So Much To Share

Week eight has come and gone and there are only two weeks remaining for this term. It has, as always, been a very busy and productive month with many wonderful things to be proud of as a community. State schools are great schools and at Truganina South we work hard to provide all students with the learning and care they require to be happy , resilient students and foster in them a love for learning that is life long.

A few very special events deserve special mention.

On May 30th a small but enthusiastic congregation of families gathered for our combined Education and Reconciliation Week event. It began with a smoking ceremony, recognising our First People and then families engaged in a number of activities focusing on what the world might look like in 2040. Thank you to all the families and staff who joined in the many activities and got into the spirit of learning.

On Wednesday June 13, students Madison Dial, Charan Nunna, Faiza Shuhrat and Logan Scaglia accompanied Vanessa Smith (by train no less) to the Melbourne Cricket Ground where the ResourceSmart Schools Sustainability Awards were announced. Our School was nominated for two categories- The Primary School Student Action Team and the Science Teacher of the Year Award. It is with great pride and pleasure I announce that TSPS won both categories. Congratulations to our Green Team and to our wonderful, Science teacher extraordinaire, Vanessa Smith. Worthy winners. As a school community we will work hard every day to ensure that we live up to this recognition, because our planet and future depend upon it.

On Friday afternoon I was also informed that Truganina South Primary School is a finalist in the Keep Australia Beautiful Sustainable Cities Awards. We have been nominated for the Active Schools category. This is in recognition of our contribution and involvement in such initiatives as Greening the Pipeline, Tree Planting Day and Clean Up Australia Day. We have also been recognised for the work we do in protecting the Growling Grass Frogs in nearby Skeleton Creek and for our own school based sustainability initiatives and projects. Another great accolade. Thanks to Vanessa Smith and Genn Collier in particular for leading this work.

In Week 8, our School Wide Positive student leaders worked with student leaders from Laverton P-12 College by leading the Respectful Relationships Student Forum. These students are Annie Tehri, Cooper Haynes, Aarav Charan, Swasthika Rithik, and Haniel George.

Hosted at TSPS, many neighbouring schools, along with some of their teachers attended this event. Our students led with confidence, enthusiasm and pride. The focus was "Bystander vs Upstander" and teams of students explored the actions they can take to empower themselves and their peers to be people of action not followers. Jarrod and Libby, the RR facilitators had nothing but praise for the leadership shown by our students. Plans are already afoot as to how our leaders can share these learning experiences across the school. Important work.I acknowledge and congratulate Alex Wren, Kara Gatt, Lis McLean and Jen Stirk for their support and guidance.

A small number of Year 6 students currently attend a weekly Science Extension Program at Hoppers Crossing Secondary College. For two hours each Wednesday from 2—4pm James Liu, John Park, Vishwa Cholera and Ipsa Chatterjee attend along with students from Woodville, Bellbridge, Mossfiel and Cambridge. They inform me that for the past seven weeks the focus has been on all things to do with Chemistry– in particular separation techniques. The next focus will be biology. Public schools coming together to learn. How amazing!

Combined Schools' Curriculum Day

This coming Friday June 21 we have the opportunity to showcase our school when 180 colleagues from other schools join us in our Combined Schools Curriculum Day. The focus will be on Reading and Writing. Schools will share best practice through workshops and Misty Adoniou is our Keynote presenter. She is an Associate Professor in Language, Literacy and TESOL at the University of Canberra. 260 colleagues will be inspired by her and will spend the day learning from each other. I thank our colleagues who will be presenting– Lisa Sarpa, Janis Mesiti, Michael Gerber, Cass Beckman, Nicole Spitalieri and Alex Wren. Tremendous leadership. A reminder to all that STUDENTS are NOT required at school on Friday.

Again, Public schools coming together to learn from each other.

Parent Teacher Interviews

At TSPS, teachers are busy preparing reports for parents as part of Semester One Achievement and Goal Setting. Parent Teacher Interviews will be held for our Prep families Thursday June 28th. This will allow for Liz Mc Lean to meet with her parents before she takes her leave. The remaining P-T Interviews will be held in Week 2 Term 3, with bookings available in Week 1, Term 3 via Compass.

