Tuesday 5th February - Information Night, 5pm - 7pm for Years 1, 5 and 6

Thursday 7th February - Information Night, 5pm - 7pm for Years 2, 3 and 4

Monday 11th February - Year 3 to 6 Swimming Trials

Tuesday 12th February - 2019 School Photos

Tuesday 12th February - Getting To Know You Interviews

Thursday 14th February - Getting To Know You Interviews

Friday 15th February - Foundation BBQ 5:30pm - 7:30pm

Thursday 28th February - District Swimming

Monday 11th March - Labor Day Public Holiday (No School)

Wednesday 13th March - Athletics Day, Year 3 to 6

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

TERM DATES

• 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)

I would like to take this opportunity to say ‘welcome back’ to all of our ‘continuing’ and ‘current’ families and welcome for the first time the new members of the Viewbank school community. 2019 sees 76 new Prep/Foundation students commence their lifelong education journey at Viewbank PS today, with more than 25 students and their families commencing at different grade levels across the school. We trust your stay with us will be a long and productive one.

As always, the five week break has meant a few projects have been able to be ticked off at school. Many thanks to the Buildings and Grounds Committee who did an amazing job on December 22 rotary hoeing a few bare patches on the oval and then planting turf which has grown and spread since, thanks to an efficient watering roster. The oval is looking great! We have also had new carpet laid in four of our Grade 1 and 2 classrooms, new LED lights installed in the top level of the Foundation/Grade 1 building and will have split systems installed in classrooms in the Grade 2 building and Foundation classrooms in upcoming weeks. There are new shade sails on display, toilets refurbished in the Southern classroom block, and a wall in the Grade 3 portable has been removed to enable team teaching in Ms Collins and Ms Lane’s rooms. A busy time all round!

Term 1 offers a number of highlights with ‘Getting To Know You’ interviews, Information Nights, School Swimming Sports, Foundation Family Welcome BBQ, Junior School Council Elections, School Council Elections, and more.

Like always, we encourage the community to keep informed by reading the newsletter religiously each week, bookmarking and visiting the school’s website frequently www.viewbankps.vic.edu.au, and asking many questions if in doubt. We further encourage you to ‘get involved’ in any way you can, which may include membership of any of the many sub-committees we have (Parents and Friends, Buildings and Grounds, Education, Communication), membership of School Council (I will be calling for nominations in next week’s newsletter!), submitting an expression of interest to attend camps as a parent helper, attending working bees, being a ‘reading’ parent, assisting with the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Program and more ... the list goes on!!

STUDENT LEADERSHIP POSITIONS It is my great pleasure to confirm the 2019 student leadership group, which will be completed in upcoming weeks with the election of Environmental Leaders, and Music and Japanese captains. Our School Captains received their badges from Anthony Carbines, MP for Ivanhoe, at an assembly in December, with our House Captains to receive their badges from Neville Jetta, Melbourne footballer and father of Lani (Grade 2) at an assembly in February. Congratulations to all students selected so far. We know they will serve as great role models for other students in the school during 2019 and we wish each and every one of them congratulations and good luck as they perform their duties during the year.

• School Captains – Zoe Bastian and Korey Behayeddin
• School Vice Captains – Caitlin Morris and Lachlan Deane
• Plenty House Captains – Phoenix Green and Elise Hall (Captains), Callan Sharp and Ivy Chen (Vice Captains)
• Yarra House Captains – Kiran Thomas and Reyna Laksita (Captains), Liam Dunn and Mia Ferguson (Vice Captains)
• Darebin House Captains – Ilyas Weli and Zara Li (Captains), Abdulrahman Abdulwahid and Charlotte White (Vice Captains)
• Diamond House Captains – Zach Stevens and Gretel Baulch (Captains), Cooper Ford and Charlotte White (Vice Captains)

WELCOME TO NEW STAFF It is my pleasure to welcome Bessie Grant to our school for the first time as she commences her career. Bessie will be teaching 1G in 2019. We welcome Sharon Groves to her first full time role with us as she teaches Grade 5/6G in 2019, as well as welcoming back from Family Leave Emma Sargeant and Jess Ellis who will be sharing the duties with Grade 1E, and Kori Lewis who will be taking physical education for Foundation on Fridays.

