Thursday 4th April - Viewbank Primary Parents & Friends end of Term 1 parents social dinner - Everyone welcome!! ​, 7:30pm

Friday 5th April - Second Hand Uniform Sale, 8:30am to 9am

Friday 5th April - End of Term 1 - 2:30pm dismissal

Tuesday 23rd April - Term 2 commences

Saturday 25th May - Dolly's Disco Bingo, 7pm. Tickets will be on sale soon via Compass.

Thursday 8th August - The Resilience Project (students)

Monday 2nd September - The Resilience Project (parents)

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)

TIME FLIES WHEN YOU ARE HAVING FUN Hard to believe that we have arrived at the end of term, seemingly so quickly. Our Foundation students are now confidently strolling around the schoolgrounds at breaks and very familiar with routines and rules associated with school and feeling very much at ease at Viewbank – and learning whilst they are at it. Yesterday’s Grandparents and Special Friends Day was proof evident and I very much wish to thank all who attended and made it such a memorable day for our Foundation students.

For the rest of our students, it has been a productive term, and one that will be consolidated when we all return after our Term 1 break. We have much happening in Term 2 – the Canberra Camp for Grade 6 late May, the Anglesea Camp for Grade 5 early June, the visit and hosting of 20 students from Doan Thi Diem school, Vietnam, for the first two weeks of June, NAPLAN online in May, 2020 Foundation Information Night in May, Education Week Open Day and more.

FINAL ASSEMBLY OF TERM 1 Term 1 concludes at 2.30pm tomorrow after an assembly commencing at 2.05pm. The first day of Term 2 will be Tuesday, April 23.

WORKING BEE THANKS The weather was gloomy, and a tad wet to boot, and yet we had one of our largest attendances for a long time on Saturday. Thank you to everyone who braved the elements to attend – always so very much appreciated.

THINKUKNOW We have arranged for a Cybersafety Parent Information Night on Thursday, May 16, commencing at 7pm in the School Library. More information will be provided as the date nears, but please mark it in your diary (or electronic calendar) so that you don’t miss out. In preparation please check out their webpages at https://www.thinkuknow.org.au/. A program is also being organised for our Grade 5 and 6 students with dates currently being finalised.

As always, there is lots happening around the school over the break including the vacation cleaning, painting, some grounds works near our Gallipoli oak and other works. If you happen to be driving by and something suspicious appears to be happening, please don’t hesitate to contact the local police as your vigilance helps keep our school free from vandalism or unwanted trespassers.

I wish everyone a very happy vacation and Easter break and look forward to catching up with everyone again on Tuesday, April 23.

Kind regards,

Bill Kersing

Principal

It has certainly been a busy first term.

Every day there are exciting learning opportunities occurring across the school.

Many of these activities could not occur without the contributions from our wonderful parent and community helpers. Most mornings it is difficult to negotiate the Year 1 and 2 hallway due to the number of fantastic reading helpers who arrive and I know just as many make their way to 1R and 1G and the Foundation classes to listen to the students read. Each week, on a Tuesday and Wednesday many other volunteers come along to assist in either the garden or kitchen with the SAKG program for Year 3 and 4. At other times this term we have had a range of ‘experts’ come along to support Inquiry learning at various levels and share their knowledge with the students. Our amazing P and F helpers have organised and prepared special lunches for our students and where would we be without our dedicated helpers who sell icy poles every Friday. The eager volunteers who have assisted at the swimming trials and athletics day have allowed the days to run smoothly. We have also had fantastic helpers in the library, during excursions, for the Foundation welcome barbecue and at working bees. We could not possibly offer the range of opportunities we do without your help so THANK YOU from all the Viewbank staff. Your time and effort is greatly appreciated. (I hope I haven’t missed anyone out.)

Have a great holiday, stay safe, relax and recharge.

See you next term.

Gill Nicholls

Delta Dog at Viewbank Primary School A number of weeks ago, I put out a call to anyone who knows of someone in our community who has a pet therapy dog. We were fortunate to be put in contact with Chris, and she has an amazing Samoyed ‘fluff-ball’ called Ice (pictured below). Ice is a trained Pet Therapy dog - trained by Delta Society. Ice and Chris will be visiting Viewbank Primary School occasionally, and we are on the list for a more regular Delta Society Volunteer in Term 2 and beyond.

If you would like any information about the Delta Society, please go to https://www.deltasociety.com.au. If you have a dog that you think might meet the criteria to be trained by the Delta Society, please go to https://www.deltasociety.com.au/pages/upcoming-assessment-dates-.html

Thank you Ice and Chris!

The Resilience Project As mentioned in the Viewbank Voice on the31st January https://spark.adobe.com/page/rwcUfFWHBJTd0/ , The Resilience Project is coming to Viewbank Primary School. Please add the following dates to your diary:

• Student sessions: 8th August
• Parent session: 2nd September (the time is TBC but likely to be 7 – 8:30pm).

Below is some information about devices and sleep. While the infographic references phones, this is interchangeable with any device, including iPads.

Parent Tips

The following has been adapted from an article written by Michael Grose of Parenting Ideas. The full article can be accessed here https://www.parentingideas.com.au/blog/parenting-ideas-holiday-survival-guide/

Holidays are about kicking your feet up, relaxing and getting away from the usual routines. That’s how kids see holidays.

