Issue 11 Thursday 27 April, 2017

ANZAC Day Ceremony:

Thank you to Mrs Crane and our student SRC leaders who presented our ANZAC Day Service on Monday and to Rosie Pryor for making the wreath for placement at our flag pole. I was so proud of how well the students read and very pleased with the high level of respect shown by our students during the service.

BUILDING WORKS: Although the weather has turned bad and the old wiring is holding us up, we are only 3 weeks behind sched-ule. Taking everything into account this is not too bad and with steel structures and panels being constructed off site as we speak, we should be getting back close to schedule over the next few weeks. As I mentioned last week, the remaining portables should be removed shortly and the site cleared ready for construction to commence on site. Please be aware that layers of soil will be removed and inspected for asbestos and then a top layer of soil is brought in on site before works commence. If you have any queries regarding our works please don’t hesitate to ask.

TRANSITIONING FROM PRIMARY TO SECONDARY SCHOOL:

(Based on DET document: http://www.education.vic.gov.au/school/parents/secondary ) Starting secondary school is one of the biggest steps in your child's life. As there are a variety of options for your child's secondary education; choose a school to suit your child's needs. You may want to make a list of things that are important to you and your child or visit the schools you are interested in; they welcome en-quiries and will organise a time to visit.

Making your choice:

An important step is to involve your child in deciding which secondary school they will go to. The following questions may assist you as you consider which secondary school will best benefit your child.

Ø Will the school cater for your child’s needs and interests?

Ø How does the school support children with additional needs?

Ø How important is it that your child knows other children at the school?

Ø Does your family have a connection to a particular school?

Ø Do you have older children already attending a secondary school? If so, will your child benefit from go-ing to the same school as their brother or sister?

Ø How far do you want your child to travel each day?

Ø Are any schools close to home and/or your work suitable for your child?

Ø What extra curricula activities does the school offer?

Ø Does the school offer scholarships?

Ø Is the school welcoming? – You’ll know this as soon as you walk in the door.

Ø Do you agree with, or at least like, the way the school approaches teaching their students?

Ø Does the school’s policy on homework and discipline reflect your own values and expectations?

Ø What is the school's approach to dealing with bullying?

Ø What educational programs are offered?

Ø Does the school specialize in any particular area?

NAPLAN: The Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) has responsibility for the develop-ment and central management of the National Assessment Program -Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN). NAPLAN is an annual assessment for students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 and tests are undertaken nationwide every year in early May. Testing occurs in four areas: Reading, Writing, Language Conventions (spelling, grammar and punctuation) and Numeracy.

Students who are absent on the day of a particular test may be able to make it up on Friday 12th May. No make-

up tests can be completed after Friday 12th May.

The results of the tests provide information for students, parents, teachers and principals about student achieve-ment, which can be used to inform teaching and learning programs. NAPLAN tests provide information regarding student progress in English and Mathematics and are intended to complement teacher judgment and the wide range of formal and informal testing programs that we currently use at Parkhill PS. As with all assessments, NAPLAN test results are not intended to be used in isolation from other school-based assessment programs. They provide a snapshot of the child’s understanding of that particular test on that particular day. At Parkhill Primary School, the students have been given sufficient preparation in terms of the format of test and the strategies that can be used in the various tests. The testing environment for all children is consistent with staff presenting the tests in a uniform manner. From a parent’s perspective, it is important not to place too much expectation on your child in regard to these tests. Our students are encouraged to do their best as they are with all aspects of school.

Attitudes to Schooling Survey

The Student Attitudes to Schooling Survey will be completed by all Year 4 – Year 6 students from May 22 to June 23. The overall objective of the annual Attitudes to School Survey is to collect data about the opinions of students from Years 4 to 12 to assist schools with planning, developing curriculum and improving student out-comes. The survey assists schools to gain an understanding of students’ perceptions and their experience of school. It provides schools with valuable data on students’ views of their wellbeing, teaching, learning and school in gen-eral. How our students feel at school and how engaged they are in their work is extremely important to us at Parkhill and is analysed carefully by school Staff.

