PRINCIPAL S REPORT Edition 11, 30 th April 2014 Please Note: Due to major technical difficulties with our website host, SponsorEd, this week s newsletter is provided to you in hard copy. Congratulations Ryan - State Champion x 2! School Sport Victoria conducted the State Swimming Championships yesterday at the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre (MSAC). It was a huge day for Ryan L (6D) who has had a remarkable season of swimming leading to these championships and competing in two events - 50m Butterfly and 50m Backstroke. I was privileged to be a spectator at this event and managed to see two brilliant swims by Ryan. He not only overcame seven other competitors in his butterfly event but a major timing malfunction to win the gold medal and be declared state champion. It would have been easy for Ryan to lose focus amidst some technical sorting and confusion. However, his poise and concentration saw him present for his second event, the 50m Backstroke, which he won in fine style smashing the event record held for the past six years by Nick Groenewald (current National Champion). Two gold medals at the State Championships is a magnificent achievement. Congratulations Ryan you represented Greythorn so well yesterday and your superb efforts in and out of the pool are to be admired. We all wish you well now as you vie for selection for Team Victoria in the School Sport Australia Swimming Championships to be conducted in Melbourne in July. The early morning drizzle didn t dampen the enthusiasm as our Year Four students prepared to set off to camp this morning. They excitedly hopped on the buses and headed to Camp Oasis in Mount Evelyn for three fun-filled days, with a range of activities and of course the traditional (sensational) camp food. We look forward to hearing about their experiences next week. Reading is such an important part of life, yet some students have difficulty learning to read. One effective proven method of supporting students in primary school is for the help to come from their own age peer reading support. Students at Greythorn have certainly contributed to peer reading development over the years and once again in 2014, students from Greythorn have been selected to be part of the Smith Family s Student2Student (S2S) reading program. This is Greythorn s twelfth year supporting this unique and effective program that has helped many students to significantly increase their reading skills. Being part of the program means making a commitment to help a student in another part of the state, over an eighteen week period, by ringing them two or three times a week and listening to them read for about twenty minutes. Our students are to be commended for their commitment to the program, their efforts in maintaining contact and making a real difference in the lives of their reading buddies. The response from our Year Six students to the S2S program has been outstanding. Whilst twelve students have been trained to be part of S2S a further twenty-six students have been trained to participate in a new program commencing at Greythorn GPS2S. This initiative based on the highly successful student2student program will offer support to students who are experiencing difficulty with learning to read and provide opportunities for them to improve their reading ability. The program provides a win win situation: For our Year 6 volunteers, the chance to support their Greythorn school peers; and for our students, who will benefit from this extra reading support. I would like to acknowledge the work carried out by Cheryl Williams in setting up these programs and training our student volunteers. This now brings the number of student volunteers trained by Cheryl to 200 a remarkable achievement! Many thanks also to Janice Miller and Elidia Rymer who will be supporting the GPS2S initiative. Greythorn Primary School No. 4694 Reading Avenue, North Balwyn. 3104 Telephone: 9857 9762 Fax: 9857 8175 Website: http://www.greythornps.vic.edu.au Email: greythorn.ps@edumail.vic.gov.au OSHCLUB 0411 392 707 Principal: Geoff Agnew
It has been great to see many of our students running around the synthetic turf and at Greythorn Park as they prepare for next week s cross country and fun run. This promises to be a terrific whole school event be sure to come along next Wednesday 7 th May. With Mother s Day not far away our students will have the opportunity to buy something for mum at the Mother s Day stall next Thursday 8 th May. Once again our great friend Anna Toth will put together a variety of gifts that I m sure will delight mums on Sunday week. Information Sessions for parents of 2015 Prep students take place at 7.00pm on Monday 12 th May and on Saturday 17 th May at 10.00am. Please note that the time for the Saturday morning session is definitely 10.00am. (My apologies for any confusion over the start time on Saturday.) These sessions provide an opportunity for prospective parents to come and hear about Greythorn, with an overview of our educational programs, school organisation and activities. School tours will follow each information session. If you are aware of families who have children due to start school next year please let them know about our Information Sessions. Congratulations to: Tinasy D (6S) who gave a superb rendition on the piano of Beethoven s Allegro No. 1. Great playing Tinasy! Noah D (3MG) who had major success at a recent gymnastics tournament, picking up a swag of medals and an impressive team trophy. Well don Noah! We wish our Assistant Principal Kim Bride all the best as she travels to Wollongong next week as the Team Manager of School Sport Victoria s Baseball team. The team made up of secondary age boys will be competing in the School Sport Australia Championships. A special welcome to student teachers from Deakin and Victoria University who commenced at Greythorn this week. Welcome to Courtney Ludbrook, Emma Kennedy, Matthew Vogel and Thomasine Cox. We wish them well as they pursue their teaching careers and hope they enjoy their time at Greythorn.
