Monday 3rd December - Gabby’s Singers - Carols @ Greensborough Plaza - 11am

Monday 3rd December - Special Lunch Day orders close. Order Now

Tuesday 4th December - Viewbank Primary Parents & Friends end of year social parents dinner - Everyone welcome!! 7:30pm BOOK NOW

Thursday 6th December - Special Lunch Day

Friday 14th December - 2018 Parent Helpers' Morning Tea 10:45am

Monday 17th December - Pupil Free Day

Tuesday 18th December - Year 6 Graduation at Viewbank College

Tuesday 12th February - 2019 School Photos

Saturday 4th May - Parent Fundraising Event - Disco Bingo (Save the date).

TERM DATES

• 2018 TERM 4: Monday 8th October - Friday 21st December (1:30pm finish)
• 2019 TERM 1: Tuesday 29th January (All students start on Thursday 31st January) - Friday 5th April (2:30pm finish)
• 2019 TERM 2: Tuesday 23rd April - Friday 28th June (2:30pm finish)
• 2019 Term 3: Monday 15th July - Friday 20th September (2:30pm finish)
• 2019 Term 4: Monday 7th October - Thursday 20th December (1:30pm finish)

CAMP DATES

• Year 3: Arrabri Lodge Camp (Mon 05Aug to Wed 07Aug)
• Year 4: Anglesea Recreation Camp (Mon 03Jun to Wed 05Jun)
• Year 5: Lady Northcote Recreation Camp (Tue 08Oct to Fri 11Oct)
• Year 6: Canberra Camp (Mon 27May to Fri 31May)

Hello From Vietnam Gill Nicholls and myself have spent a wonderful five days so far as the guests of Doan Thi Diem School in Hanoi, as we commence planning for Viewbank PS to host twenty of their students from June 3 to June 14 in 2019 and then for our own student visit to Vietnam in 2020 (around late October, early November). We are currently accompanying 20 Watsonia North PS students and six of their staff, where we were all treated like ‘rock stars’ at assembly on Monday. Since then Gill and I have attended classroom lessons, presented to the school board and staff on education in Victoria and Viewbank, developed a memorandum of understanding with the school, attended an excursion with the students and generally been immersed in the culture and school life in this part of Vietnam. We intend to use this experience to plan and implement our own tour in 2020 as we develop a long term sister school relationship with Doan Thi Diem. Not having been to Vietnam before, it has certainly been an amazing experience. These photos won’t truly do justice!!

Kind regards,

Bill Kersing

Principal

JSC DROUGHT RELIEF FUNDRAISER A fabulous effort to everyone who participated in the JSC – Drought Relief fundraiser on Friday. It was ironic that the day was cold and wet but this didn't spoil the fun. There was a vast array of animals represented as well as many farmers dressed ready for work. Thank you to our amazing JSC for promoting the day and our school community for supporting the fundraising where we raised $738.90.

Have a great week.

Gill Nicholls

Election Day Thank you to everyone involved with the fundraising that occurred on Saturday while the community came and voted. From the coordinators, BBQ chefs, parents who provided baked goods, parents involved in getting our Kitchen Garden produce ready, and those who 'manned' the stalls (plus all those I have forgotten!). Viewbank Primary School is so fortunate to have such a committed community. THANK YOU!

Foundation Fire Brigade Visit There was much excitement in our Foundation classes on Tuesday morning, a visit from the Melbourne Fire Brigade - Station 15! Fire awareness and safety is so important for our students to know. Unfortunately, bad fires are a part of our lives with bush fires in summer, and heater issues for some in winter. The students were allowed to climb through the back of the cabin, and used the hose. I think our teachers enjoyed using the hose as much as the students!

Book Fair Thank you to everyone who supported the Book Fair last week. It was a huge success with $4,000 worth of books being sold. Thank you to all staff involved in coordinating and supporting this event, but in particular, Mr Walker and Mrs Buissink who took on a big job at such a busy time of the year!

School Starting Date In 2019 While it has snuck into the Important Diary Dates, Term Dates above, I would just like to ensure that you are fully aware that the first day for all students (Foundation to Grade 6) will be Thursday 31st January. Please note that day care is available through OSHClub.

PUPIL FREE DAY - Monday, 17th December In case you have missed this, the final pupil free day for 2018 is scheduled for Monday, December 17 where staff will use the full day to plan for 2019. This is in lieu of our normal planning week arrangements which have been common to Terms 1 to 3. Please note that day care is available through OSHClub on this day.

