Principal: Maree Moyle Chisholm St P.O. Box 892 Wangaratta 3676 Phone: 03-5721-2658 03- 5722-1280 Fax: 03-5722-2712 Email: wangaratta.ps@edumail.vic.gov.au Website: wangps.vic.edu.au

Work Habit Keys *Persistence *Getting Along *Organisation

*Resilience *Confidence

Our Values *Respect *Tolerance & Inclusion *Ready to Learn *Personal Best

Wangaratta Primary School Newsletter Issue 2

February 8, 2018

From the Principal

At Wangaratta Primary School we recognise that students value teachers who create relationships with them. Consequently, the beginning of the school year has seen students immersed in activities designed to share their interests, backgrounds and preferred learning stylised an effort to make connections. This valuable information allows teachers to "get to know" individual students and thus interact and present learning activities that has relevance to all students. I encourage you to take the time to talk regularly with your child's teacher. Some conversations can happen incidentally when you drop your child off or pick them up from school, however, if you require more time please feel free to contact the office or your child's teacher and make a time to meet with them to discuss any issues that you may have. The more information we have about our students, the greater impact we can have on fostering their social, emotional and academic needs. With the second week of school now coming to an end, we are very happy to report that we have had a very smooth start to the 2018 school year. Students all seem settled and happy and teachers are well and truly into the swing of things, with a focus on getting to know their students and completing the start of year assessments. All classes have also now began teaching the core areas of the curriculum, in order to maximise student learning and to get the essential routines and expectations in place. I have been spending

time in classrooms over the past week and have been very pleased to see the enthusiasm being shown by the students and teachers in all classrooms. I am looking forward to seeing the progress our students make throughout the year, and having the opportunity to positively impact on student learning outcomes

The start of a new school year is also a good time to remind students and parents about bringing personal items to school. Quite often, students want to bring items that are special to them to show to their friends and classmates. While it can be tempting to allow students to do this, we have an obligation to remind you that private property brought to school by students is not insured by the school or covered by school insurance, and that it is not the responsibility of the Department if that property is lost, stolen or damaged. We ask you to keep this in mind before allowing students to bring personal items to school. We are very fortunate at Wangaratta Primary School to have a number of wonderful volunteers who assist us in a number of different ways and we are so grateful for the support they provide to our school. We do need to remind all our parents or carers who currently volunteer or would like to volunteer at the school that they are required to hold a Working with Children's Check, and that the school needs to retain a copy of all working with children checks. If you need more information about this, please don’t hesitate to contact the office. One of the things that our staff team will be focussing on in 2018 is increasing home/school communication. We have begun this by introducing weekly Compass updates to keep parents and carers informed about what is happening in the classrooms. Updates will also be provided in the newsletter in regards to what students are learning so that parents can talk with their children about their learning. Finally, the school is holding a Pool Party at the Wangaratta Olympic Pool from 5.30pm – 8.30pm on Friday the 16th of February. This will be a great opportunity to welcome in the new school year and get to know the new families at our school. Families can BYO picnic or BBQ sausages will be available to purchase at the pool. Gate fees will be $2.50 per child swimmer, $4.50 per adult swimmer, and $2.50 per spectator. We would love to see as many families at this event as possible. Have a great week ahead! Maree Moyle Principal

Friday, 9 February

MSP Photos—Foundation and new students

Tuesday, 13 February

School Council meeting Thursday, 22 February

North East Water Tour Yrs 3/4 Friday, 23 February

Grandparents Day Wednesday, 28 February

1.30pm Choir to Senior Citizens Monday, 12 March

Public Holiday Tuesday, 13 March

School Council AGM Thursday, 22 March

1.30pm Choir excursion to Christopher Robin

Friday, 23 March

Ride2School Day Wednesday, 28 March

1.30pm Choir excursion to Christopher Robin

Thursday, 29 March

Last day of Term 1. School finishes at 2.15pm

Monday, 16 April

Term 2 commences

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From the Assistant Principal

