RIPPONLEA P.S. Newsletter No. 29 27 October 2014 Our vision is for the children of Ripponlea to be global and creative thinkers who are empowered with the skills and empathy to engage with an ever-changing world. They care, they create, they connect. Carrington Grove, East St Kilda. 3183 School Phone: 9527 5728 School Fax: 9527 6503 Email: ripponlea.ps@edumail.vic.gov.au Website: www.ripponleaps.vic.edu.au It was quite a sight seeing ghosts, witches, vampires and other scary characters haunt the school corridors and run around the sports track for the Halloween Fun Run last week! Thanks to organisers Wendy Newman and Tom Scott, and staff and student teachers, everyone had a fun time. It was great seeing so many parents join in the spirit of this community event! The range of opinions gathered at last week’s Parent Forum on Student Reports is being compiled along with staff opinion, into a short survey for parents to complete after the long weekend. Thanks to the parents who came and participated in the discussions and to the School-Community Partnership Committee for taking notes. I also sincerely thank the teachers who came to the event, particularly for their detailed responses when I put them on the spot. Year 3/4 students and nine staff will be at an outdoor adventure camp in Mt Evelyn this Wed – Fri and on behalf of all, I wish them good weather and good times. On return from the long weekend, Year 1/2 students will be bursting with excitement about their inaugural Year 2 sleep-over Fri 7 Nov. The Year 1 students will join in the fun and sausage sizzle and will leave the Year 2s to sleep over as a single cohort. Sincere thanks to the Level 2 teachers; Hayley, Nicole, Bron and Rob; and other teachers helping out. We are very privileged to have a team of professionals prepared to volunteer a Friday night for the benefit Along with extending the school’s Camping Program to include Year 2 students, next year’s camp for Year 5/6 students will be an educational tour of Canberra. TrekSet Tours is the company selected for 2015 and tomorrow evening, current Year 4/5 parents will have the trip explained to them by David Hannan, Sales Manager at TrekSet Tours. Depending on its success, camp for senior students may include a trip to Canberra every second year from then on. Aside from the Melbourne Cup season signifying a public holiday, for a school it means that we are on the ‘final run home’ of the school year… with about 6 weeks to go! Enrolment for Foundation 2015 continues and as for any year level, enrolments are always open. If you know or think it is likely that you will not return next year and, if you haven’t already notified the school, please do so now. The 2015 Foundation ‘Stepping-Up’ program commences this week. The Twilight Market is on Fri 14 Nov and the basketball side of the school ground will be closed from 1:50pm. There will be increased traffic as stall holders arrive to set up from about 2:30pm and on that day, parents are asked to collect their child from school early, collecting them from their classrooms as soon as possible after 1:50pm. On that day, teachers will have a sign out sheet outside the classroom for your convenience. Full supervision will be provided for students who remain and they will be dismissed from the gate next to the big sports ground. ROSH will be conducted in the Year 5/6 learning space from 3:30pm. We are approaching the ‘pointy end’ of the year and soon you will receive important documents related to the 2015 school year for your attention. To assist Patti and Marg during this busy time, I ask you return the completed documentation by the date noted. October Monday 27 Whole School Assembly 3.10pm Tuesday 28 Year 4 / 5 Parent info Canberra Trip 2015 Wed 29 – Fri 31 3/4 Camp Thursday 30 Foundation 2015 Stepping up 2pm Yr 6 moving up 1.50pm November Monday 3 Curriculum Day NO SCHOOL Tuesday 4 Melbourne Cup Day NO SCHOOL Thursday 6 Oaks Day Parade 5/6 MFB Visit 2pm Foundation 2015 Stepping-up at 2pm Friday 7 Summer Sports 2 Years 1/2 Big Night In Monday 10 Whole School Assembly 3.10pm Thursday 13 3/4 Lego Excursion Years 1/2 Tiny Teachers 9.15 – 10.00am School Community Partnerships 7.30pm Friday 14 A reminder to all….slip, slop, slap…No Hat No Play till at least Anzac Day. Sushi Lunch Foundation Stepping Up 9.15am Summer Sport 3 RPS Twilight Market Have a great week and a super long weekend. School Council 7.30pm Monday 17 SUE NEWTON The woods would be silent if no bird sang but the best. (Henry Thoreau) December Friday 12 ‘Party like a wild animal’ School Disco School & Community Partnerships Connecting school and home to support children's learning outcomes. Healthy Lunchboxes We are extending an open invitation to RPS parents to attend an informative session with our new Foundation 2015 parents at 2.00pm on Thursday, 6th November: What’s In A Healthy Lunchbox? Nicole Jubber (thefitfoodie.com.au) will be sharing her tips and nutrition information to help busy parents and children with packing a variety of healthy foods to help maintain concentration and sustain energy levels throughout the school day. And please remember to contact Kristine Hendry: ripperparents@gmail.com if you are able to assist with “meet & greet” at any of the Foundation Stepping Up Sessions. APP OF THE WEEK: Step-By-Step-Story Available exclusively for iPhone and iPad – FREE for a limited time. A new 2-player turn-based game that lets friends write stories together, one section at a time, wherever they are. What will your story be? Step-By-Step-Story is the first APP for PrezHerm Productions, a Melbourne based company that is the brain-child of writer/actor/quiz-show-champion Stephen Hall. It's getting close so here are a few things for you to do this week: 1. put your name down on the roster to help at the market - email coming soon 2. distribute flyers to your street or surrounding areas - flyers available from the office (don't forget to mark on the map where you are giving out flyers - outside the office) 3. ask your local café, hairdresser, etc to put up a flyer - posters at the office 4. bring a bottle of wine to the office for the wine lucky dip 5. collect your labels, plates, etc for the yummy treats you are making or baking (from outside the office) 6. ask your friends and family to come along for a fabulous evening 7. start planning what Christmas presents you and your children need to buy There are over 50 stalls of fabulous wares, mostly handmade, so it's going to be a great night of shopping and fun Thanks, Roberta RIPPER PARENTS SOCIAL & FUNDRAISING UPDATE SUSHI LUNCH – FRIDAY 14th NOVEMBER NOW AVAILABLE – BROWN RICE Our first sushi lunch for Term 4 will be Friday 14th November. Orders are due back at school by Friday 7th November. You will find an order form in this newsletter (a few printed copies will also be available from the office). 