Wednesday 24th - Thursday 25th July

• Dental Van at School

Thursday 8th August

• Girls Soccer Team playing ath the Loddon Regional Soccer Tournament 

Tuesday 20th August

• Bookweek Dress up day - Parade at 9:15am - Theme: Reading is Magic!
• Trace Balla & Louise Cooper Activity 11:30am - 12:30pm - see XUNO

Wednesday 11th September

• Mount Alexander Chess Tournament - select students

BREVITY IS KEY

I am always open to feedback and take on board that a briefer version of the principal’s article in each Flat Chat would be appreciated. I’m aiming for short and sharp. :-)

MOSTYN ST BARBECUE AND PICNIC IN THE DARK

These two events organized late last term by the Community Engagement Committee were incredibly successful. Please see the articles from the committee and particular congratulations and thanks to all those who helped with organising, including the generous donations for the raffle and cake stall.

We hope the Picnic in the Dark becomes a regular calendar event.

We raised $1346.00 at the barbecue.

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DOGS CONNECT – SUNNY 

Sunny has made his debut as our wellbeing dog and has been gradually introduced to students and staff. He is a lovely addition to our school. As he is still only a puppy at 5 months, we are keeping his visits short for now.

After lunch is good for a snooze in the office (for Sunny as well ;-) )

The Dogs Connect program will support us in implementing this very gradually, thoroughly, and considerately. At this stage we encourage anyone who would like to know more about this program to look through the website link: https://dogsconnect.net.au

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NAPLAN 2024

NAPLAN results were made available and distributed to families last week. We have received some positive feedback about our overall results and celebrate our success.

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YEAR 4-6 CAMP

Our Year 4-6 campers are back this afternoon. We look forward to sharing stories and photos of their adventures in the next newsletter.

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SPORTING

Sporting events for Term 3 include:

• Girls’ Soccer Finals – Swan Hill Thursday 8^th August
• Tennis/Cricket Day – Mt Alexander Friday 6^th September 3-6 (opt in)

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VOLUNTEERS

Volunteers are welcome in every classroom as well as the Kitchen/Garden and specialist areas.

If you have the time and inclination, please let us know. Volunteers at school must have a Working with Children Check.

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JULY BIRTHDAYS

Milly – turned 7 in the first week

Serena – had a birthday in the first week

Fiona – had a birthday in the first week

Maeve – turned 9 in the first week

Ottilie - turned 6 in the second week

Ryan – turned 7 at the weekend

Hunter turned 9 this week

Hikaru turns 6 this week

Lucinda turns 12 this week

Sam M – has a birthday this weekend

Hank - turns 6 next week

Ripley – turns 12 next week

Ginger – turns 12 next week

Hip Hip: Hooray

Hip Hip: Hooray

Hooray: Hip Hip

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COVID SCHOOL PROCEDURES

According to the website, Victoria is currently experiencing an increase in COVID-19 activity in the community, resulting in an increase in people being hospitalised with COVID-19.

Schools will make sure your child is as safe as possible and will focus on:

• washing hands
• physical distancing
• rapid antigen testing
• Outdoors when practical
• Air purifiers indoors
• mask wearing – recommended but not mandatory

Free rapid antigen tests

Free rapid antigen tests are still available from the office.

Testing is strongly recommended for students and staff who are symptomatic.

After doing the tests at home, if it is positive, you are advised to:

• let the school know
• keep your child at home for 7 days
• contact the Department of Health via the COVID-19 Positive Rapid Antigen Test Self-Reporting Form or call centre on 1800 675 398.

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Suzanne Kinnersly
Principal.

WE WANT OUR PARENTS / CAREGIVERS / GUARDIANS TO TELL US WHAT THEY THINK!

Our school is conducting the annual Parent / Caregiver / Guardian Opinion Survey offered by the Department of Education and is seeking your feedback. The survey is designed to assist schools in gaining an understanding of families’ perceptions of school climate, student behavior, and student engagement. The survey is optional, but we encourage and appreciate your participation.

Our school will use the survey results to assist in identifying areas for improvement and professional development needs in the school, to target school planning and improvement strategies.

The Parent / Caregiver / Guardian Opinion Survey will be open online from Monday 29 July to Friday 30 August 2024.

All families are invited to participate in the survey.

The survey will be conducted online, only takes 20 minutes to complete, and can be accessed at any convenient time on desktop computers, laptops, tablets or smartphones.

The online survey will be available in English and 10 other languages including Arabic, Greek, Hakha Chin, Hindi, Japanese, Punjabi, Simplified Chinese, Somali, Turkish, and Vietnamese. Resources are also available in additional languages to assist parents / caregivers / guardians who speak a language other than English at home. Please reach out to your child’s teacher, or the school directly for survey guides in your language.

Please speak to the office if you have any questions.

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Kitty on leave - Rosie Returns!

Kitty will be taking leave to complete teaching placements and will be away from 19th August -13th September. Rosie will be in the office on Mondays and Wednesdays during this time.

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Voluntary Parent Payments 2024

The environment and resources that we enjoy today represent the contributions made by our parent/carer community over many years. Parents'/carers' voluntary contributions make a significant difference to the quality of our programs. This financial support ensures that we can continue to provide the excellent range of facilities and resources for your children. Your support in 2024 will allow us to:

• Provide high quality programs and specific subject materials and equipment for English, Maths, Science, Art, Music, Inquiry, Language, and PE.
• Support the implementation and quality of our Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden program.
• Maintain and develop the school grounds.
• Ensure the upkeep of our computer devices to enhance learning opportunities.
• Maintain sufficient class sets of books, for students to develop their reading skills.
• Provide hands-on maths equipment (i.e. measuring materials for teaching purposes).
• Facilitate Literacy and Maths online digital subscriptions.
• Deliver a range of sporting equipment and access to sporting programs.
• Arrange for individual student supplies and class bulk supplies.
• Offer effective first aid for all students.

