Getting to Know You Meetings

Thank you to all the parents who made themselves available to meet with teachers last week and share information about their child/ren. It is a wonderful opportunity for teachers to get to know the students a little better from the experts!

School Council

The final School Council meeting for the 2022 year will be held tomorrow evening (22 February) via WebEx. School Council elections are then upon us. We have Parent Category vacancies for the 2024 year, with casual vacancies for 2023. Please contact me if you are interested in this role.

Further information can be accessed at the link below.

http://www.education.vic.gov.au/school/teachers/management/community/Pages/schoolcouncilsfunction.aspx

Nomination forms are available via the Office and are due by Friday 3 March 4pm.

School Photo Day

Class photos and individual student photos will be taken on Wednesday 8 March. We expect to see all students in full school uniform with white or black socks and school coloured hair ties. The day's running schedule is quite tight, so please avoid appointments for students on this day. It would be a shame for a student to miss their class or their sibling photo. Year 6 students are asked to bring along their Year 6 jumpers and wear their black polos, if they have them. All students have an individual photo taken for our school records. The Photographers will take leadership group photos on the day, time permitting.

Information on how to purchase these will be sent home shortly.

Parent Information Evenings

This year our teams will conduct a Parent Information evening here at school. These are scheduled for Monday 27 Feb –Year 3/4, Tuesday 28 Feb – Year 1/2 and 5/6 and Monday 6 March - Prep. With the challenges and complexities of the past few years, this is highly recommended for all families to hear about the expectations for the year. Teams will present information to parents about the year ahead and answer any questions parents have sent in. If you are unable to make the session due to a clash with another event or year level, notes will be provided via Compass. We hope to see you there.

SIX THINGS ABOUT THE FAIR:

Only three and a half weeks now until our big day!
Raffle Tickets – sell your tickets ASAP to go into the draw for a free SuperPass. You should have received your raffle ticket book yesterday. Get selling to be in the running to win a SuperPass!!
SuperPasses and ride wristbands are on sale now here: https://www.trybooking.com/events/landing?eid=1008723&
Volunteers needed – To successfully run the Solway Fair we need at least 300 volunteers on Saturday 18 March. Please help us make the 2023 Fair a HUGE success by volunteering on one of our many stalls.
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0845A9AD22ABF94-solway
Free Dress Day – Friday 24 Feb – students are asked to bring along a block of chocolate for the Lob a Choc. Students hand these into their class teachers when they arrive at school.
Book your ticket to the Fair After Party at the East Malvern RSL. This is an adult only event and will take place the night of the Fair. https://www.trybooking.com/CGABW

Thank you to everyone for the donations that have been trickling in. We are still in need of more, so please continue to donate any items listed in the Fair Newsletter posted last week!

We are all looking forward to a fantastic day on 18 March – keep the day free and invite family and friends to support Solway in raising money for our school.

A huge thank you to Felicity McGrath and Anna Globan for all their work in coordinating the many helpers from across the school. Events like this really demonstrate the wonderful community we are all a part of. Thank you to all the stall holders for their time and commitment also! We could not do any of this without our wonderful parent community.

Chess

As part of the Year 1-4 Term One program, students will once again be participating in Chess lessons with their class from a Chess instructor. Recent studies have confirmed that learning to play chess improves academic performance, concentration, logical thinking, judgment, creativity, problem solving, emotional intelligence, and social skills. We look forward to seeing the skills the students learn and the buzz around the school as students spend their breaks using the giant chess set outdoors or the sets in the library to hone their skills.

Staffing

I would like to welcome Stephanie Webster to Solway. Stephanie will be taking Physical Education this year, supported by Tim Chapman. Stephanie has previously taught Primary School and has background as a personal trainer. We are delighted to have Stephanie as part of the Solway team for 2023.

I would also like to welcome Jacinta Le back to Solway. Jacinta will be taking Visual Arts, sharing this role with Erin O'Donnell. Jacinta worked at Solway in previous years and we are delighted to have her back on the Solway staff.

HELP NEEDED – are you a landscape gardener, carpenter, gardener, or do you have skills in these areas? We need you!

We are looking for help in many areas of the school from our parent community. One area where help is desperately needed within the school is the grounds. If you have any gardening or carpentry skills, please consider signing up for our Building and Environment Committee. We are looking for help to develop a long-term plan for various projects that can be achieved at upcoming working bees with direction and plans already in place. You do not need to be able to attend every working bee or be a School Council member, but being on the Building and Environment Committee to attend planning meetings and help coordinate the work would be great. If you or someone you know has skills in these areas, please come and chat with me!

Swimming

Congratulations to the students who represented Solway at the Division Swimming today. We look forward to hearing about how they went!

Digital Technologies

Solway and Ashburton Primary School are joining to present parents with an Online Information Session:

Keeping your kids safe on their Apple iPads and iPhones (& iPod Touches). Managing devices can be tricky. This session will give parents information on how to ensure your child is safely using their device. Join via Zoom for this 90-min session (with time for Q&A at the end), where experts will empower parents with essential information about how to ensure your child’s safe use of these powerful devices. Register at: https://www.itandcoffee.com.au/ash-solway.html

Lyn Rodda

Principal

Health & Wellbeing