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‘Striving for Excellence’

Open since 1887

Principal - Kevin Warne

School Council President - Troy Charters

Telephone - (03) 57931288

Fax - (03) 57931412 Web - www.puckapunyalps.vic.edu.au/

Email - puckapunyal.ps@edumail.vic.gov.au

Alamein Road

Puckapunyal, Vic, 3662

Postal: Military P.O.

ABN: - 74134967962

Term 2 Issue 5

May 22nd 2019

Friday 31st May

Pupil Free Day Division Cross Country

Tuesday

4th June

School Council

Meeting

Monday

10th June

Queen’s Birthday

Public Holiday

Wed 12th June- Fri 14th June

Years 3/4 Anglesea Camp

Friday 21st June

Young Leaders Day Pyalong PS

Wednesday

26th June

Market Day

Wednesday

26th June

Student Mid-Year Reports

to come

Thursday 27th June

Parent/Teacher Interviews

Friday

28th June

Last Day of Term 2

Inside this Issue: DSM Message 2

Keyboard Champs 2

The Language of Resilience 2

SRC Rule Reminders/School Value 3

School Canteen 3

Education Week 3

Student Awards of the Week 4

Teaching/Learning Focus 5

Indo Lingo 5

School Book Fair/Please Help 6

Books Available for Parents 6

Foundation Independence 6

District Cross Country Photos 7

***Have you heard your child read today? We encourage all students to practise their reading at home about 5 nights

per week. Therefore, by now, most students should have read at least between 70-75 nights. Well done if you have

kept up!

63 of our Years 3-6 students competed at the District Cross Country yesterday. Our school team performed admirably. There were 4 schools involved

in the day and we performed so well that we came 1st in the overall points scoring

trophy! A great effort!

When you consider how much bigger some of the other schools are, that is a

terrific effort! It is a reflection of how committed our students were during

training throughout this term. Well done, kids. It is also a reflection on how well

they have been guided by their teachers and parents. Well done, Pucka!!

Special mention goes to Benny McCarthy who was the Boys’ 10 Year Age

Group Champion, Paige Cooper who was the Girls’ 11 Year Age Group

Champion and Rory Kennedy who was the Boys’ 11 Year Age Group

Champion! Well done, champs!

20 of our students performed so well, they have been chosen to represent the

school and the Seymour District at the Divisional Cross Country Carnival on

Friday the 31st May. They are the students who were the better runners on the

day. The Division event will take place at the Yea Golf Course in Yea from 10.30

a.m. until approximately 12:30 pm. Good luck kids!

The victorious school team. Well done, kids!

The following students will compete at the Divisional Cross Country next

week: Brielle Eldredge, Keeley Dawson, Eliza Thompson, Hendrik Becks,

Andrew McGhie, Wade Hansen, Ryan Lindner, Abby Chetcuti, Sam

McGhie, Zahra Kelly, Cally Morgan, Mia Shortt, Dallas Ridl-Ornsby,

Benny McCarthy, Paige Cooper, Olivia Scotman, Blake Cooper, Rory

Kennedy, Jack Lindner and Monique Allison. Good luck, champs!

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‘Striving for Excellence’

Open since 1887

National Volunteer Week 20-26th May: We

would like to recognise and thank all of our

wonderful volunteers that help us in tasks big

and small at school. Every little bit counts. Your

help is noticed and helps make our school

community a fabulous place to be.

Woolworths Earn and Learn:

Keep those stickers coming

in. Last week we collected

another 3300 to take our

overall total to 7500

stickers! Stickers collected

can be placed in the box in

the school foyer or the

specially marked box at

Woolworths in Seymour.

Have a great week!

sullivan.karen.a@edumail.vic.gov.au

Karen Sullivan, Defence School Mentor

POSITIVE BEHAVIOUR REWARD

UPDATE We are not sure how someone has managed to

earn half a ticket this week but I am sure the

houses receiving welcome the addition.

CURRENT SCORES

Bradman - 439 points

Hume - 409 points

Chisholm – 400.5 points

Melba – 373.5 points

The Language of Resilience Resilient families develop their own words to help each other get through the inevitable tough times that each person

experiences. These words reflect coping strategies such as empathy, humour and acceptance. Michael Grose, a

parenting and educational expert offers us examples of coping skills and the types of situations where they are

applicable. There will be different strategies each week in Wednesday notes.