Please note that information and payment options about these voluntary payments is available on Xuno and hard copies are available in the office, should you wish to contribute. There is also the option to pay in instalments!

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Karen Mahoney & Kitty Ward 

Office

WF community engagement committee had a busy end of term 2 with 2 events in 6 days.

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Mostyn St BBQ

On the 22nd of June we ran a fundraising BBQ on Mostyn st raising money for our new wellbeing dog Sunny. Despite the cold weather we had a fantastic crew of sausage flipping and cake baking volunteers turn out in force to help. Whilst flipping sausages isn’t a glamorous job (especially for the vego volunteers among us), all had a great time getting to know each other and sharing a laugh in the chilly winter air. We’d like to thank Letty, Tallace, Helen, Yvonne, Jase, Rhani, Violet, Fiona, Annabelle, Dan, Sally M, Natalie, Ryan, Win, Rupert, Monte, Fhon, Suzanne, Sam, Alison, James, Rosie, Jane, Al, Sally K, Rosie, Razz and Simon for volunteering their time and/or baked goods. Deepest apologies if we've forgotten anyone. We’d also like to thank the following businesses who donated to our raffle; Beleza, Lunchbox Sushi, Green Goes the Grocer, Bronwyn Tracey Art, The Salvos Thrift Shop and Theatre Royal. 

We raised $1346!! Not a bad day's work. Go team!

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Lantern Parade Evening

Then on 27th of June, Winters Flat families gathered on a frosty Thursday night to share a bowl of soup and celebrate the winter solstice.

With a little help from our school council president, Heidi T (grade 3) gave a beautiful Acknowledgement Of Country and welcomed all to join in the lantern walk (or do the dishes). 

The kids had worked hard to finish their beautiful lanterns that week with Bron and so, it was then time to light the lanterns and brave the cold as Pete played guitar to lead us in a few laps of the oval before it was back to the kitchen for a cuppa and a sweet treat.

Warm bellies and warm hearts indeed. 

Thank you to every family who brought something delicious to share. There were so many yummy soups and even more amazing desserts. 

Well done to the whole Community Engagement team for making the night so special and thank you to those who stuck around to help us clean up. 

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As is the case with any event run at Winters Flat, we were reminded just how awesome our school community is. Aren’t we lucky?!?

If you’d like to be involved in future events for the school, please join our committee or one of the other fabulous school committees by getting in touch with the office.

A big thank you to Annabelle & Dan for the article contributions, and to Helen K & Bron for the photos.

AT SCHOOL

Classes have been venturing outdoors, despite the cold and wet… of course! Today P/1s did rock drawings and chalk art, while the 2/3s have been taking their Writers Notebooks outside at the beginning of each day since the beginning of term. Here are some photos of bush treasures children have been finding and lovely snap of our small group for Preps called ‘Feeling Good in the World’.

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AT HOME

The terms neurodivergence and neurodiversity can be heard a lot in schools and conversations in general. Here is a link if you are after some information about what the terms mean and/or if you are wondering if  your child may be neurodivergent: https://raisingchildren.net.au/guides/a-z-health-reference/neurodiversity-neurodivergence-guide-for-families

Also, here is an article published this week exploring how an autism diagnosis and a positive parental response to a diagnosis can transform a child’s life for the better: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-07-22/teenager-child-autism-diagnosis-support-parents-friends/104123872

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IN THE COMMUNITY

The Association for Children with a Disability (an organisation run by and for families of children with disability in Victoria) have an excellent array of free sessions and programs, including free online workshops. For example, ‘Getting Support At School’ is a workshop to help build your confidence to get the support your child needs at school. You'll get detailed information about how school processes work and how school plans can help your child (https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/getting-support-at-school-mon-19-aug-700pm-registration-774165438667?aff=ebdsoporgprofile)

Check out their full guide here: https://www.eventbrite.com.au/o/association-for-children-with-a-disability-7575063849

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Until next time!

Hannah O’Keefe

My work hours are Mondays and Tuesdays from 8:30-4:30. Write me an email (hannah.okeefe@education.vic.gov.au) or give me a call via the school office or on 0475 800 377.

RESOURCES

Please find a list of Wellbeing helplines and support services on the Winters Flat website.

https://www.winters-flat-ps.vic.edu.au/resources

This week in the Kitchen and Garden..........

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What we're cooking in the kitchen this fortnight...

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Kitchen volunteers:

We would love some kitchen helpers in our cooking classes!

They are held fortnightly on Mondays (even weeks - 4/5/6C), and every Wednesday (even weeks - 4/5/6B; odd weeks - 2/3H), between 11:25am & 1:25pm.

The Prep/1 classes will have a special cooking class each term.

Kitchen helpers for these classes would be particularly helpful - please let the office know if you'd like to volunteer!

What you can expect from a class:

Students work in groups to make seasonal dishes, using produce from our garden. Once a group finishes preparing their dish, they clean up their bench, do dishes, and set the tables. Around 1:00pm, we all sit down together and share the meal.

Volunteers will need to sign in via the visitors log in the office and show their WWCC. Please contact the office if you have any questions or would like to volunteer! 

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Cath & Terry
Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden