ISSUE 06, FRIDAY 18 March 2022
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Principal's Message
Dear parents and carers,
Next Thursday (24th March) school council will be holding a community forum in which we will share the school’s position in the key areas of enrolments, student achievement, student engagement and parent engagement. We will also outline our programs and the actions we will be taking for continued school improvement. This forum is also an opportunity for parents to provide feedback in helping direct the school’s future.
The community forum will start at 7pm. An invitation to the forum was made available on Compass today.
School Council and subcommittees
The school council AGM was held last night with the election of the following office bearers for the year:
- President – Dan Edwards
- Vice President – Melo Conti
- Treasurer – Elle Delmee
- Secretary – Michelle Smith
As part of last night’s meeting, school council endorsed the formation of a number of new sub-committees. Sub-committees assist school council in the work that needs to be done and report regularly at school council meetings. Sub-committee membership is open to anyone in the school community and is a great way to get involved and make a contribution to the school.
In 2022 we have the following sub-committees:
- Finance (convenor – Elle Delmee)
- Policy (convenor – Michelle Smith)
- Buildings and Grounds (convenor – Wendy Douglas)
- Community Engagement (convenor – Sasha Guy)
The Finance committee handles many of the council’s routine financial responsibilities in relation to internal control, budgeting (non-staff) investing and fundraising.
The Buildings and Grounds committee will handle facilities improvement through the coordination of working bees. Many identified projects, such as the development of the indigenous garden, will be undertaken in working bees.
The Community Engagement committee is essentially a renaming of the current Connected School Working Group. This group have been instrumental in many of the initiatives around promotion of the school, including the development of the new school website.
The recent Parent Partnership survey identified a wealth of skills and expertise in our community, as well as enthusiasm and interest to become involved in the school. If you would like to be involved in any of the sub-committees please email the school or talk to a member of school council.
Working Bee – Saturday 2nd April
The major project of this working bee is the development of the indigenous garden at the front of the school. The concept of the garden is a campfire/yarning circle with paths meandering from the centre forming eight distinct garden beds to be planted out with native plants by each of the eight classes in the school in term 2. At the working bee we hope to achieve the excavation of the circle and paths and welcome any support. The working bee starts at 9am and will be followed by lunch which will be provided. Working bees are such a great way for the community to come together. Keep an eye out for an expression of interest invitation via Compass next week!
Have a lovely weekend,
David Wells
Acting Principal
Calendar of Curriculum Events
Please note that these events are subject to Covid-19 restrictions and are subject to change and/or cancellation.
twilight sports
Our Twilight Sports are coming up on Tuesday 29 March. From 5pm there will be a family picnic with a delicious sausage sizzle! Our sports events will begin at 5:30pm and run for around an hour. Our local kinders have been invited to join us to experience our Parkhill spirit!
Come along to support our students and join the festivities.
School photos
Please see the attached document for information about School Photos. Please contact the office if you would like another envelope!
second hand uniform stall
There will be a Second Hand Uniform stall next Thursday 24th March at 8.45am – 9.15am outside the administration building. Gold coin donation for each item.
parent payments
Parent payments cover the costs of things like pens, paper, digital subscriptions for Reading Eggs, etc. These items are not covered by the government funding the school receives, so if you are able to make these contributions, please follow this link to access the information.
Currently, the school has only received parent payments from 42% of families at the school.
As a result of the change to the structure of parent payments, there will be no statements sent to families from this year onward and no reminders of these payments.
We understand that this year the changes to the payments by the Department have made the process more confusing, so if you have any questions about these voluntary payments, please contact Jo at the office (jo.ravida@education.vic.gov.au) or ask a School Council member. Importantly, there is also assistance available including payment plans and community assistance funds.
Melo Conti
Vice President – School Council
steam news
Parkhill has taken the opportunity to take part in the CSIRO STEM Professionals in Schools partnership. As part of this partnership, we have connected with scientist Rebecca Dawkins who will spend time with students, sharing her vast knowledge and skills. This week Y5/6 had the opportunity to work with Rebecca on an experiment that will test the impact of soil salinity and acidity on crop growth. They were able to experience using a conductivity sensor to measure water salinity and pH strip indicators to measure water acidity. We are wondering which watering solution will result on the rye crops flourishing or failing.
Andrea Crane
STEAM teacher
f/y1 playtime fun
Some busy Y1s are catering for Beaver’s wedding – apparently might take a couple of weeks!!
library news
You can place your order at scholastic.com.au/LOOP or by using the LOOP app. Here is the link to the online catalogue Book Club Issue 2 2022.
A reminder to kindly note that orders from Issue 2 may only be delivered after the term holidays. Please keep this in mind when placing your order.
If you need assistance or have any queries, please do not get in touch via email or a phone call.
Angelita Williams
angelita.williams@education.vic.gov.au
Librarian
policy update - march
Policy committee met recently to review four policies: Restraint and Seclusion (DET), Privacy (DET), Student Wellbeing and Engagement and Health Care Needs.
Both of the first two policies are DET policies so cannot be changed. The Restraint and Seclusion policy concerns use of restraint and seclusion in schools, the consent and communication of incidents.
From the policy: Physical restraint and seclusion are only permitted within Victorian government schools in exceptional circumstances where it is immediately required and reasonably necessary to protect the safety of a student or another person. Physical restraint and seclusion are not permitted at any other time.
The Privacy policy governs what personal information schools collect and what we do with that data, gaining consent, why we collect it and accessing the data. For more information in the complete policy visit Privacy policy (DET).
The Student Wellbeing and Engagement (DRAFT) policy is now up for public consultation, so I encourage families to review and consider if the policy is reflective of practices at Parkhill. The policy is broad and encompasses the profile of the school as well as our practices and strategies to enhance wellbeing and engagement. I would be grateful for any feedback regarding this policy before it goes back to school council in May. Please send any comments through to michelle.smith@education.vic.gov.au or call through to the office.
Finally, the Health Care Needs policy was reviewed. This policy outlines planning for students with specific medical needs and supporting their access to learning. These health care needs are outside of asthma, allergies and anaphylaxis, which are addressed in the Asthma and Anaphylaxis policies, respectively.
Don’t forget you can join us at any time – we always welcome new members! Our next expected meeting will be in May and we plan to meet once a term this year. Send me a note via email on michelle.smith@education.vic.gov.au and I’ll add you to the list!
Michelle Smith
Policy Convenor
PFA News
Executive Committee:
President: Zoë Littlewood
Vice President: Vacant
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
EASTER RAFFLE
Calling all chocoholics! Our fabulous annual Easter Raffle is back this year and we need your help to make it a fundraising success!
Ticket books have been sent home this week. Tickets are just $2 each, 10 tickets per book. Please sell them to all of your chocaholic family and friends! Drawn at the final assembly of term.
- Donations requested! Easter eggs, chocolate bunnies, stuffed bunnies, and other Easter gifts. Please add an Easter item or two to your trolley during your next grocery shop and then drop them off at the office by Friday 1st April.
Thanks in advance & good luck!
ENTERTAINMENT BOOK
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.
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
