Newsletter #6 May 7, 2021
GHPS IS COMMITTED TO CHILD SAFETY
Learning Today, Leading Tomorrow.
Principal’s Report
Visit to Glen Eira College
During this week, staff were delighted to have the opportunity to visit the Year 7 students at Glen Eira College. The staff, including Ms Piscioneri, Mr Swanson, Mrs Oldham, Ms Kasambalis, Mrs Sassos, Ms Tinetti and I were invited to attend the Share Year 7 Success afternoon.
We all felt very proud of the former GHPS 2020 year 6 students whom we met to share in their recall of what Year 7 has afforded them so far this year and the opportunities that they have embraced as a high school student.
Congratulations to each of them for their highly successful transition and for the tour they took us on. It was also amazing to see former students who are now in Years 8-12, seeing them so happy after such a long time and to hear them remember us from Glen Huntly PS.
It was a very proud occasion for us all.
School Review
The school will welcome back the School Review Panel as part of the Final Day Agenda. The purpose of the final panel meeting will be to look at the findings and evidence in response to the Terms of Reference Focus Questions which were asked by the panel at all of the Focus Groups. The Reviewer will facilitate discussion and identification of the new School Strategic Plan goals, targets and key improvement strategies. The Reviewer will compile a report which when ready, will be shared with School Council.
NAPLAN 2021: Parents of the students in Years 3 and 5 will have received a notice last term advising them that NAPLAN will be undertaken in 2021. The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy will commence on Tuesday and all students must be allocated the standard time set for each test. Thank you to Mr Callum Swanson who is the NAPLAN coordinator for managing aspects of all NAPLAN test administration.
Attitudes to our School Survey 2021
The students in Years 4, 5 & 6 will take part in the DET Survey a little bit later this term. Ms Tinetti will be providing a notice to the families of these students today.
Woolworths Glen Huntly
Sarah, who is the Group Manager at Woolworths, has contacted me to advise me that next week they are focusing on the community & wellbeing.
As one of her stores is Glen Huntly she would be delighted next Tuesday 11 May at 8.45am to bring our students a free piece of fruit to bring “a little good to everyone , everyday”. Her team will be dressed in a fruity theme and be inside the West Site and East site front gates handing the fruit out.
We look forward to them bringing a bit of early morning fun to the students. If students wish to accept a piece of fruit, they can accept with a thank you or alternatively a no thank you. Students will be encouraged to wash any fruit that cannot be peeled eg an apple and may choose to keep it for eating at brainfood time, snack or eat it as an after breakfast extra!
GHPS Mother’s Day Stall and Mothers’ Day
A huge thank you to the members of GPA for arranging to have a Mother’s Day stall once again as last year we were in lock down. It was a joy to see the students being able to look at the presents for sale and lovingly select something to surprise Mum or someone special. We really appreciate the home baked goodies and the donations that we received.
To all our wonderful mothers- we wish you a very happy Mothers’ day and hope that you all know how very special you are! We hope that you enjoy your mothers’ day this year and have a lovely day.
School Council Report
The school council met following the 28 April Annual Reporting Meeting. I thank the school council president, Ross Donnan for his report which will be included in the next newsletter.
Libby Alessi Principal
A message from your Assistant Principal:
Wellbeing:
In our last newsletter I shared with you all some Gratitude questions to use. This week it is about the practice of gratitude.
Practicing Gratitude:
We know how good we can feel when we practice Gratitude. All you need to do is answer the following two questions;
- What went well for you today?
- What are you looking forward to about tomorrow?
Aim to answer these two questions everyday, and here’s the best bit; research tells us that in 21 days your brain begins to scan the world for the positives. In fact we become 3 times more likely to notice a positive than a negative! For more inspiration about the benefits of gratitude you can watch the following clip – Watch Now – Say Thank You.
Interested in reading further into the research behind Gratitude? Follow this LINK to check out an article by Harvard Medical School about saying Thank You!
Attitudes to School Survey (AtoSS):
WE WANT OUR STUDENTS TO TELL US WHAT THEY THINK!
We value student voice as a means to improving student engagement, wellbeing, and quality instruction, and are conducting a survey to find out what your child/ren thinks of our school.
The AtoSS is an annual student survey offered by the Department of Education and Training to assist our school to gain an understanding of students’ perceptions and experience of school. Students will be asked about their thoughts and feelings in relation to their school, their learning, peer relationships, bullying and life in general.
Students from Year 4 to 6 at our school will participate in the survey. Your child will complete the survey online during school hours using a purpose built secure online survey tool. This year the Attitudes to School survey will be conducted at our school over the period Thursday 20th May to Friday 4 June. The survey takes around 20-45 minutes to complete and occurs during your child’s class time.
The survey results will be reported back to the school in an aggregate form throughout the survey period. All survey data that is made available in reports are for groups of students only so that no individual student can be identified. The data reports are then discussed at Leadership Meetings, Staff Meetings and School Council and we will share with our school community via the Newsletter.
If you would like more information, please come and have a chat with me or visit: https://www2.education.vic.gov.au/pal/data-collection-surveys/guidance/attitudes-school-survey
Gratitude Turns What We Have Into Enough
Amy Tinetti Assistant Principal
Congratulations to the following students who received a ‘Student of the Week’ award.
Sonika 0R – for contributing during class discussions this week with a clear voice. I am SO proud of you!
Armaan 0S – for communicating with your teachers and friends in a loud and clear voice. Well done on a great start to Term 2!
Charli 0S – For starting off this term with a bang! Your contributions to class discussions and behaviour in the classroom have been outstanding!
