PORTARLINGTON PRIMARY

Newsletter

Friday

28th October

Issue No: 17

Respectful, Responsible, Safe and Kind Learners

Peanuts & Eggs

Free School

Solar Boat Championships-Science Works

Last Friday at assembly, all of our Solar

Boat Team members were presented

with their certificates.

The following students attended the

Victorian Championships at Science Works

on Sunday the 16th of October-

Jackson McGrath

Darcy Dhillon

Brock Turpin

Charli Shimmin

Nathan Robinson

Declan Corkin

Brendan Connell

Dylan Connell

Ethan Richards

Remi McRae

Jimmy Tilders, Georgia Dunn, Brayden Grey and Maddi McRae were also part of the weekly lunch time program but did not attend Science Works. The boats had some technical issues when the team first arrived but they could be fixed. The children won all but one of the heats. The weather did deteriorate and the sun disappeared around lunch-time which affected two of the boats. One boat also suffered some damage which couldn’t be repaired. Overall we had Darcy, Jackson and Brock finished equal 9th; Charli, Nathan and Declan also finished equal 9th; Brendan, Dylan, Ethan and Remi finished equal fifth. The children were very respectful and kind, supported each other and were able to display the learning and skills that they had developed over the year throughout the program. Thank you to Mr. Nelson who gives up his lunch times to work with our children. Thank you to all the parents that were able to take their children to Science Works.

School Council

October Meeting Summary

The Child Safety Standards and Policy were ratified.

Trivia Night-suggestions for improving the menu were discussed (for example, gluten free and

vegetarian options).

Parent Survey– two parent surveys were distributed last term. Improvements were showing across

many areas. The school council will be looking to hold some parent focus groups to further

examine the results of our surveys.

The following REPORTS were tabled and accepted-

Principal Report– details the monthly progress of our school priorities in the areas of Achievement,

Engagement, Wellbeing and Productivity.

Finance Report – The financial reports for the Month ending August 31st and September 30th 2016

were approved.

Market Report– The markets have been running successfully. We are currently looking at organising

some new signs. The Market Team are also going to be preparing documents outlining the

processes and procedures of the market.

Healthy Together Report–

The team is working on the community education aspect of our White Ribbon event.

The City of Greater Geelong Mosquito Educational Program information pack was tabled. This will

be available to teachers for teaching purposes.

Walk to School preparations were planned.

Parent Survey of the Sprouts Canteen program is to be developed.

Grounds and Buildings–

The play boat will be removed by the builders as part of the capital works project. It will then be

relocated if it is safe to do so.

We have been successful is obtaining a $12,500 grant to replace our shade sails.

New Buildings– The tender process has closed. We will be notified by the Education Department

when the successful tender is approved. We expect fences to go up in the next few weeks to zone

off the site.

Out of School Hours Care Report (Kelly Club OSHC)-The program has continued to run well with

great feedback from parents. The vacation care program was well attended. The slightly warmer

weather meant the children could go on an excursion.

Portarlington Primary ……..

NO ASSEMBLY– FRIDAY 28th of OCTOBER

Friday Nov 4th ~White Ribbon Assembly

at 1-1.30pm

~ Active Assembly at 2.15pm

Portarlington Primary ……..

Respectful Relationships

We are very excited to announce

that our Child Safety Standards

documentation was ratified at

our last school council meeting.

Our school culture is based on

RESPECT and we are committed

to child safety. The Child Safety

Standards together with our

School Wide Positive

Behaviour framework underpins

everything we do at

Portarlington Primary School. We pride ourselves in the curriculum that we provide in the area

of Social and Emotional Learning (SEL).

Our Social and Emotional Curriculum is embedded across different learning areas and they are

designed to promote RESILIENCE, WELLBEING and POSITIVE SOCIAL ATTITUDES. We

provide opportunities for the children to learn to understand and manage their feelings, set

and achieve positive goals, fee and express empathy, make responsible decisions and establish

and maintain positive relationships.

