Volume 24 Issue 13 Thursday 10 May 2018

S ame-Day Notification of Unexplained Student Absences The School Attendance Guidelines specify that

from the end of Term 2 2018, government schools must contact parents/carers as soon as practicable on the day of an unexplained student absence. Protecting the safety and well-being of children through the reporting and monitoring of absenteeism is the responsibility of both parents/carers and schools. Parents/carers have an obligation to notify the school of their child’s absence and schools are required to notify parents/carers on the day of an unexplained student absence. This responsibility needs to be underpinned by shared understandings and expectations about the procedures for the promotion, monitoring and follow-up of student attendance as outlined in the school’s Attendance Policy. Clear communication and building a positive and collaborative relationship between schools and parents is critical to the successful implementation of same day notifications. In addition, in order to implement this requirement, it is essential that schools have accurate and current parent/carer contact details.

N ew Attendance Requirements If your child is sick or absent, you are required to notify the school as soon as possible on the day

of absence. Notifying the school of your child’s absence either prior to, or on the day that they will be away, helps ensure the safety and wellbeing of children and will fulfil your legal responsibility. From the end of Term 2 2018, all Victorian government schools are required to contact parents/carers as soon as practicable on the same day of an unexplained student absence. If your child is absent on a particular day and you have not contacted the school to explain why, the absence will be marked as unexplained. Going to school every day is the single most important part of your child’s education, they learn new things

every day – missing school puts them behind. In this week’s newsletter, there is an instruction sheet detailing the use of our Skoolbag App for notifying the school of an absence. Parents are asked to familiarize themselves with the process and put it into use.

Records indicate that we have approximately 90% of families who have downloaded the Skoolbag App so let’s utilize this important feature. If you have experienced difficulties with some of the features on Skoolbag, it may be the result of not having the latest update. Try deleting the app and then re-install it.

S chool Council Update School council was held this week, on Tuesday, with lots of discussion generated. If you feel that

there is something you to need to raise to school council’s attention, please forward an email to the school’s email address: brentwood.park.ps@edumail.vic.gov.au and ask it to be directed to school council.

T hank You Mums and Dad, on Behalf of Mums!!

A huge thank you is extended to the members of our fundraising committee for organising and attending to our Mothers’ Day Stall. The range of gifts and prices meant that all children could be catered for over the three days of its operation! The children were excited and eager purchasers and I’m confident that their mums are going to be pleasantly surprised on Sunday 13 May! Thank you to Donna Foster, Sandra Prvulj, Belinda Muller, Leonie Roberts, Nichole Wood and John Leveque for their respective contributions to its successful organisation!

www.brentwoodparkps.vic.edu.au

term dates 2018 term 1 30 jan - 29 march term 2 16 april - 29 june

term 3 16 july - 21 sept term 4 08 oct - 21 dec

18 MAY NATIONAL WALK SAFELY TO SCHOOL DAY 21-23 MAY BOOKFAIR 8.30 AM TO 9 AM AND 3.20 PM TO 4.00 PM DAILY 22 MAY BOOK FAIR DRESS UP DAY ‘PAWS FOR BOOKS’ 22 MAY OPEN NIGHT (6PM TO 7PM) 23 MAY CANTEEN SPECIAL PASTA LUNCH 24 MAY YEAR 5 SOVEREIGN HILL EXCURSION 28-30 MAY CAMP YEAR 6 PHILLIP ISLAND ADVENTURE RESORT. 08 JUNE STUDENT FREE DAY—STAFF REPORT WRITING DAY. jim bell, principal jenny reid, assistant principal

DATES TO REMEMBER

E ducation Week 2018 This year, Education Week will be celebrated from 20 - 26 May 2018 when kindergar tens

and government schools throughout Victoria will open their doors to parents and their broader communities through information nights, open days and evenings, student displays, performances and other special events that showcase their programs and achievements.

Schools are encouraged to explore this year’s theme titled - Celebrating the Arts. As this year is all about celebrating the arts, it is an opportunity for all primary and secondary schools, and early childhood services to showcase the work they are doing for students in arts subjects including dance, drama, music, visual arts and media arts. Now in its 74th year, Education Week is also an

opportunity for schools and early childhood services to

open their doors to the community and showcase what is

being done to drive student achievement in the arts.

Education Week will give students, teachers and the

community the opportunity to get involved in a range of

music, dance, drama, visual art and media arts.

Arts organisations Arts and cultural organisations including the National Gallery of Victoria, Circus Oz and Sovereign Hill Gold Museum are running free activities and events for students to celebrate Education Week. From learning the art of clowning, puppetry, slam poetry and painting to exploring some of Victoria’s leading galleries and theatres, students can enjoy a wide range of inspiring arts experiences. The full Calendar of Activities can be found at: www.education.vic.gov.au/educationweek. Learning for Life Celebrating the Arts reflects the education state target of ‘Learning for Life’, which aims to improve learning outcomes for every child, in every classroom, in every community to provide the best chance of success in work, and in life. Student engagement in the arts can help improve educational outcomes by boosting motivation and

creativity, building confidence and self-esteem, leadership skills, cooperation and collaboration as well as forging friendships and a sense of belonging. Our Open Evening will be held on Tuesday 22 May from

6:00 - 7:00 p.m. We look forward to a GREAT

attendance on the evening!

F undraising Would you like to meet new parents whilst fundraising for our wonderful school? Our

fundraising team is in need of extra helpers. Any assistance you can offer would be greatly appreciated. We meet once each month and have a casual catch up to discuss fundraising ideas for our school. New faces and ideas would be a welcome addition to our team. Please contact Donna on 0412007818 or Sandra on 0402455548 if you are interested.

B ook Fair The Scholastic Book Fair is coming to our school! The Spring 2018 theme is sure to make

your tail wag! This spring, follow your furriest friends to the Paws for Books Book Fair: Come. Stay. Read a Great Tale! Find purr-fect books and a dog-gone good time as staff, students, and parents sniff out books from Scholastic and other publishers that will make tails wag! There will be fun activities, awesome contests, and a fabulous Dress Up Day on Tuesday 22 May.

N ational Simultaneous Storytime Every year, a picture book, written and illustrated by an Australian author and illustrator,

is read simultaneously in libraries, schools, pre-schools, childcare centres, family homes, bookshops and many other places around the country. Now in its 18th successful year, 2017 was our biggest and most successful NSS to date with 686,324 participants at over 6,129 locations. We will be participating in the storytime, reading Hickory Dickory Dash by Tony Wilson, illustrated by Laura Wood, on the 23rd May at 11 am, along with thousands of other keen readers. Brentwood Park was lucky enough to win a book pack for our participation this year, with over $100 worth of books being donated to our library. Look out for them.

H elp needed: The library is in urgent need of some old Video tape boxes to store packs of cards in, or another

plastic container that would do the same job. If you have some VHS cases or suitable containers that you no longer have need of, could you please drop them into the library. We are also looking for some donations of material in predominate colours that match our reading levels (ie green, blue, red, purple, yellow, white, light blue, pink, gold and orange). These will be made into bags for the class room so students can return their share books, as the current plastic bags are being phased out. If you have some material that we could use, or old sheets, doona covers or pillowslips, again, these can be donated at the library for our clever parents to convert into suitable bags. Much thanks! Annette and Josephine

E dwin Flack District Cross Country This week, our school had 63 students competing at district level in cross country. With excellent

running conditions, the pace of each race was very fast. The students from our school ran exceptionally well against fierce competition. There were a total of 80 competitors per race and many Brentwood Park students finished in the top 30 which was an excellent result. Overall, our school came in 5th place; the annual shield was won by Berwick Primary School. I am very proud of all of our competitors who gave their very best effort. Congratulations to Wyatt 3rd and Tianna 8th in the 12 year old category. Lincoln 10th in the 11 year old category. We wish them well at divisional level. Blake and Emily are listed as emergencies for the division event (11th place). It was great to see a new generation of bottom age runners who will certainly benefit from yesterday’s experience. Blake, Connor, Ashton, Kade Cooper, Jai Wei, Tiara, Jayde and Rose will compete in the same age group next year. Mel and I are very proud of the efforts given by all of our competitors and appreciative of the commitment given. A huge thank you to the parents who assisted with the day, your help is greatly appreciated.

I nter School Sport The interschool sport competition unfortunately looks likely to be effected by rain again this week.

At present I am seeking to re-schedule last weeks game. Can you please ensure uniforms are being washed after each game and returned at the end of the season. Jim Narayan and Mel Dennis H&PE

K ambrya Year 6 Maths Extension Program 3rd May 2018

Learning Goal: To be able to wr ite mathematical statements and simplify like terms. Success Criteria : I can *write statements * add and subtract like terms Activities : worksheet and text book reference Terms used in algebra Double = times 2 Difference = means subtract Product = means multiply Average (mean) you add all the number then divide by the number or numbers eg: 3+5+4+8=20, 20 divided by 4=5 . The average is 5. We do not use a ‘x’ to show multiplication in algebra. 9xn-3 is written 9n-3 1/5y-7 is the same as 1/5 y/1=y/5, so y/5-7 Simplifying LIKE terms. Terms = terms are separated by a + - and = signs

