Newsletter

EPSOM PRIMARY SCHOOL NEWSLETTER NO 26– 18/08/10 Phone Number: 03 5448 4318 School Fax Number: 03 5448 3334 Email: [email protected] Website: www.epsomps.vic.edu.au

This is a ―YOU CAN DO IT‖ school

EPSOM PALM PRESS

Michaella represented our school at the

Better Schools competition at the Market-

place.

We won a bike and helmet and $1000.

Tim Mc-P., Caleb W.,

Jorja H., Acacia E.,

Josh G., Josh B., Ry-

leyu M., Broden P., Dy-

lan H., Elli V., Kendyl

K., Kyle S., Ben U., Mi-

kaela T. and Dallas B.

Very excited

group at the

opening of the

iPads.

Epsom Variety Show – September 9th The School Concert will take place on Thursday, 9th

September at the Connect Church Hall in Solomon St,

East Bendigo, off Murphy Street. It will commence at

7:30pm sharp, and all children are involved. The chil-

dren do not need to buy a ticket, but parents, family and

friends will need to purchase tickets from the office.

An order form for tickets is attached to this Newsletter.

Please send along your ticket order to the Office with

your payment—Adults $6 and Children $3. If your child is unable to participate, please see his or her

teacher as soon as possible.

Please buy your tickets prior to the concert, as there

will be no tickets sold at the door on the night. There

is no reserved seating.

(All current students at the school are in the concert,

therefore they do not have to pay. If you can’t get into

the office, send the money in an envelope with your re-

quirements and the tickets will be forwarded home to

you.)

Concert Venue This year’s school concert will again be held at

the Connect Church Hall in Solomon St, East

Bendigo.

How do you get there?

If travelling into Bendigo from Epsom, turn left at

the traffic lights opposite Weeroona College into

Murphy St. Follow Murphy St through the indus-

trial area, go straight through the roundabout at the

Strickland Rd intersection, continue along Murphy

St and turn left into Solomon St. The church hall is

the first building on your left. There is parking

available in front of and behind the hall. The con-

cert commences at 7:30pm sharp and children

should be assembled at the hall by 7:10pm.

Yellow Day On 27th August the Junior School Council will be

holding a “Wear Yellow for Cancer Cure” Day.

They would like children to wear something yellow

that day, and give a gold coin donation to the Can-

cer Council to help with finding a cure for cancer.

Please don’t go and buy a new yellow outfit. Sim-

ple items from home such as a yellow wrist band,

ribbon, bandana, yellow socks, a scarf or t-shirt

with yellow on it , yellow jewellery, or some other

small fun item will be fine. Maybe even a toy with

yellow on it would be easy for you. Parents who

drop in are also invited to wear something yellow

that day. Your donation will be much appreciated.

Junior School Councillors will collect the money

from the classrooms before morning recess on the

day and parents and staff may donate in any class-

room or the office if they wish to be involved.

H.Miller for JSC.

I CAN HELP AT THE BBQ

I will be available to help at the BBQ

from:-

8am –9am______________________

9am—10am_____________________

10am-11am______________________

11am-12noon_____________________

12-1pm___________________________

1pm-2pm___________________________

Office News Family Statements have been sent home.

Please come and see me if you have any

queries regarding payments that are due. The school asks that you have the correct

money when you are making a payment at

the office. The school does not have access

to change and does not keep a float on

school premises.

If you know of any families that are consid-

ering enrolling their child at Epsom PS next

year, please ask them to visit us to fill in an

enrolment form. Book Club orders are being sent home to-

day. They are due back before Friday 27th

August.

Student banking is done on Tuesdays.

Please come and see me for more informa-

tion.

If you have changed your address or phone

number/s PLEASE notify the Office. I

have been trying to contact people and have

the wrong phone number!

Election BBQ

On Election Day, we will be running a Sau-

sage Sizzle 8am—2pm. Helpers are re-

quired to operate this fundraiser to help

make it a success. We will be having a

parents meeting to organise the BBQ on

Thursday at 3pm. All Wel-

come….remember, many hands make light

work.

Please complete the helpers slip in this

Newsletter.

WHAT IS THE ULTRANET? The Ultranet is a new online system that will take Victorian government schools and stu-dents into the learning environment of the future. It is a state-wide, secure site that stu-dents, parents and teachers can access on the internet. Students and teachers can use the Ultranet for online learning activities. From the end of September, parents will be able to view this and other information to help keep up-to-date with their child’s progress. The Ultranet provides the opportunity for parents to gain a better understanding of their child’s learning progress. It aims to encourage open communication about what’s happen-ing at school. WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF THE ULTRANET? The Ultranet provides parents with another avenue to support their child at school. It gives parents access to information that will enable them to keep up-to-date with their child’s learning progress. This could mean viewing test results, teacher feedback, timetables, homework activities and attendance records. The Ultranet presents opportunities to open lines of communication between parents and their child so they can discuss learning or schooling issues as they arise. The Ultranet also allows students and teachers to work together using online tools such as wikis, blogs and discussion forums. Students can create their own learning portfolios and take part in online learning activities, whilst teachers will be able to liaise and share resources with other teachers across Victoria. WHAT WILL THE ULTRANET COST TO SCHOOLS? The Ultranet is a $60.5 million project funded by the Victorian Government. It is being pro-vided to every Victorian government school so that they do not need to divert funds into their own online learning systems. WHEN WILL PARENTS BE ABLE TO ACCESS THE ULTRANET?

Parents will be able to log into the Ultranet from the end of September 2010. Prior to this, parents will be invited to register for their login and password to the Ultranet. The Ultranet will be gradually implemented in schools across Victoria from May onwards. Teachers will start introducing the Ultranet into their classrooms at different times during this period. Students will have access to the Ultranet before their parents, so it may be beneficial for parents to ask their child to show them around the site before they come on board. Each school will start using the functionality that best suits the students’, teachers’ and school community’s needs. This means that the information available on the Ultranet from the end of September will vary from school to school. Parents should contact their child’s school for information about when the Ultranet will be implemented.

Dear Parents,

Today is an exciting day for the children in the Year

5/6 with the official opening of the iPads. We wel-

comed special visitors Ron Lake (Regional Director),

Anne Cunniff, (Regional Network Leader), Anne Baird

(Senior Project Officer) and Marc Blanks (Ultranet

Coach). The children celebrated with a chocolate

cake. Tonight at 7pm is the Information Session for

parents. It is essential that we speak to all parents

about the management of the itunes vouchers that will

be issued. An alternative session will be offered for

parents who are not able to attend tonight.

I would like to congratulate Anne Cunniff the Bendigo

Regional Network Leader on her resignation on Fri-

day. Anne has been a huge support to our school and

to me personally and I wish her well for the future.

Thank you to those parents who wrote letters to

School Council regarding the proposed timetable

change. School Council has considered everyone’s

views and as a 3.15pm finish would inconvenience

some families they have agreed that the finishing time

will remain at 3.30pm. The daily timetable will be al-

tered to accommodate three sessions, two of two

hours and one of one hour. This will enable much

more effective use of learning time. Times are oppo-

site and will begin in Term 4.

As you would have noticed the City of Greater

Bendigo have marked new parking bays outside the

school. We would appreciate it if you didn’t park in

these until the rest of the parking arrangements are

completed.

Enjoy the rest of your week

Kerry McGuffie

GOLF

Good luck to Jake A and Bailey on Thursday

August 19th when they will be competing at

the next level of The Primary School Golf

Championships in Heathcote.

ZONE ATHLETICS

Our 10,11 and 12 year old students will be

competing in the Zone Athletics on Wednes-

day September 8th . The sports are held at

the Flora Hill Athletics Complex. Our school

is in charge of running the Sprints and High

Jump and will require helpers for the day.

( Approx 9.30 pm - 2.00pm) If you can as-

sist please see Mrs Brunswick.

Timetable Trial

Session 1: 9.00– 11.00am

Lunch 1: 11.00-11.30am (Playtime)

Session 2: 11.30-1.30pm

Lunch 2: 1.30-1.40pm (Eat inside)

1.40-2.30pm (Playtime)

Session 3: 2.30– 3.30pm

DATES TO REMEMBER: iPad information evening —7pm Wednesday 18th August

Final Gym Program Thurs. 19th August

BBQ helpers meeting at school 3pm-All Welcome Thursday 19th August

Election BBQ at school 8am-2pm Saturday 21st August

“Wear Yellow for Cancer Cure” Day Friday 27th August

Book Club due back Friday 27th August

Zone Athletics @ Flora Hill Athletics Complex Wednesday 8th September

Epsom Primary Variety Show—7.30pm Thursday 9th September End of Term 3 Friday 17th September

FINAL GYM SESSION Parents are invited to attend our final gym session tomorrow, Thursday 19th August –

Grades Prep-3:- 10am-11am.

Grades 4-6:- 11:00am-12:00pm

No pre-schoolers are allowed to attend this session

Grounds Roster: This weeks gardening keys are being sent home to the Killen and King families.

Next weeks gardening families are the Knapman and Knight families.