Thursday April 26 - Annual General Meeting of the Parents and Friends Committee 7pm

Wednesday May 2 - Family Maths Night, 6pm to 7:30pm

Friday May 4 - Mother's Day Stall

Monday May 7 - Year 3 to 6 Cross Country

Thursday May 10 - School Finance Meeting 6:30pm, School Council Meeting 7:30pm

Friday May 25 - Fundraising Children's Disco (evening event at Viewbank Primary School)

Monday June 11 - Queen's Birthday Public Holiday

Tuesday June 12 - Pupil Free Day

UPCOMING TRANSITION DATES* — May Information Night: Thursday 3 May 7-8pm, Education Week Open Day: Tuesday 22 May 9.30-3pm, Education Week Open Morning: Saturday 26 May 9am-12pm *Full Transition timeline available below

Annual Working Bees — Saturday May 26 (Term 2), Saturday August 11 (Term 3), Saturday November 3 (Term 4)

PUPIL FREE DAYS — Tuesday June 12, Monday December 17

TERM DATES — TERM 2: Monday 16 April - Friday 29 June, TERM 3: Monday 16 July - Friday 21 September, TERM 4: Monday 8 October - Friday 21 December

CAMP DATES — Year 6 Canberra Camp 14 - 18 May, Year 4 Anglesea Camp 30 May - 1 June, Year 5 Lady Northcote Camp 9 - 12 October, Year 3 Urban Camp 10 - 12 December.

ARTIFICIAL TURF I’m sure you will agree with me that the artificial turf project looks wonderful, and our students have been enjoying the surface, and the colour, all week. Many thanks to Damien La Rosa and his team at Tiger Turf for a very professional job, and to everyone who made the project possible.

PARENTS AND FRIENDS ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING A final reminder that the AGM of the Parents and Friends Committee will be held tonight at 7.00pm in the staffroom. All welcome.

ANZAC DAY All students and teachers and a number of parents attended our Anzac Day ceremony on Tuesday in the gym. The school choir and Gabby’s singers led the National Anthem and sang the Last Anzac, and our school captains shared the story of the Anzacs with all. At the conclusion of the whole school ceremony which included the Last Post, a minute’s silence and Rouse, a number of our students joined with Alexander Jenkins, Great Papa of Patrick (3/4F) and Sophie (2B), and his grandson Ryan (father of Sophie and Patrick and also in the Defence Forde) to plant our Gallipoli Oak seedling and to unveil a plaque which outlines in detail the significance of the tree. Alexander, now in his mid 90s, served in the Air Force in WW2, and his own father served at Gallipoli, and it was therefore very fitting that he played a key role in this ceremony. The seedling is planted near the Winston Road gates – please stop for a minute and read the plaque affixed to the fencing surrounding it. Many thanks to the Jenkins family for the role you played in this special day, and to Alexander and all service men and women for everything you have done for our country. Thank you to our school gardener, Dani King, and handyman, Trevor Ruddock, for getting everything in order at short notice to make the ceremony happen.

WORKING BEE The Term 2 Working Bee is scheduled for the morning of Saturday, May 26 and coincides with our 2019 Open Morning for prospective Foundation families. Sorry for any confusion caused with the advertisement of the wrong date!

FOUNDATION 2019 INFORMATION NIGHT This information night is scheduled for Thursday, May 3 commencing at 7pm in the science room. Looking forward to seeing many new and ‘current’ families there!!

FAMILY MATHS NIGHT And don’t forget the Family Maths Night to be held in the gym on Wednesday, May 2 commencing at 6pm. It’s always a fun night and extremely well organised by Gill Nicholls and her team.

That’s it from me this week.

Kind regards,

Bill Kersing

PRINCIPAL

EMPOWERING BYSTANDERS WORKSHOP Next Wednesday 2nd may all our Year 3-6 students will participate in an anti bullying session at school titled Empowering Bystanders. The approach for this session is to work with students as bystanders to reduce bullying and unkind behaviour at school. It is built on the firm belief that the vast majority of students at any school DO NOT bully or harass others. This majority come to school day after day, treating those around them respectfully, and like the staff, want their school to be free from bullying. Workshops are presented by highly experienced Youth Worker and Media Creator Jamie Roberts aim to Empower Bystanders (The vast majority of students!) through providing them with a range of effective strategies should they be confronted with bullying or unkind behaviour, as well as developing their understanding on why a small number of students may choose to treat others unkindly. Most importantly, the many good reasons to get through a school day without putting others down according to students are shared and explored!

