Glen Waverley Primary

School

774 High Street Road

Glen Waverley 3150

Ph: 9802 9938

Fax: 9886 1590

Email: glen.waverley.ps

@edumail.vic.gov.au

Website:

www.glenps.vic.edu.au

Important Dates For Your Diary

March 24th

Twilight Sports 5.00 – 7.45 Whole School

March 28th

School Assembly - 9.00 am Whole School

March 29th

SMART8 Yrs. 4 – 6

March 30th

GWSC School Band in the Hall Whole School

April 1st District Athletics Yrs. 4 – 6

April 4th

School Assembly - 9.00 am Whole School

April 4th

ANZAC DAY Ceremony

April 5th

Student Leadership Day Yr. 6 Leaders

April 6th

Taste Experience in Hall Yrs. Prep, 1, 2

April 6th

SCHOOL PHOTOS Whole School

April 8th

LAST DAY OF TERM ONE Whole School

Early Dismissal 2.30

SCHOOL

LUNCHES

Lunch orders are

available from school

five days a week

The service is provided

by Gourmet Delish

9808 9838

Menus and ordering

procedures can be

obtained from the

School Office.

24th March, 2011 Term 1, Issue 4

G L E N WAV E R L E Y P R I M A RY S C H O O L

UNIFORM SHOP

Situated in the West

Wing on the School

Grounds

Open Monday between

3.00 – 4.30 pm

Closed Public Holidays

and School Holidays

Please bring your own

bag for purchases as we

are an environmentally

friendly school

Orders may be left with

the office – these must

be in an envelope

marked with the child‟s

name and grade together

with payment, correct

monies are appreciated.

PRINCIPAL’S REPORT

Dear Members of the Glen Waverley Primary School Community,

Wow, isn‟t it amazing just how quick the weeks seem to pass! All of a sudden we

only have two weeks remaining until the end of the first term of school!! It seems

that within a “blink of an eye” another week and fortnight has passed us by.

Naturally the devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan has been horrific news

and our thoughts and prayers are with those who have friends and relatives in that

part of the world.

Facilities Update

In the last newsletter I wrote an extensive article about the Building Futures program

and how it appears that our school is not earmarked for capital works in the near

future. Last week I obtained a copy of the Coalition Government‟s “Plan for

Education” and on pages 16 and 17 it clearly states which schools will be funded in

their first term of office. Although our school is not listed, it is pleasing to see the

vast majority of schools being those in the Eastern Metropolitan Region. We have

placed a copy of this public document on our school website for everyone to

download and I am interested to hear our school community‟s view on the document

as it clearly depicts the State Government‟s Education agenda.

Once again, what does this mean for our school? At this stage I am liaising with the

Regional Office and going through the process of trying to obtain additional

maintenance funding for our school. Hopefully a facilities audit will be conducted in

the not too distant future and soon after we should receive an injection of funds

which we can use throughout our school. Naturally I will keep everyone posted on

this issue and thank you to those members of the school community who have made

the time to see me about the Building Futures issue, to not only express their

disappointment, but also to support the notion of maintaining a positive and forward

thinking approach.

PRINCIPAL’S REPORT (Cont’d)

Our new building continues to move along at a rapid rate of knots. Efforts have continued with some of

the external underground drainage works and also internal components such as plastering and installing

insulation and the ceiling. The anticipated completion date is still the end of May or early June.

Walk/Ride to School Day Thank you to the families who made the special effort to either walk or ride to school last Wednesday. It

was wonderful to see the number of mums and/or dads who supported this cause and demonstrated that

with a little effort a significant health benefit can be obtained. Some families were so coordinated that

one parent rode with the children and then the other parent drove the family car to school in order to pick

up the bicycles as it wasn‟t possible to ride home due to other commitments – how amazing! Well done

and thank you to all of those who were able to support this very worthwhile cause.

Twilight Sports

A reminder that our annual Twilight Sports are to be held this afternoon commencing at 5 p.m. I hope all

families are able to attend and participate in the variety of activities. A sincere thank you to Sam Barnett

our wonderful PE teacher for all of the work she has undertaken to organise the activities and to the

Fundraising Committee for organising the BBQ etc. Looking forward to seeing everyone tonight ready

for the various races and events!

Also thank you to the parents who assisted with the “last minute” sausage sizzle on Friday 11th

March as

a result of our initial date for the Twilight Sports having to be postponed. The children thoroughly

enjoyed having either a sausage or vegetable patty for lunch and this certainly made up for some of their

disappointment.

