OCTOBER 26th

SCHOOL COMMUNITY WALK It was great to see so many families enjoy walking to school this morn-ing from our various meeting points. This event coincided with the De-partment of Education & Training’s ‘October Walk to School Month’. Walking to school has many benefits and at the moment, with the building works, it reduces cars entering the school and issues with drop-off and pick-up. DEPARTURES To assist our 2018 planning we would like to hear from families who are moving and their children not returning to The Basin PS. Please let us know in writing as soon as possible.

UPGRADE Major excavation works are currently under way at the Gym site

with a convoy of trucks daily taking the soil away to Officer. This work will continue for a few more days and then works will on the preparation of the large concrete slab. The concrete slab will be poured after the cup weekend with multiple deliveries of concrete which will keep our children’s interest.

A reminder to parents to take extra care when dropping off and picking up children as there are large trucks and tradesmen using the visitor carpark entrance. All children must use the path to find their parent’s car and not go on the road. May Construc-tions have provided a designated traffic safety person to ensure all children safely cross near the construction zone throughout the day, but we would appreciate parents taking extra care and having suitable discussions with their children about road safety.

At the last site meeting, we were informed about the altered start time of the demolition of half the old office. Fences will be installed around the old office on the Monday after the Country Fair.

There is going to be a delay in the delivery of the large 750cm beams for the gymnasium – now towards the end of December, so work will switch to the old office.

I would like to acknowledge Paige Kennett, a parent with project managing credentials and experience for assisting us by attending the site meetings with me.

PUPIL FREE CURRICULUM DAY - MONDAY 6th NOVEMBER The last Pupil Free Curriculum Day for the year is on Monday 6th No-vember. As the ‘Melbourne Cup’ public holiday falls on the Tuesday 7th November, school will resume in that week on Wednesday 8th Novem-ber.

October 28th School Fete 31st 3/4 Hooptime finals November 1st 5/6 Hooptime finals 6th Curriculum Day 7th Melbourne Cup Day 9th Multi Age Day 13—15th Gr 4 Camp 15—17th Gr 3 Camp 27—1 Dec 5/6 Camp December 4—15th Prep—3 swimming 5th Christmas Carols - 5.30 picnic & 6.15pm start 19th 1/2 Movie excursion 20th Grade 6 Graduation TERM DATES FOR 2017 TERM 4 9th Oct - 22nd Dec

PRINCIPAL’S NEWS

COUNTRY FAIR – THIS SATURDAY!! After months of preparation and many meetings, the day has finally arrived!! My sincere thanks to Marquita Telford and Country Fair Committee for organising this major event. Fingers crossed for perfect weather! Another remember to pre purchase your ride wristbands and save by following the link below to purchase your wristbands. Junior $12.00 ($18 on the day) unlimited on all rides ex-cludes kite flyer or Senior- $18.00 ($25.00 on the day) unlimited on all rides including kite flyer (must be over 110cm to ride). Click the link or copy and paste into a browser to view ride wrist-band presales - https://www.trybooking.com/PIJK PACKING UP THE FAIR We are calling for helpers to assist in the packing up at the conclusion of the Country Fair this Sat-urday from 3:00pm. You would appreciate the organising committee will be exhausted at this stage so to quote an old and true saying – ‘MANY HANDS MAKE LIGHT WORK!’ SHARED GRADES Two years ago, we introduced our first shared grade in the Prep area. After speaking to several colleagues and teachers who had experienced this, we set in place guidelines to ensure success. You would appreciate, as the enrolment increased, we have employed some younger staff some of whom go on to starting families. These teachers are entitled to return to duty and often wish to do so on a reduced time fraction. Added to this, we have had a couple of staff who are unable to work fulltime due to health issues. As Principal, I have to consider all time fractions in the development of yearly class structures. The great news is that we have employed fantastic teachers over the last decade and am confident that any shared grade will ensure best learning outcomes for all stu-dents. The key ingredients in the success of a shared grade is the quality teachers plus the re-quirement that they communicate and share information on a daily basis. over the last decade and am confident that any shared grade will ensure best learning outcomes for all students. The key ingredients in the success of a shared grade is the quality teachers plus the requirement that they communicate and share information on a daily basis. STUDENT PLACEMENT REQUESTS Determining class placements is a complex task where staff members undertake a considerable lengthy process to ensure the best possible placement is made to meet each student's educational needs. Factors that we take into consideration when making class placements include: academic achievement, personal / interpersonal development, friendship groups, learning styles, gender balance and other individual learning needs. It is important to understand that with so many factors to con-sider it is not possible to accommodate every request. Teachers discuss, reflect and review their decisions over several weeks. However, please be aware that each and every factor in the decision as to where a child is placed for next year is given our utmost attention. Please note, requests for particular teachers cannot be considered as the best in-terests of all of the students and the effective management of the school must be taken into ac-count. Please don’t make assumptions about teacher placements, with staff movement, whether within the school or across the system, If you have any information based upon ‘education grounds’ that should be considered in relation to the placement of your child it needs to be sent to me in writing by no later than FRIDAY 10TH NO-VEMBER. As situations change, previous requests should be resubmitted if the reason still exists. After this date, new information will not be considered. Parents will be notified of placements in the last week of term.

Graeme Russell Principal

October 22nd Paige Draffin Layla Insley Luke Marshman 23rd Cameron Pitts 25th Nelly Smith 26th Baxter Johnson 27th Tyler Stork