PUPIL FREE DAYS 2023 (TheirCare will be running their day care programs at school on all student free days)
- Monday 10th July - Three way conferences
- Monday 6th November - Report writing day
2023 TERM DATES
- Term 2: 24th April - 23rd June (2:30pm finish)
- Term 3: 10th July - 15th September (2:30pm finish)
- Term 4: 2nd October - 20th December (1:30pm finish)
CROSS COUNTRY Congratulations to all of our students on their performances at last week’s Divisional Cross Country run at Banyule Flats. The competition will get even stronger as five of our students progress to the Regional Championships at Kilmore Racetrack on Wednesday, June 14. I would like to take this opportunity to wish Joshua Cadusch, Vibha Sathish, Jeremy Seletto, April Harris and Harvey Woo all the very best.
SCHOOL COUNCIL The June meeting of School Council is scheduled for next Tuesday, June 13, commencing at 7pm.
BUILDING WORKS UPDATES We anticipate the handover of our new and refurbished portable classrooms on Friday, June 16. The timing will enable us to move all furniture into these classrooms during the last week of term, and to enable better access to our vegie patch for the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden program for our 3s and 4s from term 3 onwards. Work is progressing on our new Administration building. Weather permitting, the existing Administration building is scheduled for demolition to commence over the term 3 school holidays. This will necessitate a temporary relocation of Administration during Term 4 – at this stage, this is likely to be the STEM room and foyer in the gymnasium, but further details will follow as term 3 unfolds.
STAFFING CHANGES We bid farewell to Tara Sawyer at the end of term 2. Tara has been successful in gaining a position at Macclesfield PS which is significantly closer to her home. Whilst we are sad to see her go, we wish her all the very best in this new position. We have advertised for her replacement and will advise you as soon as possible to enable a smooth transition.
A reminder that Monday is the King’s Birthday public holiday. School resumes at 9am on Tuesday, but we won’t be having an Assembly. I trust everyone has a lovely long weekend.
Kind regards,
Bill Kersing
Principal
3 Way Conferences On Monday 10th July, we have a ‘student free’ day for the purpose of having 3 Way Conferences. For families new to our school, the ‘3 Way’ part refers to parent, teacher and student (Foundation to Year 6) coming together to discuss Semester 1 learning and future goals. These conferences focus on the child’s development and progress and allow the student to present their learning outcomes for the first half of the year. Parents also have the opportunity to ask questions of the student and teacher during these conferences.
Classroom teachers are offering face-to-face sessions that are 15 minutes in length.
Our specialist teachers who work on a Monday will be offering face-to-face times that are 10 minutes long. As our specialist teachers have a large number of students and limited time, please keep in mind that these are optional, and it is recommended that you only make a booking if you have something specific you would like to discuss about your child with those teachers.
For parents of students in 2S, 3 Way Conferences are being held on Wednesday 21st June. As mentioned in a direct post to you, you will be able to book a time with the new class teacher on the 10th July. These meetings will be 10 minutes in length. As we do not know who the teacher is at this stage, you will book a time with me – no rumours, I am not going to be the new teacher in 2S!
On Tuesday 13th June, bookings will open to all at approximately 10am via Compass. You will not be able to book after Wednesday 5th July at 10am. It is strongly recommended you book before the end of term in case of any issues. Interview times will be offered from 9am until 6pm.
Our out of school hours care provider, Theircare, have full day care available on the 10th July. If requiring their service, please book via the usual process.
Reports will be available to download on Thursday 22nd June – you will be notified when these are ‘live’ to parents.
2024 Foundation Enrolments Mr Kersing, Mrs Nicholls and I have been busy all term conducting school tours for parents. Combined with the successful 2024 Foundation Information Evening and the success of Open Days on Tuesday 16th May and Saturday 20th May (with tours being led by our student leaders), our confirmed enrolment numbers are steadily rising. If you have a child that will be starting in Foundation in 2024, it would be great if you could let the office know as soon as you can. Enrolments are now open!
Have a great long weekend. Stay safe if travelling.
