Across Oliver's Desk 

Dear Parents,

Welcome back to term 2. What wonderful Easter weather we had and wasn’t it also fantastic to see the mighty blues finally having a win!  However, my footy tipping is truly a monumental disaster. 

We had a busy but successful first term with a visit from the Minister for Education, grade 5/6 camp, house sports, district athletics and lots of learning.  I was very proud of how well our new teachers and Prep students transitioned into the school. The Prep area like the rest of the school already has a lot of rigor and routine and high expectations for learning.  Visitors to our school have commented how amazing our Prep area is particularly when you consider last year. 

ANZAC DAY 

Our school has a great tradition of recognising and commemorating ANZAC day.  Each year many of our families and students take part in the Upper Yarra RSL ANZAC Day march which is held at Yarra Junction.   Unfortunately that was cancelled this year but we hope to again take part next year.  Our school students still learnt about ANZAC day in class and we held our own minutes silence on Monday to show our respect to all those that have served or are currently serving. 

READING

Reading has always been an important skill. In our modern world it is more important than ever. Children learn about the importance of reading as they watch family members use reading and writing for everyday purposes. Reading with your child at home will help your child in all learning areas of school.

TIPS TO HELP YOUR CHILDREN AT HOME

• Be yourself.  Involve children in everyday conversations. Talk to them about how important it is to you to be able to read books, phone messages, news reports, signs and notices.
• Read aloud to children.  It helps them to learn the language of books and will encourage them to enjoy books and reading.
• Talk about books, read together and make reading an enjoyable, shared activity.
• Make sure there is a wide range of reading material for your child at home, both fiction and non-fiction.
• Make a ritual of reading with your child before bed. Doing this makes children look forward to bed time and finishes the day on a really positive fun note.

SCHOOL COUNCIL NEWS

Last term our School Council had its first meeting for the year.  At the first meeting all office positions are declared open and council members vote on who will be President, Vice President, Treasurer and the Parents and Friends Committee Leader.  The following are our elected School Council Positions for 2021.

School Council Positions

President –                                                  Alex Syme

Vice President -                                 Adele Ormsby 

Treasurer -                                                Trudy Bond

Parents and Friends Leader -  Jasmine Maloney

Alex Syme

2022 PREP INFORMATION EVENING

We will be running our 2022 Prep information evening on Tuesday ,18th May.  This is a chance to hear from our Prep teachers and have a personal tour with a student school leader or one of our teachers.  School enrolment rules have changed throughout the region. Parents need to put an enrolment application to the school of their choice by the 25th of June.   Schools then notify parents with a written acceptance letter on the 23rd of July. 

CAPITAL WORKS UPDATE

At the moment we are at the stage where our architects are looking at a few different options for the school.  Our priorities are for the school to have state of the art new facilities, while causing the least possible disruption to school life.  Even though we are still probably 10 months away from any construction starting, it is very exciting for our school. 

And remember when life gets a little difficult, escape to the wonderful world of a book!

Oliver Thockloth

Principal