Issue 20, Friday 22 July 2022
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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
Dear Parents/Carers
Good afternoon everyone – Parkhill’s powering full STEAM ahead!
Andrea Crane and I were invited to join Ashwood Children’s Centre open evening on Tuesday. We proudly spoke about the STEAM program and delivered a school readiness information session to prospective parents. It was lovely to get back into the Centre and talk with incoming parents. It has been a few years since we have been able to have these kinds of sessions. Thanks to Fiona for the invite!
On Wednesday afternoon we hosted our second Parkhill Preschool program, with a fun session in STEAM. It was great to see some of the families from ACC’s Open Evening come along. Thank you to the parents who wore our ambassador badges with pride and spent valuable time chatting with prospective families about the wonderful little school that we are.
On Thursday we embarked on our first official learning session for the Professional learning Communities (PLC) initiative. The PLC Core Professional Learning aims to build the capacity and skills of School Leaders. This improves the learning and wellbeing outcomes for every student using a consistent approach to disciplined, collaborative inquiry. Informed by the latest research and contextualised within the aims and intent of the Education State and the Framework for Improving School Outcomes (FISO), the professional learning focuses on the implementation of PLCs as system architecture. PLCs provide a way of working for all teachers to improve practice, knowledge, and attitudes and to collectively work together to improve student outcomes.
It was super to see a great turn out for our Term 3 Three Way Conferences. Three way Conferences are a super way to connect families with school and allow the students to have a voice in sharing their successes.
A huge thank you to those of you who have been tirelessly shovelling mulch over the last few days. The Koori garden looks amazing! Coupled with the new fence, the front of the school is welcoming and inviting. Thanks to Dan Edwards for organising the new fence.
As always we are looking for help with grant writing – we are trying to jump on every opportunity to seek funding from different sources and grants are always flying around. Grant writing is a skill and I just know there is someone out there with this! If you are keen please contact me directly elaine.brady@education.vic.gov.au
SWIMMING
Swimming is an important component of the Physical Education and Health curriculum and, of course, a valuable life skill to have.
Our program is starting next week – please note the specific time for your child’s class below:
Please make sure your child is well prepared for their day.
Here is a little checklist of things to bring along:
- Bathers/Swimming Costume
- Towel
- Goggles
- Plastic bag/swimming bag (for school clothes / wet bathers / towel)
- Clean underwear as appropriate
- Thongs to change into before leaving school and brush/comb (optional)
- Medication as required – eg: Asthma Puffer
All students will be supplied with a swimming cap which they will be expected to wear during their lessons – should your child have an allergy or other medical reason why a provided cap cannot be worn please let your class teacher know.
Please ensure that your child’s clothes are clearly named.
It is also a good idea to pack an extra snack in their swimming bag which can be consumed after the lesson as they do get hungry after swimming.
Have a great weekend.
Best wishes,
Elaine Brady
Principal
Calendar of Curriculum Events
Engineering and Art in the STEAM room
How exciting it was on Tuesday to sneak in an extra STEAM session with the Y2/3 students. We combined art and engineering creating paper sculptures using folds, twists, springs, fringes, zig zags, spirals…..you name it the students created it, including a tidal wave. The final sculptures are bold, bright and an excellent example of how versatile simple materials can be.
Andrea Crane
STEAM Teacher
ICAS assessments will begin in August
ICAS assessments are coming in August. This year we are offering the same four subjects as in previous years: Writing, English, Science and Maths, available to students in Y3-6. These assessments are optional; they are offered as both a way to challenge students and as a gauge to monitor their understanding. All tests take place on digital devices.
Currently, our schedule has ICAS assessments on Fridays, beginning 12 August. All tests will be held in the morning.
Friday 12 August: ICAS Writing
Friday 19 August: ICAS English
Friday 26 August: ICAS Science
Friday 2 September: ICAS Maths
For further information, please read the following (including privacy statement).
Signup is a straightforward process using the Parent Payment System. If you’d like to enrol your child/ren to participate in the ICAS assessments, head to https://shop.icasassessments.com/pages/pps and enter the code DUS456
Note: there is a charge for students to participate. Entries close Friday 29 July.
National Tree Day
Tree Day is on Friday the 29th and will be the perfect opportunity to celebrate our wonderful Bush Tucker Garden!
On Friday the 29th, students will wear ‘a touch of green’ to school and bring a gold coin donation for the maintenance of our Bush Tucker Garden project. During the week, students will engage in learning around the importance of preserving our biodiversity and will conduct a survey to spot and identify various species on the Parkhill grounds.
See you in green on Friday the 29th!
Alex Davies
SRC Coordinator
G.A.T.E.W.A.Y.S
On Location Extension Programs – Y5/6
G.A.T.E.W.A.Y.S is offering 2 on location extension programs this term. Beam Me Up and Powered Up Podcasting. Click the links below for further information.
