August 2 2016

The Newsletter of Vacy Public School Friendship & Learning

786 Gresford Road, Vacy 2421 Ph: 0249388153 Relieving Principal: Mr David Stone

www.vacy-p.schools.nsw.edu.au Email: vacy-p.school@det.nsw.edu.au

Term 3 Week 3 Tuesday 2 August, 2016

Principal’s Report Term 3 ~ Week 3 ~ David Stone (Relieving Principal) Principal Position

I am very pleased to announce that I have the privilege of leading this wonderful school for the rest of the year. I would like to thank

you all for your support and encouragement and also express my appreciation to the great staff for their support and the amazing

students for making coming to work so enjoyable. We are very lucky to have such a positive environment and community that work so

well together to develop and nurture your lovely children.

P&C Meeting

Our next P&C meeting is on TONIGHT , August 2nd at 7pm in the staffroom. All parents and community members are welcome and

encouraged to attend. There is a lot of exciting news to deliver and important planning to take place which would benefit from as

much input as possible. I look forward to seeing as many of you as possible.

Education Week

This week is Education Week. This is the week in the year where we try and acknowledge, focus and showcase the wonderful work

being done by our students, staff and community members in NSW Public Schools.

We have award recipients being recognised at the Dungog Community of Schools Presentation Ceremony on this Thursday afternoon

from 4:00pm at Dungog High School. We will also have representatives from our choir performing in the combined choir and our

Senior Dance group will also be performing. All parents, students and community members are invited to attend to show your

appreciation of the hard work and achievements that are being celebrated.

In school on the Thursday we have our Grandfriends Day and Bookfair (Please see the agenda for the day). The Bookfair is a great

opportunity for you to buy books for your children and also donate books for our school library.

Important: The procedure for taking children home early from this event. Whilst we would like to discourage children leaving early

we do understand that it can be inconvenient for some if you have to leave and then come back. If you wish to take your children

home early you will need to sign them out and wait for them at the office. If someone is taking them home who is not down as an

emergency contact you will need to provide a note giving permission for your child/ren to go home with that person. Please ensure

this procedure is followed so we can be sure students have gone home with the right people.

Parenting Ideas

With this week’s newsletter I have included an article on Pokemon Go! It provides some tips on how to deal with this latest craze as

well as for future ones as well. I hope you find it useful.

August

Tuesday 2 P&C meeting 7pm

I.C.A.S. English

Wednesday 3 Netball Gala Day at Singleton

Thursday 4 Grandparent & Friend’s Day-10am

Education Week Ceremony @

Dungog High 4pm to 6pm

Friday 5 Zone Athletics @ Woodberry

Book Club due back to school

Monday 8 Kinder 2017 visit us.

Stage 3 Public Speaking heats.

Dates for your Diary Library Friday is our new library day for all classes to browse

and borrow. Please make sure your child has a

sturdy library bag to protect our precious books

when they are taken home.

The library will continue to open on Monday and

Wednesday lunch times for children who are looking

for a quiet place to read or enjoy some of the activities that will be on offer.

Remember, we are

always looking for

suggestions for titles to

add to our collection.

August 2 2016

Canteen News There has been a very positive response to the grandparents/friends day lunch order special. Yesterday was the due date for

lunch orders, if you haven’t yet ordered and would like to order from the special menu for Thursday please let me know ASAP

and we will work something out. Please remember that there will be no other menu available on Thursday and we are closed

for recess. It’s going to be wonderful for the children to have their special people join them for the day. There will be special

treats available to purchase over the counter during lunch – who remembers sunnyboys and ovalteenies?!

Thank you to our helpers Rachel, Kristy, Penny and Heidi for their time in the canteen this week.

Emma Maslen

0411 342 935

Thursday August 4: Emma Maslen & Angela Gollan (Lunch only)

Monday August 8: Donna Tolhurst & Elizabeth Allen

1/2 News Thanks 1/2 for the fantastic speeches you have delivered over the past 2 weeks. I have very much enjoyed listening to them

and hearing about your families and their history. I certainly heard a lot of interesting stories and saw some great artefacts

and treasures. Many thanks for assisting your children with this task. Public Speaking is not an easy task but I was very

impressed with how everyone had a go.

Literacy Groups will return to normal next week (Week 4) so if you are one of our valued helpers we would love to see you

then.