MATHS GAMES BORROWING LIBRARY In order to support and extend our students’ mathematical learning we are pleased to make available to our families a library of maths games and activities that can be borrowed for home use. The games are most suitable for Foundation to Year 2 students but may also suit students either side of this suggested range. By borrowing the games and activities you become more engaged in your child’s learning and important number concepts and skills are reinforced through fun family time. The games and activities available cover the following concepts – number recognition, counting, place value, addition and subtraction. The games will be stored in the school library, hanging on a rack just inside the door to the left. Hanging storage sleeves hold multiple copies of the games. Each zip lock bag contains all the equipment needed for each activity or game. If you wish to borrow a game, please fill in the borrowing book near the stand and take the zip lock bag home. Games can be borrowed for up to 2 weeks. When returning the game please ensure all items are present in the bag. Enter the date returned next to your name in the borrowing book and try to place the game back into the correct hanging storage sleeve. Families may borrow 2 games at a time. If you find any equipment missing from a game please leave a note within the game bag so that it can be replaced and leave the bag on the borrowing table.

The Benefits of Learning Through Games

People of all ages love to play games that are fun and motivating. Maths games give students opportunities to explore fundamental number concepts, such as counting sequences, one-to-one correspondence, and computation strategies. Engaging mathematical games can also encourage students to explore number combinations, place value, patterns, and other important mathematical concepts. They provide opportunities for students to deepen their mathematical understanding and reasoning, notice new patterns, relationships, and strategies.

Games are an important tool for learning.

• Playing games encourages strategic mathematical thinking as students find different strategies for solving problems and deepen their understanding of numbers.
• When played repeatedly, games support students’ development of computational fluency.
• Games present opportunities for practice.
• Games have the potential to allow students to develop greater familiarity with our number system and engage in computation practice, building a deeper understanding of operations.
• Games support a school-to-home connection. Parents can learn about their children’s mathematical thinking by playing games with them at home.
• Games build positive social skills such as taking turns, sharing and being a good winner and loser.

Our Maths Games Borrowing Library will be unveiled at the Family Maths Night on Wednesday May 2. Games will be able to be borrowed on the night and any time after this date. I hope you are able to take advantage of the games provided. Over time we will add to the library and if you have any suggestions or feedback, let me know.

Have a great week

Gill Nicholls

Have a great week

Gill Nicholls

Please note that Term 2 Expenses have been posted on Compass and are now overdue. The preferred method of payment is via the Compass Parent Portal. Please refer to "Course Confirmation/Payment" under "My News" on your homepage and follow the prompts. You may also pay in person at the school office. Excursions require consent via "Events" also on your homepage highlighted in green. If you are experiencing any difficulty paying term expenses, please contact me.

Thank you

Lucy Addati

BUSINESS MANAGER

MOTHER'S DAY STALL This year’s Mother’s Day Stall will be held on Friday 4th of May, 2018. Children are asked to bring no more than $10.00 to purchase some quality goodies for their Mums, Grandparent, Aunties or Special person. Please remember to bring your money and a carry bag with you on the day. For this to run smoothly parent helpers are required to assist with the setup, selling of gifts and packing up the stall which will run throughout the entire day…. so if you are available please contact me via email cazstar@optusnet.com.au (Mob: 0410 039 554)

ENTERTAINMENT BOOK AND DIGITAL MEMBERSHIP Purchase your Entertainment Membership NOW to help Viewbank Primary School raise much needed funds! Viewbank Primary School are again fundraising with the very popular Entertainment Book or Digital Membership. You'll receive hundreds of valuable offers for everything you love to do, and help our fundraising at the same time. Hurry, Entertainment Memberships sell out quickly.

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.

DRUM AND STRING LESSONS A few places have become available for lessons in Drum Kit. These fill quickly! Forms can be collected from the school office, alternatively, you may contact Gabriella - 0413 676 733 There is also a place left for the Strings program (violin/cello).

ANZAC ASSEMBLY Well done and thank you to all choir and singing students involved in the special ANZAC Assembly on Tuesday. Students once again gave a moving rendition of the National Anthem and “The Last ANZAC”.

