- Tuesday 27th February - School Photos
PUPIL FREE DAYS 2024
- Tuesday, March 12
- Friday, April 26
- Monday, July 15
2024 TERM DATES
- TERM 1: 29th January - 28th March
- TERM 2: 15th April - 28th June
- TERM 3: 15th July - 20th September
- TERM 4: 7th October - 20th December
2024 CAMP DATES
- Grade 3 Camp to Phillip Island - October 28 to 30
- Grade 4 Camp to Anglesea - May 15 to 17
- Grade 5 Camp to Bacchus Marsh October 9 to 11
- Grade 6 Camp - April 29 to 1 May
SCHOOL COUNCIL NOMINATIONS By 4pm on Monday, February 19, I had received the following nominations for the vacant School Council positions in the following categories:-
SCHOOL EMPLOYEE CATEGORY (one vacancy)
- Patrick Walsh
PARENT CATEGORY (four vacancies)
- Kate Doran
- Michelle Pan
- Anthony Spence
Accordingly, I declare that these nominations have been successful and the nominees are duly elected to fill the two year vacancies on School Council.
As the number of nominations in the parent category is less than the number of vacancies, I now extend the nomination period for a further week in this category and seek a further nomination to fill the final position. Nominations for this position only close at 4pm on February 26.
GRADE 6 HOUSE CAPTAIN BADGE PRESENTATIONS We were graced with the presence of Loren Barry (Triple M radio presenter) and Kyle Langford (Essendon footballer) in the last week to present captains badges to our Grade 6 leaders and express our great appreciation to them both for giving up their time so readily. Their presence certainly had great impact on our student leaders.
NATIONAL YOUNG LEADERS DAY Speaking of leadership, our 18 school captains attended the National Young Leaders Day at the Melbourne Exhibition and Convention Centre on Friday along with their teachers, Sharon Groves (Grade 6 Team Leader) and Bonnie Boness (Student Voice and Agency Leader). Here are some of their insights and recounts on what was reportedly an excellent day.
Written by Communication Captains, Inaya and Sumaya and House Captain Orlando
Every year students from across Victoria come together to attend National Young Leaders Day or NYLD for short. Usually the student leadership team goes to the event and that was the same for our school. All 18 captains attended NYLD. The event was at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition centre. We had to leave the school at 7:40am so we could get there before the doors opened.
There were 4 speakers and they told all the students a little bit about themselves and what they achieved. They also taught us how to be a better leader. Each speaker had their own message.
This year’s speakers were:
- Anastasia Woolmer: Memory Athlete/Contestant on the TV show Survivor.
- Bryson Klein: Australian Ninja warrior 5 time grand finalist.
- Jane Bunn: 7news weather reporter/ meteorologist.
- Melissa Barbieri: Former Matildas Goalkeeper and Captain.
The leadership teams main takeaway from NYLD was that it is possible to do anything as long as you work hard and always be resilient.
In summary the Viewbank Student Leaders had a fun and exciting day and were lucky enough to get a picture with Jane Bunn and Mellisa Barbieri. The leadership team all learnt something from the 4 speakers and found them very inspiring.
SCHOOL PHOTOS A final reminder that School Photo Day is next Tuesday, February 27.
Have a lovely weekend – the last one for summer!!
Kind regards,
Bill Kersing
Principal
National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy Our Year 3 and Year 5 students will be completing the National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) in the second half of March. The following table shows our expected schedule:
Make up assessments will be provided within the assessment window (between Thursday 14th March and Monday 25th March). Make up tests will only be provided for students in line with NAPLAN administration guidelines.
If you have any concerns about your Year 3 or Year 5 child completing NAPLAN in 2024, please contact your child's teacher as soon as possible.
2023 NAPLAN Results The official NAPLAN results for 2023 are now available on the MySchool website www.myschool.edu.au. Our Viewbank staff are feeling incredibly proud of the results achieved by our Year 3 and Year 5 students from last year.
Over the past few years, we have had a sustained focus on staff professional development with the explicit goal to increase literacy and numeracy outcomes for our students. It is important to note that while NAPLAN is one measure of our success, there are many other wonderful things we do here at our school that deepens and broadens the learning for all our students.
At every year level, we strive to offer something unique that enriches our students beyond their academic achievements. We are equally proud of these accomplishments, and we appreciate the ongoing support from our Viewbank community.
Have a great weekend.
Patrick
School Wide Positive Behaviour Support School Wide Positive Behaviour Support (SWPBS) is now firmly embedded at Viewbank PS and our students are once again collecting BEEhave points by displaying our four School Values - Respect, Responsibility, Resilience and Kindness.
Each class has been busy unpacking our school values, going through the school wide positive behaviour matrix and using this matrix to develop their classroom matrix of expectations. Through discussions, role play and school based videos, students will have explicit lessons teaching the behaviours expected in the different settings of the school.