Regards, Mrs Greaves

K/1R Angus Lean

1/2G Sonny Thorne

2/3G Brigette Finlay

4B Jackson Lambert

5/6F Ethan Preston

STUDENT OF THE WEEK AWARDS - 29.07.16

CLASS AWARDS

Kinder Jorden Bates for a fantastic Grandparent speech.

Year 1 Harry McCosker for hard work and effort with his speech.

Year 2 Eva Doyle for terrific effort and delivery of her speech.

Year 3 Marshall Parker for great persuasive writing.

Year 4 Fox Nicholson for fantastic results in his spelling test.

Year 5 Demi Maslen for consistent effort and application.

Year 6 Lilly Gillespie for kindness and leadership.

K/1 News Last week K/1 presented speeches about their grandparents. I enjoyed listening to each and every one of them. Congratulations to all students and thank you to parents for supporting students in this very worthwhile task. I look forward to meeting grandparents and friends on Thursday.

August 2 2016

Book Fair Please note that we will be holding a book fair as part of Grandparent/Friends Day on Thursday 4 August. Lots of lovely new books will be on display in the Library at recess and lunch time. You are able to buy a book for your child or purchase one to donate to Vacy Public School library. Thank you.

Excursion Instalments for Years 3 and 4 Final payment is due by Friday next week (12th August) for the Stage 2 Camp to Morisset Outdoor Education Centre.

Horse Tales Program Please note that due to the Netball Gala Day being held on 3rd August, the Horse Tales program will not go ahead for our

students this week.

Book Club Book Club order forms have been sent home and are due back to school by Friday 5th August. This will enable our school to

get orders to Scholastic on time. Thank you

Vacy Charity Cutting Day The Vacy Charity Cutting Day is on again on October 15. We are in need of some new volunteers because a lot of our committee no longer have kids at the school so they have moved on.

If you want to help out please get in touch with Penny Evans as soon as possible. We really need helpers for the canteen, someone to run the bar for lunchtime, helpers to set up on Friday the 14th and just general odd jobs!

It's a fun day that generates good funds for the school, normally about $5000 per year.

It's not just for people interested in cutting, we have all sorts of activities including live music, plus plenty of entertainment for the kids including a jumping castle.

We will also be including a riding event for children from school. If you want to register please put your name down at the office. Places will be limited.

Thanks so much to all our helpers and of course our many generous sponsors! We are looking forward to another great event! Kind regards Penny Evans.

International Competitions and Assessments

for Schools (ICAS)

Some more very pleasing results for our students who recently participated in the

ICAS Science test.

Congratulations to Kacia Rowles who was awarded a credit and Madison McCosker who was

awarded a distinction.

A distinction means that Madison has placed within the top 11 per cent of students across

Australia who participated in the tests.

Well done girls, you should be very proud of your achievements.

Dungog Community of Schools Education Week Ceremony Just a friendly reminder that Senior dance group are invited to showcase their talent at this special event on Thursday 4

August. Students should arrive at 4.oopm so we can get into costumes and have a last minute practise. Please meet Mrs Babic

outside the MPC at Dungog High School. Full costume is needed at this performance, however make-up is not. Girl’s hair in a

high ponytail please. Please notify Mrs Babic in writing to confirm your attendance. Thank you to those parents who have

already done so. Looking forward to seeing all there. Thanks Mrs Babic

August 2 2016

Clarence Town River Country Hoedown. On 22nd October the Clarence Town Community is holding a full day Country Music Event under the name of Clarence Town River Country Hoedown.

Clarence Town River Country Hoedown’s concept is to stage a quality music event to be held annually, beginning as a one day event. Our aim is to encompass a range of country entertainment, to be held at various locations around the Clarence Town area. All money raised from this year’s event will be used to fund next year, which we are planning to build into a weekend of activities.

We strive to create an event where residents, families, musicians and music lovers can join together to enjoy quality music, share ideas, learn new music skills and share in a great day of country entertainment in a beautiful location, and in doing so attract audiences from the greater Hunter, Sydney, Central Coast, and Mid North Coast areas.

The event will begin with a “Bushman’s Breakfast” at the Clarence Town School of Arts Hall at 800am which will include bush poetry and ballads, then will move to the Clarence Town Reserve (Football Field in front of the pool) where the event goers will have the opportunity to browse food and market stalls. There will also be opportunity to participate in the walk up open mic and talent quests, join in a range of organized country games, or sit on one of the music workshops which will be held at the Clarence Town Bowling Club. The day will wrap up with an evening concert at Clarence Town Reserve headlining Bill Chambers along with Sharna Burcher and James Van Cooper finishing at 11.00pm.