50 cents from each sushi handroll ordered is donated to our fabulous school! Thanks to Yori Nori Sushi (421a Glen Huntly Rd, Elsternwick) for their ongoing support. KID’S ARTWORK FUNDRAISER This term we are running our popular kid's artwork fundraiser, offering calendars, greeting cards, notebooks, diaries and iPhone (4/5) cases printed with your child/ren's artwork. Students will be using the theme 'Seasons' (for example spring flowers, summer holidays, the festive season), working to produce a striking piece of art and looking at art fundamentals in the process. Students will also be encouraged to develop their own imaginative ideas, with guidance from the teachers so as to create the highest quality and appealing artwork possible for printing. Parents also have the option to upload photos which can be printed on the products. A sample of the products you can order are on display in the office for you to view. Artwork and order forms will be sent home in the coming weeks. BAKERS DELIGHT ‘DOUGH RAISER’ Bread, pastries, after-school snacks, whatever your fancy! Next time you’re in Bakers Delight Elsternwick (391 Glenhuntly Rd), mention Ripponlea PS when you make your purchase and 5% of the sale will be donated to our fabulous school. ELECTION DAY BBQ and CAKE STALL – VOLUNTEERS NEEDED Put Saturday 29th November in your diary. Not only will you have to vote, but we will be holding our hugely successful BBQ and cake stall. If you can help to coordinate either of these stalls, please let me know. Thanks for your support. Kristine, Ripper Parents Coordinator (ripperparents@gmail.com) ICT Working Party School Council is forming an ICT Working Party to initiate the development of a financial framework and detailed strategy for a staged integration of C21 technology into the curriculum. The first meeting is scheduled for 7:30pm Tuesday 11 November in the staffroom. If you are interested in participating in this team, please let Sue Newton know asap. Please respect our neighbours Do you enjoy munching a tasty snack on the way home from school? If you do and the snack involves some packaging, please take the rubbish home rather than using our neighbours’ bins. Whilst we appreciate you are putting the packaging in a bin, it is not appropriate to enter someone’s yard for this purpose. PUPIL-FREE DAYS 2015 Wednesday Tuesday Monday Monday 28 January 2015 9 June 2015 17 August 2015 2 November 2015 You are all Invited to a parent Information session on HEALTHY LUNCHBOXES – 2pm Thursday 6 Nov in the BARRBUNIN GUEST SPEAKER: Nicole Jubber. (personal trainer and school parent). 2 more helpers required! Repainting of the student toilets will take place on Saturday Nov 8 - 9am – 4pm (maybe less). You will be provided with a lovely breakfast and a hot lunch. All the gear will be there – ready for you to paint. - Good Coffee will be delivered into your hands mid morning. It’s a great group of dads! Please let Linda Rippingille or Judi McCrossin know if you can help. FOR SALE – MAKE US AN OFFER! MOBILE DOUBLE SIDED SCHOOL CUPBOARD Watermelon colour Please contact the office if interested. Halloween Fun Run On Thursday 23rd October, our students put on their running shoes to participate in the adidas School Fun-Run. The students put in a fantastic effort and I am looking forward to seeing how much we have raised to go towards Ripponlea Primary School and State School Relief. We will be announcing the winners of the best dressed team and the team that raised the most money in assembly in two weeks’ time. A big congratulations to the teams who ran the most laps on the day: 1st – Mahumas Barrumbis’ with 92 laps 2nd – Blood Oranges with 81 laps 3rd – Special Potatoes and Chicky Witches both with 77 laps These 4 teams will receive an extra play time on Friday the 14th of November along with the winners of the best dressed and top fundraising teams. I would like to thank everyone who supported this fundraising event to make it such a huge success! All participants enjoyed the day and received a participation certificate for taking part on the day. All students who raised over $10 will soon be rewarded for their hard work with their selected prize. Remember that you can donate your prizes to the Ripponlea Wishing Tree. I will organise a box to be left next to Ms Newton’s office. To top it off, all students raising $10 or more can now enter the draw to win a family holiday to Disneyland! To enter, log on to the students profile page & follow the prompts! We would like to thank all the teachers, parents and students who were involved in making the adidas School Fun-Run such a huge success and a big thank you to all the sponsors who supported our little athletes! I will make sure we have photos ready for the next newsletter! Wendy Newman 2014 ‘Term 4’ House Points Update! Last Week’s House Points 1st 2nd 3rd 3rd Carrington Orrong Furneaux Loch Total = 30 Points Total = 29 Points Total = 23 Points Total = 23 Points Current Champions: 1st 2nd 2nd 3rd Furneaux Overall House Points Standings Carrington Total = 30 Points Orrong Total = 29 Points Furneaux Total = 23 Points Loch Total = 23 Points Best of luck to all the houses in the House Points race. Earn as many points as you can!