Winters Flat Primary School
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3 Roberts Ave
Castlemaine VIC 3450
Subscribe: https://wintersflatps.schoolzineplus.com/subscribe

Email: winters.flat.ps@education.vic.gov.au
Phone: 03 5472 1522

FLAT CHAT | 16th October 2019

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FLAT CHAT | 16th October 2019

SCHOOL REVIEW UNDERWAY

The school review process has begun and tomorrow the review panel meets for Validation Day, an opportunity to reflect on the previous five years, including the Strategic Plan 2015 -2019. Our panel consists of Leslie Tulloch (reviewer), Leonie Roberts (Senior Education Improvement Leader), Rosie Critchley (Principal Campbells Creek PS), Kim Saddlier (Principal Kangaroo Flat PS), Katie Wilson (School Council President), Melissa Cater (school councilor) and Helen Weir (teacher and Learning Specialist), as well as me.

On Monday 28th the panel meets again for the Field Day which will give parents the opportunity for feedback via a forum. The final day of the review process is Panel Day on Wednesday 6th November when we look forward to discussing the next five year strategy and priorities for the school.

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STUDENT LED CONFERENCES – OPEN CLASSROOMS

Teachers will be available for student-led conferences next Wednesday 23rd October from 3.30pm – 5.30pm and Thursday 24th October from 8.00am – 8.45am.

This is an opportunity for your child to share their achievements thus far and discuss their learning goals for the remainder of the year. There are no set times within this framework, however if parents/carers or teachers feel a follow-up interview is required they can arrange to do so at a mutually convenient time.

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WEEK 4 ASSEMBLY IN WEEK 3

Our Assemblies are held in even weeks on Monday mornings this term but just to confuse things we are having an unscheduled assembly next week (21st October) due to a clash on the 28th October. Also, the assembly next week will be in the afternoon so that Katie can be here for a French performance by students from the Senior Learning Community.

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MENTAL HEALTH BREAKFAST

As you know we had a breakfast on Friday to acknowledge Mental Health Week, which was celebrated around Australia last week. 

Mental health includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how we think, feel, and act. It also helps determine how we handle stress, relate to others, and make choices. Mental health is important at every stage of life, from childhood and adolescence through adulthood.

Our Student Wellbeing sub-committee organised the breakfast to remind us all that looking after our mental health is as important as looking after our physical health. Special thanks to Katie and Rosie for the fabulous catering and donations of food, Fiona for the barbeque and Liza for sourcing some delicious mushrooms. Thanks also to Tim Westwood and Don for the donation of bacon, IGA for mushrooms, Sprout and Bakers Delight for donations of bread rolls.

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2020 SIBLING PREP ENROLMENTS

Have you seen the sign in Ray Street? Special thanks to Shera Blaise for the design and to Nick Haslam for organizing the printing and placement. If your child is commencing Prep at Winters Flat PS next year, please collect an enrolment form from the office as soon as possible.

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THE MORE YOU LOOK THE MORE THERE IS TO SEE – LOT 19

We are very excited to hear the news that our entrance submitted by Eliza Jane Gilchrist in the Spring Sculpture Prize at Lot 19 has won a prize. The category is “Connection to Place”, awarded by Mt Alexander Shire Council. We were also excited to hear that there is a cash prize for the school which will be allocated to the visual arts budget. Congratulations to Eliza Jane, Juliet, Helen Kaptein and all the Winters Flat students who worked so hard to create such a wonderful exhibit.

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JUMP ROPE FOR HEART

Last term was a big one and included many hours of skipping training for the Jump Off held in the last week of term. We are pleased to announce that students at Winters Flat raised over $1000 for the Heart Foundation. Fabulous effort!

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UNIFORM AND SUNSMART

Students need to wear school uniform every day.  Also a reminder that this is a Sunsmart term, so hats need to be worn at all times when outside during the school day. Second hand items of uniform are available and new hats can be purchased from the office. The uniform shop is open once again on Tuesdays from 8.30am.

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CASTLEMAINE CHESS TOURNAMENT

Harry has written up the tournament in this edition of Flat Chat. The team is currently training for state championships in a couple of weeks.

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HALLOWEEN - ORPHFUND

Following the success of last year’s dress up day we are encouraging everyone to dress up on Thursday 31st October with a gold coin donation to go towards the OrphFund.

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XUNO IS HERE

Xuno is an administrative operating system we are rolling out to assist in streamlining communication between home and school. Xuno works with our current reporting software Accelerus and should also assist with payments and other record keeping.