Due to personal reasons, Jen Cuthbertson will not be returning to Viewbank PS for 2019, but I am pleased to report that Kirsten Yates has been appointed to the vacancy thus created and will be teaching Foundation Y in 2019. Kirsten is an experienced teacher, having taught Foundation at other schools and I am sure will be a real asset for our school. In addition, she is very familiar with the routines and processes at our school, having taught English As An Additional Language during Term 3 of 2018, when Maralyn Lamb was on leave. Claire Kielty (2K) is on leave for the duration of Term 1 and Colleen Ottrey will take her place. In a similar ‘fashion’, Colleen is well known to that cohort of students having worked and volunteered in Grade 1 for most of 2018. I hope you will join with me in wishing all new and returning staff all the very best for 2019 and beyond, and supporting them in all that they do.

PUPIL FREE DAYS INCLUDING ADVANCE NOTICE! With the first two days of the school year set aside for staff professional development and preparation for the school year, you will be pleased to know there will be only two other pupil-free days for the remainder of 2019. The dates for these two days will be advised as soon as possible, subject to School Council approval.

SCHOOL SWIMMING TRIALS The Annual Swimming Trials for students in Grades 3 to 6 is set down for Monday, February 11 at the Water Marc pool in Greensborough. More information is below. Please mark the date in your diary and come along and support your children!!

NOTICES FOR APPROVAL Each year we distribute a form seeking blanket permission for students to undertake a range of activities – for example, permission to undertake local excursions within walking distance of the school, permission to publish photographs in the newsletter and so on. This year these permissions were added to Compass as part of the process when paying your school charges. If you did not complete your permissions online can you please collect a paper consent form from the office within the next week.

SCHOOL COUNCIL The first School Council meeting for the year, and the last for this current School Council, will be held at school on Thursday, February 21 from 7.00pm in the staffroom.

YARD SUPERVISION You will be aware that all of our staff are timetabled on for yard duty supervision at various times throughout the day. Supervision hours extend from 8.50am through to 3.40pm. Outside of those hours, if you cannot care for your child, we have an exemplary Out Of School Hours Care program (OSHC) that can cater extremely well for your child’s supervision. At morning recess (11.00am-11.20am), there are 4 teachers on yard duty at any time proudly wearing that much sought after fashion accessory (the fluoro vest!!) for easy recognition by our students. Similarly at lunch time (1.00pm – 2.00pm) there are 4 teachers on duty. Before school we have two teachers on duty and after school three. In addition throughout the year, Grade 6 students are nominated, selected and trained to be peer mediators, which we think definitely contributes to the resolution of minor disputes and assists in a harmonious, bully-free playground environment.

STAFF CAR PARK A reminder that the school property on the Northern side of the turning circle is the designated staff car park, and it is not to be used for parent car parking. Access in and out is one- way, and parents flaunting this rule, particularly at the busy pick up and drop off times, compromise the safety of our students and others. Please adhere to this request!

I hope the start of the school year was a good one for everyone!

Kind regards,

Bill Kersing

Principal

Welcome back everyone! I hope you had a great Christmas and New Year, and you have managed to keep cool during the past few weeks.

It was great to see and hear the buzz around the school this morning. The students were excited to see each other, and it was fabulous to see the parents reconnecting with each other again.

Student Wellbeing and Mental Health The transition back to school, and into a new school, can be a challenging time for children and parents! The following are some tips to help you get back into the swing of things in 2019!

• Set a regular bed time / sleep routine
• Turn technology off at least 1 hour before bed
• Establish a homework routine (for reading, tasks etc)
• Eat a healthy breakfast
• Give yourself a few extra minutes in the morning to get ready and out the door
• Make lunches the evening before
• Be positive about the return to school.

Does your child have some reservations about returning to school?

