Issue 21

Tuesday 2nd August 2011

PRINCIPALS REPORT
CHICKEN POX We have had a number of cases over the past few months of chicken pox. There have been a number of children throughout the school that have had chicken pox this term. Please be aware and check your child and look for symptoms, sometimes it can be headaches and aches, sometimes the chicken pox appears with no side effects before the blisters appear. Children are expected to be excluded from school once the chicken pox appear and are open sores. The expulsion is for five days or until the blisters have all dried up. Information details such as home phone numbers, change of address need to be updated regularly as in the case of an emergency or illness at school the contact details need to current so that contact can be made. Could parent please forward any change of address and in particular change of phone number to the school. Enrolment details usually include address and phone number but also family occupation. The reason that family occupation details are collected is that there is an index called the School Family Occupation index (SFO). Based on the information the Education Department receives about Ashby Primary School written in the enrolment forms a certain amount of funding is given to the
Principal: Jenny Omachen

DATES TO REMEMBER
Wednesday 10th August District Athletics. Wednesday 17th August School Council Meeting. Wednesday 31st August School Review Day. Friday 23rd September Last Day Term 3.

school. Accurate information about occupation is really important because it can mean a difference in quite a considerable amount of money that can be directed towards the school. So if the occupation of parents has not changed in the past year then this information will remain the same, but if the occupation situation has changed this information needs to be altered and this will have an impact on the SFO index. Our school has an index which is borderline and inaccurate information can mean that the school misses out on the SFO funding. Could I ask parents to please note if the change of occupation has occurred, for example, different occupation or being unemployed, that this information be filled out on the slip located on the last page and sent back to school. We had a very productive working bee on Sunday morning, thank you to all the families, adults and children who helped weed, sweep, rake and move mulch. I am taking three weeks Long Service Leave commencing next Monday 6th August. Ian Dyer will be Acting Principal during my absence and Anna Trupkovic will be the classroom teacher in Grade 2/3 Dyer. Jenny Omachen Principal, Ashby Primary School

EDUCATION MAINTENANCE ALLOWANCE

Education maintenance allowance is available to all parents who hold a Pension or Health Care Cared. For parents who did not apply at the beginning of the year can now apply to receive the education maintenance allowance for the second half of the year. Just come to the office and complete the application form. Dont forget to bring your current Pension or Health Care Card with you. All new application need to be completed before Friday 5th August. Late applications cannot be processed.

www.ashbyps.vic.edu.au

School email - ashby.ps@edumail.vic.gov.au

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ART ROOM
As a part of our next project we are collecting black plastic plant post of any size. If you find you have a couple to spare could you send them to school sooner that later so we can begin.

GERMAN NEWS DEUTSCHE ECKE

Year 5 and 6 students are very busy practising reciting the poem for the Geelong Poetry Recitation Competition. They need to learn it off by heart and say it in front of an audience of other students, their parents, friends and their teachers. This will take place at the Karneval Club, Arunga Avenue, Norlane Thursday week (August 4) at 4.15pm. At present, Ben Donald and Ben Fraser are the students who know their poem off by heart and are keen to represent Ashby Primary School. We take a team of 8 students, 2 of whom are emergencies, and invite parents and family and a cheer squad of friends. From the cheer squad we have a couple of students who announce the poem and enlighten the audience of the meaning of the poem in English. Ryan Lupton has kindly offered to do this again. We invite others also to take part in this important part of the afternoon and invite all members of the school community to join us in a delightful afternoon for a German Kaffee und Kuchen (coffee/tea and cake). Just leave your name and phone number at reception with Jenny Sweeney and I will make contact with you to take your order. The ladies of the Club do the baking and we need to give them firm numbers for Black Forest Cherry Cake and Cheese Cake and...... Frau Simmonds A wonderful website for our students is www.education.vic.gov.au/ languagesonline where you can find lots of interactive learning activities and fun and games in

German, Chinese, Italian, French, Indonesian and English for speakers of other languages. This is a great way to enjoy German(and any other language) with your child. You can learn together and also get an idea of what they are learning and remembering from our class sessions. Many parents have mentioned that their children are loving to sing songs they have learnt in German and are amazed at how well they remember the words. I am also amazed at how powerful music and rhyme is as part of literacy and how absorptive children's brains are. I encourage you to spend time with your child and learn together. Catriona Simmonds

We are also looking for scraps of bright and interesting fabric. Your donations are much appreciated. I would also like everyone to know that we will be having a special assembly on Monday 9th August to thank Mark Eadie, Lucas dad, for the fabulous work he did painting the wonderfully vibrant and creative mural in the junior childrens playground. It was a labour intensive project and we were lucky enough to have Mark involving all the children in the painting. We will have assembly at 9.00 at the back of the school in front of the mural; everyones welcome! Kathy Hyland.