Patrick
SWPBS Small School Reward Congratulations to all our students who have been regularly displaying positive behaviours at school this semester. Together, they have filled our Beehave Wall; earning a small school reward. To celebrate, we will be having an SWPBS Disco Day on Wednesday 21st June. I’m sure there will be many cool disco outfits on the day and lots of excitement. Thanks to all the staff for reinforcing and recording the positive behaviours. Hopefully families have been able to acknowledge their child’s achievements when receiving their SWPBS Values email.
Why talking about school is important
Every day your child experiences a range of situations that provides opportunities for them to learn new things, engage in new experiences, interact with others, be challenged and problem solve so when parents ask ‘how was your day’ it’s often hard for children to know where to begin.
The following information is from Raising Children
Talking with your child about the school day shows you’re interested in what’s going on in their life. This interest boosts your child’s mental health, happiness and wellbeing. It can also have a very positive effect on your child’s behaviour and achievement. It shows your child that you value school and education, which encourages them to value it too.
Talking together about school also helps you get to know more about what’s expected of your child at school, how they learn and how they handle challenges. It can help you understand when your child is feeling less interested in school or having problems.
When you’re in touch with your child’s feelings about school, you’re more likely to see problems before they get too big. This way you can work on overcoming challenges together.
And talking about school issues – like school projects or friendship problems – is also a great chance for you to express your family values about things like teamwork, respect for self and others, friendships, relationships, problem-solving and so on.
Strategies for talking about school with your child
When your child first gets home from school in the afternoon, they’ll probably be tired and hungry or thinking about other things. So easing the transition from school or after-school activities to home can help your child feel more like talking.
It’s best to avoid asking your child a lot of questions straight away – this can be overwhelming for your child. You can just let your child know that you’re glad to see them, and talk about non-school topics for a while. Younger children will probably also like unpacking their bags and going through any notes before you ask about school.
Saving questions about homework for later on can also take the pressure off!
Every afternoon or evening will be different. Even if your child usually likes to share their day with you, there’ll be days when they don’t want to talk. Sometimes it’s a matter of sensing your child’s mood and picking the right moment. Some days there might not be a right moment at all, and that’s OK.
Simple, positive and specific questions about parts of the day can get your child talking. It’s good to use questions that invite more than a ‘yes’, ‘no’ or ‘OK’ response. For example:
- What’s the news from school today?
- What was fun?
- What did you like best at school today?
- What does your classroom look like at the moment?
- What did you do in class after recess?
- Who did you hang out with today?
- What subjects did you do today?
- What topics are you working on in science at the moment?
Tips for talking about school with primary school children
These tips can help you get a conversation going:
- Make time to talk. This can often be when you’re doing something with your child. For example, your child might like to talk when you’re walking the dog or preparing dinner together.
- Give your child your full attention if they want to talk with you about their day.
- Take seriously whatever your child tells you. For example, you can say things like, ‘That’s really interesting. Then what happened?’ or ‘And how do you feel about that?’
- Use respectful language when you talk about the school and teachers with or in front of your child. For example, ‘I can see that’s frustrating, but Ms Adams is your teacher and you need to speak respectfully to her’, or ‘Yes, that seems unfair, but perhaps you don’t know the whole story’.
- Use active listening techniques. These can help you pick up on your child’s feelings and work out whether they want to talk.
If your child is having problems at school, or you are concerned about what they are sharing please chat to their teacher.
Enjoy the long weekend.
Gill
Star of the Term Certificate Recently we hosted a competition for what our new certificate design for the Star of the Term is going to be. This award has replaced Citizen of the Month award and we have finally decided on a design.
We saw a bunch of amazing designs from students, and we congratulate the finalists Vihaana 5B, Heidi 5B, Amy 3B and Lennox and Rory 5B. The 4 designs were voted on by all year levels.
We are happy to announce that Amy Benny from 3B has won the competition with her amazing design! We loved all designs and congratulate everyone who entered the competition.
Please see below for Amy’s digital certificate.
A special thanks to Mrs Sawyer who created the digital version of Amy’s design.
