PRINCIPAL’S REPORT

Showcase – Friday, October 25th This week some important information came out about the Showcase

to be held at Robert Blackwood Hall, Monash University. There is a

great deal of information provided and I urge you to read it carefully to

ensure you are fully informed about the arrangements for the

evening.

Lisa Carne, Lena Papadatos, Alyssa Kennedy and Joan Scott are

co-ordinating Showcase and working together with our instrumental

staff, teachers and parents. We are all looking forward to the

opportunity and enjoyment it will create for our students and their

families. We are also looking forward to all members of our school

community being involved.

Also a reminder that our Order Forms will be available to secure your copy of our fantastic new

music CD ‘Around the World’.

Traffic and Parking Reminders I would again appeal to parents to support the safety of students by remembering to:

Obey all parking restriction signs, especially the Drop Off Zone

Avoid conducting U-Turns in front of the school

Ensure all children cross at the designated School Crossing only

CALENDAR DATES

TERM 4

17th October School Council Meeting – 7.30 p.m. staffroom

20th October Working Bee – 10.00 – 2.00 p.m.

23rd October PFA Meeting – 7.30 p.m. staffroom

24th October Year 6 Graduation Photo

25th October Music Showcase – Robert Blackwood Hall

31st October Music - Count Us In

31st October Scienceworks Sleepover – Year 4 (4S & part 4CW)

1st November ACMI excursion – Year 4 (4S & part 4CW)

6th November Science Talent Search Exhibition and presentation day

8th November Official Opening Ceremony for new School Buildings – 10.15 a.m.

11th November Chesterfield Farm Excursion - Prep

12th November Values for Life – Yrs 5 & 6

14th November School Council Meeting – 7.30 .m. staffroom

18th November Book Fair – till 22nd November

26th November Forensic Frenzy – Year 6

27th November Healesville Excursion – Years 1 & 2

5th December Orientation Session - Prep 2014

10th December Year 6 Orientation Day at Year 7 school

20th December Last day of Term 4 – 1.30 p.m. finish

2014

28th / 29th January Staff return to school

30th January Students in Yrs 1 – 6 commence school

31st January Students in Prep commence school

ISSUE 32

17th October,

2013

Take extra care if you are using the Council Car Park as the volume of traffic and children there

requires extra vigilance

Try and not stop to drop off children in areas that either hold up other parents, or cause children

to make dangerous road crossings.

Year 4 Camp – Scienceworks and ACMI Last Thursday and Friday half of the Year 4 children enjoyed Stage 1 of our new Camp Program. The children

and staff enjoyed a pizza dinner at school on Thursday night before travelling by bus to Scienceworks. There

they enjoyed an ‘after hours’ show in the Planetarium before settling down in their sleeping bags for the night

….. what excitement! In fact, I’ve heard that there wasn’t a great deal of sleeping for some children. In the

morning after breakfast the children had the run of Scienceworks before any of the public were allowed in

which was a real treat. They then travelled by bus to ACMI at Federation Square where they participated in a

fun day of filmmaking activities.

This is a great addition to our Camping Program and certainly provides a worthwhile introduction for the

children as they head into the longer programs in Yrs 5 & 6. Thanks to all the staff who gave their time to give

the children this experience, and especially to Jenny Austin and Ina Kuehlich for their planning and

organisation.

ICAS Maths & English Results Recently we received the results from the ICAS Maths & English Competitions. These National competitions

saw a number of children test their skills and knowledge in the area of Maths and English. I would like to

congratulate all the children who participated and in particular highlight those listed below for their

outstanding achievement in receiving special recognition. A terrific endorsement once again of the high

quality teachers and students we have here at Essex Heights PS. Thanks to Carolyn Walker for her work in

facilitating these competitions for the children.

MATHS RESULTS

YEAR 3

CREDIT – top 20% DISTINCTION – top 10% HIGH DISTINCTION– top 1%

Seneth K. Celene H. Alexander Y.

Jonathan T. Orlando C.

Angela C. Cathy S.

Jay Syn C. Sophie X.

Ashley N.

Anjali S.

Daniel V.

Visith W.

