Issue 21 – July 27th, 2017

Friday 28th July Year 3 and 4 Hooptime Basketball Competition

Monday 31st July Last Chance to Order State School Spectacular Hoodies

Wednesday 2nd August Breakfast Club

Friday 4th August SRC Jeans for Genes Day

Wednesday 9th August Breakfast Club

Wednesday 16th August Breakfast Club

Monday 21st August Year 5 and 6 Camp to Philip Island

Tuesday 22nd–28th August Book Fair - Times to be Confirmed

Wednesday 23rd August Breakfast Club

Friday 25th August Book Week Dress up Day “Escape to Everywhere”

Tuesday 29th August Three Way Conferences

Wednesday 30th August Three Way Conferences – Student Free Day

PRINCIPAL REPORT

Hello everyone,

SchoolTV Episode – click on the link at www.whittleseaps.vic.edu.au

In today’s digital environment, the internet can be viewed as a valuable tool for education, research

and entertainment. Young people today tend to go from one screen to another, but how much is too

much? Time spent in the ‘screen world’ has parents concerned that their kids may be missing out on

real life experiences. Therefore, it is vitally important to a child’s wellbeing for parents to regulate a

child’s internet use.

Internet addiction can cause significant psychological and social problems for children in years to

come. The true effects on future generations is not yet known, but there are strategies that parents

can implement now.

This month, Dr Michael Carr-Gregg discusses what causes internet addiction, who is most at risk and

what parents can do to regulate the amount of time their kids spend online each day. We hope you

enjoy reading this month’s edition and we always welcome your feedback.

To find out more, go to http://whittleseaps.vic.schooltv.me/newsletter/internet-addiction

Until next week,

Ty Hoggins

Principal

ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL REPORT

Hello everyone,

You may recall in May, our School Council endorsed a new school vision statement for Whittlesea Primary School.

The statement reads as follows:

At Whittlesea Primary School, the student is at the centre of everything we do. Our vision is to be an inclusive

community where learning is highly valued. We strive to develop and support the emotional, social and physical

wellbeing of the whole child. We create a positive climate for learning that encourages all children to become

collaborative and innovative members of local and global communities.

This week, we welcome two key initiatives to our school. Both embrace our school vision by supporting the

emotional, social and physical wellbeing of the whole child. Bikes Over Lunch Time (BOLT) is a male mentorship

school program, supporting boys to enhance their development and engagement with school through skill

building activities. A qualified youth worker and/or social worker from South Port Uniting Care facilitate the

program. The boys participate in a range of activities every Friday during first break, for the remainder of the year.

The activities provide an opportunity for the boys to gain practical skills in bike mechanics, restoration of bikes,

safety and maintenance. This program ran throughout first semester and was a huge success.

Additional to BOLT, this semester we are also fortunate enough to offer Cooking Over Lunch Time (COLT). Every

Thursday, a small group of children will be involved in a one-hour cooking session, where preparation of food and

cooking techniques, hygiene discussions and mentoring will take place. The students will sit at a set table to

share their meal. Youth leaders will also focus on correct table etiquette.

I would like to acknowledge our Wellbeing Leading Teacher, Betty Tzelepis for her ongoing commitment to

organising and supervising these programs in our school. I would also like to thank our ES staff member, Gordon

Phillips-Ross for giving his time to support the BOLT program on Fridays.

Every day at Whittlesea Primary School, many of our staff give their time to provide opportunities for children to

meet and connect through our clubs program. Below is the current clubs timetable. Please share these

opportunities with your child and remind them they are welcome to join in any day of the week.

T3

2017 Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

Before

School

Breakfast Club

Peter

(Gym)

Break 1

ICT Club

Mrs Fordham

(Library)

ICT Club

Mrs Fordham

(Library)

ICT Club

Mrs Fordham

(Library)

ICT Club

Mrs Fordham

(Library)

ICT Club

Mrs Fordham

(Library)

Drawing Club

Peter

(Library)

Knitting Club

Mrs Gittos

(Music Room)

Wood Craft

Peter/Mr P

(W4K’s room)

Break 2

Music Club

Mr Wright

(Music Room)

Lego Club

Mrs Kaur

(Library)

Everyone

welcome

Chess Club

Mr Gordon

(Library)

Year 4/5/6

Calm Club

Mrs Chong

(Library)

Everyone

Welcome

Crossover

Club

Mr Hough

(Gym)

Crossover Club

Mr Hough

(Gym)

Gardening Club

Various

teachers

(meet outside

the canteen)

Best wishes for a wonderful weekend with your family

Rae Gittos

Assistant Principal

STATE SCHOOL SPECTACULAR 2017

MASS CAST HOODIES/SEQUINNED JACKETS: REMINDER: ORDER FORMS AND PAYMENT DUE BACK TO SCHOOL NO LATER

THAN MONDAY 31 JULY 2017

Order forms available from the office.

