Website: www.portlandsthps.vic.edu.au Email: portland.south.ps@edumail.vic.gov.au

Issue No: 1—5th February 2020

Phone : (03) 5523 2911 PO Box 758, PORTLAND, VIC 3305

Portland South Primary School “Reaching for the Stars to Achieve SUCCESS”

Important Dates Tuesday 11th February Welcome BBQ—5pm-6.30pm

Wednesday 12th February Foundation Rest Day

Tuesday 18th February District Swimming—Breakfast Program Begins 8.20am-8.45am

Wednesday 19th February Foundation Rest Day

Thursday 20th February District Tennis

Wednesday 26th February Foundation Rest Day

Tuesday 3rd–Thursday 5th March STEM Grade 5/6

Friday 6th March Athletics Day

Monday 9th March Labour Day Holiday—No School

Friday 13th March Ride To School Day

Monday 23rd March District Athletics Day

Friday 27th March End Of Term 1

School and Staff News At Portland South we continue to grow. This year we are running 5 classrooms. We have a Foundation class, two grade 1/2 classes, a grade 3/4 and a grade 5/6. A big welcome to Mrs Natalie James who has been ap-pointed as one of the grade 1/2 teachers for 2020 and Mrs Jennie Houlihan who has been appointed as the grade 3/4 teacher. Mrs Dion Brugman will join our Edu-cation support team as an aide in Foundation for the beginning of the year. Mrs Jeanette Morton retired from teaching at the end of 2019, however you will see Mrs Morton around our school throughout the year as a casual relief teacher.

The Newsletter this week will be sent home as a hard copy. To help our environment

future Newsletters will be available through our Skoolbag App and via email.

Assemblies— Every Friday at 9.00am Please note that assemblies will be held each Friday from 9.00am until 9.20am in the Admella Hall. Our first assembly for the year will be held on Friday, 7th February. Assemblies are led by the Grade 6 student leaders and SRC leaders. Students who form part of the Student Representative Council (SRC) will be awarded their badges at the assembly on Friday, 14th February. Everyone is welcome! Playgrounds before and after school times Students should not be at school before 8.30am if possible UNLESS supervised by his/her parent. This is for safety reasons and we encourage all parents to support this routine. Every morning a teacher will be on yard duty from 8.40am and a staff member will be on yard duty at the end of the day. Before school reading begins every morning in all classrooms at 8.50am. Parents/carers are welcome to stay and en-joy reading time in their child/children’s classrooms. Welcome new students and families I would especially like to welcome any new children and their families to the Portland South Primary School community in 2020. We have welcomed many new families starting their school journey with us this year and are super excited to have you on board. We are really looking forward to the year ahead. I wish you all a wonderful start to the school year and all the best for 2020.

All the best Vicki

We Respect, We Challenge, We Achieve, We Believe

Principal’s Message

Welcome back everyone & welcome to the 2020 school year. Welcome Back! A very special welcome to all new students and families who are joining our community. Everyone at this school works together as a team to create a learning environment that provides a balance of encouragement, support and challenge. I sincerely hope you enjoy and relish your time at Portland South. We know you will! Teachers have spent many hours over the holidays organising their classrooms and preparing for another busy year of learning, fun and friendship. The school year commences with a unit of work, ‘Learning to Learn’. All grades are involved in this unit which supports each and every child as they step-up and into their new year level. We have high expectations for learning at Portland South P.S. The unit sets the standard for our discipline based learning programs (English, Mathematics, Science, Art, PE etc.) as new skills and understandings are taught about our expectations of the learning programs in each year level. We believe this ensures every student is well-prepared and supported for a successful academic year. There is an emphasis on learning tools and strategies, including goal setting, growth mindset, feedback, resilience, communication, independence and confidence, leadership, teamwork, curiosity and problem solving etc. Additionally, the unit explores Personal, Social and Emotional Learning. Teachers and students focus on building strong relationships and a dynamic community of learners as everyone settles into their new learning environment. An emphasis is placed on discovering the many ways individual learners learn, different ways of thinking and solving problems, agreements about working collaboratively and effective forms of communication. These learning skills fit perfectly with our school values of promoting resilient and confident learners.

IMPORTANT- Grade 1/2A James is a peanut free classroom. We have 2 children that have allergies to peanuts in this class. Thanks for your understanding with this.

Mobile Phones: On 26 June 2019,

the Minister for Education, the Hon.

James Merlino MP, announced a

new mobile phone policy for every

government school in Victoria. The new mobile phone

policy comes into effect this term- Term 1, 2020, and

requires that any student who chooses to bring a mo-

bile phone to school must have them switched off and

safely secured during school hours. At Portland South

all mobile phones must be handed in at the office at

the beginning of the school day and picked up at the

office at the end of the school day. Thanks for your

understanding with this!