YEAR 4

CREDIT– top 20% DISTINCTION– top 10% HIGH DISTINCTION– top 1%

Megan C. Rex A. Quynh D.

Hugh C. Hayeon C.

Nakul P. Jeremy L.

Timothy W. April L.

Brian W. Cindy L.

Lynne Z. Madhumitha M.

Petro P.

Joshua Y.

YEAR 5

CREDIT– top 20% DISTINCTION– top 10% HIGH DISTINCTION– top 1%

Paige B. Phoenix H.

Wei Wei C. Daniel L.

Bryan L. Margaret Z.

Victoriia M.

Sam Prior

Declan V.

Aaron Z.

Rachel Z.

YEAR 6

CREDIT– top 20% DISTINCTION– top 10% HIGH DISTINCTION– top 1%

Eleanor C. Shannon N. Kenneth D.

Sean C. Danushka W. Seungho H.

Aloysius C. Vinuthi W. Michael P .

Mark R.G. Alex W.

Maya G.

Joshua G.H.

Max J.

Andrew L.

Jordan R.

Thomas S.

Sean T.

Lachlan T.

Jonathan W.

ENGLISH RESULTS

YEAR 3

CREDIT – top 20% DISTINCTION – top 10% HIGH DISTINCTION– top 1%

Orlando C. Lea W.C. Anjali S.

Rebecca L. Marvin O.

Cathy S. Charlotte P.

Jonathan T. Tomasz P.

Daniel V. Ainsley S.

Jay Syn. C.

Sophie X.

YEAR 4

CREDIT– top 20% DISTINCTION– top 10% HIGH DISTINCTION– top 1%

Inga G.H. Hugh C. April L.

Saayna K. Cindy L.

Megan C. Madhumitha M.

Quynh D.

Nicola H.

Pranav J.

Jeremy L.

Tiffany X.

Lynne Z.

YEAR 5

CREDIT– top 20% DISTINCTION– top 10% HIGH DISTINCTION– top 1%

Neharika B. Daniel L. Paige B.

Chantel D.L.S. Margaret Z.

Jonathan G.

Phoenix H.

Anastasia K.

Bryan L.

Roan N.

Sean N.

Veronika P.

Aaron Z.

YEAR 6

CREDIT– top 20% DISTINCTION– top 10% HIGH DISTINCTION– top 1%

Sean C. Eleanor C. Michael P.

Mark R.G. Kenneth D.

Max J. Seungho H.

Amelia K. William P.

Amy L. Vinuthi W.

Shannon N.

Thomas S.

Sean T.

Jonathan W.

Danushka W.

Alex W.

Ride to School Day Wednesday saw many children (and one teacher

…. well done Annegret!) ride their bikes or scooters

for the annual Ride to School Day.

Essex Heights enjoys a terrific bike riding culture

and it was great to see this event so well

supported, yet again!

Thanks to Morwenna Griffiths and Linda Cornell

for their work in promoting and supporting all the

bike riding initiatives throughout the year.

Reading for Fun is Important I was interested in a recent article in The Age which began;

Children who read for pleasure are likely to perform significantly better in the classroom than their

peers who rarely read, according to a recent report by the University of London’s Institute of

Education.

In the article the journalist, Brooke Lumsden, points out that reading for

pleasure not only builds vocabulary and spelling but can also have a positive impact

on Maths.

‘‘ It may seem surprising that reading for pleasure would help to improve

children’s maths scores, but it is likely that strong reading ability will enable

children to absorb and understand new information and affect their attainment in

all subjects,’’ Dr Sullivan said in the institute’s report.

This research underlines the role good reading habits play in children’s

development, and I think this final observation is a reminder of the crucial role

parents play in partnership with schools in this.

Encouragement is crucial, however, particularly for reluctant readers. Ms Neilson says reading aloud

from a variety of authors and genres, and offering children a range of reading materials including

magazines and graphic novels, is critical in helping to meet their reading interests.

She explains that to support children in finding the success and positive self-esteem that reading can

set them up for, we need to live what we teach.

‘‘ As parents, teachers and the whole community, we have a job to demonstrate to young people that

reading has value for them personally. Lectures and speeches about that won’t do it for them, but

modelling slow reading of great books and articles will.’’

