Issue 16, Friday 2nd June 2023
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The Parkhill Community touch the land and think of the Wurundjeri People and surrounding Clans of the Kulin Nation who cared for the land before us.
We share our gratitude to their Elders past, present and emerging.
As we touch this land we promise to treasure it; taking care of all its people, animals, plants and waterways.
We at Parkhill appreciate this land.
Thank you.
Principal's Message
Starting to feel the first bites of winter now, as we creep towards the end of Term 2. We’ve kept some of the best for last though, with our two camps heading out in the next two consecutive weeks, and reports to come out the last week for the semester.
The library was a riot of colour thanks to the PFA’s Disco last night, and was well-attended across the student population. I heard the DJ played some games with the students and they generally enjoyed a great time. Thanks to our PFA for another great event; rounding off a very successful day for them indeed combined with the cupcake stall in the afternoon.
Once again Parkhill is the venue for the Y5/6 Sports Round Robin today and this time we are winter-themed in our sports. Thanks go to the tireless Y5/6 team and especially to Dean, who was a capable liaison between all the schools to make the event a success.
NEVR Choir performance – I heard great things too about the NEVR Choir performance on Monday and saw footage of our students strutting their stuff at the front of the stage at Hamer Hall. What a venue! Many thanks to Marinda for taking up this challenge and facilitating such a unique experience for our senior choir members.
Y3/4 Camp Weekaway – begins next week! And students are very much buzzing with anticipation. Final information was sent out yesterday, so please check your Compass newsfeed for last minute details, including to bring along a bike helmet.
Y5/6 Sovereign Hill Costumed School Camp – our information session was Wednesday night, and we talked through how this camp will differ from previous camps. This year the students will get to become a part of the living museum and live the life of an 1850s student, well, without much of the hardship and lack of showers. The presentation and responses to questions asked during the session have been sent out today, so check through your Compass newsfeed for access.
Subcommittees and Working Groups – both our Community Hub and Masterplanning working groups are scheduled to begin in Term 3. The Community Hub working group will be responsible for setting up the Community space shared in the library, evolving into a spot that community members can gather and use for many purposes. The Masterplanning working group will begin the work scoping the future direction of our buildings and grounds at Parkhill. Please let us know if you are interested in joining either of these groups.
Have a wonderful weekend.
Michelle Smith
Acting Principal
A Message from Our New Principal
Hello Parkhill Community,
I’d like to take this opportunity to tell you all how excited I am to join your school and feel really honoured to be part of your learning community. I’m also looking forward to working with all the current staff at Parkhill, and I want to thank Michelle for her stewardship and leadership: again, I feel really honoured to be part of such a dedicated staff.
By way of introduction I think I should start with career stuff first. I’ve been in education for some time now, with previous career iterations including hospitality, the corporate and university sectors, and newspaper publishing. So, while it has taken me some time to come to education, I feel like this is the space where I feel most at home. I started my education career when my own children were very young; for reference, my eldest is now twenty three and just embarking on the world of work, my middle child is first year at university and my youngest is in Year 11. Don’t run the numbers too much – you’ll work my age out pretty quickly!
On the weekends I mostly spend time cooking, listening to podcasts and spending time with my kids, husband and friends – my kids, increasingly, seem to be less interested in being at home now, and so these times we get together I really enjoy. Saturdays I’m usually at the Gardiner’s Creek Parkrun, although this year, injury has forced me back to swimming and other activities. Whenever we can our family enjoys watching a Richmond win. . . I think I’ll just leave that last point there. Needless to say, not so much enjoyment this year!
Anyway, that’s just a small snapshot of who I am, and I’m looking forward to getting to chat with you all when I pop in over the coming weeks before term ends.
Have a great weekend everyone!
Jo Jolly
Calendar of Curriculum Events
Student of the Week
The Term 2, Week 5 recipients were:
FA – Xanthe M
1/2B – Henry B
3A – Mia V
4/5B – Harley G
Reconciliation Week and Wear It Yellow Day
This week we celebrated national Reconciliation Week by holding a Wear it Yellow Day yesterday. We also learnt more about the theme for this year’s Reconciliation Week, ‘Be a Voice for Generations’, in Care Groups.