‘This isn’t the end of the world’

Maintaining perspective: Good for kids who catastrophize or blow things out of proportion.

While most of us catastrophize at times and jump to the worst possible conclusion, it is a habit that only exaggerates

anxiety. When kids constantly think the worst-case scenario, challenge their views. “Yes, you could end up not

knowing anyone at camp but you won’t be the only one. Besides, you’ll probably end up making new friends like you

generally do.”

***We can all work together to rid

the community of any chance of

Head Lice. Let’s check our heads

once per week!***

Well done, Zoe Landel and Evie Birks who

both played the keyboard beautifully at

Assembly this week! A great effort, girls!

At assembly, our school captains, Tess and Sam along

with DSM, Mrs. Sullivan accepted a $3200 grant from the

Ride to School Network. That means we can upgrade our

school bikes and purchase other Bike Ed resources. Thank

you and well done, Mrs. Sullivan for sourcing the grant!

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‘Striving for Excellence’

Open since 1887

Each week at assembly, SRC representatives remind

our students of a few important school rules.

This week, SRC representatives Sophie Van Der

Waal and Dante Capes reminded our students of a

few school rules to follow when playing Ga Ga:

-There must always be an umpire. The umpire’s

decision must be obeyed without any arguments

-Only the grades that have been timetabled on for

the week can play Gaga

-You can only hit the ball once, unless there is only

two players in the court

-Only when there is two players left can the other

players lean over and tap the ball

-No ‘grabs’

-Always be honest

At assembly this week Respect was announced as our School Value of the week. That means teachers are looking for

students who are demonstrating ‘Respect’ to be eligible for the Student of the Week award. We encourage parents to

talk to their students about our values throughout the year.

What is Respect? Year 5 student, Lachlan Donnelly read out the meaning of Respect.

‘Being respectful is an attitude of caring and treating each other with dignity. It is speaking to and dealing with others

in a courteous manner. Respect encompasses honouring the rules of your family or school. This helps to create a more

peaceful and pleasant environment to be in. Self-respect is developed when you protect your own rights for things that

are important to you. For example, the right to privacy.’

This week is Education Week. Our state has Education Week to celebrate education in Victoria. To mark the

occasion we invited families to several activities. Thank you to the families who attended the reading sessions in the

classrooms and the activities in the Art Room and Library on Monday. We still have one more fun activity to go!

Tomorrow – please come in to our classrooms and see your children in class participating in an Indonesian activity at

2:30-3:30pm. - everyone is welcome!

The School Canteen is open for Lunch Orders this

Friday. Each Friday students can order lunches from the

school canteen. The menu is the same each week. Please

ensure that a paper bag comes with the order. Please

indicate on the lunch bag if the money is in another

sibling’s bag.

The menu is - Hot dogs $3 each

Large Pies $3 each

Large Sausage Roll $3 each

Ham and Pineapple Pizza $3 each

Chocolate or Strawberry Milk $2.50 each

Apple Juice $2.50 each

No charge for tomato sauce, Lunch bags are 20c

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‘Striving for Excellence’

Open since 1887

Defence School Transition Aide Message Back at school: I trust that everyone has had a smooth and

satisfactory beginning to the school year. Changing schools,

beginning school for the first time and even returning for another

school year can be daunting for students and parents. It is great to see

parents eager to support their children at this time and be an integral

part of their education. If you have any concerns, or just feel like a

chat about school and your child, please find me!

SWAPP Select Program

I have information about the ADF partners career assistance program

if anyone is interested.

NEW UNIFORM

We have recently had a new shipment of uniform arrive that includes

shorts, tops, tracksuit pants and hats. Some parents have been waiting

on this to arrive.

Best wishes for the week.

Sue Ranger, Defence School Transition Aide

Congratulations to the following students who were

‘Students of the Week’ for last week. Winners – Sophia

Murtagh, Brooklyn Sheridan, Damien Owers, Elijah

Henderson, Brayden Tippett, Braxton Toby, Oliver

Crichton, Monique Allison, Zara Marini, Claudia

Bogart and Liesl Rayner. These students were selected

because they were modelling Honesty. This week

teachers are also looking for students who are modelling

Respect.

