Saturday 18th August - Second Hand Uniform Sale, 9.00am – 10.30am

Saturday 18th August - Working Bee, 9.00am – 12:00pm

Friday 24th August - Fathers Day Stall

Wednesday 29th August - Last day for chocolate orders

Thursday 30th August - Cybersafety parent session 6:30pm

Friday 31st August - Jump Rope For Heart Jump Off Day

Thursday 13th September - Footy Day Special Lunch Day (Pie/Sausage roll)

2018 SCHOOL DANCE - Monday, September 17 (for students with surnames starting with A-F), Tuesday, September 18 (G-O) and Wednesday, September 19 (P-Z). The La Trobe University Union Hall, 7pm until 9.30pm.

ANNUAL WORKING BEES — Saturday August 18 (Term 3), Saturday November 3 (Term 4)

PUPIL FREE DAYS — Monday December 17

TERM DATES — TERM 3: Monday 16 July - Friday 21 September, TERM 4: Monday 8 October - Friday 21 December

CAMP DATES — Year 5 Lady Northcote Camp 9 - 12 October, Year 3 Arrabri Lodge Camp 29 - 31 October.

FOUNDATION 2019 TRANSITION ACTIVITIES - Term 3 — Story Land (Library) - Wednesday 15th August 9:30-10:30am, Maths Land (Gym Foyer) Thursday 30th August 9:30-10:30am, PMP Land (School Gym) Wednesday 12th September 9:30-10:30am

STUDENT OPINION SURVEY Each year, our Grade 4, 5 and 6 students complete an online Student Opinion Survey, conducted by the Department Of Education and Training. Once the data is collated, staff teams discuss the results and then classroom teachers discuss their grade’s results with their class. These discussions are probably the most beneficial, as drilling down into class results sometimes brings to light things that might not have been realised by staff and students alike. As a snapshot of what was aggregated in 2018 results for our school, I provide the following (with a sample question in brackets):-

• In the Teacher-student relations domain 92% of students thought teachers had high expectations for success. (My teacher expects me to do my best). The lowest scored factor in this domain was teacher concern with 74% (My teacher cares about how I am feeling).
• In the effective teaching practice for cognitive engagement domain, effective teaching time was viewed favourably by 86% of students (My teacher tells us what we are learning and why), with classroom behavior scored at 85% (My teacher sets clear rules for classroom behavior).
• In the Learner Characteristics and Disposition domain, Attitudes To Attendance scored highest at 86% (I always try to attend school), with Motivation and Interest at 77% (I want to learn new things).
• In the Social Engagement Domain, Sense of Inclusion was highest at 89% (My teacher makes sure all students feel included), with Student Voice and Agency at 72% (At this school, I help decide things like class activities or rules).
• And finally in the Student Safety Domain, Advocate at School was highest at 88% (There is a teacher or another adult at this school who believes that I can be successful), with Managing Bullying at 78% (I feel safe at this school).
• There were some variations between grade level scores, and then gender within grade levels, and clearly groups have had some interesting discussions on why this might have been. All in all, a valuable exercise, with the capacity to guide the future directions within classrooms and our school.

WORKING BEE A final reminder that our Term 3 working bee is THIS SATURDAY, August 18 (9am-12noon). As I have already mentioned, we have just one per term, and the activities undertaken on the day cater for all levels of skill. We genuinely require as many people as possible to attend, and it really is a great way to meet and work with new families. Hoping to see you there.

PARENT OPINION SURVEY So far 62 families out of 242 have replied to the invitation to provide feedback via the 2018 Parent Opinion Survey. This survey closes on August 26, so can I continue to encourage you to find just a few minutes to complete this online survey, please??!

CYBERSAFETY We are still taking enrolments for the parent session on Cybersafety to be held at 6.30pm on Thursday, August 30. Please email the school at viewbank.ps@edumail.vic.gov.au with INTENTION TO ATTEND CYBERSAFETY NIGHT in the subject to register your attendance. This will assist with selecting the venue for the night (school library?) and with tea, coffee, biscuit style catering needs. Thank you.

STORY LAND – FOUNDATION TRANSITION The first of our 2019 Transition sessions was held yesterday in our school library – Story Land held the attention of a large number of our 2019 enrollees, whilst coffee, tea, biscuits and chat held the attention of their parents in the staffroom.

