Healesville Primary School
NEWSLETTER
Term 3 - Week 6 - Thursday August 20, 2020
From the Principal's Desk…
We are now well into our second round of Remote Learning for the year. I would like to say thank you to all our families – you really are doing an amazing job, during very stressful times. Earlier this week we put out a survey regarding remote learning and your responses have been fantastic. Later this week the School Improvement Team are going to go through all of the responses, with the aim of taking onboard any suggested improvements or changes. We also plan to share this information with everyone. Again, thank you for all the positive comments – the teachers were extremely pleased with these comments and they felt greatly appreciated.
Within this newsletter is a flyer regarding a webinar by Andrew Fuller ‘From Stressed to Strong Supporting your Family to Adapt in Uncertain Times’. Thursday 27th August at 7pm. I would highly recommend participating in this webinar, if you are able. I have participated in many of his presentations in the past and have always come away with great strategies to apply in my own personal life and working life.
COVID has a lot to answer for and I know that many of you have concerns about your child’s education and worry about time away from face to face teaching. As a school our prime motivation is good teaching and learning and doing the best for our students. With that in mind we have begun to look at our programs for the remainder of 2020 and 2021.
Sharyn Borg and Georgia Horsley with myself have begun to discuss how we will need to accommodate our preps entering school next year. Many have had quite a lot of time away from kinder and as a result some families are worried that their child may not be ready for school. For us this means we need to make the transition as seamless as possible by undertaking more of a play-based model of learning especially in term one. We will need to spend time teaching our preps how to manage their emotions, how to cope with anxiety, and introduce strong routines and structures so they feel safe in their new school environment. This planning has radiated out into the other levels of the school and over the next couple of weeks we will be meeting as teams to undertake these discussions and planning so that all of our students feel safe and secure and ready to undertake great learning upon their return to school and for 2021.
I have asked Sharyn and Georgia to put together a letter for our prospective prep parents and I thought it was a good idea to include it in my newsletter as interruptions to learning are on everyone’s mind.
Dear 2021 Prep Parents,
We are aware of the interruptions and effects Covid has had on your child’s development this year and wanted to inform you of adjustments we will be making to our Foundation program next year.
We understand that starting school can be very scary for some children, especially in these current times when they have not had much contact with their new teacher and school surroundings due to transition programs that have had to be postponed or cancelled. We are aware that some children may take longer to settle into school routines and leaving parents of a morning. We will encourage parents to take the time to ensure your child feels comfortable and safe. We want parents to be involved in the classroom and appreciate any help you can offer. Specialist teachers also require help at the beginning of the year.
We will be adopting a more play- based program as we know the skills they learn from these valuable activities may have been delayed or not fully developed. Play is always a big part of our day in Prep, both before any formal learning and during play times. We will be using lots of sensory materials like playdough, sand, shaving cream, rice etc when teaching sounds and numbers. We may need to spend more time teaching how to use materials such as scissors, glue and more time teaching routines to become independent. We have large rooms where we can set up different areas like play areas, formal learning areas, reading corners and quiet and calm areas for those children to help manage anxiety.
We spend a lot of time in Prep working on emotions and how to manage these and our Respectful Relations program adds to this with providing lots of discussion and role-play.
In Prep, we also have a lot of fun singing, moving and creating.
We do understand that it may look a little different next year and that it could take longer to transition into formal learning. We hope that with your support and help, we will make your child’s transition to school smooth and a happy experience.
Sharyn Borg and Georgia Horsley
Please contact me or your child’s teacher if you have any concerns regarding the school.
Take care and stay well,
Tracey Robertson-Smith
Principal
Tuesday 1 September
Year 5/6 Camp Final Payment due.
Friday 4 September
Bookclub Issue 6 closes
Friday 18 September
Last Day Term 3
TERM 4 - (Covid Pending)
Monday 5th October
First Day Term 4
Wednesday 7 October
Prep Transition Afternoons - PE
2.30 - 3.20 pm
Tuesday 13 October
WHOLE SCHOOL PHOTOS (Covid pending)
Wednesday 14 October
Prep Transition Afternoons - Art
2.30 - 3.20 pm
Wednesday 21 October
Prep Transition Afternoons - Performing Arts
2.30 - 3.20 pm
Stars of the Week
1/2G: Jaxon H - for all his hard work in remote learning and focusing on his writing.
3/4B: Chloe R - for attending all Webex, joining in and contributing and handing in all required tasks.
5/6H: Jayson F - for being a great remote learner and completing tasks on time and even early before dawn! Well done Jay
5/6S: Paisley S & Ashton C - for always being really engaged in our Webex meetings. They are always willing to share their work, contribute to the conversation and ask lots of really valuable questions.