Holiday time can be stressful for many parents. Keeping kids busy, avoiding arguments and getting time for yourself can be hard parenting work during holidays. But school holidays don’t have to be stressful. It’s a great opportunity to get your family back on track, build strong relationships and set the tone for a positive future. These ideas will help:

(further explanations of each dot point can be accessed via clicking the link above to the original article)

• Establish a holiday routine
• Resist being an entertainment officer
• Arrange plenty of green-time, less screen-time
• Create one-on-one time
• Embrace festivities
• Team up with other families
• Prioritise parent education

Have a great holiday everyone. If you are spending time on the roads, please stay safe!

We would like to thank all school council members for their work throughout 2018 and at the same time welcome the new members joining council for 2019. Please remember that anyone in the school community is welcome to visit school council meetings, the next being Thursday 16th May at 7pm. You can also send suggestions or issues directly to the school council by emailing Sherlock.Ian.I@edumail.vic.gov.au. Let’s all look forward to a fantastic 2019 ahead with a busy Parents and Friends schedule (election day coming soon!) and discussions around improving the school Oval high on the agenda.

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CASH PAYMENTS MADE AT THE OFFICE As most payments are now made via Compass, we have very little cash to give as change when parents make cash payments at the office. Could you please endeavour to have the correct money when making payments at the office.

INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC FEES AND 2019 SCHOOL CHARGES ARE NOW OVERDUE 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.

TERM 2 EXPENSES Term 2 Expenses will be published on Compass tomorrow afternoon and are due by Friday 26th of April.

COMPASS If you have any questions about Compass, please do not hesitate to contact the office or refer to the Compass Parent Guide on your Compass Newsfeed. We will also be running a parent Compass workshop early in Term 2.

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.

Happy Easter!

Lucy Addati

Business Manger

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SECOND HAND UNIFORM SALE Friday 5th April - Second Hand Uniform Sale, 8:30am -9am (Next to the music room). Jumpers with the school logo and school dresses will be $5.00 and all other items $2.00. We are currently asking for donations of any unwanted reusable school uniform items to sell at our stall.

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.

BRIGHT STAR KIDS PERSONALISED NAME PRODUCTS We've teamed up with Bright Star Kids to help us raise funds and to decrease the amount of lost property. When you buy anything from their range of personalised name labels and school supplies (or anything else in their store) 20% of it will come back to our group.

Please remember to link up our group "VIEWBANK PRIMARY SCHOOL" in the Nominate a Fundraiser checkout section. Thanks for your support!

Visit their website: https://www.brightstarkids.com.au where you can buy directly from them and get it sent directly to your home.

STRINGS, DRUM KIT, GUITAR, UKULELE, FLUTE, SINGING, KEYBOARD AND PIANO

Information and “Expression of Interest” forms are available at the general office. Alternatively, you may contact Gabriella on 0413 676 733 or gabriella@the.inter.net.au

Live For Lily Fundraiser I would like to thank both the JSC and the wider Viewbank Primary School community for their very generous support on Tuesday for the icy pole lunch sales and the out of uniform day.

On the day we raised $810.00 for the Live For Lily Foundation.

We leave for our epic bike ride for the tour of Tassie on Sunday traveling 1,000km for the next 7 days. With your help, so far our group of 28 riders has been able to raise just over $200,000. This is amazing!!

This money, every cent goes towards funding a clinical trial for children with particularly aggressive or relapsed cancers that otherwise would be out of options. These trials will help in finding a cure for all childhood cancers.

Thanks for your great support

Janelle Spinks (Kiara's mum from 3/4L)

Victorian Premiers’ Reading Challenge The Victorian Premiers’ Reading Challenge is now open and Viewbank Primary School is excited to be participating. The Challenge is open to all Victorian children from birth to Year 10 in recognition of the importance of reading for literacy development. It is not a competition; but a personal challenge for children to read a set number of books by 6 September 2019. Children from Prep to Year 2 are encouraged to read or ‘experience’ 30 books with their parents and teachers. Children from Year 3 to Year 10 are challenged to read 15 books. All children who meet the Challenge will receive a certificate of achievement signed by the Victorian Premier and former Premiers. To read the Premier’s letter to parents, view the booklists and for more information about the Victorian Premiers’ Reading Challenge, visit: www.education.vic.gov.au/prc If you would like your child to participate in this years Challenge, please complete the consent form and return to school. On receipt of the signed consent form, Usernames and Passwords will be issued to enable access to your online account. Forms are available via Compass, the Front Office or the Library.

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

SCHOOL BANKING Don’t forget to hand your bankbooks into your class teacher every Tuesday for banking.

RUNNING GROUP Every Thursday from 8:15am on the oval, for any students in years 4-6. All abilities welcome. Pack a spare pair of socks/shoes in case the oval is damp. Hope to see you there!

SCHOOL CHOIR Every Wednesdays, 8.30, in the Music room. Everyone from Year 2 to 6 are welcome!

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

ANZAC Appeal items are currently available for purchase from the General Office at Viewbank Primary School