PRINCIPAL’S DESK

I would like to wish everyone a safe and Merry Christmas and hope the New Year brings much joy and prosperity. The years seem to be going quicker and quicker, but it’s important to stop and reflect on the year just past. As a school community, we should be extremely proud of our school’s performance both in academic achievement but more importantly in the quality of students we are producing. Positive Education is shaping students’ thinking. Empathy, gratefulness and kindness are qualities being displayed regularly by our student body. I would like to acknowledge the enthusiasm of our School Council and PCA for ensuring that I can implement the educational programs necessary to be a leading school in our area. Enjoy time with your families and we will see you back on Thursday 30 January for day 1 of 2020.

Year 6 Graduation What a night! Our Year 6 students excelled at their Graduation on Wednesday night. A huge thank you must go to the Year 6 staff for their wonderful organisation. Again, this year, we

conducted the Graduation at the Rowville Secondary College Performing Arts Centre. What a fantastic venue! If we judge our school performance on the quality of the students who leave us in Year 6, then we are doing an amazing job. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the Class of 2019. You all should be very proud of your performance this year. At the Graduation, we recognised the achievements of a number of students. Well done to the following students: Aston Award: Brendan G Rowville Endeavour Award: Madison M Rotary Award: Cameron E Graeme Lloyd Award: Maya K Year 6 Awards Gratitude – Ethan W, Chloe N, Jessica T & Harvey F Teamwork – Mia L, Olivia H, Kate P & Nikolas F Creativity – Jayme M, Elmore K, Lacey J & Mishika S Perseverance – Alyssa H, Nathan H, Bailey P &Amber P Kindness – Corey P, Aidan P, Charlotte H & Taylah H Class Awards – Thomas S, Jordyn P, Riley C & Jake C Specialists Awards Music (Suzanna Hofmann): Maddison H & Jue H PE (Matt Davey): Paris R & Harry C Art (Craig Hall): Cassie M, Ruby M & Kai E Indonesian (Shane Merrett): Stuar t P & Char lotte W

IMPORTANT DATES Friday 20 December Thursday 23 January

2020 Tuesday 28

January 2020 Wednesday 29 January 2020

Thursday 30 January 2020

Last Day Of 2019 - Students Dismissed

At 1:15pm

School Office Open For Book Collection

9am - 3pm

Uniform Shop Open 10am - 12pm

Book Collection 9am - 3pm

Curriculum Day - No Students

Required At School

Book Collection 8:15am- 3:30pm

First Day Of Term 1 2020

Foundation Early Finish At 2:15pm

SCHOOL VISION - ‘Preparing our students to develop the knowledge and skills that will help them become life-long learners who are successful

and happy individuals who participate fully in and contribute to our community and the world around us.’

2020 School Captains Our 2020 school captains who were announced at last weeks assembly are Rebekah H, Tyler H, Luca I and Sophie S.

2019 Park Ridge House Shield Curry house was presented with the Park Ridge House shield at last weeks assembly. Well done!

2019 Year 5 Lions Club Scholarship Our 2019 Lions Club scholarship recipients were Sienna D and Jake H. Last Day of School Students will dismiss tomorrow at 1:15pm from their classrooms. As the forecasted weather is for extreme

temperatures we will be holding our usual assembly in the Wentworth Building at 8:45am where we will acknowledge our year 6 award recipients. For the Diary Next year school begins on Thursday 30 January for all students in Years F-6. Students will proceed directly to their new classrooms. Mathletics Our Gold Certificate recipient for this week is Thomas MacD.

Bucket Filler Award This week’s Bucket Filler recipient is Callum B for showing kindness by always going out of his way to help his friends and teachers.

David Mann Principal

TERM DATES

Term 4: 7 October to 20 December 2019

Term 1: 28 January to 27 March 2020 Term 2: 14 April to 26 June 2020 Term 3: 13 July to 18 September 2020

COMPASS Compass School Manager has the facility to send out push notifications to iPhones, iPads and Android devices. To receive push out notifications and also access the other features of Compass School Manager, please download the Compass App. If you have difficulty with downloading the App or have any

feedback about this facility please contact the office. Please remember the Compass Website link is available on the home page of the school website. Please note, attendance approvals are now preferred via this method.

