Preston West Post 383 Murray Road, Preston Ph: 9470 1546 Fax: 9470 6837 www.prestonwest.vic.edu.au

Preston West Primary School Newsletter Thursday 30th May 2019

IMPORTANT DATES June Wednesday 5th Division Cross Country Wednesday 5th – Friday 7th Grade 4 Lake Dewar Camp Monday 10th Queen’s Birthday Public Holiday – No school Wednesday 12th JSC – Pyjama Day Fundraiser Friday 14th Grade 5 Melbourne Museum/IMAX Friday 28th LAST DAY OF TERM 2 - 2:30pm Finish

Term Dates Term 2 Tuesday 23rd April – Friday 28th June

Term 3 Monday 15th July – Friday 20th September Term 4 Monday 7th October – Friday 20th December

Principal’s Note

Grade 6 Camp The Grade 6 campers had a fabulous time at Waratah Bay and returned exhausted last Friday. The staff and students thoroughly enjoyed and appreciated their experiences and the camp was extremely successful. The students have recalled numerous wonderful moments including the organised activities at the camp and entertaining evening activities. The teachers were most impressed by the students’ independence and teamwork. Special thanks to the staff (Tess Norton, Anita O’Leary, Grant Tobin, Annalisa Stratakos, Jamie Andronikos, Ainslee Watkins, Jennifer Bowker, Joanne Agar and Angie Morgan) who gave up their family time to attend the camp and provided the students with such a memorable experience. Eid Celebration – Wednesday 5th June Next Wednesday 5th June the streets around Preston West Primary and the mosque will be very congested due to the Eid celebration of our Islamic community. There will be some street closures and traffic security will endeavour to assist the flow of traffic. The main congestion is usually around 6am – 8.30am, which will affect our Before Care service. Nicole will endeavour to assist parents by having students signed in at the front gate on Jessie Street. We hope to get the two Grade 4 camp buses on the school premises and our campers should depart around 9.15am. Wishing our Islamic community a wonderful day of celebration next Wednesday. National Reconciliation Week This week is National Reconciliation Week. Reconciliation Week is held every year from 27th May to 3rd June to mark the importance of positive relationships between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and the broader Australian community. The dates commemorate two significant milestones in the reconciliation journey – the anniversary of the successful 1967 referendum and the High Court Mabo decision. May 27th marks the anniversary of Australia’s most significant referendum and a defining event in our nation’s history. The 1967 referendum saw over 90 per cent of Australians vote to give the Commonwealth the power to make laws for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and recognise them in the national census. On 3rd June 1992, the High Court of Australia delivered its landmark Mabo decision which legally recognised that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have a special relationship to the land – that existed prior to colonisation and still exists today. The recognition paved the way for land rights called Native Title. This week is a time for all Australians to learn about our shared histories, cultures and achievements and to explore how each of us can join the national reconciliation effort. The theme for this year’s National Reconciliation Week is ‘Grounded in Truth, Walk Together with Courage’.

Upgrade to Parking Signage This week the Darebin City Council has upgraded the parking signage on Jessie Street. They are as follows: Bus Zone, Kiss and Go Zone and Disable Parking bays. Our priority is student and pedestrian safety and to ensure the flow of traffic on Jessie Street. I am encouraging all members of our community to abide by the signage – thanks for your anticipated cooperation. Traffic enforcement officers are regularly sighted before and after school in Jessie Street and neighbouring streets.

Prep Enrolments 2020 This term we have been conducting weekly tours by appointment for community members interested in a Prep placement for next year. Appointments can be made via our school website by following the link to Enrolment, School Tour and using the event code mptdf. It would be greatly appreciated if our current families who intend to enrol a sibling for the 2020 prep intake, collect and complete an enrolment form by the end of next week, as until we have accurate figures of our current families we are unable to predict the number of students we will take on for 2020. Grade 4 Camp Our Grade 4 students and staff are eagerly awaiting their camp next week to Lake Dewar. Their program of activities looks fantastic and I am confident they will have a wonderful three day experience. There will be some changes to our specialist programs next week due to our camp staffing. In addition our four Grade 4 teachers Desley Chappel, Ainslee Watkins, Jennifer Bowker, Sam Burnett and Nola Chatterton will also be staffing the camp. Junior School Council Pyjama Day On Wednesday 12th June the Junior School Council will be conducting a pyjama day. All proceeds raised on this day will be directed to the Royal Children’s Hospital. Special thanks to our JSC school leaders for coordinating this fundraising endeavour.

Staff Leave Adrijana Lukic will be taking Leave commencing Friday 7th June and returning Monday 24th June. During her two weeks of leave, Anna Bell will be teaching Prep L. Kinder Student Visit Yesterday we had a group of very excited and enthusiastic kinder children at Preston West Primary School. They enjoyed sampling our additional programs in Music, Italian, Art and Physical Education. Special thanks to Jamie Andronikos, Desley Chappel, Tina Stapmanns and Ainslee Watkins for conducting an engaging program and also to our House Captains who greeted our visitors and assisted staff to conduct activities. Lost Property There is a significant amount of lost property that is being handed in at the moment. We endeavour to return all items that are named. I recommend parents name clothing items not only on the tag but also somewhere within the garments. Lost property is located outside of the Art Room.