Over the course of the Term 1 holidays, Ms Katrina Watson informed us of her resignation due to her successful application for a position at Melbourne Zoo. Ms Watson has long held a desire to obtain this position at Mel-bourne Zoo and although a great loss for our school, on behalf of our community we wish her all the best in her future career endeavours.

Whilst we are advertising for a new Garden teacher, we welcome Ms Courtney McDonald, who will be filling in over the next few weeks. Ms McDonald has recently been running the Garden Program at Yarra PS and is very experienced in this area.

Have a great weekend!

Rod McKinlay

Tuesday 9 May 2017 Wednesday 10 May

2017

Thursday 11 May 2017

Year 3 Language conventions

40 minutes

Writing

40 minutes

Reading

45 minutes

Numeracy

45 minutes

Year 5 Language conventions

40 minutes

Writing

40 minutes

Reading

50 minutes

Numeracy

50 minutes

Volunteers needed!

WHEN: Friday May 5 House Cross Country for Year 3—6

Volunteers from all year levels welcome

Contact: Mrs Elaine brady via a Tiqbiz message or email

parkhill.ps@edumail.vic.gov.au

2017 Calendar of Curriculum events

Tuesday May 2 Year 5 | 6 camp Information evening 6.00pm

Friday May 5 Foundation Botanic Gardens excursion

Friday May 5 House Cross Country Year 3—6

Tues May 9 - Thurs May 11 NAPLAN

Tuesday May 9 St John’s Ambulance Incursion

Whole school ( details to come)

Friday May 12 Year 1 Zoo Excursion

Friday May 12 Year 7 Transition Paperwork must be re-turned BY THIS DATE

Tuesday May 16—Friday May

19 Y5 & 6 Camp Kangaroobie

Thursday May 18 Foundation Grandparents afternoon tea 2.00pm

Tuesday May 23 Story Time begins for 2018 Foundation stu-dents

Wednesday May 24 Open Day

Friday May 26 District cross-Country for qualifying stu-dents

Friday June 9 Foundation Myuna Farm excursion

Monday June 12 Queens Birthday Public Holiday

Student

of the

Week

Name

FR Sarah

FT Maya

1BC Daniel

1S Jack

2M Harry

2S Jeffrey

3H Viktoria

3MR Ethan

4N Whole Class

4ME Theia

5D Anik

5H Joel

6G Ashley

6SC Charlotte

Birthdays

April

Anthony P

Miranda C

Will M

Thomas K

Elizabeth L

Justin M

Jayda G

Isabella S

Matthew K

Hannah M

Patrice V

Eva P

Sascha P

Declan C

Jasper W

Mercades G

Olivia R

Jordie W

Xavier T

Ruby H

Amelia G

Miakoda M

New Drama Group in Ashwood Chadstone

WELCOME!! Power Neighbourhood House is planning an evening Introductory Drama Group with an experienced Drama Facilitator, that is fun and relaxing for adults in the Ashwood Chadstone area. Sessions will be happy relaxed occasions and a place to learn about drama. If you would like to join, please call 9807 3489 or email margclausen@yahoo.com.au

Cup Cake Fundraiser Some Parkhill students from Year 2 and Foundation are par-ticipating in a fun run next weekend called Ride For Hope. They are going to be selling cupcakes and other treats after school on Friday April 28th in order to raise some money. Ride for Hope is an annual giving initiative of Edge Church. They are aiming to raise $1m this year to give away. 100% of the funds raised will go towards supporting the Childhood Cancer Association and World Vision and other smaller chari-ties. Find us on the asphalt after school on Friday after assembly. Your support is appreciated.

