Volume 23 Issue 17 Thursday 08 June 2017

S tudent Leaders’ Presentations Last week, Judith Graley, Member of Parliament, attended our assembly to present our student

leaders with their badges. The School Captains and House Captains were called individually to be presented prior to having group photographs taken with Judith.

Judith often takes the opportunity to visit Brentwood Park Primary, in an official capacity, and her attendance is always warmly received.

Although our student leaders have been carrying out their respective roles admirably since earlier in the year, Judith’s busy schedule had prevented her from officiating at the presentation any earlier.

A collage of photographs featuring our school captains and house captains is on a following page,

P arent Modelling of Safe Practices Whether in the role of pedestrian or driver, it is important that adults model safe practices to their

children and to others! What message do we convey when we drive and park unlawfully or cross roads unsafely!

The City of Casey provides school crossing supervisors to enable parents and students to cross roads safely when

coming to school and when leaving school upon dismissal.

Please use the school crossing and then walk the short distance to your parked car. The safety of our children must come before any perceived slight inconvenience by not doing so! SAFETY FIRST.

Please DO NOT park in the school drop off/pick up zone. Please DO NOT double park alongside parked cars and please DO NOT park in the adjoining doctor’s surgery, kindergarten, bus stop or across residents’ driveways. Parking infringement notices have been issued previously.

C hinese Language and Culture This week, on Monday, we celebrated a little of our cultural diversity as we

were fortunate to have secured the Springvale Neighbourhood House Chinese Ensemble to perform for us! The ensemble entertained the assembled staff and students to Chinese music, dance and a demonstration of tai chi.

The following day, Mr Huot Seng Tran, the group’s leader and drummer, sent an email conveying the following words -

“I have performed at Mid-Autumn Festival, Lunar New Year Festival, Snow Festival and many more but performing at Brentwood Park Primary School was the happiest time in my life. I felt very happy in my heart. Australians helped me to be here. This was the time I felt I had been giving them something back in return. I love the kids there.”

www.brentwoodparkps.vic.edu.au

term dates 2017 term 1 31 jan - 31 march term 2 18 april - 30 june term 3 17 july - 22 sept. term 4 09 oct. - 22 dec

09 june report writing day (student free day) 12 june queen’s birthday public holiday 13 june year 2 seaweed sally incursion ($7.00 due 6/6 pay by qkr or csef) 13 june pizza lunch day 16 june keyboard performance at assembly 2:30 pm 27 june school council meeting 7:00 pm 02 aug - 04 aug year 5/6 camp at phillip island ($302.00 due 24/7 pay by qkr or csef)

jim bell, principal jenny reid, assistant principal

DATES TO REMEMBER

C.S.E.F. Applications are closing at the end of Term 2

C hinese Language and Culture The Springvale Neighbourhood House Chinese Ensemble entertained the

assembled staff and students to Chinese music, dance and a demonstration of tai chi.

T ai Chi Originating in ancient China, tai chi is one of the most effective exercises for

health of mind and body. Although an art with great depth of knowledge and skill, it can be easy to learn and soon delivers its health benefits for participants.

There are many styles and forms of tai chi, the major ones being Chen, Yang, Wu, Wu and Sun. Each style has its own features, but all styles share the same essential principles.

The essential principles include mind integrated with the body; control of movements and breathing; generating

internal energy, mindfulness, song (loosening 松) and

jing (serenity 静). The ultimate purpose of tai chi is

cultivate the qi or life energy within us to flow smoothly and powerfully throughout the body. Total harmony of the inner and outer self comes from the integration of mind and body, empowered through healthy qi through the practice of tai chi.

Lion Dance

Circle Time in 2CM

Circle time provides an opportunity to build up a real sense of community within the classroom. It is a unique chance for us to explore issues within the safety of our environment and the trust of each other. Importantly, the children enjoy it, it helps them feel listened to and it helps them to develop their language skills and their problem solving strategies. When participating in circle time, a number of important rules are followed, including: Everybody having the chance to speak. Listening respectfully to what a person says. Knowing that no statement or answer is wrong. Children only talking about their own issues and not someone

else’s. Knowing that circle time discussion is confidential to the group.

