IPS Newsletter Issue 1 2nd February, 2018

Calder Highway PO Box 715 IRYMPLE Vic 3498

Wednesday 7th, 14th & 21st February No School for Preps Wednesday 7th February Assembly 2:30pm Thursday 15th February Hockey Roadshow Tuesday 20th February Curriculum Day Pupil Free 12th-16th February Yrs 5-6 Swimming program 26th Feb - 2nd March Yrs 3-4 Swimming program Tuesday 6th March Yrs 3-6 Swimming Carnival Monday 12th March Labour Day Public Holiday-Pupil free

All upcoming events can be viewed on the School Website Calendar.

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Parental Consent form Term 1 Canteen Menu Yrs 5/6 Swimming Family Statements Prep Newsletter

Strength doesn’t come from what you can do. It comes from overcoming the things you once thought you couldn’t.

Email: [email protected] Web: www.irympleps.com From the Principal’s Desk……

Welcome back Welcome to all our new and returning families to the 2018 school year. We have excellent numbers in our school and staff are enjoying meeting and getting to know their new students. We have Ms Kate Barnes with us for at least Term 1. She has transferred temporarily from Sunny Cliffs Primary school which closed at the end of 2017. Mrs Gladman (Student Support Officer) has transferred to Mildura Specialist School. We wish both all the very best for 2018. If anyone has any queries or questions please do not hesitate to contact your child’s teacher, the front office staff or make an appointment to see myself or Mr Garry Beer (Assistant Principal). Retirement Congratulations Mr Garry Beer announced to staff this week that he is planning to take Long Service Leave for all of Term 2 and will retire thereafter. He has given 17 years of wonderful service to the students of Irymple Primary School and will be sadly missed. The following is a brief summary of Mr Beer’s teaching history. The Beer Chronicles – Part 1 It was in 1973 that a fresh faced young man from Mildura headed off to Ballarat Teacher’s College to begin a career in Education. In 1976 after completing a Diploma of Education Mr Beer began his teaching career in the small Mallee township of Wycheproof. Being halfway between Melbourne and Mildura it was the perfect location. 28 grade 5/6 pupils awaited! Life in a small town was very busy. Apart from school work and school functions sport and social activities were eagerly embraced. After 5 years of teaching year levels from two to six, and with a new wife, it was time to move on. After applying for about 40 different schools, Mr Beer was appointed Head Teacher of Kawarren Primary School in the Otway Ranges just south of Colac. The weather was certainly vastly different from the Mallee! Kawarren had an enrolment of 22 students from prep to six and Mr Beer was the only teacher apart from a fortnightly visit by the library van. Living in the school house adjacent to the school meant he did not have to go far to work. The 6 prep students were a challenge though! It was during the time in Kawarren that Mr Beer’s first daughter, Aimee, was born. The Beer Chronicles will continue next week! School Times No children are to be at school before 8:30am each morning as formal supervision does not begin until 8:45am. We encourage parents to drop off between 8:30am and 8:45am to spread out the car park congestion. It is not ok however, for children to be coming after 9:00am when the school day has commenced. This can become a major interruption to the class and the teacher. It is important to be on time every day. The conversations between children and their teacher at this time is essential and children who are regularly late often miss out on a timely greeting from their teacher, time to talk of important things and to have the DET roll marked. Any child arriving after 9:00am must go via the office to sign the ‘Late Arrival Register’ and collect a late pass. No one would begrudge a family being late for a family crisis of some sort, but it is unfortunate that a few children are late to school nearly every day of the week and this has a major impact on their smooth start to the day and interaction with friends and their classroom teacher. Dismissal time in the afternoon is 3:15pm and the playground is supervised until 3:30pm. Children waiting are asked to sit outside the General Purpose (GP) Room. If a parent/grandparent/carer is held up due to unforeseen circumstances we ask that you please ring the office and we will have the child/children move to, and wait in the foyer area. Please talk to your children that if the person who is designated to pick them up does not arrive by 3:30pm, they must make their way to the office so that the necessary phone calls can be made and supervision can be guaranteed. Smart Start Congratulations to all students and teachers for the rigorous and fun format of their SMART start to school. These are deliberately planned getting to know you and cooperative learning tasks to allow children to know everyone in their class by name and so that other children know a little about them to assist with the new class transition. Alongside this the normal literacy and numeracy program has started and is well underway. We have had significant teacher training to assist with this process.

The Importance of Home Reading All students will have received reading materials this week as it is a priority for our school. We have a whole school expectation that all children in every year level read for 20 to 30 minutes each day at home with the reader or reading material that has been deemed suitable for home reading (able to be read with at least 96% accuracy). Most children have made a great start already and this is a fantastic. Books to record reading or a format produced by the teacher is always available. We find without exception that the children who read the most do very well academically at school. If you are concerned about any aspect of your child’s reading or the recording of reading each night be sure to see their classroom teacher for an early chat. If your child is tired and unable to read to you, take the opportunity to read something to them. Reading to children has a powerful effect on their understanding of texts and the world around them. Naming Items Please ensure that students have their names on every item they are likely to leave at school. Each year we are left with many items that have been mislaid, but with no names on them. The most common items are jumpers, drink bottles and lunch boxes. Many items outside the Library at the end of last year were brand new.

