Friday 3rd August - Principal's Day 2018
Wednesday 8th August - Year 6 Graduation Photo to be taken
Friday 10th August - Special Lunch Day (Hot Dog) orders due by today
Wednesday 15th August, 6 – Family Science Night, 7:30pm
Thursday 16th August - Special Lunch Day (Hot Dog)
Friday 24th August - Fathers Day Stall
Thursday 30th August - Cybersafety parent session 6:30pm
Thursday 13th September - Footy Day Special Lunch Day (Pie/Sausage roll)
2018 SCHOOL DANCE - Monday, September 17 (for students with surnames starting with A-F), Tuesday, September 18 (G-O) and Wednesday, September 19 (P-Z). The La Trobe University Union Hall, 7pm until 9.30pm.
ANNUAL WORKING BEES — Saturday August 18 (Term 3), Saturday November 3 (Term 4)
PUPIL FREE DAYS — Monday December 17
TERM DATES — TERM 3: Monday 16 July - Friday 21 September, TERM 4: Monday 8 October - Friday 21 December
CAMP DATES — Year 5 Lady Northcote Camp 9 - 12 October, Year 3 Arrabri Lodge Camp 29 - 31 October.
STATE SCHOOLS SPECTACULAR The 2018 Victorian State Schools Spectacular will be staged at Hisense Arena on Saturday 15 September 2018. As one of the largest recurring productions in Australia, the Victorian State Schools Spectacular brings together over 3000 school students performing as a 64 piece orchestra, 1300 voice choir, 1200 mass dancers, 30 lead vocalists, 16 principal dancers, 20 ensemble dancers, 8 backing vocalists, roller skaters and puppeteers and much more. Under the direction of Jackie Rielly, we have 12 Viewbank PS students performing as part of the mass dancers this year, and they have been rehearsing for a number of months now. Suddenly, it’s just over a month away. I encourage you to go along and see this production – it is simply wonderful.
WORKING BEE I also encourage you to attend this term’s working bee, scheduled for Saturday morning (9am-12noon) on August 18. It’s the type of school activity that caters for all skills sets – those with tradesperson skills, through to those like me who can provide manual labour , because I regularly fail home handymanship!! Hoping you can make it!
PARENT OPINION SURVEY I will be reminding our parent Community every week for the next few weeks to PLEASE take the time to complete the online parent opinion survey. Last year we had 28 replies from 215 invitations!! Even if you think everything is wonderful (!!), take the time to say so, and if you find it less so, we need the feedback. Thank you!
NAPLAN ONLINE 2019 Kylie Kirkwood and myself ventured out to Parkmore Primary School last week to take part in some training in preparation for NAPLAN 2019. Next year, students will be undertaking NAPLAN online, which is a significant change from the current status quo, which is largely pencil and paper. We will be undertaking some preparatory activities in mid August with some classes trialling the testing to help measure our readiness for next year. We will be at great pains to explain that these are in fact trials, so if your child comes home and mentions further NAPLAN testing, you now know the ‘back-story’!
2018 SCHOOL DANCE This year’s Viewbank PS Dance performances are scheduled for Monday, September 17 (for students with surnames starting with A-F), Tuesday, September 18 (G-O) and Wednesday, September 19 (P-Z). The La Trobe University Union Hall is the setting for these nights which run from 7pm until 9.30pm. There will be two tickets per family to begin with, with round table seating catering for approximately 440 people. Each grade level will perform 3 or 4 dances for your entertainment with the opportunity for family dancing on many occasions throughout the night. Tickets will go on sale via TRY Booking on or near August 27, with extra tickets becoming available on or near September 10 depending if each night has been sold out or not. Please watch this space for further details.
A CHILD IS BORN Congratulations to our Phys Ed teacher, Blair Morton, and his wife Joy on the birth of Jack Henry Morton last Saturday, July 28. Everyone is doing very well.
PAVING I was wondering, and hopeful, that we have a paver within our school community, who would like to put his/her hand up to do a paving job (paid), near the front gates at a mutually convenient time. Please contact Bill or the General Office at your earliest convenience.
Have a great weekend.
