• Monday 24th February - Special Lunch Orders due by today - Order Now
• Tuesday 25th February - School Photos
• Friday 28th February - Special Lunch Day
• Monday 2nd March - Education Sub Committee meeting, 7pm
• Tuesday 3rd March - Parents and Friends Association AGM, 7pm
• Tuesday 3rd March - Engagement Subcommittee meeting, 7pm
• Wednesday 4th March - Cadbury fundraising orders due by today
• Sunday 15th March - Term 1 Working Bee, 9am to 12pm

PUPIL FREE DAYS

• Tuesday April 14th, 2020
• One extra day yet to be confirmed in 2020

TERM DATES

• 2020 TERM 1: Tuesday 28th January - Friday 27th March (2:30pm finish)
• 2020 TERM 2: Tuesday 14th April - Friday 26th June (2:30pm finish)
• 2020 TERM 3: Monday 13th July - Friday 18th September (2:30pm finish)
• 2020 TERM 4: Monday 5th October - Friday 18th December (1:30pm finish)

CAMP DATES

• Year 6: Canberra Camp (Mon 25May to Fri 29May 2020)
• Year 4: Anglesea Recreation Camp (Wed 27May to Fri 29May 2020)
• Year 3: Arrabri Lodge Camp (Mon 27July to Wed 29July 2020)
• Year 5: Lady Northcote Recreation Camp (Tue 06Oct to Fri 09Oct 2020)

SCHOOL COUNCIL ELECTIONS As at 4.00pm on Monday, February 17, we had one nomination for the vacant DET position on School Council. As this nomination equalled the number of vacancies, I have pleasure in announcing that Jane McLeod is duly elected to this position. At the same time, on behalf of School Council, I would like to thank Lucy Addati for her time spent on School Council. She will continue to play a very active role on the Finance Subcommittee of School Council. We also had four vacancies to the parent category of School Council and as at the closing time for nominations, we had four nominations. It is therefore my pleasure to announce that Anu Chikarsal, Carole Seneca, Fiona Mitsinokos and William Tong are duly elected. Again, I take this opportunity to thank Jodie Burns, Rebecca Deighton and Kate Ryan for their very active contributions to school council over a number of years. In addition to their membership and contributions, both Kate and Rebecca have filled positions of responsibility being President and Vice President (Kate) and Vice President (Rebecca). Whilst stepping off the School Council per se, we are certain that they will continue to play an active role as members of one or more of the subcommittees of School Council. Jodie’s youngest son has graduated from Viewbank PS hence her resignation, but again thanks to her for all of her contributions. Kate’s departure creates a further vacancy which will be filled by co-option when the new School council meets for the very first time on Tuesday, March 10.

WINSTON ROAD – TRAFFIC A reminder that NO PARKING signs mean that you can only park your car in that particular zone for up to 2 minutes to deliver/pick up goods and/or passengers. The driver must remain near the vehicle at all times. Whilst most of our community adheres to this parking regulation, there have been some considerable variations to ‘2 minutes’ and ‘near’. I can confirm that parking officers will be in attendance in upcoming weeks to assist in enforcing these regulations, which ultimately protect our students and yourselves.

FILING CABINETS We have a number of two drawer and one three drawer filing cabinet used and in reasonable condition which are available to school community members for a nominal charge. If interested, please call in at the General Office for further information.

GETTING TO KNOW YOU INTERVIEWS I trust that everyone found these beneficial last week as a vehicle to ‘touch base’ with your child’s teacher early in the school year. As we often mention, if you do have a need for a further or different conversation at any time, please feel free to contact your child’s teacher understanding that an appointment can then be made at a mutually convenient time.

INQUIRY PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT We once again engaged the service last week of Dr Jeni Wilson, who has been our Inquiry coach these last three years. She worked with teams and our Leading Teacher, Jane McLeod, throughout the week planning our units for 2020. Jane expands on this later in this newsletter.

STATE SCHOOLS SPECTACULAR The annual Victorian State Schools Spectacular program is an invaluable performing arts opportunity for Victoria’s government primary and secondary school students.

The program showcases and unites government school communities through working towards a common goal of more students reaching the highest level of achievement in the arts, ensuring kids are happy, healthy and resilient, and building pride in our schools.