To help promote student resilience and wellbeing, at the end of each school day, the stu-dents are asked to share something that went well for them and why. Here are some of the children’s responses from this week which they have agreed to share publicly:

I liked making my rainbow picture with my sister. Karthika

I enjoyed playing with my friends because they make me smile. Ava

I got time to play and read books. That made me feel happy. Harini

I started to read dark blue books. Dimitris

I could have a sleep in and that made me feel happy. Tony

Maths went well today. I loved it! Tiara

I met some new friends, like Jogo. Hayden

I love reading so much and we got to do that today. Bailey

I was happy because we had a wonderful maths test. Milly

I had a good shot at solving division problems. Ace

My spelling test went well and I made a Chinese dragon in Chinese. Melodee

I liked playing with my friends because they were nice to me. Lilly

C hinese Language and Culture VICTORIAN SISTER SCHOOLS VISIIT TO CHINA

As informed previously, I am excited to be able to inform our school community that Jiangsu Education Services for International Exchange [JESIE] are providing funding support for the Victorian sister schools to visit China this year! Schools who wish to visit their sister schools in Jiangsu, China, in September will be provided with funding to partly cover the inland costs with each participating school only having to pay $1500 or $1850 per person, depending on the package option selected, for the whole trip which is including international airfares and visa fee! The more costly option includes an additional two days itinerary with a visit to Beijing and The Great Wall JESIE and Jiangsu sister schools will co-host the visit. JESIE will assist in organising the airport transfers and school transfers and all cultural tours in China and individual sister schools will look after the school and homestay programs. The bulk of the visit will take in the first week of the September school holidays! This is a great opportunity being afforded our students and I hope that with parent support, Brentwood Park Primary School will be able to participate.

This is a wonderful opportunity for our students and I remain hopeful that some of the families of our current Year 5 and 6 students will give this opportunity substantial thought with regards to participation. If any parent requires

additional information, please don’t hesitate to speak with me personally. Jim Bell, principal

C hinese Language and Culture CHINESE SISTER SCHOOLS VISIT TO VICTORIA

As you may be aware, last year in July, Brentwood Park Primary School hosted a very successful visitation from their Chinese sister school; Yangzhong Experimental Primary School. We were one of a number of such visitations facilitated throughout the state between Victorian schools and Jiangsu schools. Following their second successful visit to Victoria last year, the schools in Jiangsu would like to visit their sister schools in Victoria again this year. The school visits will be for seven days 24 - 31 July 2017. The maximum number of visitors will be twelve students and two teachers from each school. The host school activities / homestay arrangements would be similar to last year. This is a great opportunity for our school community and we remain hopeful that with support from volunteer school families, as we experienced last year, we can accommodate this year’s visitation. I will soon be forwarding more details to families and seeking interest for hosting. Research in sister school relationships often highlights the positive impact that such relationships can have across a range of areas for students, schools and the school community.

Sister schools contribute to:

Intercultural understanding within the school community

Increased global awareness and internationalisation within the school community

Opportunities to better understand one’s own culture/country

Personal development of the student e.g. leadership, maturity, independence

Improved ability of students to adjust to different situations

Opportunities for sharing pedagogies and engage in joint curriculum development

Opportunities for reciprocal travel

Enhancement of the reputation of the school FRIENDSHIP

Term 2 Week ending 2nd June 2017

FCV Kaitlyn For displaying B.P.P.S values and for being a great friend. Superstar! FBM Zac For being so enthusiastic during our visit to Myuna Farm! FJF Abhay For his great efforts in literacy groups. FSM James For showing confidence when counting to 20. FTL Heidi For the enthusiasm she shows in all her learning activities. FLP Akesh For working very hard to learn the names and sounds of the letters of the alphabet. You are a Superstar! 1HG Amanat For always focusing on the task at hand and ‘working tough’ to improve upon her personal best. 1MC Peyton For her outstanding improvements in writing - Well done; keep it up! 1NC Jamie For showing amazing comprehension strategies this week. Fantastic effort! 1MB Lucas For always showing kindness and care towards his peers! Well done! 1BV Blake For his excellent co-operation skills when playing maths games. Well done! 2DK Jack For his improved attitude and behaviour shown throughout all learning activities this week. Great work! 2CM Ava For the tremendous effort you are putting into your school work. You're a star! 2AD Lucas For his fantastic addition and subtraction work in maths lessons this week. Well done! 2RG Mabe For the connections made in her CAFÉ reading journal this week. Well done! 3CH Keisuke For creating a fabulously detailed geography project. 3SH Lotyli For your positive attitude when completing mathematical algorithms. 3MF Paora For demonstrating excellent listening skills during class presentations. 3LM Charlie For your great maths this week. Well done! 4MB Lincoln For always having a positive attitude and his willingness to give things a go. 4CP Adem For quietly achieving the best that he can. Fantastic! 4VK Michael For being a super hard working student and for being helpful to others. 5SM Audrey For being an awesome BPPS representative at the Monash Science School. Well done! 5JG Aimee For embracing the maths whiteboard challenge in 5JG. Great responses, Aimee. 5SI Bree For creating a highly engaging, creative and hands on maths game! 5LF Oakley For a great improvement in his reading comprehension. Well done!

