Principal's Welcome

G’day Parkhill community,

Term Two is well and truly underway, and it is wonderful to see the way that students have settled back into their routines and are engaging with their learning. 

What does learning look like in our classrooms? 

One key feature of our daily learning program is our morning literacy block. In our Foundation, Year 1 and Year 2 classes, students engage in systematic synthetic phonics. This involves explicitly teaching the sounds that letters make in a clear, sequenced way, and how to put those sounds together (blending) to read and make words. Students also practice handwriting, read and discuss texts and stories, develop their knowledge of new vocabulary and construct their own writing. 

Our Year 3-6 students engage in novel studies, develop comprehension skills, discuss big ideas, expand their vocabulary, learn spelling rules and patterns and learn to write a variety of more complex texts. These literacy skills are then applied and practised in other areas of the curriculum.

Learning is reinforced with regular practice and review. This helps transfer new learning from short term to long-term memory and supports students to make connections. As a result, students are better able to apply their learning to more complex tasks and ideas.

Outside of the classroom, we have been busy with a variety of activities taking place.

ANZAC Day

On Friday 24 April we held a special ANZAC Day assembly. This was a chance for us to learn more about ANZAC Day and pause to reflect on the meaning of this day. Thank you to our Junior School Councillors Yanni, Mae, Ruby, Zena, Hugo, Matilda and Alice for speaking so confidently and leading a respectful ceremony. Thank you also to Ms Anossovitch and Mr Davies for putting together the service and supporting our students in their preparation. 

Cross Country

Last Tuesday, students in Years 3-6 participated in our school Cross Country. Well done to everyone who gave their best effort in the event, and congratulations to those students who have qualified for the District Cross Country event taking place next week. A big thank you to all of the parents and carers who volunteered their time to help marshal along the course, and to Mr Sciacca for his organisation of the event.

NEVR Choir

Next Wednesday, we have 22 Year 5/6 students heading off to Hamer Hall in the city to perform as a part of the North East Victoria Region (NEVR) choir. They will have a full day of rehearsals, followed by their evening performance. This group have been rehearsing since the beginning of the year for this event, and we know are going to be amazing on the night. A big thank you to Marinda for your dedication and passion to making this opportunity a success for our students, and to all the parents who have supported in transporting students to the rehearsals this term.

Open Day and Night

The following week, we’re excited to invite families to our Open Day and Night as part of Education Week on Tuesday 19th May. This is a wonderful opportunity to visit our classrooms, see the great work our students have been doing, and experience the vibrant learning community we are so proud of. 

We have a morning session for Open Classrooms at 9:30am – 10:30am, and then our Open Night from 5:30pm – 7:00pm. To finish the evening, we’ll be treated to a special performance from our school choir. We hope to see many families join us for what promises to be a great celebration of our students and their learning.

Mother’s Day

Finally, this weekend is Mother’s Day. Today our wonderful PFA will be running a Mother’s Day stall. This will provide everyone with a great opportunity to pick up a thoughtful gift for their Mum or special person in their life. Thank you Lih, the PFA and all the volunteers for making this possible.

Happy Mother’s Day to all mums and special carers in our community. I hope you enjoy a relaxing and special day on Sunday.

Kind regards,

Dale