4 August 2017

Newsletter Articles

PRINCIPALS REPORT

Hello Parents, Carers and Friends

What a great start to Term 3! Children are coming to school ready to learn and play respectfully and responsibly. The whole school has a wonderful settled and calm feel with all classes experiencing great teaching and learning.

As you may have noticed, from our school sign, we are having a strong focus on the language of Mathematics. Teachers used the first day of term, prior to students returning, to work on planning quality lessons so that all children would be able to make progress in understanding key Mathematical concepts.

Staff also explored the new Science resources we have purchased and are now using these in classrooms.

At the end of Term 2, our school captains, Kassie and Connor D, our vice captains, Taylor and Connor H, as well as our student Aboriginal leader, Seth, were invited to attend the Lindisfarne RSL unveiling of the plaque commemorating the service of Australian Aboriginal people in WWI.

Over the holidays our cleaning staff, Sue, Janine and Rob did a stunning job cleaning and tidying our school ready for Term 3. So much work goes on at the school during holidays. Jodie in the office also worked very hard making sure school business matters were all in order. Important jobs were also able to be done, such as Mr Koppelmann returning to our school to put up new fencing in the ECE playground to protect the children from the car parking area.

This term we are looking forward to new play equipment in the ECE play ground as well.

Last term, our Aboriginal Education Worker, Sarah Pelikan helped us to run a wonderful NAIDOC Week assembly. Uncle Dougy sang some songs and students presented wonderful work about Aboriginal and Islander culture and histories.

During Term 3 we will purchase two new table-tennis tables as well as providing some professional coaching for students who wish to participate. This will be part of our after school activities program. Numbers are limited so we will be able to accept students who put in a form (these will be sent home in the next couple of weeks). Students will need to have demonstrated responsible behaviour, because last term some of our activities were at risk due to just a few students being disrespectful and unsafe. Netball will also run this term with Tamara and another invited coach.

Thank you for your understanding and support with noticing that our school driveway should not be used for picking up children after school. We have noticed a vast improvement in the safety of children going home at the end of the day. Thank you also for using the crossing on Heather Rd when you or the children need to cross the road.

The Education Act became active as of July 10 this year. The first focus area for us as a school is attendance. Attendance is crucial to school success and this is why the new legislation has a focus on attendance. We will be updating our attendance policy in consultation with the School Association and providing clear and simple information. The basic principle remains the same: school attendance every day is important.

These current statistics for this year’s attendance should be 93% of students here every day – preferably 100% every day.

Thank you so much for your ongoing support for our work together. Our new website is yet another way we can share our journey with the world, and promote the ways in which our school is educating for the social, emotion, and academic needs of every child. We have high expectations for every child and every adult in our community. We treat each other with respect, with an aim that our children will learn in safe and supportive environments.

Kinds regards, Libby

TRIBUTE

JOAN MALLINSON

The Risdon Vale School community sadly acknowledge the recent passing of Joan. Joan was a dedicated volunteer at Breakfast Club and helped provide a nourishing start to the day for those students who attend. She was a wonderful supporter of our School Community, and in particular of her daughter Rachel, and grandchildren Molly and Brock. We extend our sincere condolences to her family.

POSITIVE DETECTIVE (PD+) FOR Students

The vision of Risdon Vale Primary School is to be proudly recognised as a centre of excellence in educating for the academic and social needs of every student. This means that, as a school, we strongly value teaching and learning about social and emotional health.

To begin Term 3 our social and emotional learning is focussed on positivity. To Look for Good in ourselves, in others and in our community. This will be put into action using the Positive Detective Program.

Positive Detective (PD+) for Students

NAIDOC WEEK

At the end of last term, a group of 17 students from Prep to Grade 6 went to Risdon Cove on the bus to learn about Aboriginal culture history and to prepare for NAIDOC week.

When we got there, we first had a briefing, talked about how fire helps the land and went for a walk to a plant called kunnikung. We then walked to a place called The Rock Garden. It is there because it tells the story about when the Aboriginals got some land back. After this we walked to a memorial that was put by John Bowen to mark where he landed at Risdon Cove. Inside the pyramid shaped buildings we were taught about bark canoes, kelp baskets and shell necklaces.

Overall we learnt how Aboriginal people lived a long time ago and the significance of looking after the land.

By Seth Cooper-Hanfling and Mateka Menzies

Shop at Eastlands from today till end of the month and take any dockets to the Customer Service Desk on lower ground floor and help us to be in the running for a $5000 reward. I point for every dollar spent and double points from any of the following stores.

