GHPS Life

OFFICE NEWS 

Book Lists

This year following parent feedback we have changed booklist suppliers to Maxim.

We took several factors into account when appointing our supplier of 2023 booklists including customer care, reputation and value for money.

One thing has changed and that is the flexibility to amend your booklist.  We realise that this is not going to suit all of our Families.  Rest assured in early 2023 we will seek further parent feed back to ensure our 2024 supplier will meet the majority of our parents/carers needs.

If you require left handed scissors we will have a supply of these at the office that we will be able to swap for you—we do apologise for any inconvenience and we will continue our journey to find the best booklist fit for our Greenhills Families.

2023 Family Contributions

Are now live on Compass.  To Access them simply click on the “Payment Centre” on the home page and select Contributions.  Each amount can be adjusted to allow you to choose how much you wish to pay or chip away at each amount.

Accessing Reports

Any families that are leaving Greenhills (eg; Grade 6 students) need to download any reports that you wish to keep for future reference.  At the end of the year you will not be able to access this information.

If you need help please contact the office.

LOST PROPERTY

As you can see we have quite a pile of Lost Property!  All of this is UNNAMED, so it is really important to label all GHPS clothing.  Please feel free to come and look to see if anything is familiar, at the end of the year we will be donating to a Charity shop. We have excess 2nd hand uniform available via our "Greenhills Primary School Uniforms - Swap, Buy & Sell" site.

GREENHILLS ANNUAL MUSIC FESTIVAL - 2022

Just a reminder that the Greenhills Music Festival will be on next Wednesday commencing at 7.30p.m. at the Nalleijerring Performance Centre at Eltham High School. Participating students need to be at the venue by 7.10pm or earlier if specifically asked. Please note that participating students do NOT need a ticket. Tickets for the performance can be purchased on tryBooking using the following link:  https://www.trybooking.com/CDWTZ 

The following students will be attending the Technical Rehearsal on Wednesday 30th at Eltham High School between 10am and 2pm.

All Members of the :

• Recital Choir 
• Training Choir 
• School Band 
• Steve Dowel's senior guitar students 
• Bec Zappia's Singing Students

All other Grade 3 students will be performing during the performance but will not attend the Technical Rehearsal. 

Dress: 

• Recital Choir - arrive in Choir uniform and change into black t shirt with black pants.
• Training Choir - arrive in Choir uniform and change into summer clothes.
• Band - black t shirts and black pants/skirts
• Grade 3s - summer clothes, e.g. dresses or short and t shirts.
• Neat casual dress is required for Steve's guitar students and Bec's singing students.

I am looking forward to a wonderful night of music. Any queries please don't hesitate to contact me. 

Best Wishes

Kate Stewart

INTERSCHOOL SPORT 

Round 13: Friday 25th November 2022

Greenhills A VS Glen Katherine A – AWAY

Greenhills B VS Sacred Heart – HOME

SCHOOL SPORT AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS

Massive shout out to Heidi K (4BJ) who represented TeamVic at last weekend’s SSA National Track & Field Championships in Brisbane. 

Amazingly, Heidi finished first in her 1500m race, in a time of 4:55.2 - making her, not only the National Champion, but also the new National Record Holder 💪! She also finished 4th in the 800m, in a time of 2:28.96, which is a new PB. Both of these are unbelievable results and reward all Heidi’s hardwork and dedication. 

Well done, Heidi! The whole Greenhills community is incredibly proud of this result and can’t wait to see what you achieve in the future.

COMMUNITY SPORTING ACHIEVEMENTS

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. 

FREE DRESS DAY - TUESDAY 29TH NOVEMBER 2022

Congratulations to Greenhills Primary School student Heidi K (4BJ)! Earlier this year, she was selected to represent Team Vic at the National Cross Country Championships, and will do the same again at the upcoming National Track & Field Championships. This is an amazing achievement and great reward for all the hard work Heidi puts in to reach her goals. 

Participation in Team Vic is self funded - the cost for each student and/or their family to attend each of the School Sport Australia Championships is approximately $1000-2000 which includes uniforms, host state levies, transport, accommodation and meals.

Thank you, 

Jordan Daley

GET INVOLVED WITH OUR NEW MINI NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM

Win a Nature journaling kit—It’s Easy…..🌻

While you are out and about why not look for something that interests you or sparks your curiosity to add to our growing mini natural history museum located in the reception area.

Ensure you check with a grown up before you pick something up to make sure it is safe.  It doesn’t have to be an item - it could be something you have drawn or taken a picture of.  Please don’t remove any critters from their habitat for this project.

If you have something you would like to add, collect a specimen card from the office to fill out to present with your item.  No valuable items please.

CANTEEN NEWS

Lunch orders for Wednesday 14th December 2022, Thursday 15th December 2022 and Friday 16th December 2022 need to be ordered by the end of Thursday 8th December 2022.  This is to enable sufficient stock to be able to fill those orders.  The QKR app will be closed off for the final week after Thursday 8th December.  Thanks for your understanding.