Car Park Please take care at all times in the car park as it is a hive of activity for a short time every morning and every afternoon. The only entrance is near the church. It is also a non-smoking area and alcohol free zone for all visitors to the school no matter what a person relationship is to the children. We thank the vast majority of parents who always support these rules and thank them for notifying us of any breaches to these state wide expectations in school grounds. Just a reminder that the drop off and pick up point is only for parents who remain in their car to allow the traffic to flow smoothly. Staff will only allow children to go to three cars at a time so please encourage your child to be waiting and ready otherwise unnecessary holdups are created. Requisite Payment Invoices for Requisite Payments were distributed this past week. Please do not hesitate to contact the office if you have any queries. Thank you to all the parents who have already paid. It is essential that all the parents pay this requisite fee in order for us to provide all the necessary resources to the children for the entire year. Notes Please consider a process that suits your family to deal with all notes brought home from school. All notes will also be posted on the website. Having had four children at school at the one time I found a ‘Display Folder’ (around $2.00) ideal to place the notes in as they are brought home each term. As each event is completed the notes can be discarded. Children need to be reminded that all notes are to be given to the parents and this is a good way to teach ‘responsibility’. Some families have a ‘School Folder’ and a ‘Sport Folder’ to keep these areas of family activities separate. When a student is away any notes handed out on the day of absence will be ‘named’ and kept for them by the teacher to take home the next day. This also makes the child responsible for ‘catching up’ after being absent. Phone calls and requests for replacement notes by parents do not assist children of any age to become ‘organised’. We want all our students to be ‘responsible’ and ‘participate actively’ in the communication process between home and school. Congratulations Congratulations to the Captains for Semester 1 - Kacey Butler and Morgan Anderson. Congratulations also go to the Vice Captains: Richael Wilson and Madison Phillips. Best wishes to all our school leaders including our soon to be elected Class Captains for Semester 1. The skills they develop during their time of leadership can be a major support and significantly improve their overall ability to interact with other students, staff and visitors to the school. The students will be presented with their badges next Wednesday during a special assembly. Yvonne Madden Principal

CANTEEN Wednesday 7th February - Sandra Surace Thursday 8th February - Volunteer Needed Friday 9th February - Nerrisa Giddings & Stacey Ablett-Wishart

PRE LOVED UNIFORMS If you have any preloved uniforms (polo shirts, dresses etc) in good condition please drop them in at the office. Any donation will be welcome as our second hand uniform supply is running low. Thank you.

2018 CSEF PAYMENT ATTENTION: HEALTH CARE CARD HOLDERS The Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund (CSEF) provides assistance to eligible families. Oakley Kozak Sofia Bakogianis Demi Atkinson Olivia Chamberlain Estelle Floramo Rachel Bruton Ryan Lucas Luka Primarano Jayden Martin Kade Aston-Monk Richael Wilson

Eligibility dates: For concession card holders CSEF eligibility will be subject to the parent/legal guardian’s concession card being successfully validated with Centrelink on the first day of either term one (29th January, 2018) or term two (16th April, 2018).

You must be;

 either a parent or legal guardian of a Primary or Secondary school student up to the age of

eighteen

 the holder of a Centrelink pension, be a Veterans Affairs (TPI) pensioner, have a Centrelink

Health Care Card or be a temporary foster parent. Note: (Foster Parents must provide a copy of the temporary care order letter from the Dept of Health & Human Services).

Application forms are now available from the school office and MUST be submitted by the end of Term 1.

SACRED HEART PARISH MILDURA RECONCILIATION AND FIRST EUCHARIST PROGRAM 2018 If you have a child in Grade 4 or above and would like them to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation and First Eucharist in 2018, a Parent Information Evening will be held on Wednesday 7th February at 7pm in the Sacred Heart Church. **CANTEEN VOLUNTEERS** Our team of Canteen workers do a great service for families in our community and we would welcome any mums/dads or grandparents who can come along on Wednesday, Thursday or Friday mornings from 9:00am to 11:00am to assist in the processing of orders and lunch preparation. This is a very busy time so your assistance would be greatly appreciated. If new volunteers aren’t forthcoming there is a possibility the Canteen may need to revert back to 2 days a week. **Pre-school children are most welcome to come along** Our friendly Canteen Coordinator, Sue Rodgers, works all Canteen days and is available to help any volunteers who are unfamiliar with the role. Please contact Sue at the Canteen or phone the office on 5024 5334 to leave your details. TRINITY LUTHERAN COLLEGE OUTSIDE SCHOOL HOURS CARE Where: Trinity Lutheran College (Sunset Hall) Time: 3:15pm-6:00pm 48 hours notice is required for a placement For enquiries and or bookings phone 0409 429 666 Leave a clear message with your name and contact details or email: [email protected] UNIFORM SHOP HOURS A reminder to parents/carers that the Uniform Shop is open Tuesday & Wednesday from 3:00pm - 3:30pm. Layby is available if required. **PLEASE NOTE** Parents unable to come within Uniform Shop hours can collect an order form from the Office. On completion return your order, with payment, to the Office to be filled and sent home with your child.

The uniform shop is now stocking girls skorts. Available in size 4 - 16 @ $20 each.

RED CLIFFS JUNIOR TENNIS TOURNAMENT Where: Red Cliffs Lawn Tennis Courts off the Calder Highway, Red Cliffs Doubles: Saturday 10th February Singles: Sunday 11th February 9:00 am start on both days Cost: $10 per entry - entries close Thursday 8th February For any enquiries or to enter phone Tena Williams - 0437 809 206