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RESPECT OPTIMISM COMMITMENT COMPASSION HONESTY
Term 4, Issue 9
5th December, 2017
A reminder that the school newsletter can always be accessed from our website at www.buninyongps.vic.edu.au
School Assemblies
8 December 1-4 Assembly
15 December 5 - 6 Assembly
DATES TO REMEMBER
6 Dec Gr 3 Sovereign Hill
7 Dec Parent/teacher interviews (1pm finish)
8 Dec Prep Sovereign Hill
12 Dec Orientation Day (2018 Preps & Yr 7’s)
14 Dec Parent/Teacher Interviews (4-6pm)
18 Dec Grade 3/4 - Movies
19 Dec Meet New Teachers (12:15 - 1:10pm) Scotsburn Christmas Breakup (6pm)
20 Dec Gr 4 Sovereign Hill Scotsburn Fun Day Grade 6 Graduation Evening Prep Movies
22 Dec End of Term 1:30 finish
25th & 29th Jan
Book pack collection Days
31st Jan Gr 1 - 6 Start
1st Feb Preps start
SELECTING OUR SCHOOL CAPTAINS FOR 2018
We are currently working through a selection
process to determine our School Captains for 2018.
The whole process is a great experience for the
students involved and are we’re proud of how they
are all handling themselves. We have many capable candidates, so decision making won’t easy. So how
are these decisions made?
All grade 5 students were invited to write
and deliver a speech explaining why they
ought to be considered for a School Captain
position.
The grade 5 teachers & specialist teachers
are asked for their feedback on each of the
candidates.
A selection of candidates are shortlisted for
interview.
Shortlisted candidates are interviewed by Mr
Conlan, Mr McGlynn and the current school
captains.
After considering the speeches, the
interviews and feedback from our grade 5
and specialist teachers, our new School
Captains will be selected and announced.
We expect to have this process completed in the
coming fortnight so that we can present the 2018
school captains to the school community at our final
assembly on December 22.
2018 School Levies
You now should have received your 2018 Parent Payment charges. If you would like to set up a parent payment plan please contact Tania on a
Tuesday or Thursday or via the below email address.
GRADE 6 TEAMS Our School Captains are not our only students who get an opportunity to take on added responsibility. Over the
past few years we have had a range of grade 6 teams at our Buninyong Campus making a contribution to our school.
These will be running again in 2018, giving grade 6 students (apart from the School Captains) the opportunity to work
as part of one of the following teams.
Sporting House Teams - We have 4 sporting houses, those being Cornish, Simpson, Scott & Inglis. Each has
4 representatives who help Ms Morris with a range of sporting events and other tasks across the school.
Art Team - These students will meet weekly with Mrs Noyce, creating art work to put up around the school.
There are many examples of their work around the school.
Music Team - These students will set up and pack up assembly each week.
Japanese Team - These students help organise our Japanese Theme Day & Japanese lunches and will help Mrs
Sullivan & Mrs Pepplinkhouse with a range of tasks.
Photographic Team - These students will receive a regular lesson and get the opportunity to practice their
skills by taking photos at assemblies and other school events…the photos you see in the newsletter are usually
taken by our student photographers.
ICT Team - This is a team of students who will meet regularly with Mr Coulter to build their computing skills
and then provide I.T. support for classes across the school.
VOTS Reps - VOTS reps from across the school meet regularly and discuss ideas to make our school a better
place. The VOTS team will include 2 students from each of the grade 6 classes.
Library Team – This team helps Mrs Cassell run the library. They will often spend their lunch breaks in the
library helping to put books back on shelves or checking books back into the system.
Lunch Time Club Team –This team will help set up and coordinate the Lunch Time Club activities with our
Education Support Staff. They will also be helpful in developing connections between students and getting ideas
for the sessions.
Peer Mediation Team –This team will work closely with Mrs Anderson and Mrs Davie to implement our
Peer Mediation program that will help students to solve low-level issues in the yard.
PlayPod Team –This team will be responsible for the organisation and management of the Playpod, including
the distribution and collection of items, modelling ideas and assisting students to begin imaginative play with the
equipment.