Regards,

Patrick Walsh

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 returning it 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 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 are requiring any assistance with Compass (logging-in, attendance, installing the App etc) please contact the office.

2019 SCHOOL CHARGERS  Payments can be made via Compass online from Saturday 22 December 2018 and are due by Monday 28 January 2019. Please be advised there are alternative payment options for families who may be experiencing financial hardship or who would prefer a regular payment plan. Please contact me if you wish to discuss these arrangements.

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Kind regards,

Lucy Addati

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VIEWBANK PRIMARY PARENTS & FRIENDS END OF YEAR SOCIAL PARENTS DINNER - EVERYONE WELCOME!! All parents & friends of Viewbank Primary School are invited to an end of year celebration dinner at Kai Mook Thai Restaurant in Lower Plenty. Tuesday 4th December, 7:30pm. Please click here to see the menu for food and pricing options.

This is a great opportunity to get together with current and future friends to finish off the school year. Everyone welcome!

For restaurant booking purposes can you please indicate via Trybooking your intention to attend the dinner. CLICK HERE TO BOOK

Parent assistance is required on this day. If you are available to assist in any way can you please email your details to viewbank.ps@edumail.vic.gov.au

https://www.trybooking.com/ZQMC

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.

EXPRESSION OF INTEREST Please email or text me your expression of interest to learn an instrument in 2019. Students wishing to continue with lessons next year can fill out the form below and return to the office, thank you. Please include in your email the students name, year level and chosen instrument (including voice). favrettogab@gmail.com or 0413 676 733

YEAR 3/4 GIRLS HOOPTIME BASKETBALL Congratulations to Georgia Groidis, Chloe Slots, Emily Jones, Jessica Read, Isabelle Read, Indiana Jovanovski and Madeline Hayes on reaching the quarter finals of State Hooptime Basketball Competition on Monday 26th November. Please join us in acknowledging this tremendous achievement at our assembly on Monday 3rd December.

SPORTING UNIFORMS As all Interschool and District Sport has finished for the year, please return all sporting equipment or uniforms that belong to the school. Please ensure these items are washed and dried, and returned to the main office or PE office. It is vitally important that these are returned to the school as they are expensive to replace.

2018 PARENT HELPERS’ MORNING TEA We are incredibly lucky at Viewbank to have many wonderful school community members who are willing to help us in so many ways.

Throughout the year, we have helpers assisting with reading, SAKG program, library, Book Club, school banking, sporting events, excursions, camps, Inquiry expos, working bees, School Council and its sub committees and Parents and Friends to name a just few.

We could not run the amazing programs that we do and provide the varied experiences to our students without the contributions made by our helpers.

To show our appreciation and say a big THANK YOU, we would like to invite everyone who has assisted this year to a special morning tea on Friday 14 December at 10.45am.

VPS CHESS CLUB 2019

Year 6 Graduation Tickets - Now on Sale (Year 6 Families Only) Preparations for the Year 6 Graduation for 2018 are continuing with the big night drawing closer! The Graduation is being held at the Viewbank College Performing Arts Centre, there will be a limit of 3 tickets per Year 6 family until December 3, after that date any remaining tickets will be open and available for purchase. Tickets are on sale at $10 each and can be purchased through TryBooking, https://www.trybooking.com/ZOAZ Please note that a ticket does not have to be bought for your Year 6 child. However, children over 3 will require a purchased ticket.

SCHOOL BANKING The last day of school banking REWARDS order is 30 Nov 2018. Students that have 10 tokens can order their rewards by 30 Nov 2018. Ps: Secret Scratch Notepad is out of stock

Big Group Hug would love it if we could collect some summer pyjamas, and some small items that could go into a bag for children in need. They have asked for pyjamas from size 2 – 14, small children’s toiletries such as shampoo, deodorant, lip balm or body wash. We are collecting new items rather than ‘used’ items this time.

We would love to fill our donations bin and we have emptied it so that it’s ready for all of your donations. The donations bin is kept in our room 3/4F room 18. The office will also accept your donations if you’re not sure where we are.

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

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

RUNNING GROUP Every Thursday from 8:15am on the oval, for any students in years 3-6. All abilities welcome. Pack a spare pair of socks/shoes in case the oval is damp. Hope to see you there!

Facility Hire Viewbank Primary School provides a venue for hire with kitchen facilities. Please submit a written application to the office, outlining the details of intended use via email at viewbank.ps@edumail.vic.gov.au Please note that conditions do apply. At the discretion of the school, venue costs may also be waived in some instances. All applications will be considered on a case by case basis

All Big Group Hug donations can be left in the Grade 3/4F classroom.