School News Diary Dates - Woodville Primary School

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TERM 1
4 No. 3
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Thursday
FridayFebruary
July 25th26th
20142015
OUR PURPOSE: To work together to educate and skill our future global citizens
OUR PURPOSE: To work together to educate and skill our future global citizens
Diary Dates
Pupil Free Day
T O M O R R O W
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Friday February 27
Instrumental music & Choir
Every Tuesday
Volunteer Training
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Tuesday March 3
Brainstorm Theatre R-7
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Thursday March 5
Whole school assemblies
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Fridays March 6 & 27
Canteen Special
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Friday March 6
Public Holiday
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Monday March 9
Governing Council
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Monday March 16
Harmony Day
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Friday March 27
Good Friday
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Friday April 3
Easter Monday
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Monday April 6
End of Term one
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Friday April 10 at 2:05
School News
Adults interacting with children
There are very clear and strict rules about when adults, who are not members of staff, interact
with children at our school – or at any school for that matter. We welcome adults to our
school with some clear understandings. One of these is that it is entirely inappropriate for an
adult to confront a child about an incident at school. This is a child safety issue and the adult may
be open to police involvement.
If you have an issue with a child at our school, please refer the matter to your child’s teacher or to
the office for follow up. This is also the case for adults who might choose to make contact with a
child out of school hours personally or by phone or the internet.
Remember to act at all times like you would want all adults to act towards you and your child.
Pupil free Day
School is closed tomorrow for the first of four training days we are given each year. The topic of
tomorrow’s work is Spelling, using a program called ‘Words their Way’. A highly credentialed
trainer is coming from interstate to work with us. We have invited staff members from other
schools and expect to have about 60 people involved in the activity.
Tablets (the computer ones!)
We have taken delivery of new ACER Windows tablets. They have a touch screen that attaches to
a keyboard. They are connected to our networks and the internet and represent a shift in our
computer thinking. WE will be phasing out our standalone computers and computer rooms in
favour of these faster smaller mobile devices.
Supermarket
We are constructing a child size supermarket in a room in the Early Years. This is an exciting
venture to support financial literacy among our students. Check out the add on Page 4 which tells
you how you can help us to set this up.
Graeme Charlton – Principal
Annual General Meeting of the Governing Council
of Woodville Primary School
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On Tuesday the 17 of February the Annual General Meeting of the Governing Council was held. This was an opportunity for families
and community members to hear how last year went and what the plans are for 2015. This was done through the presentation by the
Principal of the Annual Report for 2014 and the 2015 Site Improvement Plan (which will both soon be available on our website). There
was also a report on the Council’s business and that was presented by the 2014 Chairperson Michelle Williams.
Topics covered by the various reports included Finance, fundraising, NAPLAN, data analysis, celebrations, grounds, student awards,
Better Schools Funding, dress code, the Grove Annex class, teaching staff and highlights of the year.
We celebrated the achievements of the retiring members of council Margaret Davies, Jane Magor, Gabriella Howard and Brett
Seaman. Andy Constantinides and Steve Gemmell were elected last year for two years and are continuing this year. The following
members were elected last week for a two year term: Kirsten Alexander, Robert Bone, Lisa Clark, Sam Clutton, Laura Duncan, Melissa
Kretschmer, Daniel Lasscock, Dani Letts, Tiffany Scarman and Michelle Williams.
At a meeting of the new council that followed the AGM, Robert Bone was elected to the position of Chair, Lisa Clark as Secretary and
Kirsten Alexander as Treasurer.
The meeting particularly acknowledged the service of retiring Chairperson, Michelle Williams. Michelle was described as an energetic,
passionate believer in, and advocate for, our public school. Her sensible and thoughtful leadership was celebrated as was her capacity
for collaboration and innovation. Thank you Michelle.
Raising funds and awareness
Each year we choose a fund-raising project that the children can really
engage with. In the past we have sponsored World Vision children, we
have participated in the 40 Hour Famine and the St Vinnie’s CEO Sleep
out. Last year we raised funds for the Heart Foundation through Jump
Rope for Heart. This year it was Pink Stumps Day, an initiative of the
McGrath Foundation.
This foundation was set up to continue the work of Jane McGrath who
died of breast cancer in 2008. She created the foundation to improve breast health for women and
to provide breast care nurses. The foundation has continued its work with the support of Jane’s
husband, Australian cricketer Glenn McGrath.
