Welcome back to Term 4! It's hard to believe that we are in our fourth and final term of 2024. Students have returned to school this term confident, excited and ready to learn and we are so looking forward to some super special events that are coming up.

Welcome to 2025 Foundation students

Today our 2025 Foundation students had their second Transition Session. It was wonderful to see so many smiling faces and excited families, with lots of the students already familiar with the school surroundings.

If you are still yet to enrol for 2025, please do so as soon as possible. This year enrolments are via the Student Insight Platform, with all enrolment information found here

If you know that you will be moving schools in 2025, we also ask that you notify the office as soon as possible to enable us to plan for next year.

New play spaces

You may have noticed the addition of a giant Sandpit and some Table Tennis tables around the Stadium. These have provided much entertainment to many students, and been a great addition to some passive play spaces. We also have upgraded our Bike Shed to allow for more bikes to be secured safely.

We thank Di Li, who runs our Table Tennis classes on a Thursday for the generous donation of the outdoor tables to the school. Thanks, Di!

Save the Date : Christmas Carols

After the success of last years Community Christmas Carols, we are excited to announce that we will once again be hosting, 'Carols on the Lawn' on Thursday, December 12. This will be an after school event from 4:30pm. Last year, the event ran for around an hour, and we anticipate the same this year. Please mark this in your calendars as we would love to see you there! More information to follow closer to the date.

2025 Parent requests

As we are moving closer to the end of 2024, we are turning our sights on preparations for 2025. Each year, parents are given the opportunity to make a request for consideration in regard to their child's placement. Please note, this is a request only, and must relate to the social and emotional wellbeing of your child. It is not an opportunity to request a specific teacher. All teachers cater for the academic needs of each child, and we have the utmost confidence that all the staff here at Vermont Primary School will provide quality teaching and learning opportunities. Enormous time and effort goes into the placement of students, and our teachers know their students well enough to make the best choice for them in terms of their grade placement for the coming year.

If you would like to submit a request for consideration, please do so to the year level leader of your child's current year level no later than Friday November 1 (two weeks from now)

Year Level	Teacher Email
Foundation	Nicole.Lewis3@education.vic.gov.au
Year 1	Hsien.Tran@education.vic.gov.au
Year 2	Sarah.Battle@education.vic.gov.au
Year 3	Kate.Yates@education.vic.gov.au
Year 4	Paul.Souter@education.vic.gov.au
Year 5	Ryan.Condron@education.vic.gov.au
Year 6	Alistair.Straughan@education.vic.gov.au

Congratulations Amy!

Congratulations to one of our Year 5 students, Amy on her amazing results at the Victoria State Taekwondo Competition. Amy competed in September and won a gold medal in the individual event, a silver medal in the pair event, and a gold medal in the team event. What an outstanding achievement! Well done, Amy, we are so proud of you!

Think U Know

We are pleased to be hosting a very important and informative 'ThinkUKnow' session around online safety. This session is for parents (not children) and will be held at 7pm on Tuesday 29th October.

ThinkUKnow Australia is an evidence based education program delivered nationally to prevent online child sexual exploitation.

The night will be hosted by Michelle Zhao from Australian Federal Police and Graham Higgerson from Neighbourhood Watch. The presentation is pro-technology and addresses topics including self-generated child abuse material, online grooming, sexual extortion, and importantly encourages help seeking behaviour.

This is a fantastic opportunity for you to learn more about young people and the online environment, and how you can help them to be safe and responsible users of technology.

Please click here to register your interest in attending this presentation.

For more information, you can visit www.thinkuknow.org.au or contact julie.hall2@education.vic.gov.au

Parent & Community Tai Chi classes

Are you looking for a moment of calm in your busy day? Something just for you, to relax and recharge before the school pick-up or right after drop-off? Our Tai Chi classes for adults at Vermont Primary School could be exactly what you need!

We have engaged with a Tai Chi instructor who is trialling two convenient options: a peaceful 1-hour session just before school pick-up, perfect for unwinding and getting centered before the afternoon rush, and shorter sessions right after drop-off, for those who want a quick dose of mindfulness to start their day. These sessions are aimed at the parents and grandparents of VPS.

Exciting news! Short 30-minute trial classes will start in the next two weeks. This is the perfect way to dip your toes into Tai Chi and see if it’s right for you. After that, you can choose to continue with our longer 1-hour movement class to further challenge yourself.

Tai Chi offers many wonderful benefits, including:

Relaxation: A calm space to unwind in the middle of your busy schedule.
Strength Building: Improve muscle strength and stability over time.
Mindfulness: Increase your focus and presence in the moment.
Stress Reduction: Melt away stress with every graceful, flowing movement.

Our classes are open to all levels and are a fantastic way to support both your body and mind. Whether you’re new or experienced, you’ll leave feeling refreshed, stronger, and ready for the day ahead!

Want to know more or sign up? We’d love to see you at Vermont Primary School for our next class where you will be able to sign up on site. More details will available soon on Compass or feel free to reach out to Bronwyn Moore (bronwyn.moore@education.vic.gov.au).

Vermont Primary School Art Show

Date: Thursday 7th November 2024

Time: 3:30pm – 7:00pm

Where: VPS Stadium

Save the date!!! We are very lucky to have the opportunity to have our students' pieces of ART on show at an upcoming school Art Show. In ART the students, and their teacher Meredith Simpson, have been very busy completing some amazing works of ART. Mrs Simpson is now in the process of ensuring that every child has a piece of art to showcase at the Art Show.

There are a lot of jobs to do to ensure that this is a success. If you would like to assist in any way, please email Merri at meredith.simpson@education.vic.gov.au. We have had some amazing helpers from the Community Network help out but we would love more. There is a working bee on Friday 1st November at 2pm in the staffroom. Some of the jobs include: labelling, framing, gluing art work, printing labels, checking off class lists to ensure there is an example from every child in the school. If you can' attend that day, email Merri and we can organise a convenient time.

Alternatively, another way to assist is to check if you have any black or coloured frames to donate. We require:

20 x A3 (black or timber coloured frames)

4 x 37.5cm x 50.5cm

4 x 63cm x 51cm x 4

If you have any of this size, please come up to the school office.

Term 4 Important Dates

Please see the information below for some important Whole School Event dates in Term 4

Event	Date
World Teacher's Day	Friday, October 25
ThinkUKnow Parent Presentation	Tuesday, October 29
Student Free Day	Monday, November 4
Melbourne Cup Day (No school)	Tuesday, November 5
Vermont PS Art Show	Thursday, November 7
Carols on the Lawn	Thursday, December 12
Final Day of School	Friday, December 20

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