Regional Swimming Carnival

Congratulations to Karan, Aaliya, Krishanu and Rajith for the wonderful efforts in reaching the recent

Regional Swimming Carnival – this really is an amazing effort and only one step (or in this case, a few

seconds away from making the State Finals). Karan finished 2nd

in the 12 year Breaststroke and 3rd

in the

Freestyle and the relay team (all 4 children) finished fourth. Unfortunately only first place proceeds to

the next stage. However I am sure everyone will agree that the children‟s efforts are absolutely

outstanding and a real credit to themselves, their families and our school. We mustn‟t forget that Karan,

Aaliya, Krishanu and Rajith decided to make up a relay team amongst themselves and managed to

qualify for the regional level. Well done Karan, Aaliya, Krishanu and Rajith we are all so proud of you!

New Out of School Hours Care Coordinator

For those who may not be aware, David our OSHC coordinator has decided to go on an extensive

overseas holiday to the United States and then to Europe for the next ten months. As a result, we have a

new coordinator, Victoria, who has been working in the program for the last two weeks in order to

familiarise herself with the children and program. We wish David well on his travels and we look

forward to hearing all about them when he returns in 2012 and warmly welcome Victoria to the Glen

Waverley Primary School family.

Athletics Day

What an outstanding success last Thursday‟s Year 4 – 6 Athletics Day was. It was absolutely marvellous

to see the students thoroughly enjoy themselves as they participated in various events throughout the

day. One of the purposes of the day was to select the students who will go on to represent our school in

the District Athletics event on Friday 1st April. A sincere thank you to the parents who were able to

assist on the day, families for organising the children in House colours, to Sam Barnett for her

outstanding organisation, to all of the teachers for all of their hard work and our wonderful House

Captains for their outstanding leadership on the day. Congratulations and well done everyone!

The Prep to Year 3 students held their athletics day on Tuesday and once again this was a resounding

success as they were provided with the opportunity to tryout and participate in various events. A sincere

thank you to the numerous parents who were able to assist on the day – once again this is very much

appreciated!

School Improvement Day

What a pleasant surprise it was to finally have a nice day for us to conduct a School Improvement Day –

the last one (Term 4 2010) was cancelled because of inclement weather. A sincere thank you to all of the

families who were able to participate and assist in improving our school. Tasks completed included:

Preparing the large pot plants for planting (the Smart8 gardening group have subsequently filled these

with plants and now they look wonderful), extending the height of the vegetable patches, general weeding

and gardening and preparing the art room stools and tables for painting.

I would also like to thank Paul Van Den Bergen and Marion Barnes for their leadership and coordination

of the day (unfortunately I was not able to attend as I had a family celebration) – well done and thank you

Paul and Marion!

Royal Children’s Hospital Good Friday Appeal

The Royal Children‟s Hospital have gone on-line with the Schools for the Kids system replacing the

paper-driven „school envelope campaign‟ with a once-a-year Online Donation Facility tailored to our

school that is quick and simple to use and environmentally friendly.

For the first time in the 80 year history of the Good Friday Appeal, Victorian Schools will be able to

fundraise directly towards the purchase of state-of-the-art equipment to improve the lives of our children.

In 2011, the Royal Children‟s Hospital has identified equipment needed for the new and soon-to-be-

opened hospital that will dramatically improve the diagnosis and treatment of children with eye disorders.

And our school community has been invited to be a part of this exciting fundraising campaign.

Victorian schools have always been the life-blood of the Good Friday Appeal. In 2010, school

communities raised the fantastic sum of $182,421.00. This year Schools for the Kids is hoping to raise

$230,000 to purchase two new state-of-the-art machines - an Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT)

Machine which has revolutionised the study of the retina and optic nerve, providing more accurate

diagnoses of eye disorders and diseases and an Electrophysiology Machine which offers the latest in

computerised analysis of visual function particularly in children who are intellectually disabled.

How do families donate?

Log in to: http://fundraise.goodfridayappeal.com.au/glen_waverley_primary_school Then click on

“Donate Now” families have the option of donating $30, $50, $100 or any amount you like. There is also

the opportunity of sending a message as well. The Student Leadership Team will also hold a fundraising

event at school where the funds will go towards supporting the Royal Children‟s Hospital Good Friday

appeal.

Education Week

As mentioned at assembly on Monday, from May 16th

to 20th

our school will be celebrating Education

Week and this year‟s theme is “Celebrate Family”. As a result we are asking every student and staff

member to bring a photo of them with their family to school. The photos will be used for each class to

demonstrate where their families originate from – each class will subsequently create a montage (display)

with an A3 map of the world. The photos and map will be on display during Education Week. Please

ensure that your child brings a photo to school to help us “celebrate our families” at Glen Waverley PS.

