Issue 22, Friday 28th July 2023
View our Newsletter in a different language
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
What a great week we’ve had at Parkhill, finishing with the Crazy Hair Day in support of raising awareness for Cystic Fibrosis. There were certainly some wild hairdos out there today!
The past two weeks has seen me settling into Parkhill, and the focus during this time was getting to know staff and our community. It was great to have some people attend morning tea with me this morning, and again, find out what you value about our community.
Today I met with our school student leaders to discuss what they love about our school, and what opportunities they see for us in the coming two terms. Although I have been briefly visiting classrooms each morning and catching up with students in the yard, this focus group gave me a great opportunity to hear directly from the student their opinions.
In the next two to three weeks I intend to focus more on making connections with the students and visiting classrooms in a more extensive way. I’m looking forward to connecting with all grades, and in particular hope to engage with the middle and upper school to find out their hopes for the coming terms. During this time, I will be discussing with the students school expectations, standards and our collective understandings of excellence; both in and out of class, onsite or offsite. Over the next few weeks if you could engage in discussions with your children and family about expectations of excellence (behaviour, academic and social) this would strengthen the links between our school and home understandings.
Finally, thank you to our PFA for holding the cupcake stall Thursday afternoon and a big shout out to the bakers who make the stall possible. This was my first experience of the event, and I honestly wished I had brought more cash with me for the delicious treats on offer!
Enjoy your weekend everyone –
Jo Jolly
Principal
Calendar of Curriculum Events
Student of the Week
The Term 3, Week 2 recipients were:
FA – Aruar M
1/2A – Lola F
1/2B – Rudra S
3A – Gwen W
4/5A – Rebecca L
4/5B – Kira B
6A – Parker K
Crazy Hair Day
Students are DEFINITELY standing out and celebrating their differences today on Crazy Hair Day! A massive congratulations to all students who have supported Cystic Fibrosis today by taking the time to make their hair crazy and donate. It’s certainly a loud and colourful Friday here at Parkhill and it’s been wonderful seeing all the creative, colourful and zany-looking students running around in the yard. Together we have raised $185.70, supporting the Cystic Fibrosis Community Care charity. Well done, everyone!
Alex Davies
SRC Coordinator
Creative Capers in 4/5A
This term we are doing an inquiry into how creative thinkers drive innovation in the 21st century. We have been finding out how design is driven by inspiration and creativity. Last week we learnt how Leigh Hobbs creates the characters in his books and what is involved in the design process. We then used this information to create our own cartoon characters and products in a mystery box challenge.
Des Schlack
4/5A Teacher
LOTE News
We all had a taste of Asia last week during LOTE. People celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival on the 5th of May according to the Lunar calendar. Zongzi (sticky rice dumplings) is the traditional festive food for the occasion. All students from each year level have learned the history behind this very important event. A big thank you to many of our Chinese mums who made around 80 plain sticky rice dumplings so we had plenty to share for all the classes.
Shuoyin Tu
LOTE Teacher
African Music Celebration- Friday 8th September 2:30pm
Please save the date for an end of term African Music Celebration. This term in Performing Arts students are exploring African music through singing, drumming, instrument playing and dancing. They will also have the opportunity to attend an African music incursion on Friday 18th August (information to come soon!).
We would like to showcase student’s learning by presenting the songs they have been practising in class for their families in a special African Music Assembly on Friday 8th September at 2:30pm in the hall. To add colour to our afternoon, children will perform in a plain, brightly coloured t-shirt (no writing or logos please). It would be greatly appreciated if you could provide this for your child please and send it to school (name written on tag) on Wednesday 30th August. If you require assistance, please reach out.
Thanks for your support!
Marinda Tanner
Performing Arts Teacher
Last chance to enrol students in the ICAS Assessments in August - closes Monday 31 July
Parkhill is offering four assessments to choose from: 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.
We plan to hold the ICAS assessments on Thursdays, beginning 10 August. All tests will be held in the morning.
Thursday 10 August – ICAS Writing
Thursday 17 August – ICAS English
Thursday 24 August – ICAS Science
Thursday 31 August – 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 GGP197
Note: there is a charge for students to participate. Entries close Monday 31 July.
Library News
Dear Parkhill Families,
“We feel cold, but we don’t mind it, because we will not come to harm. And if we wrapped up against the cold, we wouldn’t feel other things, like the bright tingle of the stars, or the music of the aurora, or best of all the silky feeling of moonlight on our skin. It’s worth being cold for that.” — Philip Pullman
A reminder that orders for Issue 5 close today!
Place an order at scholastic.com.au/LOOP or using the LOOP app. You can also browse the online catalogue Book Club Issue 5 2023.
Thank you to families who have placed orders, we expect delivery in the next couple of weeks.
Overdue Books
Reminder notices were emailed home this week. We will appreciate it if you are able to look for the missing books at home.
Please email me or let your class teacher know if you are unable to find your books. We can update the system so your child will be able to continue to borrow from our library. Students will not be able to borrow books if they have any overdues owing.
Angelita Williams
Lunch Order Closure
There will be no Flexischools lunch orders on the following dates due to events at Ashwood High School:
- Thursday 10th August
- Wednesday 23rd August
- Friday 25th August
PFA News
President: Zoë Littlewood
Treasurer: Chris Fagan
General Members: Adam Keens, Emma Gullan, Lih-Shan Yam, Marinda Tanner, Michelle Wickman, Trish King, Vanessa Cowley, Iona Tsykalo, Jo Argaet
Trivia Night - 2 Weeks to go!
PFA will be running an online auction as part of Trivia Night, so that everyone has a chance at bidding during the evening. Information for the site will be available closer to the event.
Tickets for our Annual Trivia Night are now on sale! Join with parents of your child’s classmates or gather your “smartie” friends for what is guaranteed to be a fun and colourful night! Tickets can be purchased via www.trybooking.com/cieuc – either per person or for a table of 10.
“What is a smartie party?” you ask!? You need to come dressed head to toe in one colour! Prizes will be awarded to the best dressed “smartie” (or rebel “skittle”) and the best dressed table. Your table might like to choose a colour theme or aim for a whole rainbow of smarties! BYO food & drinks.
To make this night a fundraising success, we are also asking for donations towards silent auction items. The PFA can provide a letter for you to use when approaching your local businesses or retailers for vouchers or items. Just let us know by email to parents.friends.secretary@gmail.com.
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
Order Here – https://au.entdigital.net/orderbooks/9r34937
Lunch Orders
You can find the links to the lunch orders on the website under Quick Links.
FLEXISCHOOLS LUNCH ORDERS
