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)

DECEMBER REPORTS AND 2019 CLASSES The final touches and changes are being applied to December reports and our 2019 classes as I type, in preparation for our Transition day next Tuesday, and then the distribution of reports next Wednesday. Our current Grade 6 students head off to their Secondary Schools for Orientation on Tuesday, December 11, and this is therefore the perfect opportunity for our 2019 students to spend 9.30am until 11.00am meeting their new teacher, with their new classmates in their 2019 classroom for the first time. You will be informed via Compass some time on Wednesday, December 12, when your child’s end of year report is available for download, with written slips coming home as well indicating your child’s 2019 teacher and class..

PUPIL FREE DAY In lieu of a planning ‘week’, Monday, December 17 is set aside as a pupil free day in order for staff to plan in teams for 2019. As is usual, full day care is available via OSHClub.

SCHOOL COUNCIL The final School Council Meeting for the year is scheduled for Thursday, December 13 from 6pm. Councillors will be advised via email the venue for this meeting, with all paperwork distributed for the meeting this Friday.

VIETNAM TOUR Gill Nicholls and I spent all of last week at Doan Thi Diem School in Hanoi at their invitation. We are forging a sister school relationship with them, and we accompanied Watsonia North Primary School as six of their staff and twenty of their students undertook an exchange visit. During our stay, Gill and I presented to the School Board and staff outlining our approaches to education in Victoria and more pertinently, Viewbank. We drafted a Memorandum Of Understanding between our two schools, and began planning to host twenty of their students from June 3 to June 14, 2019. We also identified November 2020 as the proposed ‘window’ for twenty of our own (current Grade 3 and 4 students) to tour Vietnam in 2020. We spent a good deal of time at the school during the week, were treated with amazing hospitality and friendship and got to witness and experience Watsonia North’s visit – a great blueprint for us to use in planning our own visit in 2020. We will commence planning and discussions with our school community in Term 1 next year, and we will advise of an Information Night shortly thereafter where our friends at Watsonia North (staff, parents and students) have kindly agreed to come out and talk to you, in support of our presentation and the exchange program generally.

I hope you enjoy the weekend.

Kind regards,

Bill Kersing

Principal

2019 PLANNING This term, we will not be having a Planning Week as all staff will plan for 2019 during the Curriculum Day to be held on Monday 17th December. Our new 2019 teaching teams will meet on that day to plan the Literacy, Numeracy and Inquiry curriculum for Term 1.

All classes will begin the 2019 school year with our whole school Fresh Start program that sets the scene for the new school year and focuses on:

• Developing our School Culture and Expectations
• Understanding our School Values
• Social and Emotional Learning
• Getting to Know each other
• Health & Wellbeing
• Developing Resilience and a Growth Mindset
• Understanding our Rights and Developing Respectful Relationships

Early next year, we will also be holding our Information Night for each year level so that parents can gain a more comprehensive understanding of the curriculum, expectations and events at each year level and ask any questions. This night will be followed by the Getting To Know You Interviews where parents can share relevant information with the new class teacher about their child.

I encourage all parents to support their child during the transition process by displaying a positive attitude, keeping an open mind, openly discussing any concerns a child may have and acknowledging uncomfortable feelings. Having a growth mindset is a recommended approach.

ALTERED SPECIALIST TIMETABLE To accommodate the many end of year events our normal Specialist timetable will conclude at the end of this week. For the remaining two weeks, children will attend a range of specialist lessons but these may be on different days.

END OF YEAR REPORTS Teachers have completed the end of year student reports and they are currently being finalised before being sent out to parents via Compass on Wednesday 12 December. Teachers have spent a great deal of time in recent weeks assessing each student carefully in order to accurately place them on the learning continuum and communicate the child’s learning achievements and areas for continued growth.

YEAR 5 AND YEAR 6 POLO TOPS 2019 Just a reminder that the sport polo tops for Years 5 and 6 and the Year 6 polo top are available for order through our uniform supplier A Plus School Wear (My Uniforms). Parents may order these items online, by completing a uniform order form and leaving it at the office or by visiting the store. All details are available by following the UNIFORM link later in the newsletter.

The Year 6 jumper will be finalised early in Term 1 and will then be available to order in a similar way.

Have a great week.

Gill Nicholls

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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2018 VIEWBANK PRIMARY SCHOOL CHRISTMAS RAFFLE

• 1st PRIZE - $100 Coles Myer gift card & $60 Cadbury pack
• 2nd PRIZE - $50 Coles Myer gift card & $60 Cadbury pack
• 3rd PRIZE - $30 Coles Myer gift card & $60 Cadbury pack

$1.00 PER TICKET

PLEASE RETURN TICKETS TO OFFICE BY FRIDAY 14TH DECEMBER

DRAW WILL TAKE PLACE AT THE SCHOOL ON TUESDAY 18TH DECEMBER WITH RESULTS PUBLISHED ON COMPASS

WINNERS CAN COLLECT THEIR PRIZE FROM THE OFFICE

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

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

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.

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.