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Suzanne Kinnersly

Principal

COMMUNICATION PLATFORMS

Winter's Flat has multiple communication platforms to allow everyone to keep up to date with all the in's and outs of the school. 

The following is a list of each platform and the role it plays in our school:

FACEBOOK (WintersFlatPrimarySchoolCastlemaine)

  • 'Weekly what's on' post Monday Morning's at 6:30am.
  • Upcoming school events.
  • Notices e.g. assembly time changes, cancelled events etc.

INSTAGRAM (wintersflatprimaryschool)

  • A gallery of photos of school happenings and events.

SCHOOLZINE

  • Newsletter creation and publishing.
  • 'Weekly what's on' post Monday Morning's at 6:30am.
  • Absentee notifications.

XUNO

At the end of last week, all students were sent home a note regarding the rollout of XUNO. A welcome email has now been sent to all parents/guardians providing login details. 

XUNO will now be used daily at the school and it is recommended that you familarise with the website in order for it to be used most effectively.

There is also a parent app that can be downloaded which allows you to access the following:

  • Messages (send and receive messages to your
    child’s teachers)
  • Timetable
  • Calendar
  • News
  • Attendance (and the ability to respond to previous
    absences)
  • Events, Camps & Excursions (and the ability to
    approve events)
  • Payments (to pay for any camps/excursions)
  • Parent Teacher Interviews

The school code for the app is: ry2mk4

For further information about the website and the app, please click here.

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SWIMMING PROGRAM

Permission forms have now been handed out for the Swimming Program. Please return these forms or login on to XUNO to grant your approval ASAP. Payments can be made to the office or on XUNO.

Please ensure that you complete a hard copy of the swimming assessment form as well as the permission and return it to the office. If you are not sure about your child’s swimming ability the instructors will assess your child at the beginning of the program and place them in the appropriate group.

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VOLUNTEER NEEDED

We are seeking 1 volunteer to join the SAKG laundry roster. Laundry is to be picked up on Wednesday after school. If you are able to help, please see one of us in the office.

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SUSHI FRIDAYS

Sushi Fridays will be commencing on Friday 25th October!

Lunchbox Sushi in Castlemaine will be working with the school to provide flavoursome, healthy sushi to the students.

Sushi rolls will be $3 each with 13 different flavours available, all of them being nut allergy friendly and many of them catering for vegetarian, vegan, dairy free and gluten free also!

Order forms will be available at the office or on the website, and are due in each week on a Thursday morning to the front office for Friday lunchtime delivery. Orders must be paid for in cash.

Order forms for the first order due in Thursday 24th October.

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Karen Mahoney & Renae Wilson

Office

Oct
18
Fri

18 Oct 2019

10:00 AM to 2:00 PM

Event Info
Oct
18
Fri

18 Oct 2019

10:00 AM to 2:00 PM

Audience: 2/3's

Cost: Free

As part of Mental Health Week, Walk to School Month and our ongoing engagement with nature and history, grade 2/3 W and 2/3 F are going for a walk to Brown’s Farm (1 Watson Street Castlemaine).

Students will leave school at 10.00am and walk along local footpaths to the farm. They will spend their time in the great outdoor classroom, exploring, wondering and discovering. Students will return to school by 2.00pm. Parent helpers are very welcome.

Permission forms to be completed and returned to the students classroom teacher.

Remember: hats, uniform, lunch, water-bottle, sunscreen and sturdy walking shoes; asthma medication if needed.

Event Info
Oct
18
Fri

18 Oct 2019

10:00 AM to 2:00 PM

Audience: 2/3's

Cost: Free

Excursion
Oct
23
Wed

23 Oct 2019

3:30 PM to 5:30 PM

Event Info
Oct
23
Wed

23 Oct 2019

3:30 PM to 5:30 PM

This is an opportunity for your child to share their achievements thus far and discuss their learning goals for the remainder of the year. There are no set times within this framework, however if parents/carers or teachers feel a follow-up interview is required they can arrange to do so at a mutually convenient time.

Event Info
Oct
23
Wed

23 Oct 2019

3:30 PM to 5:30 PM

School event
Oct
24
Thu

24 Oct 2019

8:00 AM to 8:45 AM

Event Info
Oct
24
Thu

24 Oct 2019

8:00 AM to 8:45 AM

This is an opportunity for your child to share their achievements thus far and discuss their learning goals for the remainder of the year. There are no set times within this framework, however if parents/carers or teachers feel a follow-up interview is required they can arrange to do so at a mutually convenient time.

