SMILING MIND LAUNCH

On Tuesday we launched our Smiling Mind program. The Smiling Mind Primary School Mental Health and Resilience Program is underpinned by a mindfulness-based social and emotional learning framework. Research has shown that developing mindfulness skills can help primary-aged children to develop emotion and behaviour regulation skills, improve attention and concentration, and facilitate optimal environments for learning.

Mindfulness is the awareness that arises from paying attention to the present moment with openness, curiosity, and without judgement.

We are very excited to introduce mindfulness into our everyday learning.

Janine Hough

COMMUNITY SPORTING ACHIEVEMENTS

Congratulations to Lucy B (4DS) who finished the 2021/22 season in 1st place for the Under 10 Girls at Greenbriar Little Athletics Club.

Well done, Lucy! We look forward to seeing what you can achieve on the track in the future.

Congratulations to Harper Mc (3MH) who was awarded Player of the Week for Round 1 of the Northern Football Netball League, while representing the U9 Greensborough Green team!

Well done, Harper! Keep on kicking goals!

If your child achieves something special (grand final win, most valuable player award, best and fairest etc.), please email me (jordan.daley@education.vic.gov.au) through photos and an overview of the achievement to post in Contact. It is important to celebrate and recognise such successes with the school community.

INTERSCHOOL SPORT

No game this week.

The Winter Interschool Sport Program permission form has been sent out via Compass. Consent/payment due by Friday 29th April 2022.

REBEL COMMUNITY KICKBACKS PROGRAM

Greenhills Primary School is involved in the Rebel Community Kickbacks Program

What can you do to help Greenhills primary School benefit from this program?

Staff, family and friends can link the school to their Rebel Active Loyalty Program account and instantly start earning credits.

Thank you,

Jordan Daley

WOODWIND LESSONS

Flute, Clarinet and Saxophone lessons run at Greenhills Primary School on Thursdays. If you are interested in enrolling for Term 2 or have any enquiries, please contact Jackie at jacquelinepace05@gmail.com

CONNECTED SCHOOLS

Making Memories that Matter By Maggie Dent

When my sons were at school, we got to the end of this particular term that was really challenging and busy, and I decided to take the four of them to a local café and buy them all hot chocolate sundaes to say, “well done”.

After all, their reports were good, no one had been suspended and there’d been no broken bones or stitches during the term (hallelujah!).

I didn’t realise how significant this small act would become. The boys loved it so much they asked if we could do it at the end of each school term.

What was interesting was that rather than getting really tired and crabby in those last weeks at the end of each term, I noticed the boys were counting down the days till the “end of term treat” with great excitement.

Indeed, when my older son moved away to university, he rang a few weeks before the end of the first school term to ask if we could wait until he came home before we went out for the end-of-school treat.

In creating this accidental family ritual, I gave my boys something special: a memory that mattered.

Building memories that last occur simply when we repeat significantly positive experiences.

That is why so many families return to the same campsite or holiday spot throughout childhood — it’s not just because they can’t think of anywhere else to go, but because memories are made from doing the same fun thing year after year.

I’m sure many of us have memories of bike riding around the campsite with a heap of kids that you only ever met at that time each year, swinging off the flying fox into the river, climbing trees, building cubbies, hunting for prawns in the estuary in the dark, playing spotlight or fox holes on the beach with lots of kids (and often quite a few dads), or playing on the swings from dawn till dusk.

Families who like to visit different places on their holidays can still lock in the same strong memories by taking their holiday rituals wherever they go.

My Dad had a habit on holidays of waking us up really early so that we could, “get a good day’s loafing in!”

Similarly there are so many mini rituals or fun habits that can help create the happy memories you want your child to have from their childhood. Rituals for when we leave, rituals for when we arrive, rituals for family film nights, rituals for play time outside in the garden, and even bath time and bedtime rituals.

These are simple things, aside from the wonderful opportunities for memory making that come with birthdays, Christmas, Easter, Halloween and any other cultural and religious celebrations that your family enjoys.

This is the stuff that builds positive memories that your child can draw on later in life as evidence that they had a fabulous childhood. This is also what children will draw on when they become parents.

Eric Jensen in his book, Enriching the Brain (2006), writes that memories are anchored much more deeply when there are strong emotions present. That is why powerful scary memories anchor so deeply in the brain.

Many adults who struggle to remember their childhood sometimes mistakenly think that maybe something awful happened, which the mind has suppressed to protect them.

More likely they have had a bland and quite normal childhood without an abundance of peak moments of suffering or joy.

Technically, in the brain there is a foundation or genetic system for joy but how it unfolds depends on the interaction of those genes with social experiences.

I know I am not alone in my concern that as our children (especially our young kids) become increasingly engaged in the world of screens — with iPads and tablets, hand-held game consoles, smart phones and computers just about everywhere we go — that these opportunities for visceral experiences of memory making are under threat.