Our Pink Stumps Day was initiated and organised by Gail Painter. Children from across the school
participated in a range of fun and fundraising activities including diamond cricket, oval activities,
cake sales, parachute fun, a raffle and a silent auction for some pink cricket pads and throw the
thong in the bucket. A highlight for most was the sponge throw where a couple of good natured
teachers offered themselves as targets – just like in an old-fashioned fair ground. Our picture
shows Gail and Monica Lee volunteering to be ‘sponged’ for a good cause.
The best part of the day was the counting up which revealed that our children had raised the
wonderful amount of nearly $1 200
Congratulations to Gail for her magnificent organisation and to
Monica and Michelle Kershaw who helped out. And special
thanks to the Middle Years classes who did huge amounts of
preparation and led by example by taking on every challenge
and event.
Road safety - Fence Art
On Wednesday our Port Road art installation was completed. This project was funded by the Department of Planning Transport and
Infrastructure to make our Port Road frontage more visible to passing drivers who might then take greater care as they pass through
the pedestrian crossings outside our school.
The art work was designed by John Whitney and then constructed by Greg Healey. John is a good friend to Woodville Primary having
worked on many installations in and around our school. Examples of his work are the message poles in the Early Years yard, the 125
year celebration mural in the Gym and the drawing of the Port Road buildings on the cover of our Student Reports. Greg’s work is to be
seen all around South Australia and includes the ‘custard’ pouring out of the windows of the Lions Art Centre on North Terrace and the
town signs on the edge of every town in the Adelaide Hills.
The figures were taken from our students who posed as active kids. The shapes were laser cut from steel and painted in a special
chamber. They are fixed against a blue panel to prevent curious visitors trapping little fingers in sharp places.
We intend to complete the project with a large school logo to be placed
on the other side of the Port Road gate.
Woodville Supermarket
We are setting up a mini-supermarket in Room 6A in the Early Years. It is being funded by a Financial Literacy
grant from the Federal Government. Our supermarket will have shelves stocked with products for students
to ‘buy”. Of course it won’t be real products, it will be boxes and packages, bottles and jars, cans and packs
just like the ones from your place.
Please consider helping with the setup of our supermarket by collecting empty packaging and sending it along to school. We need
common products like cereal boxes, jam jars, empty sugar or flour bags – anything that can be closed or filled to look like the real thing.
Please make sure the item is empty, clean and in good condition. We don’t want things that are dirty or
dangerous, so no open cans, no unwashed detergent bottles, no nut based products etc
You can send in multiple items; after all, a real supermarket has many pieces of the same thing!
The supermarket will help our children to budget, plan shopping around their needs, pay in different ways,
stocktake, advertise, follow health and safety rules – many of the basic living skills we all need to function in our
modern changing retail society.
You can start bringing things in right now. We will be collecting them in the office – look out for the supermarket
trolley! Thanks for your help.
By the way, we may be looking for helpers later to assist in the upkeep of this innovative resource!
Keeping teens and pre-teens safe online - Free seminar
Parenting SA is providing a free seminar for parents and carers of children and young people aged 10–15 years. Internet safety experts
and a child and adolescent psychologist will discuss how teens connect online, how to talk about safety, make agreements and set
limits, and how to deal with cyberbullying.
The event will be held on Tuesday, 17 March from 7–9pm in the Panorama Room, Adelaide Convention Centre, North Terrace, Adelaide.
Register online to attend in person, or email health.parentingsa@health.sa.gov.au, ph 8303 1660.
Register for the webcast only. When you register you will receive login details.
For more information contact Senior Health Promotion Officer, Parenting SA Dorian Marsland-Smith, ph 8161 7159.
Woodville High Student Leaders win National Award
Students from Woodville High School have been recognised as the inaugural winners of Australia’s Team Leadership Award for Students
(ATLAS), a new initiative from the Halogen Foundation.
Launching for the first time in 2014, this award aims to recognise young people working together to make an impact in their school and
community.
The winning team of students from Woodville High School were nationally recognised for the collective action they undertook when two
Vietnamese asylum seeker boys who enrolled in the school under community detention were taken into custody and returned to closed
detention, without notice earlier this year.
Through their campaign ‘Bring Back the Woodville Kids,’ the school team utilised a variety of mediums including petitions, government
lobbying, social media and physical events in an attempt to help their friends address what
they felt was an injustice and in doing so raised an enormous amount of awareness on this
pressing social issue.
Principal of Woodville High School, Meredith Edwards says “At the heart of their actions has
been their understanding and respect for multiculturalism and the need for support of
young asylum seekers.”
“Our students were thrilled to be the 2014 winners of ATLAS. They have realised that youth
can make a difference and through persistent and respectful campaigning, their voice can
be heard.”
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Featured in this photo is Woodville Primary Old Scholar Mckenzie Whyte, 5 from the right