Prep/Kinder Transition Team—This team is responsible for working closely with the Prep team and
assisting with transitioning our new prep children to the school. They will help out with transition days and the
pre-schooler program.
Morning Announcement Team – We have announcements each morning at 11am and the members of this
team will take turns at reading out these announcements.
Bike Shed Team - The members of this team will take turns at making sure the bike shed is locked and
unlocked at the appropriate times to make sure students have access to the shed when they need it and that
their bikes are secure during the school day.
Canteen Team – This group will be in charge of counter sales at the canteen. Mrs Sullivan is in charge of this
team again in 2018 and she has big plans. The Canteen Team gets to decide how the money raised is spent.
This year’s team donated half to a charity and used the rest to help fund the picket fence around the veggie
patch.
B+ Team –This team will prepare a presentation of some sort for each assembly. The presentation could be a
role play, something they have developed using learning technologies or maybe even a YouTube clip they have
found….. The focus of these presentations will be the current Social & Emotional Learning theme.
At the Scotsburn Campus our grade 6s also get an opportunity to make a strong contribution. This starts
with their organising and facilitating of the Monday morning assemblies. The Scotsburn grade 6 students also
take a lead role in supporting and guiding a group of mixed age students across the campus. Much of this work
occurs during the Friday rotations, excursions or special days that occur at the campus throughout the year.
The grade 6 students also play an active role in leading the campus in the following areas:
Media/Events Coordinator - This role includes ensuring all ICT equipment is running as it
should, organising media for assembly, facilitating a Coding Club, promoting daily events over the school PA system, assisting teachers in preparing for events such as Science Day and helping with
student fundraisers.
Specialist Rep - This role includes the presentation of a specialist award at each Monday
assembly, reporting on sports events at assemblies, ensuring all sports equipment is looked after,
help with the running of the athletics, running a weekly sports activity at lunchtime, facilitating a
Japanese question of the week, organising lunchtime clubs (Art & lego) and helping Mrs Hunter
with sports tryouts, the Scotsburn Art Show, school concert and SCOTFIT.
Environment Team - This team will ensure all gardening equipment is looked after, help with
any grounds beautification projects, ensure the vegie garden, hot house and garden areas are
looked after (watered, etc), oversee feeding and care of all animals and recycling in classrooms,
ensure coloured bins in each room are cleaned regularly and put bins out.
B+ Team – This team will co-ordinate the B+ focus at our Monday assembly, ensure the B+ focus
for the fortnight is up in each room, organise B+ presentations at assemblies, help run special days
(eg, RUOK Day) and organise peer support student leaders in the yard.
All of the above teams provide an excellent opportunity for our grade 6 students to make a strong
contribution to our school in their final year. In the process they learn a whole new set of skills, build a
stronger connection to the school and help build pride in our school. None of the students are obliged to join
a team, but most are keen, which is excellent. We thank our current grade 6s for their efforts in those teams
and encourage our grade 5s to embrace the concept and give it their best shot in 2018.
SORTING CHILDREN INTO CLASSES
Over the past few weeks teachers have spent considerable time placing children into classes for next year. As
always, we are seeking to develop classes that are most likely to provide the best possible learning
environment for our students. To achieve this, we focus on developing well balanced groupings, taking
account of academic progress, behaviours and what we know about who gets along with who and the
influence particular children have on each other.
We place particular importance on student friendships and try very hard to make sure every student is placed
in a class where they will feel welcome and comfortable. Information supplied by parents regarding placement
is also taken into consideration. It is worth noting that parents have been very reasonable with their requests,
which is very much appreciated. As you could understand, grouping children with so many aspects to consider
is no easy task and we hope you will pleased with the outcome.
Students get the opportunity to meet their new teacher on Tuesday December 19 and spend 60 minutes with
their class for 2018. Most children will be excited about the change that comes with a new teacher and mixing
with some new children. Others might be disappointed with the prospect with not being with all of their
friends. If this is the case, help your child see the positives in the situation…they will still get to mix with
whoever they like at break times and out of school and will get the opportunity to work with some different
children in class.
