Issue 23, Friday 12 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
The school has been super busy this last week. Thank you so much to the parents and families who came along to the working bee at the weekend – WOW! The difference in the gardens is amazing! I heard reports of aching bodies on Sunday…and beyond. What a super effort!
Last week our Professional Learning Community (PLC) training continued. As a team we spent the day unpacking the culture around learning and teaching at Parkhill and have begun working on a Cultural Action Plan which will support the PLC model heading into 2023.
We had a wonderful group of pre-service teachers from Deakin come to work with some of our Y2/3 students on some mathematics learning earlier this week. It was awesome to see so much activity and to see the success in the children with such high levels of support. This is something that will continue to happen over the next few weeks.
Swimming, swimming, swimming – the whole school is in deep with the swimming program. The lower school completed their eight sessions this week with the upper school having a few more sessions to go. We are waiting for confirmation of the swimming carnival date – it will most likely be in Term 4 at this stage. Please look out for this in the coming weeks.
If you haven’t already checked it out, look below for the information around our Trivia Night this weekend.
Social Emotional Learning:
Anger or anxiety?
Often children who appear oppositional or defiant are struggling with anxiety. In young children anxiety can present as aggression, anger or defiance.
https://www.heysigmund.com/anxiety-or-aggression-children/
What to do when you are trying to manage a child with anxiety…
As a parent we are always trying to find ways to help make life easier for our children, to help support their needs and ensure they are happy and resilient. When working with children who suffer with anxiety this challenge is much harder. The link below offers some really good advice about how to help your child if they happen to suffer from anxiety. Have a read!
https://childmind.org/article/what-to-do-and-not-do-when-children-are-anxious/
Have a great weekend.
Best wishes,
Elaine Brady
Principal
Calendar of Curriculum Events
Book Week 2022
Book Week is fast approaching. The CBCA Book Week 2022 takes place from August 20 – 26. This year’s theme is ‘Dreaming with Eyes Open…’ We will be celebrating this event at Parkhill on Thursday 25th August. There will be a special Care Group activity and Book Parade. Students can bring in a copy of their favourite book and dress up as their favourite character. Students only need to bring in an item to wear or prop such as a pair of glasses, hat, scarf, etc. to wear as the parade will be held in the afternoon.
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 was sent home this 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
Stargazing - Monday September 5th
Volunteers from the Astronomical Society of Victoria will be setting up their telescopes in the school grounds so that we can gaze at the splendours of the Moon and some of the amazing objects visible in the night sky. You’ll get great views of craters and mountains on the Moon, and be able to see star clusters, and other distant astronomical objects. We will start at 6.30pm and finish at about 8.00pm on the asphalt area. Wrap up warm, as September evenings can be quite chilly. If you want to bring along a torch, make sure that the lens is covered with something red, like cellophane. White light is bad for your night vision!
Register your attendance via Compass.
Let’s give our inner Astronomer time to shine!
Andrea Crane
STEAM Teacher
National Science Week
Next week it’s National Science Week. ‘Glass: More than meets the eye’ is the school theme for 2022 and celebrates the United Nations International Year of Glass. Students in all year levels will engage in learning about glass and its use in everyday life.
The glass used in windows and drinking glasses is made by heating and mixing silica (quartz sand) with limestone, soda ash and other ingredients, and then cooling it so quickly that an orderly crystal structure can’t form. Instead, the particles are spread out randomly. This makes glass smooth, hard and brittle. Although it is strong, it can shatter.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have used natural forms of glass to make cutting tools for many thousands of years. These tools were used for a variety of tasks, including preparing food, creating clothing, and for warfare and ceremonial purposes. The glass used by First Nations peoples were volcanic glass called obsidian, Australites (which are made during meteorite impacts), and spinifex resin which, when heated and cooled, forms a type of glass too.
I would love to see Parkhill families getting involved and having a go at some of the activities recommended by the Australian Science Teachers Association. Please send in photos of your family’s science week adventures so that we can share them in next week’s newsletter. Send photos and a brief description of your fun to andrea.crane@education.vic.gov.au.