Kind regards,
Bill Kersing
Principal
INQUIRY It’s always busy around the school but since the start of term 3 it really has been a hive of activity. Last week, I had the pleasure of being invited by the Year 1 students to share their Inquiry actions. They have been investigating managing their environment and that meant the three action groups were busy at work. The Pocket Park, first developed in 2017, was being given a tidy up with the birdbath being painted, a new vertical garden being added as well as a lovely new sign. The planting group had invited Dani, our school gardener and Bec from Bunnings to come out with a variety of plants to be planted into the garden beds along the basketball courts. They also installed new plant beds in the middle courtyard. I was given very helpful advice about how to dig the hole and get the plant out of the container without hurting the roots. The children really were the experts. The final group had been very busy writing a letter to Banyule Council asking about improvements to the local area and they went for a walk on Tuesday to post it. Let’s hope they get a timely response. It’s wonderful seeing our students actively engaged in their learning - investigating areas they are interested in and taking action. Our school community was informed about the new plants around the school at assembly on Monday and there are also signs placed near the planting sites, so let’s hope everyone joins with our year 1 students to improve our school environment. On Wednesday, it was an absolute joy to wave goodbye to our very excited Foundation students as they left on the bus for their first excursion, to CERES at Brunswick. They were ‘finding out’ about other cultures for their Inquiry. A much quieter and very tired group arrived back at lunchtime, with many sporting ochre face paint and interesting stories to tell, after a morning learning about Aboriginal and African cultures. These examples are being repeated across the school at all levels as our students are busy tuning in, finding out, sorting out, reflecting and taking action for their Inquiry topic. Our students’ curiosity is being ignited, their thinking challenged and they are becoming active citizens. It's a pleasure to be part of this learning and wonderful to see so many parents also engaging in the learning process by offering their services at expos, donating items, assisting in activities and encouraging their children to investigate an interest further at home. Our Inquiry consultant, Dr Jeni Wilson will be returning to Viewbank next Monday and Tuesday to check in with each of the teaching teams. She will answer teacher questions, advise on present Inquiry topics and guide teachers in the planning of future Inquiry topics.
DANCE LESSONS If your child hasn’t told you about their weekly dancing lesson yet, make sure you ask them about it. The gym is ‘dance central’ each Monday and Tuesday as all year levels participate in a fun filled dance session with Sarah. I’ve witnessed some very cool moves this week and it’s only week two. I can’t wait to see the final result at our whole school dance at the end of term.
SAKG And just to make my week extra special I was invited to a SAKG lunch on Wednesday by Chris and the lovely students of 4R. Thank you so much for preparing my mouth-watering lunch of chargrilled eggplant, hummus, Greek salad and wheat tortillas. It made my day!
SECOND HAND UNIFORMS TO SORT In recent weeks, we have had many kind donations of second hand uniforms. However, we are now in desperate need of some kind helpers to assist in sorting the uniform items into sizes and placing them in tubs ready for the next second hand uniform sale. This will be at the school Working Bee on Saturday 18th August. If you are able to help for half an hour after assembly on Monday or any other convenient time during the week, can you please call into the office and register your interest.
Have a great week
Gill Nicholls
Parents Duty of Care – Late Arrivals and Early Leavers It is parent’s responsibility to accompany their child to the office when their child arrives after 9am so they can be signed in and record their attendance accurately. When you record the late arrival in Compass it provides us the explanation but does not mark your child as present. When you present at the office staff will record your child’s actual arrival time which updates the class roll.
Sick Bay Sometimes it can be tricky to discern whether or not your child is fit to attend school. Click here for a useful guide to help you decide. As our sick bay tends to be a busy hub, please send a note along with your child whether you are prepared to collect them early if we call. If we call for your child to be picked up and you are unavailable please make other arrangements as it not acceptable or practical to accommodate a sick child at school for the whole day.
Dispensing Medication Medications such as antihistamines and paracetamol are not stored or dispensed to students unless they are supplied from home with a signed parent Medication Authority Form.
Public Health and Wellbeing Regulations 2009 It is the parent’s responsibility to advise the school if their child is away from school and alert us of notifiable diseases as per School Exclusion Table. Click here to see the table.
