Issue 10, Friday 29 April 2022
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Principal's Message
Dear Parents/Carers
I would like to thank you all for the very warm welcome back I have received – it has been lovely to see many of you on the playground and around the school over the past few days. It’s great to see parents back onsite and volunteers in the classrooms again after CoVID!
Term 2 has started with pace, and learning programs are in full flow already!
I would again like to thank the community for the support offered to David throughout Term 4 2021 and Term 1 this year. It’s been great to meet the Foundation children and reconnect with students across the school.
Again, I invite you all to come say hi at some point.
INTO INQUIRY:
Throughout the school children have been tuning in to their learning, asking questions and planning their finding out. Below is the detail of the units of work for the first part of the term.

MULTISENSORY STRUCTURED LANGUAGE (MSL):
At the beginning of 2021 through the tutoring initiative, we embarked on a journey at Parkhill to introduce MSL into our lower school. We had some members of staff trained in the program early in Term 1, and further staff trained at the beginning of this year.
The MSL approach is a pedagogy and not a program where “one size fits all”. MSL will complement and supplement the current literacy curriculum at Parkhill.
It is an evidence-based approach that uses explicit teaching to inform students of common spelling rules and patterns.
MSL aims to use two or more of the senses, auditory (hearing), visual (seeing) and kinaesthetic (movement), when teaching literacy to form stronger neural pathways in the brain. For example, when learning to write the letter ‘d’ we get the students to write the letter (kinaesthetic), say the sound the letter makes (auditory) and watch the letter being formed (visual).
Only 10% of the English language is made up of irregular words and the other 90% are words that follow spelling rules and patterns. MSL allows students to be taught the spelling rules and patterns, without being afraid to explain to them why a word is spelt the way it is. It is important to use the correct language, even in Foundation, such as ‘consonants’ and ‘vowels’ as well as ‘closed syllables’ and ‘open syllables’ to explain each concept.
It is important that the students are aware of the difference between irregular words (words that follow no spelling rule or pattern and just need to be learnt by memory) and decodable or regular words (words that can be sounded out using a spelling rule or pattern).
This distinction is an important part of MSL as students don’t get as frustrated by words they can’t spell if the rule can be explained to them or they can be told that it is an irregular word. The explanations are very powerful for the students. In the classroom, concepts are taught in a cumulative approach. This means that each new concept builds upon the concepts that have already been taught.
This allows for a higher level of success and requires you to ‘stick to the skill’ that is being taught which avoids confusion. Ideally, you work as fast or as slow as the specific group of students require, ensuring they understand one skill before moving to the next.
We have had fantastic feedback from parents and students who love learning the reason why words are spelt the way they are and the new found knowledge the students have is making them excited about learning. Parents have commented how their children are teaching THEM the spelling rules. It is fantastic to be using an approach that empowers our students so much!
During our upcoming Open Day on 25th May, come and look for evidence of this learning in our classrooms.
SCHOOL COUNCIL:
At the end of Term 1 we elected our new School Council. It gives me great pleasure to share with you our 2022 Council:


School councils have three main responsibilities:
- Finance: overseeing the development of the school’s annual budget and ensuring proper records are kept of the school’s financial operation
- Strategic planning: participating in the development and monitoring of the school strategic plan
- Policy development and review: developing, reviewing and updating policies that reflect a school’s values and support the school’s broad direction outlined in its strategic plan
Best wishes,
Elaine Brady
Principal
Calendar of Curriculum Events
Please note that these events are subject to Covid-19 restrictions and are subject to change and/or cancellation.
HEAD LICE
There have been cases of head lice in the Y4 classes. Please check your child’s hair and treat any head lice before returning to school.
NAPLAN 2022 - tests coming up soon!
Students in Y3 and Y5 will shortly be sitting their actual NAPLAN tests in two weeks time. We plan to hold the majority of the tests from 10-13 May, with the next week reserved for catch-up tests. Students that are absent from tests are able to sit the tests at a later date (as long as it is before Friday 20 May).
We plan to hold the tests on the following days:
Tuesday 10 May – Writing
Wednesday 11 May – Reading
Thursday 12 May – Conventions of Language
Friday 13 May – Numeracy
Y3 will have their test in the morning session (9:15-10:30), and Y5 will have their test in the middle block (11:00-12:30).
As always, the demonstration site is available online https://www.nap.edu.au/online-assessment/public-demonstration-site. Please do contact your child’s class teacher or myself if you have any questions or concerns about your child sitting the NAPLAN tests.
Michelle Smith
Assistant Principal
School Concert 2022
We are excited to begin preparations for our 2022 School Concert and warmly invite members of our school community to be involved.
Do you have special skills in
● script writing
● singing, song writing
● dancing, choreography
● costume design/sewing
● music tech/editing
● lighting
● set design/building
● art/painting/prop making?
School concerts are a confidence building and enriching experience for students and a wonderful shared creative project for the whole school community. We look forward to working together on this special event.
Please join us for our first planning meeting on Wednesday 4 May at 4pm in the library or email marindatanner@gmail.com with details of how you would like to contribute.
Stargazing at Parkhill - next Thursday at 6:30pm
We have had a very enthusiastic response to our Stargazing event next Thursday. We will meet at the school asphalt from 6:30pm, and don’t forget to rug up! At this stage, the weather looks to be on the inauspicious side, so keep an eye out for notification through Compass to inform if the event will proceed or not.
Solar Challenge - Expressions of Interest
Expressions of Interest forms went out to those students interested in the Solar Challenge for this year. The program occurs outside of class but during class time. It is offered to those students in Y4, Y5 and Y6, with priority to students in Y6. The Challenge is a two-term project where students work in teams to create a model solar boat or car, which they will then race in October in the statewide Challenge. It requires a commitment to attend the race days. This year’s Challenge is on the weekend 15/16 October. EOI forms are due by next Friday 6 May to be considered for a team.
Please find the form at this location: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1aUtuO4p_bwCuioWjSm-I9Te_b01ON-p-/view?usp=sharing
Working Bee
There will be an after school working bee on Friday 13 May from 3:30pm onwards.
Our focus will be turning over the ground and laying topsoil for the garden beds for the Koori garden in preparation for the students doing the planting later in the term.
We hope to see you there!
Library News
Dear Parkhill Families,
Welcome back to Term 2!
I hope you had a wonderful break and perhaps had a chance to enjoy some sweet treats from the Easter bunny.
Book orders from Issue 2 were received and sent home Tuesday.
Issue 3 is also out now and the brochures were sent home this week. You can browse the online catalogue Book Club Issue 3. You can place an order at scholastic.com.au/LOOP or by using the LOOP app.
The cut off date for orders is Friday 13 May. Book Club orders earn Scholastic Rewards which we use to purchase additional resources for the school. There is no obligation for you to make a purchase.
If you have any queries or need a hand with your order, please feel free to get in touch.
Working Bee Call Out – Library
A library working bee group will be hosted next Wednesday 4 May from 9:00am to 12:00pm.
We are looking to give the library a tidy up, and this mainly includes the sorting and shelving of books, and will get new books ready for borrowing.
Feel free to drop by and say hello or come spend the morning with us, we will love to see you!
Kindly RSVP at the office or simply email me if you can join us.
Angelita Williams
angelita.williams@education.vic.gov.au
Librarian


PFA News
Executive Committee:
President: Zoë Littlewood
Vice President: Vacant
Treasurer: Chris Fagan
Secretary/Communications: Vacant
General Members: Elle Delmee, Sumi Sundram, Vanessa Cowley, Jo Argaet, Iona Tsykalo, Lih-Shan Yam, Emma Gullan, Trish King, Marinda Tanner, Alex Cilsby, Emily Meagher, Nadine Philips




Mother’s Day Stall
Mother’s Day Stall will be on the morning of Friday 6 May. Items are $1-$10.
Don’t forget to send money!
Mother’s Day Stall Volunteers
Parkhill PFA are looking for volunteers to help run the Mother’s Day Stall again this year on Friday 6th May.
We couldn’t run this lovely event without you and the children love the chance to purchase a little gift for mum.
It’s always a fun morning to help out and catch up with friends.
Click here to sign up to one or both sessions.
Ashburton Artisan Market – Help Needed
Parkhill will have a stall at the market, selling sausages and drinks. There are time slots for setting up, cooking, serving and pack-up. Any time that you can
help will be greatly appreciated.
Use the following link – https://signup.com/go/YTaFdfV – or scan the QR code above to sign up.


Contact us on WhatsApp – https://chat.whatsapp.com/DtYmFR9RjrZ7ayDpYAVy6L or email parkhillpiranhas@gmail.com
ENTERTAINMENT BOOK
They cost $70 and provide over $20,000 in discounts to all the things you love to do…dining, attractions, shopping, travel and more! They are filled with up to 50% off or 2-for-1 style offers, they are a great way to discover new favourites and enjoy the value at the same time. The proceeds of the books sold goes to Parkhill Primary School. Please order one now via this link




REMEMBER TO SAY ‘PARKHILL PRIMARY SCHOOL’ WHEN SHOPPING!
Rebel Community Kickbacks Program.
Under this program, Parkhill Primary School can earn 5% of your purchases at Rebel Sports as an in-store credit to spend on our school sports programs.
You can sign up in store or log into your rebel Active Member account when shopping online at www.rebelsport.com.au to attribute the expense to the school.
DON’T MISS A THING!
Join our Facebook page.
Search for us using the name “Parkhill Primary School Community Page”.
Then click the “join group” icon.
A group administrator will confirm your association with the school and approve your request.
If you would like to be on our email distribution list and receive communication and minutes from our meetings please email parents.friends.secretary@gmail.com


Lunch Orders
You can find the links to the lunch orders on the website under Quick Links.