Congratulations to the following students who were

‘Authors of the Week’ for last week. Winners – Dante

Capes, Logan Hatfield, Harley McCarthy, Jordan

Toby, Layla Wetherill, Olivia (1/2I), Maddi

Matangi, Jessica McCoy, James McDonough,

Lachie Kelly and Daniel Tuohill. The students were

selected because they showed great skills as an author.

1/2C in Room 4 won the

Yard Duty Competition. Aija Jamieson enjoyed collecting

the winning trophy first for her

class.

Congratulations to Savannah

Naunton, Lachlan McMaster,

Tahlleah Govey-Haysom and

Shaeeden Gray who won the

raffle prizes for ‘Positive

Behaviour’ this week!

Did you hear Evie Birks from

4/5D read her story at

assembly this week? We did!

She did a great job reading to

the audience. Come along and

see who reads next week.

4 D in Room 11 won the

Middle School Times

Tables Trophy. Pia Allan-Agnew and

Emily McBride were

delighted to win the times

tables trophy this week!

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‘Striving for Excellence’

Open since 1887

\

Foundation Foundation students are focusing on counting numbers

to ten this term in Indonesian.

F O'C empat = four

keris = sword

F O'M lima = five

kaki lima = food carts (literally five legs)

Grade 1 Grade 1 students are focusing on writing and counting

numbers to ten this term in Indonesian.

empat = four

dinosaurus = dinosaur

Grade 2 Grade 2 students are focusing on writing and counting

numbers from eleven to twenty this term in Indonesian.

empat belas = fourteen

jerapah = giraffe

Grade 3, 4, 5 & 6 Students are focusing on describing their family this

term in Indonesian.

This week the students will learn how to say the ages of

their family members in Indonesian.

keluarga = family

Umur kakek saya ... tahun. = My grandpa is ... years old.

Umur nenek saya ... tahun. = My grandma is ... years

old.

Umur ayah saya ...tahun. = My grandma is ... years old.

Umur ibu saya ... tahun. = My mum is ... years old.

Umur om saya ... tahun. = My uncle is ... years old.

Umur tante saya ... tahun. = My aunt is ... years old.

Umur sepupu saya ... tahun. = My cousin is ... years old.

Umur kakak saya ... tahun. = My older sibling is ... years

old.

Umur kakak laki-laki saya ... tahun. = My older brother

is ... years old.

Umur kakak perempuan saya ... tahun. = My older sister

is ... years old.

Umur saya ... tahun. = I am ... years old.

Umur adik saya ... tahun. = My younger sibling is ...

years old.

Umur adik laki-laki saya ... tahun. = My younger brother

is ... years old.

Umur adik perempuan saya ... tahun. = My younger

sister is ... years old.

Each week in the newsletter, we will give families a summary of the Teaching/Learning Focus for the week.

That can help families by: being aware of what classrooms are covering; with discussion topics at the dinner table when

discussing school (eg. ‘How are you going with addition in Numeracy this week?’); helping their children study at home,

etc. Parents have indicated that this information would be very useful. We also ask families to be aware that schools are

very busy places and events can be unpredictable at times. We therefore must remain flexible. That means, we can plan

to cover certain topics at particular times and have to change them according to arising needs.

Junior School – Preps/Foundation Rooms 6 & 8

Literacy: During Handwriting lessons we are revising the letters ‘Rr’ and ‘Ll’. We are continuing to look at question marks

and exclamation marks and narrative writing supported by our ‘Big Talks’.

Numeracy: We are looking at the number 10 and revising our counting forwards and backwards up to 10. We are also

looking at light and heavy.

Junior School – Year 1s Rooms 3, 4, 9 & 10

Literacy: During Handwriting lessons we are revising the letters ‘Rr’ and ‘Ll’. In Writing lessons we are working on using

compound sentences to make our work more interesting. We are using our new Writer’s notebooks to record some of our

imaginative ideas for writing.

