DIXONS CREEK PRIMARY SCHOOL 1585

Upcoming Events

Thursday Feb 25

Year 2 Sleep Over

Tuesday March 1

House Sports Swimming

Carnival

Wednesday March 2

Student Leadership

Conference

Tuesday March 8

School Photos

FORMS DUE BACK:

House Swimming

National Young Leaders

School Fees

Consents—Head Lice etc

School Photos

2016 TERM DATES

Term 1: 28 January to 24 March

Term 2: 11 April to 24 June Term 3: 11 July to 16 September Term 4: 3 October to 20 December

PRINCIPAL PREAMBLE

Sharon Walker

February 25, 2016

CONTACT DETAILS Dixons Creek Primary School 1585

1815 Melba Highway

Dixons Creek Victoria 3775

Phone: 5965 2282 fax: 5965 2477 email: dixons.creek.ps@edumail.vic.gov.au

School Payments Account: BSB: 063-856 Account: 10018910

Congratulations to Jessica Rothwell, School

Captain 2016 and to Chloe Smith, Vice-

Captain 2016. The eligible children in Year 6

gave speeches to the school community; the

students from F-Yr 6 voted and the teachers

assessed the vote results against the criteria

for School Captain that included:

Showing respect for all others in

the school community through

positive, proactive behaviour

Showing compassion by helping

others in need, both in the

classroom and in the playground

Demonstrating an ability to lead

others through high standards in

previous leadership roles

Showing organisational and time

management skills through

completion of set tasks

Demonstrating empathy for

others in charitable deeds both at

school and in the local

community

Modelling enthusiasm and

passion by always achieving their

personal best

As enrolments have grown the process

of choosing two school captains has

become very difficult. We have fabulous

young people at this school who all

deserve a chance to show their

leadership capabilities. This year our

House Captains will be asked to do more

in the school than ever before. Their first

job is to help with the House Swimming

Sports held on March 1, 2016. We have

decided to name the houses by choosing

iconic families in this area’s history. The

House Captains will lead this process.

Each will be asked to plan at least one

whole school house event such as a

Sports Day, Dance Off, Talent Quest etc.

Watch out for more fun in 2016 with

house competitions.

Mrs Hannagan and Miss Bawden have

created four groups of students who will

lead the school community in these

areas:

Communication

Digital Technologies

Social Justice and Wellbeing

Environment and Sustainability

These children are invited to attend the

Leadership Conference on Wednesday

March 2 in the city. Permission forms

went out yesterday.

Page 2 DCPS

Teach children to do

what they can for

themselves. Break

down more complex

tasks into parts so

children can

experience success.

Allow children to

take ‘safe’ risks that

can extend their

ability to function

independently.

Foundation

Orientation Dates

2016

Wed May 4 and

May 25

Wed June 15 and

29

Wed July 27

Wed August 10

and 31

Wed September

14

Wed October 12

and 26

Wed November

23

Wed December 7

(9am -1.30pm)

OVER INDULGING CHILDREN—A FEW NOTES Most parents want to raise children who are appreciative for what they have, responsible for their behaviour, have a healthy perspective on material possessions, are generous, and think about the needs of others. Nowadays, bringing up children who feel grateful for – rather than entitled to – what they have is a challenge. As you strive toward that goal, keep in mind that each parent decides for his family how much is too much and what is enough. What you consider “right” depends on your personal values and what you want to teach your children about “things,” being responsible, and giving and receiving. Research by Jean Illsley Clarke has found that there are three ways that parents can over-indulge their children:

giving them too much

over-caring – doing things for them that the children could and should be doing themselves

lax discipline – not holding the children accountable for their behaviours Part of the problem for parents is teaching children the difference between ’needs and wants.’ Children don’t automatically know the difference between the things they truly need and those things they would like but can certainly survive without. They are not born with the knowledge or judgment to calibrate their needs. They experience all needs (and also what you might consider “wants”) with the same degree of intensity. The concept of ‘enough’ is also important to teach children. The ability to know what is enough is one of the most important skills you can teach your children because it is through the understanding of this concept that children learn moderation and self-control. “Enough” is an elusive concept that is best taught slowly over many years by adults who say “You’ve had enough,” whether it is sweets, gifts, excitement, recreation, or stimulation. You teach about ‘enough’ informally’ a bit at a time as the situation arises. The most common type of over-indulgence occurs when parents raise children to expect that other people will take responsibility for their needs and actions. When parents do not teach independence from an early age they are teaching reliance on others which is actually a disservice that can result in a sense of debilitating inadequacy. Children need to have ‘a go’ at things and to experience failure. Children who are given the chance to function independently learn the pleasure of succeeding as well. Another form of over-indulgence occurs when parents do not expect enough of their children in terms of responsibility for their actions. When there are no set rules and established consequences, children do not have the opportunity to face the results of their behaviours. All children need to be taught to be accountable for their actions so they learn to live up to high standards, are honest with themselves and others and keep their word. Notes taken from: http://centerforparentingeducation.org