CRAFT/CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS Dear Parents/Guardians, The Year 3 students will soon be participating in an Inquiry unit about sustainable design. In our ‘Tuning In’ stage, students will be constructing creations using different materials. We are asking for donations of craft/construction materials for the students to work with. This can be anything from yarns and fabric, to boxes and clean recyclable plastic, to fastening materials like split pins. For safety reasons, we will not be accepting or working with tools or hardware during this task. If you have item/s you wish to donate, please drop them in to any of the Year 3 classroom teachers by Friday 18th May. We thank you for your ongoing support! Year 3 team

THE VICTORIAN PREMIER'S READING CHALLENGE The Victorian Premier's Reading Challenge (VPRC) has commenced for this year. Registration forms are available on Compass and from the Office. Students in Foundation to Year 2 are required to read 30 books (20 from the Challenge list) and students in Year 3 - 6 are required to read 15 books (10 or more from the Challenge list). The Challenge finishes on the 7th September so there is plenty of time to meet the Challenge. Successful students will have their names published in Honour Roll on the Challenge website and will be issued with a certificate in early December. Are you up to the Challenge?

BOOK CLUB Issue 3 catalogues have sent home this week. All orders are due by Wednesday 2nd of May. Every dollar you spend earns points to buy more books for the Library. Thank you for your support.

Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund (CSEF) The Government assisted ‘Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund’ provides payments for eligible students to attend camps, sports and excursions. Applications for the Governments ‘Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund’ can be accessed by filling out the form available on Compass, at the office or via the link below. To be eligible for this funding, you need to hold a current Pension or Health Care 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 will be automatically allocated to the Term Expenses unless otherwise stated by the parent at the start of the year.

TRANSITION DATES Please download the below timeline for your future reference.

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

YEAR 6 INTER SCHOOL SPORT REPORTS

AFL On Friday 20th of April, Viewbank played AFL against Charles La Trobe College. The game was very fast paced and an enjoyable match for our team. Charles La Trobe College never stopped trying and ran their hearts out. The Viewbank team had some great players like Thomas V.P. He fought hard for 3 goals and one point, whilst also making key passes. Max played a great game, having fantastic shots at goal and strong tackles. Island read the play well and was always in a position to help the team. Awo was great at avoiding tackles and also made great passes. In the end it was an amazing game. Viewbank ended up the winners. We can't wait for our next game!

TEE-BALL On Friday the 20th the Viewbank Tee-ball team played against Charles La Trobe College. It was our first match and everybody was nervous, yet ecstatic, to play against another team for the first time. In the first innings the girls Tee-ball team was off to a rough start. Charles La Trobe were putting up a big score, but the girls came back strongly to end the match with a hard-earned win. The second round came and it was the boys Tee ball team’s turn. The boys had an amazing start, and continued playing strongly throughout their game. Some incredible batting skills where performed by Sakvith and Jamison. And great fielding! Overall, the boys’ teamwork was awesome and helped them earn their win!

NETBALL A On Friday April 20th Viewbank Primary played against Charles La Trobe College in an enjoyable and moving netball match. We all played great and the opposition team was fun to play against. In the end, the A team only played two quarters of 10 minutes and for the second two quarters we combined our teams to experience playing with people we didn’t know. The points we scored during the combined quarters weren’t recorded because they were for fun. After the match, the ending scores were 15 – 3 our way. For a first game, it was a great way to start of the season! Everyone played well and had fun!

NETBALL B On Friday the 20th of April Viewbank B Netball girls went to Charles La Trobe College for inter school sport. It was a great match and everyone tried their hardest. Some individuals who played well were Sara (she made some amazing passes and throws), as well as Freya who scored some great points for the team. It was our very first match. We learned a lot and had an amazing experience. The final scores for the B team were 29 to 0 our way. We had a lot of fun and are looking forward to our next match!

Hi Viewbank Parents and Families,

Welcome to term 2, we hope the school holidays were jam packed with fun!! We had Vacation Care running during the school holidays and we had a great two weeks. We had two excursions where we went to Inflatable World in Bundoora and a Carnival Day at Kingswood College. We also had some incursions where the children participated in some activities based on the Commonwealth Games and a Petting Farm came to the school. We are starting to plan the June Vacation Care so please keep an eye out for information. This weeks goal is to be resourceful and use our materials that are under used. For example, we have a lot of scrap paper so we will be using this for many of our activities. Some of the activities that we have planned are pipe cleaner creations, cornflour paint, clothes peg dragonflies and straw planes. We look forward to term 2 and invite the new families in the school to come and see our OSHClub Space.

Thanks,

The Viewbank OSHClub Team

Taryn Fletcher

Viewbank OSHClub Coordinator

PH: 0448075422

E: viewbank@oshclub.com.au