GET YOUR TICKETS: To purchase tickets, visit www.ticketek.com.au/spectacular or phone

Ticketek on 132 849.

SCHOOL CHAPLAIN REPORT

Affected Children (part 1)

We have a problem developing in our present society, something past generations have not had to address. We

have a generation of children with a sense of entitlement with digital distractions all about them. Many of these

children have inadequate sleep and unbalanced nutrition and, because of the draw of the digital media,

practically live indoors when at home. Some of these children may feel emotionally isolated with no defined

boundaries or responsibilities. When they feel bored they are immediately entertained to the point that they

know nothing other than instant gratification.

The motivation to address this has to be a priority because studies are now showing that there are significant

increases in many forms of mental illness in this new generation. I have read an online article by Victoria

Prooday, an occupational therapist, who states that there is a 43% increase in ADHD, a 37% increase in teen

depression, and a 200% increase in suicide in 10-14 year olds (Google these stats and read the article). She is

anxious that parents appreciate the need for a drastic change on the home front.

We want our children to be happy and healthy so we have to courageously pull back on any indulgent

concessions that have crept in. Prooday claims that we can change our children’s emotional state in a few

weeks. She offers a lot of do’s, such as providing nutritious food and limiting snacks, setting an hour a day in

“green space”, having a daily technology-free family dinner, arranging that children do one chore a day, and

providing a consistent sleep routine in a technology-free bedroom. If we love your children, we’ll do it.

Peter Ackland - school chaplain

Star of the Week

Foundation

Powell

Awarded to: Lara Bevilacqua

For: Her enthusiasm during 100 days of

school.

Foundation

Starkey

Awarded to: Grace Greaves

For: Recognising more high frequency

words.

Foundation

McCormick

Awarded to: Laila Higgins

For: Having an amazing start to Term 3!

Well done!

Foundation

Perry

Awarded to: Zac Bruno

For: Coming to class ready and eager to

learn in Term Three.

Year 1

Mion

Awarded to: Jaxon Moro

For: Always working to the best of his

ability.

Year 1

Capito

Awarded to: Alannah Purcell

For: An excellent start at WPS, Well done!

Year 1

Fawcett

Awarded to: Hannah Griggs

For: Being caring and thoughtful towards

her peers during ‘talk time.’

Year 2

Pantos/Betty

Awarded to: Dusty Verbeeten

For: Such a solid effort on our first

homework task. Well done!

Year 2

Bell

Awarded to: Chelsea Devlin

For: Starting the term with a great

attitude towards her learning.

Year 2

Panahinejad

Awarded to: Nancy Greaves

For: Asking outstanding questions.

Year 3

Kaur

Awarded to: Kevin Ford

For: Having an excellent start to the term

and choosing a brilliant attitude.

Year 3

Vitale

Awarded to: Lincoln Sutherland

For: Showing our school value of

confidence by participating more in

class this week. Well done!

Year 3

Walsh

Awarded to: Mason Gillespie

For: Having a really positive start to the

term and completing all of his learning.

Year 4

Walsh

Awarded to: Josh Juraszek

For: Putting in 100% effort to al his

learning! Keep up the great work Josh!

Year 4

McCormick

Awarded to: Mia Augustus

For: Being a positive member in 4M and

trying her hardest.

Year 5

Dunstone/Pearce

Awarded to: Lily Bowen

For: Being a kind and helpful class

member.

Year 5

Maxfield

Awarded to: Andalees Edwards

For: Making a good effort with all of her

learning.

Year 6

Tolmay/Wright

Awarded to: Aaron Craker

For: Being kind to others and staying

focused on his learning.

Year 6

Goetzke

Awarded to: Ethan Reece

For: Being a great learner and displaying

our school values.

Year 6

Gambling

Awarded to: Dylan Rolfe

For: Excelling in the grade 6 program

within the first week. Keep it up.

Congratulations to all the students from Foundation A, Foundation S and 2P who have completed their

Premiers’ Reading Challenge for 2017. What a fantastic effort! Keep up the great work!

Congratulations to Jade McLay from year 5

who represented our school at the Northern

Metropolitan Cross Country in June. We are

very proud of Jade’s efforts in reaching this

stage of Cross Country.

Congratulations to Lachlan Roche from year 3 who

recently participated in the Hattah Desert Motorbike

Race. Lachlan placed 3rd in the 65cc for 7 to under 9

year olds. Well done Lachlan!

Jeans for Genes Day!

Friday 4th August 2017

Please wear denim and bring a gold coin donation to support Jeans for Genes

Day.

There will be a fashion parade at first break in the gym for students wanting to

show off their creative outfits.

All donations will go to the Children’s Medical Research Institute to help

discover treatments and cures, to give every child the opportunity to live a long

and healthy life.

We look forward to seeing your outfits on the day!

Thank you for supporting our event.

Made by Tayla Elovaris

THE EARN AND LEARN PROGRAM HAS STARTED!!!

