Viewbank Voice 05.12.2024 Term 4 2024, Week 9

PUPIL FREE DAYS 2025

  • Tuesday 28 January
  • Friday 07 March

2024 TERM DATES

  • TERM 4: 7 October - 20 December

2025 TERM DATES

  • TERM 1: 28 January - 4 April (Students start: Year 1 to 6 - 29 January, Foundation - 30 January)
  • TERM 2: 22 April - 4 July
  • TERM 3: 21 July - 19 September
  • TERM 4: 6 October - 19 December

2025 CAMP DATES

  • Year 3 Phillip Island Camp - 27 October - 29 October 
  • Year 4 Anglesea Camp - 14 May to 16 May
  • Year 5 Lady Northcote Camp - 08 October to 10 October
  • Year 6 Urban Camp - 15 September to 17 September

2025 CAPTAINS The speeches and selection processes are over and I am now in a position to announce all student leaders for 2025 as follows:

House Captains

  • Darebin - Melinda Tan and Will Booth
  • Plenty - Kevin Wei and Imogen Kingham
  • Diamond - Alexandra Khor and Ikdaat Kaur
  • Yarra - Gabi Riveros and Liam Wong

Communications Captains

  • Sophie Dejdar
  • Sahara Tran

Wellbeing and Engagement Captains

  • Diya Baligar
  • Amber Dunne

Sustainability Captains

  • Henry Whiting
  • Daniel McDermott

Previously we announced the school captains for 2025 as follows:

  • Girls Captain – Abhi SATHISH
  • Girls Vice Captain – Kaiah McLAUCHLAN
  • Boys Captain – Joachim LAI
  • Boys Vice Captain – Arjun PINGALA

Congratulations to all captains on their appointments. We trust they will lead as great role models, and with a true commitment to the responsibilities of their roles. In 2025, they will be guided wonderfully by Bonnie Boness, Grade 6 Student Voice and Agency Leader.

SCHOOL COUNCIL The final School Council meeting for 2024 is set down for Tuesday, December 10 from 6.00pm at Suwan Thai Restaurant, Lower Plenty. All correspondence will be sent out tomorrow. This is the final meeting for 2024 with one more meeting with this current Council scheduled for February 11, 2025 before the election process commences again. Once again I would like to take this opportunity to thank all School Council members for their hard work, cooperation and support throughout 2024. There continues to be a high level of trust, respect and cooperation within this important decision- making body, which makes the task of running a school so much easier.

GRADUATION There are many end of year activities crowded in to the last three weeks of term, but none more important than the Grade 6 graduation ceremony. The Grade 6 Graduation ceremony is set down for Monday, December 16 from 4.30pm in the school gymnasium and will be a celebration of the seven years of primary education for our students. There will be presentations of certificates and awards and plenty of fun as well with the now traditional slide shows and songs, and time for the students to let their hair down afterwards. This has been a wonderful cohort and we will genuinely miss each and every one of them when they depart the school grounds for the last time as students mid-afternoon on December 20!

2025 ORIENTATION DAY Tuesday, December 10 is the Statewide Orientation Day with all Grade 6 students attending their Secondary Colleges for a day’s activities in readiness for next year. In a similar vein, our Foundation to Grade 5 students will spend the morning of that day in their 2025 classrooms, with their 2025 classmates and teachers.

PARENT HELPERS MORNING TEA We could not manage to run the school as we do without the support of the very large band of parent helpers that we have. You help us in so many ways – as volunteers on camps and excursions, hearing reading, making costumes and props for our school production, ferrying sporting teams to State Finals, at working bees, within our Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Program, fund raising and more. A morning tea is a very small way of saying a very big thank you for everything that you do to make our school community the vibrant place that it is. We hope to see you tomorrow at 10.30am in the gymnasium foyer!

Have a relaxing weekend!

Kind regards,

Bill Kersing

Gardening Invitation Our gardens have certainly enjoyed all the rain we have had recently, but frustratingly, so have the weeds!

If you have any spare time over the next couple of weeks I’d like to invite you to grab some gloves and weeding tools from near the office (see Georgeina) and spend some time weeding the garden beds around the office building.

Any amount of time will be greatly appreciated and it might be the perfect opportunity to catch up with friends after school drop off or before pick up time. Happy to also welcome helpers throughout the day. Hopefully we can get the weeds under control before the holiday break.

Lost property Please, please, please come by and check the lost property box near the Music Room for any clothing your child may have misplaced this term. There is currently a huge amount of unclaimed clothing that needs to be sorted, and returned before the end of term.

Enjoy your week,

Gill

2025 Classes As Mr Kersing mentioned above, Tuesday 10 December is the day that the students find out who their 2025 teacher is and who their classmates will be.

