Important Notices
An Incredible Donation
Towards the end of last term, we were blown away to be approached by a school family who wanted to make a donation to allow us to provide an amazing artistic experience for all of our 325 students at SKiPPS.
They were keen that each class would have an opportunity to visit the Arts Centre to engage in an educational experience and enjoy a professional performance at the theatre and the donation that they have made will pay for this wonderful opportunity, including the travel costs to get there and back.
As a school, we have a strong commitment to the Arts and know that this is shared with a huge number of our families. This excursion will perfectly complement and enrich our existing Performing Arts program and be a great experience as we start to build towards our Celebration of the Arts evening in Term 4.
Later this term, classes will take part in;
- Foundation - Wednesday September 13th - Our Foundation classes are going to see 'Waru – Journey of the Small Turtle'
Under the star-illuminated skies of the Torres Strait, a green turtle navigates her way back to the beach where she was born.
The season has started, the turtles are returning to nest, and soon the island will welcome a new generation of hatchlings – amongst them, our small turtle friend, Migi!
In Bangarra’s first dedicated work for children, join our heroine Migi as she undertakes a journey of discovery and survival. A contemporary saltwater Lagaw Kazil (Island Children) story inspired by the totemic system of the green turtle, Waru – journey of the small turtle is an interactive and immersive introduction to Torres Strait Islander culture.
- Year 1/2 - Tuesday September 12th - The Year 1/2s are going to see Carnival of the Animals by Circa Created by Yaron Lifschitz and the Circa Ensemble.
Carnival of the Animals whisks you away on a thrilling circus escapade inspired by Camille Saint-Saëns' delightful salute to feathers, fur and fins.
Carnival of the Animals captivates with whimsical tales of creatures of the land and sea, bringing this classical music suite to life for a whole new generation of circus, music and animal lovers. Circa’s world-famous acrobats tumble, fly, leap and spin their way through the many wondrous worlds of the animal kingdom!
- Year 3/4 - Thursday September 14th - The Year 3/4 students are going to see Carnival of the Animals by Circa Created by Yaron Lifschitz and the Circa Ensemble.
As well as Carnival of the Animals, Year 3/4 students will also participate in a guided tour of the Art Centre.
Guided tours of Arts Centre Melbourne invite students to discover how Australia’s largest performing arts centre continues that tradition of storytelling and celebration to this day. Students will be given a sneak peek into how this cultural and architectural landmark and home of world-class music, dance, theatre and opera companies runs 7 days a week. They will learn about our buildings, explore the acoustics of sound, discover how performers tell stories and try on costumes! The primary school tour focuses on the wonder of performance.
- Year 5/6 - Thursday September 14th - The Year 5/6s are going to see Carnival of the Animals by Circa Created by Yaron Lifschitz and the Circa Ensemble.
As well as Carnival of the Animals, Year 5/6 Students will also visit the Australian Music Vault and participate in a guided tour of its exhibits.
Further details will be shared on Compass in the next week and we will ask you to login to provide consent as normal.
Whilst the incredibly generous SKiPPS family making this large donation have asked to remain anonymous, I am sure you will join me in feeling a huge sense of gratitude to them for doing something that will benefit every child at the school and provide them with an experience that they will remember, enjoy and that we otherwise would not have been able to provide. A huge thank you also to Chantel Jose and Jac Morphy for their work with the family to coordinate this series of excursions.
We look forward to reporting back on these exciting excursions!
Swimming program
Our 2023 school swimming program comes to an end tomorrow and I am sure there are some tired students (and teachers) at school after ten visits to MSAC in ten days.
We see our swimming program as a really important part of the school's curriculum. Swimming is such an important life skill and, as the number of drownings each summer sadly shows, children need to learn to be safe in and around water.
We are so lucky to have an incredible facility like MSAC on our doorstep and the easy public transport links have meant getting there and back every day has been easy. This has allowed us to run such an extensive and thorough program at such an affordable cost for all families.
We thank families for their support of our swimming program, especially for those parents who have been able to get to MSAC to help with changing and supervision of students.
We also need to thank Louise Moore for her work to coordinate the program and the transport and to our ES staff members Molly Cleveland and Jai Lim for getting into the pool each day to support our students with additional needs.
SKiPPS Gala Night - buy your tickets now!
We ae now just over two weeks away from our major social and fundraising event of the year - our 2023 Winter Gala/Trivia Night.
More details are included later in the newsletter and we would love to see all of our parents and carers at the event (at the St Kilda Town Hall on the evening of Saturday 5th August).
The nights are a great SKiPPS tradition and a perfect chance to connect, let your hair down and enjoy some wonderful food, drinks and live entertainment.
Tickets are a bargain $45 each and can be bought online at https://compasstix.com/e/08xva3dbks
NAPLAN Results
Later this week, families of children in Years 3 and 5 will receive their child's results from the NAPLAN tests that they completed in March of this year.
These will be sent home in a sealed envelope with your child. The envelope will contain a report which sets out achievements in Reading, Writing, Spelling, Grammar & Punctuation and Numeracy. It will also contain a short brochure to help you understand NAPLAN and how to read and understand the results.
This year, NAPLAN is being reported in a completely different way to previous years. Student results will now be reported against 'proficiency standards' and will indicate whether a child's performance on the test was
- Exceeding
- Strong
- Developing
- Needs additional support
As you will be receiving these results prior to next week's Parent Teacher interview, they will provide an ideal time to ask any questions, celebrate achievements and discuss any concerns with your child's class teacher.
2024 Enrolments reminder
With the new enrolment schedule implemented by the Education Department this year, the closing date for 2024 Foundation Enrolment applications is next Friday (28th July).
If you have a child who will be attending next year, we ask that you submit the enrolment forms for them by this date to be guaranteed of a place at SKiP. Enrolment forms are available from the office or copies are available on the SKIPPS website under Enrolments
Please encourage any other parents with children commencing school next year to consider St Kilda Park. Please let them know there is only one tour date remaining on Wednesday 26th July.
Tours can be booked at https://compasstix.com/e/dvo8kfxguw
Dads' Camp - save the date
Our parent-run Dads' Camp is taking place again this year at the Big4 Campsite in Wye River.
Whilst final arrangements are being put into place by the organising group of dads, they would like you to clear the decks and put the weekend of the 1st - 3rd December into your diaries.
Mums may want to start organising their child-free plans for that weekend!
Further details and booking information will follow later in the year.