CORIO DANCE CENTRE NEW BOYS ONLY CLASSES

Exciting New Boys Only Dance Classes. Starting Saturday 30th July 9 am to 10am at the Cloverdale Community Centre. Come and have some fun make new friends and perform in the end of year concert. Classes run fortnightly, ONLY $10.00 per class. Ages 3+. Contact Tracey on 0400954927. HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE
(Girls classes are held on Monday Nights).

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FRIENDS OF ASHBY UPDATES

Visit the FOA Blog http://friendsofashby.blogspot.com/ for more updates! Art Show and Market Planning Meeting, Friday, August 5th We will be meeting this Friday, August 5th after Fresh Fruit Friday (9:30amish) in the staff room to work on the details for the upcoming Art Show which will be held on Saturday, November 5th. In addition to the Art Show we will also be featuring an art and craft market and produce and plant market. We will also have food, drinks and other activities for families. All are welcome to share their ideas and help plan. If you might be interested in a stall at the art and craft market, please contact Friends of Ashby via email friendsofashby@gmail.com or speak with Tracy Raby. Receive Double Points this Week at Woolworths for Earn and Learn Program! From Monday, August 1st through Sunday 7th August 2011, you will get TWO Earn & Learn points for every $10 you spend at Woolworths (excluding the purchase of cigarettes, alcohol and gift cards). The Earn and Learn program will give Ashby the opportunity to get needed educational resources, like books, furniture, puzzles and arts and craft supplies. Points automatically appear on your shopping dockets (at the bottom). Please return your shopping docket (or at least the bit at the bottom with the points you earned and their code) to your childs teacher, the school office or place it in the collection box on the Friends of Ashby Bulletin Board just outside the staff room. The school will enter your code online to get your points. Dont forget to ask your family and friends for their points too! At the end of the program we can redeem the points we have earned against a choice of more than 7,000 educational resources including library books, classroom equipment, art & craft materials and much, much more for our school. Coles Sports for School Program Already Underway! This will be the second year we are participating in the Coles program. Last year we earned over 9,000 points which allowed us to get new bouncy balls, catch cone sets, vortex howlers and volleyballs. While this program officially begins August 11th and runs until October 18th you can already get vouchers with your shopping, so dont forget to ask! Through this program for every $10 spent at Coles Supermarkets, Coles Online, Bi-Lo or Pickn Pay you will earn a Coles Sports for Schools voucher worth 1 point. When making your purchase, simply ask your cashier for the Coles Sports for Schools vouchers. Were asking our local school community to collect these vouchers from family, friends and neighbours. Vouchers can be returned to your childs teacher or the school office. You can also place them in the collection box outside the staff room. The more vouchers we collect, the more sports gear we can get! Just remember to ask for the vouchers when you pay for your purchase. If you have any questions about Ashbys participation in either the Woolworths or Coles program, please contact Friends of Ashby via friendsofashby@gmail.com Have you Been Eating your Frozen Veggies? Ashby Primary School has registered again for the McCAIN Veggie Patch program to support work in our school garden. Through the program, McCAIN is giving away over $500,000 worth of veggie patch equipment to primary schools during 2011. To support our school simply collect barcodes from your McCAIN vegetable packs between now and September 30, 2011. You can give your barcodes to your childs teacher or place them collection box at the school office. And dont forget to ask your family and friends for their McCain vegetable packs barcodes! Every barcode earns McCAIN Veggie Patch points for our school which can then be redeemed for gardening tools and seeds.

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FRIENDS OF ASHBY UPDATES CONTD

Can You Help? There are many ways you can get involved at Ashby. Below are some current activities we are seeking assistance with: Fresh Fruit Friday, every Friday 9am - Assistance is needed every Friday after drop off (9amish) to help prepare fruits and veggie platters for the classrooms. If you can help, please join us in the classroom kitchen.

Changing the Waratah and Lawton Street School Signs Can you help change the messages on the school signs on Waratah and Lawton Street? We are looking for volunteers to sign up for the rest of the year to change the signs. If you are willing to be on the school sign roster you can sign up on the FOA bulletin Board across from the staff room or send a note through your childs teacher or the front office. Washing Sick Bay Linens Can you volunteer to help out with washing the school sick bay linens? While not needed regularly, they do need to be washed at the end of each term and as needed. If you are willing to be on the sick bay linen roster you can sign up on the FOA bulletin Board across from the staff room or send a note through your childs teacher or the front office.

---------------------------------------------------------------PLEASE COMPLETE AND RETURN TO SCHOOL AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. Childs Name: DETAILS PRIMARY FAMILY DETAILS Legal Surname Adult A: Legal First Name: _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________ What is Adult As occupation? _________________________________________________________

Legal Surname Adult B: Legal First Name:

_________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________

occupation? What is Adult Bs occupation __________________________________________________________ Home Phone Number: Mobile Number: _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________