            CONNECTED SCHOOLS 

Anxious kids?   Teach them to take off their anxiety goggles      

by Dr Jodi Richardson

Do you find it hard to focus on the present?

There’s always so much to do and plan for as parents. It’s no wonder our minds wander so much. But to think that we spend nearly half of our lives thinking about things other than what we are doing means there’s an awful lot we’re missing out on.

When we’re fully engaged with what’s happening , there’s so much to experience. Bringing our thoughts back to the present moment can be like landing them on a calm, quiet, relaxed island in the midst of stormy seas.

When our minds wander to troubling thoughts, we end up experiencing pain and suffering at times when we’re often warm and dry, fed and watered, safe and secure. Like when we’re in bed. Snug and relaxed in our comfy beds, our doona keeping us warm (or a sheet to keep us cool), with a lovely soft place to lay our heads. Could we be more content in that moment? If only our minds would stay with us!

It’s the same with our kids. It’s often at the end of the day when they’re no longer engaged in activities that they begin to think and worry.

Their minds are far away from the reality of being safe in their rooms with loving family close by but they are sick with worry about future events.

Sometimes thoughts are so ‘sticky’ it’s hard to let go

It’s hard being a wandering minds back to the present when we’re so swept up in our worries. It takes practice to notice a wandering mind, gently ‘unhook’ from the thought and return our attention to the present moment. That’s the practice of mindfulness. Notice, unhook, return, repeat.

Put your head where your hands are

A lovely woman at one of my retreats told me her grandma’s favourite saying was “put your head where your hands are” meaning think about what it is you’re doing while you’re doing it. That’s smart!

Noticing our thoughts are wandering and bringing our attention back to what we’re actually doing is a skill, which gets easier with practice. It’s a powerful skill to teach kids as it to gives them perspective and importantly, the space they need for positive change.

Viewing the world through anxiety goggles

When our kids feel anxious they look at what’s happening around them through ‘anxiety goggles’. It’s like when you look through a pair of glasses with red lenses and everything looks red. Take them off and all is clear again. What if we could help our kids to take off their anxiety goggles and learn to look at their thoughts rather than from them? It would bring them such relief.

Creating a lovely space between our kids and what they’re thinking

We can help our kids do this by developing their metacognition (thought-noticing) skills. That way, when their minds wander to their worries and troubles they can notice they’re actually ‘lost in thought’ and not really experiencing the events they are thinking about. It would help them to ‘unhook’ from their daydreaming and importantly, bring their minds back to the present moment.

Thought-noticing

This is a wonderful skillset which helps our kids to manage their mental health. When kids tune into their thinking, they immediately distance themselves from it. Rather than being lost in the thoughts that are making them feel anxious, they can mentally step back and see the thought for what it is. Just another thought that comes and goes like all the ones before and all the ones to come.

Teaching thought-noticing to kids

There are many ways to teach thought noticing to kids. Look at these ideas like a ‘Choose your own adventure’. Start where you like and go in any direction that feels right for you and your family. If the idea you try isn’t quite the right fit, choose another!

Do you hear what I hear?

Lay down comfortably side by side and spend 2 minutes listening for any sounds you can hear, near or far. When you’re finished, compare what you heard and open a discussion about how our minds often wander away with our thoughts. Kids will know this as ‘daydreaming’. Share how your mind wandered and invite your child to do the same.

Tell me more

Day-to-day conversations are great for thought noticing. It’s about asking the right questions. Here are some examples to get the thought noticing conversation started: “Can you tell me more about why you think that? Why do you think you got so upset when we had to go straight home? Why do you think you’re putting off doing your homework? How will you know when your painting is complete?”

Name your mind

If we get our kids to give their minds a name, we open up opportunities to ask them different questions. For instance, if your child name’s his/her mind Sam. You can ask your child what Sam is thinking. This encourages your child to step back and take a helicopter view of him or herself.

Post-meltdown reflection

In the aftermath of a meltdown or outburst, when calm has returned and your child or teen has moved on, take some time to ask why he/she got so upset over what happened? Ask questions like “what did your mind say to make you feel upset?” for younger children or “can you tell me what you were thinking that made you feel so angry, frustrated, disappointed etc.?” for older kids.

Developing metacognition or ‘thinking about thinking’ skills fosters self-regulation among children. As contributing to children’s mental health and happiness, metacognition helps kids be more successful, more resilient and be able to problem-solve because they are less likely to get caught up in their worries.

And remember, your GP is a great place to start if you have any issues with your kids that you’d like reassurance or advice on. Make time for a chat.

You’ll find the complete toolkit to help kids self-manage anxiety in our Parenting Anxious Kids online course. 

STUDENTS OF THE WEEK

Term 4 Week 8 - Presented at Assembly 2nd December 2022 (Live)