This week saw students relinquishing their hats and braving the mostly wintry weather. Once again, while out on tours with prospective parents, I was proud of the ways that students attended to their teachers, staff greeted us cheerfully, and noticed the special hum of learning. We truly have an amazing school at Parkhill, with amazing teachers and ES staff, super students, all wrapped up in a supportive community. 

Discovery Dome – students enjoyed a special planetarium show on Wednesday with the Discovery Dome incursion in the hall. Lucky we have such a high roof! Families came back in the evening for a special family show. I think we have a few keen astronomers at Parkhill. Big thanks to Andrea Crane, who organised it all flawlessly.

Open Day and Night – in a couple of weeks Parkhill will be opening up to the public in a grand showcase on our Open Day, Wednesday 17 May. We’ll have all classes open from 9:30-10:30am. Classes will be focused on M.A.D.D. (Music, Arts, Dance and Drama) activities to respond to the Education week theme of Active Learners: Move, Make, Motivate. Come along to see us go M.A.D.D.! The products from our daily activities will be our showcase in the evening session from 5:30-7:00pm, along with a special choir performance.

Dave Vinegrad Restorative Practices session – don’t forget we have Dave Vinegrad speaking next Tuesday 9 May about Restorative Practices at Parkhill. Restorative Practices is a procedure that we follow at Parkhill to help restore relationships after conflict, and help students learn from the misunderstanding. All welcome, in the library.

Camps – as the weeks tick on we get closer and closer to our camps. Next Wednesday at 5:30pm, we will be holding an information session for the Y3/4 camp on 5-7 June at Camp Weekaway. Please come along if you are curious about the camp and process, or if you have any unanswered questions. The consent forms and information can be found on the Compass portal, or, if you prefer, a paper copy is also available. Please let us know early if you do not wish your child to participate, so that we are aware of student numbers.

Y6-7 Transition – packs went out to Y6 families this week, along with the application for placement in 2024. Once all forms are in (by 19 May), the applications will be sent through to secondary schools for allocations. Please let me know, or call in at the office, if you have any queries about the application. 

Building update – our Foundation playground is open, safe and sound. Students are once again able to make sand cakes and run to their heart’s content up and down the ramp. We still await the return of use of our appliances in the Science Kitchen. 

Have a wonderful weekend.

Michelle Smith

Acting Principal

michelle.smith@education.vic.gov.au