Newsletter #6 12 May 2023
GHPS IS COMMITTED TO CHILD SAFETY
Learning Today. Leading Tomorrow.
Education Week
Next week is Education Week at our school. To celebrate we are having a number of events occurring across the school.
We look forward to seeing you there.
Breakfast Club
Each Tuesday and Thursday morning, the school is now running a breakfast club out of our kitchen in the gym. The food is donated through Foodbank and Woolworths and breakfast is provided for free to any student who comes in.
On average the club is serving between twenty and thirty students each morning. Favourites on the menu include toast, cereal, and fruit. We plan to have a pancake day one morning.
If you are interested in helping with the breakfast club, please contact the office.
Year 3 – 6 Astronomy Night
Glen Huntly Primary is getting very excited about our science astronomy night for students and families from Grade 3 to Grade 6 on Wednesday 24th of May between 5.30 and 7pm. (East Site)
Perry Vlahos, an astronomer with the Astronomical Society of Victoria, will be hosting the evening.
The astronomy night will support the learning that students have been working on in science this semester around the topic of space.
There will be telescopes available so students can view the night sky, a sausage sizzle BBQ for hungry star gazers, and experts on hand to answer questions and explain about the stars, planets and moon.
Here is a link to a site and chart of the Southern Hemisphere sky for May 2023
This is a free event, and we hope to see you all there.
Cooking
The School Cooking Program for Term 2 has started, and the students are loving learning to make French toast and hedgehog slice in partnership with Gourmet Chefs.
Some of the skills the students are learning include frying, blending, crumbling, and whipping.
New chickens
The school has two new chicks in our chicken shed. These two hens were hatched by one of our students, Sahasra 5/6J, using an incubator.
They are being kept separated from our older hens until they are big enough to look after themselves. It’s hoped that they will produce some eggs later in the year.
A student led naming competition was organised, with the winning names being Midnight and Shadow.
Book Fair
Thank you to Lisa who has organised our Book Fair which will be on in the Library from Monday 15th to Thursday 18th May 8.30am – 9.00am and 3.30pm – 4.00pm.
Also, Tue 16th May 5.00pm to 7.00pm
Come along before or after school and have a look at all the fabulous things available to buy.
Thank you to the GPA and all of our fabulous helpers who ran the wonderful Mother’s Day Stall today.
Also, to the families who sent in some lovely home-made goodies, thank you so much. They all looked delicious!
The students certainly enjoyed the opportunity to find the perfect gift for that special woman in their life.
We hope you enjoy your weekend.
Cameron White Assistant Principal
School Council Report
Welcome to Term 2 – 2023 at GHPS!
We had our Annual Reporting Meeting on Monday, 8 May 2023. Following the Principal’s report, the President offers his/her reflections of the previous academic year.
Reflections on 2022 Report
Firstly, I’d like to take time to reflect on the amazing efforts of the entire school community in supporting and educating our children and families throughout 2022.
GHPS continued to provide high quality education. The leadership team and the wonderful teachers showed dedication and commitment to ensuring the curriculum was covered through the delivery of innovative lessons, as well as providing unwavering support. Parents & families need to also be congratulated on juggling work and home commitments while supporting their children(s)’ learning and adapting to new ways of working. Our children themselves deserve the utmost praise for their resilience, care for each other and continued learning during the challenges they faced.
GHPS welcomed Mr Cameron White, our new Vice Principal and Cam has settled into his role GHPS extremely well bringing a wealth knowledge and experience and new ideas to improve the quality of education (demonstrated through his voluntary visits to camps and classrooms where he helps students learn more about history) as well as the aesthetics of the school- visible throughout the buildings and grounds of GHPS.
It is exciting to see the progress of the building works made possible through the $7.1 million grant which came from State Member for Oakleigh Steve Dimopoulos,
- New main office area including numerous new office spaces for Libby, Cameron & Liz, several private meeting areas, new sick bay, and new staffroom (huge improvements in all these spaces).
- The previous Wendy Wilson Hall has been demolished, and our brand-new full-sized gymnasium now in situ has been built with world class basketball and sporting facilities. Children are loving it! We have a new music room and a dedicated provisioning for parent run events for students.
- Liz, our office manager is doing a great job in co-ordinating all the requests from external organisations for the use of our gymnasium facilities.
- Thanks to Cam’s efforts in applying for funds, we have a new shade sail on the West Site, number of trees planted.
- Over the state and federal election period, the GPA (Parents’ Association) was able to raise in excess of $20K from the onsite BBQ and baked food stalls. This money is reinvested in the school facilities uplift.
