Parkhill Primary School Newsletter

Issue 33, Friday 29 October 2021

Principal's Message

Dear parents and carers,

We are really looking forward to having all students return on-site next week and getting into a more familiar rhythm as we approach the end of the year.  As per the most recent DET guidelines, we will gradually introduce activities and events that enable us to bring the Parkhill community together, including:

  • recommencing school tours for new and prospective parents who have been unable to visit during lockdowns;

  • Kindergarten to Foundation and Year 6 to Year 7 transition programs (these will commence in the coming weeks);

  • school assemblies, which will resume from Monday 8th November (at this point assemblies are for staff and students only and will be held outside).

 

Currently we are unable to have parent volunteers on-site to support learning programs, such as reading. In the coming weeks we will have further information on swimming programs and other community events.

 

World Teachers’ Day

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) established World Teachers’ Day in 1994 to recognise the role of teachers in society. World Teachers’ Day is held internationally on Tuesday 5 October. As it falls during the school holidays we celebrate it today, 29th October.

This year, the day is an opportunity for staff, students and the wider school community to recognise how teaching has extended beyond the classroom in maintaining connections through remote learning.

I continue to be so impressed with the way the Parkhill teachers have continued to show their resilience, leadership and adaptability throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Please reach out to your child’s teacher to acknowledge them on this day.



Take care and have a lovely weekend.


David Wells

Acting Principal

Calendar of Curriculum Events

Tuesday 2 November - Melbourne Cup Public Holiday

Friday 5 November - Virtual Storytime at 2pm (see below)

Monday 8 November - ICAS English (selected students)

Wednesday 10 November - Foundation Transition Parent Workshop 1 (see below)

Thursday 11 November - Foundation Transition Session 1 (see below)

Monday 15 November - Curriculum Day - students do not attend school on this day

Wednesday 17 November - Foundation Transition Parent Workshop 2 (see below)

Thursday 18 November - ICAS Science (selected students) & Foundation Transition Session 2 (see below) & Scholastic Book Fair begins

Friday 19 November - Working Bee (information to come)

Monday 22 November - ICAS Maths (selected students) & Compass Information Session

Tuesday 23 November - Friday 26 November - Y5/6 Camp Candlebark

Thursday 25 November - Foundation Transition Session 3 (see below)

Tuesday 7 December - Move Up Day

Wednesday 15 December - Y6 Graduation

Friday 17 December - Term 4 and 2021 school year ends at 1:30pm


Please note that these events are subject to Covid-19 restrictions and are subject to change and/or cancellation.

Y5/6 Camp Candlebark will take place from Tuesday 23 November to Friday 26 November as originally planned

Kinder to Foundation Transition Sessions

We have the green light to go ahead with on-site transition sessions! We are looking forward to seeing our new Foundations for 2022 in our classrooms and the current Foundation students are keen to meet their buddies.

Our planned dates and times are Thursdays in November - the 11th, 18th and 25th. They will all start at 2:00pm and end at 3:00pm.

In the past we have held parent workshops concurrently with the kinder transition sessions, but this year we plan to hold two sessions over video conferencing.

Our planned dates for parent workshops will be Wednesdays in November - the 10th and 17th. These will also be from 2:00-3:00pm. We will send out the link to access to families with a child enrolled for 2022.

Our Last Storytime - Don't Miss It!

Our last Parkhill Storytime is next week, Friday 5 November at 2:00pm. Our three F/Y1 teachers - Anne McGregor, Desiree Schlack and Bella Crowe - will share a favourite Pamela Allen “Who Sank the Boat?”, sing songs and do a shared craft activity. 

We will be sending out the link to join our Storytimes to our local kinders, as well as our families enrolled with a prospective Foundation student, next week. 

If you'd like to join in, please send through an email to Michelle at michelle.smith@education.vic.gov.au or the office. Hope to see you there!

ICAS Assessments Update

We successfully completed the ICAS Writing test through remote learning - I thank families for their generous support in this endeavour.

We have three remaining tests, and unsurprisingly to our loyal subscribers, another test date needs to be changed due to the curriculum day change. Our ICAS Science date has moved to Thursday 18 November - same week, different day.