STAFFING PRINCIPAL - VICKI FISHER

ADMINISTRATION STAFF

Karyn Barbary (Mon/Tues/Wed)

Dianne Rogers (Thurs/Fri)

WELLBEING STAFF

Steve Gunsser—Chaplain

Vicki Fisher– Wellbeing Coordinator

TEACHING STAFF

Alister Stannard—Grade 5/6

Jennie Houlihan—Grade 3/4

April Haby—Grade 1/2 B

Natalie James– Grade 1/2 A

Bernadette Gibbons—Foundation

Hannah Menzel—PE/PSD

Gaye Ellifson-Ryan—

Art/ Performing Arts/Library

INTEGRATION AIDES

Mallissa Sealey Dawn Reynolds

Anitra Hollander

ARRIVAL AT SCHOOL Students should arrive at school between

8.40am and 8.50am

Please wait until the 8.50am bell to

enter the school buildings.

Before-School Reading

8.50am—9.00am

Parents, Families & Carers Welcome.

School Captains:

Tighe Warburton & Taylah Convy

School Vice Captains:

Phoenix Stewart & Britt Walder

Burswood House Leaders:

Tighe Warburton & Diana Vazquez

Prospect House Leaders:

Oliver Chow & Erin McPhee

Wando House Leaders:

Andrae McTackett & Paige McKay

SRC Leaders

Dean Penrose &

Gracie Walder

This year we will have Friday morning assemblies in the Admella Hall

starting at 9am. Parents are welcome to join us.

Parents/guardians are required to

provide an explanation for their child's

absence from school, and schools must

record in writing the reason (if any)

given by the parent/guardian. This is a

legal requirement of the Department of

Education.

Schools must advise parents/

guardians of unexplained absences, on

the same day, and as soon as

practicable, if parents/guardians have

not notified the school of the absence.

If you have planned absences, eg,

family holidays within the school term,

please let the school know prior to your

departure. The school phone number is

5523 2911.

Absences may also be notified via the

Skool Bag App or email.

Our School has the Skoolbag App to help us

communicate more effectively with our Parent/

Student community. We are asking parents to

install our Skoolbag School App. To install it, just

search for Skoolbag in either the Apple App Store

or Google Play Store, install the Skoolbag app,

then tap the select your school search and type in

Portland South PS. If you would like help with

installing the app come and see Mrs Barbary in

the office. Please note that the Newsletter can be

accessed through this app.

8.40am Students may arrive at school (yard supervision begins)

8.50am Students enter classrooms for READING

9.00am Learning Time

11.00am Morning play

11.30am Learning Time

1.30pm Eat lunch in classrooms

1.40pm Lunch play

2.20pm Learning time

3.20pm Home time! Your child WILL need a healthy and substantial snack to eat at morning play time so that he/she stays switched on to learning until lunch time! ALL students will be supervised by their

teacher during lunch eating time.

BREAKFAST PROGRAM A whole-school Breakfast Program will commence

in Week 4 on Tuesday 18th February from 8.20am to 8.45am.

This will be held in our hall.

Students will be able to have Cereal, Toast, Milk and Tinned Fruit. Further options will be available

once we get the program up and running!

Steve Gunsser will be the co-ordinator of the Breakfast Program and would love to hear from

any parents, senior students or community members who may be able to lend a

helping hand.

Parents are welcome to come along and have a cuppa while the kids are having brekkie!!

The Camps, Sports and Excursion Fund (CSEF) provides a payment of $125 for eligible students to attend activities like: school camps, swimming, cultural activities and excursions. Who can apply? Families holding a valid means-tested concession card or temporary foster parents are eligible to apply. Eligible Students from 2019 can be rolled over if their concession card is still current. New students will receive an application form today. If your circumstances have changed since 2019 and you think you are eligible please see Di or Karyn in the office.

TYRENDARRA SHOW 8th FEBRUARY

There is no better fun for kids (and adults) than the Tyrendarra Show. This year the Show Feature is Poultry. Juniors are encour-aged in this section. There are lots of sections they can enter in :

horses; cattle (Junior Parading classes);

art (theme A. Let’s go feed Magie Chicken and Trevor Duck and Friends and B. Free choice) plus Specialist Section “machines (eg

tractors, motorbikes, trucks, rally cars etc); farm & garden (all children’s entries will receive a prize);

craft work (including Lego); floral Art; cookery;

photography; junior Show Kids; pet comp; scarecrow comp.