• Talk to your child, empathise
• Be a detective - attempt to find out the reason for reservations
• Remind your child of the friends they have at school
• Make sure your child knows where they will be picked up from, or what time you will be home
• Talk to your child’s teacher.

The Resilience Project is coming to Viewbank Primary School! Some of you may have heard about The Resilience Project, a fantastic program that delivers emotionally engaging programs to schools, sports clubs and businesses, providing practical, evidence-based, positive mental health strategies to build resilience and happiness. Keep an eye on the Newsletter for dates and times as we get closer – this will be one parent evening you will not want to miss! https://theresilienceproject.com.au

Bullying & Cyberbullying

What is bullying? Bullying is repeated verbal, physical, social or psychological aggressive behaviour by a person or group directed towards a less powerful person or group that is intended to cause harm, distress or fear.

What is not bullying? There are also some behaviours, which, although they might be unpleasant or distressing, are not bullying:

• mutual conflict — which involves a disagreement, but not an imbalance of power
• single-episode acts of nastiness or physical aggression, or aggression directed towards many different people, is not bullying
• social rejection or dislike is not bullying unless it involves deliberate and repeated attempts to cause distress, exclude or create dislike by others.

What is Cyberbullying? Cyberbullying is bullying using digital technologies including mobile phones, email and social media tools.

Advice for your child Be an active bystander If you know someone is causing problems, tell them why they should stop. If you don’t feel safe to say something yourself, tell someone who can take action. Even if the person being treated badly isn’t your friend they don’t deserve to be the victim of lies and pranks.

Create the sort of place you want to be in - online and offline. It is great to have friends and to look forward to talking with them at school or online—keep it fun by respecting yourself and others. Protect your private information. Don’t use passwords that are obvious (eg your favourite singer’s name) or tell even your trusted friends—some things should not be shared.

Ongoing teasing and spreading rumours are not ‘jokes’ Some people are mean to get a laugh from other people or to try to make themselves feel more interesting or important. They try to get your support by saying that they didn’t intend to hurt anyone’s feelings. Being a real friend is having the confidence to say when you think something they are doing is not ok, and accepting it when someone tells you that your behaviour is not ok.

Information taken from Victorian Government's Bully Stoppers. To read more information visit: https://www.education.vic.gov.au/about/programs/bullystoppers/Pages/default.aspx

Student accident insurance, ambulance cover arrangements and private property brought to school. Please be aware that the Department of Education and Training (DET) does NOT provide personal accident insurance or ambulance cover for students. Parents and guardians of students who do not have student accident insurance/ambulance cover are responsible for paying the cost of medical treatment for injured students, including the cost of ambulance attendance or transport, as well as any other transport costs. Private property brought to school by students, staff or visitors is not insured and DET does not accept responsibility for loss or damage. This can include mobile phones, toys, sporting equipment, bikes and scooters, and cars parked on school premises.

2019 Swimming Trials (Grades 3-6 students only) The Viewbank PS Swim Trials are to be held at WaterMarc Greensborough on Monday 11th February. The Swim Trials are held to select our strongest swimmers to represent our school at the District Swimming Carnival. To participate, your child must be able to confidently swim 50 metres in the chosen stroke/s without stopping or requiring assistance. At District Swimming level, students can only participate in a maximum of 2 individual events and 2 relay events. District competitors will be announced as soon as possible.

The District Team will consist of students with the overall fastest times in:

• Freestyle: 4 fastest swimmers per age group
• Backstroke: 4 fastest swimmers per age group
• Breaststroke: 4 fastest swimmers per age group
• Butterfly: 2 fastest swimmers per age group

Students turning 9 or 10 this year are classified as the same age group for all School Sport Victoria events. This usually means Year 3 students will compete against Year 4 and some Year 5 students. Ribbons will be presented at the conclusion of the trials as only the 4 fastest swimmers in each age group will be awarded a ribbon.

If you would like your child to participate in the Swimming Trials, please select this link https://vps.page.link/2019SwimTrials and complete the form.

