate and embrace the power of multilingualism. Being able to speak more than one language offers many benefits—it enhances a child’s self-esteem, strengthens their identity, and boosts their cognitive and thinking skills. In our EAL/D (English as an Additional Language or Dialect) classes, we call it their superpower!

With 42 different languages spoken within our school community, we are proud of the cultural richness this brings to our classrooms. Multilingualism not only benefits individual students but also fosters a deeper understanding of diverse cultures across the school.

Supporting language learning at home

Parental involvement has a proven, positive impact on student learning outcomes. Some parents of EAL/D students may wonder how they can help if they are not fluent in Standard Australian English. The good news is you don’t need to be.

Regardless of language or educational background, all parents play a vital role in their child’s academic success. One of the most effective ways to support language development is to create a language-rich environment—whether in English or your home language. This can include reading stories, singing songs, playing board games, engaging in imaginative play, or enjoying outings to places like the park, shops, library, or zoo.

Every conversation, every shared activity, is an opportunity for language growth. Together, we can support our children to thrive—both in English and in every language they speak.

Natalie McInnes
EAL/D Teacher

ECE – Early Childhood Education

Wow – what a busy and exciting start to Term 3 in ECE! We've enjoyed a flurry of themed events, including Fairytale Day, 100 Days of School, and the always-popular Book Week Dress-Up. A huge thank you to all our wonderful parents and caregivers for your effort in preparing your children for each of these events. Your support truly enhances the learning experience and helps us create a fun, engaging environment for the children.

Despite all the excitement, learning in the classroom hasn't slowed down!
Our Kindy students have been working hard on their phonics skills, focusing on initial sounds and now beginning to blend these sounds to read simple words. It's truly magical to see their faces light up when they realise they have read a word – such a special milestone!

In numeracy, we're exploring teen numbers and have also been busy collecting data to create our very own pictographs. The children are enjoying making real-world connections as they explore these mathematical concepts.

In Pre-Primary, we’ve been diving into some exciting learning adventures! In Talk for Writing, we’re exploring how to create our very own narratives, using actions and storytelling to bring our ideas to life. In Maths, we’ve been tackling subtraction and exploring place value with a focus on ordinal numbers. In Literacy, we're expanding our phonics knowledge, learning new digraphs and getting ready to meet our first trigraph: 'tch'.

We’re also halfway through the alphabet in Handwriting, focusing on practising our capital letters with care and confidence. With our upcoming AQWA excursion just around the corner, we've been busy researching and discovering fascinating fun facts about a variety of sea animals—our classroom is starting to feel like an underwater wonderland! It’s been a fantastic mix of learning and laughter as we continue to grow and explore together!

All classes are now looking forward to sharing their work with you during our upcoming Annual Parent Night. Please keep an eye on your Term Planner and SchoolStream for event details and times.

Thank you again for your continued support – we can’t wait to welcome you into the classrooms soon!

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Warm regards,
ECE Team

Wellbeing Officer

Aussie of the month

Hirva V was recognised as our Aussie of the Month at the last assembly. Congratulations Hirva, we are so proud of you!

Focus virtue

Our last focus virtue was kindness.

These are the wonderful students who were recognised for practising kindness.

Next focus virtue

The next focus virtue is – unity.

You are practising unity when you:

Treat all people as members of one human family

See the beauty in differences

Refuse to join in when others express prejudice

Solve conflict through listening and finding solutions

Care for the earth and all living things

Act like a peacemaker wherever you go

Lunchtime disco

The disco requests have been loud and clear these last weeks…

We’re going UP UP UP, it’s our moment,

You know together we’re glowing…

Gonna be gonna be golden!

A K-Pop disco definitely feels like UNITY to me

Jess Lewis
Wellbeing Officer

From Around the School

Spellathon success!

We are thrilled to share that Dianella Heights Primary School raised an incredible 
$11,520.05 in this year’s Spellathon - our highest total ever!

A heartfelt thank you to our amazing families for your generosity and continued support. These funds will go directly towards our English budget, helping us purchase high quality resources for our classrooms.

Congratulations to our top fundraisers in each year level:

• Pre-Primary – Emily T – $485
• Year 1 – Mia L – $690
• Year 2 – Penelope P – $300
• Year 3 – Harmony T & Sarah B – $200
• Year 4 – Mia V – $109
• Year 5 – Finn M – $490
• Year 6 – Jackson C – $114

Each of these students received a $25 Dymocks voucher at our recent assembly. We also held a special draw for students who achieved 100% on their Spellathon test - they too received a $25 Dymocks voucher!

