Newsletter #18 7 November 2019
Principals Report
Fete and reflection
With the best and most amazing Fete Coordinator, Fiona plus the amazing Coordinators and teams we outlasted a few hiccups with the weather to have the best day. The sun started to shine and it was instant relief and happiness for us all!
A great crowd filled the grounds and we ate, played, sang, danced, drank, bid, cooked, tasted, served, sold, sponged and admired all we had on show. The roving MC, Shan got everybody involved in what was happening and together with School Captain, Imogen welcomed us all. To celebrate a Happy Diwali, Rohini led us through the Candle Lighting Ceremony which included our invited guests, Steve Dimopoulis, Tim Wilson, David Southwick and Katie Allen taking part. Mahathi and Kashvi sang and Raashi read to us a Diwali message of Light and Joy.
The Choir took to the “stage” and entertained us by singing two beautiful songs which showcased how much our students love singing with Mr Andrew Aitken and Laura James-Clark. We braved the skies and moved the entertainment back outside and although the students in the Party Hats and Second Chairs missed their air time, we will look forward to them playing at Carols Evening pending their attendance.
Cathy’s fabulous planning for rides was grounded due to the weather warnings and forecast from Bounzalot, but that has been rescheduled for Tuesday 10 December and we’ll have some more fun then, so a great result and thanks Cathy! We appreciated being able to take a ride on the camels, play Mini golf thanks to Srija’s team, bounce on the trampoline and were happy to get into the Tunnel of Terror and see how fabulous 5O with Mrs Melinda Oldham and 5S with Mr Callum Swanson had made their classroom, or played the Slot Cars thanks to Andy and co or had our hair made crazy thanks to Jill & Heidi and team, had intricate Henna Tattoos with Rohini’s team or Face Painting with Jacqui and team. You may have played Lucky Ducks thanks to Rashmi and team or got lucky at the Lucky Jars with Helen and Craig and family or won chocolate at the Chocolate Trailer thanks to the Grade 6 students. With many plants to choose from, you may have found something appealing from Cass and her team.
Inside the main building the Hawkins/ Bloch family were selling raffle tickets, the Handmade goods and the Trash and Treasure Stall had loads of goodies courtesy of Abbi and Sharbani and Teams. Upstairs there was a hive of activity at the Silent Auction with Stephen, Fiona, Lance and Cass busy way into the night working out who the lucky people were to place the final bid. And in Year 4, Aarti, Lisa and team offered a Diwali Sand Art and Free Kids play area for free! Thanks!
Wild Cherry Road and The Leftovers Bands starring parents and staff: Laura, Andrew, Liv, Simi, Dave, Mark, Shan, Rohan, Andy, Tristan, Amanda, and Ryan entertained us with their music filling the air and providing a great atmosphere. With their grace, amazing rhythm, and beautiful costumes, the Indian Dancers told their story and we marvelled at their moves. When we visited the Hall we appreciated the many student artworks made by our talented students and displayed by our art teacher, Ms de Bruyn and weren’t they just fabulous! The Café, Fruit Smoothie, Jude’s Lemon Cordial and GHPS Watering Hole Bar provided just the right type and amount of refreshment that we craved and may have accompanied your choice of any one of the yummy foods that were available at the food stalls including Souvlaki, Flavours of India, Indian Street Food, Chai and Samosa, BBQ, Japanese Foods, Deserts, Scones, Cakes, Slices, and an array of homemade goods. The homemade delights at the Cake Stall donated and baked by our fabulous community were ALL DELICIOUS!
Thanks to all the Coordinators: Fiona & Steve, Cass & Ben, Martina, Nicole B, Ross & Sandra, Payal & Shyamali, Andrew, Melinda, Juz, Tara, Shan, Rashmi, Theo & Nicole V, Caitilin, Srija, Lisa, Amanda, Rohini, Abbi, Jillian, Sharbani, Tharana & Pavani, Jill & Heidi, Jacqui, Aarti, Claire, Kalaiselvi, Andy, Irene, Helen & Craig and Cathy. The School family Sponsors – you were such a help in getting the prizes and funds in for us to hit the ground in front! If I didn’t mention your stall or activity, thank you very much for your much needed help. I must say that with so much going on we couldn’t have done it without the great people who set up and packed up- you are all legends! The Publicity & Marketing team; Ross, Nicole, Amy and Claire and our extraordinary team counting the money- Julie, Amy, Bill and Eugenia and of course one more hooray for Fiona! What a fabulous vibe our GHPS Community created to provide us with a highly successful day.
