- Monday 19 August – Book Week Costume Parade
- Tuesday 20 August - Guest Author Speaker
- Wednesday 21 August – The Great Book Swap
- Wednesday 28 August - Father’s Day Stall
- Tuesday 12 November - Whole School Production (A-K Families)
- Thursday 14 November - Whole School Production (L-Z Families)
PUPIL FREE DAYS 2024
- Monday, November 4
2024 TERM DATES
- TERM 3: 15th July - 20th September
- TERM 4: 7th October - 20th December
2024 CAMP DATES
- Grade 5 Camp to Bacchus Marsh - October 9 to 11
- Grade 3 Camp to Phillip Island - October 28 to 30
SCHOOL COUNCIL The August meeting of School Council is scheduled for next Tuesday, August 13, commencing at 7pm in the staffroom. All documents will be distributed to Council members by this Friday.
100 DAYS OF SCHOOL Our Foundation students celebrated their first 100 days of school on Monday with a whole school acknowledgement at assembly followed by activities and celebrations in classrooms. The students certainly enjoyed dressing up in their party clothes, wearing their 100 days crown and decorating their celebration t-shirt. Well done to all.
STORY LAND The first of our three Kinder-Foundation 2025 transition sessions for Term 3 took place this week, with future students participating in Storyland. Each transition session gives our teachers an opportunity to meet the students and begin to develop relationships as well as providing opportunities for the students to become more familiar with our school environment and school routines.
EVACUATION DRILL We will have a further school evacuation drill next Wed 14th Aug. This drill will occur during the lunch break allowing everyone to practise evacuating to the oval from a break/play situation. Students will be briefed and guided through the drill by their teachers prior to and on the day.
BULLYING NO WAY! The Bullying No Way: National week of action takes place from Monday 12 August to Friday 16 August 2024 and is a chance to take action to make our school safer and more supportive for students.
This year’s theme is ‘Everyone belongs’. It is based on the idea that when students feel like they are accepted for who they are, bullying struggles to find a place. It's about embracing who we are, respecting everyone's differences and standing up together against unkindness.
Across the week our students will participate in age appropriate conversations and lessons about bullying prevention. Our Student Leadership Team are busy preparing whole school activities to spread awareness and create a safe place where everyone feels supported and respected, and voices are heard and valued. More information will follow.
2024 PARENT/CAREGIVER/GUARDIAN OPINION SURVEY By now, you will have received an invitation to participate in this year’s survey. We encourage you to have your say by Friday 30 August. Thank you.
WORKING BEE We have scheduled this term’s working bee for Sunday, August 25 from 9am, so plenty of notice! Lots to do around the Grade 3 and 4 classrooms at Jilinga. More to come in future Compass posts.
Have a great week,
Gill
CCTV At Our School As mentioned in previous Viewbank Voice Newsletters, we have decided to use a closed-circuit television (CCTV) system at our school.
Our school has an obligation to ensure the school environment is safe and secure, and fulfil our duty of care to students, staff and visitors. The CCTV system will assist our school to fulfil these obligations and to prevent and manage other inappropriate behaviour on school grounds. CCTV will also provide enhanced capability to protect our school’s assets against vandalism and theft.
We will follow Department of Education policy requirements for the design, installation, management and use of the CCTV systems. This policy is available at: CCTV in Schools – Installation and Management.
We have placed a CCTV Privacy Notice on our school website https://www.viewbankps.vic.edu.au/forms-policies with more information about our school’s use of CCTV.
If you have any questions or concerns at this stage, please contact the school: viewbank.ps@education.vic.gov.au or 9459 1512
Student Illness We have seen an increase in numbers of students who are currently unwell. If your child is sick, it is best if they stay home and recover. This will help shorten the time they are ill and will prevent viruses from spreading. It will also lessen the likelihood that we will need to call you to pick up your child in the middle of the day.
Semester One Reports These are now available again for the whole school. Please access via Compass.
Have a great weekend,
Patrick
2024 WHOLE SCHOOL PRODUCTION Rehearsals have kicked off for our 2024 whole school production, to be held in Term 4. The main aim of a school production is to engage our students and immerse them in the Performing Arts in a fun and enjoyable way. They are given an opportunity to go on stage, perform for an audience and be a part of a whole school community event.
This year, our production is called ‘Where in the World is Eddie the Teddy?’
Eddie, our school teddy, has gone missing. With the help of the ACME Detective Agency, the audience will be taken on a journey around the world to look for clues to help solve this mystery. Along the way, various spies, secret agents and adventurers are called in to help find Eddie and bring him home to Viewbank – all in the space of a few hours!
Students have been responding well to the production theme and the role that they will play in it. In the coming weeks, students will be placed into their groups for their performance day/night (based on family names), and we will begin auditioning the Year 5 and 6 students for some major roles! Lots of excitement ahead! Keep an eye out for future correspondence and news regarding the production.
Performance dates:
- Tuesday 12 November, 2024 - matinee and evening performance (A-K Surnames)
- Thursday 14 November, 2024 - matinee and evening performance (L-Z Surnames)
*Students will participate in both an afternoon matinee and an evening performance on their nominated date.
Renee Davey & Meredith Kearney (Production Coordinators)
BIG SCIENCE BIG FUN SHOW This week we celebrate National Science Week (10 - 18 August) with our annual Science Show. The students had a great time with Ben from Fizzics Education who engaged the students with some amazing science experiments that excited and entertained! Highlights included fog machine rings, nail seat and visualising sound waves with flames!
Also, the National Science Week website includes many resources and links to events for the community to participate in locally and around Melbourne.
