IMPORTANT DATES
- Wednesday 6th April 2022 - JSC Casual Dress Day - Royal Children's Hospital
PUPIL FREE DAY
- Wednesday 13th July 2022
- Monday 31st October 2022
FUNDRAISING BAKERY LUNCH ORDER DATES - Lower Plenty Bakehouse
- Tuesday 5th April - Hot Cross Bun Family Fundraising packs (Orders closing on 1st April, 3:00pm)
- Thursday 7th April (Orders closing on 4th April, 3:00pm)
2022 TERM DATES
- Term 1: 28th January (Students start 31 January) - 8th April (2:30pm finish)
- Term 2: 26th April - 24th June (2:30pm finish)
- Term 3: 11th July - 16th September (2:30pm finish)
- Term 4: 3rd October - 20th December (1:30pm finish)
2022 SCHOOL CAMP DATES
- Year 3: Arrabri Lodge Camp - Monday 8th August to Wednesday 10th August
- Year 4: Anglesea Recreation Camp - Wednesday 18th May to Friday 20th May
- Year 5: Lady Northcote Recreation Camp - Tuesday 4th October to Friday 7th October
- Year 6: Canberra Camp - Monday 6th June to Friday 10th June
LIVING WITH COVID As we near the end of Term 1, we have successfully avoided lockdowns across Victoria and we can argue that we have come to ‘live’ with Covid. That is not to say that the impacts have not been felt in schools in general and ours in particular, with a relatively large number of staff and students having been forced into seven days isolation having tested positive or being a close contact. The impact across the State has been felt in staffing shortfalls, and we have explored all options before, at times, having to split grades and suspend support or specialist programs to ensure we have teachers in front of classes. I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone in our community for adhering to the health measures, being respectful of each other and tolerant of the enforced measures and for continuing to work together. A reminder that masks are still mandatory for all adults and students from Grade 3 to Grade 6 when inside buildings.
WORKING BEE We had a wonderful working bee on Saturday with large numbers in attendance and so much was completed. There is lovely clean sand in the Foundation and Grade 1 playground, and there was mulch spread and general tidying undertaken. The biggest project, however, was preparing the derelict tennis court to enable the creation of a new vegie garden in the near future. Many thanks to the following families who attended and signed the attendance sheet. I am certain there were more who attended but just didn’t get around to signing the sheet – thank you to you as well!
The Cadusch family, Chris Andreou, the Parrent family, the Deane family, Gill Nicholls, the Hemingway family, the La Rosa family, Dani King, Bill Kersing, Trevor Grimshaw, the Lentini family, the Yu family, Simon Hrycyszyn, the Wang family, the Woodcock/Sparke family, the Moon family, Kerri Finlayson, Arthur Guo, the Cullen family, the Tran family, the Lai family, Catherine Carpenter Nihill and the Tsyganov family.
BADGE PRESENTATIONS Final badge presentations to Japanese, Sustainability and Arts Captains will be made at assembly on Monday, March 28.
REGIONAL SWIMMING Congratulations to our 10 year old boys relay team who qualified for and swam in the Regional Swimming Carnival on Monday. The 4 x 50 metres relay team comprising Joshua Cadusch, Darragh Finn, Harrison Kent and Johan In came 3rd at a Regional level which is a superb performance. Congratulations to all boys. Further congratulations to Darragh who also participated in the 50 metres breastroke. Well done to all boys – we are very proud of your achievements.
NATIONAL YOUNG LEADERS DAY Our 28 School Captains journeyed to the Melbourne Exhibition Centre yesterday, March 23, to attend the National Young Leaders Day along with 4000 other school leaders across the State. They heard speakers including swimmer Cate Campbell, Test Cricketer Damien Fleming, Pilot Lachie Smart and Emmy award winning writers, actors and directors Guy Edmonds and Matt Zeremes talk of their own leadership experiences. We asked our students to share some of their reflections on the day.