What a great start to the year we have had. Staff have been busy getting to know all of the students in their class as well as those in other grades in the school. Classroom Happenings Specialist classes and rotations, including Art, Science/STEM, ICT and Cultural Studies, have started across all year levels this week and the school has been a buzz with activity. It is fantastic to see the enthusiasm from students and staff alike! I heard many Foundation students leaving Tuesday afternoon saying “I now know Italian!” Foundation: Our Foundation classes continue to build the routines and structures of school life. In maths they have been sorting various items in different ways including healthy and unhealthy foods. In literacy they have been distinguishing between words and letters and predicting what might happen in the big book. Year 1/2: Our 1/2s have been establishing their classroom expectations including setting up their community of readers, learning how to choose just right books and why they might abandon some books. They have been working on their invitations for Grandparents day and learning to recognize, modell, write and order numbers. Year 3/4: The 3/4s have been developing their classroom libraries, learning their role as a reader and the purpose and uses of their readers notebook. In writing they have been establishing their role and the teacher's role during the writers workshop as well as what they need to be successful during these sessions. In maths they have been focussing on place value including renaming numbers. Year 5/6: The 5/6 team have been learning how to be part of a productive reading community and refreshing their memories of accuracy and fluency strategies. Students have been learning the structure of a writers workshop and what sorts of things they can write about in their writers notebook. They are learning about place value, number patterns and the rules that accompany them. Italian: Here’s what children will be focussing on over the first few weeks of the term… Foundation: Children will begin the year with being introduced to greetings such as ‘ciao’ (hello) and ‘mi chiamo…’ ( my name is…). They will begin to learn about the Italian flag and how to recognise Italy on a map. 1/2: Students will begin the term revising how to introduce themselves and simple phrases such as ‘come stai?’ (how are you?) - ‘grazie’ (thanks) and ‘per favore’ (please). 3/4: For the start of the year, lessons aim to revise previous knowledge and work on building the ability to describe and talk about oneself using phrases such ‘I live..’ and ‘I like…’. 5/6: Students will start lessons by discussing what they remember from previous lessons, revise greetings and common phrases and then move towards being able to write about their birthday using days of the week PE: Over the next few weeks students are participating in team building games and activities with a focus on listening and following instructions, self umpiring - playing fairly & honestly, getting along with others, building confidence and resilence, playing safely, working together as a team & building relationships, having a go and having fun

Have a great week! Andrea Matheson Assistant Principal

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Name: Courtney Shiels Class: 3/4 S Teaching Philosophy: I have a couple! I think that everyone is a lifelong learning and I hope to learn as much from the students this year as they learn from me. I also believe that everyone has the right to be a learner and I hope to create an environment that ensures all learning styles are accepted and encouraged. Some interesting facts about me: I grew up in Yarrawonga but completed my VCE at Galen, where I met some of my best friends. I lived in Melbourne for 11 years, where I completed my university degrees. I love Melbourne for its culture, coffee and the friends I have left behind, however I am loving

being back amongst the trees, the river, the and the coffee is actually pretty good. I also love sport, so very keen to play some tennis and squash whilst I am here, but I am also a mad North Melbourne fan. Very excited to be a part of Wangaratta Primary School and I look forward to getting to know everyone.

Every Face has a Place at Wangaratta Primary School

Student of the Week

Thomas 5/6L—for being a good friend and great class member.

Isla 1/2C—for always being organised and willing to help others.

Xavier 1/2K—for his enthusiasm in doing his readers and doing his best to be a good learner. What a great start to 2018.

Molly 3/4G—for demonstrating high levels of persistence and resilience when completing set maths tasks.

Madeline 3/4S—for being such a tremendous help for Miss Shiels in her first week at WPS. Thanks Maddy!

This year, we will be celebrating our yearly Bush Dance a little differently, with a Pool Party at the

Olympic pool.

When Friday 16th February 2018 - 5.30pm to 8.30pm Cost Swimmers $2.50(child) $4.50(adult) Spectators

$2.50

This is a fantastic opportunity for our school community to come together and meet one another.

Sausages will be available for purchase on the night A pre-order form is coming out Monday 12th February.

