Parents, kids in school focus

South Hedland Primary School launched two new programs for parents and students last week.

The passport program, debuted at a school open night, will give parents points for getting involved in school activities, which can then be redeemed for canteen and uniform vouchers.

Under the literacy backpack program, FMG-provided school bags were filled with reading and writing materials and distributed to students in kindergarten, Years 1, 2 and 3.

Deputy principal Brian Abbey said the purpose of the open night, and of the passport program, was to get parents and the community more involved in the school.

“Having these sorts of interactive occasions means parents can feel more involved in the school, which in turn will help us and the students out,” he said.

Attendance and education officer Kayleen Arnold, who helped bring about the passport program, said the school recognised that parents led busy lives so should be rewarded for helping the school out.

“This is a collaborative effort various groups around town, like BHP, Wirraka Maya, the JD Hardie Centre, it means parents can do a lot around the community and be rewarded for it,” she said.

“Anything we can do to get parents more involved will help out.”

Kindergarten teacher Kate Tsorvas said the backpacks were very exciting.

“FMG gave us the backpacks and the school paid to fill them up,” she said.

“There’s reading bags and writing bags, and they’re filled with things like books, pencils, puppets, glitter and information for parents.

“We’re really excited about these bags. Some of our kids don’t have access to items like this so anything to help them to read and write is great.”