We hope everyone was able to see our small advertisement in the Sunraysia Daily celebrating ‘State Education’ in Victoria.  Schools are places where everyone is welcome to share the learning journey of students in their formative years.  The achievement in primary school particularly in the last two years is a close indicator of the ability to be a lifelong learner capable of creating personal success.  We encourage the students to never waste a day of their learning time.

Well done to all who participated and gave their very best effort representing Irymple PS at the Inter-school Cross Country. Congratulations to Ella Baird and Regan Kerslake who have qualified for the Regional Cross Country at St. Arnaud on June 4th.

Some of you may have seen our students on WIN television on Monday night and in the Sunraysia Daily on Wednesday being acknowledged for their participation in the upgrading of the Animal Shelter site on the Calder Highway. The students combined with students from Irymple Secondary College to plant trees with the guidance of the Calder Highway Animal Shelter staff.  Apart from volunteering to upgrade a community facility the students were able to see how a few hours of volunteer work can make a big difference.  The facility area the children were involved with upgrading is used to train, exercise and play with surrendered and rescued dogs.  They were also joined by Irymple Lions Club and Irymple Rotary Club.  All of the children who participated represented our school very well. 

Great to see so many of the students in our school uniform this week and fewer coloured items as the weather has cooled down.  It shows great pride in our school. We have had recent questions about what is compulsory and what is not. Schools in Victoria are free to design their uniform outfit/s for each season under some very strict guidelines as long as it is approved by School Council.  The reasons for this are so that changes over time are minimised and so that bulk orders can be made to keep cost to a minimum. Parent Club runs our very efficient uniform shop and maintains a range of all items and sizes at minimal prices. We choose to have a school uniform to unify the appearance of the children and assist parents so that clothing items do not have to be found each day for children.  It also eliminates the competition between students as to what is ‘the thing to wear’. On another social level it allows all children the opportunity to share in the school’s identity despite hardship or wealth. 

Walk to School Day is coming up on Friday 24th May.  Let’s hope we can get as many parents and children walking as possible.

Congratulations to our new Artist of the Fortnight. Hannah has worked hard to create an original castle collage. Well done!

We have high expectations of behaviour for all our students.  In recent weeks several incidences have occurred where children have deliberately tried to physically hurt or make other children feel uncomfortable in the playground as a result of careless actions.  We have many counselling strategies that we will try in addition to direct contact with the parents of the children involved. Another strategy may involve a series of consequences at school where certain privileges will be withdrawn.  On the next level the student can be suspended according to DEECD guidelines.  As an additional consequence any student that is suspended from school will be automatically removed from the list of attending children at future excursions out of the school, including major camps, for the remainder of 2013.

No hats are required in Term 2 and Term 3 under the Sunsmart Accreditation for Schools Guidelines. This allows for sun exposure and maintenance of healthy Vitamin D levels over winter.

Over the past few years as Mildura has grown the school zones or boundaries have changed to accommodate this growth.   This has left some parents wondering which school is their neighbourhood school.  It is possible that some prospective parents are unsure as to what to do – or who to ask about it.  If you come across an undecided parent ask them to ring the school and we can assist them with their inquiries.  All schools have up to date zoning maps and are more than happy to assist. Some private schools have commenced Prep enrolments for 2014, but State School enrolments also commence now, during May, so inquiries are always welcome from this time.  Whilst every school needs firm numbers for Prep enrolments as early as possible after this date, all schools expect to have some new students and students from parents who change their minds over the Christmas holidays.  If you know of any prospective Prep students please refer them to me and I am more than happy to speak with them personally.

National Literacy and Numeracy testing took place this week across Australia. Thanks to the sound preparation and general classroom teaching the students were given every chance to do their best.  It is just a snapshot in time and gives some valuable information to work on in our planning teams.  Results are not delivered to the school or parents until September 2013.  The writing task is completed by all students from grade 3 to 6 at Irymple Primary School for senior school moderation purposes.  This year’s question asked the students to present their point of view (either ‘for’ or ‘against’) about the following Statement - ‘Hero Award’.