Portland Primary

Pulse PO Box 494 Portland 3305 Phone: 5523 1911

Email: portland.ps@edumail.vic.gov.au

Web Site: www.portlandps.vic.edu.au

Issue 36 – Wednesday November 20th, 2013

You Can Do It! Great Students The following students will receive their awards at assembly this Friday in the MP Room at 3pm.

Everyone is welcome. This week’s students are Mrs Carter’s choice!

Like us on Facebook: Are you a Facebook user? You can like our school page for instant updates

on what is happening at Portland Primary. Visit www.facebook.com/portlandprimaryschool

2014 Class Planning:

It is the time of year when we are starting to look at grade structures for next year. If you have any concerns

or issues around class planning, I encourage you to come and see me in the next week. Children will be

notified of their classes & teacher on Monday December 9th, and they will spend Orientation Day on

December 10th in their classes for 2014. Thank you.

Shaqukya is a

Great Student (again)

because she has been

displaying great

leadership skills this

term. She is honest &

reliable and a great

role model for our

younger students.

Shaqukya is

dependable and

always willing to help

out any way she can.

She always looks out

for others best interests

& never fails to put a

smile on my face! You

will definitely be missed

by our school

community when you

move on to Secondary

School next year!

Catriona, more

commonly known

as Cat, is a natural

leader. She

demonstrates this in

everything she

does. Cat is

organised, reliable,

and well-mannered

and always puts in

100%. No matter

what she is doing,

she does it with

pride and

confidence. Cat

demonstrated her

ability to take on

new challenges in

the debating a

couple of weeks

ago. Keep up the

great work Cat.

Riley is a Great Student because he has been

demonstrating very good leadership skills during our

Prep Transition sessions. Riley is a great role model for

other students. He makes well thought out decisions

and always gives 100%. He is a great friend to the

other students and is always willing to help others out.

Keep up the fabulous work Riley!

Grade 2 Sleepover:

THIS Friday is our grade 2 sleepover. All students need to have returned their permission notes & $10 NO

LATER THAN TOMORROW. Parents can bring the children’s bedding and belongings to school Friday

morning, as children will be dropped at the foreshore on Friday evening. Children will be dropped at the

foreshore at 6pm, where we will have a BBQ dinner, and we will then walk back to school, where we will

have some activities before bed. Children will need to be collected from school no later than 9am on

Saturday.

Student Teachers:

For the past two weeks we have welcomed Dylan Barr

& Rebecca … to our school as student teachers in

Grade 5/6. We thank them both for the time & effort

they put into their time at PPS.

Regional Golf Championships:

Well done to Lachie Hewlett who competed in the

Regional Gold Championships on Monday. Lachie

placed 11th overall, which is a tremendous

achievement. Way to go Lachie!

Jump Rope 4 Heart:

Children will have taken home a sponsorship form for Jump Rope for Heart. Please encourage your children

to seek sponsorship, and to practise their skipping at home. We will be having a

jump-a-thon for all grades in the last week of school. See Mr Keem for more details.

School Fees:

A number of families still have outstanding school fees for the 2013 school year. Over the next week

reminder letters will be going home to all families who have not yet finalised their financial commitments to

the school. School fees go towards our planned programs and curriculum resources, so it is important that

we receive them, in order to optimise our programs for the year.

Whole School Picnic Day:

On Wednesday December 18th, we will be taking the whole school to Nelson for Picnic Day. We will have

some time to play, have BBQ lunch and then spend some time at the beach after lunch, before returning to

school by home time. The cost of the day will be $10 per student, which will cover lunch, activities & the bus.

If you have any queries, please see Mrs Carter or Wendy.

Graduation Evening:

This year’s Graduation Evening will be held on Tuesday December 17th. This is a whole school event and a

chance for our families to celebrate the end of another school year. Each grade will do a short

performance, which will be followed by our Grade 6 Graduation, awards & scholarships and the

announcement of our school leaders for 2014.

