1

LoSEMS

DIMBOOLA PRIMARY SCHOOL PO Box 241 Dimboola VIC 3414 Ph: 03 5389 1270 Fax: 03 5389 1399

e-mail: dimboola.ps@edumail.vic.gov.au www.dimboolaps.vic.edu.au

“We strive to build a strong school community of enthusiastic learners”

NEWSLETTER No. 14 May 25th, 2017

.: HONESTY in all of our actions. .: RESPECT for each other and our environment.

.: TOLERANCE to accept those things that are different .: RESILIENCE to bounce back when something bad happens.

Dimboola Primary School is a Child-Safe School

COMING DATES:

MAY

Mon 29th Dimboola Kindergarten visit TBC

Tues 30th Horsham Winter Lightening Netball

JUNE

Wed 7th MATES Mentoring Lunch at

DMSC Health & Fitness Centre

6.30pm – 7.30pm

Frid 9th Report Writing Day –

Student Free Day

Mon 12th Queens Birthday

Student Free Day

Tues 20th Winter Lightning Premierships –

Year 4 to 6 to Nhill College.

Friday 30th End of Term 2.

$472 000

Great news! The State Government has

funded Dimboola Primary School $472 000

for capital works on our buildings. This

funding was given based around condition

of our classrooms. The aim is to make the

teaching and learning spaces more flexible,

functional and inviting.

In receiving this grant, I pursued whether it

was possible to bank this money with the

understanding that Dimboola Primary

School Council has written a letter of

support around the concept of co-location

at the DMSC site. This money may not be

banked and, due to the short time frame,

planning needs to commence immediately

on how to spend it.

In the coming weeks, staff, school council

and students will be consulted in creating

more user-friendly learning spaces. There

will also be architects visiting to determine

plans. These plans will be presented to a

panel of people including Department

Representatives, Desiree Cross (business

manager), Sandra Gove (leading teacher)

and Greg Sampson.

Canteen Helpers Wanted!

We are desperately seeking volunteers

to lend a hand in the canteen. If you can

spare a day a week, fortnight or month

we would love to hear from you!

The canteen runs on Fridays.

No experience necessary!

Please contact the school on 5389 1270

for more information.

2

‘MOVE ON’

Approximately 15 students in Year 5 and 6 are currently involved in a series of art

workshops titled “Move On” run by artist Jens Altheimer, along with other volunteers.

In deciding to work on this project Mrs French said that “The words that jumped out at me

in the artist’s brief were: creative thinking, innovation, technology, engineering, new

materials, experimentation, performance, cause and effect”. The work is highly interesting

based around chain reactions and certainly engaging to the students involved.

Above: Jonathan prepares to roll the golf ball down the ramps creating a chain reaction,

Marrie building her machine.

Below: Impressive work with ramps and tyres by Charlotte and Isaac.

3

Above: Brook working on her sawing skills, Bev and Emma develop their design.

Below: Some impressive work with ramps and tyres by Eamon and Ashton.

4

CONGRATULATIONS MR ASHTON:

Mr Ashton officially graduated from Monash University during this week. I, along with the

staff am sure the general community congratulate him on this achievement.

5/6 ASSEMBLY:

Students, staff and parents were informed about the three levels of government at this

week’s assembly. Students told us about what each level of government were responsible

for and that Australia is a democracy. Congratulations to Mr Ashton and the Grade 5/6

students on their informative presentation. Students in Year 4/5 and 5/6 continue to learn

aspects of our governmental system in line with their studies in MAPPEN.

ATTITUDES TO SCHOOL SURVEY:

Students in Year 4, 5 and 6 will be involved in an online survey on their perceptions of

Dimboola Primary School in the coming weeks. This will give them a chance to reflect on

aspects of their school life including teaching practice, engagement levels, teacher-

student relations, engagement with others and student safety. These will be administered

by Mr Sampson during class time. Results from these will be returned for analysis by the

school later in the year. Some of the most valuable aspects of these surveys is that we can

track how students are feeling currently, breaking this down into year levels or gender

groups and look for trends over time.

MATES MENTORING:

We are looking for people who are interested in being a buddy for a young child attending

Dimboola Primary School. Being a MATE Provides an opportunity to make a connection

with a young person. The commitment for this is about one hour per fortnight. I know

that from current experiences the students in the primary school love the opportunity

that having someone special visit them offers. An information session for a new batch of

MATES will occur on Wednesday 7th June at 6:30 pm to 7:30 pm at the Health and Fitness

Centre, a light supper will be provided. Please put your thinking caps on as to who may be

available to volunteer (all Mentors will need to have a working with children check).

LOST PROPERTY:

We have a number of items in the lost property currently. I encourage children to have a

look for missing clothing items. I also encourage parents to name all items of clothing as

this is a more effective method of finding owners of lost clothing.

5

HAND FOOT AND MOUTH DISEASE:

Unfortunately there have been some cases of Hand, Foot and Mouth disease for students attending Dimboola Primary School.

The following has sourced from https://www2.health.vic.gov.au/public-health/infectious-diseases/disease-information-advice/hand-foot-mouth-disease

HFMD occurs mainly in children younger than 5 years of age. It can sometimes occur in adults. Symptoms and lesions usually persist for 7–10 days.