DCPS Page 3

NATIONAL YOUNG LEADERS DAY

On Wednesday March 2, ten of our Year 6 leaders will travel into the Melbourne Convention and Exhibi-

tion Centre to hear four excellent young leaders speak about leadership, initiative and persistence. The

children will travel by the 7:43 train from Lilydale Station, into the event. Arrival back at Lilydale will be

by 4pm.

Students will need to wear school uniform, bring a small backpack with all food /drink for the day and a

pen. They may also bring up to $10.00 personal spending money to purchase merchandise available at

the conference. All queries to Sandra Hannagan please.

SCHOOL COUNCIL NOMINATIONS

We have one nomination for School Council

membership.

We need at least one more parent to nominate

so please fill out a form available from the office

if you are interested. School Council meets once a

month—Monday 6-7.30pm on the last Monday of

the month (not school holidays). There are

usually eight meetings a year.

School Council works on school policies, finance

buildings/grounds, local payroll, principal

selection and accountability.

Ongoing members of school council are: Mark

Hull, Jane Toop, Meridie Jackson Smith, Michelle

Maffescioni and Hayley Bawden. Sharon Walker

acts as the Executive Officer each year.

Please return nomination forms by 4pm Friday

February 26.

SCHOOL YEAR BOOK AND PHOTOS

Cindy Watts is willing to work on a Dixons Creek School Year Book for 2016

but she will need a parent helper to do this. Sandra Hannagan has kindly

opted to be the teacher assistant so please see Cindy if you enjoy

photography, or graphic design, and would like to be on the team! Great

idea Cindy!

DON’T FORGET SCHOOL PHOTO DAY IS TUESDAY MARCH 8 FROM 9AM!

NEWS FROM THE CLASSROOMS

Year 1/2 Schabel

This week in 1/2S we had great fun in science investigating the surface

tension of water. Can you float a paperclip on water? We can….just ask

us how! In Maths we worked hard on place value, working out how many

hundreds, tens and ones each number contains. We worked in groups and

used MAB and Paddlepop sticks to display how we build numbers. Mia and

Charlie were the VIPS for the fortnight and we enjoyed getting to know

more about them.

Mrs Hoogie’s F-1

Foundation students were so excited last week because they used letter/sound knowledge to make their first WORD! They have been playing fun games to learn their Golden (MIOOW) words and in Mathematics they have been counting, reading and writing

numbers to 10 and making models of these numbers using the teddies and teddy trains.

Grade one students have been working on using reading strategies such as ‘chunky monkey’ and ‘skippy frog’ while they read and learnt how to ask good questions using ‘comprehension dice’ to generate questions for each other about stories they have read. In Mathematics grade ones have been reading and writing numbers to 100, counting forwards and backwards and making models of these numbers using the unifix blocks. They were challenged when asked to sort numbers by size and explain the numbers in

expanded form - How many tens and how many ones?

In Science all students loved trying to make a paperclip float and then making a submarine out of a bottle, pen lid and a piece of blu-tack. Our green ‘grass hair’ is almost ready for a haircut and we are looking forward to our ‘Possum Magic Picnic’ on Friday 4th

of March.

YEARS 3-6

What a busy fortnight! Thank you to all the parents who were able to attend the ‘Meet and

Greet’ sessions and the school Information Night. Although is was three late nights at school

over the fortnight, we enjoyed hearing parents talk about their children and preparing for the

Information Night with booklets and details about specific programs.

We have now completed the school leadership process. Once again thank you to the children,

and families, who helped prepare their children for this daunting time. We are now busy

meeting with our groups to plan the year’s events and activities.

In the classrooms we have been learning about our brains and other body systems. We are re-

visiting note taking, clarifying, the structures and features of non-fiction texts and writing Infor-

mation Reports.

The children are all receiving their homework each Monday. Reading is vital at all levels. Please

ensure children read every night for an extended period. Children in Years 3 and 4 will soon re-

ceive their new ‘Look, Say, Cover, Write, Check’ books. We encourage you to help your child

write the words each night in a fun way—perhaps with their eyes closed! Children in Years 5-6

will also have weekly words to learn.