Term 2 Week ending 2nd June 2017

Year 6 and ‘SPECIALIST’ Stars of the Week 6JP Jorden For her thoughtful manner and positive attitude to learning. Well done! 6JA Chanelle For an awesome Reading Journal on ‘Down the Hole’. Great job. 6JD Aryan For his excellent book on 20th century Australia! Great job! Health & P.E. 1BV For outstanding relay running and for wonderful football and soccer kicking. Health & P.E. FBM For your soccer skills which were amazing! Performing Arts 6JA For demonstrating creativity during the ‘Pairs and Chairs’ activity. Performing Arts 1NC For using their imagination to move like different animals. LOTE 5LF For being consistently well organised, peaceful, productive and efficient in learning Chinese. You are stars 5LF! LOTE 2DK For being efficient in learning Chinese, helpful and friendly in keeping Chinese classroom clean and tidy. Xie Xie. (Thankyou) 2DK! Visual Arts FJF For their wonderful play with clay! Visual Arts 3MF For excellent use of cool colours in their Monet art work.

A Musical Highnote: Karreena from 4MB sat her AMEB Grade One piano exam in April.

She was awarded a Pass with Honours.

Congratulations, Karreena!

Linda Moore

Performing Arts Teacher

SRC Update: Thank you everyone for your gold coin donations, for our free dress day, last Tuesday. Together we raised $703.25 for World Vision. With this money we purchased gifts for communities in need, in Africa. This includes classroom furniture, water sanitation, sports equipment, immunisations and learning supplies. For some of the poorest communities, these gifts will make a world of difference! Mehardeep, 4CP Thank you! Kind regards,

Jessica

P LEASE DIRECT MONEY FOR EXCURSIONS, ETC TO YOUR CLASSROOM TEACHER - NOT TO THE OFFICE.

Please hand money and permission slip in sealed envelopes to classroom teacher first thing in the morning. By following this process teachers are aware that your child will be attending the excursion and mark them off

their lists. Money is collected by office staff and processed each morning and a receipt given back to teachers along with permission slips. All money is tallied and banked daily – no money is left on the premises. If you wish to pay by credit card, a proforma is available from the office. This can be filled out with details and placed in a sealed envelope and handed to your classroom teacher

Please deliver cash in a sealed envelope with your child’s name and grade on the front by 9.30 a.m. If you have a number of children attending an excursion you can place all money and permission slips in the one envelope with children’s names and grades on the front and deliver to one of the children’s teachers. The office staff will be able to allocate money to the children’s particular items and distribute permission slips and receipts back to teachers. Enve-lopes are available at the office. If you have a large amount to be paid or need to process an EFTPOS transaction through a savings account you can make arrangements to pay at the office. We also have a new Qkr payment system on our Skoolbag app. If you download our Skoolbag app and Qkr payment app you can now pay for your child’s excursion on line.

All change will be delivered to the children in the afternoon. Re-imbursements will only be made under certain circumstances – they will be made by cheque (no cash transactions are made).

Notices are sent out with a final collection time – please adhere to this time. All money and permission slips are required to be sent back by this date – otherwise your child will not be able to attend. This enables us to confirm bookings and numbers with bus companies and organisations we are visiting. Also we need to send details to the De-partment of Education Emergency Management for all excursions, camps, etc. We also need to accommodate students who will not be attending.

We would appreciate it if parents could please follow these processes.