It has been a,

Thursday 15th February 2018

News from the Principal Meet & Greet Evening Our annual ‘Meet & Greet’ evening will take place next Tuesday. All families are encouraged to attend as this is a fun evening (with prizes up for grabs!) and a fantastic opportunity to get to know the school and some of our newer members of staff.

Newsletter Podcast in Dari

والدين و دوستان گرامى!

هفته نامه ى مكتب ابتداى دندينانگ در زبان درى/فارسى/هزاره مكتب ثبت شده SoundCloudگى ترجمه و در صفحه ى

مكتب به SoundCloudاست. براى دسترسى به صفحه ى

soundcloud.com/dandenongps مراجعه کنيد.

مكتب از خانم جيحونه معلم همكار مكتب براى ترجمه هفته نامه ابتداى دندينانگ تشكر ميكنيم.

لطفن به هفته نامه ى مكتب گوش دهيد و با دوستان تان شريك سازيد.

بااحترام

دنيال رايلى

مدير مكتب

Enrolments It is not too late to enroll for the 2018 school year so if you have friends, family or neighbours looking for a high quality education, drop in to the school office for our enrolment forms. We are very happy to help with extra information and with enrolment paperwork. Simply visit our school office. We’re Number One! This week it has been revealed that Greater Dandenong is now officially the number one most culturally diverse community in Australia! Check out the full story from the City of Greater Dandenong later in the newsletter….

Positive Climate for Learning Our 2018 school year is off to a highly focused start across the school. Our Foundation (Prep) children have taken to school like ‘ducks to water’. Children across Year 1 to 6 are enjoying the benefits of our clear and consistent expectations and have ‘hit the ground running’ with their learning in 2018.

Well done to all children, staff and volunteers for settling in so quickly to what will be a highly productive school year. Acoustic Treatment to School Hall We are very much looking forward to the ‘acoustic treatment’ paneling that will be installed in our hall in early March. This work should help make the broadcast of our ‘DPS News’ TV show and school assemblies much more friendly on the ears!

Assemblies in Term 1 Check out our assembly schedule for Term 1. Children love to have an audience along to assembly for our awards, DPS News TV program and for live performance so please come along and show your support!

Camps, Sports and Excursion Fund (CSEF) Have you completed and returned your CSEF form? This form allows eligible children and families to access camps, sports and excursions free of charge (up to total of $125). The form is available from the school office or online at http://www.education.vic.gov.au/documents/about/programs/health/csefapplicationform.pdf

Student Leadership Positions for 2018 The Year 5/6 children and staff are busy working through the selection process for our new school captains and ‘official’ student leaders for this year. Although we have a range of official leadership positions available for Year 6 children to fill, we Bunurong Smoking Cemermony On Friday 1st February we had Indigenous Australian, Adam (Bunurong man and archaeologist) along to conduct a smoking ceremony and Welcome to Country for the Dandenong Primary School community. A smoking ceremony is an ancient custom among Indigenous Australians that involves burning various native plants to produce smoke, which is believed to have cleansing properties and the ability to ward off bad spirits.

Dandenong Primary School in the News Dandenong Primary School was featured in last week’s Dandenong Leader and Herald Sun. If you missed the article, simply Google ‘Multicultural Greater Dandenongs Teachers are the Best’ or if you’re reading this online, click here Harmony Day This year’s Harmony Day will be celebrated on Wednesday 21st March. It is a day for celebrating Australia’s cultural diversity. Stay tuned for details about how we plan to celebrate this important date here at Dandenong Primary School. For more information about Harmony Day, visit: https://www.harmony.gov.au/

Dandenong Primary School Podcast If you’re wondering what Dandenong Primary School was like in the 1940s and 1950s, visit our SoundCloud page at https://soundcloud.com/dandenongps where we have two podcast interviews with Alan Robert who attended in the 1940s and Graham Ingles, a past student from the 1950s.

Join Our School Council School councils play a key role in Victorian government schools. The school council supports the principal to provide the best possible educational outcomes for students. Participating as a school council member is a rewarding and challenging experience. School councils work best when they have people from a variety of backgrounds and have different experiences The benefits of servicing on the Dandenong Primary School Council can include:

Having your say in what your school is doing for our children

Working to help present and future students of the school

Having your own children feel a greater sense of belonging with the school

Our School Council meets 8 or 9 times per year, usually from 5:30-7:30pm. If you would like to join, nominations are being called for now. You can arrange for someone to nominate you as a candidate or you can nominate yourself. Nominations close at 5pm on Monday 19th February. If you would like to find out more, please do not hesitate to see me or you can arrange to get in touch with one of our current school council members.

Bicycles Over Lunchtime (BoLT) South Port UnitingCare is back with its Bicycles Over Lunchtime program at Dandenong Primary School. Through participating in bike maintenance activities young people learn valuable life skills such as communication, leadership, responsibility and teamwork.

Pictured below is Salina and our group of Bicycles Over Lunchtime girls for Term!

Have a great weekend and see you on Tuesday afternoon and evening! Daniel Riley Principal

Greater Dandenong Officially Nations

Most Culturally Diverse Community 12 February 2018

From: http://www.greaterdandenong.com/news/2319/greater-

dandenong-officially-nations-most-culturally-diverse-community

Greater Dandenong is now Australia’s most culturally diverse community.

The latest Census figures reveal the level of diversity in Greater Dandenong is the highest in the country – closely followed by the Sydney areas of Strathfield, Burwood and Cumberland.

Greater Dandenong has long held claim to being the most culturally diverse city in Victoria but this is the first time in the city’s history it has ranked number one nationally.

Greater Dandenong Mayor Councillor Youhorn Chea said in Greater Dandenong the probability of two people coming from different birthplaces is 78 per cent.

“The latest census data shows the City of Greater Dandenong has residents from 157 different birthplaces and more than half of our residents are born overseas,” Mayor Chea said.

“More than four in five residents in Greater Dandenong have at least one overseas born parent.”

The latest Census data also revealed the following interesting facts about the City of Greater Dandenong:

In 2016 more than 70 per cent of residents spoke a language other than English – the largest in Victoria and more than double the metropolitan average of 31 per cent.

The top birthplace countries recorded in Greater Dandenong are Vietnam, Cambodia, China, India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Afghanistan, New Zealand and Great Britain.

Widely spoken languages in Greater Dandenong include Vietnamese, Khmer, Chinese, Greek, Punjabi and Sinhalese.

There are almost 2,000 Asylum Seekers in Greater Dandenong – the highest of any Victorian Municipality.

In Victoria the most diverse municipalities after Greater Dandenong are Melbourne, Monash, Brimbank and Wyndham.

Level Crossing Removal Community Event The Level Crossing Removal Authority be hosting a family-friendly event to say thank you for your involvement and patience during works. There will be kids’ rides, entertainment, a FREE sausage sizzle and information about the next phase of revitalisation works.

When: Sat 24 February, 9:00am to 12 noon

Where: Ross Reserve, Memorial Dr, Noble Park (Between the skate park and the aquatic centre)

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