- Thanks to the entire GHPS community (especially the students) for contributing in your unique ways to make the wonderful community we have!
- The buddy program is great for promoting leadership and responsibility among our older students and proved to be very successful in building connectedness across the school. It was also one of the most popular initiatives identified by many of our older students when reflecting on their year.
- GHPS has seen a shift to a fully online system (Compass) for school notifications, consent for excursions/camps, parent payments and student reports. We continue to operate seamlessly in the online space where relevant.
- Following consultation with the students, teachers, and school councillors, GHPS renamed the 4 houses to be Indigenous names of Boon Wurrung flora and we now have a new logo!
- GHPS is in a sound financial position.
Thank you to 2021 school council members for their wonderful contribution to GHPS – especially Nicole Verginis (2022 SC President), Nicole Bishop (2022 SC Treasurer) whose children have moved on to high school this year.
Welcome to the 2023 School Council members – some continuing or returning councillors and some new to the role.
Glen Huntly Parents’ Association Updates
A huge thank you to all parents and staff members for their kind contributions towards Mother’s Day stalls, icy poles, and Friday’s cake raffle!
Save the date for our GHPS upcoming Events:
- Mother’s Day Stall – 12 May,
- Education Week (15-19 May),
- Grandparents / Special Persons morning tea – 16 June,
- Winter State School Relief, last week of term or moved to term 3,
- Bunnings BBQ (Week 6 or 7 of Term 2)
- Planning underway for a full-scale fete for October 2024; smaller event, scaled down fete for Oct 14 or Oct 21, 2023.
Wishing you and your families a wonderful Mother’s Day weekend!
Supriya Arikarevula School Council President
Congratulations to the following students who received a ‘Student of the Week’ award.
Ray FB – For the outstanding effort you put into our numeracy sessions this week. You created a well-designed symmetry pattern using pattern blocks and worked hard to master ABC patterns using shapes and colours. Ray you are a numeracy mastermind!
Arjun FB – For your hard work and dedication this week during all of our learning tasks. You continue to build your knowledge and skills and I am proud of all of the work you have completed. Well done!
Indie FD – For working independently and creatively during our numeracy lessons this week. You were able to make an amazing shape pattern using symmetry. Fantastic job!
Vedhika 1F – her impressive knowledge and detailed explanation to the class about homophones.
Myra 1F – Having a go and challenging herself this week during our maths lesson reviews.
Nitisha 1F – For consistently approaching all learning tasks with enthusiasm, dedication and a beautiful smile. You are a super star!
Iris 2M – for sharing an impressive range of interesting facts about Australian Animals with the class!
Louisa 2M – A brilliant sizzling start to her story about an Australian animal!
Bhagya 2M – for continually being a kind, enthusiastic and resilient student.
Jaina 2S – for writing an excellent fable about a cat and a mouse this week. You used some excellent descriptive language, nouns, and verbs to tell your story about how a cat and mouse trick each other with cheese and a fish. Well done Jaina!
Ivaan 2S – Using good manners and always showing perseverance in Maths, learning new strategies including using a numbers to 1000 chart to solve subtraction problems.
Sam 2S – Always showing whole body listening and being resilient in Maths this week, learning how to draw a picture to solve subtraction problems.
Shivansh 3C – For the kindness that you show your peers, especially new students. Your efforts to always make people feel included, helping your peers when needed and listening to their opinions are always so appreciated. We’re lucky to have you in our class.
Amudariya 3C – for helping others learn during Mathematics, especially when we looked at representing fractions. Your ability to kindly guide your peers when they’re faced with a challenge is admirable.
Thomas 3C – for your excellent contributions during Reading groups. All of your predictions were clearly communicated and supported by evidence from the text. I am so impressed with your efforts. Well done!
Lola 3RK – For persisting with your maths task this week with Fractions. You completed your work to a high standard! Well done! Lola – For persisting with your maths task this week with Fractions. You completed your work to a high standard! Well done!
Yasmin 3RK – For coming up with some fantastic open-ended questions whilst learning about Literature Circles this week. You make an awesome Question Master!
Shivika 3RK – For consistently demonstrating the GHPS value of Respect this week. You have been a wonderful role model to all students in 3RK! Keep it up!
Rishi 4A – for always giving your absolute best in all tasks and for being a happy and involved member of our class. Well done Rishi!
Siena 4A – For working so well with your peers during an activity at your table. You showed great cooperation and patience. Well done Siena.
Yianni 4A – For getting 25 out of 25 for the first time on your spelling test. You are a spelling wizard!
Isla 4A – For your fantastic explanation of the difference between weather vs. climate during our inquiry lesson this week. Your quest for knowledge is inspiring. Well done!
