(02) 63 555 233 | Vale Street Portland NSW 2847 | portland-c.school@det.nsw.edu.au portlandc-schools.nsw.gov.au | facebook.com/PortlandCentralSchool

School honours veterans in Remembrance ceremony Portland Central School held a Remembrance Ceremony for students and staff ahead of this weekend’s event. The day began with a welcome from our school leaders, Alexis Cathie and Kayla Nugent, who paid respect to the traditional custodians of the land and introduced our special guest speaker, Mr Norman Richardson from the Portland RSL-sub branch. Our leaders gave a speech on the importance of Remembrance Day. Kayla said, “I respect more than just their choice to go to war, even if they fully didn’t

understand what they were up against, they went in with blind bravery. I respect their decision to see it through.” Alexis summarised with the following, “With that sacrifice, we are able to continue on. That’s what it means to not only me, but to most other people.” Our Principal Mr Borham then addressed the assembly, reading the story of Armistice, before Norman Richardson spoke, announcing that on Sunday a new plaque will be unveiled at the Portland Cenotaph that will commemorate Aboriginal soldiers from WWI alongside the others, as they “…fought in the wars and should not be forgotten.” He told us also the story of Hermann Detzner, who survived four years among cannibals in New Guinea during WWI. Delaney Reinhardt-Brown read In Flanders Fields by John McCrae as classes laid self-made wreaths, and Elsey Cavill-Low read The Ode, before The Last Post was played and a minutes silence held. The flag was raised by Darion Williams, a student and local cadet. After the ceremony students decorated the school fence opposite the RSL with crochet poppies to commemorate 100th Armistice. A Remembrance Day ceremony will be held at Portland Cenotaph this Sunday, followed by morning tea at the RSL.

Important dates:

9 November 2018 Year 12 formal

12 November 2018 Ronald McDonald

House Ice Cream Day

13 November 2018 P&C meeting

14 November 2018 Superhero Mufti Day

15 November 2018 Formal assembly

19-22 November 2018

Smiles on Site dental van visit

Portland Central School “Opportunity, innovation and student success”

Week 4 Term 4 2018

PCS loves their grandparents! Last Friday we held our annual Grandparent’s Day afternoon where we celebrated the role our wonderful grandparents play in our lives and thanked them for their unconditional love and support. It was wonderful to see and meet so many Nans, Pops, Grandpas, Grandmas and special visitors. The afternoon began with a picnic lunch where families eagerly sought the shady spots in the warmer weather to share a relaxing lunch. Students then showed their visitors around the Primary classrooms and participated in some fun activities such as bingo, puzzles, mindfulness colouring in, craft activities and lawn games. The day ended with a special assembly to honour our special guests with poems, portraits and writing about grandparents. Thank you to everyone who attended and made the afternoon so enjoyable, it meant a lot to our students. See the full gallery and download images on our website!

Students get a GRIP on leadership On Wednesday 7th November our School Captains Alexis Cathie and Kayla Nugent travelled to Homebush Quay Centre to take part in the Annual GRIP Student Leadership Conference. It was a wonderful opportunity for our school leaders to join other students and leaders from schools around the state in learning about how to become effective leaders and role models. Alexis and Kayla participated in many workshops and activities together and came away with great ideas about how they can personally assist and mould our students to become the best that they can be. Ms Cook, who attended with the girls, was very proud of the students and the way they conducted themselves during the conference and travelling to and from the venue.

Ronald McDonald House Ice Cream Day

Monday 12 November 2018 | 12:55PM – 2:15PM | Portland Central School

Ronald McDonald House is an independent charity that helps families of seriously ill children. The cornerstone program of the Ronald McDonald House is to provide a ‘home away from home’ for families of seriously ill children being treated at nearby hospitals. To raise funds for Orange Ronald McDonald House, our school will be holding an ice cream day! Ice creams will be $1 and on sale during lunch time.

P&C meeting

Tuesday 13 November 2018 | 6:30PM – 8:00PM | Portland Central School | $5 annual membership

Keep up to date on what’s happening at the school, have your say, and offer support to make sure our students gain the maximum benefit from their time at our school.

Superhero Mufti Day

Wednesday 14 November 2018 | 9:00AM – 3:00PM | Portland Central School | Gold coin donation

Year 6 students are inviting all students to come to school dressed as their favourite superhero (or villain!)

A special lunch with hot dogs, ice creams and slushies ($2 each) will be available.

Formal assembly

Thursday 15 November 2018 | 12:00PM – 1:00PM | Portland Central School

Come and join us in celebrating the success of our students from Kindergarten to Year 12.

Smiles on Site Dental Visit

19-22 November 2018 | Portland Central School

Once again we have the fabulous team from Smiles Onsite visiting our school to offer on-site oral health care services, including check ups and basic dental care.

Appointments will begin in Week 6 for students who have handed in their permission slips (permission slip can be downloaded from ‘Quick links for carers’ on the school website).

Upcoming events

The term is quickly flying by with so much going on in our school. Year 12 completed their HSC exams on Thursday and this evening have their Formal at the RSL. We look forward to seeing them let their hair down after a demanding three weeks of exams and wish them every success and great happiness in their lives. The incoming Year 12 are already into assessments and the demands that the HSC year brings and we will be introducing our new leadership team for 2019 at our next formal assembly. All K-10 students are busily completing all required tasks before report deadlines are due in two weeks time. It is crucial that students do not take their feet off the pedal and continue to push themselves right up until our final day of classes on Wednesday, December 19.

During the last fortnight we have continued with the Kindergarten preparation program, held a fantastic Grandparents Day and Jump Rope for Heart, commenced our whole school Visual Arts program, and celebrated Remembrance Day. I also took great pleasure in guiding a tour for our Year 10 class of 1988 as they held their thirty year school reunion. It has been wonderful to witness such positive participation from our students and their families, your support is greatly appreciated by the school.

In the next fortnight we look forward to the completion of our School Plan. All are invited to offer feedback on the direction the school is taking, and we look forward to active parental engagement in this process, as we need to work in partnership to obtain the best results for our students. It is pertinent for me to discuss my concerns regarding our P&C, as the last meeting did not have enough attendance to create a chorum. This team is a crucial avenue for feedback and the progress for our school, and we seek your support by becoming involved in the direction of the school and offering advice that we often do not receive inside the school. The next meeting will be on Tuesday, November 13 and I urge you all to come along, support the team in its endeavours, and play your part in making Portland Central the best school that we can make it. Without you in partnership, we don’t get the same result.

Please feel free to discuss any concerns you have about the school and/or your student’s education. We appreciate your feedback and look forward to all professional discussions to improve the learning of all.

Have a great fortnight and until our next newsletter.

Murray Borham

Principal’s message

Community notices

Spring Arts Festival Christian Life Centre

50 Musket Parade Lithgow NSW 2790 Join us for this free community event!

Artwork from local schools will be on display, as well as paintings and photography by other

artists. There will be live entertainment including an Aboriginal welcome, Highland

dancing, and Happy the Clown. Refreshments provided.

This event will run over two sessions: 6:00PM – 9:00PM Friday 9 November

1:00PM to 4:00PM Saturday 10 November