At some stage in the future all of our children will be heading off to secondary school,
maybe then to university or another form of adult training and finally into the workforce.
At each of these stages our children will be mixing and collaborating with ever changing and
evolving groups of people…preparing our children to be comfortable with this is an
important role for us as parents and educators.
Parent Teacher Conferences
Thanks to all those families who have taken the opportunity to book an interview to discuss their child’s achievements,
challenges and future goals. These are an important part of our reporting process that allows
for greater detail about the information received in the written report.
If you haven’t booked an interview, bookings will close at midnight tonight. (Tuesday 5th
December) Please see the booking information included in this newsletter.
In order to get the most out of the conference you might like to consider the following:
The Aims of the Parent Teacher Conference:
How to Prepare for the Conference
At the conference the teacher will provide an overview of your child’s learning and future goals but will also provide some
time for you to ask questions. Below are some tips to help you prepare:
Take the time to read through the report. This is always good to bring to the conference.
Identify strengths and areas for improvement … Please remember that a strength could be strong growth (indicated
by the dotted line) not just being above the yellow shaded line.
Have a chat to your child to see what their interpretation of the report is.
Together, write down some questions that you like more information on.
Your questions might be based on:
Attitude to learning
Learning behaviours that lead to success.
Learning behaviours that can lead to challenges.
Homework completion and how to support study habits at home.
Social development of your child.
More information about goals for 2018.
Progress in Spelling Mastery.
A common question is, should my child come to the conference?
We feel that it is really important that students are involved in the discussion and plans for their learning. There may be
times where sensitive information needs to be discussed, it would be appropriate to ask the student at this time to do a
job or move to another part of the room. We do however leave the decision up to parents as to whether or not their
child is present at the conference.
To provide further explanation on reports Elaborate on level of achievement and level of progress Elaborate on effort/work habits Elaborate on social/emotional aspects Opportunity for parents to ask questions.
Parent Teacher Conferences
This year we have two dates available for parents to meet with their child’s classroom and specialist teachers. The dates are:
Thursday 7th December – from 1.45pm.
Thursday 14th December – from 4pm To make a booking please use your Compass portal or give the office a ring for assistance.
Bookings close Tuesday 5th December at midnight, so please get in quick to avoid disappointment.
Compass ‘how to’ on next page
Don’t forget school finishes early on Thursday December 7th at 1pm. Please take this
opportunity to organise alternative pick up arrangements for your child/children.
School Magazine As you all remember last year we ran a competition for the children to design the front cover of our school magazine. However only two children were able to see their design. This year we are going with the concept that each child can design their own cover. Just wanting to let you know this year’s edition of the school magazine is coming along nicely. The content has been gathered and we’ve en-listed the help of a designer to bring it all together for us. Below is a sneak peak at the cover design, as you can see each of the children will have the opportunity to personalise their own maga-zine. To ensure no one misses out we’re asking that you check in with the office as to whether you’ve ordered your copy of the magazine and take the opportunity to order additional copies if need be. You will also be able to order a copy through Qkr
Orders need to be in by Friday 8th December.
Thomas very kindly volunteered to change
groups to even up numbers even though he wanted to be in a different group.
Huntr Fairchild
ROCCH Award Winners!
Congratulations to last week’s ROCCH Award winners from grades five and six. Lots of
fantastic things happening from our leaders in the school. Well done!
Class Student Reason
5JG Dan W For displaying commitment to his learning and having an
optimistic outlook on all that he does.
5JG Tameeka L For always respecting her peers and teachers and being a
compassionate friend to everyone.
5JM Noah H For showing compassion towards others to ensure they are
happy.
5JM Zoe K For always being a positive person and showing commitment
to her learning.
5PD Harper W For commitment and dedication to his learning.
5PD Keely B For always showing commitment and determination in all that
she does.
6JO Daniel A For being such a dedicated and hard working student.
6JO Maddy D For showing persistence and dedication to her work when
things get tough.