PARKHILL PFA NEWSLETTER 27 April 2017 President: Vanessa Cowley Vice President: Katrina Battle

Treasurer: Sumi Sundram Secretary: Kylie Touloupis

Committee Members: Wendy Douglas, Mark Havas, Lisa Jacobson, April Minniece, Anny Murray, Chrissy Robertson, Naomi Bishop

Calendar

Friday May 5 Mother’s Day Stall Wrapping Bee, 9am-11am Roger Beech Hall

Last Day for Intelex Heatable Soft Toy Orders

Friday May 12 Mother’s Day Stall*

*Thursday May 11 Year 1 students Mother’s Day Stall

Friday May 12 Mother’s Day Movie Night

Thursday May 18 PFA Meeting, venue to be confirmed

Friday June 16 Comedy Night

Thursday June 29 School Disco

“Warmies” Heatable Soft Toys and Slippers by Intelex We are currently running a fundraiser featuring gorgeous and cuddly heatable soft toys. There are many styles including soft toy animals and dolls, and slippers. All products are made in Australia. The toys and slippers are filled with natural grains and scented with lavender. They’re easily heated in a microwave for up to two minutes, and provide hours of warmth for children and adults. All prod-ucts are fully tested and comply with Australian and European Safety Standards, and are a safe al-ternative to hot water bottles. We think they’re an excellent gift for people of all ages, and perfect as we enter into the winter season. Order forms were distributed at school last week. Forms and payment are due at the office by May 5.

Mother’s Day Stall - Wrapping Bee Friday May 5, Stall Friday May 12 The Annual Mother’s Day Stall will be held in the Roger Beech Hall on Friday May 12, where chil-dren will have the opportunity to purchase thoughtful and very well priced gifts! Of course, we are seeking volunteers to help with the wrapping bee and with stalls on the day. You can sign up for the wrapping bee on the morning of May 5 by clicking on this link http://signup.com/go/cT5vtd or by emailing Kylie at parents.friends.secretary@gmail.com We will also be creating a sign up link for stalls on May 12, but in the meantime you can email Kylie at parents.friends.secretary@gmail.com to book in for a session. Generally, time slots are for one hour, and it is a lovely way to meet other parents and carers at Parkhill, and it is very sweet observ-ing the children so carefully considering their gift purchases!

Mothers Day Movie Night, Friday May 12 – Snatched The tradition of the Mother’s Day Movie Night Continues! More details will follow shortly, but for now please save the date for what will be a great night out with Parkhill mums and friends. Tickets are $12, to be paid to the office. “When her boyfriend dumps her before their exotic vacation, a young woman persuades her ultra-cautious mother to travel with her to paradise, with unex-pected results”

St John’s First Aid for Kids!!!

We are so lucky to have the St John’s team coming into school to provide some first aid for kids ses-sions this term.

Each class will have an age appropriate session with a qualified leader on May 9th

Into Inquiry Term 2

Take a look at what’s happening throughout the school this term…

Year Inquiry Focus

Founda-tion

Sharing The Planet: “Sustaining Life”

Central Idea: Plants are essential in our lives and sustain life on Earth.

Year 1 How The World Works: “Animals and Environments”

Central Idea: Living things adapt to suit the environment created by their local cli-mate.

Year 2 Sharing The Planet: “Survival”

Central Idea: We share the planet with many animals and our actions can affect their survival.

Year 3 How We Organise Ourselves: “Needs and Wants”

Central Idea: There are common basic needs for survival but not everyone has their basic needs met.

Year 4 How The World Works: “Ecosystems”

Central Idea: Ecosystems are fragile and are influenced by all living things.

Year 5 Where We Are In Time And Place: “Exploration and Discovery”

Central Idea: Exploration can cause cultures to collide, creating new understand-ings and impacting society.

Year 6 Where We Are In Time And Place: “Migration”

Central Idea: Different cultural groups in society contribute to and influence how people live.