Cheryl Bondeson

The Victorian Premiers' Reading Challenge (VPRC) has now commenced at PWPS!

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 6 September 2019.

Children in Grades Prep to Grade 2 are encouraged to read or ‘experience’, 30 books (20 must be from the challenge book list).

Children in Grades 3 to 10 are challenged to read 15 books, (10 must be from the challenge book list).

To read the Premier’s letter, book lists and for more information about the Victorian Premiers’ Reading Challenge, visit: www.education.vic.gov.au/prc All children who meet the Challenge will receive a certificate of achievement signed by the Victorian Premier and former Premiers. There will also be 7 lucky PWPS students who can win a ‘challenge prize’, so start reading!

The challenge closes on Friday the 6th September. All registered students will need to have finished

reading their required number of books.

Please send a copy of the completed book list back to school no later than Friday the 30th of August for

the books to be verified. If you wish to participate in the challenge, please complete the VPRC participation form and return it to the school in order to receive your login details. The form has been added to Compass under School Documentation.

Happy Reading!

Melissa Besford, Hilary Clarke, Leesa De Benedetto and Sarah Nisi Premiers’ Reading Challenge Coordinators

GENERAL OFFICE INFORMATION

SCHOOL FEES: School Fees were due Friday 22nd February, 2019.

CAMPS, SPORTS and EXCURSIONS FUND (CSEF) The Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund help ensure that no student misses 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 achievements.

CSEF will be provided to eligible families to cover the costs of school trips, camps and sporting activities.

The annual CSEF amount per student is:

$125 for primary school students

How to Apply: Contact the school office to collect a CSEF application form or download from the CSEF website

All applicants must complete and lodge their submission by 21st June 2019.

WELCOME TO PARENTS GROUP

FRESH FRUIT FRIDAY Fresh Fruit volunteers for Friday 31st May are: Erin Saar, Sarah Clemons, Rosa Lopes, Daniela Cagliarini and Sarah Bellchambers.

SICK BAY BEDDING Our volunteer for Friday 31st May is Taria Siourthas.

JSC – PYJAMA DAY!

On Wednesday 12th of June the Junior School Council will be a holding a Pyjama Day fundraiser. Students (and teachers!) are encouraged to spend the day in comfort and wear their pyjamas to school! We will be raising money for the Royal Children’s Hospital and ask that you contribute a gold coin donation. We’re looking forward to seeing everyone in their favourite PJs! Thanks for your support! Junior School Council

GRADE 2 – HELP SAVE THE GORILLA’S

Dear Preston West Community

After a visit to the Melbourne Zoo, the grade 2’s want to help save the gorillas from

extinction.

Mobile phones all have coltan in them. Coltan is a material that is dug up from the ground

where the gorillas are dying because they have nowhere to live. We can recycle the coltan

from old phones and save the gorillas habitat.

Can you please bring all your old mobile phones to the grade 2 rooms (Rooms 9,10,11,12 & 9A)

and we will send them to be recycled.

Thank you for helping to save the gorillas.

The Grade 2’s.

STUDENT OF THE WEEK – Week ending 24/5/2019

Congratulations to the following students, who were presented with their awards.

GRADE “LEARN” BOUNCE BACK

Prep D Aidan Barber Oliver Stanley

Prep L Sam Black Saheli Wadugodapitiya

Prep H Tsifira Ralifo Owethu Mpofu

Prep V Lucas He Sadeen Gbban

Prep C Paige Bilney Jayden Chen

1W Akshaya Matcha Daniel Liu

1E Mohamed Edrees Peter Kotanidis

1K Olli McLaren Charlie Nicola

1B Zoe Tarros Harvey Zhou

1N Johaan Phillip Leroy Harwood

2P Julius Picot Arham Umar

2B Charlie Karavokiros Ramari Kotlowski

2M Angus Draper Adam Al-Abody

2J Hamza Herek Emaan Ather

2A Ava Barber Zulqarnain Mohammed

3F Olivia Lin Yula Nakamura

3M Jasper O’Leary Umar Mohammed

3B Hazel Harris-Thibault Juzer Udaipur Wala

3I Estelle Chatzis Rayan Bagher

4H Adam Mazzone Luca Mascioli

4M Lucas Giokas Bianca Hristov

4E Jonah Karavokiros Alberto Cocco

4K Gizelle Sezen Annie Zhou

5V Nirav Madan James Ryan

5J Ella Hatzihalkias Samuel Jordan

5W Lulu Napolitano Anton Cindric

6T Ava Fulcher Kosta Triantafyllopoulos

6R Whole Class Daniel Saccuzzo

6N Whole Class Chloe Bellchambers

6O Whole Class

MUSIC

ART Mannat Bhambri 6T

PE Zulqarnain Mohammed 2A

ITALIAN Devesh Mazumdar 2B

INTERSCHOOL SPORTS

Interschool Sports this week will be played at HOME against Holy Name on Friday 31st

May – Football at Zwar Park, Soccer (boys) to be played at B.T. Connor Reserve, Netball and Soccer (girls) at Preston West. Good Luck.

Community News