The History of GHPS
On behalf of School Council, we are thrilled to now offer The History of Glen Huntly Primary School: 2009 – 2018. Shirley Mirams, who has been associated with GHPS for many years has done an absolutely amazing job recalling in detail many of the school’s milestones, stories and snippets in her latest publication. It’s a wonderful memento and we are extremely grateful to her for making this possible. We also thank Ross (Amber 4R) for his valuable assistance in helping us to publish this great work. Don’t miss out and get your copy form the office and please see Shirley’s information later in this newsletter.
Workforce Planning 2020
Staffing and workforce planning for 2020 is still underway and will be communicated to the School Council and wider community in the coming weeks. If your child will not be attending GHPS in 2020, please contact the office or your child’s class teacher to let us know.
2020 Prep Transition
The transition program for 2020 prep children has been very well attended. So far there have been two sessions with two remaining which will take place on Thursday 14 and Tuesday 19 November. We have enjoyed welcoming both current and new families into the school where the children have participated in learning tasks in the Prep learning areas an outside doing PE. The Parent session will be on Tuesday 19th November at 9am in the WW Hall, while the children are attending their final transition session. Many thanks to all our staff who have been and will be involved.
Libby Alessi
Principal
Congratulations to the following students who received a ‘Student of the Week’ award during the last 2 weeks.
Teru 0N – For making a great start in Prep N. We have loved getting to know you!
Naira 0R – For working extra hard during our mentor text lesson this week. Your sentences were amazing!
Arini 1A – For being a kind, caring and super helpful member of our class each and every day. Keep it up!
Rhea 1A – For your amazing effort in both our open ended fraction task and your design plan for creating a digital system that cleans, composts and recycles the rubbish in our environment. Wow!
Lucas 1E – for his outstanding effort when working out fractions! Keep up the awesome work!
Oscar 1M – your amazing presentation about the book ‘Santa is coming to Australia!’ You were so confident that you didn’t even need your poster. Very impressive!
James 1M – your excellent problem solving skills in our open ended maths challenge this week. Well done!
Rui 2C – being so kind to the students around you – you are so considerate of how others are feeling.
Manu 2C – your incredible effort with our fractions unit and becoming a fantastic mini teacher!
Vardhan 2L – For working so hard in maths and being able to identify half, quarters and eights.
Gautham 2L – For showing huge improvement in class and contributing to class discussions.
Aditya 2M – Friendly, enthusiastic and cheerful student.
Emily 3K – Helping others in the classroom, always showing beautiful manners and striving for excellence in her work! Well Done! Outstanding!
Sayuri 3F – Consistently displaying an excellent, responsible attitude to all her learning and always being a kind and considerate student in class.
Divyanshu 3F – Writing a detailed narrative about Leon and his quest to find magic. Excellent use of compound sentences and interesting adjectives to engage his reader. Well Done!
Nandini 3F – Achieving 200+ nights of home reading. Super effort!
Harleen 3S – Improved application to reading and developing close reading strategies.
Krisha 3S – Writing an interesting fairytale.
Dhevesh 3S – Applying appropriate skills to solve worded problems.
Siddharth B 3S – His excellent application to all areas What a great start to term.
Siddharth 4C – For your enthusiasm in our current mathematics unit, Money and Finances. You have shown to be an eager learner who is happy to help others in their understanding.
Tasha 4C – For your consistent efforts this week in completing set tasks and taking on feedback.
Abzel 4R – For working hard to complete your learning tasks this week and for giving your time to help others with their work. Well done!
Austin 4R – For achieving an amazing result on your post test for Geometric Reasoning. It doesn’t get any better than 100%! Your hard work has paid off. Congratulations!
Samarth 5S – For using his initiative and IT skills for his Earn and Learn business and government job as a Banker.
Now Available!
“The History of Glen Huntly Primary School: 2009-2018” is now available at the school office. Come into the office and take a look at this wonderful book detailing the events that happened at the school between 2009 and 2018.
If your child(ren) were at the school during those years, there is a high probability that they are mentioned either in the text or by photograph. It is a hard cover book with 183 pages of glossy photos/text. It would make a wonderful family gift.
Books can be purchased over the counter at the school office or over the phone (with credit card details) for $29.95. Postage within Australia can be arranged.
Recently, Shirley Mirams (author), spent time in the 3AW studios with Neil Mitchell, who is an ex-student, and presented him with his book.
Somers Camp Woorabinda
Congratulations to Stella, 5O, Lakshmi, 5O, and Alex, 5S who have been successful in being invited to attend Woorabindi Camp after submitting a letter about why they would be a great ambassador for GHPS.
Their letters are printed below, and we look forward to hearing about their wonderful experience when they return.
I, Stella Maglis, would be extremely honoured to be selected for the Grade 5 Somers School Camp.
