What an interesting week around the full moon! As always, a busy week at school, ending on an active note with the Summer Sports Round Robin finally going ahead. 

NAPLAN

NAPLAN begins for Y3 and Y5 students next week on Wednesday. The full schedule has been released to families affected and you can find it below. The students have now completed two practice tests and are ready to go through the four assessments in writing, reading, conventions of language and numeracy. They are also very keen for the food! It is a bit of a Parkhill tradition to offer a small snack for students sitting the NAPLAN tests to help fuel their brain. If you are available to help chop fruit or bread on any of the scheduled days (see below), please let Wendy or Iona know.

Think U Know

Tuesday afternoon we gathered in Y3 for a very informative and eye-opening presentation with Senior Constable Jaclyn and Federal Agent David who talked us through the various risks children might find using the internet. David has sent through a link to resources that families might find useful when discussing cybersafety with their children: https://www.thinkuknow.org.au/resources-tab/parents-and-carers 

We will arrange for a similar presentation for the senior students shortly.

Subcommittees

School Council will meet next week and discuss membership of our subcommittees. Membership for any subcommittee or working group is open to anyone in the Parkhill community. I encourage anyone interested in helping to make Parkhill an even better place to join. Our committees are as follows:

Finance – budgeting, reviewing school finances, discussing fundraising and finance issues

Buildings and Grounds – improvements to the school’s buildings and grounds, working bees

Policy – governance of the school, policies and procedures 

Publicity and Promotions – promoting the school to the wider community

Community Hub Establishment Group – creating a space for the community to gather

Parent Teacher Interviews

March 20 and 21 are our Term 1 Parent Teacher Interviews. I encourage you to book an interview on Compass with your child’s class teacher to discuss your child’s progress together and keep communication channels open. Children benefit greatly from a consistent message from both teachers and parents; this can be supported by discussing their progress at parent teacher interviews. Please call in at the office if you’re not sure how to book an interview.

Building Update

Once again no updates, though our point post has arrived and will be installed shortly.

Have a lovely long weekend!

Michelle Smith

Acting Principal

michelle.smith@education.vic.gov.au