6JM Tayla M For demonstrating increased effort and commitment towards
achieving her learning goals.
6JM Ryan H For his enthusiasm towards completing all tasks on his
Passion Project.
6BB Jesse M For his commitment and persistence during Maths this year
to improve many of his learning goals.
6BB Ava S For her commitment to learning tasks and placing 100% into
everything we do.
School Pride Winner
(Riley W—5JG)
Congratulations to Riley W from 5JG for picking
up the award for School Pride. Riley was
nominated for the amount of effort that he has
been placing into his work (including his Sovereign
Hill letter and Math rotations). Well done Riley!
Next Week’s B+ Theme is…
Personal
Safety Students can expect to learn about:
How to keep themselves safe.
Knowing how to speak to their trusted adults.
When they should be assertive.
BPS VOLUNTEER MORNING TEA Are you a PLP or do you help in the classroom, on excursions, camps or
in our Canteen? All PLP’s and volunteers are invited to a ‘thank you’
morning tea on:
Thursday the 21st of December
Where: Buninyong PS BER (Open Space) - Grade 6 End
Time: 10am until 11am
We hope you can all come along (Please note that toddlers are more than
welcome).
Please RSVP to Scott McGlynn by the 15th of December
SCOTSBURN NEWS
All students involved in the Kris Kringle have received a slip indicating who they need to buy a $5 maximum present for. Please ensure that your child
informs their class teacher when it is returned. All KK presents must be returned by Tuesday 12th December as they will be opened at our shared
Christmas lunch on Friday 15th December.
Christmas Hamper Raffle
With our Christmas Concert fast approaching (Tuesday 19th December), a basket has been placed in each classroom for donations for our annual
Christmas Hamper Raffles. It would be great if you could pop something into the basket in the coming weeks.
Vegetable Garden Work
Over the past week or so, our maintenance man Shane, Bill Coats and quite a few students have been
busy putting up the new entrance to our vegetable garden, building garden beds and fixing our connection
to the windmill to ensure our oval can be watered. These guys have done a brilliant job. We look forward
to finishing off the job at our working bee next week.
Justin D’Ath
Last week, the students and staff were extremely lucky to have Justin speak about his journey as an
Author. He entertained us and most certainly inspired many to consider being an Author one day too.
Thanks to Talia and Pat Scuffins for helping to organise this wonderful opportunity.
Looking After Our Chooks
If you would like to take care of our chooks at home over the Christmas break, please drop in and see Shaun ASAP. A big thank you to the Bantick
family that are going to take care of Pip our lizard.
Thanks Mike
Recently Mike took home the step that the P/1 students use to stand on so that they can reach the smartboard. Mike repaired and painted it so that it
looks just like new! Thanks Mike.
Thanks Bec
A big thanks to Bec Blackburn who took home all of the lost property to wash and also provided us with a hanger to keep it all nice and tidy. I
encourage all parents to drop in and collect what is theirs. Thanks Bec.
ABC Awards
P/1 – Henry Valent, Leo Shackell & Ella Turner
2/3 – Mercury Wilson & Jacob Hicks
Friday Rotations
Important Dates (Term 4)
P-6 Swimming program – 4th – 8th Dec
Parent teacher (1pm finish) – 7th Dec
Twilight Christmas Market BBQ – 9th December
Orientation Day for 2018 Preps – 12th Dec
Working Bee - 13th December at 3.30pm
Parent teacher (4pm-6pm) – 14th Dec
Scotsburn Christmas Breakup – 19th Dec (6pm)
Scotsburn Fed Uni Pool Break up – 20th Dec
Date Cooking
(Miss Wood)
Team Building Activities
(Ms Geddes)
Landcare/Gardening
(Mr O’Loughlin)
8th December No rotations – Swimming Program
15th December Scotsburn Shared Christmas Lunch
(parents are most welcome to help)
Grade 6 CANTEEN CAN-TEAM FROZEN FRIDAYS ARE BACK! Now the weather has warmed up, we will
again be selling frozen treats on FRIDAY for the first half of lunchtime.
