Issue 12, Friday 13 May 2022
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Principal's Message
Dear Parents/Carers
A Working Bee is the best way to end the week! At 3:30 today we have a Working Bee planned to continue to work on our Koori Garden – I am excited to see the growth of this space as the coming weeks progress. Planting of the garden is planned to go ahead during Reconciliation week, with Bella Crowe and the Student Koori Ambassadors working hard to order the plants. Thanks to the members of our Buildings and Grounds Committee for the organisation of our Working Bees.
Now that parents are allowed on site it would be great to see more of you at our assemblies. Assembly is now held on the decking area between the learning buildings. We gather there just after 3pm on Mondays: come join us!
I was down visiting the children at Ashwood Memorial Kinder earlier in the week. It was lovely to catch up with Robyn and to see the children in their environment. Andrea Crane has already been down to some of our kinders recently to do some science activities with the children, and starting next week Carlie Eriksen will be heading off to visit six local kinders to get the children moving and singing as part of our Performing Arts program.
We held our Cross Country running event on Tuesday afternoon; the weather was glorious! Thank you to the parents who were able to help out, and thanks to Dean Sciacca and Sasha Guy for organising the event. The kids were amazing as always and ran their little socks off. It’s great to see their determination! Although not all children enjoy running they all participated at their level. Well done to those who placed and will represent Parkhill at Jells Park.
Our Y3 and Y5 students had their NAPLAN assessments this week. They performed really well taking the assessments in their stride. Well done to all of you! Thanks to our parents for preparing and providing a healthy breakfast for the children in these year levels to help get them through the week! We look forward to sharing the NAPLAN data with the community later in the year.
For those of you with children in Y6 please don’t forget that the Y7 placement paperwork was due today.
SOCIAL EMOTIONAL LEARNING:
Now that we find ourselves living with Covid with minimal restrictions it is easy to forget that the impact of 2 years of remote learning and lockdowns is still with us, and still with our children, as they navigate their second term of onsite schooling in 2022. The link below offers super advice and interesting accessible reading around children’s mental health and wellbeing.
Supporting children’s return to school during COVID-19 (studentwellbeinghub.edu.au)
EDUCATION WEEK:
Victoria will celebrate Education Week from Sunday 22 May to Saturday 28 May 2022. The focus of the week will mark the 150th anniversary of public education in Victoria. During Education Week we will hold our Open Day and Open Night. Our classrooms are open from 9:30am – 10:30am, with the open evening events running from 5:30pm.
PARKHILL PRIMARY SCHOOL STUDENT DRESS CODE:
Please take this opportunity to remind yourself of the dress code at Parkhill. As the weather gets colder we tend to see variations on our uniform scattered across the school. The following is taken from our school policy – which can be found on our website: Policies – Parkhill Primary School (parkhillps.vic.edu.au)
General appearance
While at school and participating in school activities, Parkhill Primary School students must comply with the following:
- Uniforms must be clean and in good repair
- Uniforms must be clearly marked with the owner’s name
- Additional layers of clothing may be worn underneath the uniform for added warmth, provided these undergarments are completely hidden (including leggings).
Jewellery and cosmetics
For safety reasons students are not permitted to wear decorative jewellery to school. Stud earrings and sleepers worn in the ears are the only acceptable jewellery. Discreet, appropriate watches are also acceptable.
Cosmetics, including nail polish, may not be worn at school.
Hair
For safety reasons, it is strongly recommended that shoulder length or longer hair be tied back. It is preferred that hair accessories be in school colours.
Hats
School uniform hats must be worn outside from 1 September to 30 April (months with an R) and on any other day prescribed by the school. School uniform hats may also be worn outside of this time period, by parent or student choice. Students must wear school uniform hats.
Hats are not to be worn inside.
Students are permitted to wear sunglasses during outdoor activities. Sunglasses should meet the Australian Standards 1067 and cover as much of the eye area as possible.
I hope I see some of you at the Working Bee after school, and I hope the weather holds for a wonderful weekend.
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.