Thank you to everyone who donated to Children’s Ground, we have raised over $300. Classes will also begin writing new Acknowledgements of Country that they will read in their classrooms as part of their morning routine.
Des Schlack
Koorie Education Coordinator
Nevr Choir Concert
The angelic sound of children’s voices filled Hamer Hall on Monday evening at the NEVR Youth Concert. The concert was a celebration of music in North Eastern Victorian Region state schools with 570 students performing on the evening in a range of orchestras, bands and choirs. Parkhill students performed brilliantly alongside their fellow choir members from eight other primary schools. The children were very excited to see Ms Ravida, Mrs Ravida and Mr Davies in the audience along with their families, relatives and friends. It was a memorable experience for all involved.
This is what our choir members had to say about their experience:
“I enjoyed where we sat and listened. It was nice, I liked the different styles like rock and roll.” – Raphael
“It was amazing getting exposed to new teachers and new students and songs!” – Eshelle
“I enjoyed singing to practice my voice and to get better than my dad.” – Alex
“I liked performing at Hamer Hall with my friends.” – Quin
“It was so much fun and I would love to have the experience again.” – Xavier
Marinda Tanner
Choir Teacher
Division Cross Country
Congratulations to Somo, Patrick and Nikita who participated in the Division Cross Country during the week. Somo came 2nd, Patrick came 8th and Nikita came 16th in the event. Somo and Patrick are both through to Regionals.
Well done to you all!
Wrangling Robots
This term all year levels have been embracing their learning around robotics and coding. During the week Y1/2 reviewed Sphero Indi’s components and produced a chart which reminded them about how each coloured tile programmed Indi. All students were testing and documenting their knowledge of each colour ready for programming challenges in the weeks to come. In addition, a discussion arose regarding Indi’s turning ability. This sparked a spontaneous angles lesson, specifically the size of a 90 degree and 45 degree angle. We will build on this learning in the weeks to come.
Andrea Crane
STEAM Teacher
Library News
Dear Parkhill Families,
June is upon us, marking the start of winter and only three weeks left to the end of term. As Sonya Hartnett writes in Thursday’s Child, “Time passes slowly when you’re young, and quickens as you get old. Summer lasted forever when I was seven, but now it only visits”.
As with all things books, Scholastic Issue 4 is out now.
- Browse the online catalogue Book Club Issue 4
- Place an order at scholastic.com.au/LOOP or by using the LOOP app
- Cut off date for orders is Friday 9 June.
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.
Angelita Williams
Second Hand Uniform
We will be hosting a Second Hand Uniform stall soon – stay tuned!
In the meantime, if you would like to purchase a second hand uniform item you are welcome to do so from the office at any time. Come in with a gold coin donation and we can see what we have in stock for you!
Lunch Order Closure
There will be no Flexischools lunch orders on the following dates due to events at Ashwood High School:
- Friday 16th June
- Thursday 10th August
- Wednesday 23rd August (TBC)
- Friday 25th August (TBC)
Bread Bag Collection
Hi Parkhill, it’s that time of the year again when I am looking for lots of bread bags. Wonder has once again teamed up with 1500 Aussie schools to help collect bread bags and reduce soft plastic waste. As a registered school the more bread bags we collect the more points we accrue. We can then redeem these points on new sports equipment. Last year we filled 2 large boxes and Mr Sciacca received 6 soft balls to boost his dodgeball ball collection. This year lets aim for 3! So collect away, the more bread or wrap packets we collect the more equipment available to our students!
Andrea Crane
STEAM Teacher
PFA News
President: Zoë Littlewood
Treasurer: Chris Fagan
General Members: Adam Keens, Emma Gullan, Lih-Shan Yam, Marinda Tanner, Sarah Bakri, Trish King, Vanessa Cowley
THANK YOU
Thank you to all the children and parents who supported our activities for Term 2. Looking forward to Term 3 with Father’s Day stall and our wonderful Trivia Night.
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Lunch Orders
You can find the links to the lunch orders on the website under Quick Links.
FLEXISCHOOLS LUNCH ORDERS
