NEWSLETTER - Aspendale Gardens Primary School

NEWSLETTER
Friday 24th April, 2015
Phone: 9587 0877
96 Kearney Drive, Aspendale Gardens, 3195
Fax: 9587 0477
Email: aspendale.gardens.ps@edumail.vic.gov.au
DIARY
APRIL
Monday 27
Thursday 30
MAY
Friday 1
Monday 4
Tuesday 5
Year 2 Moonlit Sanctuary Excursion
Rossdale Golf Clinic (Year 6 students)
Year 1 Toys Over Time Incursion
BOOK FAIR Begins
Request form for Cadbury Chocolate
Drive Sent Home
School Council – 7.00pm
Class Rep Meeting – 7.00pm
MAY
Wednesday 6
Thursday 7
Monday 11
Tuesday 12
Wednesday 13
Thursday 14
Sunday 17
Monday 18
Mother’s Day Stall in C.L.C.
Last Day of BOOK FAIR
Last Day for Chocolate Orders
NAPLAN Testing
NAPLAN Testing
NAPLAN Testing
Kitchen Garden Working Bee
10am – 2pm + Sausage Sizzle
EDUCATION WEEK BEGINS
ASSISTANT PRINCIPALS’ NEWSLETTER REPORT
Athletics Day
On Wednesday we enjoyed an excellent Athletics Day for the Year 3 – 6
students. The students rotated around shot put, discus, 100m sprint, relay,
hurdles, high jump and long jump activities. The students put in a lot of effort to
do their very best in all the events and there were some fabulous times and
distances recorded. We would like to thank the assistance from parents and
students from Parkdale SC, as well as all the AGPS staff, especially Jo McDougall for her
excellent organisation. The winning House for this year’s Athletics Day were the Falcons.
Congratulations!
ANZAC Day Assembly.
On Friday there was a special assembly to commemorate the 100th anniversary of
the ANZAC spirit. Students read some very moving diary entries from long ago of
diggers (soldiers) who obviously endured much physical and emotional pain. Our
backdrop of poppies certainly set the scene for a moving ceremony presented
by many of our Senior Year students. Highlights included a comprehensive report
of the Year 6 students’ visit to the Shrine earlier this week. The Ode presented by the all of the
Year 4 students was stirring and was followed by a very sombre playing of the last post. Well
done to everyone for your outstanding level of respect of the fallen and their families. Our
school captains, Olivia West and Dylan Reeve, will be representing the school at the dawn
service at the Chelsea Cenotaph on Saturday morning at 6.00am. A wreath has been
organised for Olivia and Dylan to present.
P.Y.P. Motoring Along
Our Primary Years Program continues to build momentum with teacher teams putting in extra
time to plan and implement our focus of global mindedness. You may have also noticed the
impressive and informative displays in our foyer that illustrate all of the inquiry studies at each
level for the year. Under the efficient leadership of Helenor Regester (PYP Coordinator) and the
implementation team we are continuing to embed the important principles of the program.
Excursions
The students from Year 3 and Year 6 have had a great week with excursions to The Gould
League and Melbourne Museum/Imax. Our Year 3’s learnt a lot about the natural habitats of
animals and how animals adapt to their environment by their physical condition and
behaviour.
The Year 6’s saw a brilliant documentary entitled, Forces of Nature. They discovered the causes
of natural disasters, such as earthquakes, tornadoes and volcanoes and were amazed by the
amazing footage.
Attitudes To School Survey
Next week the Year 5 and 6 students will be completing the Education Departments ‘Attitudes
to School Survey’. This is a short survey based on how the students feel about our school, their
teachers and their peers. The questionnaires get sent off for compilation and the school
receives a series of data sets back. This data is analysed by the staff to reflect on our current
practices and make recommendations and actions for improvement. This information, along
with the parent survey and staff survey give us vital information which assists us in making future
improvements to our students’ education. A reminder also to all families of children in Years 3 &
5 that NAPLAN testing will be taking place on the days beginning 12th May.
