1

‘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 3 Issue 1

July 17th 2019

Thursday

25th July

Responsible Pet

Ownership Visit

Monday-Wednesday

29th – 31st July

Years 5/6 Urban Camp

Friday 2nd August

Jeans for Genes Fundraiser

Tuesday

6th August

School Council

Meeting

Thursday

8th August

Team Triathlon

Wednesday 14th August

Years 5/6 Interschool Basketball Competition

Tuesday

3rd September

Foundation Latestay

Thursday

5th September

Year 1 Latestay

Inside this Issue:

DSM Message 2

Bike Education 2

Happy Birthday 2

Resilience 2

Latestays/Stayovers 2

SRC Rule Reminders/School Value 3

School Canteen 3

Responsible Pet Ownership Program 3

Student Awards of the Week 4

Indo Lingo/Teaching & Learning

Focus

5

Team Triathlon 6

6 Ways to Inspire a Teenage

Brain - Article

7

Before School Sport 8-9

***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 100-105 nights. Well done if you have

kept up!

Benny McCarthy is

looking forward to

competing at the State

Cross Country

Championships tomorrow.

Good luck, champ!

Welcome back and good luck for Term 3. We hope that all students, families and

staff were able to re-charge their batteries and prepare for another hard working term.

School Athletics This term, all students will begin their

athletics training. In P.E. and Sport the students will be out again

practising their field and track events.

We have House Athletics Carnivals scheduled for both Foundation-

Year 2 and Year 3-6 students.

*Years 3-6: Thursday 5th September - Friday 6th September

*Foundation-Year 2: Thursday 12th September

On the Wednesday 14th August, Years 5/6 students will

have the opportunity to compete in interschool

basketball against school teams from Avenel PS,

Seymour College and St Mary’s College. Interested

students will have the opportunity to begin training

leading up to the big day, focusing on skills, rules and

sportsmanship. This is a great way for the students who

were involved in our school basketball competition last

term to try to make our school teams. Stay tuned!

2

‘Striving for Excellence’

Open since 1887

Woolworths Earn and Learn: Thank you to

everyone who contributed to our Earn and

Learn count. Our final submitted count was

34,346! This will go towards buying some

classroom supplies and add to our robotics

lunchtime activities.

Absence from home: Please remember that

you are able to let me know if there is an

extended absence from home of a significant

family member. This means I will be able to

work in conjunction with their teacher to

provide any additional support that your child

may require.

Have a great week!

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

Karen Sullivan, Defence School Mentor

POSITIVE BEHAVIOUR REWARD

UPDATE

Some of the houses have made a running

start to the term. We look forward to

seeing how the lead changes over the

coming term. Go Hume!

FINAL SCORES

Melba – 160 points

Chisholm – 150 points

Bradman – 146 points

Hume - 65 points

Resilience Following on from last term, these are additional factors that research has confirmed can significantly help

us build up resilience to cope with life’s knockbacks.

- Creativity: trying to approach things in new ways and look at things with fresh eyes, or from

different angles

- Sense of humour: being able to laugh at things, to put things into perspective at times and to relieve

tension

- Perseverance: giving things a go, and keeping on trying and working at it, despite setbacks

- Self-care: caring for personal needs as a way of building up one’s strength

- A hopeful outlook: looking beyond the present to a more positive future ahead – understanding

things can become better

Happy Birthday to

Lachlan Donnelly, Ryan

Lindner, Ash Bruhn,

Andrew McGhie and Nash

Kelly who are celebrating

their birthdays this week. On

behalf of the Puckapunyal

Primary School Community,

we wish them all a very

Happy Birthday!

**We have spent the last term completing

our Bike Education Course for our Years

3-6 students. We have watched students improve

massively in that time. Well done, kids! There are still

some students who may need to practise 1 or 2 skills to

be re-tested after the holidays. Those students can catch

up with Mr.Warne in Term 3 to be re-tested when they

are ready!

School Latestays/Stayovers Planned for

Term 3 Foundation – Latestay at school Thursday 5th September -

Foundation students stay at school until 7:30pm for BBQ and

other outside activities.

Year 1 – Latestay at school Tuesday 3rd September – Year 1

students stay at school until 7:30pm for BBQ and other

outside activities.