Eg: 3y+5h-5z has 3 terms 4-y has 2 terms 4b +6xyz+8y+3za- 2ab Has 5 terms not 7 5. c LIKE terms: pronumerals need to be the same Eg 1a,2a are like terms 5a,6b are unlike terms 3a , 2a are like terms 4n n Adding and Subtracting Like Terms 5a-3a=2a 6b+2b+b=9b 6a+2a+3c+c=8a+4c 5a+2b+3a-b =5a+3a+2b-b =8a+b

C hinese Language and Culture

CHINESE SISTER SCHOOL VISIT... For the last three years, Brentwood Park Primary School has hosted very successful visitations from our Chinese sister school; Yangzhong Experimental Primary School. Such visitations are facilitated throughout the state between Victorian schools and Jiangsu schools. Following the previous successful visits to Victoria over past years, the schools in Jiangsu would like to visit their sister schools in Victoria again this year. The school visits will be for 7 nights/ 6 days between 23 July 30 July 2017 depending upon flights. The maximum number of visitors will be twelve students and two teachers from each school. The host school activities / homestay arrangements would be similar to last year. This continues to be a great opportunity for our school community and we remain hopeful that with support from volunteer school families, we can accommodate this year’s visitation. We will soon be forwarding more details to families and seeking interest for hosting. Research in sister school relationships often highlights the positive impact that such relationships can have across a range of areas for students, schools and the school community. Sister schools contribute to:

Intercultural understanding within the school community

Increased global awareness and internationalisation within the school community

Opportunities to better understand one’s own culture/country

Personal development of the student e.g. leadership, maturity, independence

Improved ability of students to adjust to different situations

Opportunities for sharing pedagogies and engage in joint curriculum development

Opportunities for reciprocal travel

Enhancement of the reputation of the school

FRIENDSHIP

C hinese Language and Culture VICTORIAN SISTER SCHOOLS VISIIT TO CHINA

I am excited to be able to inform our school community that Jiangsu Education Services for International Exchange [JESIE] are again providing funding support for the Victorian sister schools to visit China this year! Schools who wish to visit their sister schools in Jiangsu, China, in September will be provided with funding to partly cover the inland costs with each participating school only having to pay $2,000 per person, for the whole trip which is including international airfares and visa fee! The twelve days itinerary will include visits to Beijing and The Great Wall, and Shanghai.

JESIE and Jiangsu sister schools will co-host the visit. JESIE will assist in organising the airport transfers and school transfers and all cultural tours in China and individual sister schools will look after the school and homestay programs.

It is expected that the bulk of the visit will take in the first week of the September school holidays! This is a great opportunity being afforded our students and I hope that with parent support, Brentwood Park Primary School will be able to participate for the second consecutive year.

FRIENDSHIP

This is a wonderful opportunity for our students and I remain hopeful that some of the families of our current Year 5 and 6 students will give this opportunity substantial thought with regards to participation. If any parent requires additional information, please don’t hesitate to speak with me or Jo-Anne Doran, personally. Jim Bell, principal

Term 2 Week ending 4 May, 2018

1MK Anjyl for settling in so well at BPPS! Grade 1MK are so happy to have you. 1BV Prajwal for displaying an excellent understanding of how to tell the time. Well done! 1HG Joshini for demonstrating such enthusiasm and dedication to her writing during our ‘Big Write’. Well done. 1KC Ryan for always doing your best work! You demonstrate excellence with every task! 1NC Cooper for the amazing letter you wrote. You had great questions. 1EN Jake for seeking help and persisting when unsure of ordering numbers. Well done! 2DK Amy for her exceptionally high standard of homework each week! 2AK Jacob for working hard to develop a ‘Growth Mindset’, especially in Maths. 2CM Amaira for using all your spelling words in an entertaining story! Well done! 2AD 2AD For demonstrating fantastic ‘getting along’ skills this week. Well done. 2AA Andy for showing determination when making and describing 3D shapes. 3CH Karyi for writing an outstanding persuasive piece of text. 3MS Daniel for showing great positivity to all aspects of your learning. 3SH Ryan for using figurative language techniques in his writing this week. 3MF Kiyara for being a kind and helpful member of 3MF! 4SM Ieshaan for his efficient use of mental strategies in maths. Super job, keep it up! 4GD Trisha for her positive and the consistent effort that she has put into all classroom activities. 4BM Bryce for working hard and creating a very interesting introduction to your story. 4VK n/a 4CP Niren for always working to the best of his abilities. 5LM Zoe for developing a positive attitude towards school and learning tasks! 5LF Lorelei for settling well into BPPS. Welcome! 5SI Chase for creating a highly detailed and mature persuasive piece! 5JG Will for paying careful attention when preparing his resources before each lesson!

