Parkhill Primary School Newsletter

Dear parents and carers,

As the second last week of the school year draws to a close, the school is a hive of activity with movement of classes, Y6 Graduation and other end of year festive activities. Tonight we have our Y2 Sleepover at school with a range of fun activities and a camp out in the library. Thanks to Bianca Bevilacqua for organising this experience and to Nicole Arapoglou and Chris Logan for support tonight.

At Monday’s assembly we announced our 2022 Y6 Student Leaders. Congratulations to the following students who were appointed to their positions through a rigorous process which involved a written application and interview:

• School Captains – Jayda and Noah

• School Vice Captains – Jasper and Abigail

• Student Representative Council (SRC) Captains – Lucas and Mali

On Tuesday, we welcomed our 2022 Foundation students as part of the state-wide orientation. We have been fortunate to be able to run a full transition program in the weeks leading up to this day, so all new students were very familiar with the school and their class for 2022. Thanks to Anne Mcgregor and Bella Crowe for making this such a positive experience. All other students across the school also moved up into their 2022 classes with their teacher and classmates for transition activities. For some this involved moving into a new space and a new building. Over the next week teachers will have ‘handover’ meetings where 2021 teachers will share important information about students with their 2022 teachers to ensure a smooth beginning to the year.

School Council had its last meeting of the year last night and much of the focus of discussion was on the declining enrolment trend at Parkhill. In addition to the large cohort of Y6 students leaving, there are a number of students across all year levels who will also be departing for a variety of reasons. School Council is very committed to improving the enrolment outlook and is developing a clear strategy to attract enrolments through developing stronger community links and improving community perceptions. There are several events and activities organised for Term 1 next year and our new website, which is under construction, will be launched in January. Stay tuned for more information. We look forward to working closely with the school community to capitalise on the wonderful state of the art facilities and build pride and confidence in the school.

A reminder that school finishes next Friday 17 December at 1:30pm and resumes on Monday 31 January, 2022.

Have a lovely weekend,

David Wells

Acting Principal

Wednesday 15 December - Y6 Graduation

Thursday 16 December - Y6 Big Day Out

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.

Pre-sale for the Parkhill 2021 Yearbook is now open. Please click on the link below to secure your copy. There are limited copies left - please order now if you have not yet done so!

https://www.trybooking.com/BVIOB

They will be delivered to school early next week. 

Today is World Human Rights Day and to mark the occasion the Koorie Ambassadors have been noting people at school who are treating each other fairly and equally. Each class has received World Human Rights Nomination Slips and are invited to share how someone has shown our school values during play times or learning sessions. The Koorie Ambassadors are now in the process of collecting these and will be reading our top nomination forms during Assembly next week. These standout entries will also be published in next week’s newsletter, so please stay tuned!

Bella Crowe

Koorie Education Ambassador

Parkhill was the very lucky recipient of a brand new defibrillator on Monday during our assembly.

Kathy Koulouris from Bendigo Bank and Bob Stensholt from their board presented it to Mr Wells and talked a little bit about what it was, what it was worth and their bank. We had a very clever answer when students were asked what it was!

Many thanks to Bendigo Bank for sponsoring the school to attain this lifesaving item. It will be located in the office foyer soon.

Policy committee reviewed the Mobile Phones policy and the Student Dress Code. Both generated some very interesting discussion!

The Mobile Phones policy is largely a DET policy with some flexibility for us to tailor to school need. Student phones can be brought in to school but must be handed to the teacher in the morning to be securely stored throughout the day. Students must not use mobile phones during school hours. This does not include smart watches, though we do not encourage them.

The Student Dress Code policy outlines specifics of Parkhill’s uniform. The intention with our uniform is to foster a sense of pride and respect in the school. A full list of the uniform can be found within the policy.

Don’t forget you can join us at any time - we welcome new members and what better time to start than now! Our next expected meeting will be late in February. Policy committee will meet around once or twice a term in 2022. Send me a note via email on michelle.smith@education.vic.gov.au and I’ll add you to the list!

All parents should now have access to Compass. Let us know if you’re having trouble accessing the platform. Reports will be send out next week via Compass.

Compass is our central platform to communicate, with many features added as we go along. At the moment, though, you will be able to receive communication from your child’s class teacher, email them, easily manage attendance notifications, update your details and receive your child’s report at the end of the semester.

We plan to close our Flexischools account at the end of the year.