5/6W: Zaviar A - for his enthusiasm in being on our class Webex and contributing to discussions and lessons.
Bella B - For conscientiously completing all maths tasks and persevering to always do her best and achieve excellent results.
ART: Artists of the Week: Sophie A (2B), Macey N (1/2G), Connor C (Prep H), Kendi L-T (3/4B) & Penny F (Prep B).
Artist of the Week
Sophie A - 2B
Sophie made a very cute Mouse Mask which
is neatly cut out and carefully coloured in.
Artist of the Week
Macey N - 1/2G
Gingerbread Man made with
mud. Ingenious idea if you didn’t have salt to make salt dough!
Artist of the Week
Connor C - Prep H
Gingerbread Man made out of salt dough. He painted it with bright colours. Luckily Connor did not eat it - salt is not too
yummy!
Artist of the Week
Spectacular Butterfly by Kendi L-T 3/4B.
Kendi followed directions accurately to
produce this fabulous, colourful
butterfly.
Artist of the Week
Penny F - Prep B
Here is Penny’s beautifully
decorated Food Truck.
Really interesting patterns
of dots, swirls and stripes.
A Blank Canvas Abi 5/6W
I was at an art museum in London with my big sister. I was walking past a spiderman painting when something caught my eye. I moved closer to get a better look. It was a blank canvas, a plain blank canvas. I called to my sister and she came running over and I showed her the blank canvas, but she just shrugged her shoulders and walked off. I kept watching her as she walked away. She didn’t seem very interested in any painting, because she was on her phone. We went back to the hotel room we were staying at. After my sister went to bed, I took a black marker and ran back to the museum. I got in through the window and ran down the hall to the blank canvas. I drew a picture of my sister on the canvas. I heard footsteps coming closer so I crawled out the window then went back to the hotel. My sister and I went back to the art museum and I took her to the canvas. She was so happy and surprised, but I was even more surprised, someone had coloured it in.
The Magician Ruby 5/6W
As he walked toward my building, through the abandoned street, I watched with amazement. There I stood, like a tiny figure in a dolls house, watching with wide eyes from the balcony located on the second floor.
From up here he looked like any other man that would be heading to a job of importance. Dressed in a long jet-black jacket, with a tall striking top hat and an exquisite cane in one hand. He could have been a lawyer, a banker, or even an undertaker, but as he walked you knew this was no ordinary man. The whirlwind surrounding him gave it away.
A twister of ice-cold wind rose from the bottom of his cane, twirling and curving up to meet the now gold coloured sky. It was like a force-field pulling everything in his path in, pages from unread books, empty wine barrels, bicycle wheels and even a pram swirled madly around him. It was incredible to watch.
The streetlights glowed in the middle of the day to add to the drama his presence created. It really could have been a scene from a magical fable. It truly was a spectacle. How someone could create such mayhem with a cane and their mind was simply intriguing to someone as boring as me. But one day, hopefully with training I too could control the wind.
The loud bang downstairs pulled me from my daydream. The Magician must be here now for today’s magic lesson. I wonder what today’s illusions will bring.
Alliteration by Ella 5/6W
The whales swim in warm waters and wait and
watch with
their eyes wide open
until the children wobble into the water.
Alliteration by Finlay 5/6W
Sea snakes slithering secretly
around sea shells.
Scaring people surrounding them.
Scaly and slippery
slithering through sand.
Sneakily stealing your snacks.
Alliteration by Joseph 5/6W
Tables
Turned and tossed
Tumbling in a tidal wave
Towards a tangled stack
A terrifying tornado tore them to the trees
A tempestuous wind leaving them in tatters
Alliteration by Ryder 5/6W
Mum makes marble cake,
mixing ingredients,
following method
on a marvellous Monday.
Mmmm yummy marble cake.
Limerick by Monique 5/6W
There once was a bug named Corona,
Who wanted to be called Fiona,
It twirled and it whirled,
And went round the world,
Then played soccer in Barcelona.
Limerick by Zaine 5/6W
There once was a man from Iran
He had a very big fan
That blew him away
But he wanted to stay
But it blew him straight to his gran
LINKS FOR THE PARENT PORTAL - TO REGISTER & LOG IN
Please use this link to REGISTER for the portal:
(please note, you will need your access key to link your child.
https://sentral.hps.vic.edu.au/portal/register
You only need to register ONCE.
Once you've registered use the following link as your usual login.
Please use this link to LOGON to the portal:
(once you have registered).
Password: HPS
About Us
Email: healesvilleps@edumail.vic.gov.au
Website: www.hps.vic.gov.au
Location: Healesville Primary School, 2 View St, Healesville VIC, Australia
Phone: (03) 59624053
Facebook: facebook.com/healesvilleps