WPS Pool Party

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Performing Arts

Welcome back to an exciting 2018 in the Performing Arts area of WPS! Foundation- Students have had lots of fun in their very first Performing Arts session. We have explored the Performing Arts room, discussed and explored the differences between singing and speaking voice and heard and made actions for the school song. They had great fun dancing the Heel and Toe Polka, have responded to the Kangaroo part of the Carnival of the Animals Suite, and explored beat. Next week we will continue singing and dancing. 1/2- Students have had a very active session, re-exploring the Performing Arts space. They have begun a unit of work called Popcorn, so have been bouncing around the room like popping corn. They have explored shapes they can make with their bodies, body percussion and singing. We will continue with this for the next few weeks. 3/4- Students have re-introduced themselves to the Performing Arts space and have discussed their assembly performance dance. Next week they will begin practicing for assembly and will begin to learn to play guitars. 5/6- For our new Year 6 students I have gone through our Performing Arts Award Criteria so they have something extra to aim for this year. Performing Arts Award Criteria

Demonstrates a deep understanding of the elements of music

Is able to apply musical skills and knowledge to many instruments

Shows evidence of having voluntarily extended skills outside of the classroom

Has taken up opportunities presented by the school for extension of skills and community engagement through music

Demonstrates an enthusiasm to learn new skills and techniques

Demonstrates enjoyment and motivation each time they come to music lessons

Successfully works independently and within diverse groups during music lessons

Takes on constructive feedback to improve their performance All students have completed a music skills self-assessment and discussed their assembly performance dance, and the plans for the term . Next week we will begin practicing for the assembly performance and will begin an informal learning unit of work on technology in music creation and songwriting. Choir News- The choir are now well into practicing for their upcoming performances (more details to come). We still have places available for any grade 1-6 child who is interested in joining. Please see me for a form. Children have also taken home lyrics booklets to practise at home. Guitar- We will begin our guitar groups in a couple of weeks. In the meantime, if your child is interested in joining, we still have plenty of places. They just need to see me for a form. Junior guitar (for beginners) will run at lunchtimes on Thursdays. From that group I will pick semi-competent students to join the senior guitar groups which will run at 2.45 on Thursdays. Band- Year 5/6 students are invited to join a band which will rehearse on Thursdays at 2.15pm. We will form the band with guitarists, a bass guitarist, keyboard players, a singer, a drummer and will look at adding other instruments at the stu-dent’s request. Please return expressions of interest forms as soon as possible. We will begin the rehearsals when we have a complete band. Song Writing Project- Paris Zachariou and I have begun work with 7 of our students to write a song to enter in the Music Count Us In songwriting competition. The students have shown great enthusiasm and commitment and we thank Paris for all of his time! Cazz Hicks Performing Arts Teacher

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For those families that are holders of a current healthcare card/pension card/concession card maybe eligible to receive a payment from Centrelink of $125 per child per year to assist in the payment of Camps, Sports and Excursions. This payment is made directly to the school and is tied to the student. If you feel you are eligible for this payment please call into the school office and complete an application form for us to process before Friday, 17 February.

The requirement for parents to complete and submit a new application for each year, has been removed from 2018. Parents that received CSEF at this school in 2017 do not need to complete an application form in 2018, providing there has been no change in their family circumstances. The school will apply for the CSEF on your behalf.

CSEF (Camps, Sports & Excursions Fund)

First Aid Roster WANTED/NEEDED

The Second Hand Uniform Shop welcomes dona-tions of current school uniforms. Please do not donate items that are in need of repair, are badly faded or stained. Donations can be left at the school office. For those parents who wish to buy uniforms, they are located adjacent to the office, in the cup-board. We ask a gold coin donation for each item of clothing that can be paid to the office.

Safety Reminders- Monkey bars will be hot! Drink lots of water in the hot weather. Please remember that the handrails are not

for swinging or playing on and are very dan-gerous if used in this way.

Cazz Hicks

Health & Safety Representative

Safety Around The School

Volunteers Needed: We are again seeking parent volunteers to be placed on the roster to assist with laundering the linen in our sick bay for 2018. This is involves striping & making bed, collecting dirty items from room, washing items & returning them. Items are to be collected at end of school Friday & returned clean Monday morning. Generally you will only be required to wash the linen one or two times in a term, depending on how many parents we have on the roster. Please see the office to add your name to the roster.