I am happy to report Viewbank Primary School will be represented in 2020 with 16 students recently chosen to be members of our dance ensemble. The 25th anniversary Victorian State Schools Spectacular will be staged at Melbourne Arena on Saturday 12 September 2020 (1.00 pm and 6.30 pm) – and filmed for television broadcast at a later date, and our students now start the training and rehearsals that will ensure an amazing performance in 8 months time.

Enjoy your weekend.

Kind regards,

Bill Kersing

Principal

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EDUCATION SUB COMMITTEE School Council subcommittees are open to non-school council members, allowing members of the school community to have an opportunity to be involved in school planning and council matters. The Education subcommittee meets once a term and consists of a small group of staff and parents, working together to develop and review policies for the benefit of the school community. The committee is for people interested in developing policies in line with Department guidelines and the community’s educational aspirations for its children. Policies are statements of purpose, which are implemented on Council’s behalf to achieve many of the objectives stated in our School Strategic Plan as well as areas, which need to be addressed to ensure our programs and practices are followed in accordance with the needs of the community in mind. Consultation is sought from various members of the school community according to the purposes of the policy.

The Term 1 meeting of the Education subcommittee will be held on Monday March 2nd, in the school staffroom at 7.00pm. You are most welcome to attend.

Supporting Numeracy at Home for 5-8 year olds – Mathscots Mathscots is an animation series that has been developed by the Department to support numeracy at home. Following the introductory episode, there are 9 episodes (each between one and two minutes long), which you can watch with your children in any order at any time. For each episode, there are ideas and activities that you may like to explore with your child/ren. Whether you choose to explore a few activities or many, the important thing is to learn alongside your child/ren and encourage curiosity and discussion. Your early years child/ren will love learning numeracy with Prime, Poly and their friends.

Have a great week.

Gill Nicholls

The Dental Van is visiting! You have all received some information about the Australian Dental Health Van service that is happening at Viewbank Primary School between Tuesday 10th March and Friday 13th March. If you would like your child to see the dentist, please complete and send the forms back to school by Friday 28th February. To find out more information, please go to:

https://adhv.com.au/; and

https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/individuals/services/medicare/child-dental-benefits-schedule/how-use (Child Dental Benefits Scheme)

Free Online Self-Help Program Available For Young People With Anxiety

Anxiety is an extremely common problem that affects people of all ages. Although anxiety is completely normal at times, it becomes a problem when it starts to interfere with a young person’s happiness, stops them from doing things, or interferes with social, emotional and behavioural development.

The BRAVE Program is an online program for the prevention and treatment of anxiety in young people and was developed by a team of researchers from the University of Queensland, Griffith University and The University of Southern Queensland. The BRAVE Program is based on cognitive-behavioural therapy and has been running for over 15 years in Australia.

Have a great weekend everyone,

Patrick

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SICK BAY ATTENDANCE Fiona our school nurse will enter all student attendance in sick bay on Compass. If your child presents at sick bay you will get an alert advising you that a Sick Bay attendance note has been added on your child's Compass dashboard.

WORKING WITH CHILDREN CHECK (WWCC) A ‘Working with Children Check’ is just one part of creating and maintaining a child-safe environment. Viewbank Primary School encourages all parents to obtain and register their number with the school. It is a requirement that all parents/guardians who wish to volunteer or participate in school activities have a current WWCC.

CSEF (Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund) CSEF (Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund) is a government assisted fund which provides payments for eligible students to attend camps, sports and excursions ($125 per child). Applications for the Governments ‘CSEF Fund’ can be accessed by filling in the attached form and return to the office with a current Health Care card. To be eligible for this funding, you need to hold a current Centrelink Health Care Card or Pension Concession Card or Veteran Affairs Gold Card. Please note: as this funding is means tested, the Parent/Guardian MUST be the card holder, no Medical Health Care Cards in the student’s name will be accepted as it will be rejected by the CSEF system. Funds are paid to the school and will be automatically allocated to the Term Expenses unless otherwise stated by the parent at the start of the year.

COMPASS If you have any questions or require assistance with Compass, please do not hesitate to contact the office or refer to the Compass Parent Guide on your Compass Newsfeed.

