From the Principal
We already find ourselves in Week 5 and the first day of March tomorrow. This week the Grade 2 and 4 children undertook their swimming program, and the Grade 5 and 6 students had their Beach program. We have a special lunch (sausage sizzle) on Tuesday 5th, NAPLAN for Grades 3 and 5, Grade 5 science incursion, Foundation have an incursion on Responsible Pet ownership, Grade 2 Excursion, and House Cross Country for children in Grades 3-6. Grandparents/Special Person afternoon will be held on Friday 22nd March 3:00pm-3:30pm.
Congratulations to the Parkdale Swim Team
This morning Mr Anderson took a team of 25 swimmers to take part in the Mordialloc District Swim Carnival at the Noble Park Aquatic Centre.
Some incredible performances from all our swimmers saw Parkdale Primary team finish in first place, against ten other local schools. 21 of our 25 swimmers placed first in their races and will progress to the Kingston Division Swimming Carnival on Tuesday 12 March.
RESULTS
RELAYS
12/13 yr girls 4 X 50m freestyle relay Georgia, Eden, Saana, Minnie - 1st
12/13 yr boys 4 X 50m freestyle relay Lachlan B, Lennox, Lachlan W, Jude - 1st
11 yr girls 4 X 50m freestyle relay Mila, Grace, Bo, Asher - 1st
11 yr boys 4 X 50m freestyle relay Jordan B, Josh F, Lucas, Rogan - 2nd
9/10 yr girls 4 X 50m freestyle relay Ellie, Sienna, Emmalin, Ella R - 1st
9/10 yr boys 4 X 50m freestyle relay Aidan, Naveen, Beau, Archie - 1st
FREESTYLE
12/13 yr girls freestyle Georgia C - 1st
12/13 yr boys freestyle Lachlan B - 1st
11 yr girls freestyle Mila B - 1st
11 yr boys freestyle Jordan B - 1st
9/10 yr girls freestyle Ellie B - 1st
9/10 yr boys freestyle Aidan B - 1st
BACKSTROKE
12/13 yr girls backstroke Eden B - 1st
12/13 yr boys backstroke Lachlan W - 2nd
11 yr girls backstroke Bo G - 1st
11 yr boys backstroke Lucas H - 4th
9/10 yr girls backstroke Ellie B - 1st
9/10 yr boys backstroke Aidan B - 1st
BREASTROKE
12/13 yr girls breaststroke Georgia C - 1st
12/13 yr boys breaststroke Lachlan B - 1st
11 yr girls breaststroke Grace C - 2nd
11 yr boys breaststroke Emmitt V - 3rd
9/10 yr girls breaststroke Sienna C - 4th
9/10 yr boys breaststroke Naveen S - 1st
BUTTERFLY
12/13 yr girls butterfly Eden B - 1st
12/13 yr boys butterfly Lennox GN - 1st
11 yr girls butterfly Grace C - 1st
11 yr boys butterfly Jordan B - 1st
9/10 yr girls butterfly Sienna C - 3rd
9/10 yr boys butterfly Naveen S - 1st
Girls Open Medley relay team - 1st
Boys Open Medley relay team - 1st
School Council
School council elections have closed; however, we now have a vacancy on school council due to a member unable to attend regular meetings. Please contact me if you are interested in joining school council. Thank you to retiring members Kathryn Higgins and Grant Van Der Kruk for their time, contribution, and support on school council. The next school council meeting is on Monday 18th March which is the AGM.
Mobile Phones - student use
A reminder that the Department of Education has in place a mobile phone ban that requires students who bring mobiles phones to school to have them switched off and securely put away during school hours.
The department is requiring all schools to ensure this ban is in place and enforced from the start of the 2024 school year.
The ban applies equally to all government schools right across the state.
This helps ensure that school is a learning environment free from unnecessary distractions and disruptions.
By ensuring mobile phones are kept away at recess and lunch times, students can interact with each other face-to-face, without the distractions and social pressures that mobile phones can cause.
I ask for the support of all our families, staff and students in continuing to support the implementation of this policy in our school.
Further information
Exceptions: For a small number of students with particular health needs, an exception to the policy may be granted. Please contact Tracy Richards if you would like to discuss this.
Emergencies: In the event of an emergency or if you need to immediately contact your child, we ask that families contact the school office who will pass on a message as required.
School mobile phone policy: A copy of our school’s local mobile phone policy, which implements the government’s mobile policy in line with our local context, is available HERE
Parent support: The Mobile phones in schools webpage provides links to resources for families to help them balance their children’s time using mobile phones.
If you have further questions, please contact the administration office.
If students use mobile phones or smart watches during the school day they will be removed and can be collected by the parent at the end of the day
Illness - COVID, Gastro
There is at present an increase in community transmission of COVID-19 in Victoria.
You can help us keep our school as safe as possible by taking 2 important steps:
1. Ensure your COVID-19 vaccinations are up to date. Information on how and where to get vaccinated is available on the Get vaccinated webpage.
2. If your child shows symptoms of COVID-19, please ensure they stay home and get tested. The easiest way to test is to use a rapid antigen test (RAT). You can buy RATs at supermarkets, pharmacies, and other retailers.
If your child has symptoms but tests negative, please ensure they stay home until they no longer have symptoms.
If the RAT test result is positive, please ensure they say home for at least 5 days and until there are no more symptoms.
Gastro – children are not to attend school until 48 hours after last bout of vomiting or diarrhoea.
Thank you for your support – these steps will help us all stay well.
Bayside Principals’ Conference
Mrs Richards and I will be attending the Bayside Principals’ Conference on Thursday and Friday this week. The focus this year is Leading in Complex Times. A range of keynote speakers will be presenting, and we will also attend workshops over the two days.
Kind regards
Leanne Bradney