Creating grades is a long and complicated process with teachers spending many hours (occurring at the same time as writing student reports after hours and on weekends) placing students carefully into the ‘right’ class. As asked for by Mr Kersing early in Term 4 (see Viewbank Voice 10 October 2024 https://new.express.adobe.com/webpage/LWXdoDlzG4uVA, and repeated in Viewbank Voices on the 17 October, 25 October and 31 October) and required to be returned to school around the Melbourne Cup weekend, the many written requests have been carefully considered and acted upon as much as possible. Careful thought has gone into gender balance, and academic, social and wellbeing concerns.

Earlier this term, every student was given the opportunity to list 5 students that they would like to be in a class with. We ask for 5 friends, but it is unlikely that all friends can be in the same class. As much as possible, students will receive at least 1 friend from their list, and this has been explained in detail to all students. However, some of our students will still be disappointed that they only have ‘1’ friend from their list, declaring that they didn’t want ‘that’ particular friend, and could they be in a class with another student. This is an excellent time to help your child with their personal growth and resilience – please see the info graphic below.

As you are more than aware, as we move through life, we all have to meet new people, work with new people, sometimes do things (work and home) that we don’t want to – but we do these things anyway. Where did we learn how to be resilient in this manner? Generally, we learnt these skills at school. Those students who learn how to do this well will cope better moving into secondary school, post-secondary study and into work. The broader the friendship group, the less chance there is for mental health issues – having trouble with 1 group of friends? Change friendship groups for a while!

Most of you will have very happy children on Tuesday afternoon when you see them. Unfortunately, some of you may have an upset child. Please use this as a learning opportunity and to talk about resilience. When your child gets through the next 12 months, they will be mentally stronger for the experience – they have faced a challenge and succeeded. Just remember, it is only for 1 year and then you will likely have the opportunity to make a request (as long as it is submitted on time!) for the 2026 school year.

Parent Tips The following link is to a Facebook page that is an article from 2020 along the same lines as the above.

From Positive Minds Australia:

Worried about your child’s class placement in 2021? It’s perfectly natural to have a preference for a particular teacher and normal to feel worried or disappointed if they don’t get them. A child’s emotional adjustment to leaving this year’s teacher and preparing for next year’s teacher is interconnected with your feelings about it.

Here are loads of ways you can help make the transition smoother for your child if you or they didn’t get the news you were hoping for…. (select link for more of the article, 2-minute read) https://www.facebook.com/positivemindsaustralia/posts/2816590495238773

STUDENT REPORTS As mentioned above, our staff have been extremely busy writing student reports. We are expecting to have these published to you on Compass on Wednesday 18 December at approximately 4pm.

WELCOME BACK PICNIC Please see the flyer from Parents and Friends regarding a ‘Save The Date’. On Tuesday 11 February, our Foundation families are invited to have a picnic at school from 3:45pm to 5pm, and then our whole school picnic will be held between 5pm – 7pm. These events will be held in the central playground area – the Year 2 playground. Fingers crossed for good weather that night!

PARENTS AND FRIENDS We had our final meeting for the year on Tuesday evening. We have slotted in a number of events for Term 1 already, including the aforementioned Whole School Picnic, a Sushi Lunch, and a Fun Run! More details to come early next year!

Have a great weekend!

Patrick

School Saving Bonus We encourage all families to log in as soon as possible to allocate how you wish to use your $400 School Saving Bonus in 2025. Please take a moment to review the attached guide for more details.

At Viewbank Primary School, you have the flexibility to allocate your bonus in one of two ways:

  • In-store/online purchases of uniforms at A Plus Schoolwear (AGS Prints Pty Ltd)
  • School activities, such as camps, excursions, incursions, and activities.

Please note once you make your selection, it cannot be changed, so ensure you are confident in your decision.

Any unspent funds or funds allocated to in-store or online purchases that remain unused will automatically transfer to your child’s school account as an activities credit on 1 July 2025.

We will not automatically allocate your funds to school activities unless you action the choice through the portal.

Dear Parents & Carers,

Viewbank Primary School is excited to embark on another year of excellent teaching and learning and would like to share information about the Parent Payment Arrangements for 2025.

The arrangements for Curriculum and Other Contributions will be accessible on Compass from January. You will receive an email notification as soon as they are published.

Financial contributions from our families are essential in helping us provide the highest quality education and resources for our students. The learning environment and facilities we enjoy today are the result of the generosity and commitment of our parent community over many years. We value all forms of support, including financial contributions, participation in fundraising, and volunteering your time. Thank you in advance for your commitment to our school community.

For your convenience, all classroom supplies will be provided in bulk directly to classrooms, where teachers will distribute stationery and other items as needed.