Term Expenses Term 3 expenses have been posted on Compass and are overdue. Please note that some year levels will have an extra inquiry activity which will involve an additional cost from the term expenses.
Kind regards
Lucy Addati
Business Manager
SPECIAL LUNCH DAY (Hot Dog in fresh roll) Please find attached a link for our Special Lunch Day to be held on Thursday 16th August, 2018. CLICK HERE TO ORDER NOW Please place orders by Friday 10th August, 2018.
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/XHDF
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.
Principal's Day 2018 - Friday 3rd August 2018 Principal's Day is an opportunity to recognise the amazing work performed by our principal Bill Kersing, and assistant principal Gill Nicholls. Their leadership is essential to making our school a vibrant and stimulating place to be. Both Bill and Gill are approachable at any time, for parents, students and teachers. They greet everyone with a smile and take an active interest in every family within the school. They work tirelessly throughout the school day, and are also involved in many out of hours activities for the school community, giving a lot of personal time to ensure our school community is supported and running smoothly. Your actions inspire our students and teachers to dream more, learn more, do more and become more. Thank you for being there to support our children, and our teachers.
Kate Ryan
School Council President
POCKET PARK The Year 1’s have been learning about Natural, Constructed and Managed features in our local community and we decided that we wanted to find out how to better manage an area within our school. The Year 1s last year built the Pocket Park and we have continued to look after it, add to it and enjoy it. The action team created some great design ideas for our Pocket Park, and voted on which ideas would best improve the space and make it an even more relaxing place for students to visit at recess and lunchtimes. Over the last three weeks, the students have worked hard to make their vision come to life. The result is a beautiful space for all Viewbank Primary School students to be able to relax and practise mindfulness. We have used Native Australian plants in the Pocket Park because they survive better in the weather that we have, and the area that we have planted them. We used recycled things in the Pocket Park to make it look better. We learnt about upcycling and Sustainability. We learnt that you don’t always have to buy things to make a positive change in the community. We would like to thank all of the VPS families who donated their time, ideas, suggestions, plants and other supplies. We couldn’t have completed this project without the help of our school community! The Pocket Park is a space for everyone to enjoy. We ask that everyone looks after it and is careful not to knock things when relaxing there.
BOOK CLUB Issue 5 catalogues have been sent home this week. All orders are due by Wednesday 8th of August. Every dollar you spend earns points to buy more books for the Library. Thank you for your support.
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.
SEMESTER 2 INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC Students are invited to join the Instrumental Music Program in Term 3. Lessons (limited places) are available for the following instruments:
- Violin and Cello – Prep to 6
- Drum Kit – Years 2 to 6
- Flute – Years 2 to 6
- Singing – Some places available Years 2 to 6
SCHOOL CHOIR Every Wednesdays, 8.30, in the Music room. Everyone Welcome!
Hi Viewbank Parents and Families, We can't believe it is already week 3 of term 3! Here at OSHClub we have had a busy first few weeks, we have had several visitors from head office helping us prepare for our assessment in August and September. We are in the process of making some changes around our OSHClub space and would love feedback from Parents, families and the Viewbank community. At our morning meetings with the children we have asked for activity and menu suggestions, the children have put forward great ideas. We are also creating a philosophy that represents our service, we would like parents and families to share their knowledge with OSHClub and help us create a philosophy, plan the program and menu. We have created a suggestions box or please feel free to come and have a chat with us as we love getting to know our Viewbank families and wider community. Next Wednesday is Sandy's last day with us at OSHClub, we are going to get a small gift and some flowers for her if you would like to donate towards the gift to say thank you for her service to the school it would be greatly appreciated. We are going to have a big breakfast spread on Wednesday morning so if you would like to come and say goodbye you are more than welcome to attend. This week's theme is fun with paper, we are doing a variety of activities that involve paper like: origami, paper weaving, paper Slinkys and a paper plane competition. We are also doing some cooking, outside play, handball and just dance.
Many thanks,
The Viewbank OSHClub Team.
THE PIONEER CAFE - 2 Station Rd, Rosanna VIC 3084
The AGC will be visiting Viewbank Primary School on Monday August 13, 1pm
All Big Group Hug donations can be left in the Grade 3/4F classroom.