Kind regards

Lucy Addati

Business Manager

Engagement Subcommittee The School Council has a priority on increasing Engagement. Any parent or carer who has an interest in contributing towards creating a more engaged school please come along to the meeting. Meeting location has been updated to be held in Assistant Principal Gillian Nicholls office which is just down the hall from the Staff Room. Tuesday 3rd March at 7:00pm for up to 90 minutes. Or ask at the staff room for directions. All welcome!

The School Fair Committee is working hard to deliver the School Fair in November 2020 but we need your assistance as a liaison or co-ordinator. No matter how big or small you can contribute we would love to hear from you.

If you can assist with any of the following please contact the listed co-ordinator for more information.

Communications and Sponsors - Dale Armstrong 0417402432 or emal: armstrong.dale70@gmail.com

• Sponsors
• Marketing and promotions

Stalls - Jules Kent 0437423260 or email: juliennekent@gmail.com

• Food vendors
• Market stalls
• School stalls
• Rides & attractions

Programming & Logistics - Neralie Cadusch 0412551430 or email caduschconsulting@gmail.com

• Permits
• Risk Management Planning
• Stage Programming
• External contractors

If you are unsure who to contact and wish to offer your assistance, we would love to hear from you. You can contact Dale Armstrong (Fair Convenor) on 0417402432 or email armstrong.dale70@gmail.com

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Uniforms can be purchased online at www.aplusschoolwear.com.au with one of three delivery options:

• Free collection in store during trading hours.
• Postage to address of customer’s choosing, at $12.50 for two items or less, or $17.50 for three items or more.
• Free delivery to school, to an existing student at Viewbank Primary. Please note, this option is not available if the customer does not already have a student at the school.

Dear Viewbank Primary School Families,

As part of our plan to upgrade our school oval Viewbank Primary School will be running a fantastic Cadbury® Fundraiser Drive in Term 1.

We are pleased to announce that for this drive we will have a choice of two different chocolate boxes.

• Cadbury Fundraiser Easter Eggs - $80 per box ($4 per bag)
• FREDDO & CARAMELLO Fun Pack Carry Box - $60 per box ($1 per Item)

FREDDO & CARAMELLO Fun Pack Carry Box contains a mix of:

• 30 x 35g Freddo
• 30 x 35g Caramello Koala

Selling for $1 per item ($60 per box).

Cadbury Fundraiser Easter Eggs Box contains a mix of 20 assorted Bags:

• 125g Cadbury Dairy Milk Chocolate Eggs
• 125g Cadbury Dairy Milk Chocolate with Caramello Eggs
• 125g Cadbury Dairy Milk Chocolate with Crunchie Eggs

Selling for $4 per bag ($80 per box).

Fundraising activities such as this make a vital contribution towards improving our facilities for the benefit of our children. In anticipation of a successful fundraising drive, we thank you for your support.

If you wish to participate please place your order before Wednesday 4th March, 2020. Only families that have pre-purchased chocolates will receive a box to sell.

Payment can be paid via Compass under the Course Confirmation tab.

Donations can also be made via Compass under the Course Confirmation tab if you wish to participate in this drive but not receive any chocolates.

Viewbank Primary School Parents and Friends

https://www.fundraising.com.au/

The Annual General Meeting of the Parents and Friends Association will be held at school on Tuesday, March 3, commencing at 7.00pm in the staffroom. At this meeting we will conduct the election of office bearers (a President, Secretary and Treasurer), before handing over to the team to conduct our normal meeting.

New members are always welcome!!

A little bird told me about this month’s bonus offers with Entertainment. You can spend and save, get extra membership months and receive a gift with purchase. Don’t forget you would also be supporting Viewbank Primary School fundraising. https://www.entertainment.com.au/orderbooks/1891w37

ICY POLE FRIDAY Students are able to buy icy poles over the counter at lunchtime. All icy poles cost $1.00 each. We are asking for parent helpers to assist with the sale of these icy poles on Fridays from 1pm to 1:30pm.

HATS ON From 1st September until 30th April school hats must be worn outside during all outside activities.

RUNNING GROUP Starting from week 3 every Tuesday and Thursday from 8:35am on the oval, for any students in years 4-6. All abilities welcome. Pack a spare pair of socks/shoes in case the oval is damp. Hope to see you there!

SCHOOL CHOIR Every Wednesdays, 8.30, in the Music room. Everyone from Year 2 to 6 are welcome!

PHONE NUMBER: 0448 075 422

EMAIL: viewbank@oshclub.com.au