Classic Dining Evening @ AGPS
Last Tuesday a group of 16 young chefs from Year 4 invited their parents to an evening of
culinary challenges and fine dining at our school kitchen. All enjoyed preparing the food and
dining together to a menu of Corn Frittata, Spinach, potato and pumpkin pie, French Toast
(thanks to Mike Salahoras) and ANZAC biscuits. There was lots of laughter and banter and a
true sense of community. We trust that the following families found the evening’s activities a
special experience: Salahoras, Koh, Cameron, Padinis, Constantopoulos, Hogg, Turner, Lum,
Brown, Tolios, Schaumann, Mifsud and Doak. Meanwhile, James and Jasmine researched the
French Toast recipe on the internet that will be part of the next round’s menu in the kitchen.
Peter Wyatt & Jonathan Baker
YEAR BOOK 2015
If you would like a copy of our fantastic 2015 Yearbook and have not
included payment with your school fees, the cost is $20.00 and can be
made payable to the office. We need to finalize numbers to be
printed by the end of this term. So make sure you don’t miss out on this
spectacular offer!
Glenys Balik
YEAR 4 ANZAC BOOT CAMP
On the 21st of April 2015, the Year 4’s did a boot camp to experience what it’s like to be an
ANZAC. We carried our very heavy backpacks three times around the oval. We did four
different challenges that replicated mental, physical and teamwork experiences that the
soldiers may have faced. We learned it’s hard to be an Anzac and you have to be committed
to be a soldier. The teachers were mean!!
By Jeremy, Lior, Cassie, Edie and Tijana
AGPS INTER HOUSE ATHLETICS CARNIVAL
Wowee, what a fabulous day we had on Wednesday at the 2015 AGPS Inter House Athletics
Carnival! The rain clouds stayed away as the wetlands were taken over in a sea of colourful
and excited students who were ready and raring to go. The students were placed in colour
coded age groups and rotated around a number of athletic events throughout the day. The
students displayed their brilliant skills in the following events; long jump, high jump, discus, shot
put, hurdles, sprints and relays. Each and every student is congratulated on their efforts, as
each event that they participated in resulted in points awarded to their House.
Congratulations to the Falcons who took home the silverware in a close contest, possibly with
the greatest cheers too!
A fun filled finish to the day was the teachers vs students relay race. Luckily no hamstrings were
torn in the process of this event as the students took it right up to the teachers who burnt the
ground alight with their pace that would rival the Jamaican Olympic team!
A huge thank you to the Parkdale Secondary students who assisted with running each of the
events, your hard work was greatly appreciated and allowed the day to run smoothly. Thank
you also to the parents who helped out with the measuring, recording and hurdle up-righting!
Special thanks must also go to Mr Peter Wyatt for marking the lines of our running tracks to
make us look and feel the part. Well done to all at AGPS for a brilliant day!!
MOTHER’S DAY Mother’s Day is less than a month
away and this year is a very special year for us. Back in
2010 Helen and I were both diagnosed with Breast
Cancer. We stood together as ‘sisters’, put our fists up
and fought! We could not have done it without each
other and the support of our friends, family, colleagues
and AGPS community.
This year we celebrate 5 years of being Cancer Free and
we want to celebrate!
The first part of our celebration will be walking the Mother’s
Day Classic with each other and anyone else who would like
to join us on Sunday 10th May. Please register @
https://mdc.mothersdayclassic.com.au/register.php
and join our team Always Smiling 
We are in WAVE 3 which starts at 9.55am but you can join in
whenever it suits you; walking, running or even strolling! Look
out for the HUGE SMILEY Chris Hills & Helen Musgrave
A MESSAGE FROM
THE ART ROOM
A few extra pictures of some extra hard
workers for our recent ‘CHORES FOR
CHARITY’ event.
Thankyou so much for your efforts and
cute pics!
ANZAC DAY ART
INSTALLATION
We are very proud of the efforts of every child in our school who
created the most beautiful
poppies for our special ANZAC
DAY assembly that was held this
morning. Some children went
home and researched the origins
of the poppy
By Elise Zammit 4OM
By Adeline 4OM
Volunteer at our Book Fair!
Dates: Monday 4th May – Thursday 7th May
Our Book Fair will be an exciting celebration of reading with
hundreds of fun, engaging, affordable books for kids to discover.
Join our volunteer team to:
•
•
•
•
Bring creative flair to signs and decorations
Organize and put things in place
Offer a helping hand, set up, or pack up
Help shoppers of all ages find the perfect book
We appreciate your support in whatever form it takes.
Contact: Glenys in the library!
© 2014 Scholastic Inc. 11677 • 145400
MATHS FUN
TERM 2 EDITION
Have you got some playing cards home that aren’t getting used? Well here are some ideas
of how you can use your playing cards to assist your child with their Maths.