Wednesday 30 April PFA meeting at 7.30pm in the Staffroom Thursday 1 May Yr 3 s walk to Greythorn Park for Cross Country training 9.00-10.00 am Tuesday 6 May Parent Helpers Training 2.10pm - 3.30pm Wednesday 7 May GPS Cross Country 12.30-3.00pm at Greythorn Park - CANTEEN CLOSED Thursday 8 May Mother s Day Stall Thursday 8 May 3R to visit Minifie Park ECC 11.20am - 11.50am Friday 9 May 3MG to visit Balwyn East Kinder 9.10am - 9.40am Monday 12 May Prep 2015 Information Session in the School Hall at 7pm. Tuesday 13 May Year 2 to Banyule Rethink Centre 9.00am - 1.00pm Tuesday 13 May Naplan Testing Year 3 and Year 5 - Literacy Wednesday 14 May Year 1 to Banyule Rethink Centre 9.00am - 1.00pm Wednesday 14 May Naplan Testing Year 3 and Year 5 - Reading Wednesday 14 May Chess Club at 1.00pm Wednesday 14 May Parent Helpers Training 2.10pm - 3.30pm Wednesday 14 May Education Committee Meeting 5.00pm - 6.00pm Thursday 15 May Naplan Testing Year 3 and Year 5 - Numeracy Friday 16 May District Cross Country Saturday 17 May Prep 2015 Information Session in the School Hall at 10.00am Monday 19 May Education Week at Greythorn Primary School Monday 19 May Boroondara Eisteddfod - Senior Choir Tuesday 20 May Year 1 Swimming begins (concludes 30th May) Tuesday 20 May Storytime in the Playroom - pre-schoolers sessions Wednesday 21 May Chess Club at 1.00pm Wednesday 21 May Open Afternoon 2.00-3.00pm Thursday 22 May Prep excursion to Melbourne Zoo Saturday 24 May PFA Bogan Bingo Evening Monday 2 June Year 2 Swimming begins (concludes 13th June) Wednesday 4 June Chess Club at 1.00pm Monday 9 June Queen s Birthday Holiday - School closed Wednesday 11 June Alliance Française Competition - Year 4-6 Thursday 12 June Prep - Responsible Pet Ownership 9.00am-12.00pm Thursday 26 June Curriculum Day - Reporting to Parents
Music Notes Year 5 and 6 Sports Uniform Coming Up! Year Two will be performing at Assembly next Monday 5 th May Students will need to be on stage by 8.45am In addition we will hear a woodwind demonstration postponed from last week s Assembly with our new woodwind teacher! Entertainment Book If you have pre-ordered an Entertainment Book, please come to the office to collect it. We also have Entertainment Books available for sale. Thank you for your support. School Photos AdvancedLife Photography have advised that the school photos will most likely be delivered by the middle of May 2014. They apologise for the delay but are working hard to produce the photos as quickly as possible without compromising on quality Canteen Bites Please find below the Roster for Canteen duty for Thursday 1st May to Wednesday 14th May 2014. Thursday 1 May Friday 2 May Monday 5 May Tuesday 6 May Wednesday 7 May Thursday 8 May Friday 9 May Monday 12 May Tuesday 13 May Wednesday 14 May Carolyn De Jong Monica Creedon / URGENT HELP NEEDED HELP NEEDED Shilpa Prajapati CANTEEN CLOSED due to Cross Country Megan Hoffman Kate Locke / Madeleine Nah HELP NEEDED HELP NEEDED Elizabeth O Hanlon If you are able to assist at all, please contact Lynne on 9898 3649 (After hours) or email lynnescraft@hotmail.com. Thank you. We currently have a few extra Year 5 and 6 new sports shirts (size 12 and 14) available. The cost is $41.00 each and can be purchased from the office. Sport STATE CHAMPION Congratulations to Ryan L Superfish on his outstanding efforts at the School Sports Victoria (SSV) State Swimming Finals yesterday at MSAC. I am pleased to deliver the news that Ryan was crowned state champion in both of his events, the 11yrs Boys Butterfly and the 11yrs Boys Backstroke. Ryan swam an impressive personal best time of 32.95 to take out the butterfly event. He then backed that up with an amazing time of 34.13 in the backstroke, setting a new SSV record for the event (beating the previous record set by current VIS athlete Nicholas Groenewald). Ryan has competed with terrific focus, determination and sportsmanship throughout the 2014 school swimming season and has served as a fantastic ambassador for Greythorn Primary School all season long. He is now State Champion in two events just desserts for all the hard work and effort he has put into his training. Congratulations Ryan, we are all very proud of you. Liam Santamaria