End of Term

A reminder that Term 2 ends Friday June 28 at 2.00pm. Please note this earlier dismissal time and make arrangements for your children to be collected at the right time. I do wish everyone a safe and restful vacation.

Safety

Again I find myself addressing issues of concern especially with regard to the way we move around the school perimeters. The traffic issues are still concerning, with members of staff on duty putting themselves at risk as they step out onto the road to direct traffic and move along drivers who are not adhering to the signs. I have noticed an increasing trend whereby many adults and student are using the staff car park entrance to walk or ride bikes as they enter and exit the school This is an ABSOLUTE NO GO ZONE. The car park is for staff members only. Please do not put students at risk by modelling this behaviour.

China Sister Exchange Trip

Brianna Morelli and I had a wonderful, albeit whirlwind, experience in China a couple of weeks ago. The primary purpose of our trip was to visit schools across provinces in China and sign sister school agreements. We visited four school in three days, spending the greater part of the remaining time in transit in cars and bullet trains. The landscape of China is definitely changing and evolving with much western influence apparent especially in building and construction. In Yiwu province we visited Dongzhou Primary School, Futong School and Binwang Primary School. In Nanjing we visited Nanjing Gulou Experimental Primary school. TSPS has signed a sister school agreement with Binwang Primary and we look forward to making other connections and hopefully hosting a visit by a group of students from China mid Term 3. We have been given wonderful gifts from our sister schools. It is true. Children all over the world smile in the same language! Yuanbin Wei and I also recently met with the Director of the Confucius School (Victoria University) to explore other options available to us for the provision of more Chinese cultural experiences as well as more language learning opportunities for our students. We have also applied for a Chinese Assistant in 2020.

An Apology

I wish to express my sincerest apologies for any discomfort and inconvenience caused in the early hours of Wednesday morning when our school sound system was set off following a power outage.

It was an extraordinary event beyond our control. I want to reassure you that I am following this up with our private partners in order to prevent this from happening again.

Please note the following contact number for use should this situation ever occur again.

Cushman and Wakefield

24/7 Call Centre

Phone 1300 724 787.

Community

TrugHub is back on track. This is an amalgamation of three entities- TSPS, YMCA and ARNDELL PARK- working closely together to bring services to and connect the Truganina community. There are a couple of events I wish to flag and there are flyers with more information attached to this newsletter. The ADHD Conference will be held on Saturday July 6th at the Encore Centre in Hoppers Crossing. Families and educators are welcome. Registrations are required and there is a cost attached to the day.

We will be marking NAIDOC Week during Week 1, Term 3.. There are events taking place at Werribee Secondary College, July 3rd 11-3pm. See flyer attached.

The Victorian Government is banning all e-waste from going to landfill as of 1 July 2019. E-waste (electronic waste) is any item with a plug, battery or power cord that is no longer in working condition. Including small appliances such as toasters and coffee machines, electric tools like drills and sewing machines and IT equipment such as computers and laptops.

In keeping with our focus on Sustainability , there is an opportunity on Wednesday 24 July between 8:30am – 11:30am for you to dispose of any unwanted e-waste. These items can be taken to Arndell Park Community Centre where they will be recycled free of charge. There is more information available at the following link:

www.wyndham.vic.gov.au/otherrecyclingservices for more information.

In Term 3, TrugHub will be involved in the preparation of the Trail of Lights Festival. This will be launched on Friday September 20 with a twilight celebration and then the trail will be on show along Federation trail for the two weeks of the school vacation period. Our students and members of the community will be invited to submit art pieces to be recreated as lantern installations .

I am delighted that TrugHub is supporting such initiatives.

I am also proud of the work that members of School Council are currently undertaking to support the creation of the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Centre at our school. i thank them for their support as they visit other schools with the SAKG and get ideas for our own kitchen. I look forward to their report back to School Council this coming Wednesday evening.

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