The Star of the Term will be awarded in Week 9, Term 2 to one very special student from each year level. Then it will be awarded once every term.
Written by Lexi, Taya, Lily and Zara N (Year 6 Leadership Team)
Inquiry Learning This week all of the Year 4 students attended an incursion focusing on Democracy, Community and Me. This incursion was run by Linked Incursions and our instructor was Danny. The presentation included learning about the difference between rules and laws, how a council is established and run as well as how it is important to have our say through the voting system. We had an outstanding time working with Danny to learn about democracy and community. We were able to complete a role play of an election and a council meeting. We even had our very own Mayor!
We look forward to learning a lot more about civics and citizenship in our inquiry.
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Lower Plenty Bakehouse will be providing the school with fundraising Lunch Orders every Thursday. These lunches have been implemented via our Parents and Friends Committee. All money raised will be used towards our major school upgrade.
Our Term 2 Fundraising Lunch Order Dates are:
- Thursday 15th June (Orders closing on 12th June, 3:00pm)
- Thursday 22nd June (Orders closing on 19th June, 3:00pm)
Orders need to be placed in advance via Compass Canteen. Ordering will close the Monday before the lunch date at 3pm. All of Term 2 lunch dates are now open for orders, and can be placed in advance for the whole term if you choose to do so.
Please see attached a Parent User Guide on how to order via Compass Canteen. Please note a 35 cents order fee will be charged at check out.
Parent assistance is required on Lunch Days from 10:30am to 12:30pm to assist with the packing of our orders. If you are available to assist in anyway can you please email the school at viewbank.ps@education.vic.gov.au so your name can be added to our roster.
Thank you for your support.
ICY POLE FRIDAY Students are able to purchase icy poles over the counter at lunchtime every Friday. All icy poles cost $1.00 each.
Entertainment Book 20% of the membership goes directly to support our fundraising at Viewbank Primary School. https://www.entertainment.com.au/current-promotion
Lunches must be ordered online using the CLASSROOM CUISINE website.
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WEEKLY SECOND HAND UNIFORM SALE - Every Friday 8:45am to 9:15am, next to the music room. Jumpers with the school logo, long and short sleeve school polo tops and school dresses will be $2.00. We are currently asking for donations of any unwanted reusable school uniform items to sell at our stall.
Instrumental Music Enrolments Can all students who would like to join our school instrumental music programs please inform the relevant teacher below of your expression of interest.
SINGING WITH GABRIELLA - Gabriella
- Email: favrettogab@gmail.com
- Phone: 0413 676 733
STRINGS - MR CAI
- Email: cai66@optusnet.com.au
- Phone: 0403 490 078
GUITAR/BASS GUITAR - Alec
- Email: alec.stalder@gmail.com
DRUMS/BEGINNER KEYBOARD - Michael
- Email: michaelfindlaymcnab@gmail.com
- Phone: 0451 394 540
PIANO/KEYBOARD – Tiaryn Griggs
- Email: tiaryngriggs@gmail.com
Our school has partnered with an independent provider called TheirCare to provide exceptional Outside School Hours Care services for our school community.
The program is available for all children at Viewbank Primary School from 6:30am until 9:00am in the morning and from 3:30pm until 6:15pm each school day.
During School Holidays & Pupil Free Days the service will operate from 6:30am until 6:15pm.
Families wishing to use this service can visit the TheirCare website: www.theircare.com.au
Families are eligible for a Government Rebate called the Child Care Subsidy which can reduce the cost per session by up to 85%.
More information can be obtained by contacting the school or ringing TheirCare Support Team on 1300 072 410.
TheirCare provides a stimulating and safe environment for all children. During sessions, children develop life-skills, friendships, confidence and creativity through play-based programs.
A PLUS SCHOOLWEAR
Shop Details:
- Unit 3/30 Heaths Court, Mill Park
- T: 9436 4005
- E: info@northernregionaluniforms.com.au
Opening Hours:
- Monday to Thursday 9am to 5pm
- Friday 9am to 3pm
- Saturday 9am to 12pm
Online Ordering Please Visit: www.aplusschoolwear.com.au