Copyright © 2013 Fairfax Media

Hats – Terms 1 & 4 Consistent with our SunSmart School Policy we expect our students to wear a hat

in Terms 1 & 4 to protect against UV and the sun. This is a reasonable position

and I would ask that you assist us in this area. Whilst caps might be popular, they

usually give little protection, particularly for the ears. I would urge you to assist us

to protect your children by purchasing an approved Essex Heights Hat from our

uniform shop.

See you around the school,

Andrew Crossett

Working Bee SUNDAY 20th OCTOBER 10am – 2pm

SCHOOL BANKING – IMPORTANT CHANGES

Welcome back to our last term of school banking for the year. Once again we had a very successful term with

a commission of $513.00 paid to our school by the Commonwealth Bank. That means our school has

received $1626.00 in commissions from the Commonwealth Bank since the beginning of the year thanks to

the consistent savers in our school. Unfortunately none of the prizes from the last completion went to our

school but to 2 other schools in our area.

There are some important changes to the school banking program for next year so please read on:

1. The dolomite money boxes are being phased out and are only available this year until stocks last. So if

you would like one, you must redeem it this year.

2. The Commonwealth Bank is changing over their system and only up to 9 deposits can be carried over.

(eg. If your child has made 45 deposits in total but has only claimed 2 rewards, we can only carry over

5 deposits and not 25). So, if your child has any unclaimed rewards, they must be claimed this year.

At this stage all rewards on the reward card are available. However, stock may run out, so the sooner you

claim the better. We also still have some USB sticks available from last year. Please be aware that it can take

up to two weeks to order rewards, so please be patient.

Thank you very much for supporting the school banking program and helping your children remember to bring

their bank books every Friday. Please remember to fill in both parts of the deposit slip. I would also like to

thank the reliable volunteers Lena Chin, Linda Cornell, Morwenna Griffiths, Kylie Moore, Felicity Bolitho, Leigh

Sherpa, Caroline Thomas that help every Friday as well as casual volunteers that come and help from time to

time and make the school banking program possible.

If you have any queries about school banking, you can either write a note, come and see us in the hall on

Friday morning between 9-11 am or contact Stef via email at sscanning10@gmail.com

FRIDAY 18th October

10.00 a.m. Jenny Quinn, Amarjit Nagra, Robyn Perkin, Helen Giakoumatos

MONDAY 21st October 10.45 a.m.

Amanda Kelsall

WEDNESDAY 23rd October 10.30 a.m.

Lauren Beechey, Renata Sedlacek

FRIDAY 25th October 10.00 a.m.

Felicity Bolitho, Leigh Sherpa, Linda Cornell, Penny Fleming

We have recorded our CD ... ‘AROUND THE WORLD’ It will be available for purchase at this year’s Showcase for $15.

ESSEX HEIGHTS PRIMARY SCHOOL

OCTOBER

Term 4 commences

Scienceworks sleepover Year 4

ACMI excursion – Year 4

Ride to Work Day Hands Up Survey

Prep 2014 -Transition 2 School Council Meeting

Working Bee 10.00 – 2.00

PFA Meeting 7.30 pm staffroom

Yr 6 Grad. Photo Music Showcase 2013

Scienceworks sleepover Year 4 Music ‘Count Us In’

ACMI excursion – Year 4

NOVEMBER

Science Talent Search Pres. Day

Official Opening of School Build.

Chesterfield Farm Excursion - Preps

Values for Life Years 5 & 6.

Prep 2014 – Transition Session School Council Meeting

Book Fair Book Fair Info Eve for Prep 2014 parents

Book Fair Book Fair Book Fair

Forensic Frenzy Year 6.

Healesville Exc. Years 1 & 2.

DECEMBER

Christmas Service

Orientation Day Prep 2014

Orientation Day for Year 6 at Year 7 school

Year 6 Graduation

Year 6 Big Day Out

Last day of School

1.30 p.m. finish

PRODUCTS & SERVICES ADVERTISED IN ‘CONTACT’ ARE PLACED ON A PAID BASIS AND ARE NOT NECESSARILY BEING PROMOTED BY

ESSEX HEIGHTS PRIMARY SCHOOL