Numeracy: We are looking at number lines as a means of comparing numbers and putting them in order. We are continuing

to look at place value including portioning numbers. Eg. 130 is 100 + 30.

Junior School – Year 2s Rooms 3, 4, 9 & 10 Literacy: During Handwriting lessons we are revising the letters ‘Rr’ and ‘Ll’. In Writing lessons we are working on using

compound sentences to make our work more interesting. We are using our new Writer’s notebooks to record some of our

imaginative ideas for writing.

Numeracy: We are looking at number lines as a means of comparing numbers and putting them in order. We are continuing

to look at place value including portioning numbers. Eg. 130 is 100 + 30.

Middle School Years 3/4 Rooms 11, 12 & 13

Literacy: We will be focusing on different text types and the VCOP components in writing.

Numeracy: In Numeracy, we will be working on the four processes with a main focus on division and the telling of time.

Senior School Years 5/6 Rooms 1, 2 & 11 Literacy: We will be focusing on different text types and the VCOP components in writing. In reading, we will be working on

Figurative Language.

Numeracy: We will be continuing to focus on the four processes as well as time and BODMAS.

Salam (Regards)

Bu Hooper (Mrs Hooper)

Guru Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian teacher)

1.

2. 3.

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‘Striving for Excellence’

Open since 1887

The Ashton Scholastic Book Sale will be on for 3 days in

the school foyer.

When - Monday 17th June - Wed 19th June (3 days)

Opens: 8.45 am to 9am (before school)

1.45pm to 2pm (Lunchtime)

3.30pm to 3.50pm (After school)

Students will bring home wish lists, and credit card details

can be filled out on them if you can't make it to the sale.

We hope you will get into the spirit of the sale and help us

raise some much needed funds, while finding some great

reading material! This year we need to purchase additional

thesauruses and atlases for the classrooms. Class sets are

desperately required and quite expensive.

Every Day Counts! Please

don’t forget – going to school

every day is the single most

important part of your child’s

education. Students learn new

things at school every day.

Missing school puts them

behind. We all want our students

to get a great education. The

building blocks for a great

education begin with students

coming to school each and every

day.

The school would like to offer an opportunity for

parents to borrow some great books.

The school has purchased 5 copies of the following 2

books by Dr Michael Carr-Gregg (leading Child

Psychologist):

1. Strictly Parenting

2. The Prince Boofhead Syndrome

The school recommends these books as great reads

(please google for reviews). The aim is to help parents

dealing with the daily grind of parenting.

Now that we’ve been at school for nearly 4 months it’s

time to really start working on those independence skills

(particularly for Foundation students). Please allow your

child to carry their own school bag to line up and give

them a big wave and say goodbye as they head into their

classroom. By encouraging this, we are giving ownership

and responsibility to the students for their own belongings

and learning. At home, allow students to unpack their

own school bags and help prepare their lunch for

tomorrow. As we know, every day is a great day at PPS!

Good luck, everyone!

In a perfect world, all of our students would be achieving

well every day at school. We would love to have all

children succeeding and aiming high. However, that is not

always the case. There are some things that we can all do

to help.

We need your help.

We can all help our kids prepare for school.

Firstly, all of our students need to have a filling and

nourishing breakfast before they get to school. That way

they can concentrate better and give their best right from

the beginning of the day. Unfortunately, studies show that

there is a direct link between poor school performance and

not eating breakfast!

Secondly, a good night’s sleep is essential. Some of our

students are too tired before they start class. It is no

wonder they struggle with the classroom demands. Kids

cannot concentrate or learn when they are tired.

School begins at 9 a.m. Still, too many students are not at

school on time. This means that the late students miss out

on important teaching instructions. It also means that

teachers have to stop teaching the class in order to direct

the late comer. Late students affect everybody!

We thank the families who are doing well to help in these

areas. If anyone needs help, please let us know. We can

help too.

**Friday 31st May is a Pupil Free Day. Staff will be

participating in a Level 2 First Aid Course which we

update every 3 years. Students are not expected at school

that day**

** Monday 10th June is the Queen’s Birthday Public

Holiday. Students are not expected at school that day**

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‘Striving for Excellence’

Open since 1887