Issue 27, Friday 9 September 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
What a week!! Concert was just amazing! How absolutely delightful to see the whole school on stage, the children singing, dancing and smiling throughout all of the performances. What a perfect opportunity to bring the community together. This is our first concert in four years with the last being in 2018, The Little School on the Hill, and what a cracker!
The buzz of excitement and achievement as each and every child added their own little sparkle to the stage in not one but three fabulous performances.
I cannot begin to thank the team enough – Marinda and Carlie have worked tirelessly throughout this term planning and working with the children to bring the concert to life. There has been a hive of activity behind the scenes with Michelle working on music, Ruth and Sharon working through costumes and backdrops, Sam, Buni and Jayda planning choreographing and teaching dances. So many parents came along to working bees and contributed in their own ways. Throughout the weeks I have seen so many of you helping in one way or another. Thank you!
The children have been so excited and this week they were ready to perform. What a job they did!! Well done to each and everyone of you.
Performing is something that comes naturally to some of us but is a challenge to others. I feel so very proud of every student who got up on stage and gave their very best!
This concert was a true reflection of Community Engagement! I am proud to be Principal of such a wonderful school with such a committed and supportive community.
That being said, I am taking leave in the last week of term. I am lucky to have family coming to visit from the UK who are joining my partner and I to celebrate our marriage. We are getting married on 24th September at our little farm in regional Victoria. Michelle will be Acting Principal for the week, so should you need anything please feel free to contact her directly.
I am still waiting for confirmation of our swimming carnival date – please stay tuned!
We wish Bella Crowe all the best for her travels in Term 4. We are still working to cover this position and will send more information soon.
I have some exciting news to share with you. Earlier this year an exciting opportunity was offered to us at Parkhill. Rowen Street Kinder in Glen Iris are looking for a temporary relocation while they undergo some building works. They will be joining the Parkhill Community from the beginning of 2023. This is super exciting for us as a community to welcome new families into our wonderful space.
I remind you that on Wednesday next week we have a Professional Practice day for the teachers, so it is a pupil free day – children stay at home.
I wish you all a wonderful break and hope that the sun shines bright!
Have a super weekend.
Best wishes,
Elaine Brady
Principal
Congratulations, Elaine!
We would like to wish Elaine Brady and her partner Tim all the best for their wedding during the school holidays. Ms Brady will be back next term as normal.
Calendar of Curriculum Events
Wednesday 14 September is a Professional Practice Day. Students do not attend school on this day.
Footy Day and Footy Parade
Footy Day will be held on Friday 16th September, the last day of term. Students are welcome to come to school dressed in their footy colours on this day. We will hold a short footy parade during the day – all football codes are welcome!
SAVE THE DATE - School Forum
Following the success of our school forum in Term 1, the School Council is most excited to be hosting, with the support of the Parkhill staff, a school forum in early Term 4 on Tuesday 11 October.
This is very much in listening and taking on board parent feedback and we look forward to seeing you there.
More details will be coming out around the content for the event as it approaches.
Warm regards,
Parkhill School Council
Indigenous Literacy Day
The first Wednesday of September marks Indigenous Literacy Day. The Koorie Education Calendar however wisely highlights that every day should ingrain First Nations literature. With this in mind, the school read books created by First Nations authors and illustrators throughout the entirety of the week and do this regularly. Plenty of art activities also extended our learning and knowledge about First Nations culture and the land we live on.
The F/Y1s were lucky enough to have the Koorie Ambassadors read a book, teaching us about the diversity of Country. In F/1A, Sariaha read the book ‘Alkere’ meaning ‘sky’ from her Country, Arrernte. The book highlights names of the weather in this language. Students then used paint to make weather symbols and participated in a collaborative sky art piece.
In F/1B, Santanah taught students about Yorta Yorta Country. They learned about different animal tracks and animal names in the Bangerang language. Students made a collaborative art piece as they painted animal tracks on leaves, which decorated a human foot print painted with colours of the Aboriginal flag.
It was a whole week packed full of learning as we listened and learned from First Nations books and Country. A special thank you to the Koorie Ambassadors, Sariaha and Santanah, for their efforts in teaching us about First Nations culture.
Bella Crowe
Koorie Education Ambassador
For Indigenous Literacy Day, 6B spent some time having a ‘yarn circle’ at the front of the school. Although yarn circles are not just a place to tell stories, as a class we read through Aunty Joy Murphy and Lisa Kennedy’s local story ‘Welcome to Country’. The story depicts the idea that as First Nations Australians, they are a part of the land, and the land is a part of them. Whilst holding natural objects they had found around school grounds, the class were asked questions such as ‘Where do you belong?’, ‘How do you know that something is real?’, and were given two options at a time to see what they connected with the most.
Rebecca Kennedy
Student Teacher
2/3A Writer's Workshop
The Y2/3s have been learning about stories and how these can be told through writing and media. Using the story “Goldilocks and The Three Dinosaurs,” they explored and compared this to the original fairytale, “Goldilocks and The Three Bears.”