Schools also play an important role in creating memories that matter. Whether it is school assembly items, performances, dress up days, fetes, sporting events or fun runs.

Different students will remember different things and so offering a wide smorgasbord of positive experiences is incredibly important.

Also, having exceptional teachers who know how to connect and make learning fun and meaningful – well they are gold – we never forget them and how they made us feel. School ceremonies, creeds and school songs are also memory pathways that can stay with us for life. The key is to have more positive memories than the opposite.

My challenge to all of us is to ponder and consider consciously how to build memories in childhood that are drowned in moments of profound joy and delight, so that children and grandchildren can remember them when they become boring adults.

Isn’t that worth remembering?

Parent Partnerships Leader- Roslyn Mackie

FROM THE OFFICE

LAST DAY OF TERM

Please note, School will finish tomorrow at 2.30pm and the office will close at 2.45pm tomorrow on the last day of term.

CSEF (Camps, Sports, Excursion Fund)

If you hold a valid Concession Card and haven’t previously applied for CSEF in 2021, please collect a form from the office, alternatively you can download a copy here CSEF Application Form

Parents/carers wishing to apply for CSEF payments for 2022 must submit their application form to the school office by 24 June 2022.

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RAPID ANTIGEN TESTS

You should now have your allocation of RA Tests for week 1 of Term 2 to test your child/ren after the holidays before returning to school. If you haven't received your allocation please contact the office.

ABSENCES

Thank you to parents that explain absences through Compass. If you do inform a teacher (via email) please remember to also add in Compass.

Any UNEXPLAINED absences also need to be explained and is simple to do via COMPASS, if you need help with this, please come to the office and we can assist you.

Wishing everyone a safe and happy holiday period.

Vic

CANTEEN

Please keep an eye out for a new canteen menu early next term! Also please note that from Term 2, chicken nuggets will only be able to be purchased in packs of three and six.

ICAS ASSESSMENTS 2022

This year, Greenhills Primary School will be offering Year 2-6 students an opportunity to participate in the ICAS Assessments. ICAS is designed to target students’ higher-order thinking and problem-solving skills in English, Mathematics, Science, Writing, Spelling Bee and Digital Technologies. Each assessment celebrates students’ accomplishments by providing opportunities for recognition and development. Every student will receive a printed certificate and an online results report. Top performers will be eligible for medals and are invited to attend special award ceremonies to have their academic excellence publicly recognised.

This year, Greenhills Primary School will be participating in the following ICAS Assessments:

English - Students will read a variety of texts which narrate, describe, explain, argue, persuade and review. The texts will increase in complexity within each paper, moving from simple texts dealing with familiar subjects and topics to complex texts discussing abstract concepts and using sophisticated language structures.

Science - Students will focus on the knowledge areas of Earth and Beyond, Natural and Processed Materials, Life and Living, Energy and Change.

Mathematics - Students will answer a range of questions related to number and arithmetic, algebra and patterns, measure and units, space and geometry, chance and data.

Writing - Only available for students from Years 3-6. Students will be required to write a narrative or persuasive text and be assessed on their ability to write an extended response to a given task.

Each assessment will run at a cost of $19.25, except for the Writing assessment which is $23.65. The assessments will be completed at school in August. If you would like your child to participate or require further information please contact Becc Stephens at rebecca.stephens@education.vic.gov.au by 24th June.

Becc Stephens

Learning Specialist

High-Ability Practice Leader

OSHCLUB NEWS

Dear Parents and Guardians,

Greenhills OSHClub Holiday Program Closed

We are sad to announce that the Holiday Program at Greenhills OSHClub has regrettably been closed for the April school holidays due to ongoing buildings works at the school. The Greenhills OSHClub staff have spread out across a few nearby OSHClub’s offering Holiday Program so that there are more options for families and so that there will be a familiar face or two there for children. Megan and Jordan will be going to Viewbank OSHClub and will be there across the middle of the day, whilst Jorja will be at Greensborough OSHClub at various times. To attend one of these OSHClub’s, children will need to be enrolled at the respective service and bookings made there. The programs for each program can be found at oshclub.com.au and by searching up each service. We do apologise for any inconvenience caused and we hope you can join us at one of these services over the school holidays.

Club Fun!

The clubs continue with many of the children enjoying participating in them each afternoon. In the second week of the “Cooking Club”, we cooked up some yummy chocolate cake. Everyone really enjoyed making and eating this one! For “Art Attack”, children got their hands dirty making various creations out of clay. On Wednesday, for the “Potterhead” Club, children made their own magic wand and then practiced a few spells (with varying degrees of success). Then with Friday’s “Game On”, we tried out a new DogMan board game we recently purchased with numerous children enjoying the new game. Last week saw the conclusion of clubs, but they will be back next term! A few, like the cooking club, will be returning, but there will be all new clubs for children to enjoy too, so stay tuned for that! If your child(ren) would like to participate in any of our future clubs, please book them in via the iParent Portal or by calling or texting us on 0437 928 183 or emailing greenhills@oshclub.com.au.