SCHOOL COUNCIL The August meeting of School Council is scheduled for tonight, August 16, at the NEW TIME of 7pm. The Finance Subcommittee is scheduled for 6pm.

SCIENCE NIGHT Last night we celebrated National Science Week with a Family Science Night at Viewbank Primary School. Many special thanks to our Science teacher, Angela Roccasalva who organised a wonderful night as the attached photographic evidence demonstrates.

SCHOOL CROSSINGS AND ROAD CROSSING Due to the determination and dedication of a small group in our school community, the manned Martin’s Lane School Crossing was acquired two years ago, and combined with the Lascelles Avenue and Winston Road crossings, students and their families have three safe means of crossing the road after school. It does beggar belief, therefore, when we continue to hear reports of near-misses when students, often accompanied by parents or guardians, are crossing the road unsafely. A crossing supervisor reported to the school management last Friday, yet another situation that could have ended tragically with a student running across the road, and then back near the Winston Road bus stop. Whilst it might take a village to raise a child, it also takes a whole school community to practise and put in place safe procedures with regards traffic safety, caution and awareness, especially with 663 students arriving and leaving school at roughly the same time each day. The peripheral vision of young children is not that of adults – nor is their judgement (in most cases), so I implore everyone to be patient, take extra care near the school and on roads, and ensure that everyone arrives and departs safely from school each day.

Have a great week.

Kind regards,

Bill Kersing

Principal

INDIVIDUAL STUDENT LEARNING PLANS The Individual Learning Plan (ILP)is a working document that establishes a set of goals and objectives for an individual student to support and actively engage them in their learning and/or social and emotional development. ILPs, for selected students, will be sent home this week and next week to enable the school and family to work together in supporting your child with their learning and/or social and emotional growth. This plan includes strategies to support your child at home and at school. Your support at home will assist your child to achieve continued success with their education.

PARENTS and FRIENDS HOT DOG LUNCH Thank you to our wonderful Parent and Friends helpers who purchased, cooked, assembled and delivered the wonderful hot dog lunch on today. It was a hive of activity from mid morning, to make sure all the students received their special lunch order. Thank you helpers, you are amazing! We cannot have these special events without your support. The students have been looking forward to this treat all term. We can’t wait for the next ‘special’ lunch – Pie Day! All money raised will go towards our next major school project which is still to be finalised.

SECOND HAND UNIFORM SALE Our second hand uniform sale for term 3 will be this Saturday 18th August from 9.00am – 10.30am in the middle courtyard. School jumpers with a logo, school dresses and Year 6 polo tops are $5.00 and all other items are $2.00.

PRIMARY SCHOOL NURSING PROGRAM - FOUNDATION If you have a child currently in Foundation please remember to complete your School Entrant Health Questionnaire (SEHQ) and return it to the school by Friday 24th August in order for your child to participate in the Primary School Nursing Program.

Have a great week

Gill Nicholls

Dispensing Medication Medications such as antihistamines and paracetamol are not stored or dispensed to students unless they are supplied from home with a signed parent Medication Authority Form.

Term Expenses Term 3 expenses have been posted on Compass and are overdue. Please note that some year levels will have an extra inquiry activity which will involve an additional cost from the term expenses.

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Kind regards

Lucy Addati

Business Manager

FATHERS' DAY STALL This year’s Fathers' Day Stall will be held on Friday 24th of August, 2018. Children are asked to bring no more than $10.00 to purchase some quality goodies for their Dads, Grandparent, Uncle or Special person. Please remember to bring your money and a carry bag with you on the day. For this to run smoothly Parent helpers are required to assist with the setup, selling of gifts and packing up the stall which will run throughout the entire day…. so if you are available please contact Carol Seneca & Sarina Sherlock via email cazstar@optusnet.com.au (Mob: 0410 039 554)

CADBURY® FREDDO & FRIENDS BOX SALE As part of our plan to improve Viewbank Primary School we will be running a fantastic Cadbury® Fundraiser Drive in August. We are pleased to announce that for this drive we have CADBURY® FREDDO & FRIENDS BOX for sale. Selling for 2 items for $1 ($60 per box), this represents excellent value to the buyer and our profits will go towards making improvements around our school. Fundraising activities such as this make a vital contribution towards improving our facilities for the benefit of our children. In anticipation of a successful fundraising drive, we thank you for your support. Chocolates can be purchased or donations made via the Course Confirmation and Payments section on Compass. If you wish to participate in this fundraising activity please place your order before Monday 29th August, 2018. Chocolate boxes will only be provided to families who have paid before Monday 29th August, 2018.