Last week a planning team commenced preparing for Education Week and I look forward to sharing the

wonderful activities and events with the school community shortly.

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE FOLLOWING STUDENTS WHO RECEIVED A

PRINCIPAL’S AWARD RECENTLY:

0DJ: Lily, Binu, Valerie, Anvita and Serandi for being very helpful to a friend

3TJ: Racine, Ellen, Dilni, Adam and Helini – for wonderful writing (Racine‟s and Helini‟s pieces are

featured in this newsletter)

6ND: Janette and Pamodi for being outstanding leaders and helpers during the sausage sizzle

PRINCIPAL’S REPORT (Cont’d)

BIRTHDAYS Happy Birthday to the following students who celebrated their special day recently:

0LG: Min

1KC: Kammi

3TJ: Adam

5AP: Sarah

5MP: Shay and Cindy

5/6S: Devmith

6JA: Winnie and Sunil

6ND: Caroline

6RL: Kevin

Wishing everyone a safe and happy fortnight,

Frank Catalano

Principal

PRINCIPAL’S REPORT (Cont’d)

Writing samples from Racine and Helini (Year 3)

The Year 3 and 4 students went to the Immigration Museum on Thursday 10th

March as part of their

current unit of work. Below are samples of some of the writing completed upon their return. Racine has

written a Recount and Helini a Persuasive piece – congratulations and well done girls!

At the museum, we first went to the special stamps. They had lots of stamps and our class got to use the

stamps. They were African stamps. Next we went to see the special stuff from Africa, masks and jewellery.

Then we watched a documentary. After that, we went to the “Pack Your Bag” room and a lady told us

about Cuc and Min from Vietnam. They did not like the war in Vietnam so they had to have another plan.

They had to secretly get on a boat because the soldiers didn‟t let people escape. Some of us got dressed up

in Vietnamese hats.

By Racine 3TJ

Mr Catalano should go to the Immigration Museum because there are lots of interesting things like stamps

from Africa that mean something like peace. Also you can explore the museum. There are masks,

jewellery and videos that are about immigrants. I went in a ship that is like a home. It has bunk beds, a

dinner table and a bathroom. This was one way people came to Australia. This is why Mr Catalano should

go to the museum to see interesting facts about immigrants.

By Helini 3TJ

Jokes by Vincent N (Year 2)

Why was the nose tired of going to

school?

Because he was tired of being picked on.

What did the big chimney say to the little

one?

Aren’t you too young to smoke?

Well done and thank you Vincent –

some very funny jokes here.

HOUSE WEEKLY PROGRESSIVE

FAWKNER 48 315

HUME 54 293

LA TROBE 48 319

MITCHELL 47 326

Artists in Schools Program

A Victorian Government Initiative

Artists in Schools program is a Victorian government initiative in conjunction with Arts Victoria that gives primary and secondary students an opportunity to work with professional artists. The program offers short term and long term residencies to allow artists to work directly with students on creative projects. These projects can involve various arts forms such as the performing arts, visual arts and literature. Glen Waverley Primary School is one of the 30 recipients of 2011 Artists in Schools Program grant. The school received $6,500 for a performing arts project which allows collaboration with artist Ms Sabrina Chou for up to 20 days. Ms Chou is an artistic director of Sabrina’s Dance Troupe (Website: www.sabrinadance.com.au) and a regular performer and dance teacher in the Chinese community in Melbourne. Our project title is ‘Monkey King’s Journey Down Under’ and it has the potential to engage students in learning across the VELs curriculum of LOTE, Visual Arts and Performing Arts. Year 5 and 6 students will write a script based on the Chinese text “Journey to the West’, featuring the legendary character Monkey King. The artist will teach a variety of dances and percussion through workshops with them in preparation for our school concert. The Artists in Schools program will commence in Term 2 and the students are looking forward to participating in this creative school based performance project. Mrs. Poh-Eng Sia LOTE Teacher

On Friday 11th

March, four of our students, Krishanu, Rajith, Karan (grade six students) and Aailya (grade five) swam in the four by 50m freestyle race at the Regional Swimming Championships held at Ringwood Aquatic Centre. They swam their very best and did Glen Waverley Primary School proud, coming forth by .22 of a second. Karan went on to compete individually in the 50m freestyle and breastroke, finishing the day with two medals, a silver for his breastroke and bronze for his freestyle. We are so proud of each swimmer’s achievements and encourage them to continue their love and passion for swimming.

