Gisborne Primary School

8th March 2018 Issue 5

CHALK TALK Diary Dates

Mon 12th Mar Labour Day Public Holiday

Wed 14th Mar School Council Meeting

Thu 15th Mar Division Swimming

Fri 16th Mar National Day of Action Against Violence & Bullying

Mon 19th March

PFA AGM & General Meeting 9:00am

Yr 6 Preparation for Puberty Session 1

Parent Support Session 3:30-4:30pm (P—2)

Tue 20th March Division Tennis

Fri 23rd Mar House Cross Country

Mon 26th Mar

Epilepsy Foundation ‘Purple Day’

Yr 6 Preparation for Puberty Session 2

Parent Support Session 3:30pm—4:30pm (Prep—2)

Thu 29th Mar Last Day Term 1—2:30pm dismissal

TERM 2 Mon 16th Apr Commence Term 2

Wed 25th Apr ANZAC Day Public Holiday

Fri 27th Apr District Cross Country

PRINCIPAL’S MESSAGE Dear families, Education Support program and Individual Learning Plan Interviews Over the past nine months at Gisborne PS we have increased and improved our supports for students with additional needs. In addition to the students who receive Program for Students with Disability funding, we resource a program for around 50 other students requiring extra support. We have increased our Education Support team by three staff over that time and these staff are timetabled to work with groups of students in classrooms addressing the goals in their Individual Learning Plans. The Education Support staff also supervise students during recesses, run lunch-time activities and Life Skills sessions for all age groups across the week. If your child has additional needs, his/her classroom teacher will have contacted you regarding an interview in the week beginning 19th March. Your child’s Individual Learning Plan and the supports in place for him/her will be detailed in that plan and discussed at the interview.

Achievement Program – Healthy Together Victoria The Achievement Program is a state government initiative and helps coordinate health and wellbeing priorities across eight health areas. We have established an eight member team at GPS including several parents to coordinate activities such as Active April and Walk to School. In 2018 the Achievement Team has selected two priority areas to work towards. These are:

Healthy Eating and Oral Health – A healthy diet and good oral health is important for growth development, health and wellbeing

Healthy children learn better

Physical Activity – Engaging students in sport, recreation and incidental activity provides a range of physical, emotional and social benefits.

The school is already achieving many of the benchmarks in the priority areas of Mental Health and Wellbeing and Safe Environments though our School Wide Positive Behaviour framework, Social and Emotional Learning and BullyStoppers. Yesterday the students were visited by an educator from Smiles on Site who presented information on Oral Health. We are already a Sun Smart school.

Sun Protection – A balanced approach to UV exposure helps with vitamin D and minimises skin and eye damage and the risk of cancer.

For more information visit the web-site http://www.achievementprogram.health.vic.gov.au/index.htm

Modified newsletter next week Please note there will be a modified newsletter next week; due to the shorter week with Monday’s public holiday there is not sufficient admin hours to complete the full version.

Enjoy the long weekend Julie Soutter

LABOUR DAY PUBLIC HOLIDAY THIS MONDAY 12th MARCH

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MESSAGE FROM THE ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL Dear families, School drop off and saying ‘goodbye’ The Prep students have been at school for their first full week. I wanted to say what a wonderful job all the students are doing. The prep teachers have been working extremely hard and all classes are very settled and are learning the routines of school. If you are having challenges with separation at the start of the day, please speak with your classroom teacher regarding strategies that can be put in place to support you and your child. Lost Property As mentioned in last week’s newsletter, there is a large pile of lost property in the office foyer of the school. In the spirit of promoting responsibility, we ask that parents please encourage their children to come and look for any lost belongings. Parents are of course welcome to come and claim items that belong to your family. This is a reminder to ensure all items of clothing are clearly named please. Supporting Students and Families Through Life Skill programs, classroom support and yard activities, Gisborne Primary School offers an extensive educational support program where students with additional needs are catered for. Educational Support staff and teachers regularly communicate to ensure the programs that are being offered and the supports in place are meeting the needs of all students. As communicated in the previous newsletter, Bec Underwood and Michelle Harkom are offering to assist families with extra support for students and parents. Sessions will be held on Monday afternoons from 3:30-4:30pm in Prep C classroom. If you would like to know about how to support your child at home, please come along with your child for 10-15 minutes and receive the support from Bec and Michelle. Between now and the end of Term 1, the focus will be for Prep to Year 2 students and parents. Wellbeing Our bullying data tells us that as a school there are a few students and parents that are concerned with bullying at school. As a staff, we have been implementing Social, Emotional Learning sessions and Bully Stoppers sessions in the classroom. These sessions assist in educating students about what bullying is, what you can do as a bystander and how to respond if you have been bullied. We as a school, want to make a difference in this area so that all students feel safe and happy at Gisborne Primary School. Bullying is defined as repeated verbal, physical, social or psychological aggressive behaviour by a person or group directed towards a less powerful person or group that is intended to cause harm, distress or fear. It is not mutual conflict, social disagreements or one off incidents. If your child is being bullied or bullying others you should:

listen carefully to your child and show concern and support

give considered advice – don’t encourage your child to fight back as this will most likely increase bullying

help your child to develop positive strategies – such as saying ‘Leave me alone’, calmly walking away or avoiding situations that might expose them to further bullying

ask your child questions to understand if there is a repeated pattern of bullying

establish what, when, where the incident(s) happened and who was involved

discuss incidents with your child’s teacher and the school to address the situation by establishing a plan for dealing with the current situation and future bullying incidents.

There is further information on the education department website below: http://www.education.vic.gov.au/school/parents/health/Pages/bully.aspx

Kind regards, Lisa Maxwell

Epilepsy Foundation Purple Day—Monday 26th March This year we will be raising awareness for the Epilepsy Foundation by supporting ‘Purple Day’. One of our Year 3 students, Chloe W, was recently diagnosed with the condition.

Students are invited to wear purple tops or accessories on Monday 26th March in exchange for a gold coin donation.

We also have a parent in our school community, Amanda Anderson, who is fundraising for the Epilepsy Foundation should families wish to contribute. To support Amanda, please follow this link: https://runtherock2018.everydayhero.com/au/running-for-epilepsy-awareness

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Permission for sporting events and school activities are all completed online via the Parent Portal. We recommend checking your Parent Portal weekly to ensure you don’t miss any permission requests or unexplained absence notifications. Please contact the school office if you require any assistance.

The URL for continued access to the portal is: https://sentral.gisborneps.vic.edu.au/portal2/ This link can also be found on the school website.

School Payments are made through the secure Qkr! App (pronounced ‘quicker’) that is provided through Mastercard. Download the App from the App store, search for Gisborne Primary School and establish a profile for your child. If you already have a Qkr account, please ensure you update your child’s new grade for 2018.

Victorian Premiers’ Reading Challenge The Victorian Premiers’ Reading Challenge is now open and Gisborne Primary school is excited to be participating again.

The Challenge is open to all Victorian children from birth to Year 10 in recognition of the importance of reading for literacy development. It is not a competition; but a personal challenge for children to read a set number of books by 7 September 2018.

Children from Prep to Year 2 are encouraged to read or ‘experience’ 30 books with their parents and teachers. Children from Year 3 to Year 10 are challenged to read 15 books.

All children who meet the Challenge will receive a certificate of achievement signed by the Victorian Premier and can choose to have their name included on the online Honour Roll. If you would like your child‘s name to appear on the Honour Roll, please collect a consent form from the school library or download and sign the consent form found on the following website and return it to school. http://www.education.vic.gov.au/about/events/prc/Pages/schoolstaff.aspx To read the Premier’s letter to parents, view the booklists and for more information about the Victorian Premiers’ Reading Challenge, visit: www.education.vic.gov.au/prc

CAMPS, SPORTS & EXCURSIONS FUND (CSEF)

If you hold a valid means-tested concession card or are a temporary foster parent, you may be eligible for CSEF. The allowance will be paid to the school to use towards expenses relating to camps,

excursions, or sporting activities for the benefit of you child. The annual CSEF amount per student will be $125 for primary students.

Contact the school office to obtain a CSEF application form or download from www.education.vic.gov.au/csef

Applications need to be lodged each year, and are required at school by 22nd June 2018.

Please note that the school cannot allocate CSEF against any events or excursions until your application has been lodged and approved.

(Please bring your concession card when submitting your application.)