We want children to be safe, happy and empowered. We support and respect all children.

We are committed to the safety, participation and the rights of all children. At no time must

anyone treat a child unfavourably because of their disability, age, gender, race, culture,

vulnerability, sexuality or ethnicity.

This week, our teachers started to review to the new Respectful Relationships curriculum. We

were thrilled to see that we are already incorporating a lot of tools and resources into our

current learning programs at Portarlington.

We are Leaders!

Together with our White Ribbon events, SEL curriculum, School Wide Positive Behaviour,

Wise Child, Brave Hearts, Friends, Growing and Knowing Sexual Education and our Health

curriculum, we offer many opportunities for the children to understand what a Respectful

Relationship is. We plan and deliver our curriculum through the lenses of gender, aboriginal,

disability, multi-cultural and environmental perspectives so the new Respectful Relationships

framework will compliment our programs.

2017 Planning

Students Leaving Could you please let us know soon, if your child or children are not going to be attending Portarlington Primary School next year. We begin the process of organising classes for next year soon so we need to know our numbers. We are getting a lot of enrolments at the moment so if you know anyone who is coming to us, please let us know too.

Classes for 2017 We will put your child in the class we think is the most appropriate for their learning and ensure there is a spread of personalities and learning needs in each class.

Your written requests will be taken into consideration when teachers allocate students to classes. If you have a particular preference please let me know by -

Monday the 7th of November at 3.15pm. This must be in writing and must be signed and should have an educational reason for your preference. We do know that certain types of personalities do get on better than others and that we need to consider this when creating the classes.

Pink Day—In Honour of Marg McCoombe

At the end of every year, the special Marg Mc Coombe award is given to a year 5 student who has displayed

Community values throughout the year. The student then organises activities to raise awareness and funds to

support Breast Cancer

Research. This year, we are lucky to have two students (Remi and Georgia) coordinating this activity.

Marg McCoombe was a very much loved and passionate teacher at Portarlington Primary. She was teaching

here when she was diagnosed with breast cancer.

At our end of year assembly, Marg’s husband Chester is presented with a cheque that is made out to the

Breast Cancer Foundation in Marg’s name.

Thursday December the 1st is PINK DAY at Portarlington Primary!

Wear Pink Clothes

Join the activities –pink food and sausage sizzle, face painting, hair

chalking

Bring your spare gold coins

See Remi or Georgia for more information or contact the school office on 52592572

Portarlington Primary ……..

STUDENTS OF THE WEEK Weekly awards are given to children to recognise their success and their positive behaviours.

You could get an award for being respectful, kind, responsible, safe, organised, persistent, resilient,

confident or getting along.

Class Name Being For……………….. JLKT Tomi Madigan Displaying caring ways towards others always JLCM Max Singleton Writing a ‘sizzling start’, that was very Captivating, for his narrative. “The box of doom” JLCN Alistair Wicks Being able to research the history of the school houses MLCS Mea Allan Providing her classmates support when every they need it MLCH James Thomas Showing his ACE green screen and computer skills on Science Night SLCM Remielle McRae Persisting with her poetry writing and publishing a Fantastic quotation about her dog SLCW Anthony Malia For having a go in his presentation and being resilient. PRINCIPALS AWARD Mia Soall For helping Mrs Allbutt pick up rubbish in the school yard. Thank you Mia JLKT Lachie Reilly Being extremely kind and caring on our excursion today and for growing in confidence with each bounce on the Trampoline. JLCM Riley Gray Working really hard to write more and improve his Personal best. JLCN Poppy Brooks A great fraction pizza to show eighths MLCS Maddi McRae Showing a tremendous improvement in behaviour and Enthusiasm in the classroom SLCM Harry James Showing his cool ear lobe trick and always being Respectful of others. SLCW MacKenzie Lewis Working hard on her graduation tasks and not being distracted. Well Done PRINCIPALS AWARD Lacklan Duffield For always being a positive person at our school

Portarlington Primary ……..