This form is to give an indication of what events your child would like to compete in at the Swim Trials. Students may compete in as many events as they would like on the day. Please discuss your child's participation with them before completing the form.

If you are also available to help on the day, please indicate this in the appropriate section of the form. We need parents to help time students races, marshal students and general supervision/support of the students on the day.

All parent helpers must have a current Working With Children Check to help at the event.

Please complete the form (one per child in Years 3-6 who will participate) by 4pm on Tuesday 5th February. The payment and consent form for the trials will be made available on Wednesday 6th February and MUST be completed by Friday the 8th of February at 4pm.

Please note: the form is NOT the permission form for attendance at the swimming trials. It is also NOT compulsory for your child's participation. A normal school program will be run on the 11th.

If you have any questions, please contact Mr Morton via the Office.

Stay cool,

Patrick Walsh

A warm welcome to all members of our school community. I hope everyone managed to have a safe and relaxing holiday break.

There was an exciting buzz around the school this week as everyone arrived, met up with friends and headed into class to meet their new teacher and class mates. Some of our students may have had a few nerves but most managed to put on a brave face. Overall, we seem to have had a very positive start to the school year.

PARENT INFORMATION EVENINGS: Each year, we invite parents to come along to an Information Session presented by the staff at each Year level that outlines the curriculum, teaching approaches, organisation, expectations, homework requirements, camps, sport, etc. for the year.

This year, the Parent Information Evenings will be held for parents and guardians over two nights from 5.00pm-7.00pm.

• TUESDAY 5TH FEBRUARY - for Years 1, 5 and 6
• THURSDAY 7TH FEBRUARY – for Years 2, 3 and 4

Each teaching team will provide a formal, 30 minute presentation at TWO allotted times throughout the evening, in the designated rooms. Choose whichever session suits your family as they are both the same. (see schedule below)

Staff will be available at all other times between 5.00pm and 7.00pm to provide further information or answer questions. An information power point will be on continual play in each of the designated classrooms for parents to view at their leisure. There will also be a brochure for parents to take home and/or the information power point will be made available as a Compass newsfeed. All information will also be placed on the school website.

The Specialist team will be available on both nights to discuss their programs and answer questions. They will also have a power point presentation available for viewing. I encourage you to stop by, introduce yourself and find out about the wonderful programs your child participates in.

If you have questions about student progress or individual student learning needs, please wait to discuss this with your child’s teacher at the Getting to Know You Interviews to be held in week 3.

Please refer to the map following to see the location of the rooms that will be used for presentations. There will also be signs and staff to assist you to find you way around on the night.

We will not be holding another Information Night for Foundation parents as this was held late last year. Instead, a Reading Information evening will be scheduled for later this term, with further details available in the coming weeks.

Parents are invited to choose suitable times to attend the relevant formal presentations and use the remaining to time to visit the specialist team, watch the available power points or chat with class teacher.

CURRICULUM DAY – 30 JANUARY On Wednesday, the Viewbank staff were engaged in Professional Development. For the teaching staff, the morning session focussed on Writer’s Notebook, an approach to teaching writing that will gradually be introduced this year. During the afternoon, the teaching staff were introduced to School Wide Positive Behaviour Support, a systems approach for establishing the social, cultural and individualised supports needed for all students to achieve both social and academic success. The Education Support Staff spent the day completing their Level 2 First Aid qualifications.

I very much look forward to meeting our new families and catching up with our continuing families in the coming weeks.

Have a great week,

Gill Nicholls

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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 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 CHARGES Payments can be made via Compass. 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.

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 with 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.

Kind regards,

Lucy Addati

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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.

Students interested in learning an instrument in 2019 can do one of the following:

1. Contact Gabriella on 0413 676 733 or favrettogab@gmail.com
2. Pick up an expression of interest form from the office.
3. Keyboard/Piano – contact Ella ellac.blackburn@gmail.com
4. Guitar/Ukulele/Flute – contact James jameshmac22@yahoo.com.au

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

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