SCHOOL CAPTAIN JESSICA

VICE-CAPTAIN CHLOE

BLUE HOUSE CAPTAIN ANNA / MITCHELL

WHITE HOUSE CAPTAIN CAMPBELL / CALLUM K

YELLOW HOUSE CAPTAIN HARRISON / SELINA

GREEN HOUSE CAPTAIN CHLOE / CONNOR

COMMUNICATIONS JASON / BAILEY

ENVIRONMENTAL SAMARA / MILLIE

DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES SHANNON / OWEN

SOCIAL JUSTICE ERIN / JASMINE

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE SCHOOL STUDENT LEADERSHIP TEAM

Yarra Glen Craft Market Car Parking Roster

It’s a new season of car parking duties for the Yarra Glen Craft Market held at the race course.

On the first Sunday of every month 6 parents from the school, are needed, to volunteer their time

from 7.30am to 12.30pm. The market season runs from February to June and then restarts on Sep-

tember until December. There is an additional market in December which is usually on a Saturday

evening and this one is known as the Xmas Twilight Market (2pm to 7.30pm). Our volunteers help di-

rect cars to parking spaces. It can be a lot of fun and a way to meet others in the community.

To volunteer please TICK the box on your preferred date below.

We require volunteers for March, April, May and June 2016 . Please consider helping as we desperate-

ly need to fulfil our quota of volunteers. Some parents have done several markets each year so we

really need others who have not helped to step forward. We will earn $600 a market for the school.

Please complete the form below, circle a date and return to the office no later than Friday February

19, 2016.

Should you nominate a date but then find you are unable to participate, you will be required to find

some else to take your place.

Thank you from Emma Moore, Car Parking Coordinator

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Yarra Glen Craft Market Car Parking

Name: ……………………………………………………………………………………

Students Name:………………………………………………………………………

Contact Phone: ……………………………………………………………………….

Contact email address: ……………………………………………………………

7th March 2016

3th April 2016

1st May 2016

5th June 2016

Please return ASAP

Time for the annual Easter Raffle! What a fabulous way to end the term – taking home a bas-ket brimming with Easter goodies. We need donations though! Donations should be items that families would enjoy during the Easter break. Ideas could include: chocolates, wine, gour-met foods and spreads, table decorations, games for children to play over the break, a good book to read, vouchers for dinner, gourmet dips and cheeses, festive serviettes, soft toys, per-fumed candles or pampering bubble baths! The list is endless! Our hampers have always been popular and the community does a great job with donations. We know this one will be well worth winning too!

All items can be brought to the school office any time. Hampers will be made up during the last week of the school term.

EASTER RAFFLE

HOUSE SPORTS SWIMMING CARNIVAL TUESDAY MARCH 1, 2016

Everyone is excited about the House Sports Swimming Carnival next Tuesday March 1 at the

Healesville Outdoor Pool. The schedule for the day will be:

10-10.20am— Recess at school

10.30am— Buses leave school

11.00am—Events start

2pm - Events conclude

2.45pm— Arrival back at school

We desperately need parents to help as marshals' on the day. Children need to bring all food

and drink for the day in a small backpack with towel, googles, bathers, sunscreen etc. PLEASE

NOTE: IT COULD BE AROUND 35 DEGREES ON THIS DAY SO ALL CHILDREN NEED LOTS OF

WATER AND SUNSCREEN WITH THEM.

We encourage parents to take their children home directly from the pool if possible. Parents

who do this please sign out with the teacher before leaving. Parents who arrange car pooling

home must have a note from the absent parent indicating they can take another child home

from the pool.

New Players Welcome

We still have vacancies in all our teams so if you are inter-

ested in giving Soccer (Football) a go please give us a try.

Be part of Australia’s Number 1 participation sport.

Valley Soccer Kids A program for ages 5 Years to 12 years, which helps develop a player’s football skills and promote interest in

soccer. A skills based program for all juniors held on Sunday mornings. Term by term

program.

Juniors Teams Under 10, 12 and 14 years

Seniors Men and Women (15 years and over)

Enquiries

please contact Andrew Devisser on 0439 034 278

or Andrew Woolley on 0413 666 392

Expressions of Interest taken for experienced and suita-

ble coaches and assistants to compliment existing dedi-

cated team.

Yarra Valley Soccer Club