1) Play matching number games with playing cards.
2) Put cards in order from the largest to the smallest by counting the
shapes (hearts, spades) or using the numbers on the card (without
using the jacks, queens or kings)
3) Play a game of ‘pairs’ where you turn over two cards that add up
to 10.
4) Play a game where each player is dealt four cards and everyone
has 1 minute to make up a calculation using the card they have in their hand so that the
answer is the value of the next card turned over. A scoring system can be used, such as
1 point for using 2 cards, 2 points for using 3 cards, 3 points for using all 4 cards.
5) Play Race to 100. Each player turns over a card in turn and keeps a running total of their
score. The first to reach 50 or 100 is the winner.
6) To assist with subtraction, play Race to Zero. Players start on 100. Each player takes a
card in turn and subtracts that number until they get back down to zero.
7) Play ‘Place Value Cards.’ Players are dealt 3 cards. Players decide the placement of
each of the cards. Which card will they put in the hundreds column, which in the tens
column and which in the ones column. The aim is to make the highest possible number.
Player with the highest number gets one point.
8) Play ‘Target Cards’. Players are dealt 3 cards. Players decide the placement of each of
the cards. Which card will they put in the hundreds column, which in the tens column
and which in the ones column. The aim is to create the 3 digit number closest to the
agreed target (might be 500). Player whose number is closest to the target number gets
one point.
Maths Puzzles Page
Foundation – Flower Patterns
I see five flowers in my garden. The first flower is red. The second flower is yellow. The
third flower is red. If this pattern continues, what colour is the 5th flower? Children could
use paper, pencils, crayons, counters or other materials to assist them. Allow them to find
a strategy to solve the problem. Extend the problem, with what colour would the 7th, or
10th flower be? Is there are pattern of which flowers are which colours? Explore this with
more flowers, up to 30.
Years 1 and 2 – Necklace
You are making a necklace with 20 beads. You can choose the colours but
you need to show a pattern, so that the whole pattern must be shown at
least twice.
What is the least number of colours you could use and how many times
would this pattern repeat? What is the most number of colours you could use
and how many times could you show this pattern? Which number of colours will not
work because they can’t finish your pattern with the 20 beads? Why do you think these
numbers don’t work?
Years 3 and 4 – Making Staircases.
Using square counters or tiles, how many tiles do you need to make a staircase? Are
there numbers of tiles smaller than 3 or larger than 10 you can use to make a staircase?
Is there a pattern in the numbers which make staircases? What is the pattern and how
would you describe it?
Years 5 and 6 – Birthday Candles.
Mrs Gillespie is 73 today. She has had a birthday cake every year
since she was born. How many birthday candles has she blown out in
her lifetime? Instead of adding all the numbers from 1 to 73, is there a
rule or generalisation to help you work out the how many candles she has blown out?
iPADS in 4RG
App of the Week
Look for this logo on the App
Store.
Best app in the App Store
in 2011 and 2012.
SkyView
Explore the Universe
STARS OF THE WEEK
Week 2 – Term 2
Years Foundation – 2
Years 3 – 6
SAVE THE DATES
SATURDAY 15TH AUGUST A.G.P.S. TRIVIA NIGHT
FRIDAY 30TH OCTOBER A.G.P.S. ‘HALLOWEEN’ DISCO
FUNDRAISING INITIATIVES FOR TERM 2
On-going Bag It & Bring It – used clothing and footwear in good condition to be placed in
green wheelie bins located outside the staffroom in the Administration building.
Entertainment Books – on sale NOW for $65.00.
Available from the Office or in digital
version online. With each book sold our school receives $13.00
Mother’s Day Stall – Wednesday 6th May.
Thank you to those parents who have offered
their time to assist on the day.
Cadbury Chocolate Drive – look out for your order request form on Monday 4th May
 FIRST LESSON FREE!
 Expert tuition by fully qualified
teachers
 Beginners to Advanced
 Examinations (A.A.T.B.D. Inc.)
 Annual concert and competitions
 Now enrolling age 3 years and up
 Beginner adult classes available
Classes held at
St Chads Church Hall
12-14 Thames Prom Chelsea
Enquiries: Ring 0401 468 173
jessicagregor@artevolutionsds.com
www.artevolutionsds.com