Thursday 6th April

• Last day of Term 1 - Students to be picked up at 2.30

Monday 24th April

• Curriculum day - no students at school

Tuesday 25th April

• Anzac Day Public Holiday

Wednesday 26th April

• First day of Term 2

Friday 28th April

• District Cross Country - see XUNO 

Thursday 4th May

• Star Wars dress up day - gold coin donation - Student iniative - raising money for a Gravitrax

Friday 5th May

• Division Cross Country - select students 
• Trivia Night Fundraiser 

Thursday 11th May

• Community Afternoon Tea - 3:15pm-4:30pm

Friday 12th May

• Tabloid Sports - Years Prep-2 - see XUNO

Tuesday 16th May - Wednesday 24th May 

• Somers Camp - select students

Monday 5th June

• Professional Practice Day - no students at school

TERM 1 WRAPS UP

First term has certainly been a busy one which has included the whole school swimming program, NAPLAN Testing, Welcome to Country, Harmony Day and Football clinics. Classrooms have been busy hubs of learning and teachers have been participating in professional learning focussed on the teaching of numeracy as well as Disability Inclusion adjustments with coach Elizabeth Prossor.

With the holidays commencing this Thursday – just before Easter – I wish everyone a safe and happy break from school. Term 2 commences for students back at school on Wednesday 26th April.

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SCHOOL COUNCIL AGM

School Council extends our sincere thanks to outgoing members Armstrong Scherlies, Monte McPherson and Fiona Johnston for their efforts and contributions to School Council. Fiona Johnston has been serving on Winters Flat School council for many years and as Secretary for much of that time. Our sincere thanks also to Blair Venn for his time as President over the last couple of years.

• Suzanne Kinnersly
• Helen Weir (Secretary)
• Michelle Creed
• Kitty Ward (Treasurer)

Parent members

• Jill Prior (President)
• Rebecca Morecroft (Vice-President)
• Blair Venn
• Rhani Dean-Talbett
• Bryn Davies
• Dean Nendick

We have one parent position vacant. Please fill out the attached form if you are interested. Hard copies are available at the office.

• Finance-Suzanne Kinnersly, Karen Mahoney, Kitty Ward, Rebecca Morecroft, Bryn Davies
• Buildings and Grounds – Suzanne Kinnersly, Blair Venn, Dean Nendick
• Fundraising – Michelle Creed, Rhani Dean-Talbett, Shera Blaise
• School Community engagement – Suzanne Kinnersly, Kitty Ward, Kirsty Williams, Helen Kaptein
• Sustainability – Helen Weir, Terry Willis, Bryn Davies
• Wellbeing – Suzanne Kinnersly, Hannah O'Keefe, Rebecca Morecroft, Sarah Day, Gemma Candy, Liz Dunn, Eliza Hull, Heidi Barrett

We still have some positions available on the Fundraising, Community Engagement and Sustainability Sub-Committees.

If you have an interest in joining any of these committees please complete the attached Volunteers form, email winters.flat.ps@education.vic.gov.au or phone: 5472 1522. It is not necessary to be on school council to participate. Thanks to those who have already joined. We will send out a meeting schedule as soon as possible.

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ANZAC DAY CASTLEMAINE 2023

The first day of Term 2 – Monday 24^th March is a Curriculum Day. As we won’t have students here at school that day, I am flagging the arrangements ahead of time.

The traditional ANZAC day march on Tuesday 25^th April will commence at 8:45am at the Town Hall then via Hargraves Street, to the RSL Cenotaph in Mostyn Street, followed by the commemorative service. I am encouraging our school leaders and any other families who wish to join me in the march to wear their Winters Flat school uniform to represent our school. Two students will lay a wreath at the end of the service.

In another ANZAC Day tradition, Winters Flat PS is supplying ANZAC Biscuits for the RSL members’ morning tea and we extend our sincere thanks to Cath Chugg for organizing all the baking.

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MAY THE FOURTH BE WITH YOU

Briscoe (6B) came up with the idea of a Star Wars-themed dress-up day here at school on Thursday 4^th May with a fund-raising proposal to go towards the purchase of some GraviTrax kits. All things Star Wars will be encouraged with a gold coin donation on the day.

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TRIVIA NIGHT 5TH MAY 

We're also looking forward to the Tvivia Night here at school on Friday 5th May. See the flyer attached to this Newsletter.