To see the schedule, have a look at the website:

www.tyrendarraagriculturalshow.com.au Facebook Tyrendarra Agricultural Show

Or contact Show Convenor Robyn Nunn on 0427295271

Please note that Lunch orders are available on FRIDAYS only.

A lunch order menu is attached below. Lunch orders should be clearly written on a brown paper bag with correct money provided if

possible. Orders MUST BE in the tub at the office by 9.10am.

Fridays LUNCH TIME—TERM 1 Quelch Fruit Sticks—50 c

Frozen Yoghurt Cups—$2.00 Paddle Pops/Frosty Fruits $2.00

Gardens for Wildlife Would you like to see more birds

in your garden? More bees to pollinate fruit and vege-

table crops?

Get together to establish a new Gardens for Wildlife program

in Portland 19th February 5.15pm

At Portland Library meeting room

or Phone Kathy 0407 234 240

to express interest

Smart Eating week is an annual initiative

facilitated & endorsed by the Dietitians

Association of Australia. The aim of the week is

to educate all Australians & encourage healthy

eating through smart but simple choices we can

make every day. Eating well is key to feeling

your best, both now and in the long term. Illness

prevention, body system functioning, strength &

mental health are all proven benefits from

nutritious food.

SEA Change Portland have put together a week

of challenges for our primary schools, as healthy

eating is essential for children’s growth and

development. Establishing good habits now can

help to prevent the development of chronic

diseases as a child or as an adult. Good nutrition

is key to meeting their unique needs. We

encourage parents and teachers to share with

their children as much as possible.

If you as a parent would also like to be involved, SEA Change have

created community challenges. Keep an eye on our social media

during the week for more information.

Athletics!!! Welcome Back!!!! As you all know term one is very busy and I just want to get in early with

some dates and special requests!!!! Our Portland South Athletics Carnival will be held on Friday the 6th of March.

This is the biggest event on our PE calendar for the year. At the moment I NEED around 10

parent helpers to support the staff and students throughout the athletics day. The main ‘job’

is an ‘Age Group Supervisor’. What is that? It requires you to accompany your child or a

group of children and their group to and from events and recording scores at each event.

Staff members will be responsible for coordinating each event but we cannot run the event

without parent support. If you are able to assist can you please let the ladies in the office or

your child’s classroom teacher know as soon as possible.

For those parents who have never had a child participate in a school athletics, here is some

basic information. Our students will be working hard during PE sessions and will be put through

their paces in a number of events including: Junior Events: High Jump, Long Jump, Shot Put,

Sprint, Hurdles and the senior students (ages 9, 10, 11 and 12+ years) have the additional

events of Triple Jump, Discus and Long Distance. The day is focused on participation. We

encourage all students to ‘have a go’. Students earn points throughout the day depending

on their individual performances. These points go to an overall ‘house’ points tally and at the

conclusion of the event one house will be victorious!! These points will also determine what

colour ribbon the students receive.

Students are also able to earn an age group champion medallion. This is awarded to the

student who demonstrates ‘outstanding’ results in each event. In past years the medallion has

been awarded to the student achieving the highest amount of points in each age group.

However, this year, in some age groups there are only one or two students in each group,

meaning these students could potentially win an age group champion medallion without

earning ‘outstanding’ results. As a staff we have decided, in order to be awarded a

medallion the student must achieve enough points to receive a blue ribbon, highlighting their

outstanding achievement. A certificate will be awarded to those students who earn the

highest amount of points per age group if they do not qualify for a medallion.

All families of Portland South PS

are invited to attend our

‘Welcome to 2020 BBQ’

on

Tuesday, 11th February at 5.00pm—6.30pm

Classes will be open for an informal

‘Meet & Greet’ with teachers from

5.00– 5.30pm and then

dinner will be served at 5.30pm onwards.

Hope to see you all there!

Please RSVP by Friday 7th February.

REPLY SLIP: FAMILY BBQ— TUESDAY 11th FEBRUARY

In order to assist with catering, it would be greatly appreciated if you

could complete and return the reply slip below by FRIDAY 7th of

February if you plan to attend the BBQ:

Family Name: _______________________________________________________

No. Adults ____________________ No. Children ____________________

Dietary Needs: If you have any specific dietary needs, please advise:

We have a shortage of

second hand uniform at

the moment. If any

families have uniform they

no longer use we would

greatly appreciate any

donations.

Hoodies are now

available from our

uniform shop

for $45!

In Term 1 students must wear school hats for all outside play and activities. Please see the

office if you need to purchase a hat!

Congratulations to Mariah,

Isaiah, Kaidyn and Torben

on the arrival of twin boys

“Ashton and Wahluu”.

Kaidyn you will be a

wonderful big brother.