The clinical picture consists of fever, and vesicular lesions on the buccal surfaces of the cheeks, gums and sides of the tongue, beginning as small red spots that blister and often

become ulcers.

Papulovesicular lesions of the palms, fingers and soles commonly occur over a 1–2-day period. Occasionally, maculopapular lesions appear on the knees, elbows, buttocks and

genital area.

Some people, especially young children, may become dehydrated if they are not able to swallow enough liquids because of the painful mouth sores.

Complications include viral (aseptic) meningitis with headache, stiff neck and sensitivity to light, but this is rare.

Inflammation of the brain (encephalitis), paralysis or pulmonary oedema (fluid in the lungs) can occur, but are also very rare.

Fingernail and toenail loss have been reported, but this is only temporary, and nails grow back without medical treatment.

HFMD is transmitted by direct contact with fluid from the vesicular lesions, direct contact with nose and throat discharges and faeces of an infected person, aerosol droplet spread

and contaminated fomites (objects and surfaces).

Control of the case includes:

• exclusion from school of children with HFMD until all blisters have dried • covering lesions on hands and feet, if possible, and allowing them to dry naturally

• avoiding piercing lesions, as the fluid within the blisters is infectious • good handwashing, and cleaning and disposal of soiled articles

• avoiding close contact, such as kissing, hugging, or sharing eating and drinking utensils with others.

Could parents please reinforce the need for children to wash their hands with soap following using the toilet, cover their nose or mouth when sneezing or coughing. Should a child

complain of flu like symptoms I encourage them to be kept home until we are certain that it is not HFMD.

6

Lachlan Carberry and Eamon Pyers

both received an award for displaying

Confidence

Ashton Stott received an award this

week for his

Persistence

7

All Grade 3 and 5 students received a certificate for displaying skills in all the You Can Do It

foundations. Ms Frost, Mr Ashton and Miss Lewis are very proud of the persistence and

confidence you showed, and how hard you worked during the NAPLAN tests!

8

by Michael Grose - No. 1 parenting educator

2012 Michael Grose

Michael Grose Presentations

PO Box 167 Balnarring Vic 3926 p + 61 3 5983 1798 f (03) 5983 1722 e office@parentingideas.com.au

All rights reserved. For more ideas, support and advice for all your parenting challenges please visit our website.

facebook.com/michaelgroseparenting

twitter.com/michaelgrose

parentingideas.co.ukparentingideas.com.au parentingideas.co.nz

I can’t advise you about what you should worry about as a parent. That’s your prerogative. But I think there are times when it’s not worth worrying too much.

We all worry as parents. It comes with the job.

There are three things I’ve noticed about parenting worries.First, small kids give you small worries and big kids can provide big worries. Hmmm! That maybe a little scary but you’ll be ready to cope when your kids are older.

Second, parents always seem to be concerned about one child at a time. You fix one child up and then suddenly another one presents with an issue or concern. Doh! That’s the way of family life.

Third, the bigger the family the less parents worry about individual kids. Concerns tend to be about the family, or the kids in general, in bigger families.

Don’t sweat the small stuff

Lately, I’m finding parents worrying about stuff (kid’s behaviour, learning, confidence levels) that they shouldn’t really be concerned about. In many cases, maturity will solve these issues.

Also, for many kids a problem today will be forgotten tomorrow, yet we adults tend to hang on longer to those same problems long after the child has given up caring.I can’t advise you about what you should worry about as a parent. That’s your prerogative. But I think there are times when it’s not worth worrying too much.

It’s not worth worrying when:

1. a child’s misbehaviour fits into the normal behavioural range. A mum was worried that her four year old may have some problems as he was checking out the genitalia of a mate. Nope – that’s pretty natural curiosity for that age group. Working out what’s normal is a challenge for inexperienced parents.

2. a child is moving from one stage to the next. Kids get ‘kinder mouth’; boys can give mum a hard-time at five and again in early adolescence; some girls develop an ‘attitude’ at seven, and again at thirteen; boys vocabularies shrink to three words in early teens; and fourteen-year-old girls will often have little time for their dads. These behaviours are indicative of different stages of development. Annoying yes, but not always worrying!

3. a child is displaying an independent streak. Sometimes kids put their foot down and say: “NO! I’m not trying at that sport or activity anymore because I don’t enjoy it”. They are no longer willing to unquestioningly do the things that you want them to do because you think those things are good for them. A show of independence is usually a healthy thing, although it can be difficult for parents to swallow.

4. a child struggles periodically at school, either socially or academically. The ups and downs of growing up mean that kids don’t always learn on an even trajectory. They have good years and bad years at school. They also have good years and bad years socially. That is, they have years where they sit next to their best friends and have a ball. And other years finding and keeping friends can be a little tougher. Helping kids ride the lows and the highs is part of the parenting job. Sometimes we worry at the first sign of a problem. Time and children themselves solve many problems when they get the chance.

If in doubt, talk honestly and openly with some trusted parents, preferably with some experience. Also talk with your child’s teachers who generally have had more experience of children of your child’s age group than you do. It’s a worry being a parent. But it doesn’t always have to be!We all worry as parents

When not to worry