PORTLAND PRIMARY SCHOOL:

Parents, Teachers, Students and the Community Working Together for

Educational Excellence

IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER Friday November 22nd – Grade 2 Sleepover

Tuesday November 26th – School Council Meeting 7pm

Monday December 2nd – Grade 5/6 Canberra Camp starts

Friday December 6th – Report Writing Day – NO STUDENTS REQUIRED AT SCHOOL

Grade 5/6 Kinder Visits – Elsa McLeod & The Hub

Meals on Wheels

Cricket Clinic

Upwelling Festival Parade

3 Bays Marathon

Band Tour Visit at St Johns

School Disco

Kanga 8’s Cricket

Market Fresh Fruit & Vegetable Education Session

Somers Camp

Grade 2 Sleepover

Grade 5/6 Canberra Camp

Portland Secondary College Rock Band Concert

LOTE Day

Grade 6 Day

Whole School Picnic Day - Nelson

Well you

need to let the school know... If you

have a new phone number, address or

employment details, it is very important that you let

the school know. We have had 4 separate

incidents this term, where we have tried to call a

parent, and the number has changed. It is essential

that we have current contact details in case of

emergency. Thank you.

Payments are

now payable.

The camp is in

11 days. If you

are having

difficulty with

payment,

please see

Wendy or Mrs

Carter ASAP.

iPad & Netbook

Payments are

now due. Netbooks

need to be paid ASAP

for Grade 6 children to

keep them at the end

of the year. We need

time to be able to wipe

the netbooks and

reconfigure them

before the end of the

year. Please make these

payments to the office

ASAP.

iPad & Netbook payments are NOW DUE –

Please make payment ASAP

BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS We would like to wish the following children a very happy birthday and we hope that they enjoy their

day.

Thursday November 21st – Chaska Close-Coolwell

Sunday November 24th – Kayne Finck

Sandals, thongs and Ballet Flats are not school uniform – children are not to

wear sandals to school. They are not safe, as children’s toes and feet are

exposed and they are not sturdy enough for the types of activities we do at

school. School shoes must be fully closed in and BLACK. Other coloured

runners are only to be worn on WEDNESDAY’S for PE.

“Studies have shown that 95% of 12 – 17 year olds are regularly online with

80% of them involved in social media. Up to 44% have lied about their age

to join some of the sites- up to 7.5 million under 13 year olds know about it

and 64% of parents helped them set up their account. Yet only 39% of their

parents are their online friend.

When cyber bullying occurs girls are more likely to report it than boys. Up to

90% have ignored the bullying when they witness it happening to someone

else, 53% have talked to their friends about it and 36% have talked to their

parents.

The main thing that stops young people telling their parents is the fear that

parents will ban them from using the computer. We don’t need to ban the

computer; we need to educate our young people on what to do if cyber

bullying occurs.

Thank you to Kowan’s Nan, Lyn Lennon, for

her help with our Kitchen Garden. Thank you

to the students from Miss Scott’s class for

their help also. Thank you to Mrs Emerson for

the donation of BioChar to build up the soil.

The hard work is done and over the next two weeks we will be planting our veges

Market Fresh Schools Visit:

“Stomp, stomp, stomp, chatter, chatter,

chatter! Mmm look at that yummy food,”

said all the children. All the children sat in

the library to listen to the people

standing out the front.

First we listened to Teisha and a

slideshow that she had made. It was

about this farmer called Farmer Brown

and how farmers harvest their fruit and

vegetables.

Second, we got introduced to the fruit

and vegetables. Then we learnt new

facts about the fruits and vegetables we

already knew about. We also learnt

some facts like if you put a tomato that

has a little bit of green in the fridge. It will

stop the ripening process.

Last we got to try the tasty food. We tried

asparagus- some people thought it

tasted like snow peas. Then we tried

some other fruit. Everyone had a

different opinion.

Most of the food tasted great. Everyone

had a different opinion on how the

avocado dip tasted!

By Renee, Ellyse and Haeleey

“Yay, we get to eat some fruit!” Caroline

and Teisha came to our school to tell us

about fruit and veggies. They will tell us

about fruit and veggies. This is how our

presentation began.

First, we sat down in the library as Caroline

and Teisha introduced themselves. Then

Teisha showed us a slideshow and

explained what farmers do to our fruit and

vegetables.

Second, Caroline talked to us about the

types of fruits and vegetables and what

they are. She showed us bananas,

strawberries and avocados and she

talked about them. Soon she introduced

an activity booklet.

Thirdly, Teisha and Caroline got the

teachers and some of the adults to give us

a paper plate with some fruit and

vegetables on them to try. There were lots

of fruits and vegetables and they were all

so munchy and yummy. After we had

finished eating, Teisha and Caroline said

goodbye and we all set off back to class.

We had lots of fruits and vegetables and

my favourite ones were the guacamole

and the oranges. In the end, it turned out

to be a fun and healthy activity.

By Jaya, Brayden and Erynn