Parkhill Primary School Newsletter
Issue 7, Thursday March 14 2019
Principal's Message
Dear Parents/Carers,
Happy Thursday!
Tomorrow is Bullying No Way Day – across the school children will be campaigning to stop bullying! They will be learning about respectful relationships and the impact of our own behaviours on others around us. This is a gold coin donation free dress day!
PARENT TEACHER INTERVIEWS:
Thank you to all of the families who engaged in our Parent Teacher Interviews this week – I have had some really positive feedback regarding the new arrangements. Please do email me if you would like to share your thoughts about the interviews – we are always looking for feedback to help us improve our communication.
It is important to remember that you are always welcome to meet with your class teacher and I encourage you to make appointments throughout the year to touch base and talk about your child’s learning progress.
BRAIN FOOD:
We are always looking for new ways to support our children in their healthy choices. We always encourage children to bring Brain Food for a healthy snack during the morning to help keep them in the zone for learning. Healthy Kids are trialling a new initiative… bring an extra piece of fruit to share. Each class will have a shared fruit bowl and the additional pieces will be added to the fruit bowl.
HEAD LICE:
We have had a number of reported head lice issues in classes across the school. It is very frustrating for you to be continually treating your child for head lice and it can be quite distressing. Although we know that school and childcare centres are their favourite place, we really need to work together to ensure we are all doing regular checks of their hair to try to minimise the spread of head lice at Parkhill. There are many ways to treat/prevent head lice – please check out the information in the link below. Regular combing helps with checking hair. https://www2.health.vic.gov.au/public-health/infectious-diseases/head-lice
ROAD SAFETY:
Last week in assembly our school captains talked to the children about safe use of scooters, bikes, etc. on the way to and from school. Road safety is super important for our children, especially living in busy, fast moving communities like ours. There are some fun and informative games online that will spark some interesting road safety chats with you and your child. Have a look at the following site! https://www.safety4kids.com.au/safety-zone_road-safety
It is important to note that our school policy is that children should not ride scooters, bikes or skateboards on the school grounds before, during or after school hours. Can you please remind your children about this rule? The playground is a very busy place – too busy for scooters and bikes!
REMINDERS:
Cybersafety
We are hosting a Parent Information Evening on March 25th called ThinkUKnow. The evening begins at 5pm – come along and learn more about how you can ensure your child is safe online! Please do ensure you have signed and returned your Safe Use Agreement – this should have come home already.
https://www.education.vic.gov.au/about/programs/bullystoppers/Pages/advicecybersafe.aspx
Twilight Sports
Coming in week 8 (Monday 18th March) we look forward to our Twilight Sports event. This year we have Channel 10 visiting us to host their School Weather Segment. Mike Larkin is coming to visit!! Children who wish to have a front row seat on telly should be at school by 5pm in their uniform! House colours should be worn for the sports.
Garden Volunteers
Jenn, our garden expert, is always looking for parents or volunteers who have a green finger to help her with some pruning. She often works later on a Thursday to get some jobs done in the garden – if you happen to have green fingers and a little bit of know how please do come and help out!
Elaine Brady
Principal
Calendar of Curriculum Events
Friday 15 March - Bullying No Way Day & Regional Swimming (selected students)
Monday 18 March - Twilight Sports - 5-7pm
Tuesday 19 March - Evening Soiree
Wednesday 20 March - Bring it Breaky
Friday 22 March - Y5/6 District Athletics (selected students)
Monday 25 March - Parent Information Evening - ThinkUKnow
Friday 5 April - Term 1 ends at 2:30pm
Student of the Week
F/1C - Raphael Z
F/1S - Darius T
F/1T - Owen S
2/3G - Miranda C
2/3L - Zane C
2/3M - Aimer S
4D - Milan T
4O - Lily C
5/6A - Cynthia L
5/6CS - Rayyan K
5/6H - Daniel P
ThinkUKnow
We have a ThinkUKnow presentation booked in at school for Monday 25th March, starting at 5pm for approximately an hour. It will be held in 4D.
Here’s a little bit about ThinkUKnow:
ThinkUKnow is a free, evidence-based cyber safety program that provides presentations to Australian parents, carers and teachers and students. It provides information on the technologies young people use, the challenges they may face, and importantly, how they can be overcome. Presentations are delivered face to face or digitally.
We aim to provide you with the tools to create a safer online environment for young people in your care. Our presentations cover what young people SAY, SEE and DO online.