Year 4 Koorie Heritage Trust Excursion On Wednesday the 7th of August 2024 all of the Year 4 students went on an excursion to Federation Square to visit the Koorie Heritage Trust. We went on this excursion as part of our current Year 4 History inquiry. We visited as part of the ‘Finding Out’ stage and we learnt about Aboriginal history and culture.
During our excursion we went down to Birrarung Marr (Beside the river of mists) and walked along the Yarra River. We stopped along the way at Aboriginal art installations and learnt about their history and importance. We found out about how the Yarra River used to be, the changes that have occurred over time and the naming of this well known landmark. We also learnt about the history of Aboriginal Peoples of the Kulin Nation.
We were shown traditional tools (boomerangs, spears, shields, eel traps and many more) and had a hands on opportunity to learn about traditional Aboriginal artefacts. This was very interesting and we have come away with a greater understanding of Aboriginal culture.
The Year 4s.
BULLYING NO WAY WEEK A NATIONAL WEEK OF ACTION From 12 to 16 August is Bullying No Way Week a National Week of Action. The theme for 2024 is Everyone Belongs. Viewbank Primary School has registered as a participating school. Bullying No Way Week is all about the important roles schools, families and communities play in helping young people feel accepted, respected and that they have a place where they belong. Purple is the new hero colour representing Bullying No Way: National week of action. Students can wear a purple accessory on Thursday 15th August e.g. scrunchie, wrist band etc. (please note: not an out of school uniform day). We hope to see everyone supporting and participating in this important event.
Written by the Year 6 Student Leadership Team
PARENTS AND FRIENDS MID YEAR UPDATE 2024
Hello to all our community,
On behalf of the Viewbank Primary School Parent and Friends Committee, we’d like to update you on our progress this year, and give you a preview of all of the exciting activities we have planned for the rest of 2024.
Once again, we thank you for all your support, either on the committee, helping out at our events, supporting the children with donations, and more.
Our fundraising is making a difference!
We are so pleased to say that our fundraising efforts have made a real difference to the school. Over $30,000 has been spent throughout the school, with plans for more investment throughout the year.
Recent improvements include:
- New books in the library for the students to enjoy.
- New take home reader books in Years 1 and 2.
- New soccer goals on the oval for all kids to use.
- Jilinga seating, new dome and a mural. Completed and looking wonderful - see the photos below.
- Equipment upgrades for the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Program. This is a cooking and gardening program for Grades 3 & 4 and is based up at Jalinga. Our funds will enable upgraded kitchen facilities with an oven (or two), benchtops, range hood x2, fireproofing / splashbacks, an island bench – and all the electrical and plumbing work associated with this – including a hole in the roof for the range hoods. We expect the equipment will be installed by the end of the year.
- Improvements to the area behind the Grade 2 classrooms including the installation of little cubby houses for creative play time. We are hoping to see completion during term 4.
If anyone has any further suggestions to improve the school facilities, please speak to a P&F committee member, so this can be discussed at our meetings and then raised at the School Council for approval.
Looking ahead Excitingly, here are the events we have planned for the remainder of the year:
Term 3
- Book Week Dress up parade prize draw, Monday 19 August
- The Great Book Swap 2024, Wednesday 21st August
- Father’s Day Stall, Wednesday 28th August
- Sushi Day, Tuesday 10th September
Term 4 (dates TBC)
- Student Disco
- Mango Fundraiser
- School production raffle
- Vision portraits - where you can get beautiful photos of your family
Check the school newsletter each week, as it will have all the important details for these events as they occur.
Thank you to all the Parents and Friends Committee who have contributed to these initiatives. Your support has truly made a positive impact on the school community. We look forward to continuing to work together to create a safe, supportive, and engaging environment for all our students.
The next committee meeting is on Thursday 22nd August @ 7.30pm in the staff room. Everyone is welcome to join and if you have any interest in any positions on the committee, please let us know. Many hands make light work.
Regards,
Narelle Matton (President) & Jacqui Thurlow (Secretary)
Father's Day Stall Are you available to help out with our Father's Day Stall on Wednesday 28th August?
All the children also thank you for your fantastic support we really can’t do it without you!!!
We thank you in advance. If you have any questions, please contact the office on 9459 1512
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 upgrad
Our Term 3 Fundraising Lunch Order Dates are:
- Thursday 15th August (Orders closing on Monday 12th August, 3:00pm)
- Thursday 22nd August (Orders closing on Monday 19th August, 3:00pm)
- Thursday 29th August (Orders closing on Monday 26th August, 3:00pm)
- Thursday 5th September (Orders closing on Monday 2nd September, 3:00pm)
- Thursday 12th September (Orders closing on Monday 9th September, 3:00pm)
- Thursday 19th September (Orders closing on Monday 16th September, 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 3 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.
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
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.
Guitar Lessons at Viewbank Primary School! Does your child dream of playing the guitar? Enrol them in our vibrant guitar lessons at Viewbank Primary School, where they can embark on an exciting musical journey! Our dedicated teacher, Luca, is passionate about music and committed to nurturing each student's unique talent.
Why Our Guitar Lessons?
- Expert Teacher: Learn from Luca, a professional musician with years of performance and teaching experience.
- Fun & Engaging: Our lessons are designed to be enjoyable and inspiring, sparking a lifelong love of music.
- All Skill Levels Welcome: Whether your child is just starting or looking to hone their skills, our program is tailored for everyone.
- Convenient Location: Lessons held right at Viewbank Primary School for your convenience.
Program Highlights:
- Individual & Duo Lessons: Choose the format that best suits your child’s learning style.
- Flexible Scheduling: We offer various times to fit around students’ busy schedules.
Enrol Today!
Spaces are limited, so don’t miss out on this wonderful opportunity to give your child the gift of music. For more information and to sign up, please contact Luca at lucabrading@gmail.com.
Let’s make some music!
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