Hamdaan 1E – for settling in well to grade 1. Welcome to our school, you’re a great friend!
Thomas 1E – for your amazing behaviour this week. You have made great choices and been a good friend. Keep it up!
Dhruva 1M – for taking your time and trying your best with your retell of Cinderella. Well done, keep up the fantastic effort!
Lewis 1M – for your excellent ideas that you shared with the class during our whole class fairy tale story writing
Charlie 1M – for getting 100% on your place value maths test. You are a marvellous mathematician!
Sindhura 2K – Showing impressive leadership on her new table, patience and care of others and active participation in all classroom discussions! Well done!
Hiya 3F – Her excellent attitude to all learning tasks. She contributes great ideas and is a kind friend to others.
Rey 3O – For his positive attitude towards his school work and for staying ‘on the job’ this week. Well done.
Srutha 4N – For consistently completing all home learning tasks at a high standard. Keep up the great work, Srutha!
Tharunika 4R – For reading aloud with excellent fluency during guided reading. You kept us all engaged!
Yuvan 4R – For being proactive and organised in completing all of your learning tasks. Keep up the great work!
Siddhant 5/6S – For giving helpful hints and tips to his classmates throughout our Fractions lessons this week. Keep it up Sid!
Ashton 5/6S – For consistently bringing a positive and uplifting attitude to every lesson which brightens up every room he walks into. You’re a terrific role-model Ash!
Sport News
We had our House Cross Country race on Monday 3rd of May.
House Winner: Batman
Spirit Cup Trophy: Hume
Congratulations to all participants for their fabulous efforts.
District Cross Country will be held on Monday the 24th May!
Our powerful Indigenous First Nation, First People Harmony Day Incursion.
The performance suddenly began with one of the performers playing the yidaki, slow and steady. It gradually grew more complex and louder and then it came back down.
What I thought of, saw and felt when the powerful and ancient yidaki music started and just kept going, was how deep the roots of that instrument must be and I could almost feel the ground and crowd swaying, as if Mother Nature herself was dancing along with the music.
The other performer’s voice music often peaked when the yidaki music did and also softened when the music softened.
I learnt that didgeridoo is a false name and that boomerangs were also used as musical instruments.
The indigenous performers whose tribal and ancestral land was Fraser Island off the coast of Queensland, showed respect for them being on Boon Wurrung land, by acknowledging that the Boon Wurrung people were the custodians of our region, by walking around the area and by performing a dance to ask if the elders and ancestors of the Boon Wurrung tribe if they could come in.
One of the meanings of the smoking ceremony was to help your body. Other purposes of the gum leaf, stick and twig burning ceremony was to cleanse and purify, to warn away bad spirits from the people and the land and to make pathways for a brighter future.
By showing us their performance, they demonstrated to us that they were still connected to their lands. The connection, is important because I believe it shows strong and much needed links with their ancestors.
We experience events such as this on our Harmony Day each year to teach students and teachers about other cultures, so that we all know that each culture is unique, special and that many cultures need to be understood and accepted.
By Rafael 6S
When we started the incursion with an introduction that included yidaki music and the percussion from the boomerang, I felt really engaged when it started to play and when the other presenter started singing. I could see one of the men playing the yidaki while the other was banging the boomerang, dancing and singing.
The singing blended really well with the yidaki music, because it has probably been created hundreds or even thousands of years ago, which means that it has been perfected over its making and that is why the voice and the music from the boomerang and the yidaki united perfectly.
I learned a lot from the First Nation First People presentation, like how didgeridoo is not an Indigenous word and not to call it ‘didgeridoo’ anymore; to correctly call it a yidaki. I learned that the smoking of the Gum leaf is really cultural and how it’s better than any asthma puffer in the world. It also purifies and clears the air and is really good to breathe in. I also learned that their Indigenous tribe is from Fraser Island and that only certain people are granted the right to be able to play the yidaki.
The Indigenous presenters showed a lot of respect for the Boon Wurrung people by walking around and showing them that they are visiting their land from another tribe . They also used leaves and all the natural aspects from here and showed respect to the Boon Wurrung elders and ancestors.
The meaning of the Smoking Ceremony is to explain to us about their cultures and customs, but more to say how good it is for us. I would have never thought that smoke could be so significant and good if it wasn’t for this incursion.
The performers were still connected to their land and ancestral tribe. If they weren’t, they wouldn’t have come here in the first place. They talked about what their ancestors would’ve done during the dry season and the wet season and explained about their tribes’ culture and customs. This is really important to them, because it explains to our generation about how the Indigenous people whom we wouldn’t have known before. It is also important because they want to keep these traditions alive and respect them like other cultures respect their history.
We experienced these events on Harmony Day. This event allowed us to understand different cultures and customs, to spread the joy of Harmony Day and to show our respect and love for whatever culture we are.
By Marko 6J
Sara Roychand, 2S, has won a prize in Australia’s biggest colouring competition, organised by Cheesecake Shops across Australia.
She came 2nd in the 6 – 9 age group and received a Crayola inspiration portable art case.
Well done Sara for your achievement.
Please remember to put your name on all uniform/property.
Lost property will be sorted every month and any uniform without a name will be put into the second hand uniform shop.
Other unnamed items will be donated to charity.
If your child attends before or after school care, please check their lost property as well.
Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund applications
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.
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 collect an application form from the school office.
You can also download the form, and 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.
Calendar
May
17 – 20 Book Fair
24 – 28 Education Week
June
Mon 14 Queens Birthday Holiday
Fri 25 Final Day Term 2 (early dismissal, 2.30pm)