Event Info
Oct
24
Thu

24 Oct 2019

8:00 AM to 8:45 AM

School event

From your School Crossing Supervisor
Welcome back for Term 4!!  We look forward to seeing lots of students and carers walking, scooting or riding to school throughout October for Walk to School Month.  Here are a few reminders of some important rules you must follow when using the School Crossings –

  • Wait behind the white line
  • Wait for the Supervisor to blow the whistle 2 times before crossing the road
  • Do not ride scooters or bikes across the road
  • Do not bounce balls or use skipping ropes etc. while crossing the road
  • Follow the directions of the School Crossing Supervisor
  • Always use the School Crossing when the Supervisor is there

Mt Alexander Regional Chess Championships- Wednesday 18th September

We would like to thank Winters Flat P.S. for its ongoing leadership role in this initiative and acknowledge all the community in schools partnerships that help make it a successful event including; Castlemaine Rotary, CSC and Bendigo Chess Club.

Castlemaine Secondary College provided a wonderful venue and goodwill hosting the event and dealing with all the logistical problems with gusto.

135 students attended, representing 14 schools from as far away as Echuca and Gisborne.

The stand out performance for Winters Flat was Felix Mensah who won 6 games and came 7th overall.

His success is a tribute to his positive attitude, good nature, aptitude and consistent work. It was a terrific effort.

Iestyn Cotterell was our next best student coming 12th overall with 5 strong wins, followed by our perennial top performer Zephyr Norden-Williamson, who never fails to put in a strong effort at tournaments.

Winters Flat PS came 3rd overall. St Marys P.S. came 2nd and New Gisborne P.S. came first and fielded an exceptionally strong girls’ team.

Congratulations to all WFPS students for their good sports-person-ship and having a go!

Harry Poulton

Chess Tutor

Thank you to ALL the students who got involved with Jump Rope for Heart!

A huge thank you for the effort skipping and fundraising for the Jump Rope for Heart program this term. Together we raised over $1000! This money will all go towards vital heart research and education programs.

We’ve loved seeing so many smiling faces skipping on the playground and in sports lessons. Our Jump Off Day was a huge success, you can see a few action photos from the day below.

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JUNIOR LEARNING COMMUNITY

P/1 J | Xzavier G

For showing Care for Self by working hard to complete his Australian animals project. Well done Xzavier!
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MIDDLE LEARNING COMMUNITY

2/3F | Jamie B

For showing Care for Others by playing sensibly and helping to sort out problems.
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2/3F | Boudica A

For showing Care for Self by riding to school with friends.
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POSITIVE BEHAVIOUR FOCUS

This week's positive behaviour focus is:

Show care for yourself amd others by being positive, getting involved and doing your best.

The following students are recognised for their abilities to do so:

Iris D

Sullivan S

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BEST CLASS ATTENDANCE (CUMALONG CUP)

The class with the best school attendance for the week ending 20th September is P1A.

The class with the best school attendance for the week ending 11th October is 23F.

THIS WEEK IN THE KITCHEN & GARDEN...

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

Potato and rosemary pizza

Basic pizza dough

Salad of the imagination

Seasonal Savory muffins

Fruit turnovers with cream

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Remember, all our recipes are available on our school website, so you can try them at home.

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And what we're harvesting from the garden...

Silverbeet

Shallots

Rosemary

Parsley

Kale

Fennel leaves

Kale floers

Red vein sorrel

Miners lettuce

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HELP US BUILD AN INSECT HOTEL

Want to help increase insect numbers at school? This is your chance to do so.

In the gardening classes this semester, the students have been learning about insects. They have made mini insect hotels that will go into a bigger home - like the one pictured below. The skills they’ve learned so far are sawing and drilling recycled timber, and building with clay.

To house all the students work we need to build a bigger structure – an insect hotel. I’m thinking it would be roughly be 2m L x 1.80m H x .5m W. I’d like to include parts of the designs the students have done as well.

Please contact the office if you are interested.


VOLUNTEERS NEEDED

Firstly, a massive thanks to all the volunteers that help out with the watering and chooks over the breaks. And especially the ones that are leaving us this year – the garden and chooks thank you too.

We are looking for new volunteers for the Xmas break. I know it’s awhile away, but it will come around fast. Please see me in person or contact the office. Then I’ll arrange a time to show you the ropes.

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Jane & Terry
Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden

WHAT'S HAPPENING IN OUR COMMUNITY...

Lots of activities happening to keep the whole family entertained

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