Term 2 Week ending 4 May, 2018

6MB Jessica for helping organise the yard duty folders everyday! You’re a ‘SUPERSTAR!’ 6LM Xavier for his positive approach and sportsmanship during his tennis games. 6JP Omindee for being an enthusiastic and diligent member of our class! 6JA Lilosan for ALWAYS putting in 100% into his work with a positive attitude.

SPECIALIST CLASSES

LOTE: Chunyan 2AA for your positive engagement in learning the Chinese song ‘Wo De Hao Mama’. Well done! LOTE: Daisy 5LM for completing ‘shopping’ conversations in Chinese! Well done. Performing Arts: Kenneth 3SH for confidently dancing during your lesson. The way you showed “Team Work” by encouraging each other was fantastic! Performing Arts: Troy n/a Physical Education: Jim. 5JG for a brilliant game of T-Ball using lots of strategies. Physical Education: Mel FJF for their amazing catching when using the step boards. Visual Arts: Joi FBC for their fabulous printing patterns using found objects. Visual Arts: Jessica 2CM for being ready and engaged in our art activity in record time! Keep it up 2CM.

ATTITUDES TO SCHOOL SURVEY

We value student voice as a means to improving student engage-ment, wellbeing and quality instruction and are conducting a survey to find out what your child thinks of our school. The Attitudes to School Survey is an annual student survey offered by the Depart-ment of Education and Training to assist schools in gaining an under-standing of students' perceptions and experience of school. Our school will use the survey results to plan programs and activities to improve your child's schooling experience. Students from Year 4 to 6 at our school will participate in the survey. Your child will complete the survey online during school hours using a purpose built secure online survey tool. It is important to note that we are not in any way “testing” your child. Your child has the right to refuse or withdraw from the survey at any point before, during, or af-ter completion of the survey.

Your child will be provided with a unique login to complete the survey. The student login is an assigned identifier that may be used to link data for statistical and research purposes only. All responses to the survey are kept anonymous in the response file. Personal identifica-tion data will not be recorded in the survey response file. This en-sures that the confidentiality of your child’s responses is protected at all times.

This year the Attitudes to School survey will be conducted at our school over the period Monday 23 April to Friday 1 June. The survey only takes 20 minutes to complete and occurs during your child's class time. The survey results will be reported back to the school before the end of term 2. All survey data that is made available in reports are for groups of students only so that no individual student can be identi-fied. As you are aware when reading the Annual Report each year, results from the Attitudes to School Survey assist the school to im-prove our programs.

LATE TO SCHOOL

We have noticed a considerable rise in students being late to school this term; up to 36 daily!

This is unacceptable.

Punctuality is an important aspect of school life and allows fewer class disruptions in the morning.

Being on time ensures students, engage in the introduction to

lessons and maximises their learning opportunities.

We would appreciate you ensuring

your child is on time.

P LEASE DIRECT MONEY FOR EXCURSIONS, ETC TO YOUR CLASSROOM TEACHER - NOT TO THE OFFICE.

Please hand money and permission slip in sealed envelopes to classroom teacher first thing in the morning. By following this process teachers are aware that your child will be attending the excursion and mark them off

their lists. Money is collected by office staff and processed each morning and a receipt given back to teachers along with permission slips. All money is tallied and banked daily – no money is left on the premises. If you wish to pay by credit card, a proforma is available from the office. This can be filled out with details and placed in a sealed envelope and handed to your classroom teacher

Please deliver cash in a sealed envelope with your child’s name and grade on the front by 9.30 a.m. If you have a number of children attending an excursion you can place all money and permission slips in the one envelope with children’s names and grades on the front and deliver to one of the children’s teachers. The office staff will be able to allocate money to the children’s particular items and distribute permission slips and receipts back to teachers. Enve-lopes are available at the office. If you have a large amount to be paid or need to process an EFTPOS transaction through a savings account you can make arrangements to pay at the office. We also have a new Qkr payment system on our Skoolbag app. If you download our Skoolbag app and Qkr payment app you can now pay for your child’s excursion on line.

All change will be delivered to the children in the afternoon. Re-imbursements will only be made under certain circumstances – they will be made by cheque (no cash transactions are made).

Notices are sent out with a final collection time – please adhere to this time. All money and permission slips are required to be sent back by this date – otherwise your child will not be able to attend. This enables us to confirm bookings and numbers with bus companies and organisations we are visiting. Also we need to send details to the De-partment of Education Emergency Management for all excursions, camps, etc. We also need to accommodate students who will not be attending.

We would appreciate it if parents could please follow these processes.