Parkhill Primary School Newsletter
Issue 38, Thursday November 22 2018
Principal's Message
Dear Parents/Carers,
Tuesday was our whole school Athletics Carnival – what a fabulous day! A huge thank you to the parents who came along for the day or part of the day to help us with our annual Athletics Carnival. The weather held off and was perfect for the events. The children were wonderful in their sportsmanship, persistence and behaviour. I was very proud of each and every one of them!
Thank you to all the staff who worked hard to pull the event together!
Children spent the morning rotation through field and track events such as discus, shot put and high jump. They ran 100m and 80m hurdles. The option to try the 800m running track event and 200m was also made available in the afternoon. It was wonderful to see the children encouraging and supporting their peers.
The Foundation – Y2 students joined us in the middle of the day to enjoy their events. They also used their throwing, running and hurdling skills throughout their rotations.
Overall house winner on the day was Goulburn.
KIDSMATTER:
Everybody’s life has ups and downs
Adults sometimes look back on their childhood as a time when they were always happy, but life’s ups and downs are a part of childhood too. Children need to build resilience skills to be able to both enjoy good times and deal with hard times. Helping children learn how to manage life’s ups and downs and build their coping skills supports their mental health and wellbeing now and into the future. Feeling good protects mental health and wellbeing.
Did you know that experiencing positive emotions such as joy, pleasure and having fun are essential experiences for building and maintaining a healthy mind across our whole lives.
Skills and qualities that help children cope with life’s ups and downs
Trust - that the world is safe and that there are caring people to help them.
Belief - in their ability to do things for themselves and achieve their goals.
Feeling good - about themselves and feeling valued for who they are by their parents and carers.
Optimism - that things generally turn out well.
Regulation - Ability to manage their feelings, thoughts and behaviours.
Children develop these skills and qualities and learn to keep a balance over time, initially through their experiences in coping with small stresses with help from supportive adults. When bigger stresses come along, even though at first they might feel quite distressed, children can draw on what they have learned about helping themselves to cope and feel better. Looking to others for support continues to be an effective way of coping.
https://www.kidsmatter.edu.au/mental-health-matters/social-and-emotional-learning
FINAL WORDS:
The end of the year is creeping closer! Fun Food & Carols is planned for Tuesday 6 December. This community event will mark the opening of our new buildings. Thanks in advance to the PFA for organising this event.
Have a wonderful weekend,
Elaine Brady
Principal
Calendar of Curriculum Events
Friday 23 November - Y5/6 Interschool Sport (Syndal South)
Wednesday 28 November - Foundation 2019 Transition Session 4
Thursday 29 November - Bring it Breaky & Working Bee
Friday 30 November - Y4 CERES Excursion & Y5/6 Interschool Sport (Burwood East)
Monday December 3 - Soiree
Thursday 6 December - Monday 10 December - Link Dental Van
Thursday 6 December - Fun, Food and Carols
Tuesday 11 December - Move Up Day
Wednesday 12 December - Awards Assembly at 9:15am
Tuesday 18 December - Winning House Lunch
Wednesday 19 December - Y6 Graduation
Thursday 20 December - Y6 Big Day Out
Friday 21 December - Term 4 ends at 1:30pm
Student of the Week
FS - Oliver M
FT - Quin C
1B - Orson F
1H - Mia T & Whole Class
2C - Sebastian M
2N - Callan O
3M - Whole Class
3R - James K
4G - Tom H
4O - Wei C
5D - Travis M
5H - Olivia G
Working Bee next Thursday - 2:30-4:30pm
Please come along at any stage next Thursday afternoon (November 29) to help us make the school grounds neat and tidy for our exciting end of year celebrations!
The chook shed is in desperate need of some repairs and Roger would love some assistance on the day to help secure the roof and wire fencing. Other jobs on the day will include wheelbarrowing tanbark, wiping some windows and simple gardening.
BYO gardening gloves (all the other gardening tools/equipment supplied). Refreshments provided.
We hope to see you there!
Bring It Breaky
Our next “Bring it Breaky” is coming up and we’d love you to come enjoy breakfast with us.
When: Thursday November 29, 9:00-9:30am
Where: Staffroom
Who: All welcome
Please bring something you would enjoy for breakfast to share (or just bring yourselves).
Y2 Inquiry
Our Y2 students have been investigating the nature of forces around us. At the culmination of their learning, they were tasked to create a Rube Goldberg machine. This machine essentially requires the creation of an apparatus that uses a chain reaction to accomplish a very simple task in a rather complicated manner.
A solid understanding of how forces operate, a great design and lots of patience and persistence, not to mention time, are essential to the creation of a successful Rube Goldberg machine.
The objective that the Y2s had to accomplish was for a marble to be pushed into a plastic cup. Working in groups of twos and threes, each group used about 40 items to complete this simple task. In the relatively short time they had, the Y2s created machines that were both amazing and impressive. We had upturned chairs with paper as well as rulers joined together with pegs clipped on the sides, to create mock ski slopes, strings spanning two walls to create slides and lots of dominoes in action. We even had a group use one marble to push another into the cup with success! The students’ effort and inventiveness were fantastic!
Well done, Y2s!
Nalina Chandra
Y2 Teacher
PFA News
Committee Members:
President: Vanessa Cowley
Vice President: Katrina Battle
Treasurer: Sumi Sundram
Secretary: Kylie Touloupis
Communications: Eva Conley
General Members: Fiona Crellin, Jason Van Lint, Elle Delmee, Mark Havas, Lisa Jacobson, Anny Murray, Wendy Douglas, Janneke Storteboom, Leanne Knight
School Colour Fun Run
A massive thank you to everyone who supported the Parkhill Colour Fun Run! We had a great day and raised almost $9,000 towards our outside play areas. We’ve sent off our prize orders, so they’ll be on the way soon!
Fun, Food & Carols - Thursday 6th December
HO! HO! HO! – Here we go for another year.
We need your help! Please sign up and get involved and make this a night a festive occasion for our Parkhill Community!
To check out the jobs we need your help with - please click the following link to sign up:
The PFA greatly appreciates your support!
Fun, Food & Carols – Raffle
Raffle Tickets have been distributed. Make sure you look out for them (or search in the bottom of the school bag!). There are lots of goodies to win.
Fun, Food & Carols – Stalls
If you are interested in being a stall holder, or know of someone that would like to hold a stall, please contact Sumi Sundram via email at s_j_sundram@hotmail.com
Please register by December 3rd.
Fun, Food & Carols – Cake Stall Kits available from the office now!
It’s back by popular demand! If you are interested in baking to provide some yummy goodies for our stall (and we’d love you to be!) kits are available from the office. They include a display box, a label for ingredients and clear cello bag for covering your product - all the information you need. It’s that simple - your biggest task will be thinking of what to put in it!
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