Bakers Delight, Cotton On Kids, Escape Travel, Island optical, Kick-E-Mart, Liveat, Lowes, Nature’s Works, Priceline Pharmacy, Prouds, Rebel Sport, Specsavers, Subway, Sushi Sushi, Umai Sushi, Vodafone, Woolworths.

PRE-KINDERGARTEN 2017

This started in second term on Thursday’s
Times are 9 am till 10.30 am
Children are eligible who were born in the year 2013.
You must fill out an enrolment form available from the school office.
Children are to be accompanied by a parent or carer.
You will need to bring 1 piece of fruit to share a drink bottle with water and a smock.

Green card rewards presented at assembly 31st July

Hi Five Certificates presented at assembly 31st July

Premier’s Reading challenge

Just a reminder there are still 3 weeks of the challenge left! Please return your reading logs with at least 10 book titles included to Ms Rigney by 25th August.

Make sure you include all your Home Reading books read from June – August.

Home Reading

Congratulations to these students, who received Home Reading Certificates at assembly.

Home Reading

Congratulations to these students, who also received Home Reading Certificates at assembly this week.

Training in Supporting children with trauma backgrounds with Dr Julian Watchorn

Wed 23 Aug from 9.30 – 2pm at Chigwell. Lunch provided.

Also a session on reforming the Out of Home Care system – your voices need to be heard!

RSVP to Kim, ceo@fkat.org.au

Word of the week:

Mindfulness

What is mindfulness?

Mindfulness is the gentle effort to be continuously present with experience.

But I like Jon Kabat-Zinn’s definition of mindfulness:

“Mindfulness means paying attention in a particular way;
On purpose,
in the present moment, and
nonjudgmentally.”

Paying attention “on purpose”

First of all, mindfulness involves paying attention “on purpose”. Mindfulness involves a conscious direction of our awareness. We sometimes (me included) talk about “mindfulness” and “awareness” as if they were interchangeable terms, but that’s not a good habit to get into. I may be aware I’m irritable, but that wouldn’t mean I was being mindful of my irritability. In order to be mindful I have to be purposefully aware of myself, not just vaguely and habitually aware. Knowing that you are eating is not the same as eating mindfully.

Let’s take that example of eating and look at it a bit further. When we are purposefully aware of eating, we are consciously being aware of the process of eating. We’re deliberately noticing the sensations and our responses to those sensations. We’re noticing the mind wandering, and when it does wander we purposefully bring our attention back.

When we’re eating unmindfully we may in theory be aware of what we’re doing, but we’re probably thinking about a hundred and one other things at the same time, and we may also be watching TV, talking, or reading — or even all three! So a very small part of our awareness is absorbed with eating, and we may be only barely aware of the physical sensations and even less aware of our thoughts and emotions.

Because we’re only dimly aware of our thoughts, they wander in an unrestricted way. There’s no conscious attempt to bring our attention back to our eating. There’s no purposefulness.

This purposefulness is a very important part of mindfulness. Having the purpose of staying with our experience, whether that’s the breath, or a particular emotion, or something as simple as eating, means that we are actively shaping the mind.

Paying attention “in the present moment”

Left to itself the mind wanders through all kinds of thoughts — including thoughts expressing anger, craving, depression, revenge, self-pity, etc. As we indulge in these kinds of thoughts we reinforce those emotions in our hearts and cause ourselves to suffer. Mostly these thoughts are about the past or future. The past no longer exists. The future is just a fantasy until it happens. The one moment we actually can experience — the present moment — is the one we seem most to avoid.

So in mindfulness we’re concerned with noticing what’s going on right now. That doesn’t mean we can no longer think about the past or future, but when we do so we do so mindfully, so that we’re aware that right now we’re thinking about the past or future.

However in meditation, we are concerned with what’s arising in the present moment. When thoughts about the past or future take us away from our present moment experience and we “space out” we try to notice this and just come back to now.

By purposefully directing our awareness away from such thoughts and towards the “anchor” or our present moment experience, we decrease their effect on our lives and we create instead a space of freedom where calmness and contentment can grow.

Paying attention “non-judgmentally”

Mindfulness is an emotionally non-reactive state. We don’t judge that this experienceis good and that one is bad. Or if we do make those judgements we simply notice them and let go of them. We don’t get upset because we’re experiencing something we don’t want to be experiencing or because we’re not experiencing what we would rather be experiencing. We simply accept whatever arises. We observe it mindfully. We notice it arising, passing through us, and ceasing to exist.

Whether it’s a pleasant experience or a painful experience we treat it the same way.