Beam Me Up
1st August and 8th August 9:20 – 3:00 pm
Australia Synchrotron, 800 Blackburn Road, Clayton
A Synchrotron is used for two different techniques. Firstly, it can look at how light is absorbed in order to give scientists information about the elemental and chemical composition of a sample. This is what will be explored on Day 1. Secondly, it can look at how light is scattered, which yields information on the atomic structure of a sample. This will be the focus of investigations on Day 2.
Further information and enrolment:
https://online.gateways.edu.au/interactive-modules/instance/1635
Powered Up Podcasting
6th and 13th September 9:30 – 3:30 pm
The Channel, 100 St Kilda Rd, Southbank
Have you got something to say? Have you got a story to tell? Then Powered Up Podcasting is for you! You’ll learn the art of creating your own podcasts that feature your voice, interviews with other people, music, and sound effects. We’ll take you through using a microphone to record your voice onto a computer, editing sounds and putting the whole package together.
Further information and enrolment:
https://online.gateways.edu.au/interactive-modules/instance/1828
Andrea Crane
GATEWAYS Coordinator
CRAZY HAIR DAY
Parkhill is celebrating Crazy Hair Day on Thursday August 4th.
Crazy Hair Day is a fundraiser for Cystic Fibrosis, the most common, inherited condition affecting young Australians and all funds will go towards providing support for these people. Our Crazy Hair Day will also be a great way to reinforce Diversity Day that week, so make sure that your hair stands out!
*Y4/5/6 students have swimming in the afternoon, so dyed hair isn’t recommended for those students!
Alex Davies
SRC Coordinator
Library News
Concert Set and Prop Making Working Bee
Parkhill families are warmly invited to a School Concert Set and Prop Making Working Bee on Saturday 30 July at 1pm in the STEAM room. We will be painting backdrops and cutting out and painting props in preparation for the concert on 5, 6 and 7 September. All parents and children are welcome and afternoon tea will be provided.
Please sign up using the following form: https://forms.gle/7fS96qPmt1iBtyi89
Working Bee - Save the Date!
Saturday August 6th 12pm onwards with afternoon tea provided. Come and join us as we invest further in the amazing grounds that we have here at Parkhill. Mulch, mulch and more mulch! You may have noticed that the Koori garden has transformed over the past fortnight as we have laid 20 cubic metres of mulch on it. We are now receiving regular deliveries of mulch from arborists who work locally in the neighbourhood and we are planning to work our way around the various garden areas throughout the school.
Parkhill River
At our last 2 Open Days, Parkhill families have been invited to paint rocks. Yesterday our team were hard at work cementing the first instalment of them into the riverbed near the big red slide. There is still more work to be done but come and check them out. We will be progressively laying more of them over the coming weeks. As new families join our school community they too will be invited to paint a rock that will be added to the Parkhill River. If your family is yet to paint a rock please let someone at the office know so that we can organise it for you – our hope is that every Parkhill family can be represented. A huge thanks to our amazing Buildings & Grounds team for all the work they are doing. If you would like to get involved beyond joining our working bees, please reach out to Wendy Douglas or simply let someone at the office know and we will be in contact with you.
Wendy Douglas
Buildings & Grounds Convenor
Just a quick thank you to those families who have collected their bread bags and deposited them in the box near the front office. For every 5kg of bread bags we collect we gain 500 reward points to go toward sports and play equipment. Let’s try and maximise our rewards by collecting the capped amount of 2,500 points. Collection will continue until September, so we have plenty of time to achieve this goal. Keep up the good work for both the environment and our fabulous school.
Andrea Crane
STEAM Teacher
PFA News
Cupcake Stall
First cupcake stall for Term 3 will be on Wednesday 27th July after school on the deck. All items $1-$3. Cash only.
TRIVIA NIGHT 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!
WHEN: Saturday 13th August 2022 at 7:00 PM until late (7:30pm kick off)
WHERE: School library
TICKETS: $25. You can purchase a table of 10 or individual tickets.
THEME: Op Shop Glam – There are individual and group prizes so get your table together and start planning now!
Book your tickets here – https://www.trybooking.com/BZJQI or scan the QR code
Silent Auction Donations
Parkhill PFA will be running a silent auction as part of Trivia Night in August.
If you have anything to donate or know a business that would like to help, please email PFA.
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.
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
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).
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
Contact us on WhatsApp – https://chat.whatsapp.com/DtYmFR9RjrZ7ayDpYAVy6L or email parkhillpiranhas@gmail.com
Lunch Orders
You can find the links to the lunch orders on the website under Quick Links.
FLEXISCHOOLS LUNCH ORDERS
community notices