The students giggled as they read the story and analysed three modelled sentences from the book. They looked carefully at the punctuation in these sentences and learnt about conjunctions to join ideas together. They then used these sentences from the text, adding their own adjectives and ideas to make it their own.
Take a look at their creative writing pieces!
Bianca Bevilacqua
Y2/3 Teacher
Congratulations, Shaurya and Jasper!
Last week Shaurya P in 5/6A won the Under 12 state championship for Australian 8 Ball Pool and was selected to represent Victoria in the national championships. He was the top performer and ranked 1st in selection.
Jasper W in 6B, who featured in last week’s newsletter, won the Snowsports National Division 4 Moguls event in Perisher, NSW, with a score of 52.60.
Congratulations to both Shaurya and Jasper on their amazing achievements!
Stargazing at Parkhill - what a wonderful starry night!
We were finally able to see through our stargazing event at Parkhill that has been in planning for some years. It was wonderful to see families out in the dark, moonlit night wandering from telescope to telescope. Our guides for the evening were the Astronomy for the People crew led by Steve. They ably shared their passion for astronomy with our attending community and everyone became that much wiser by just being near them!
For more information, head to https://skymaps.com/ to get a free monthly sky map.
Michelle Smith
Assistant Principal
Family Concert Dance Session
After riding high on the euphoria of concert season, we thought it would be fun to see out the term with a fun family dance session. Siblings and parents have been joining in impromptu dance rehearsals with their kids at home and this is the chance for everyone to come together to end concert term with a bang!
Bring your dancing shoes and join us straight after school on Friday 16th in the hall to dance out all of our concert dance songs.
Can’t wait to see you there!
Marinda Tanner and Kerry Darcy
PARENT/CAREGIVER/GUARDIAN OPINION SURVEY 2022
WE WANT OUR PARENTS/CAREGIVERS/GUARDIANS TO TELL US WHAT THEY THINK!
Our school is conducting a survey to find out what parents/caregivers/guardians think of our school. The Parent/Caregiver/Guardian Opinion Survey is an annual survey offered by the Department of Education and Training that is designed to assist schools in gaining an understanding of families’ perceptions of school climate, student behaviour, and student engagement. We encourage families to participate in this survey. Our school will use the survey results to help inform and direct future school planning and improvement strategies.
A random sample of approximately 30% of parents/caregivers/guardians has been selected to participate in this year’s survey. If your family has been selected, you will have received a letter care of your child during the week.
The Parent/Caregiver/Guardian Opinion Survey will be conducted from Monday 22nd August to Friday 16th September.
The survey will be conducted online, only takes 20 minutes to complete, and can be accessed at any convenient time within the fieldwork period on desktop computers, laptops, tablets or smartphones. The online survey will be available in a range of languages other than English. These include: Arabic, Vietnamese, Simplified Chinese, Chin (Hakha), Hindi, Japanese, Somali, Turkish, Punjabi and Greek.
Please email michelle.smith@education.vic.gov.au if you would like more information.
Michelle Smith
Assistant Principal
INTERIM REPORTING
We are trialling a new way of reporting to parents at the conclusion of this term with Interim Reports. Teachers have collected work samples in writing and maths and will provide achievement feedback to parents through Compass.
It is important to note that the feedback is reflective of the task itself and may differ from the end of semester report. This is because when compiling the end of semester report, teachers take into account many different assessments and work samples to make their judgements.
Interim Reports are an exciting move in the direction of Continuous Reporting, where we hope to provide feedback in a more ongoing, task by task, nature.
More information about Interim Reports, including how to access them, will be forthcoming.
Michelle Smith
Assistant Principal
Library News
Dear Parkhill Families,
A quick note from me that orders from Issue 6 were sent home yesterday. We thank you for your continued support of the Book Club.
I am very excited about our Book Fair, which will run in November. Stay tuned for more information coming early next term.
If you have any queries, please feel free to get in touch.
Angelita Williams
Librarian
Canteen Closure Dates
Please note that Flexischools lunch orders will be unavailable on the following dates due to events at Ashwood High School:
Tuesday 11th October – Athletics Sports Day
PFA News
Executive Committee:
Treasurer: Chris Fagan
Secretary/Communications: Vacant
General Members: Elle Delmee, Sumi Sundram, Vanessa Cowley, Jo Argaet, Iona Tsykalo, Lih-Shan Yam, Emma Gullan, Trish King, Marinda Tanner, Alex Cilsby, Emily Meagher, Nadine Philips
ASHBURTON ARTISAN MARKET – Help Needed!
Parkhill Primary is hosting the Artisan Market on Saturday 17th September.
PFA will be running a Sausage Sizzle & Bake Stall to raise funds for the school.
If you can help please sign up below.
- Volunteers on the day to set-up, cook, serve sausage & pack away: https://signup.com/go/YQVQaLA
- Volunteers to bake goods for the stall: https://forms.gle/i5ZJusfA5Ku3urA79
NOTE: All baked goods must be packaged and labelled with ingredients for sale. Boxes and labels will be available from the office next week.
- Volunteers to man the bake stall: https://signup.com/go/aGfMGhU
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.