Cognitively, mindfulness is aware that certain experiences are pleasant and some are unpleasant, but on an emotional level we simply don’t react. We call this “equanimity” — stillness and balance of mind.

Kids Explain MINDFULNESS

Famous people speaking about mindfulness

Mindfulness: Youth Voices

NURSERY RHYME

Ten In a Bed

There were ten in a bed
And the little one said
"Roll over, roll over"
So they all rolled over
And one fell out

There were nine in a bed
And the little one said
"Roll over, roll over"
So they all rolled over
And one fell out

There were eight in a bed
And the little one said
"Roll over, roll over"
So they all rolled over
And one fell out

There were seven in a bed
And the little one said
"Roll over, roll over"
So they all rolled over
And one fell out

There were six in a bed
And the little one said
"Roll over, roll over"
So they all rolled over
And one fell out

There were five in a bed
And the little one said
"Roll over, roll over"
So they all rolled over
And one fell out

There were four in a bed
And the little one said
"Roll over, roll over"
So they all rolled over
And one fell out

There were three in a bed
And the little one said
"Roll over, roll over"
So they all rolled over
And one fell out

There were two in a bed
And the little one said
"Roll over, roll over"
So they all rolled over
And one fell out

There was one in a bed
And the little one said
"Good night!"

Great learning maths games online for free for any age group at our school. (Kinder to Grade 6)

For the older children to learn coding on the computer try:

News from the Kitchen

Ms Schmidt Just back from shopping for the kitchen classes.

Office news

Woolworths Earn & Learn 2017

Dear Parents, This year we will be participating in the Woolworths Earn & Learn program. Through this program we will be able to get new educational resources for our school/early learning centre – and all we need you to do is shop for your groceries at Woolworths. From Wednesday 26th July to Tuesday 19th September or while stock lasts, we are collecting Woolworths Earn & Learn Stickers. You will get one Woolworths Earn & Learn Sticker for every $10 spent (excluding liquor, tobacco and gift cards). Place the Woolworths Earn & Learn Sticker onto a Woolworths Earn & Learn Sticker Sheet and when it’s complete, the Sticker Sheet can be dropped into the Collection Box here at the school or at your local Woolworths. At the end of the promotion, we’ll be able to get some great new equipment. The range is extensive and offers lots of items ideal for our students – including resources for Maths, English, Science and some fantastic fun supplies for Arts & Craft, Sport and for our library.

School Association News.

Item 1

ITS COMING TO THAT TIME OF YEAR AGAIN…….

RISDON VALE PRIMARY SCHOOL FAIR
25th August 2017

Preparation has begun for an even BIGGER fair than last year.

Donations of any products can kindly be donated to the classroom teacher.

Classrooms have decided what they are doing and starting their prep:

Kinder: Coconut Ice
Bowering: Coffee and Tea
Porte: Cupcakes
Varveris: Lolly pots and Playdough
Weavers: Cake stall
Patulny: Second hand stall
Lockey: Lucky Jars (Jars filled with different items and allocated a number
Coombe: Second hand books stall

Rides and a variety of other stalls are being arranged but if you have any suggestions just let us know as the profit we make benefits our school and community.

LETS MAKE THIS YEAR EVEN BIGGER THAN LAST YEAR

Item 2

Uniform Shop

The uniform is now being run by the School Association President Tamara Knop and Rachel Paige.

The hours in which it will be open is:

MONDAY: 8.30 til 9am
WEDNESDAY: 8.30 til 9am
FRIDAY: 2.30 till 3pm

If other times are needed please contact Tamara or Rachel on the Risdon Vale Primary School Association Facebook Page.

Item 3

Design the School Halloween Poster for October 31st 2017.

Be as creative as you can be with appropriate images. Winner will be drawn at fair and will win a $25 Coles group and Myer gift cards well as free entry into the Halloween disco for you and a friend. Age group grade 3 to grade 6. Posters to be submitted to office by Wednesday 23rd August 2017.

Item 4

Colouring competition win a $40 Smiggles voucher. More copoies available from School office.

News from the Garden

Gardening

This week 2/3 Weavers have been weeding after the holidays and they collected broad bean seeds and stored them for the next crop.

5/6 Coombe’s class were weeding to prepare for National Plant A Tree Day next week.

Our beetroot and celery are doing awesome and when 5/6 Coombe were weeding they found lots of little trees in the spot where they were weeding and soon when we harvest our beetroot and celery it can go to the kitchen to cook and eat.

By Mason Burr

CALENDAR OF UPCOMING EVENTS