On Wednesday 23 March, all of the school leaders including myself went to the National Young Leaders Day to learn more about how to be a better leader. We had 4 incredible speakers talk to us, and many other schools, sharing important messages about leadership. Lachie Smart is the youngest person to fly around the world solo and he enforced the message of “never giving up” and “never be afraid to fail” which was really inspiring. After a break was Guy Edmonds who is an author/writer/director/actor/producer (the ‘mega slashie’) and told us about his own creative journey and discussed leading with laughter and passion. Another very inspiring leader who I had been looking forward to hearing from was Cate Campbell! An Olympic medal swimmer and Australian flag bearer at the recent Tokyo Olympics. She had a very interesting story and message of being brave and stepping out of your comfort zone. Finally after another break was Damien Fleming who is a current cricket commentator and someone who played for the Australian cricket team and emphasized the challenges and planning needed to be a “successful leader”. I had a really incredible time and an inspiring experience where I learned a lot of useful messages and information about leadership. - Lily Jensen 6Y
Lachie Smart is the world record holder for the youngest solo pilot to fly around the world. At just 18 years he flew around the world, he faced lots of challenges, but he never gave up. One of the things I took away from his talk was that it’s only your mental limitations that stop you. In fact that’s the reason he did this flight, to prove to his friends and future kids that exact message. Another message I took from his speech was to learn from your mistakes. I know people are always saying that, but I feel like this is an important message and Lachie actually gave us an example from his flight. Once he was taking a practice flight around Australia and as he was heading to Tasmania he hit a storm. Most pilots would have turned around but he, being 18, decided to go straight in. He looked at his iPad and saw a little gap. He went through the gap and all was well until he got towards the middle. He looked over and saw that there were lots of problems with the electrical stuff and loose items were flying everywhere. In the end he was ok, but later on while going around the world he had no choice but to go into another storm. He used his eyes (instead of his iPad) this time and went straight in. Luckily, he had learnt how to fix the electrical stuff so this time was a bit better. Unfortunately, he had just been fixing something using a rather heavy object. It wasn’t tucked away and it slammed into the back of his head. Now he couldn’t see properly and was in the middle of a storm! What more could you want?! In the end he did manage to get autopilot on long enough to get out of the storm. This also shows the importance of believing in yourself and determination.
There were so many more things I learnt from Lachie and the other speakers as well. Like I said, I will never forget this day. - Isla Elliott
On Wednesday the 23rd of March, the National Young Leaders Day begun. The people that went were the captains of Viewbank Primary School. There were going to be 4 speakers, each giving tips on leadership and sharing their own experiences in which they had to show values of leadership and pride. The captains got to meet 4 very specials leaders and speakers. The speakers were Lachie Smart, the youngest person to fly around the word solo. Guy Edmonds, an actor/producer/writer/author/director who created the poplar kids show 'Hardball' and wrote 'Zoo Crew',Cate Campbell, an Australian Olympic swimmer who has won 4 gold medals. Finally was Damien Fleming, an Australian Cricket legend (Now commentator) who is famous for his incredible Test bowling.
Each of these speakers came on stage at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition centre. The students of many Victorian schools, were sitting and watching whilst taking notes of the things that they had to say.
There was also a dance company who were called Dance Curriculum. The students had a lot of fun when they danced along to their music. - Matthew Gamble, Angus Cahir, and Joon Park.
Did You Know – All of the speakers shared their journey’s from a kid all the way until now, and did you know when Cate Campbell was a kid she stole her sisters medals and trophies and hid them under her bed because she was jealous her younger sister had more than her. We learnt a lot from all the speakers and had the best time from listening to the speakers to having lunch by the Yarra to the bus trips there and back. – Crissy
Kind regards,
Bill Kersing
Principal
Planning Week Next week (28th March – 1st April) will be Planning Week across the school.
For those of you who are new to our school, throughout the week all classroom teachers will be timetabled to spend a whole day planning for Term 2, along with the other teachers in their team. Specialist teachers also receive time throughout the week to plan for the following term. Teachers meet together to reflect and provide feedback on the learning that has occurred across Term1, discuss student data that has been collected and use this information to inform future planning.
The teaching and learning for Term 2 will be discussed and planned, with planners being developed for English and Mathematics. Inquiry units will also be reviewed and planned. Common assessment tasks will be documented, and excursions and in-school activities researched and booked.
Planning Week allows our staff the opportunity to engage in professional discussions and develop the rich, differentiated learning programs that allow our students to engage fully in their learning.
Teaching teams will plan on the following days with students having specialist lessons for the day:
- Monday – Year 2
- Tuesday – Foundation
- Wednesday – Years 3 and 4
- Thursday – Year 5
- Friday – Years 1 and 6.
Have a great weekend.
Patrick
Bullying, No Way! Thank you for supporting the National Day of Action Against Bullying and Violence on Friday. Students have participated in age appropriate activities across the week, learning about what bullying is, what it may look like and what students can do if they witness bullying or if someone is bullying them. The theme this year was ‘Kindness Culture’. Many grades contributed to a whole school Kindness Wall, to sharing their messages and understanding about kindness.
Please return the Smile Squad Permission Form for your child as soon as possible.
EDUCATION SUB-COMMITTEE Meeting The Term 1 meeting of the 2022 Education sub-committee will be held on Tuesday, 29th March at 6.30pm in the school staffroom.
At the first meeting we will look at the Department Policy Template Portal which provides the templates for all our policies and begin the review of several policies.
If you are interested in attending, please email me: gillian.nicholls@education.vic.gov.au
WORKING BEE MAGIC
Be kind and have a wonderful week,
Gill
School Tours We will be running school tours on a Tue, Wed, Thu at 9.30am for prospective families from 29Mar. Please call the office to make a booking.