Andrea Crane
STEAM teacher
Archaelogical digging site - aka Mud Play
The children in the F/Y1 playground have recently been digging up a tree root in their area and their conversations are focussed around gems and dinosaur bones.
Following the agency of the children, and with the help of Roger, we have made a creative play space with digging tools, metal pans, diggers, and various ‘Danger’ signs. The children have been advised that the area has been ‘roped off’ for the safety of people running and tripping but that they are able to play there. As you can see by the photos, it was a hub of excitement. We have some budding archaeologists at Parkhill!
Mud play helps children to develop tactile skills along with the sensory play. Mud play and other outdoor activities give children fresh air, exercise, and sunlight (plus gets them off the screens!) Mud play also helps children boost creativity, imagination, independent learning, and teamwork.
Kerry D’Arcy
Integration Aide
Library News
Hi Parkhill Families,
We received our book orders from Issue 5, and these were sent home yesterday.
Issue 6 is now out! Look for your brochure that was sent home or simply browse the online catalogue Book Club Issue 6 2022. You can place an order at scholastic.com.au/LOOP or by using the LOOP app.
Kindly note the cut off date for orders is Friday 26 August.
Every Book Club order earns Scholastic Rewards for the school to purchase additional resources, however there is no obligation for you to make a purchase.
If you need a hand with your order or have any queries, please email me or leave a message at the office.
Angelita Williams
Librarian
Term 3 Working Bee
Last Saturday we saw staff, students and families from our school come out to help us refresh our gardens. Highlights of what this amazing groups of people achieved include:
– fixing the wire fencing around the soccer courts;
– pruning and mulching the garden bed alongside the staff room/office building;
– mulching and cleaning of the Foundation playground;
– weeding and mulching of the Community Garden;
– weeding, pruning and laying of mulch on the gardens behind the main playground;
– using a woodchipper to transform our green waste into approx 15 cubic metres of mulch.
We enjoyed a delicious afternoon tea kindly donated by Baker’s Delight Ashburton and Woolworths Ashwood. All families who attended will also receive a Lego kit donated by Bunnings Chadstone – it should have been delivered to your kids sometime this week but please let us know if it hasn’t yet been received.
What’s Next?
Moving forward we are planning to keep chipping away at small projects around the school like our Parkhill Riverbed and, of course…. laying more mulch! If you have a valid Working with Children Check and would like to be part of these ongoing projects please contact me directly or let the team at the office know. We are planning to tackle these projects on Thursday afternoons throughout the remainder of Term 3.
Wendy Douglas
Buildings & Grounds
Bread Available!
Each week we receive a donation of bread from Woolworths for our families. The bread donation is usually loaves and rolls. If you are interested in receiving some of this bread each week, please contact the office or fill in the form below and we will add your family to our receiving list.
Please note: quantities of will vary each week.
Canteen Closure Dates
Please note that Flexischools lunch orders will be unavailable on the following dates due to events at Ashwood High School:
Wednesday 24th August – Student Conference Day
Friday 26th August – Student Conference Day
Tuesday 30th August – Athletics Sports Day
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 SETUP – HELPERS NEEDED
If you are available to help set up for Trivia Night, we will be setting up from 9:30 – 11:30am Saturday 13th August in the hall.
Can’t make Trivia Night, but would like to bid on silent auctions items? Here is your chance! The sheet will be updated during the night with the highest bid, so keep checking regularly! https://forms.gle/SCZCKVToMWCZGTXX9
Trivia Night is Tomorrow!
WHEN: Saturday 13 August 2022 at 7:00pm until late (7:30pm kickoff)
WHERE: School Hall
TICKETS: $25. You can purchase a table of 10 or individual tickets.
FOOD & DRINKS: BYOD & Snacks
THEME: Op Shop Glam – There are individual and group prizes so get your table together and start planning now!
BOOKING LINK: https://www.trybooking.com/BZJQI
What's Next:
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
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.