We need your help to collect Woolworths Earn and Learn stickers for our school. These stickers will be used to buy new learning resources.

This year, we will be having a competition between all classes to see which class can collect the most stickers for our school. This will be a fun way to collect stickers with a cool prize at the end for the class who wins. You can get earn and learn stickers from any Woolworths store. When you are given the stickers you need to stick them on an Earn and Learn sticker book with your name and your class written on it. You can get a sticker book from Miss Vitale, Mrs Bell or at your local Woolworths store. When you fill up your sticker book you can put it in a collection box at one of the following Woolworths stores:

Mernda

Plenty Valley Westfield

Epping North

Or you can bring them to school and put them in the collection box in the office. Get collecting!! Your support is greatly appreciated! Thank you. Joanne Vitale and Laura Bell

SCHOLASTIC BOOK FAIR

We will be holding our Book Fair this term between 22nd August – 28th August. All

purchases earn learning resources and books for our school. Please come along to the

Library and support WPS.

2017 EXCURSION LEVY

The first instalment of the Excursion Levy of $40 was due on 28th February and the second instalment was due

on 30th June 2017. If you have not paid your levy in full, please contact the office on 9716 2140. Thank you.

PRE FOUNDATION 2017

Whittlesea Primary School is once again offering our highly successful Pre-Foundation program in 2017 for

children who turn 4 by April 2017. This program enables your child to spend quality time in our school with other

children who will be in Foundation in 2018. The program supports children to develop familiarity and feel more

confident within our school environment ensuring a smooth transition to school. We have places available for

our Tuesday session, please visit or contact our office on 9716 2140 to obtain an enrolment pack.

2017 BOOKLIST

Thank you to the families who have already paid the booklist fees and excursion levy for 2017. Please note that

booklist fees of $225 per student were due by Tuesday 28th February 2017. Please contact the school office if

you would like to organise a payment plan.

For those families paying by instalments the due dates are –

$55 due 28th February $55 due 28th April $55 due 30th June $60 due 31st August

Thanks to the generous support from Funfields Whittlesea, a random prize draw will be held after every 100

completed payments with the winner of each draw awarded a family pass to Funfields Whittlesea.

SCHOOL BANKING NEWS

The School Banking Program happens every Tuesday morning. If you would like to volunteer, please come to

the office, sign in and then come over to the Staff room.

When your child has 10 tokens, you can redeem your tokens for a reward item.

You can also visit -www.commbank.com.au/schoolbanking

to download and print this year’s reward card.

To receive your bonus interest, please make one deposit per

month into your Youth Saver Account. Happy Banking.

Jennifer Long

School Banking

Coordinator

CANTEEN

The canteen service provided by Metro Canteens operates every Friday. Families are able to place an online

order up until 11:30pm on Thursday each week. You will need to set up an account through –

www.flexischools.com.au Please contact the office if you would like a brochure sent home.

SCHOOL CROSSINGS

A reminder that children using the school crossings must not

Bounce their balls

Ride their scooters or bikes

Please talk to your children about the importance of following the crossing supervisor’s directions as we need to

keep all of our students safe while crossing the roads.

CAR PARKING

The Church kindly lets our school families use their car park. Please reverse park, and keep to the actual car

park area. Driving beyond this is not permitted.

Also, please do not use the disabled car park in the church car park or in the staff car

park unless you have a disability permit, we do have parents that require the use of this

space. Thank you.

COMMUNITY NEWS

Our next Market at the Secondary College is Saturday 19th August.

The market is a direct fundraiser for the school chaplains, Peter at Whittlesea Primary School, and Eva at Whittlesea Secondary College. All the proceeds from stall site rental and sausage sizzle go towards the School Chaplaincy program in Whittlesea. We hope the weather will be fine enough and that many from the school community are able to drop in for a time to have a cuppa from Kim’s coffee van, sample homemade goods and find a bargain.

Introduction to Basic Bookkeeping and MYOB A short course for those who want to learn how to use a computer-based accounting system (MYOB) to perform basic bookkeeping procedures. Location: Merrilands Community Centre Days: Thursdays, 12.30pm–3.00 pm Dates: 27 July — 23 November 2017 (no classes public and school holidays) Duration: 16 sessions Cost: Concession & Full: $43, Fee for Service: $371 + Service & Amenities Fee Additional cost: workbook (price $29) Spelling, Reading and Writing

A friendly and supportive class for people who want to improve their spelling, reading and writing skills for everyday transactions or for work or further study purposes. Location: Merrilands Community Centre Days: Wednesday evenings Time: 6.00pm—8.30pm Dates: Semester 2: 19 July – 6 Dec, 2017 * potential to join after start date Duration: Semester 2: 19 weeks (No classes during school and public holidays) Cost: Concession: $50, Full: $71, Fee for Service: $613 + Service & Amenities Fee

For more details please ring PRACE on 9462 6077 or

visit our website: www.prace.vic.edu.au