With that in mind, we are seeking interest by any student, teacher &/or parents who may be interested in taking part in any of the events such as the walk up open mic, Junior & Senior Talent Quest. We would also be very appreciative of anyone who would like to be a Volunteer on the day in helping set up, monitor events through the day & pack up afterwards.

Forms for the Junior & Senior Talent Quest which has terms & conditions attached to it are available from Vacy Public School office. Entries need to be received no later than 1st October 2016.

CALLING ALL SHORTS FOR DUNGOG FESTIVAL SHORT FILM COMP! The 3rd annual Dungog Festival - FOOD, FILM, FRESH AIR (plus throw in some music, wine, arts and markets!) - is coming up on 27-30 October 2016. The Short Film Competition, with a focus on Aussie-made films, is calling for submissions from Australian and

International films, with a prize pool of $30,000 cash available across a range of Awards.

Films must be 30 mins or under in length and can be any genre - fiction, drama, comedy, documentary, animation etc. and should have been completed after October 2014. Films made by Australians living or working overseas are encouraged to enter.

Prizes will be awarded for Best Short Film (Fiction), Best Short Film (Documentary), Best Director (Fiction), Best Director (Documentary), Best Indigenous Talent, Best Craft Award.

There is a separate category for student and youth-made films with cash prizes for the winning films and a cash prize for the school!

SUBMISSION CATEGORIES INCLUDE:

Australian Short Films - Fiction

Australian Short Films - Documentary

International Short Films - Fiction and Documentary

Youth Films (made by filmmakers under 25 years) - Student and Non-Student

Music Video Films

ENTRIES CAN BE MADE VIA FILM FESTIVAL LIFE and are open now at http://www.filmfestivallife.com/Dungog-Festival

The entry deadline is 19th August, with a final cut-off of 31st August. Discounts available for multiple entries from one school, please email for price

For further enquiries, email films@dungogfestival.com.au or visit the website at http://www.dungogfestival.com.au

COMMUNITY EVENTS

Hunter Valley Grammar School

Monday 8th August - 7.00pm to 8.00pm

Parent Information Seminar - HEALTHY MINDS

Free of charge. Open to the general public.

RSVP 4th August 2016—kennedyl@hvgs.nsw.edu.au

August 2 2016

A letter from a very pleased supporter.

Hello David, I had the pleasure of attending the Hunter Dance festival last night at Panthers (as a family member for a change)

and wish to pass on my congratulations to Vacy Public School and the relevant Staff members, students and helpers involved

with your two dance numbers. Wow! Your choreography, music, costumes, lighting, etc were up there with the best. The

students were the same - involved, enthusiastic and 100% on task. I know nothing of the correct dance terminology but their

dance moves were sharp, clean, complete and followed through beautifully - as we all know, SO hard to achieve:-) Whoever

is teaching your students Dance has a magical touch. As a local whose children went to Vacy PS and whose grandchildren now

attend, I was extremely proud to think a small school like Vacy could present on an equal par with the likes of the Hunter

School of Performing Arts and some of the larger, city schools. So, congratulations and, as an audience member, thank you to

all concerned for some top notch entertainment.

Best regards,

Susan

August 2 2016

Grandparents and Friends Day Program Thursday 4th August

You are invited to visit our school for Grandparents and Friends Day.

10:00am – Open Classrooms

10:30am – Scones, Jam and Cream Morning Tea in the COLA

During Morning Tea make sure you visit the Art Gallery in theTennis Court area.

You can purchase your portrait for a gold coin donation.

You can also visit the Library for our Book Fair. We would appreciate it if you

are able to donate a book to our Library.

Have a picture taken at our Photo Booth to remember this special day.

Gold coin donation for photo please.

11:10am – Education Week Assembly in the COLA

Join us to celebrate our fantastic achievements at Vacy Public School.

12.10pm – Watch our students during our fitness session. We will be playing old time

games from our recent excursion to Tocal.

12:30pm – Education Week Scripture Service in 1/ 2/ 3 classroom.

1:00pm – You are welcome to join us for lunch. The Book Fair will be open in the

Library.

NB – This program is a guide for the day and times may change on the day. This

program is subject to weather conditions and may change if inclement weather.