ISSUE 30, 15TH

SEPTEMBER 2016

PRINCIPAL’S REPORT

Staffing News

This week is the last for Jessica Chan before she begins Family Leave. We wish her and Brad well for the birth of their first child, and look forward to their first visit back in 2017. We are pleased to welcome Jean Elliot to the teaching role in 1J for Term 4. Jean is well known to all here at Essex Heights and will be a welcome addition to the Yr 1 Team.

Essex Heights PS – Badminton Team

Last week our 6 member Badminton Squad travelled to MSAC to compete in the Li-Ning All Schools Badminton Championships. The team was thrilled to place 4th in the State at the completion of the competition. We are so proud of the team and the way they competed and represented Essex Heights.

CALENDAR DATES

Term 3, 2016 Thurs 15th September School Council Fri 16h September Last Day of Term 2.30pm Finish Term 4 2016 Mon 3rdOctober First Day of Term 4 Wed 5th October Grade 6 Graduation Photo Thurs 6th October Year 1 Excursion ACMI Thurs 6th October Engineers Without Borders Workshops Year 4 Fri 7th October Engineers Without Borders Workshops Year 3 Tues 11th October Year 1 Excursion ACMI Tues 11th October Graduation Meeting 7.30pm Wed 12th October Prep 2017 Transition 11.45am – 1.15pm Wed 12th October PFA Meeting 7.30pm Thurs 13th October School Council Fri 21st October Showcase Mon 24th October NGV Excursion Yr.3 Wed 26th October Prep 2017 Transition 11.45am – 1.15pm Tues 1st November Cup Day Public Holiday

Our thanks go to Dickson Chong (Father of Jay Syn) for his excellent preparation and coaching of the team. Thanks also to Ben Wooster for his support of the children in this competition, and the other parents who came on the day. Well done to; Jonathon, Frederick, Aaron, Tarun, Caleb and Jay Syn.

What Makes a Great School?

Recently I came across this article about the Eight Traits that Make a School Great. Sir Ken Robinson is a world renowned educational academic and author and speaks from a respected and knowledgeable perspective. In the article (http://www.educatoronline.com.au/news/the-eight-traits-that-make-a-school-great-204307.aspx) he highlights the eight key competencies that great schools ‘bestow’ to their students. In summary these are: • Curiosity: The ability to ask questions and explore how

the world works. • Creativity: The ability to generate new ideas and to

apply them in practice. • Criticism: The ability to analyse information to form

reasoned arguments and judgements. • Communication: The ability to express thoughts and

feelings clearly in a range of media and forms. • Collaboration: The ability to work constructively with

others. • Compassion: The ability to empathise with others and

act accordingly. • Composure: The ability to develop a sense of personal

harmony and balance. • Citizenship: The ability to engage with society and to

participate in the processes that sustain it. How are we going? In recognising the changing world it’s interesting to note that none of the traits are those that were considered important when I was a primary school student (for example, ‘to be able to do long multiplication’ or ‘write a story with no spelling mistakes’). A successful student in today’s changing classroom is not someone who can retain facts and knowledge, but rather the development of personal character traits and skills such as critical thinking, creativity and problem solving - which will see them do well into the future.

Holiday Safety

As the school holidays are approaching, you may have plans to travel on Victoria’s roads. Significant rain is expected to fall over much of Victoria over the next few days, which may result in flooding.

Because of this rainfall, there is an increased risk to those travelling on our roads, and it is possible that houses across the State may be impacted as well. I urge you to heed the following advice from emergency services:

You should never drive through floodwater – it only takes about 15 centimetres of water to lose control of your vehicle.

Drive to the conditions around you and be aware of road hazards such as mud, debris, damaged roads and bridges.

Roads in your area could be damaged by the bad weather so plan your journey and monitor VicTraffic for road condition updates and any road closures, see: Vic Traffic

Never swim, walk or play in floodwater, it is dangerous and may contain hazardous debris or toxins.

If your property is at risk of flooding, please raise belongings onto tables, benches or beds and if you are on a farm, consider moving your livestock to higher ground.

Remain informed with emergency broadcasters to ensure you are up-to-date with the latest conditions and if possible, make sure your neighbours are aware of the situation. For more information, see: Vic Emergency

Happy Holidays

I’d like to wish all families and staff a happy and relaxing holiday break. A reminder that we will dismiss the children early tomorrow, at 2:30pm. Finally, I’m off to the MCG tomorrow night to cheer on the Western Bulldogs against the Hawks …….. Go Dogs! Woof! See you in Term 4, Andrew

MUSIC NEWS

This year’s Music Count Us In song has been released. The students have been listening to it and the Year 5/6s have created actions. The song is called Let it Play and was composed by four school students (no Essex Heights students this year ). The performance date for this year is November 3, 12:30pm – there will also be a sneak preview at Showcase (October 21). If you don’t know about this event, here is a little info… The idea came about as a way of promoting music in schools; each year, one song is written and thousands of schools across Australia sing the same song on the same day at the same time as a way of joining students, teachers, parents and friends nationwide to celebrate the importance of music and community. If you would like to listen to this at home, please use the following link https://musicaustralia.org.au/program/countusin/the-song/submit-your-song/ or search MCUI Let it Play in your web browser Happy singing

SUSTAINABILITY TEAM At Our School we: Recycle our paper and mixed recycling

Email our school newsletters instead of printing

Participate in the Rubbish Free Lunch

Recycle mobile phones, photocopier cartridges and

iPads

Send furniture and books to Timor Leste

Recycle food scraps by composting or feeding them to

the chooks

Encourage students to be responsible for their own

rubbish

Eat our lunches indoors

To all the families that participated in our Sustainability program at Essex by taking the bins out this Term we would like to say thank you. This program is not possible without your assistance.