PERMISSION & PAYMENTS DUE AMOUNT DATE DUE

Division Swimming Selected students only

Online Permission Friday 9th March

Year 6 Puberty & Personal Development

Online Permission Wednesday 14th March

Year 5 Girls Puberty Session Online Permission Wednesday 14th March

UNSW Competitions Years 2-6

Online Permission & Payment via Qkr

Friday 16th March

House Cross Country Years 3-6 only

Online Permission Wednesday 21st March

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CANTEEN NEWS Please note that sausage rolls are no longer available.

Please note that the House Cross Country is on Friday 23rd March. Students from Years 3-6 will be

leaving school around midday so please do not order them a lunch order on this day.

REMINDER—THE NEW QKR LUNCH ORDER CUT OFF TIME will be 8:00am on canteen day.

CANTEEN ROSTER

Friday

9th March

Friday

16th March

9am—11:30am Rob Davies Rob Davies

9am—11:30am Jenni Ross Jayne Giuffre

12:30pm—2:30pm Jayne Giuffre Jayne Giuffre

12:30pm—2:30pm Wal Van Dort Wal Van Dort

Congratulations to last week’s ‘Student of the Week’ award winners!

Noah B—PA Luca W—PB Shelby C—PC Mitchell P—PD

Ayden L—1A Ruby D—1B Felicity M—1C Rex V—1C

Hayley W—2A Billy M—2B Archie A—2C Matilda L—3A

Tom C—3B Alexandra G—3C Ava B—4B William P—5A

Kirsten H—5A Logan C—5C Jasper S—6A Kade A—6B

Isabella O—6C

Congratulations to the following students who were observed displaying positive behaviours

including our school values last week:

CARING COOPERATION

Monique E—5A Ava H—1A

Harvey R—1A

Congratulations to this

week’s winner of the

individual prize:

Ava H—1A

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Issue 5

Gisborne Primary School 35 Fisher Street Gisborne Vic 3437 PH: 03 5428 2022 Email: gisorne.ps@edumail.vic.gov.au Web: www.gisborneps.vic.edu.au

Order Uniform ONLINE through Beleza

Click here

Or visit 42C Aitken Street Gisborne

Caring

2018 DATES

TERM 1: 29 January—29 March

TERM 2: 16 April—29 June

TERM 3: 16 July—21 September

TERM 4: 8 October—21 December

Bell Times

8:50am Warning Bell

8:55am Class Bell

10:55 - 11.25am Recess

1:25pm Eat lunch inside

1:40-2:25pm Lunch

3:25pm Dismissal

Cadbury Easter Egg Fundraiser Thank you so much to all our families who are busy selling Easter eggs! Thank you to those who

have already returned their money and to those who have taken more eggs to sell!

If you are having trouble selling your eggs, please return them to school with any money raised

as soon as possible to enable us to redistribute them to other

families.

This fundraiser will support our PlaySpace Project plans.

Easter Bunny is kindly taking time out of his busy schedule to visit our

school in the last week of term! The PFA will be assisting him to deliver

Easter eggs to classrooms between recess and lunch.

Please contact the PFA should you wish to opt out or

have your child/ren receive an apple instead. gisborneprimarypfa@gmail.com

VOLUNTEERS WANTED!!

Dear families, this year, the owner of the Three Little Pigs café is again offering free breakfasts to students

of Gisborne Primary School. In order for this program to run, we are in desperate need of volunteers for

our roster. Duties would consist of setting up breakfast, packing away dishes and then walking students

to school. You will need to hold a valid Working With Children Check. Anyone wishing to help out can

contact Susan Spaltman on 0400 403 747 for more details.

We will advise parents via the newsletter whether we receive sufficient volunteers for the program to run

and how to go about registering your child/ren to participate.

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Issue 5

Dear School Community, This Friday 9

th March our Beleza Gisborne Store will be closing early at 1:00pm.

Our Store will return to normal trade as of Tuesday 13

th March as we will be closed for the Labour Day long

weekend. We do apologise for the inconvenience caused. Kind regards, Emma Drummond Beleza Administration

Gisborne Soccer Club

Limited places available for boys aged 9 to 13 who want to play outdoor soccer. Games are on a Sunday morning at home (Dixon Field Gisborne) and away (15-45 min

drive). Season runs 15d April through to September.

Come to training at Dixon Field Wednesday 5-6pm to try. For more information call Steve 0449 806 504. To register http://websites.sportstg.com/club_info.cgi?c=1-8746-124378-0-0&clubID=124378&sID=402485

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