WATERING NEW PLANTS We are seeking the community’s support in watering our new garden. When families are playing in the school during the school holidays, could you please bring along a bucket to water the garden. We would really appreciate any help you can give us. The water at school will remain on to assist in this process. Thank you in advance for your community support in keeping our school looking beautiful.

Students of the Week - Week 10 F-06 Jett

Spike the class toy For showing resilience when playing with his friends in the playground. For visiting the children in the class.

F-07 Avish Lisa

For being a caring and considerate class member. The compassion you show towards your classmates is wonderful. For showing persistence with every task you do. You have made amazing progress in your learning.

F-08 Tyler Aaliyah

For always having great focus and working hard when completing tasks. For being such a great friend to everyone.

F-09 Angus Ella

For completing over 300 nights of reading for the year. Awesome effort! For a great year of learning. Well done!

1-11 Zac For working incredibly hard to become the most wonderful role model for our class!

1-12 Zoe For using her reading strategies when reading independently. Well done Zoe!

1-15 Artan For beginning and completing work with greater independence. Well done Artan!

1-16 Indi For always being a positive and helpful student. Thank you for making our classroom nicer.

2-17 Hilary For her amazing efforts in her first week at Park Ridge! Well done Hilary.

2-18 Roya For always being a positive and helpful member of our class.

2-21 Rhys For being friendly and inclusive of all students in the yard.

3-02 Curtis For being a kind and helpful class member.

3-03 Kai For being positive, conscientious and helpful throughout moving week.

3-04 Logan For consistently completing work of a high standard this semester. Well done!

3-05 Cameron For writing an engaging Christmas narrative with great word choices and phrasing.

4-10 Callum For entertaining us with his creative poetry and a positive year of learning.

4-27 Melody For putting in a huge effort to help on Moving Day and for always using your initiative.

4-28 Everyone in 4-28 For being a class of superheroes who have made 2019 a fabulous year of learning and fun!

5-19 Liv For her showing creativity, persistence and high expectations when working on her Christmas narrative.

5-20 Bianca Brandon

For always having a growth mindset and displaying persistence when working on her Buddy Christmas narrative, and for being a great helper on moving day. For settling well into 5-20 and displaying the school values of respect and positivity.

5-22 Lucas For being a cleaning whiz.

5-23 Jacqui For the incredible effort she put in when illustrating her buddy narrative.

5-24 Amy For being a great classmate all year and showing enthusiasm towards learning.

6-01 Alyssa For all of your help around our classroom, you are always the first one to offer your assistance, thank you!

6-13 Liv For an outstanding final year of primary school!

MONIES PENDING ON COMPASS 2020 Parent Contribution Fifth Instalment due

Monday 6 January

2020 Final Parent Contribution Instalment due on Monday 20 January

Year 5 Ballarat/Bendigo Camp Final Instalment due Saturday 1 February

Year 3 Phillip Island Camp First Instalment due Wednesday 12 February

Classes of the Week PHYSICAL EDUCATION

F-08 5B

For being respectful, resilient and super positive in PE this week. For a fun and enthusiastic lesson.

WELL DONE!!!

6-14 Whole class For having such patience and understanding during such a crazy moving day!!

6-25 Dylan For embracing Graduation dance with enthusiasm and for having such a great year.

I SEA I CARE NEWS Our I Sea I Care ambassador’s and parents have compiled a short article to describe what the I Sea I Care program is all about. Amy R I Sea I Care has been a great experience and I am so glad I applied for it. We have learnt so many things about our oceans, marine life, pollution and recycling. My favorite experience was when we swam with the dolphins and we got to see a 3-day old baby dolphin with its mum. We got to swim with seals and also a mother and baby stingray. Through this whole experience I have gained more confidence to speak in front of people and have been able to pass on the knowledge I have learnt to others. Tyler H I have greatly enjoyed being part of the I Sea I Care program this year. We have had some amazing experiences. In the second half of the year we went to the Melbourne Coastal Workshops where we learnt about the animals there and the indigenous culture. I also understand that we need to put our rubbish in the bin. If you don’t, it can destroy animal habits or end up in the sea, which is very harmful to marine life. Thank you to Mr Merrett for running this program!! Tracey (Tyler’s Mum) Tyler has loved every moment of this program and personally so have I. Tyler was very lucky to have the opportunity to participate in this program and has had many wonderful experiences throughout each workshop and knowledge sharing experience. We are very grateful to Mr Merrett and the school for running this program, as not only does the program bring awareness to the surrounding marine life it builds student’s self confidence and leaderships skills. Tahlia P I Sea I Care is an amazing program where you get picked by your class to participate with other students. You are a

part of the Dolphin Research Institute and do fundraisers, workshops, teach younger kids what you have learnt and talk at assembly. I love it so much and it gives you a chance to learn about what us humans have done to the environment. I have made new friends learnt new incredible things and had a great time. I will never forget these amazing moments. This year the favourite thing I have done is probably the dolphin swim because I got to swim with seals, stingrays and lots of other fish life. I also loved it because it was something I have never seen before and it was a once in a lifetime opportunity. I think that I Sea I Care has changed my life forever and by change I mean good change because I love it!! Karli P (Tahlia’s Mum) As a parent, watching my daughter Tahlia be involved in the I Sea I Care Program has been so rewarding. It’s such a special experience for a child. She has learnt so much about the Dolphin Research institute, and has become a stronger leader within her school community, running workshops for the younger years, talking at assembly, running fundraisers and attending many excursions where she has learnt about how to care for our oceans, sea life, environment and so much more. I highly recommend this program to any child who might be interested. Zoe T Throughout the year with I Sea I Care we’ve done so many amazing activities such as the dolphin swim, exploring a reef, learning about aboriginal land and foods and even teaching preps about pollution and sea animals. My highlight for the year is definitely the dolphin swim. We spotted two adult dolphins and even one calf. It was an incredible experience. Overall, it was an amazing year and I would definitely recommend it to the new incoming grade 5’s.

Shane Merrett Indonesian Specialist

END OF YEAR IMPORTANT DATES

As we are nearing the end of 2019, please note the following important dates;

Friday 20 December Out of School Hours Care closed and unavailable

Last day of School for 2019 - Students dismissed at 1:15pm

2020 IMPORTANT DATES

Thursday 23 January

Office Open for General Enquiries

Uniform Shop 10:00am - 12:00pm

Stationery Pack Collection 9:00am - 3:00pm

Monday 27 January Australia Day Public Holiday

Tuesday 28 January Stationery Pack Collection 9:00am - 3:00pm

Wednesday 29 January Curriculum Day - No students required at school

Stationery Pack Collection 8:15pm - 3:30pm

Thursday 30 January All students first day of Term 1 -

Foundation students dismissed at 2:15pm

Friday 31 January Foundation students dismissed at 2:15pm

2020 SPORTS DATES TO REMEMBER I’ve had a few parents ask about sports dates for next year so that they can plan holidays around them etc. Here are some important dates on the 2020 Sports Calendar: District Swimming – Friday 21 February Whole School Cross Country - Tuesday 10 March Year 3 - 6 School House Athletics - Wednesday 25 March District Cross country - Friday 1 May Year 6 Winter Sports - Friday 5 June and Friday 12 June Girls Footy Carnival – Friday 19 June Year 3/4 Hoop Time – Friday 17 July Year 5/6 Hoop Time - Friday 24 July District Athletics - Friday 14 August Year 6 Summer Sports - Friday 28 August and Friday 4 September

Matt Davey Physical Education and Sport Coordinator

5 DAYS UNTIL

CHRISTMAS

COMMUNITY NEWS (We thank the following people for advertising in our School Newsletter, however Park Ridge Primary School does

not endorse their products or services)