Students in Years 1–6 who achieved 100% have nominated to participate in the DHPS Spelling Bee, which took place this week on Tuesday 26 August and Wednesday 27 August.  Winners will be announced in our next newsletter.

Thank you once again for your incredible support!

Cassie Pinkard
Curriculum Coordinator, Teacher Development Coach & Learning Support Coordinator

NAIDOC week

During Week 3 of Term 3, Dianella Heights Primary School proudly recognised and celebrated NAIDOC Week - a significant national event honouring the history, culture, and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. This year marked the 50th anniversary of NAIDOC, with the powerful theme: "The Next Generation: Strength, Vision & Legacy."

To commemorate this milestone, our Year 6 student councillors shared a Noongar word during each PA announcement throughout the week. Students were encouraged to collect 50 Noongar words in celebration of 50 years of NAIDOC - deepening their understanding and appreciation of local Indigenous language.

A highlight of the week was the Indigenous-inspired photo wall, where students and staff could take photos as a bindi bindi — the Noongar word for butterfly. In music, students explored the rich cultural contributions of Gina Williams and Guy Ghouse, listening to and reflecting on their songs with Mrs Stynes.

Each class celebrated NAIDOC Week in meaningful ways. Miss Zincke’s Year 4 students created woven bracelets in the colours of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags, while Mrs Bosworth’s Kindy class collaborated on an art piece symbolising unity and strength.

The week concluded with a whole-school assembly featuring a wonderful retelling of the Dreamtime story Tiddalick the Frog by the Year 3 students. Their performance highlighted themes of greed, the importance of water, and the power of community - leaving a lasting impression on all who attended.

It was a memorable week of learning, reflection, and celebration, as our school community honoured the legacy and future of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.

Natalie McInnes
EAL/D Teacher

Book week

What a fantastic week of celebrating all things reading we had at school in Week 5! From 18 to 22 August, DHPS celebrated Book Week with the theme “Book an Adventure.”

Students across the school took part in a variety of fun and engaging activities, including directed drawing, story time picnics, treasure hunts, colouring-in, and writing and drawing competitions. It was wonderful to see so many students getting involved, letting their creativity shine, and showing their love for reading and books.

On Wednesday 20 August, we held our annual Book Week Parade - and what an amazing effort students and staff put into their costumes this year! The school was alive with colour, excitement, and a fantastic range of book characters on all sorts of adventures.

A big thank you to our staff, students, and families for helping to make the week such a memorable celebration of reading. 

We loved every minute of the adventure!

Mrs Maree Clohessy
Teacher 

Firm favourite photos from book week. Thanks for the great backdrop and hard work, Maree.

For a reading adventure, Summer sent this photo: 

Augie really got into his character for the parade: I loved the commitment and was hopeful Dr Strange would teleport us to another adventurous dimension!

Dominique du Plessis
Year 4 Teacher

Sports Report

Parent achievement - World Cross Fit Games

We’re thrilled to celebrate an incredible achievement by one of our school parents, Lisa Menchetti, who recently competed at the Age Group CrossFit Games - and placed 2nd in the world in their division! This prestigious event brings together the top athletes from around the globe, and Lisa's dedication, strength, and determination truly paid off. What an inspiring example of hard work and perseverance for our whole school community. Congratulations Lisa, we are so proud of you!

Basketball tournament

On Monday 25 August, 47 students represented Dianella Heights Primary School at a Basketball WA competition held at Bendat Stadium. The preparation and lead up to the carnival were outstanding with many parent coaches attending before school training and the talent of the students really shined on the day with outstanding individual and team plays.

Carnival days like these provide opportunities for the students to develop and grow in game play, attitudes, winning and losing and developing a positive mindset. Congratulations to all the students who were selected and represented our school with such great sportsmanship.

I would like to thank Mr Hopkins, Mr Talbot, Mr Thomas, Mrs Yildiz, Mr Waltham and Mr Seymour for their efforts as our parent coaches. We are very thankful for your time, expertise and guidance on the day.

Simone Hesse
P.E. Teacher

School Board

Hi DHPS Community,

It's been a busy start to Term 3, with lots more exciting events coming up! I attended the Book Week parade last week and loved seeing all the kids dressed up as characters from their favourite books.

Our next School Board meeting will be held on Monday 8 September 2025. This is an open meeting for any parents to attend, from 4pm until 5pm. Please notify me or the office if you would like to attend.

Please feel free to reach out to me at verity.broun@gmail.com if there is anything you would like to discuss.

Warm Regards,

Verity Broun
DHPS School Board Chair

Keyed Up

2025 Term Dates

The Term Planner has been published on School Stream.