Enrolments We are currently accepting enrolments for 2023 and are happy to assist with any queries.
Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund (CSEF) The Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund helps eligible families to cover the costs of school trips, camps and sporting activities.
If you have a valid means-tested concession card, such as a Veterans Affairs Gold Card, Centrelink Health Care Card or Pensioner Concession Card, or are a temporary foster parent, you may be eligible. There is also a special consideration category for asylum seeker and refugee families.
Payment amounts this year are $125 for eligible primary school students. Payments are made direct to the school to use towards expenses relating to camps, excursions and sporting activities for the benefit of your child.
It is important that funding made available in 2022 supports students to participate in school trips, camps and sporting activities this year rather than being held for future years. This funding can also be used in conjunction with any funding accrued from previous years. Please note these activities will only take place if they meet COVIDSafe requirements.
If you applied for CSEF through our school last year, you do not need to complete an application form this year, unless there has been a change in your family circumstances.
If you would like to apply for the first time, please complete the attached application form and return to the office with a copy of your card.
You can also find out more about the program and eligibility, on the Department of Education and Training’s Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund web page.
Check with the school office if you are unsure, and please return completed forms to the school office as soon as possible.
Kind regards,
Lucy Addati
Business Manager
2022 Hot Cross Bun Fundraiser Lower Plenty Bakehouse will be providing the school with a fundraising Hot Cross Bun drive. This drive has been implemented via our Parents and Friends Committee. All money raised will be used towards our major school upgrade.
Orders need to be placed in advance via Compass Canteen. Ordering will close on Friday 1st April at 3pm. The Hot Cross Buns will be delivered to the school and sent home with the students on Tuesday the 5th of April. Please select the 5th of April as your sitting date when placing your order.
Thank you for your support.
2022 VIEWBANK PRIMARY SCHOOL EASTER RAFFLE $1.00 per raffle ticket, great prizes to be won!! Please return all sold tickets to school by Friday 1st April, 2022. Raffle to be drawn on Monday 4th April, 2022. Please ensure name and phone number are clearly written onto all sold tickets.
All money raised will be going towards our school's major upgrade fundraising project.
Thank you for your support.
Lower Plenty Bakehouse will be providing the school with fundraising Lunch Orders every second Thursday during Term 1. These lunches have been implemented via our Parents and Friends Committee. All money raised will be used towards our major school upgrade.
Our Term 1 Fundraising Lunch Order Dates are:
- Thursday 24th March (Orders closing on 21st March, 3:00pm)
- Thursday 7th April (Orders closing on 4th April, 3:00pm)
Orders need to be placed in advance via Compass Canteen. Ordering will close the Monday before the lunch date at 3pm. All of Term 1 lunch dates are now open for orders, and can be placed in advance for the whole term if you choose to do so.
Please see attached a Parent User Guide on how to order via Compass Canteen. Please note a 35 cents order fee will be charged at check out.
Parent assistance is required on Lunch Days from 10:30am to 12:30pm to assist with the packing of our orders. If you are available to assist in anyway can you please email the school at viewbank.ps@education.vic.gov.au so your name can be added to our roster.
Thank you for your support.
ICY POLE FRIDAY Students are able to purchase icy poles over the counter at lunchtime every Friday. All icy poles cost $1.00 each.
Lunches must be ordered online using the CLASSROOM CUISINE website.
.
WEEKLY SECOND HAND UNIFORM SALE - Every Friday 8:45am to 9:15am, next to the music room. Jumpers with the school logo, long and short sleeve school polo tops and school dresses will be $5.00 and all other items $2.00. We are currently asking for donations of any unwanted reusable school uniform items to sell at our stall.
Instrumental Music Enrolments Can all students who would like to join our school instrumental music programs please inform the relevant teacher below of your expression of interest.
SINGING WITH GABRIELLA - Gabriella
- Email: favrettogab@gmail.com
- Phone: 0413 676 733
SINGING WITH JADE - Jade
- Email: jadefaving@gmail.com
- Phone: 0413 834 933
STRINGS - MR CAI
- Email: cai66@optusnet.com.au
- Phone: 0403 490 078
GUITAR/BASS GUITAR - Alec
- Email: alec.stalder@gmail.com
- Phone: 0422 690 842
PIANO/KEYBOARD - Ella
- Email: ellac.blackburn@gmail.com
- Phone: 0410 938 840
DRUMS - James
- Email: orangejimmy@gmail.com
- Phone: 0405 845 628
PHONE NUMBER: 0448 075 422
EMAIL: viewbank@oshclub.com.au
A PLUS SCHOOLWEAR Our uniform supplier is A Plus Schoolwear which is located at 41-43 Northern Road Heidelberg West. Open hours are Monday, Wednesday and Friday’s from 9am to 4.30pm (closed on weekend and public holidays).
You can also purchase your uniform online at www.aplusschoolwear.com.au