I believe I would be a great representative of GHPS as I am a truly caring and friendly person with great communication skills. My love for adventure and learning new things is endless, so the Somers School Camp will be the ultimate opportunity for me to challenge myself and explore new ideas through indoor and outdoor activities.
I am also interested in the personal development program that the camp offers as it is quite challenging to meet and interact with new people and it will give me important life skills of how to cope with similar situations.
Finally, I would like to note that Somers School Camp sounds like great fun and full of exciting activities, which will create beautiful memories for the years to follow.
Yours sincerely
Stella Maglis
Dear Mr Swanson,
I am very keen to attend the Woorabinda School Camp, which is a fantastic opportunity for very few Grade 5 students.
I care for the environment, so I have been pro-active in helping my friends at school to become more aware about re-use, reduce and recycle.
I will be a great ambassador for GHPS by spreading the word on our sustainability and resilience projects at school.
With my inclusive attitude I promise to share and build on my knowledge that I can get from the educational activities on this camp.
Personally I would like to increase my reflective, leadership and resilience skills to achieve my own goals as well as my team mates’ goals.
I believe this camp will help me grow into a better person.
Yours sincerely
Lakshmi
For a start, this to me sounds like a very good opportunity for me and others, and I would be really pleased to be able to go to this camp.
At this camp, I feel that I will be able to make a lot of new friends from different schools. It would be a lot of great fun and I would enjoy spending time with others. With a couple of friends I know and heaps I don’t, it will be a different but amazing thing to go to.
From this experience, I believe I will gain a lot more courage and learn a lot from teachers but especially from the friends that I would make at the camp.
I am a very trustworthy person who is kind, caring and will always be there for everyone. I always encourage others to be the best they can possibly be. I am funny, friendly, enthusiastic and very honest and positive. If someone injures themselves I will race over and help them.
From looking at the Woorabinda website, they said that they wanted to make the camp so that kids from schools across Victoria can get together and enjoy a week with each other.
They also said that they want us to challenge ourselves, extend and support everyone that goes to their camp. Some learning areas at this camp are… environmental education, farm and indigenous learning.
In conclusion, this camp would be a great experience and it would be something new to do. I really hope I can go to this camp and have a great time with my friends and new ones I make.
By Alex Verginis
2020 Prep Transition
Our first 2020 Prep Transition was held last week. All of the children had a wonderful time meeting their teachers and new friends.
We look forward to you all becoming part of our GHPS community.
Put Your Name On It!
We would like to remind everyone to please put your child’s name on their school uniform and other belongings.
There has been a lot of lost property at school and most of it is unnamed uniform which is washed and put into the secondhand uniform shop.
Other items are sent to charity stores.
Hi Everyone,
Exciting news! Teeth on Wheels will be returning to our school for the children’s 6 monthly dental visits.
To make filling out the consent form easier you can now complete your Child’s consent form online by following the link below.
It only takes 5 minutes to complete and by reducing the amount of paper being used, we will be helping the team out by being more environmentally friendly.
https://teethonwheels.com.au/consent-eform
The date of the children’s dental visit will be starting on Monday the 11th of November 2019, so please ensure if you didn’t complete a form at the start of the year to have this completed ASAP!
If you have any questions regarding the consent form or your child’s dental appointment please don’t hesitate to contact the Teeth on Wheels team on (03) 9338 1191.
What’s On In Sport?
Well done to all the participants during “Walk to School 2019”.
Prizes will be awarded over the coming weeks.
Notices distributed to parents
6 Nov All Families Fete Ride Pass – New Date
7 Nov Year 5 Students 2020 Year 6 Bomber Jackets
Calendar
Nov
Mon 11 Teeth On Wheels
Tue 12 Teeth On Wheels
Thur 14 2020 Prep Transition
Tue 19 2020 Prep Transition
Tue 19 2020 Prep Parent Information Session
Tue 19 Prep – 2 Swimming Program Commences
Wed 20 Year 3/4 Camp
Dec
Mon 2 Year 3 – 6 Swimming Program Commences
Tue 10 Carols and Fete Rides night
Mon 16 Year 6 Graduation
Higgins Christmas Photo Competition
Calling all budding photographers!
The Higgins Christmas + Holidays E-Card Photo Competition is now open.
This year I am inviting all students from across Higgins to submit a photograph that will feature on my Christmas e-card.
This year’s theme is
“I ❤ Higgins”
The photo must be taken and submitted by a student enrolled at a school located within Higgins and should feature a person, place or thing in Higgins.
Prizes will be given for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners.
We kindly ask that you distribute this among your school community and encourage all students to apply.
For an entry form and a full list of terms click HERE
Entries close Midnight, Sunday 24th November 2019
Please send your photo and completed entry form to katie.allen.mp@aph.gov.au