Keeping our Beautiful

Children Safe in the Sun!

Hats must be worn outside commencing the 1st of

September until the 1st of May each year.

Portarlington Primary ……..

Term 4

OCTOBER 3rd October Term 4 starts 7th October Solar Boats comp

(selected students) 12th October Science Fair Night 18th October School Council 19th October Geelong Cup Holiday 21st October Buddies Excursion 30th October Market

School Calendar

Please check the calendar regularly as some events are subject to change.

NOVEMBER 4th November White Ribbon Day 9th November Whole School Dental Program 11th November Remembrance Day 15th November School Council 27th November Market

DECEMBER

1st December PINK Day

2nd December Grade 1 & 2 Sleepover

2nd December P-6 Swimming Program

5th December P-6 Swimming Program

6th December Whole School Transition Day

7th December 3-6 SWIMMING CARNIVAL

8th December P-6 Swimming Program

9th December P-6 Swimming Program

12th December P-6 Swimming Program

13th December P-6 Swimming Program

14th December END OF YEAR FINAL ASSEMBLY

YEAR 6 GRADUATION

15th December P-6 Swimming Program

16th December P-6 Swimming Program

20th December Last Day of Term 4

Promoting Respect

-Wear White PORTARLINGTON PRIMARY SCHOOL BREAKS THE SILENCE AROUND VIOLENCE

Our whole school is raising awareness by hosting our 2016 White Ribbon Event

Friday November 4th

At Portarlington Primary School one of our key values is RESPECT. Last year, Portarlington Primary School held a very

successful White Ribbon Walk for Respect Event. Our school Healthy Together Promotion Committee together with

the School Council and staff, organised a ‘Walk of Respect’ – a calm and peaceful walking event to help raise

awareness and to support White Ribbon Australia’s work to end men’s violence against women.

This year, our White Ribbon event will be held on Friday the 4th of November 2016.

During the week, the children will be involved in activities to promote Respectful Relationships. We will be recognising

respectful behaviour as a focus, the children will be involved in discussing the concept of respect and what respectful

behaviour looks like for them. Everyone will have an opportunity to dress in white.

Our community can make a difference. If we can teach our children, families and our community to behave and

speak respectfully at school, work, in the community and at home, we are taking the first step in preventing violence in

our community.

Memories from the

Portarlington Primary

2015 White Ribbon Walk for Respect

24 Hour Help - 1800 RESPECT

Men’s Referral Line –1800 06 59 73

Kids Helpline– 1800 55 1800

GEELONG EDUCATION SUPPORT STAFF

ANNUAL CONFERENCE – Report

TUESDAY 18TH OCTOBER 2016

It was a pleasure and honour to attend the Annual Conference on behalf of Portarlington Primary School with

our other ES Staff.

After initial registration and meeting with suppliers the highlight was Workshop E, Trauma: Effects &

Response presented by Helene Fox from Geelong North Network. Her presentation was insightful and she

spoke about the importance of caring for a child’s health. Importantly the relationship with a child and parent/

carer, as you are your child’s first and most influential teacher and as such, you have the greatest ability to

impact your child’s health and development.

She spoke about relationships that impact on mental, physical and emotional health – Secure attachment,

this refers to the non-verbal emotional exchange that happens between a child and their parent. Often referred

to as ‘serve and return’, this interaction is what makes children feel understood, secure and balanced.

She then spoke about Insecure attachment if a child often cries or throws tantrums, seem anxious or hyper

vigilant, or are disengaged or tuned out form their environment. I thoroughly appreciated this workshop from

Helene and it broadened my scope.

The guest speaker Narelle Fraser spoke frankly about her time in the Police Force and her insight of stresses

in a job and how to acknowledge these and obtain assistance in working through problems. Her

insightfulness was refreshing as she unpacked her life as a police officer and how the job impacted on her

mentally causing her to suffer from PTSD and ending a career of over 27 years.

I have attended many workshops over the years and every time I learn to see things from different angles and

perspectives. It actually makes me think deeper rather than accept things at face value.