2018 Term 1 First Aid Roster

Friday, 9 February—Alyssa B

Friday, 16 February—Alison W Friday, 23 February— Nita M

Friday, 2 March—Carly J Friday, 9 March-Tarnya C

Friday, 16 March-Amee W Friday, 23 March-Julie I

Thursday, 29 March—Bree B

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Where the Two Rivers Meet- The Bpangerang Animal Song

This project was instigated by artist Kathleen Whelan and GANEAA (Goulburn and North East Arts Alliance), to create a song for Wangaratta’s Bulliwah Trail. Using stories from Bpangerang Elder, Uncle Freddie Dowling’s book, Grandpa Milawa Stories, songwriters Marisa Quigley and Racheal Oak Butler worked with 5/6 students

and music teacher Cazz Hicks from Wangaratta Primary School to write this song. At the request of the Dirrawarra Indigenous Network, it was performed at the Marmungun Rock Hand Unveiling Ceremony during National Reconciliation Week and at the opening of the Bulliwah Trail.

Cd’s for Sale $5 Available from the

Wangaratta Government Centre Tourist Information Centre

Wangaratta Primary School Office.

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The Coles Sports for Schools is back and Wangaratta Primary School is all signed up and ready to go again. For every $10 spent at Coles, customers will receive one Sports for School voucher. We are appealing to parents, guardians, carers, grandparents, family and friends to collect as many vouchers as you can. You can help provide a healthy and active education for your child.

Sports for Schools

Wangaratta Primary School is now a Musical Futures Champion School. As the Performing Arts Specialist, I have been working with Musical Futures to roll out the Education Department’s approved music program- Musical Futures. We have been running the program for the past two years and are recognised as leaders in the area of Music Education and are a Musical Futures Champion School.

Musical Futures—WPS

Wed, 14 February - Anika Wed, 21 February- Alison/Zarah

Wed, 28 February - Maci

Wed, 7 March - 5/6

Wed, 14 March - 3/4

Wed, 21 March - 1/2

Wed, 28 March - Foundation

Assembly Performances Term 1

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General Information

Breakfast Club Volunteers WANTED Breakfast club runs on a Thursday morning from 8-8.45am. This program is currently run through the support of Anglicare Victoria and Carevan. Jointly they supply the food and the volunteers. They are now looking to hand over the role of the morning to parents. The food will continue to be supported by these organisations. There will be the need for a coordinator who can make sure that there is volunteers each week and order the food. The volunteers on the day need to set up, serve toast, cereal and milo, then clean up. The children enjoy the socialisation of this club as well as the ability to have some breakfast and chat with the volunteers. Please contact Tanya Grant at Anglicare on 0357237900 if you are interested in getting involved.

Bendigo Student Banking Collection day for student banking is Friday. Saver Plus Saver Plus will match your savings for school costs, dollar for dollar, up to $500. To join you must have a Centrelink Health Care or Pensioner Concession Card, be at least 18 years old, have some regular income from work (you or your partner) and have a child at school or attend vocational education yourself. For further information contact Donelle Walsh 0457 849 112 or 1300 610 355. Email dwalsh@berrystreet.org.au Children’s Online Safety Information Night The Zonta Club of Wangaratta, with the sponsorship of the Rural City of Wangaratta has organised a information evening with Greg Gebhart from the Office of the eSafety Commissioner for Tuesday, 6 March 2018 Wangaratta Performing Arts Centre 7pm FREE ADMISSION

The presentation will provide an overview of how young people use technology, the risks they may be exposed to ith advice and information. School Lunch Order Changes Jack & Jill Catering are excited to announce that they will be doing lunch orders for our school every Wednesday. You can place an order online, via the apps or fill out an order at our school office. Website www.jackandjill.com.au Sign up and try it out Orders for WPS—online orders: to be placed by 9pm on Mondays. Written orders must be placed in the order tub at school office by Monday mornings. Come and Try Paddling Evening Come and try canoeing and kayaking evening Monday 19 February from 5.45pm until dusk Frank Garth Reserve, Ovens River Wangaratta Boats and equipment will be provided but if anyone has their own please bring it along. Paddling in the river with a fun game of canoe polo Inquiries: Allison Parkinson 0409964054