Regards, Marita Steward and the Sustainability Captains

PARENTS AND FRIENDS NEWS

Hi All, I hope all the children enjoyed Hot Dog Day today. Thank you to Rosa Mahood and Stef Wendler-Canning for co-ordinating everything and thanks also to all the helpers that cooked and packed the 600+ hot dogs. Are you heading away for the School Holidays? There is an Entertainment Book for many regions of Australia, including Geelong and the Surf Coast, Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, Tasmania and others! Buy a book now and enjoy up to 50% off and 2-for-1 offers for hundreds of the best local restaurants, cafés, attractions, hotel accommodation, travel, and much more! Click HERE to order. Remember 20% of the purchase of every Membership sold contributes towards our fundraising. Wishing everybody safe and happy holidays. See you in Term 4. Andrea F

THANKS AGAIN TO OUR FATHER’S DAY DONORS

ACE Airport Parking

Airstream Cafe AMF Bowling – Laser Skirmish – Forest Hill

Bakers Delight – Burwood One

Box Hill Golf Club

Brumby’s – Mt Waverley

Drummond Golf Global Art Good Guys

Luna Park Morgans Paint Spot

Nevo Hair Design

Riversdale Golf Club

WRAMPS Fitness

Please support these local businesses that generously support the

Essex Heights Primary School PFA.

Berita Bahasa Indonesia!

Please see below regarding some upcoming events which may be of interest to our EHPS community.

The Museum of Indonesian Arts Inc.

The Power of Story: Sing me, Dance me, Play me, Read me, Tell me a story…

Time: An exhibition to be opened at 7 pm, Friday 7th October, 2016 Venue: Fo Guang Yuan Art Gallery, 141 Queen St Melbourne There will be a very special presentation of classical Sulawesi literature by Professor Barbara Hatley, Lily Yulianti Farid, Arma Marzuki and Muslimin Marwas Light refreshments by Ibu Diana will be served. The exhibition will be open from 3rd October to 25th November Monday to Friday from 10 to 4 o’clock

On each Saturday of the exhibition from 3 to 5 o’clock there will be a workshop: 1. 8th October, Beyond 'civilising mission' and 'national destiny' – a search for the beginnings of modern literature in Indonesia, Paul Tickell; 2.15th October, The amazing colonial publishing house ‘Balai Pustaka’, Dewi Anggreani; 3. 22nd October, Singing an Acehnese baby to sleep, Ari Pahlawi; 4. 29th October, Dancing a Panji story, Doctor Michael Ewing; 5. 5th November, ‘Si Kancil’ as a wayang story, Irene Ritchie; 6. 12th November, Weave me a Kalimantan or a Sumba story, Lauren Brand; 7. 19th November, Rendra and Indonesian Poetry. Professor Harry Aveling To raise funds MIA will raffle Illuminations: Writing Traditions of Indonesia by Ann Kumar and John H Mc Glynn at $5.00 per ticket.

CANTEEN

MONDAY 11.00 a.m.

3rd October

Stefanie Wendler-Canning, Sarah Cobelli

WEDNESDAY 10.00 a.m.

5th October Angela Hoemann, Lianqui Wang, Angela Millan

FRIDAY 10.00 a.m.

7th October Penny Fleming, Andrea Jordan, Caroline Thomas

If you are unable to help please ensure that you advise Maria as soon as possible. DON’T FORGET –

Please report to the Front Office to sign the Visitor’s Book and get a Visitor’s Label BEFORE proceeding to the Canteen. Any queries phone Maria on 0409 934 573

ESSEX HEIGHTS PRIMARY SCHOOL

Calendar

SEPTEMBER 2016

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday

1 ST Father’s Day Breakfast Yr.4 Sleepover

2ND

Father’s Day Stall Yr. 4 Ceres Excursion

5TH

6TH

7TH Prep 2017 Transition

8TH

9TH

12TH

13TH

Jump Rope for Heart 2.30-3.30pm

14TH

Engineers Without Borders Workshops Yrs. 5 & 6 Jump Rope for Heart 2.30-3.30pm

15TH

Footy Colours/Hotdog Day School Council 7.30pm

16TH

LAST DAY OF TERM 2.30PM FINISH

19th 20th 21st 22nd 23rd

25th 26th 27th 28th 29th

OCTOBER 2016 Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday

3RD FIRST DAY OF TERM 4

4TH

5TH Grade 6 Graduation Photo

6TH Engineers Without Borders Workshops Yr. 4 YR 1 Excursion ACMI

7TH Engineers Without Borders Workshops Yr. 3.

10TH

11TH

YR 1 Excursion ACMI Graduation Meeting 7.30pm

12TH

Prep 2017 Transition 11.45AM PFA Meeting 7.30pm

13TH

School Council 7.30-9.30pm

16TH

17TH

18TH

19TH

20TH

21ST

SHOWCASE

24TH

NGV Excursion Yr. 3

25TH

26TH

Prep 2017 Transition 11.45AM

27TH

28TH

31st

COMMUNITY NOTICE BOARD

Products & services advertised in Contact are placed on a paid basis and are not necessarily being promoted by Essex Heights Primary School

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