GRIP Leadership Conference – Wednesday, 13th March

Marika Ferguson and I will be attending the annual GRIP conference for student leaders with our School Captains, Student Voice, House Leaders, Peer Mediators, Curriculum and Specialist leaders. They will report back to the other students and use many of the skills learnt on the day with their personal development and projects for Rangeview.

Clean Up Australia

Level 3 students- classes 3B and 3T on Friday were contributing to the Clean Up Australia campaign by donning on yellow gloves and searching for rubbish.

I remind all families that NUDE FOOD makes a difference so please keep up the effort.

We have made a difference in reducing rubbish collected at our school and we can continue to improve the results with everyone making an effort to reduce and reuse! Labelled lunch boxes and reusable containers make a difference.

Term 1 Saturday 23rd Feb Morning Working Bee

Thank you to the families who attended the recent Saturday morning working bee. The gaga pit was painted, mulch moved under our play equipment, paths swept and areas weeded. Thanks to the families who attended – we did get a lot achieved.

The times of working bees for the year will be varied because Sunday mornings do not work for everyone. If you see a project or regular maintenance task that you could do and our working bee times do not suit you, please let the office or myself know.

Harry Hat Man Parade

Later this week there will be the sound of clapping and cheering down the corridors as our new foundation classes wander and classrooms in their colourful hats to celebrate Harry Hatman and the letter H. Many students remembered fondly their time in Prep doing a similar parade and what a great way to commemorate their learning.

Harmony Day – Thursday 21st March

Our classes are preparing to celebrate Harmony Day in acknowledgement of how we belong. Planning for the day is well under way. There is a world map in our foyer. All our families’ heritage will be represented with dots for the birthplace of every student’s parents prior to the special day.

Students can dress in traditional costume from their country of birth or in the bright colour of orange on Harmony Day and share food for the Big Munch. More information will be forwarded to families in the near future.

Bike Riding

Students in foundation to level 3 can ride to school with adult supervision. Students can ride to school from level 4 without adult supervision if they have parent permission and they follow the school’s guidelines about safe travel including not riding in the school grounds. I remind families and bike riders that the bike shed is not locked and therefore not secure after hours.

'Schultüten'

Buddy classes delivered the eagerly awaited 'Schultüten' to their foundation buddies last Thursday. The 'Schultüten' is full of treats and small gifts (provided by their parents or carers) and given to the youngest members of our school as a German tradition, acknowledging the start of their schooling. The level 5 and 6 students helped decorate the 'Schultüten' in German lessons. It is a mammoth task to have 101 made and ready for the foundation students. Well done to all involved including our German teachers Frau Lindner and Frau Shaw.

Class Ambassadors Meeting

We have had the first Class Ambassadors meeting for 2019. Thank you for all the parents who have volunteered to help. Tracy representing our P&F shared information as well. Yes we are still looking for a president and secretary for our P&F.

School Photos

Just a reminder for school photos this Tuesday. All students are expected to be in full school uniform. I remind families that leggings or pants should not be worn with the summer dress and hair accessories should only be in the school colours. We have head bands available at the office for purchase that match the summer school dress.

School Council - WE NEED 2 MORE PARENT NOMINATIONS

Nominations for School Council closed last week. As the nominations did not exceed the available positions a ballot is not required. Thank you to the parents who nominated for the available School Council positions. We are looking for a further 2 parents to join our school council team.

It is not a huge time commitment – 2 night meetings per term staring at 7pm (up to 90 minutes long) and reading the reports before the meeting. You can give more with the sub -committees that operate- OSHClub, Education, Communication, Buildings and Grounds and Finance.

So if you think you may be able to help out our school, please contact the office for a nomination form or come and speak with me or any of our parent representatives - Lloyd Lazaro, Mark Davies, Darran Low, Nikki Farrow, Fiona Graham, Chris Roche, Mark Seth, Dan Kerr (retiring) and Nicole Scott (retiring).

I would like to acknowledge the contributions of Dan Kerr and Nicole Scott who did not renominate for School Council this year. Both Nicole and Dan have contributed to the lively council meetings, building projects and many school events over the years. I appreciate their support to the school and the strategic planning for our future direction.

New School Council Meeting on Wednesday 20 March at 7pm in the staffroom

Third Pupil Free Day – Tuesday 23rd April Term 2

Our next pupil free day is on TUESDAY 23 APRIL. We will be working on character strengths for student wellbeing with Maria Ruberto. This will be a follow up day to the work started last year with Maria focusing on how we recognise character strengths and provide opportunities to enhance these.

This will be off site at Park Orchards PS as part of the FISO network of schools. All Victorian Government schools are allocated 4 pupil free school days per year. The first pupil free day was Tuesday 29 January which allowed time for staff to look at the targets and goals set in the AIP (Annual Implementation Plan), student wellbeing, start-up processes in schools and team meetings, and classroom preparation for the start of the term. The second pupil free day was on Wednesday 20 February. We worked on aspects of quality questioning by teaching staff to improve student engagement and learning. There is one remaining pupil free days for 2019 yet to be confirmed.

Level 5/6

We welcome Mrs Natalie Bellis to the senior school! Natalie will be teaching Level 5/6E each Thursday.

This week we enjoyed presenting 'Schultütens' to our buddies.