Year 2 – Excursion and Stayover at school Friday 6th

September – Saturday 7th September. Years 2 students attend

an excursion to the Melbourne Museum and stay the night at

school.

***We can all work together to rid the

community of any chance of Head Lice.

Let’s check our heads once per week!***

3

‘Striving for Excellence’

Open since 1887

. Please

Each week at assembly, SRC representatives remind

our students of a few important school rules.

This week, SRC representatives Maddi Matangi and

Ava Clarke reminded our students of a few school

rules to follow when you see the school chickens:

-Do not chase them.

-Do not pick them up.

-Do not throw things at them.

-Make sure you cover your food if it is outside as they

are very cheeky and will eat it!

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

for students who are demonstrating ‘Excellence’ 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 Excellence? Year 6 student, Blake Cooper read out the meaning of Excellence.

‘Excellence is giving your absolute best to any task you do.

When you practise excellence, you are not trying to be better than anyone else, just the very best that you can be.’

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 Term 3 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

The Parent Opinion Survey is completed annually by the Department of Education and Training and is conducted

amongst a sample of randomly selected parents at every school in Victoria. This year, about 30 per cent of parents

will be invited to participate. All responses to the survey are anonymous.

The survey helps our school gain an understanding of how you view our school climate, student engagement and

relationships. Our school will use the results to inform school planning and improvement strategies.

The survey will be conducted online by ORIMA Research Pty Ltd and only takes 15 minutes to

complete. It can be accessed from Monday 22nd July to Sunday 11th August.

The survey is available in English, Arabic, Vietnamese, Mandarin, Chin (Hakha) and Hindi.

Results will be sent back to our school at the end of September. For more information, see: Parent Opinion Survey

(hyperlink)

The Responsible Pet Ownership Primary School Program is coming to our school next week –

Thursday 25th July. It is aimed at 5-12 year olds and has been delivered to over 1 million Victorian primary school

children. It visits over 800 primary schools each year across the state. The Program includes a dog visit, multimedia

tools, role play, song and story time. We are all looking forward to the visit.

The Program focuses on teaching students about dog safety:

-when dogs should be left alone

-things we should not do to dogs

-how can you tell if a dog is happy, frightened or angry

-a safe way to approach and greet a dog

-what to do if approached by an unknown or aggressive dog.

4

‘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 the last week of Term 2.

Winners – Patrick Larsen, Emi Wildin, Tilly

McGechan, Ethan Sage, Claire McGhie, Lily Bain,

Jewel Hatfield, Nic (4/5D), Myla Freeman, Melrose

Pambai and April Beckham. These students were

selected because they were modelling Tolerance. This

week teachers are also looking for students who are

modelling Excellence.

Congratulations to the following students who were

‘Authors of the Week’ for the last week of Term 2.

Winners – Nicole Sweet, Elah Pambai, Olivia Hogan,

Leela Jamieson, Fiona Hill, Madeline Buckley,

Baylin Clark, Kobi Young, Cohen Hill, Abby

Chetcuti and Angela Klein. The students were

selected because they showed great skills as an author.

3/4 M in Room 12 won the

Yard Duty Competition. Charlotte Davies and Ruth

Reilly enjoyed collecting the

winning trophy first for their

classroom this week.

Congratulations to Maddi Matangi,

Mia Shortt, Laylah Bunt and Chloe

Klemm who all won the raffle prizes

for ‘Positive Behaviour’ this

week!

5

‘Striving for Excellence’

Open since 1887

Foundation Foundation students are finishing their focus on

counting numbers to ten in Indonesian.

F O'C & F O'M sepuluh = ten

seruling = flute

Grade 1 Grade 1 students are finishing their focus on writing and

counting numbers to ten in Indonesian.

sepuluh = ten

sepatu = shoe

Grade 2 Grade 2 students are finishing their focus on writing and

counting numbers from eleven to twenty in Indonesian.

dua puluh = twenty

topi = hat

Grade 3 & 4 Students are focusing on making a book describing

their family this term in Indonesian. This week

students will read and translate a big book about a

family in Indonesian.

Grade 5 & 6

Students are focusing on making a Google slide

show describing their family this term in

Indonesian. This week students will read and

translate a Google slide show about a family in

Indonesian.

Salam (Regards)

Bu Hooper (Mrs Hooper)

Guru Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian teacher)

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: We are working on the letters E and X. We are working on holiday recounts and remembering our

punctuation.