Aarya 4SJ – for always trying your best and giving everything a go in the classroom. Well done!
Jon 4SJ – Applying himself diligently and completing all work with enthusiasm. Impressive work Jon!
Vanshika 4SJ – Completing her homework, “A Leisure Survey” to an exceptional standard. You are a STAR!
Radha 4SJ – Excellent reflections and thoughtful contributions during our Mentor Text discussion.
Superb work Radha!
Asher 5/6J – for being a fantastic ‘runner’ during school photos day. You helped the logistics run very smoothly. Also, your contributions in lessons have added much valued knowledge to our class this week. Awesome Job!
Levi 5/6J – For providing ongoing technology support for all of our class with useful Chromebook advice and helpful hints. Your technology skills used the right way are extremely beneficial to our learning community. Thank you!
Rishikesh 5/6K – For working beautifully both individually and in team situations, showing outstanding manners and co-creating an eye-catching, vocabulary rich anchor chart about informative writing!
Lily 5/6K – for always challenging herself, working diligently and wanting to achieve goals. For showing leadership in the classroom and displaying her creative side during oral presentations! Well Done!
Audrey 5/6K – For always doing her absolute best in all classwork, taking on all feedback and for achieving 20/20 for her spelling test, 9 weeks in a row! Well done on your 110,000 house points!
Javin 5/6R – for his concentration and work ethic displayed during reading groups this week. You demonstrated perseverance in all tasks and worked exceptionally well both independently and with your group. Well done!
Shenaya 5/6R – For her speedy work ethic displayed in all tasks this week! You are a legend!
Owen 5/6R – for his resilience demonstrated while his partner was away this week! Your data representation poster was delightful!
Science News
Term 2 Earth and Space Science
During this unit, students will attempt to explain how natural events cause rapid change to Earth’s surface and use models to describe the key features of our Solar System.
They will refer to data when they report findings and use appropriate representations and simple reports to communicate their ideas, methods, findings and explanations.
So far this term, we have identified layers of Earth and modelled some of the impacts of geological change.
Students have investigated major geological events such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and tsunamis in Australia, the Asia region and throughout the world and modelled the relative size of and distance between Earth, other planets in the solar system and the Sun.
Home Learning Ideas.
Explore Earth and Space through these interactive games, videos and fact sheets.
Interactives and Videos.
https://www.issnationallab.org/stem/learn-at-home/
The latest news from ISS
https://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/stem_on_station/index.html
Numeracy News
Sport News
House Cross Country
On Friday the 5th of May, we had our annual cross-country event at Lord Reserve. The weather was perfect, and it was a really enjoyable event.
8-, 9- and 10-year-old boys and girls ran 2km, which was two laps around Lord Reserve. 11-year-olds ran 3km, 3 laps around Lord Reserve. The 12- and 13-year-olds also ran 3km. The preps had to run 200m, with Mr Bowden running in front of them! Some of them even took away ribbons!
Congratulations to those who made it into districts. Districts will be held at Caulfield Park, on Monday the 22nd of May, 9am-1pm. Make sure to bring your running shoes.
The winners of the house shield were Kurwan and the winners of the spirit cup were Pike. Everyone was definitely trying their best, including the Preps, Year 1’s and 2’s!
It was a great day.
By Harshitha and Rory
Our school has been registered in the wonder bread recycle rewards competition.
We can earn P.E equipment for every 5 kg of wonder bread packaging collected!
Follow the link for more information.
https://wonder.com.au/wonder-recycling-rewards
Ms Kasambalis
TheirCare News
GHPS Facebook
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Calendar
TERM 2
May
15 to 18 Annual Book Fair
Tue 16 School Open Night – 5pm – 7pm
Thu 18 Community Breakfast – 7.45am
Thu 18 School Open Morning – 9.15am
Wed 24 Year 3 to 6 Astronomy Night – 5.30pm – 7.30pm
June
Fri 9 Curriculum Day 3 (student free day)
Mon 12 Public Holiday – King’s Birthday
Fri 16 Grandparents’ & Special Persons’ morning 9.15am -10.30am
Fri 23 End of Term 2 – Early dismissal 2.30pm
Fee payments and Excursion Permissions and Payments.
All Communication notices regarding excursions will be sent through COMPASS.
Permissions are to be given through COMPASS.
Preferred payment method for Fee payments and Excursions is through COMPASS.
This will allow us to always keep all the correct information available to staff whilst on an excursion.
If you have any questions, please contact the office or see Guide below.
CLICK HERE for Parent’s Guide to Compass
Thank you.