Inter House Cross Country Running

Our annual Inter-House Cross Country Running event is going to be held on Friday 5

th May at 11:30 am. We are seeking course marshals for the event – If

you can spare an hour of time on this day please contact Elaine Brady 9807 2239 brady.elaine.e@edumail.vic.gov.au

Next PFA Meeting Our next PFA meeting will be on Thursday May 18, at 7.30pm. The venue will be confirmed shorty. Please feel free to contact Kylie at parents.friends.secretary@gmail.com if you’d like to join us. All wel-come. Comedy Night – Friday June 16

Featuring comedians from Sydney & Melbourne International Comedy Festival

In support of Parkhill Primary School Friday June 16, 2017

Doors 7pm / Show 8pm

Roger Beech Hall Tickets: 18+ Only. $30 at http://comedyforacause.net/PPS

A testimonial from Sydney Secondary College Balmain “Comedy for a Cause was the best fundraiser our school has ever held for so many reasons. We pro-vided the hall and Mat brought us an awesome night so easily. The online booking was very efficient. The best thing about it though was the calibre of comedians. Our parents and staff had 2 hours of laughter therapy which was priceless!.” - Maria Nugent, P&C Vice President, SAVE THE DATE School Disco- Thursday June 29 Foundation - Year 2 children will be dancing from 5pm-6pm, and Year 3 – Year 6 will be dancing from 6.30-7.30pm. This year’s theme will be decided by the SRC, we eagerly await their direction!

Thank you To Pieter Bourke for technical and design assistance. And, as always, a big thank you to Mazz Higlett.

Fun and creative times in our Visual Arts program.

Interview with a teacher. Dean Sciacca

1. When did you start at Parkhill and what do you like about teaching PE? I started teaching at Parkhill in 2011. My first teaching job was to teach Per forming Arts every Wednesday for 9 weeks; it was fun being a big kid. 2. Are there any funny moments you remember in PE at Parkhill? There have been many but I guess when I split my shorts during a gymnastics lesson. For the rest of the day, I got some students to do the demonstrating for me. I never wore those shorts again. 3. What are your plans for the holidays? We are hoping to head up to Alexandra to do some camping. 4. If you could have dinner with 3 famous people, who would they be? The three people I would love to have dinner with are Bon Scott, Muhammad Ali and Nel son Mandela. Probably not on the same night.

Fun times in Foundation at Parkhill Primary

Hat Reminder - All months of the year with an

“R” in the name are the months that students must wear HATS.

Uniform Shop Hours: Monday 3.00pm—4.00pm & Thursday 8.30am—

10.00am

Uniform orders with payment can be dropped at the office and Sam will have items delivered to your child\ren’s

classrooms.

Flexischool Canteen Orders

Hot food options

Online Ordering

Available 24/7, Con-venient for parents, remove paper or-ders and cash

FREE registration

Easy online registration

Go to www.flexischools.com.au

Or you can find them in the APP Store!

Reminder canteen

orders from Class-

room Cuisine are

cold lunches.

Below you will find a

link to the website

which explains the

process of ordering

and also their cur-

rent menu options.

https://

www.classroomcui

sine.com.au/

menu.php

Reminder: Parkhill Primary School’s main form of communication is via the free Tiqbiz App. Some of the features of Tiqbiz are:

update your family contact\details and

emergency contacts,

advise the school of absences,

direct link to our school website

contact the school

calendar of upcoming events—you may

add these to your own calendar

If you are having any difficulties with the App please

come by the office where we are happy to assist.

Bpay Payments—this is our preferred method of family payments. BPay transactions are not instant, therefore excursion/camp payments will

need to be made at least 48 hours prior to the event taking place to ensure they are processed by the bank and reach the school in time for your child to attend the event. Please note If you select BPay, it is important that you return the notice/permission slip immediately to school so that payments through our bank can be correctly matched to your family account and be allocated to the correct items you are paying for. You can pay accounts for several students in your family with one payment. Please email us at parkhill.ps@edumail.vic.gov.au with the breakdown of what you have paid. To use BPay you will need the Biller Code for Parkhill Primary School as well as your own UNIQUE Reference Number.

Reminder: PFA Fundraising cannot be paid with your BPAY details.

Fundraising Payments can be accepted by EFTPOS or CASH.