Our new ICAS schedule is as follows:

ICAS English - Monday 8 November

ICAS Science - Thursday 18 November

ICAS Maths - Monday 22 November

All test sessions will be held in the morning block.

We use Restorative Justice at Parkhill in times of conflict between students. Those involved are brought together, both the students harmed and those responsible for harm, into a safe and respectful space that is mediated by a teacher. What takes place is a conversation where all involved have a voice and the focus is on repairing the harm caused. Through this conversation, emotional understanding is nurtured as relationships are rebuilt. Instead of feeling anger and harbouring grudges, students feel a sense of empowerment as they help solve the problem and learn from their mistakes. This practice steers away from punitive and relationship-breaking consequences, and instead promotes empathy and social, emotional learning in the developing child.

As teachers, we know that social skills and conflict resolution must be taught just like any other area of learning. We use Restorative Justice to turn those problems into teachable moments.

Sporting Schools in Term 4

Parkhill Primary is excited to announce that Sporting Schools have organised for a coach from the Ashwood Blasters Cricket program to train the upper year level students. Students from Y4-6 are invited to apply for free cricket coaching sessions. Please be on the look out for notices that have been sent home this week. There are limited spots available, so the first applicants will be selected. Cricket lessons will be weekly, commencing from Wednesday 10th of November and will go over the four sessions. However, there will be a ‘bye’ week due to Y5/6 camp. The cricket sessions will run from 3:45-4:45. Please see the notice below for more details.


Bella Crowe

Sporting Schools Coordinator

Sporting Schools Cricket Notice

Download

School Council Update

Another great School Council meeting was held last week. We had updates from David with the Principal’s Report, as well as reports from Finance, the PFA and the Connected Schools working group. David proposed that Acknowledgement of Country become a standing item to our meetings. School Councillors continued their child safety training, which we maintain throughout the year. We also bid farewell to Lucy Magura as she embarked on parental leave. Many thanks to Lucy for her contribution to school council and we wish her all the best! It has been fantastic to see students and families returning to on-site learning and now is a great time to chat to school council members,  

School Councillors in 2021 are: Dan Edwards, Melo Conti, Wendy Douglas, Chris Logan, Jo Ravida, Tania Rose, Jay Van Schyndel, Clare Sherman, Michelle Smith, Sumi Sundram and David Wells. 


Pip Papageorgiou, 

School Councillor 

Library News

Dear Parkhill Families,

It has been wonderful to have our lovely students back on-site, and see the many happy and excited faces.

We have realised that Scholastic has made some changes on their end. Issue 8 has been taken off the system but we expect it will be reinstated in the next couple of weeks for orders. I will provide the link details when it is back up.

Look out for Issue 7 which will be heading home later next week. Click here if you want a sneak peak before the brochures come home. I will advise the cut off dates for orders in next week’s newsletter.

Please email me angelita.williams@education.vic.gov.au if I can be of any assistance or if you have any queries.


Stay safe and well,

Angelita Williams

Librarian

PFA News - October 29

Executive Committee:

President: Rossanne Clay                  

Vice President: Kylie Brown

Treasurer: Sumi Sundram

Secretary/Communications: Kylie Touloupis

General Members: Elle Delmee, Vanessa Cowley, Trish King, Marinda Tanner, Jo Argaet

SOCK FUNDRAISER

The PFA is doing a SOCK fundraiser! A great gift idea with fun designs available for every size foot.

Socks are $9.95 per pair with free shipping!

Parkhill will receive $1 from every pair sold and we receive a bonus if we sell 100 pairs. Now that’s a goal worth aiming for!

Order yours before 19th November for Christmas delivery.

Make sure you order at this link for our school to benefit: https://sockable.com.au/collections/parkhill-primary-school

Welcome to the Lions Club of Ashwood-Mt Waverley. Lions Clubs are part of community life, in the cities and in the country. Clubs are easily identified by their distinctive Logo, the trademark of our International Association, and the 'We Serve'; motto.

A friendly social and recreational group for Mandarin-speaking seniors. Develop and practice your English skills. Enjoy the opportunity to make new social connections and learn new life skills...

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