Issue 22, Friday 5 August 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
All things ‘concert’ are starting to take over…Where’s Wally costumes are swamping the office and I hear the working bee at the weekend was buzzing with excitement!
We enjoyed Diversity Day on Wednesday with our Preschool Program session being Chinese focussed. Thanks to Shuoyin Tu for the work she did organising the event. It was really super to see the children come together and celebrate culture and difference.
Our upper school students joined the swimming program this week too.
Social Emotional Learning:
Learning to see another person’s point of view is important for getting along with others and building positive friendships. Understanding others helps children know what to do in social situations and is the basis for developing caring and responsibility. It’s not always easy for children to see the point of view of someone who is different from them. Being different could mean having a disability, coming from a different country, being a different age or gender, or having different values and interests. Children who are seen as different may be left out of activities. They may face discrimination because others think they are not as good, as talented, or as important as they are. Discrimination can have very negative effects on children’s self-esteem and mental health and wellbeing.
Taking others’ needs into account involves values of caring, compassion and acceptance of others. It also involves emotional skills for empathy. Learning to empathise with another person means learning to ‘walk in their shoes.’ It means being able to recognise and value their feelings and needs, even though they may be different from your own. Skills for empathy develop over time and include:
- recognising your own feelings;
- recognising others’ feelings;
- listening to others’ opinions;
- thinking what it would feel like if you saw the situation their way;
- thinking how you can respond in a caring way;
- doing something to help.
Some children find it easy to tune into feelings. Others need more guidance to learn empathic skills. Adults have an important role in supporting children to learn kindness and empathy.
How can parents help?
- Research has found that the examples shown by caring adults have a big influence on children’s empathy. Parents and carers (as well as school staff) can also foster empathy by promoting values of caring and compassion and coaching children to be kind and thoughtful towards others.
- Model empathy by tuning in to children’s feelings (eg. “Ouch! That must have hurt,” or “You must be feeling disappointed that your friend can’t come over”).
- Help children think about how feelings affect other people (eg. “How do you think your friend might be feeling?”).
- Help children develop skills for understanding other people’s points of view by discussing the effects of discrimination and the importance of respectful and caring attitudes towards everybody.
- Talk about situations that involve empathy (eg. “What I liked about the story was how kind the hero was,” or “That was a mean thing to do. Don’t you think she should have helped her friend?”).
- Notice when children are kind and let them know you value their behaviour (eg. “That was a very thoughtful thing to do. I really appreciate it!”).
How to support children to accept and include others:
- Teach children that there is nothing wrong with being different and that each of us is different to somebody else.
- Teach children that everyone has a right to be respected.
- Help children develop skills for positive friendships and cooperative play.
- Parents and carers of children with special needs can talk to their children’s teachers about how to support their strengths and about encouraging other children to include them.
Have a great weekend.
Best wishes,
Elaine Brady
Principal
Calendar of Curriculum Events
Principals' Day 2022
Have you ever imagined a different career, or put yourself in someone else’s (work) shoes? Well, today is Principals’ Day – and a good day to pause and think about the job of a Principal or Assistant Principal. Think about what it takes: understanding teaching and learning, mentoring and leading a group of professionals, engaging with stakeholders holding a range of interests and needs, keeping up to date with the latest missives from ‘head office’, and an overarching desire to build up the confidence and capabilities of a whole school of kids.
I’m grateful that we have leaders in our school, Elaine and Michelle, who are willing to take on these mammoth roles, and juggle the complex responsibilities involved. Happy Principals’ Day!
Dan Edwards
School Council President
Where's Wally? - School Concert Coming Soon!
The students and staff are getting super excited for the upcoming school concert – “Where’s Wally”! Preparation is well underway, and it is shaping up to be an amazing, spectacular event!
There will be three performances:
- Monday 5th September at 11am (Matinee)
- Tuesday 6th September at 6:30pm
- Wednesday 7th September at 6:30pm
Ticketing information will be sent out at a later date.
Each class has a special song and dance to perform at each of the concert performances. Students practise their items during Performing Arts, as well as extra rehearsals led by our wonderful parents Marinda, Buni and Sam, in conjunction with the classroom teachers, throughout each week.
Each class has a special theme:
F/1A – Farm
F/1B – Pirates
2/3A – Ocean
2/3B – Space
4/5A – Circus
4/5B – Jurassic
5/6A – Jungle
6B – Haunted House
Information about costumes will be sent out next week. Thank you to the Parkhill community for the donations of costumes and props that have already started rolling into the office after our recent request for assistance.
Thank you again to all the wonderful volunteers who assisted with the Concert Working Bee last Saturday. There will be another working bee on Saturday 27th of August to set up the hall for the concert, as well as other small tasks to complete throughout the term as required. If you would like to assist, please get in touch with Marinda Tanner or Carlie Eriksen, we would truly appreciate your support!
If you have any questions, please let us know.
Carlie Eriksen and Marinda Tanner
Our Amazing Diversity Day!
We celebrated our Diversity Day at Parkhill on Wednesday. Students were drawn into the beautiful traditional Chinese melody performed by the talented Mr. Wang. Mr. Wang has shown the students some very unique Chinese instruments, such as ‘sheng’ ‘hugusi (gourd)’ and two types of Chinese flute. The incursion ended with an extraordinary student Chinese band performance with Mr. Wang. Students then experienced different activities from all around the world by visiting different classrooms. Below are some of the amazing final products from the students. More students’ work from the day will be displayed in the Library soon. Thanks Parkhill teachers, students and parents for an extraordinary day!
Shuoyin Tu
LOTE Teacher
Concert Working Bee - Thank You!
Thank you to all of the families who kindly came along to our Concert Working Bee on Saturday afternoon. It is amazing to see what can be achieved when our fantastic community comes together. Backdrops were sewn and painted, choir risers moved into the hall, cardboard props were cut out and painted and delicious snacks enjoyed. A very big thank you to Ruth Davidson for volunteering her time and sharing her artistic skills with us.
Marinda Tanner and Carlie Eriksen
Library News
Hi Parkhill Families,
Thank you for placing your book orders from Issue 5. We thank you for your continued support with Book Club as every Book Club order earns Scholastic Rewards for the school to purchase additional resources.
We expect delivery of the orders in the next week and orders will be sent home when they have been sorted and reconciled.
Thank you for your help with getting our library books back to school, and to parents who have reached out about missing books. The library records will be updated so your child will be able to borrow from the library.
Kindly advise your class teacher or I if you are unable to find any missing books. We are not seeking payment for any lost books. If you would like to organise a replacement, you are welcome to make a voluntary donation to the library.
Please do get in touch if you have any queries, you can email me or simply leave a message with the office.
Angelita Williams
Canteen Closure Dates
Please note that Flexischools lunch orders will be unavailable on the following dates due to events at Ashwood High School:
Thursday 11th August – Curriculum Day
Wednesday 24th August – Student Conference Day
Friday 26th August – Student Conference Day
Tuesday 30th August – Athletics Sports Day
Working Bee
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.
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
Trivia Night is in 1 Week!


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


What's Next:
Contact us on WhatsApp – https://chat.whatsapp.com/DtYmFR9RjrZ7ayDpYAVy6L or email parkhillpiranhas@gmail.com
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.
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


Lunch Orders
You can find the links to the lunch orders on the website under Quick Links.
FLEXISCHOOLS LUNCH ORDERS
community notices







