Principal's Report

Good Luck Mr Grant Rounsley

Congratulations to Mr Grant Rounsley who will commence an Acting Assistant Principal position at Valkstone Primary School on Monday 8 August, 2022.

Good luck Grant and we look forward to our ongoing MS Teams meetings. The Valkstone Primary School community are extremely fortunate in having such a professional and knowledgeable young man co-leading their school.

Mrs Elli Robertson (Sumner) will be joining the Year 6 team of staff in teaching the students.

Singing Recital

Singing Recitals are held every six months to highlight the fantastic work put in by our Vocal Coach and students who attend Singing Lessons. Students sing in front of family and friends.

On Tuesday 26 July our resident singing teacher Susie King showcased her students talent. There were students from Year 2 to Year 6 represented.

Please see more photos later on in the newsletter.

State Representative in AFL Football

Congratulations to Liam Basil- Howland in Year 6 who has been selected as a member of the Victorian State AFL Team.

Liam had to complete many different selection trials before the team was finally announced. More than 900 students tried out for this team which indicates the ability and skill Liam possesses.

Liam and his extremely proud family head to South Australia tomorrow in readiness for this National Carnival. The Carnival is from August 7 - 12 in Adelaide. The SSV communicate on the social media feeds, but they are hoping to have live stream for the Victoria games.

The schedule for this special event will commence on Sunday August 7 at 9-9.30am with the Opening Ceremony.

After this ceremony at 2pm the first will be held with QLD vs. VIC. From Monday onwards a match will be held daily with Victoria competing against NSW, ACT ,WA and SA. A Closing ceremony will conclude this week of competition Friday 12 August, 2022.

Good luck Liam our entire school community are extremely proud of your sporting achievement.

Regional Finalists

Congratulations to our Girls and Boys AFL Football teams who successfully progressed to the Regional Finals. It is quite an achievement for a school to have their two AFL Teams in the Regional Finals. Thank you sincerely to the coaches Mr Dan Farmer and Mr Angus Ross for the time given to the training and management of our teams.

The Girls played on Tuesday & Won!

The Boys AFL team played on Wednesday & Won!

Please see the PE page for a full account and wonderful photos.

100 Days of Prep

Yesterday we celebrated ‘100 Days of Learning in Prep’! Our Prep students participated in ‘100 themed’ activities on Wednesday and invited their Year Five Buddies to celebrate with them at the end of the school day.

Please see the Prep page for lots of photos and videos

Cubby Houses

The new cubbies are almost complete in readiness for our students to play in them. The cubbies were painted inside last week and next Monday the soft fall will be placed around the cubbies. Hopefully when the students return to school after the Pupil Free Day on Monday 8 August the new play area will be complete. I would like to sincerely thank Jesse our Handyman for managing this project.

Mangahigh Awards

Mangahigh uses tasks and games to help consolidate Maths concepts for Years 3 to 6.

Congratulations to the following students for earning the highest number of medals in your class in years 3 and 4.

3A Pippa M

3B Edward H

3C Jack B

3D Yves A

4A Elm U

4B Henry S

4C Lucas K

4D Cooper S-M (tied with)

4D Xavier A

This month in years 5 and 6, the Certificate of Excellence is awarded to one student in each class. With effort and time spent, students continue to progress toward increasingly challenging Maths goals. Congratulations to the following students for their persistence on Mangahigh.

5A Liam H

5B Niall B

5C Zach C

5D Dakotah K

6A Angela A

6B Remy W

6C Ella L

6D Anique N

6D Sophie H

Congratulations to those students.

The following students are the top achieving students in the school, who have the highest medal points for the month of July.

3rd Place Remy W

2nd Place Elm U

1st Place Angela A

Congratulations to those students.

Finally, the overall class awards:

For the Top Class Assignment Pass rate - 4D

For the Highest Number of Medal Points earned as a class 4A congratulations.

Well done to all students working hard on Mangahigh. Keep up the excellent work!

School Disco

Excitement is mounting with only one sleep to go until our first student disco in several years. This special student event would not have been possible without the many hours given to planning of the sessions by members of our Parents & Friends.

Thank you to the disco team for giving up their time for the pre disco meetings, visits to the school on weekends and for agreeing to commence the decoration process tonight as well as tomorrow.

The Disco committee is comprised of : Nat and Andrew Northey, Amy and Chris North, Helen and Phil Moore, Louise and Christopher Armstrong and Courtney and Dan Ferdinands

Student Led Conferences

Tuesday 9 and Wednesday 10 August

We are looking forward to welcoming our parents to student led conferences next week. Bookings will close at 1.30pm on Friday 5 August.

The students are looking forward to sharing their learning experiences with their parents.

Outside School Hours Educators

Wednesday 27 July was National Out of School Hours Care Educators Day to acknowledge the role they play in children’s lives.

Kelly, Amanda and the team go above and beyond, both in the variety of play and creative experiences, but also the ongoing care for their wellbeing of the students and the parents.

We acknowledged these staff with a certificate and a bag of lollies.

Kelly Szabo, Amanda Sheppard, Zac Taylor, Ellissah Deas, Ivy Jing, Grace Amerena , Elizabeth Earney , Amber Cook, Nathan Plumridge, Jen Baird, Kareem Marashli, Jenny Marashli , Matt Newman, Chase Kelso, Sophie Com, Maridia

Reminder

Monday 8 August is a Pupil Free Day

If you require care for your child on this day please ensure you book your child/children into our OSHC program.

Please add to your calendar

School Council approved the two pupil free days in Term 4

Tuesday 22 November- this is a Planning Professional Day as determined by DET
Wednesday 23 November-this is a Pupil Free Day which must be a Reporting Day

SHERRIL DUFFY

PRINCIPAL

For Your Information

Gifted and Talented Education

If families are looking for extra-curricular activities for a child who has particular strengths or passions please be aware of an organisation called G.A.T.E.WAYS (Gifted and Talented Education Ways). Whilst BNPS does not directly facilitate these programs, our teachers do access their resources and many families have chosen to book their children into programs in the past.

G.A.T.E.WAYS is an independent, non-funded organisation, established in 1994 to provide opportunities for highly able and gifted children with special educational needs. Like-minded students can participate in programs that will challenge them intellectually and help develop their individual talents. Both short and longer term programs in most areas of the curriculum are offered in host schools in Melbourne, Canberra, Brisbane, the Gold Coast, Sydney, Singapore, Bangkok, as well as ‘On Location’. Over the last 25 years G.A.T.E.WAYS has gained considerable recognition with teachers, parents and children in Australia for its high quality programs. Parent paid fees cover the costs of program development, administration and presentation. G.A.T.E.WAYS is widely supported by schools in all education sectors – state, independent, catholic with some programs operating during regular school hours.

G.A.T.E.WAYS engages presenters who are expert in a given field or fields; passionate about their field and able to convey this enthusiasm to children; excellent communicators who love children; knowledgeable about the special needs of gifted children and how they learn; creative, flexible and skilled in terms of curriculum development and delivery. Their programs are inquiry based, with hands-on activities, problem solving and higher order thinking skills.

For further information see the link below:

https://www.gateways.edu.au/

Wellbeing/Be You & Disabilty Inclusion