Ride to School Day on Wednesday 16

th did see some students leave the family car at home

and choose alternate modes of transport to come to school. Scooters and bikes were the most popular and an active start to the day is great way to wake the body up ready for learning. We hope to have more days such as this throughout the year to encourage greater physical activity amongst our students as well as environmental benefits of not driving to school. The weather was finally kind for us and allowed the Senior Athletics Carnival to go ahead last Thursday on the school oval. With all grade four, five and six students competing in numerous events, those they had shown talent in during class trials, it was lovely to see the strong team spirit, great sportsmanship and students trying their very best. From the days results we now can make our district team that will compete at Bill Sewart Athletics Track in Nunawading on Friday April 1

st. These

teams will be up by the end of the week. Congratulations to Hume who were the winning house on the day.

The junior ‘Aths Fun Day’ was also held on the school oval this Tuesday gone. Despite miserable skies and foggy like conditions in the morning, students had an absolute ball working through eight different stations of modified athletic and motor skill development activities. The focus of the day was ‘Trying your best,’ ‘Sportsmanship,’ and ‘FUN’ and this was certainly achieved by all!!!

A final congratulations to Sarah, Isabella (grade five students), Aneash and Jason (grade six students) who represented Glen Waverley Primary School at the SDSSA tennis trials on Monday night. Sarah, Isabella and Jason have made it through to the next round and will now participate in the District Championships to be held at Monash University next Thursday. We wish them the best of luck.

On Thursday the 17th March, the year 4’s, 5’s and 6’s had their Inter-house athletics carnival. There were 8 sports: Shot-put, Discus, High Jump, Long Jump, Triple Jump, Sprints, Long Distance and Hurdles. Many of us wore our house colours and sprayed our hair. We had an awesome fun day competing against our fellow class mates!

The results were......

1st – Hume 2nd – Fawkner 3rd - Mitchell 4th – Latrobe Everybody had lots of fun jumping the new hurdles, competing for their houses and earning the ribbons. We would like to give a very big thanks to Miss Barnett for organizing this big day for us. Also, thanks to the House Captains for setting up everything for us. Miss Barnett woke up very early! TWILIGHT SPORTS ARE THIS THURSDAY!! [24th March] GO ALL HOUSES!

~Emily, Akalanka, Clara and Lahiru~

Thursday the 10th

of March, 2011 was an exciting

day for grade 3 and 4 as we all went to

immigration museum to learn more about

immigration in Australia. We went in 2 buses that

took all of us to the amazing museum. We learnt

about African culture and used wooden stamps to

print different symbols on paper – Ellen.

Some of the symbols we printed were for

bravery, peace & harmony and excellence –

Channa.

We learnt about Vietnamese couple Cuc & Min Lam and how they escaped

from Vietnam in a boat to Australia – Neel.

We had a great time-3TJ

We saw how two

people’s life changed in

Vietnam war-Adam.

We learnt about

immigrants and the

families who came to

Australia-Helini

Immigration & Families

I liked the ship and the bunk beds in

it. I had a great time in immigration

museum-

Behnam.

We saw African jewellery-Destiny.

Environment Improvement Day

On Sunday, March 20th, the School Council Resources Committee organised the first

Environment Improvement Day for the Year. We had an excellent response from

parents and we would like to thank the following families:

Luong- Thanff Kalansooriya Alujiage Don Balasuriya

Liyanangedara Lin Yew Wijeserkara

Silva Ranasinghe Jayasuriya Mallawapitiya

Samnani Ganhdi Quach Chompff

Athukorala Roberts Van den Bergen Galpayage Don

This amazing team managed to fill the large pot plants with soil so they can be planted out by the children, cleaned up the garden beds, planted the apple tree, sanded down and prepared the Art Room stools and tables for painting, and installed the additional planks of the vegetable garden beds. Our appreciation goes to all the families for their efforts.

A special thank you to Bunnings for discounting the plants we bought.

