Year 5 and 6 Camp

The camp to the Grampians was an adventure for all. We challenged and supported each other with physical tasks and had to address our mindsets to overcome mental hurdles. Please enjoy Lewis’ reflection in this edition of the newsletter. A huge thank you to staff- Sam Lucas, Yasmin, Harriet, Natasha, Meghann and Jonty for volunteering their own time to attend.

Rainbow Lap-a-thon – A colourful success!

The lap-a-thon was so much fun on Monday. So many children embraced the theme and came dressed in bright attire. Thank you for the parent volunteers that organised this fundraiser for our kitchen garden program. Thanks to Jo, Maggie & Lachlan Shaw, Brett Parry, Katie McMillan, Nadia, Lizzy, Lauren, Nadine, Campbell, Russel and Rasphal.  Apologies in advance if your name is not listed here. Apparently, we did have a few others help with cheering, but we didn’t get everyone’s name.

Harmony Day- Everyone Belongs

On Wednesday March 23^rd we celebrated Harmony Week. The event is recognition of an ongoing priority for our global community, marking the United Nations International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. At Yarra we celebrated more specifically our valuing of our school’s multiculturalism. Importantly, we identified this is not a one day celebration and there are many ways throughout the year we celebrate our diversity. As part of our school’s vision statement* we value inclusiveness, respect and belonging for all Australians, regardless of cultural or linguistic background.

Yarra Primary’s School Vision Statement

Our vision is to establish a fully inclusive learning environment. Our school values its place and role in the local community with positive connections to the wider and global communities. We contextualise academic excellence to maximise collective wellbeing; so, strive to not just be the best in the world but also the best for the world.

 More Air Purifiers for Yarra Primary School

The Victorian Government will provide an additional 60,000 air purifiers to government schools for Winter.

These additional air purifiers are to supplement natural and mechanical ventilation during the cooler months, when windows and doors may be closed to maintain a comfortable learning environment. 

The additional allocation of extra purifiers to Yarra Primary School is 13.

Air purifiers are expected to be progressively delivered from late March until the end of May 2022. 

Lea Waters – Strengths Based Parenting Session at Yarra Primary School

Thursday 5^th May (evening)

I am thrilled to welcome Lea back to deliver a keynote for YPS parents on Thursday May 5^th at Yarra Primary School. So, book the babysitter and enjoy hearing from Lea on how you can build skills to focus on your children’s strengths. By showing us how to flick the ‘Strength Switch’, Lea demonstrates how we can not only help our children build optimism and achievement, but we can also help them persevere through challenges. For catering purposes please register your attendance at: https://forms.gle/Sgc2SGxPfGu9WvG2A

Other Upcoming Dates for the Diary

Finbar Urban Field Day (YPS is selling pizzas) – Saturday 2^nd April

Playground Cinema- Friday 29^th April

YPS- Gleadell Street Market Stall- Saturday 14^th May

Living Our Values

Our school community has demonstrated incredible solidarity and resilience throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Being back in our classrooms is another big transition, but it’s the very best one for our children's education. As we navigate these changes to onsite learning, it’s more important than ever that adults in our school community treat each other with respect and kindness.

The Department of Education and Training has released a new policy that describes the positive behaviour expected from parents, carers, and other adults in Victorian school communities. The policy sets clear standards of behaviour to create a safe, respectful, and inclusive learning environment for students, staff, and adults.

It’s important we all do our part to support safe and respectful relationships in our school community.

Family Celebration

As a courtesy note, I will be on Long Service Leave from Monday 28^th March until Easter. I am heading to Byron Bay for my sister’s wedding and finally catching up with friends and family from near and far (Ireland). Valetta will be ‘in the chair’ supported by the leadership team. I will also be checking my emails from time to time in preparedness for an action-packed term two.

Yours In Partnership,

Saraid

Grampians Retreat Camp by Lewis 56A 

Day 1:  

When we arrived we went straight into our activities. It was more challenging than I thought. Our first activity was ropes course, it was more challenging than I thought! Then we had the Australian bushwalk with arts and crafts. We painted bark with our Aboriginal elements (spirit, earth, wind, fire, water). We had pasta for dinner!  

Day 2:  

At breakfast we had cereal and toast. Our friend activity was the flying fox. It wasn’t as scary as I thought it would be. Then came the giant swing, that was really terrifying…but I still overcame my fear and went to the top of the swing. The next activity we did was mountain biking, it was extremely fun except for the part the chain came off my bike. Luckily, we managed to get it back on quickly and off we rode! Our next activity was canoeing, it was really exciting and challenging at times to avoid the lilypads and reeds! By the end, most of us had capsized. To finish off the day, we had chicken skewers and vegetables followed by a delicious pavlova! When it was dark, we walked down to the campfire and roasted marshmallows. We took a moment to appreciate our camp experiences! 

Day 3:  

To start off the day we had a big breakfast to get ready for another action - packed day. After breakfast, my group got to jump into the pool! After the pool we went for a hike. We hiked up a mountain it was all the way uphill then down. The views were great and it was really fun. In the afternoon, we had archery. I didn’t even get close to bullseye! Hut building was more fun than it sounds, we had to work in a team to build a wind and waterproof hut out of anything we could find in the area. After dinner, we watched Cool Runnings at our movie night. Some people were so tired they fell asleep during the movie.  

Day 4: 

Our last activity on camp was abseiling, geez it was scary! It was great to do something new and exciting. It was time to head home, we stopped for a quick lunch in Ballarat. The sun was shining, it was lovely! We got back to school just after 3:30 and we were all ready for a big sleep! 

This week in Art we have celebrated Harmony Week, by looking at a variety of decorative patterns used in art across many different cultures. The students then created their own patterns using fineliner pen on a feather, and then sprayed the feather using coloured dyes. Each feather is as individual as the student that made it. Together these feathers make the wings of our beautiful bird “Peace”. Wonderful work everyone!

Justine Moore

Visual Arts Teacher

I hope you all know about Harmony week. It is a special time when we celebrate our differences and how we are still all humans with the same heart. On Wednesday, every student dressed up in orange and pink costumes to represent harmony. We all created paper figures of ourselves where we were dressed in what clothes our family's wear. We watched a video about Harmony day. We listed the countries we knew and shared some cool facts about them. Here are some facts. Harmony day was created by the Howard government in 1999 and has been going for 23 years. It is a time where we come together and share our cultures.

By Kayla Steele and Saskia Della-Rosa 34A