Reading Happenings at Greythorn Over the past two years, as part of the school s, Strategic Plan, we have gradually been introducing the Independent Reading program across the year levels at Greythorn. You might have heard your children talking about Just Right books and a healthy reading diet, both important components of this program. In the newsletter over the next few weeks we will be publishing an Introduction to Independent Reading, written by one of our Year 6 teachers, Simon Judkins. This series of articles will provide you with a greater understanding of what Independent Reading is and its long-term goals. An introduction to Independent Reading What is it? Independent reading is the generally accepted title given to one of the most currently researched literacy programs. It offers a practical teaching and learning style which focuses heavily on the strategies effective readers use to successfully decode and comprehend texts. It involves a whole class tuning-in session where the teacher discusses a specific reading strategy, followed by an independent reading time where students focus on applying the recently examined learning to their own texts. This learning is recorded by students during the independent time and shared collaboratively at the end of each session so other students can hear and learn from one another. Simon Judkins Liz Miller English Curriculum leader Greythorn Fun Run and Cross Country Trials This event will take place at Greythorn Park on Wednesday 7 th May, beginning at 1:00pm. The event program (including approximate distances) is listed below. Year 2 Boys 1km Year 2 Girls 1km Year 1 Boys 750m Year 1 Girls 750m Preps Boys 500m Preps Girls 500m (Preps, Year 1 & Year 2 students return to school) 9/10 years Boys 2km 9/10 years Girls 2km 11 years Boys 3km 11 years Girls 3km 12/13 years Boys 3km 12/13 years Girls 3km Permission forms were distributed to students last term and were due back to the class teacher by today, Wednesday 30 th April. Parents, if you have not yet returned it, please fill in the bottom section of the form if you are able to assist on the day as parental assistance will be very much appreciated. Liam Santamaria PE/Sport Coordinator
School Banking School Banking - every FRIDAY except the last day of term. Welcome back to School Banking for Term 2! We d like to congratulate you amazing savers! You helped raise $807 for Greythorn Primary School in Term 1 by just banking at school each Friday. What a fantastic result, we can t wait to see what you help raise in Term 2. Thanks also to the 63 students who opened Youthsaver accounts and started banking in Term 1 each new account raises $5 for our school. Read below about how to get involved. SCHOOL BANKING TROPHY: Make sure you remind your friends to bank each Friday as the class with the highest number of student bankers will be presented with the School Banking Trophy at Assembly each Monday and can proudly display the trophy in their classroom for the week. Who will win this week? TERM 2 COMPETITION: How exciting! Simply make three or more School Banking deposits between 21 April and 4 July 2014 and you ll be automatically entered into the competition. Major prize a family underwater adventure holiday. Five nights accommodation at the Sea World Resort & Water Park on the Gold Coast; VIP Passes for two adults and three kids to Sea World, Warner Bros. Movie World and Wet n Wild Gold Coast; A Dolphin Family Aqua Adventure; and A $3,000 travel gift card to get you there. Runner up prizes 130 Toys R Us Gift Cards to the value of $250 each to spend on your favourite toys. There will be a separate draw giving one school in each state/territory of Australia the chance to win $1,000 cash to spend as they wish. Remember, no matter how small, regular deposits will help your savings grow. Good luck! REWARDS: In Term 2 there are now four exciting rewards to choose from a Whale Shark Pencil Case NEW, a Shark or Penguin Keyring NEW, a handball or scented pencils. There are also some 2013 headphones, wallets, knuckles game or Pru, Spen and Pat moneyboxes to choose from while stocks last. If you have ten silver tokens or one gold token you can order. Just fill in your banking reward slips or place a note in your banking wallet with the reward item you would like, your name and student number. Rewards usually take one or two weeks to receive. If you would like to start banking on a Friday read below Become a deep sea saver and learn how to save regularly by bringing your book to school You can bank as much as you like every week, School Banking is about frequency not value (we also accept cheques) Every time a student makes a deposit at school they receive a silver Dollarmite token. Once they have individually collected 10 tokens they can be redeemed for an exclusive Dollarmite reward item shown below. ** Please visit any CBA branch to open a school banking account if you do not already have one, and start banking at school** Thanks for all your current and future support of school banking each Friday. Kirrily Turnbull & Elena Berrell School Banking Co-ordinators (johnkirrily@yahoo.co.uk)