This week, we highlight how to add an attendance note:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1l3yak3deT5cjYrGHLz4U6FEZsdVhdsps/view?usp=sharing

The button to add an attendance note is on your home screen, under “send email to teachers”. Just click, provide a reason and details (if needed) and the date of absence. And you’re done!

Any questions, please ask Michelle on michelle.smith@education.vic.gov.au

Executive Committee:

Temp President: Rossanne Clay                  

Temp Vice President: Kylie Brown

Treasurer: Chris Fagan

Temp Secretary/Communications: Trish King

Temp Council Liaison: Elle Delmee

General Members: Vanessa Cowley, Marinda Tanner, Jo Argaet, Sumi Sundram, Kylie Touloupis

If you would like to be on our email distribution list and receive communication and minutes from our meetings please email

BAKE SALE THANKS

Thank you to all of the amazing bakers who supplied delicious treats for the bake sale after school on Friday and that includes Mardi, Donna, Elle, Elsie, Heather, Jacquie, Joanna, Julie F, Julie M, Kate P, Mary, Paula, Siv, Kerry, Marinda, Kylie B. Plus a big thank you for your purchases - we raised a whopping $580! Special thanks to Merinda Tanner & Kylie Brown for organising this as an alternative to the original plan!

LAST CALL FOR RAFFLE TICKETS

There are so many fabulous prizes to be won in our Christmas raffle!

Thank you to everyone who has sold raffle tickets to grandparents, friends, neighbours… or just bought the whole book yourself! Originally planned to be drawn at Fun, Food & Carols, this will now instead be drawn at the last assembly for the year on Monday 13th December. Hair products, Tupperware, Rebel vouchers, wine, chocolates... Every winner will walk away with a smile on their face! So if you haven’t sold any tickets or you had forgotten to return your ticket stubs and money to the office, there is still a little time! Good luck!

RUN A PARKHILL 2022 EVENT!

As you know the PFA relies on you to co-ordinate events - that’s what contributes to the success of our activities. So we are now looking for people to co-ordinate an event for 2022. Let us know if there is one you are particularly interested in. You will not be alone! The person who co-ordinated that event in earlier years will be on-hand to support you and walk you through the planning. Email us at parents.friends.secretary@gmail.com

JOIN OUR PARKHILL PFA

We are looking for new members to help us fill roles for next year. If you have a passion for helping our school community thrive and you enjoy being involved in events and fundraising, please consider joining as a general member or perhaps stepping into an office bearing role. The positions available are President, Secretary, PR & Communications, and Vice President. 

Dear Parkhill Families,

While I have enjoyed my role with the PFA team and made special friendships through it, I will no longer represent the school PFA as president. Being part of the PFA has provided me with a unique opportunity to add enormous value to the school, students and community through providing fundraising for much needed amenities and also social activities that bring together families and students that help foster the wonderful Parkhill community.

It is an exciting time as committee roles for secretary and communications are also up for re-election, plus we have a new treasurer Chris Fagan. We welcome interest from all members of the school community to evolve and continue the PFA activities moving forward.

If you would like to find out more about any of the roles, please reach out to any of the PFA.  Rest assured that I will still continue to be an active member of the PFA general committee so you will be closely supported as a new committee member in your new role. Please see below for more information on each role.

Thank you everyone for your support of the PFA over the years

Kind Regards,

Rossanne Clay

PFA President

0480 171 847

The following roles are vacant in 2022:

PRESIDENT:

●       To Chair the monthly meetings and Annual General Meeting.

●       To regularly consult with and keep the Principal and School Council informed of the activities of the PFA and to update the PFA of the school situations and its impact (if any) on the plans of the PFA.

●        To provide a President’s Report to the PFA and at the end of each term of office.

●       To coordinate events/activities in conjunction with the Secretary and general committee members.

●       To address a new group/parent body whenever necessary to promote new interest and new members.

●       To be approachable by all members of the school communities.  

VICE PRESIDENT:

●       To assist the President and step in if required

●       To be approachable by all members of the school communities.

SECRETARY:

●       To prepare the agenda in consultation with the President.

●       To distribute agendas for meetings.

●       To record the minutes of committee meetings.

●       To write up the minutes of each meeting and distribute copies for members and interested parties to read.

●       To confirm the minutes of previous meetings.

●       To communicate relevant information in the weekly school newsletter.

COMMUNICATIONS:

●       To help create, disseminate and manage relevant PFA communications to the school community through all PFA channels and help manage Parkhill Community Facebook page.

COUNCIL REP:

●       To attend PFA & Council meetings as liaison

Please contact Rossanne on 0480 171 847 or parents.friends.secretary@gmail.com