Numeracy: We are learning about the number 14 and revising time.

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

Literacy: .We are revising the letters E and X. We are learning about transactional writing and antonyms. We are

discussing characters in stories.

Numeracy: We are using stories to represent numbers. We are continuing to add and subtract by counting on and

back.

Junior School – Year 2s Rooms 3, 4, 9 & 10

Literacy: We are identifying similarities and differences between texts and discussing different texts on similar topics.

Numeracy: We are using stories to represent numbers. We are continuing to add and subtract by counting on and

back. We are modelling numbers to at least 1000.

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

Literacy: We will be focusing on different text types and the VCOP components in writing, with a focus on writing

letters and narratives. We are working on Reader’s Notebook strategies for reading.

Numeracy: We will be working on the four processes with a focus on the relationship between multiplication and

division. We will also be looking at symmetry.

Senior School Years 5/6 Rooms 1, 2 & 11

Literacy: We will be focusing on different text types and the VCOP components in writing, with a focus on writing a

letter, narrative writing and Writer’s Workshop. In reading, we will be working on ‘Cause and Effect.’

Numeracy: We will be continuing to focus on the four processes as well as multiplying and dividing by multiples of

10. We will focus on percentages and how these relate to fractions and decimals and we will also be looking at

graphing and collecting and presenting information in the form of a graph.

6

‘Striving for Excellence’

Open since 1887

The Puckapunyal Primary School will conduct the Team Triathlon on Thursday 8th August, 2019.

The Team Triathlon (3 competitors per team - Swim, Ride and Run) will be held at the Puckapunyal Area Pool.

The triathlon will involve teams from Years 3-6. There will be teams for boys and teams for girls from Years 3-4

and Years 5-6. Only students who are in teams will attend the events.

Team Triathlon Swim Leg – 8 laps of indoor pool = 264 m (Years 5/6)

Swim Leg – 6 laps of indoor pool = 198 m (Years 3/4)

Ride Leg – 2km lap X 3 = 6km (all students)

Run Leg – 1.2km lap X 2 = 2.4 km (all students)

* Students are to organise their own teams and fill out the form below.

The event will begin at 2:00 p.m. and finish at approximately 3:30 p.m. All students attending the Team Triathlon

will be dismissed from the pool at 3:30 p.m. There is no cost for the day. All parents are welcome to attend and

cheer.

All participants will need to bring all of the necessary gear for their particular event; eg. bathers for swimmers,

bikes and helmets for riders and running shoes for runners.

Please return permission forms with team names to the school office by Friday 26th July, 2019.

Good luck competitors!

PUCKAPUNYAL PRIMARY SCHOOL

SCHOOL EXCURSION AUTHORISATION

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Family Name Given Name Room

I give permission for my child to participate in the Team Triathlon on Thursday 8th August, 2019.

.

In case of accident or illness, I authorise the teacher in charge of the excursion to consent, where it is

impractical to communicate with me on _____________________or ____________________, to my

child receiving such medical or surgical treatment as may be deemed necessary.

Specific medical information that teachers should be aware of:

_________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________

SIGNATURE OF PARENT OR GUARDIAN: _______________________________

FULL NAME IN BLOCK LETTERS: _____________________________________

Triathlon: Swimmer___________________ Rider_______________________ Runner____________________

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.

7

‘Striving for Excellence’

Open since 1887

Parents & Teachers: 6 Ways to Inspire the

Teen Brain (by Sandra Bond Chapman, Ph.D. – who is the founder and Chief Director of the

Center for Brain Health at The University of Texas at Dallas) The teen brain is at a crossroad; unlock its potential with 6 strategies.

The teen brain is in a vulnerable state. It is primed to fall into addiction, delve deeply into depression and seek out risky

situations. However, the teen years are also a prime time for developing long-term, necessary, strategic thinking skills; the

foundation for advanced reasoning that should continue to be refined in complexity and maturity throughout adulthood.

The brain undergoes more changes during the teenage years than any other time except for the first two months of life. The

changes are most dramatic in the frontal lobe networks, the brain’s command control center. The frontal lobe networks are

responsible for reasoning, planning, decision-making, judgment, inhibiting bad choices and other high-level cognitive

functions. Providing necessary challenges to support development of the frontal lobe networks is key to your teen’s ability to

achieve future life success.