As children demonstrate these behaviours they will be acknowledged via our individual and whole school BEEhave system. Hopefully, as the term progresses, many of you will begin to receive a Compass ‘celebration email’ alerting you to the fact that your child has collected their ten positive rewards for one of our School Values. Once students complete all four Values cards they will be presented with a certificate at assembly. As students complete their Values cards they are exchanged for a BEE sticker which is added to our whole school BEEhive. We have not yet finalised the new base for our school BEEhive but we will communicate this as soon as we can.
How Families can help
SWPBS is an approach to help all students learn to self-manage behaviour. Family involvement is a key feature and important in all aspects of SWPBS. A strong partnership between school and family is important because when families are involved, outcomes for students are better.
You can be involved in SWPBS in many ways by:
- reading materials distributed by the school via Compass
- using the Positive Behaviour Matrix to role model positive behaviours
- verbally acknowledging and recognising when your child meets expected behaviours
- responding consistently and with meaningful consequences when problem behaviour occurs.
For further information about School Wide Positive Behaviour, please see the information presented within the 2024 Grade Level Information PowerPoints that were released on Compass last week.
Reporting for Garden Duty A huge thank you and big shout out to all the students and staff who have jumped onboard to help water the new plants within our school grounds. Our tress and shrubs are thriving.
And it has also been fabulous to see some parent gardeners attacking the weeds that are also growing happily. Any time you can assist with weeding, is greatly appreciated.
Fingers crossed we get some rain soon.
Have a great week,
CAMPS, SPORTS AND EXCURSIONS FUND (CSEF) The Government assisted Fund provides payments for eligible students to attend camps, sports, incursions and excursions ($150 per child). Applications for the Governments ‘CSEF Fund’ can be accessed by filling in the application form and returning it to the office with a copy of your current Health Care Card. Families holding a valid means-tested concession card or temporary foster parents are eligible to apply) i.e. a Centrelink Health Care Card or Pension Concession Card or Veteran Affairs Gold Card.
If you applied for the CSEF at your child's school in 2023, you do not need to complete an application form in 2024 unless there has been a change in your family circumstances.
You only need to complete an application form if any of the following changes have occurred:
- new student enrolments; your child has started or changed schools in 2024 or you did not apply in 2023.
- changed family circumstances; such as a change of custody, change of name, concession card number, or new siblings commencing at the school in 2024.
- Funds are paid to the school and will be automatically allocated to the Extra-Curricular Items and Activities unless otherwise stated by the parent at the start of the year.
Kind regards,
Lucy Addati
2024 House Captains Congratulations to our 2024 House Captains! We were fortunate to have former student and current Essendon Football Club player, Kyle Langford, present their badges. Kyle has a long list of honours, none the least being a School Captain of Viewbank Primary School in 2008!
We wish our House Captains all the best for their busy year ahead - not that they need luck as they are all stars!
This week in the garden the grade 3's continued painting rocks for our 4th zone, relocated herbs, harvested for kitchen, watered all zones and started investigating Autumn produce.
On the menu in the kitchen ...
- Eggplant with pesto and mozzarella
- Wheat tortillas
- Hummus
- Greek Salad
We make our own pesto and replace pine nuts with pumpkin seeds.
Parents and Friends Annual General Meeting Thursday 07 March at 7:30pm A Department of Education requirement for schools who have Parents and Friends Committees for the purpose of fundraising, must hold an Annual General Meeting each year. All ‘official’ positions are to be declared vacant, and nominees will be sought for the 2024 President, Secretary and Treasurer. Previous holders of these position are more than welcome to nominate. The Annual General Meeting will be held in the new staffroom on Thursday 7th March at 7:30pm. After the AGM, the P&F Committee will meet as normal. A huge amount of work has gone into 2024 events already so I am sure there will be a few updates provided.
We are so grateful to our school community for the support they regularly show. The 2023 committee have already started planning events for 2024 such as: Mother’s Day Stall, Father’s Day Stall and Disco, as well as a few others. We need to keep these a secret at the moment until details and dates are locked in. That said, if you would like to know what they are, coming along to our P&F Meetings is a great way to stay informed. All fundraising events must be approved by School Council, with the School Council having the final say on where these funds are spent.
We hope you can come along!
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 1 Fundraising Lunch Order Dates are:
- Thursday 29th February (Orders closing on Monday 26th February, 3:00pm)
- Thursday 7th March (Orders closing on Monday 4th March, 3:00pm)
- Thursday 14th March (Orders closing on Monday 11th March, 3:00pm)
- Thursday 21st March (Orders closing on Monday 18th March, 3:00pm)
- Thursday 28th March (Orders closing on Monday 25th March, 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.
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 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 $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
STRINGS - MR CAI
- Email: cai66@optusnet.com.au
- Phone: 0403 490 078
GUITAR/BASS GUITAR - Alec
- Email: alec.stalder@gmail.com
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
- Saturday 9am to 12pm
Online Ordering Please Visit: www.aplusschoolwear.com.au