BIRTHDAYS

Jasmine - 11 in the first week of April

Luca – 12 in the first week of April

Poorvi – 5 in the second week of April

Bonnie – 10 in the third week of April

Luce - 5 in the fourth week of April

Atticus - 11 in the fourth week of April

Eisa – 11 in the fourth week of April

Archie – 10 in the last week of April

Peter – 7 in the last week of April

Suzie – 11 in the last week of April

Hip Hip: Hooray

Hip Hip: Hooray

Hooray: Hip Hip

FREE RAPID ANTIGEN TESTS

With the recent rise in case numbers in Mt Alexander, please be aware that free rapid antigen tests are 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.

Suzanne Kinnersly
Principal.

Last day of Term – 6^th April

On the last day of term school will finish at 2.30 pm. Please ensure that you have arrangements in place for your child/ren if you are unable to pick them up yourself or use the OSH club.

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First day of Term 2 - 26th April

Please note that students are back at school on Wednesday the 26th of April. Monday is a curriculum day and Tuesday is the ANZAC Day public holiday.

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Lost Property

Lost property will be placed at the gate outside the office every afternoon this week. Please have a look through and see if anything belongs to your child/ren.

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Social Media

Do you know our school has Instagram and Facebook? Follow along to see what's happening at our school and feel free to share our posts with your community. This is a great way to share our fundraisers and events, as well as our beautiful school surrounds and the wonderful activities that the students participate in.

Instagram

Facebook

Please see below for the full holiday program at Winters Flat PS these school holidays.

The Winters Flat PS holiday program is available to students from any school in Castlemaine. It is also an option for families visiting the town who may need care for their primary school- aged children during their stay.

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Karen Mahoney & Kitty Ward

Office

Hi families,

My name is Lina and I’m a parent at the school. I’m offering weekly half-hour group woodwind classes (flute, clarinet and saxophone). I have a Bachelor of Music Performance from the Victorian College of the Arts and seven years of instrumental music teaching experience. The cost is $15 per student per session. Some rental instruments will be available. If your child/children are keen to learn great songs on a fun instrument, please get in contact with me at karolinacutler@gmail.com or 0479161124.

Thanks 

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

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

• Tomato and Basil Focaccia 

• Herb Polenta Chips

• Spinach and Ricotta Gnocchi 

• Nasturtium Caprese Salad

• Hot Cross Scones

• Anzac Biscuits 

Chefs of the week:

3/4H: Nova & Pez

4/5C: Eisa, Bonnie, Brody

5/6B: Riva and Jasmine

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

Prep Kitchen Lesson

The Prep class participated in a cooking session this week. They made:

• Pizza with Tomato, Mozzarella, Basil and Ham
• Basil Pesto Spaghetti 
• Rainbow Fruit Skewers
• Hot Cross Scones
• Anzac Biscuits 

Kitchen volunteers

We would love some kitchen helpers in our cooking classes. They are held fortnightly on Mondays (even weeks), and every Wednesday, between 11:25am & 1:25pm.

What you can expect from a class: Students work in six groups to make six different dishes. Once a group finishes 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 and Vaccination Certificate. Please contact the Karen or Kitty in the office if you would like to volunteer. 

Gardeners of the week:

3/4H: Frankie M

4/5C: Ava G & Ginger

5/6B: Riva, Ripley, Michael, Indi & Jasmine

Cath & Terry
Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden

AT HOME

It’s the end of Term One! For many of you, those with preps for example, this will mark a huge success and be an opportunity to celebrate. Getting to school each day and getting through each week requires a lot of planning and cooperation... some weeks go better than others. But if you, as a family, have had success getting through the term then you have every right to feel proud. How will you reward your child or family for surviving Term 1?

A reward is a consequence for good behaviour. It’s a way of saying ‘Well done’ after your child has done something good or behaved well. It could be a treat, a surprise or an extra privilege. For example, as a reward for keeping their room tidy, you might let your child choose what’s for dinner. Here is a handy tip sheet and information on using praise, encouragement and rewards: https://raisingchildren.net.au/toddlers/connecting-communicating/connecting/praise

AT SCHOOL

Next term, I am going to bombard you with a whole lot of Body Safety and Internet Safety resources, so I will leave you with just a snippet. Follow this link for some awesome resources to get you started on thinking what factors you have in place at home to prevent your child/children viewing developmentally inappropriate content online: https://www.esafety.gov.au/parents

IN THE COMMUNITY

It’s the school holidays! Yay! Here is a link to the Castlemaine Library School Holidays Program: https://www.ncgrl.vic.gov.au/holidayprogram

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Take care and see you next term ?

Hannah O’Keefe

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My work hours are Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 9:30-2:30 and Thursdays 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

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Hannah O’Keefe

My work hours are Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 9:30-2:30 and Thursdays 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.