ENTERTAINMENT BOOK AND DIGITAL MEMBERSHIP Purchase your Entertainment Membership NOW to help Viewbank Primary School raise much needed funds! Viewbank Primary School are again fundraising with the very popular Entertainment Book or Digital Membership. You'll receive hundreds of valuable offers for everything you love to do, and help our fundraising at the same time. Hurry, Entertainment Memberships sell out quickly.

ICY POLE FRIDAY Students are able to buy icy poles over the counter at lunchtime. All icy poles cost $1.00 each. We are asking for parent helpers to assist with the sale of these icy poles on Fridays from 1pm to 1:30pm.

Viewbank Primary School will be celebrating Book Week on Thursday, August 23rd by holding a dress-up day. Students are invited to come to school dressed as a character from their favourite book. They will also have the opportunity to listen to an inspiring speaker:

• F - 2 - Sue deGennaro,
• 3 & 4 - Alan Brough,
• 5 & 6 - Emilie Zoey Baker.

A great day to share our love of books!

YEAR 3/4 HOOP TIME Last Thursday the year 3/4 Hoop Time teams went to Coburg to play in the round robin. Everyone had a great day and played their best basketball. The Rookies won 3 of their 4 games. The All Star Boys made it to the grand final but unfortunately lost. The All Star Girls we’re undefeated in the rounds and won their grand final. We would like to congratulate all the players on a wonderful day and thank all the parents who coached, trained, scored and cheered us on!

STUDENT VOICE LAST Friday four students from Year Five and Mrs Taylor went to the council buildings above Watermark, to spend the day with other schools and some of the VIC SRC for a student workshop. We got to know different people by playing games and identified our strong points as well as our weaknesses. There were things like speakers, researchers and organisers. After we played a few games, every school identified their main issue to work on by using the acronym ALTER, which stands for Ask, Listen, Think, Enact and Reflect. During that session we worked on Ask. Once we worked through who, why, how, when, where and what we shared our ideas to other schools and our teachers. By the end of it we decided that we could make transition easier for young students by preparing them and easing them into the year, as our issue. Our group are planning to go around and survey students in year three and five to see their opinions and if we get good results we will move on and start surveying other year levels. We will also sort the students replies into columns: homework, iPads, word study, projects or other. All in all, we had a great day and were honoured to be chosen to represent our school. Special thanks to Nina, Maddie and Benita who supported us from the VIC SRC. Also special thanks to the teachers who gave us this opportunity, we felt very privileged. If you do have a child in year five or three or in any other year for that matter please remember to ask them this question: Did you find the transition from 2-3/4-5 difficult, if so what parts. We would love to hear what they have to say and look forward to the survey results.This survey will be anonymous. If you would like to learn more about the VIC SRC please go to the vicsrc website - VICSRC.org.au to know more about the newly launched online student voice hub, teach the teacher and the student voice awards where you can win prizes for our school.

Yours sincerely,

Gretel.B & Caitlin.M

Year 3 Inquiry Action: Art Project The Year 3s are doing our action for our Inquiry unit on design. One action group has decided to design and make an art project out of materials that often end up in landfill. We would really appreciate if you could send in some old CDs and plastic bags (thicker types would be preferred e.g. Myer bag). If you could look around your home and send in some materials that would be awesome. Our art work will be placed around the school, so when you have time please take a look. Please drop off materials to 3B’s classroom. From, Amielle, Jesse, Kayla, Ved and the art project action group

TRANSITION DATES Please download the below timeline for your future reference.

HATS ON From 1st September until 30th April school hats must be worn outside during all outside activities.

SCHOOL CHOIR Every Wednesdays, 8.30, in the Music room. Everyone Welcome!

RUNNING GROUP Every Thursday from 8:15am on the oval, for any students in years 4-6. All abilities welcome. Pack a spare pair of socks/shoes incase the oval is damp. Hope to see you there!

Garden Donations Needed We are seeking donations of the following items to help us make some garden scarecrows.

• old flannelette shirts
• socks
• hats
• buttons
• straw
• large garden stakes
• empty soft drink or juice bottles
• Black heavy plastic for a large wicker box.

All Big Group Hug donations can be left in the Grade 3/4F classroom.