OSHClub's More Fun Than...

OSHClub has a new competition that could see a family win FREE Before- and After-School Care for Term 2 this year for one child, for the recurring bookings made for the term. The competition runs from February 1st to April 7th 2022, with each child with a booking getting an entry into the competition, making it an even chance for everyone to win! Good luck!

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If you need to make a booking, please do so through the iParent Portal or contact the service on 0437 928 183 or greenhills@oshclub.com.au.

Greenhills OSHClub is open 6:45-9:00am for Before-School Care, 3:00-6:30pm for After-School Care and 6:45am-6:30pm for Vacation Care/Pupil Free Days.

OSHClub Service Phone: 0437 928 183

OSHClub Service Email: greenhills@oshclub.com.au

Coordinator: Megan Statham-Danckert

Educators: Jordan Martin, Jorja Sullivan

OSHClub Head Office: 1300 395 735 or oshaccounts@junioradventuresgroup.com.au

All families must be enrolled to attend the service, remember this is FREE!! Please create an account online at www.oshclub.com.au. All bookings and cancellations can also be managed via the iParent Portal.

STUDENTS OF THE WEEK

Term 1 Week 10 - Presented at assembly Friday 6th May 2022

HERE ARE THE SUPERSTARS FOR THIS WEEK!

STUDENT	CLASS	COMMENTS
Darcy R	Prep BH	For always showing a positive attitude towards your learning. Darcy, you're a writing superstar! I love how you try so hard to record the letters for all the sounds you can hear in words and then re-read your writing to ensure it makes sense. Keep up the AMAZING effort!
Jude P	Prep ND	For his clever thinking all term! Jude is always keen to share his knowledge with the class and is able to make impressive connections between different areas of his learning. I have loved the way you have explored different spelling patterns and spotted digraphs in your reading Jude, keep it up!
Ava M	Prep SM	For being such an enthusiastic learner. Ava you have become so confident to put your hand up and share your clever thinking. Look how far you have come since the start of Prep, well done!
Leeny O	1JC	I loved your enthusiasm and participation on our Smiling Minds day. You came back from each session feeling so happy. We are so lucky to have you in our classroom.
Zoe L	1KO	For being an enthusiastic vocabulary detective, always finding vivid verbs and amazing adjectives when reading, to share the class. We love learning from you Zoe. Keep up your love of learning Zoe!
Toby	1TS	For being an outstanding teammate in 1TS. Toby, you are always willing to give a helping hand to anyone who needs one. You are a star friend and an amazing member of the class, we are so lucky to have you!
Jayla B	2JM	Jayla has been a fantastic student who is guving everything a go. No matter how challenging a task may seem she always jumps in feet first and gives it her best. Amazing work Jayla.
London K	2LO	For your outstanding effort and excitement you have shown in maths the last few weeks. London, it has been GREAT to see you take on new challenges with a big smile on your face. Keep it up superstar!
Seb D	2SH	For the outstanding effort you are putting into your narrative writing. Seb, it is wonderful to see the impressive, mature language you are using, as well as the joy you show in creating your story. Well done!
Riley G	3RM	For showing confidence in his reading. Riley is enthusiastic and gives 100% effort when reading. He is a responsible leader and organises his group well. Congratulations on a fantastic first term in Year 1. I am proud of you!
Jack B-R	4DS	For the effort and adventure you have been putting into your creative Free Writes. Jack, it was GREAT to see you excited about your writing. Keep it up!
Aidan K	4TW	Aidan you are absolutely delightful to have in the grade. I love the way you work hard on every learning task and happily take on feedback to improve your learning. Keep up the awesome effort!
Angus S	5BC	For being such a mature and reflective learner. Angus displays effort in all tasks and will always ask questions to challenge or clarify his understanding.
Sylvie	5JR	For her consistent hard effort inside the classroom. Time and time again Sylvie shows great respect and value for her learning and classmates. You hard work has no gone unnoticed. Keep up the G.R.E.A.T work Sylvie.
Angus S	6BS	For showing maturity, empathy and leadership in every aspect of your school life! I have been particularly impressed by how you have pushed yourself in writing. I am so proud of you Angus!
Kristian	6LR	For being a burst of energy, enthusiasm and kindness. Kristian's dedication to leaning and being the best he can be is admirable.
Taysha	6LR	Taysha, your excellent movie about respect showed how creative, talented and funny you are. You provide a wonderful energy in our grade and we appreciate your individuality.
Eden C	6SM	For being such a thoughtful, kind and considerate member of 6SM. Eden, I have been blown away with the way you treat those around you. We are so lucky to have you part of our class. Keep shining, superstar!
Georgina 2JM	ITALIAN	For consistently trying your best during Italian sessions. Georgina you are always so positive, happy and willing to participate in any task that is set. Brava. I am very proud of all your achievements.

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