Mother's Day Movie Night
Last Friday our amazing Parkhill mums had a night our together in celebration of Mother’s Day. It was a great time of catching up, making new connections, enjoying a meal together and then watching Downton Abbey 2. Thanks to everyone who came out on the night - we hope you enjoyed the evening as much as we did.
Parent Webinars: Understanding Bullying and Safety Net
As part of our wellbeing initiative this year, we have provided students with a range of social, emotional learning programs and special events around the topic of bullying. I am now delighted to share with you two parent-focused webinars designed and run by Bully Zero, the same team who are visiting our school next week to run sessions with our students at every level across our school.
The parent webinars are called Understanding Bullying and Safety Net. Understanding Bullying will help parents to define bullying and recognise when it may be occurring, while Safety Net will help parents deal with the tricky problems around cyberbullying and cyber-safety. The webinars will take place on the 17th and 24th of May at 5:00pm.
When: May 17, 2022 05:00 PM Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney
Topic: Parkhill Primary School - It Takes a Village, Understanding Bullying
Register in advance for this webinar:
https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_ZHa4TE9cQoa9DLcaOlFGCA
When: May 24, 2022 05:00 PM Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney
Topic: Parkhill Primary School - It Takes a Village, SafetyNet
Register in advance for this webinar:
https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_hlbhS-PNTsG0kCDpGIMWtw
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.
If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me: alex.davies@education.vic.gov.au
NAPLAN 2022 - Is over!
Students in Y3 and Y5 breathed a sigh of relief at the end of their NAPLAN assessments today – some even whooped for joy! All four assessments have been completed by the majority of students and they can now return to their classwork in earnest. Some students were absent on the days of testing, so will complete those tests during next week.
NAPLAN breakfasts were a big hit and students looked forwards to NAPLAN for the food! A big thankyou and great appreciation to Baker’s Delight for donating the bread and also to our amazing parent helpers, ably organised by Wendy. It really helped make NAPLAN a bit more exciting.
Michelle Smith
Assistant Principal
STEAM Update
The STEAM room was full of active students this week as our Y4/5 students explored solids, liquids and gases. It was awesome to see students absorbed with designing their own procedure for testing the viscosity of liquids. Mess was made, but smiles were plentiful as a variety of liquids flowed through their testing apparatus. Our next session will enable us to explore our results, discuss the properties of liquids and compare them to the properties of solids and gases.
Andrea Crane
STEAM Teacher
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 email marindatanner@gmail.com if you are interested in contributing.
Library News
Dear Parkhill Families,
Thank you to families who have placed orders. Every Book Club order earns Scholastic Rewards for the school to purchase additional resources, however there is no obligation for you to make a purchase.
Just a quick reminder that book orders close today! If you haven’t had a chance and would like to place an order, jump online at scholastic.com.au/LOOP or by using the LOOP app.
We expect delivery of orders to come in the next 2 weeks and they will be distributed to the students.
If you have any queries about the library or your Scholastic order, please feel free to get in touch.
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
TRIVIA IS BACK!
Time to dust off those clothes that have been hiding in a box in the garage or raid the local op shop and get ready for some fun!. Trivia Night is back in 2022.
More details coming next week.
Silent Auction Donations
Parkhill PFA will be running a silent auction as part of Trivia Night in June.
If you have anything to donate or know a business that would like to help, please email PFA.
Contact us on WhatsApp – https://chat.whatsapp.com/DtYmFR9RjrZ7ayDpYAVy6L or email parkhillpiranhas@gmail.com
RITCHIES COMMUNITY BENEFITS
$52 Million is up for grabs!!
It’s quick, simple and easy to: Download, Register and Activate.
Scan QR code below
Nominate ‘Parkhill Primary’ as your chosen school.
Don’t forget to share the news with family and friends.
Need more?? Visit a store within 14 days of activating your card, spend $100 or more in a single transaction and scan your Ritchies card or app.
Get $10 off instantly. (Valid for one transaction).
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.
FLEXISCHOOLS LUNCH ORDERS
community notices
