Hi everyone,

A warm welcome to all of our new students and their families and of course welcome back to all of

our returning students and their families. We are all looking forward to another great year at

Peninsula Specialist College.

The Disabled Surfers Association Mornington Peninsula (DSAMP), www.disabledsurfers.org ,has

an event coming up on Saturday the 5th March 2016. Please email infodsamp@gmail.com to get

further information, register your interest as a volunteer, carer or participant.

The Association for Children with a Disability is running several workshops for parents and family

carers of a child with a disability. These workshops will be on Tuesday 1st & 15th March 2016 at the

Mornington Golf Club.These workshops are free and registration is essential by contacting Dina

Hewitt on 8781 3000.

Anglicare is offering free programs on Living With Autism for parents of children with ASD aged 6-

11 years old. The program will run at various local schools throughout February and March.

Programs are free to attend, but booking is essential by calling 1300 984 011, 5945 2000, 0499 007

418 or email to joanne.templeton@anglicare.vic.org .

Some parents will have been contacted by their privately funded therapists with regards to

scheduled therapy sessions at school. Unfortunately current legislation makes it difficult for our

school to continue to accommodate these requests. Thank you for your understanding in this matter.

I would like to notify the school community that an election is to be conducted for members of the

School Council of Peninsula Specialist College. Nomination forms may be obtained from the school

and must be lodged by 4pm on 22/2/2016. The ballot will close at 4pm on 7/3/2016. There are 4

vacancies in the parent member category and 1 vacancy in the DET employee category. Also see

information for parents in this newsletter and notice displayed at school.

The newsletters are also available via our Peninsula Specialist College website. Please go to the

website and have a look at www.peninsulaspecialist.vic.edu.au

I wish everyone a safe weekend.

Peter

Newsletter www.peninsulaspecialist.vic.edu.au (03) 59 872 649

ISSUE #1 2016

eSmart is a series of cultural change

interventions developed by The Alannah

and Madeline Foundation, aimed at

creating positive, respectful and inclusive

cultures which reduce bullying and

cyberbullying and increase online safety.

Stay tuned for Cyber Safety tips and more.

In 2016, Class 15 will be undertaking a Certificate 2 in Parks and

Gardens under the guidance of a qualified trainer from Advance

Training. This is an exciting opportunity for these students as they

will have the opportunity to graduate with a nationally recognised

qualification. If you have any gardening or landscaping books or

magazines at home that you no longer need we would greatly

appreciate donations of these. They can be dropped at the front

office this term.

‘Womindjeka’ meaning ‘Welcome’ , in our local Boonwuurung language .

We look forward to a funfilled year of cross curricula activities throughout the school and with

community. Didge club is already up and running, thanks James for a great start!

Engine Program

Students are learning a number of different strategies to keep themselves calm

and alert in class. One method is to “put something in my mouth”. What could be

better than a drink bottle? Camelbak drink bottles are particularly recommended

because they require a sucking action (which is calming) and the straw is rugged

and can be chewed. AMART in Mornington is kindly offering our families a 20%

discount on Camelbak drink bottles. A 750 ml bottle is usually $29.99 but AMART

will sell them for $24.00 with presentation of the coupon below.

Yulendj Laang ‘Making Connections’

Mention Peninsula Specialist College and receive a discount on a CamelBak Drink bottle. Only at AMART SPORTS Mornington 1128-1132 Nepean Highway.

Occupational Therapy

Cooking in the Kitchen The kitchen is back in full swing….

Making muffins

Class 11, our new staff lunch team are doing a great job.

Wow, look at that couscous salad!

Wraps and sandwiches for lunch!

Class 15 made cheese omelettes independently!

We have had a

fantastic start to

school in Class 4 and

everyone is settling in

well!

Garden

A Great Start in the Garden!!!!!

The weather has been fantastic for gardening and we have a new three corral composting

system that will generate lots of rich compost material for our veggie garden. Thanks

Geoff and Jannik for helping us with this.

The students have been digging, watering and tasting our cherry tomatoes, cucumbers

and basil. The pumpkin vines are also growing rapidly and we hope to have lots of

butternut and Kent (Japla) pumpkins. We are getting other garden beds ready for further

planting too. Thanks everyone for a great team effort!!!

We have had a fun and busy start to the

year with our new class!

FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE

INFORMATION FOR PARENTS Every Victorian child should have access to the world of learning opportunities that exist beyond the

classroom. The Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund helps ensure that no student will miss out on the

opportunity to join their classmates for important, educational and fun activities. It is part of making

Victoria the Education State and the Government’s commitment to breaking the link between a

student’s background and their outcomes.

CAMPS, SPORTS & EXCURSIONS

FUND (CSEF)

School camps provide children with inspiring experiences in the great outdoors, excursions encourage a

deeper understanding of how the world works and sports teach teamwork, discipline and leadership. All

are part of a healthy curriculum.

CSEF will be provided by the Victorian Government to assist eligible families to cover the costs of school

trips, camps and sporting activities.

If you hold a valid means-tested concession card or are a temporary foster parent, you may be eligible for

CSEF. A special consideration category also exists for asylum seeker and refugee families. The allowance is

paid to the school to use towards expenses relating to camps, excursions or sporting activities for the

benefit of your child.

The annual CSEF amount per student is:

• $125 for primary school students

• $225 for secondary school students.

HOW TO APPLY

Contact the school office on 59872649 to obtain a

CSEF application form or download from

www.education.vic.gov.au/csef

MORE INFORMATION

Please remember to have an eligible Health Care Card

to apply.

For the CSEF application closing dates and more

information about the fund visit

www.education.vic.gov.au/csef