Please refer to the attached 2025 Parent Payment Arrangements document for more detailed information.

Lucy Addati

STATE SOFTBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS On Monday 26th of November, the Boys Softball Team competed at the Waverley Softball Centre in the Victorian State Championships. According to Mr Kersing, it was the first time that Viewbank PS had reached a team sport state championships in 15 years, so the level of excitement amongst students and families was very high! After a nervous first innings from both schools, Viewbank clicked into gear to defeat New Gisborne PS 23-15. Another strong performance saw another win in Game 2 against Swan Hill PS where we prevailed 20-15, however in what can best be described as an arm wrestle with Boneo PS we were pipped by 2 runs. With three of the four teams in Pool ‘A’ now on 2 wins and 1 loss, tension was high as the convenors did the maths to work out who had the best percentage and to play off against Manifold Heights PS in the State Final. Unfortunately for us, Swan Hill, by the tiniest of margins, had a better percentage than Viewbank and made it through. Even though we just missed the State Final, we can all be extremely proud of our Boys Softball Team who earned the final placing of 3rd best team in all of Victoria. Congratulations to the team and thank you very much to the parents, grandparents and Mr Kersing who came along to support the team!

The Junior School Council will be holding a Second Hand Toy Sale in the Gym foyer at lunchtime on Wednesday.

If you have toys to donate, please give them to your JSC to bring to Ms Walker’s room before Wednesday.

If you would like to buy a toy, please bring some money (toys will cost no more than $5) and come along on Wednesday 11th December.

See you there!

Ashleigh Walker (JSC Mentor) and the VPS Junior School Council

Lower Plenty Bakehouse provide the school with fundraising Lunch Orders every Thursday. These lunches have been implemented via our Parents and Friends Committee. All money raised will be used towards our major school upgrade.

Our Term 4 Fundraising Lunch Order Dates are:

  • Thursday 12th December (Orders closing on Monday 9th December, 3:00pm)
  • Thursday 19th December (Orders closing on Monday 16th December, 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 4 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. All food is Halal.

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.

Entertainment Book 20% of the membership goes directly to support our fundraising at Viewbank Primary School. https://www.entertainment.com.au/current-promotion

Help Reduce Waste and Support Our School! - Purchase Your Name Labels Now Are you tired of losing lunch boxes and clothing? Please remember to always label your items so they can be returned to you, helping to reduce landfill. You can easily order labels via this link: https://www.mynamelabel.com.au/discount/VPS0515

This is a fundraising activity, and all funds raised will contribute to making our school more sustainable. You can order labels at any time throughout the year!

Our fundraising code is VPS0515.

Thank you for supporting sustainability at Viewbank Primary School!

Lunches must be ordered online using the CLASSROOM CUISINE website.

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WEEKLY SECOND HAND UNIFORM SALE - Every Friday 3:00pm to 3:30pm, next to the music room. Jumpers with the school logo, long and short sleeve school polo tops and school dresses will be $2.00. We are currently asking for donations of any unwanted reusable school uniform items to sell at our stall.

SINGING WITH GABRIELLA - Gabriella

  • Email: favrettogab@gmail.com
  • Phone: 0413 676 733

STRINGS – Jack Cai

  • Email: jack3bld@gmail.com
  • Phone: 0426 665 044

STRINGS - MR CAI

  • Email: cai66@optusnet.com.au
  • Phone: 0403 490 078

GUITAR – Luca Brading

  • Email: lucabrading@gmail.com
  • Phone: 0422 690 842

PIANO/KEYBOARD/DRUMS - Daniel Tucceri

  • Email: info@banyulemusicandtutoring.com
  • Phone: 0405 667 908

Our school has partnered with an independent provider called TheirCare to provide exceptional Outside School Hours Care services for our school community.

The program is available for all children at Viewbank Primary School from 6:30am until 9:00am in the morning and from 3:30pm until 6:15pm each school day.

During School Holidays & Pupil Free Days the service will operate from 6:30am until 6:15pm.

Families wishing to use this service can visit the TheirCare website: www.theircare.com.au

Families are eligible for a Government Rebate called the Child Care Subsidy which can reduce the cost per session by up to 85%.

More information can be obtained by contacting the school or ringing TheirCare Support Team on 1300 072 410.

TheirCare provides a stimulating and safe environment for all children. During sessions, children develop life-skills, friendships, confidence and creativity through play-based programs.

A PLUS SCHOOLWEAR

Shop Details:

  • Unit 3/30 Heaths Court, Mill Park
  • T: 9436 4005
  • E: info@northernregionaluniforms.com.au

Opening Hours:

  • Monday to Thursday 9am to 5pm
  • Friday 9am to 3pm

Online Ordering Please Visit:  www.aplusschoolwear.com.au