For years parents and educators have preached, “the more you know, the better.” Teens are being trained to stuff facts and

regurgitate information, leading to rote memorization and stymied creativity. Such robotic use of the brain is leaving the teen

brain uninspired. A time of extraordinary promise and susceptibility, this vital adolescent brain stage merits larger-than-life

attention from parents and teachers. The teen brain is primed to create and innovate new ideas.

Elevating brainpower during this impressionable life stage of adolescents is imperative to promoting independent life success.

Follow the below tips to inspire the best and brightest brain performance and to enhance vital frontal lobe development of

your teenager.

-Teach your teen to conceive many unique interpretations of movies, books, political discussions, unsettling school or peer

issues or works of art.

-Encourage your youth to be a problem finder and solution setter for issues that arise daily and discuss how academic content

supports this expertise.

-Ask your teenager to give you a “message” from a book or movie or hurtful experience rather than a long-winded retell

without reflection.

-Have your adolescent interpret the lyrics of their favorite song from positive and negative perspectives and do the same for

your song with them.

-Watch their favorite TV show with them and share different take-home messages for the different characters.

-Push for a multitude of answers to a question or problem versus seeking the “right” answer.

Our brains are wired to be inspired – especially during teen years. Fostering creativity and innovation to tackle difficult and

multifaceted problems – in and out of school – will drive successful futures of our youth for generations to come. As Einstein

once said, “Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.”

8

‘Striving for Excellence’

Open since 1887

Dear Parents,

Recently, the Puckapunyal Primary School applied for a Term 3 Sporting Schools Grant from the

Federal Government. We were successful and will soon receive the grant.

That means, in Term 3 the Puckapunyal Primary School is offering an opportunity for students to

participate in some Before School Sport.

To apply for the grant we had to choose different sports to be the themes of the sessions – for Term 3 the

sports are:

Tuesdays – AFL Footy at school for Foundation to Year 6 students (7:45am-8:45am).

Thursdays – Cycling at school (using Sanananda Rd) for Years 3-6 students. This activity is a great

opportunity for students who want to enter the Team Triathlon in early August or practise their bike

riding for Years 5/6 Great Victorian Rail Trail in October (7:45am-8:45am).

Beginning Week 2 of Term 3. Any student in the year levels that match the activity can attend. There is no cost. Class teachers and

other staff will be there to meet the students, supervise them and give them an opportunity to participate.

Please see the timetable on page 9. To participate in any of the sessions, we must have a return slip

before the date of the intended session. Families can pick and choose optimal dates. Return slips will be

available at the front of the school office and on our school website. Please do not hesitate to contact the

school for any more information.

Yours sincerely,

Kevin Warne

Principal

9

‘Striving for Excellence’

Open since 1887

AFL Footy Dates Cycling Dates

Week 2 Tuesday 23rd July Thursday 25th July

Week 3 Not today (Yrs 5/6Camp) Thursday 1st August

Week 4 Tuesday 6th August Thursday 8th August

Week 5 Tuesday 13th August Thursday 15th August

Week 6 Tuesday 20th August Thursday 22nd August

Week 7 Tuesday 27th August Thursday 29th August

Week 8 Tuesday 3rd September Thursday 5th September

Week 9 Tuesday 10th September Thursday 12th September

Week 10 Tuesday 17th September Thursday 19th September

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Family Name Student Given Name Room No

_____________________ ______________________ ______________

I give permission for my child to participate in the Before School Sport Sessions with the Puckapunyal

Primary School. In case of accident or illness, I authorise the teacher in charge of the activity to consent,

where it is impractical to communicate with me on _____________________or ____________________ to

my child receiving such medical or surgical treatment as may be deemed necessary.

Signature of Parent or Guardian:......................................................................………………

Full Parent or Guardian Name in Block Letters:.................................................................................

Dates:

Tues

23/7

Thurs

25/7

Thurs

1/8

Tues

6/8

Thurs

8/8

Tues

13/8

Thurs

15/8

Tues

20/8

Thurs

22/8

Tues

27/8

Thurs

29/8

Tues

3/9

Thurs

5/9

Tues

10/9

Thurs

12/9

Tues

17/9

Thurs

19/9

**Please tick the

box of the intended

dates**