EASTER FAMILY NIGHT Thursday 14

th April 6pm – 8pm

Come into Bunnings for an evening of Easter fun. We have an Easter egg hunt and a visit from the Easter Bunny between 7pm & 8pm. Refreshments will be provided. *Bookings essential ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- KIDS’ EASTER SCHOOL HOLIDAY WORKSHOPS & CLINICS Tuesday 12

th April 10:30am – 12:00 & 1:00pm – 2.30pm

Kids’ Workshop Imagine Creation – Craft to create using your own imagination *Bookings essential Thursday 14th April 10:30am – 12:00 & 1:00pm – 2.30pm Kids’ Workshop Imagine Creation – Craft to create using your own imagination *Bookings essential Sat & Sun 16

th & 17

th April 9.30am – 1.30pm

Kids’ Clinic Easter themed activities. Visits from the Easter Bunny – Saturday 11am – 12pm & Sunday 1pm – 2pm ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------- Tuesday 19

th April 10:30am – 12:00 & 1:00pm – 2.30pm

Kids’ Workshop Make your own Blackboard. *Bookings essential Thursday 21

st April 10:30am – 12:00 & 1:00pm – 2.30pm

Kids’ Workshop Make your own Blackboard. *Bookings essential Sat & Sun 23

rd & 24

th April 9.30am – 1.30pm

Kids’ Clinic Easter themed activities. Visits from the Easter Bunny – Saturday 11am – 12pm & Sunday 1pm – 2pm ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------- *Bookings Essential There are limited places available for each of the above activities please make your booking at the Service Desk or phone Tel: (03) 8805 0800 Bunnings Warehouse 606 – 634 Burwood Hwy Vermont South Tel: (03) 8805 0800

The advertisements in this newsletter are in good faith but no responsibility as to the quality of the

products or services offered is accepted by the school.

Wantirna Jetsbacks Basketball Club Winter Season is

READY TO FLY!!! Come and join us for our 2011 season.

Basketball is a great way for boys and girls to learn about teamwork, sportsmanship, hand eye co-ordination and fitness. The games

for the U8, U10 and U12 are all held indoors on Saturday mornings at venues around Knox, and go for about 45 minutes. Training

sessions are held once a week, the time and date varies depending on the coach.

Wantirna Jetbacks Basketball Club have a great reputation in Knox for our junior development and support. Basketball also

offers lots of opportunities for parents to be involved!

If you have a child between the ages of 6 and 12 who would like to be involved, or if you have any questions

please call Emma Raymond 97634240 or 0423 862 468, before 26th

March 2011.

Forest Hill Baseball Club

Junior Come and Try Days Dates: 2nd and 9th April Times: 12:30pm - 2:00pm

Looking for boys and girls to play in our

T-ball, Under 13, 15 and 17 teams. Come and give baseball a try.

For more information check the Website:

foresthilleagles.baseball.com.au

Contact via e-mail: fhbaseball@gmail.com

Oakleigh Chargers FC & Richmond FC

SCHOOL HOLIDAY JUNIOR FOOTBALL SUPER CLINIC

Tuesday 19th April, 2011 9.00AM – 3.30PM

Warrawee Park, Warrigal Rd Oakleigh (Mel Ref. 69F7)

Clinic for Primary School Aged Players Players of all standards welcome Innovative and fun program provided Terrific skills coaching program with

Accredited Coaches Includes Football for each child

Any enquiries can be directed to Oakleigh Chargers on 9563 0588 or email admin@chargersfc.com

The advertisements in this newsletter are in good faith but no responsibility as to the quality of the

products or services offered is accepted by the school.

Home ground - High St Rd, Ashwood

Under 9 Mixed & Under 15 Girls Waverley Hockey Club is seeking experienced players for the Under 9 (mixed) and Under 15 Girls competition.

Want to try Hockey? Sign up for

Minkey Minkey aims to introduce children of all ages to the game of hockey. The children progress through skill levels gaining awards / certificates as they progress. The program runs on smaller sized field (than competition hockey) and consists of skill based activities and a simplified game. Enquiries, Registration & More Info http://www.waverleyhc.org.au/juniors

THE BESTCHANCE MULTICULTURAL FESTIVAL

See... Taste... Savour... Listen... Enjoy... Learn

Sunday 27th March 2011 12:00pm to 6:00pm

583 Ferntree Gully Road, Glen Waverley

The bestchance Multicultural Festival, in partnership with Connections UnitingCare, will be held on Sunday 27 March at bestchance in Glen Waverley. Come along and celebrate Cultural Diversity Week with us. The festival is open to all and aims to provide all attendees the opportunity to share and experience the richness of different cultures in our community. Highlights include an opening ceremony with ‘Welcome to Country’ by Wurundjeri Tribe Elder, cuisines from our diverse community, performances and arts and crafts from multicultural groups and a workshop tent with free cookery demonstrations and activities. This family fun day also has entertainment for the kids with a petting farm, fairy floss, jumping castle... and much, much more. For more information visit www.connections.org.au or contact Communications Officer, Connections UnitingCare, Kirrilee Torney on 03 9271 0816.