Window sales only.
FROZEN FRUIT SEGMENTS 50c
ZOOPER DOOPERS $1
FROZEN YOGHURTS $1.50
BUSINESS HOURS ON SCHOOL
DAYS
(avoid the busy times if you can)
ORDERS AND PAYMENT TAKEN
OVER THE PHONE
ONLINE ORDERING COMING
SOON
Choir Performance -
Buninyong Christmas Carols
We are very excited that the choir has been asked to perform again at the Buninyong Christmas Carols on Saturday the 9
th of December.
If your child would like to be a part of this fun night, please encourage them to come along to practices every Wednesday & Thursday lunchtime so that we are all prepared for the show!
Article of the week:
Helping Your Child Cope with School Transitions
By Leah Davies, M.Ed.
Children report moving, leaving friends, and changing grades or schools as being highly stressful. To assist them with transitions the following ideas may
be helpful:
If the family is moving, take pictures of friends and familiar places and
offer ways to keep in contact with close friends via phone, email, and
letters. Help your child talk about what he or she will miss and about
what will be new and different.
Encourage your child to discuss the future transition by asking
questions such as, "What have you been thinking about your new
school?" Make a list of your child's concerns and together try to find
answers to the questions. Many schools have internet sites that
describe procedures, show virtual tours, and answer common
questions.
If you have a choice of schools, listen to your child's ideas about what
is important to him or her. After visiting various schools, openly
discuss the strengths and weaknesses of each. Although the final
decision is yours, it is important that your child feel included in the
decision making process.
Help your child get to know the new environment beforehand. When
possible visit the school together. Even viewing it from a car or seeing
a photograph of the building is better than leaving the first day to the
child's imagination.
Let your child know it is natural to feel apprehensive. He or she may be fearful of not being accepted by peers or about mastering the logistics or
academics of a new grade or school. Share childhood memories of times when you were worried about a new situation. Relate the good things that
happened like how you met your best friend or that your new teacher was one of your favourites.
Keep the days leading up to the transition as positive as possible. Stress that his or her class will offer many new experiences. The night before the
first day, have your child lay out everything needed for school. The next morning allow time to get ready in a calm manner.
Buy school supplies and required materials. Go over the walk to school or to the bus stop. Empower your child by discussing actions he or she can
take if a problem arises. Ask, "What concerns you most about school?" Listen and then ask, "If that happens, what will you do?" Help your child
think of constructive ways to deal with a difficult situation.
Expect the transition to be ultimately successful. Yet, remember that adjustments take time and the first days in a new school are often
overwhelming. Your attitude can help your child; let him or her know you are confident in his ability to adjust well.
Attend the school's orientation, open house, and/or tour the school with your child. Be involved by asking for a copy of the school's calendar and
handbook. Join the Parent-Teacher Organization or parent advisory board. Get to know other parents, especially parents of your child's new
friends.
Be available after school starts. Understand that your child may need extra time, attention and support. When there is a change, he or she may
regress to an earlier developmental stage. Plan time for family fun because when transitions occur, families are a necessary source of love and
support.
Invite your child to express his or her emotions. Even when a concern seems minor to you, be respectful and know that it can be a major crisis to
your child. Try to put yourself in his or her place and understand the feelings expressed. Ask open ended questions like, "How's it going?" or make
comments like, "You seem sad." Then listen carefully and avoid giving advice unless your child asks for it.
Help your child explore ways to cope with concerns, and continue to be available for further discussion. Be ready to problem-solve with him or
her. You may want to role play a situation that is causing anxiety.
Encourage your child to try new things by participating in one or two extracurricular activities. Help him or her understand that trying is what is
important, and that one does not always have to be successful.
Continue to foster your child's organizational skills and assist him or her in becoming responsible and independent. Stay interested and provide
rules and structure. Yet, allow your child to have input into what the rules are.
If after an adjustment period of time, your child is reluctant to go to school or seems truly unhappy, seek help. Identify your concerns and meet
with your child's teacher and/or school counsellor. Together, perhaps with the child being present, work out a plan of action.