I believe the workshops and conferences allow me to ask questions, it helps me develop my cognitive thinking

on particular subjects and also gives me an opportunity to meet likeminded people.

Thank you for this opportunity. Jo Twomey

Margaret Browne, Jo Twomey, Wendy Newton, Lisa Gale

Portarlington Primary ……..

School Fruit and Vegetable Garden Volunteers

We are seeking any parents/grandparents or friends that would like to volunteer in our Fruit and

Vegetable Garden. You choose what you would like to help with.

Some things to do include-

Watering

Planting

Weeding

Harvesting

Preparing fruit and veggies for distribution to the

children. Helping during the MLC garden classes

Collecting seeds and cuttings

Potting

Portarlington Primary ……..

Portarlington Primary ……..

STOP THE MOZZIES!

In Spring and Summer mosquitoes are most active around Portarlington and St Leonards. Our beautiful coastline has lots of protected wetlands that are perfect breeding sites for mosquitoes. The heavy rains have brought more water into the mosquito breeding sites, so we are expecting more mosquitoes this year. The City of Greater Geelong (local council) has a program to help manage the number of mosquitos in Portarlington, St Leonards and other areas. The main areas on the Bellarine Peninsula that council works on to manage mosquitoes are wetlands and reserves like in Swan Bay, Edwards Point and Ramblers Road. Council aims to keep mosquitoes at moderate levels, but due to our unique coastline there will be mosquitoes around at all times of the year. These are some simple things you can do to protect yourself and your family against mosquitoes: Wear light-coloured, loose-fitting clothing when outdoors- mosquitoes are attracted to dark colours Use mosquito repellents containing DEET or picaridin on exposed skin, check the labels to find out more Try to limit outdoor activity if lots of mosquitoes are about (usually dusk and dawn) Make sure there is no stagnant water where mosquitoes can breed around your home- in things like

buckets, toys, pot plant bases Keep your yard and garden well maintained, mosquitoes like shady areas with lots of plants and trees On holidays make sure where you are staying is properly fitted with mosquito netting or screens Ensure openings to rainwater tanks are covered. Check the website below for more information on mosquitoes, including a film clip on what we do in our program: www.geelongaustralia.com.au/mosquitoes

For those who prefer to use natural repellents, Google “natural mosquito repellents” and you will find some simple solutions using herbs, garlic, ingredients from your pantry and also some useful plants.

Portarlington Primary ……..

2017 BELLARINE NATURE CADETS FOR 9-14 YEAR OLDS

offered in partnership with bellarine bayside The Portarlington Neighbourhood House together with Bellarine Bayside are calling for expressions of interest for our Nature Cadets

Program. We are looking for a group of 12 cadets 9-14 years old interested in learning more about their natural environment. Each

week there will be varying activities run by skilled and qualified professionals in the field to provide quality information in a fun and

encouraging atmosphere.

DAY: Wednesday ~ 6 WEEK PROGRAM | Time: 10.30am | Commencing: 1 February ~ 8 March 2017

| Cost: $20.00 for 6 weeks, includes materials ~ BOOK AT THE PORTARLINGTON NEIGHBOURHOOD HOUSE

proposed program schedule for bellarine nature cadets

Week Activity Venue

1 Rock pool Ramble and Beach comb Steeles Rock

2 Magnifying Glass Session Neighbourhood House

3 Environmental movie night Neighbourhood House

4 Growling Grass Frog Bushwalk Pt. Richards Flora & Fauna Nature Re-

serve

5 Scavenger hunt Foreshore

6 Craft/Games and Graduation Neighbourhood House

Portarlington Primary ……..

WANTED

2ND HAND UNIFORMS WANTED FOR OUR NEW PREPS

FOR 2017.

SMALL SIZES REQUIRED.

IF YOU CAN ASSIST PLEASE CONTACT MARGARET

BROWNE OR THE OFFICE

THANK YOU

Portarlington Primary ……..