The presentations cover topics such as social media reputation management, cyberbullying, ‘sexting’, online grooming, online gaming, inappropriate content, privacy management, identity theft, how to protect your devices, and how to report matters when things go wrong.
More information can be found on this factsheet about cyberbullying:
https://www.thinkuknow.org.au/resources/factsheets-parents/cyberbullying
If you are interested in attending, please RSVP via this link:
https://www.trybooking.com/BBMOK
Hope to see you there!
Michelle Smith
Assistant Principal
STEAM - F/Y1
We loved learning and writing about volcanoes in F/1S. Here are some of the Y1 writing pieces about volcanoes.
BANG! The lava is hot. The volcano is erupting. When the lava hits the water it turns into hot mud. -Ruby
There was an eruption. The volcano was going BANG, CRASH! There was a person who was running from the volcano erupting. -Aiden
Splash! When lava gets into the sea it can be very hot. Bang, crash! When the volcano erupts and a person is still there the person will die. -Olivia
BANG! CRASH!!!! The volcano was erupting hot, red, burning lava! The volcano was big! -Jake
RUMBLE! The volcano was erupting. BANG! The lava is flowing on the car. HELP! I need you! -Gemma
BANG! CRASH! The lava is flowing is very hot. If you touch it you will get burnt. If lava touches the water it gets hot. -Patrick
Choir Connections
The Parkhill Choir are in full sing, with beaming faces arriving on a Friday morning.
Everyone was so excited to learn our new performance song, with total silence as Marinda started playing the first few bars followed by a sea of smiles and cheering!
Would you like to know the song? Come along to assembly on Friday 29th March to hear our first performance. We look forward to seeing lots of friendly faces in the audience.
A big thank you to all the parents/grandparents/carers who are arriving on time for our rehearsal. It is a great help to ensure that we maximise every minute of our choir session.
Marinda and Kirsten
PFA News
Committee Members
Office Bearers:
President: Vanessa Cowley
Vice President: Vacant
Treasurer: Sumi Sundram
Secretary: Nadine Phillips
Committee Members:
Shadow Treasurer: Fiona Crellin
Communications: Eva Conley
General Members: Jason Van Lint, Elle Delmee, Mark Havas, Lisa Jacobson, Wendy Douglas, Janneke Storteboom, Leanne Knight, Kylie Touloupis, Donna Edwards, Katrina Battle
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
TWILIGHT SPORTS Monday 18th March
Mike Larkin from Channel 10 News Weather is coming along to Broadcast from Twilight Sports. Arrive at 5pm dressed in your school uniform to be on TV. The Channel 10 team will be set up on the decking area with that beautiful vista as a back drop to showcase all that Parkhill has to offer.
Don’t worry about dinner for the family - sausages will be on offer to fill those hungry tummies before the activities kick off at 6pm.
Don’t forget to bring along your house colours to jump into before the fun commences. Hope to see you there!
CUPCAKE STALL Wednesday 27th March
We’re back for 2019! Please email parents.friends.secretary@gmail.com if you can help us out with baking goods or selling treats on the day. I promise it’s the shortest event you’ll ever volunteer for - 15 mins of mayhem and then you’re done!
REMEMBER TO SAY ‘PARKHILL PRIMARY SCHOOL’ WHEN SHOPPING AT THESE STORES!
Remember to say “Parkhill Primary School” before you pay at Bakers Delight Ashburton, Chadstone, Oakleigh and Oakleigh Links to have 5% of the sale go towards our school!
The school's 4-digit code is 5565.
Ritchies Community Benefit Card Program
Ritchies Community Benefit Card Program donates a percentage of the money spent in store to your nominated school or charity. The Parkhill Community helped us earn over $400 in 2017.
Here’s how it works!
1. Ask for your free Ritchies Community Benefit Card at your nearest Ritchies supermarket or liquor store.
2. Enter the name of the community group that you would like to be the recipient of a donation from Ritchies.
3. Your Ritchies Community Benefit Card will be issued and can be used immediately!
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. Parkhill Primary currently has $380 credit to spend on sporting equipment at Rebel, so as you can see it all adds up!
Parkhill Primary School
Email: parkhill.ps@edumail.vic.gov.au
Website: www.parkhillps.vic.edu.au
Location: 4A Parkhill Drive, Ashwood VIC, Australia
Phone: 03 9807 2239