View this email in your browser

The MessengerTERM 3 WEEK 1 TUESDAY 16 JULY 2019(DOWNLOAD PDF VERSION BY CLICKING HERE)

King Winter now is in the land,he reigns with cold and freezing hand.

He makes Jack Frost touch nose and toes,and gives our cheeks a shining glow.

To friends and families,

Welcome back to the Winter Term. It was exciting to have a bitterly cold last week of the school holidays because fingers crossed, the snow will stay on the hills for the upcoming Ski Programme. It has been a long winter break and hopefully everyone has recovered from the illnesses and stresses of last term and we are ready for another exciting term of learning and growing together as students and as a community.

The Year 10s, Peter and I returned from our ten week cultural exchange to Slovenia on the second Friday of the holidays. It was an amazing trip and a very memorable time for us all. The students are looking forward to sharing their experiences with the wider school community on Thursday, July 25 in the Galinbirem Room.

Jen completed her long service leave and her journey on the Camino Trail. She is eager to reunite with all the students.

We are also pleased to welcome Alannah back to her position as Cello teacher. Alannah has undergone some serious medical

Subscribe Past Issues RSSTranslateSubscribe Past Issues RSSTranslateSubscribe Past Issues RSSTranslateSubscribe Past Issues RSSTranslateSubscribe Past Issues RSSTranslateSubscribe Past Issues RSSTranslateSubscribe Past Issues RSSTranslateSubscribe Past Issues RSSTranslateSubscribe Past Issues RSSTranslateSubscribe Past Issues RSSTranslateSubscribe Past Issues RSSTranslateSubscribe Past Issues RSSTranslateSubscribe Past Issues RSSTranslate

treatment, so will begin the term by spreading her music students over the week. This may mean that your child’s lesson time will change weekly. Your support is greatly appreciated and will be helpful to Alannah as she adjusts to her return to work.

We are trying to limit the changes in timetabling this term, but the Snow Programme requires some changes and snow being such a whimsical, sensitive and fickle product of nature, the ski programmes may have to be changed, postponed and cancelled at extremely short notice. We are guided by the latest forecast conditions given and that is often on the morning of the excursion.

On another note, Fenella Ritchie has again generously offered to organise entries for the Interschool Snowsports Championships this year. If your child is a competent skier and enjoys competing, please contact Fenella for further details about entries.

Good luck to Asha and Maddison (Year 7) Molly (Class 6) and Clara (Class 5) who will be competing in the Victorian School's Cross Country final at Bundoora Park on Thursday.

In the holidays you will have received your child’s first semester report. If the report raised any queries for you, please make a time to speak with the teacher concerned as soon as possible. Reports are not our preferred way of communicating – face to face contact and building a relationship with the class teacher is the best way to assist your child’s learning.

Third term is also a term for Parent Information Nights. The aim of the night is also about building relationships and for gaining an insight into life in the classroom.

Wishing you all a happy and fulfilling term.

Fran CumminsPrincipal

2019-SCHOOL EVENTS AND DATES TO REMEMBER

Term 3: Tuesday 16 July – Friday 20 September

Staff PD day Monday 15 July

Students commence Tuesday 16 July

Kindergarten and School Working Bee Saturday 20 July 8am – 1pm

Prep 1 & 2 Mt Stirling Cross Country Skiing Monday 22 July 9am – 4pm

Class 5 Parent Information Night Monday 22 July 7pm

Class 3,4 & 5 Mt Stirling Cross Country Skiing Tuesday 23 July 9am – 4pm

Class 6/Years 7-9 Mt Stirling Cross Country Skiing Wednesday 24 July 9am – 4pm

Class 6 Parent Information Night Wednesday 24 July 7pm

Slovenian Night Note: change of date Thursday 25 July 7pm Galinbirem room

Prep 1 & 2 Mt Stirling Cross Country Skiing Monday 29 July 9am – 4pm

Class 4 Parent Information Night Monday 29 July 7pm

Governance Meeting Note: 4th Monday of the month

henceforthMonday 29 July 6.30pm

Class 3, 4 & 5 Mt Stirling Cross Country Skiing Tuesday 30 July 9am – 4pm

Prep Try Day-CANCELLED Tuesday 30 July (2020 RM class FULL)

Rosa Mundi Parent Information Night Tuesday 30 July 7pm

Class 6/Years 7-9 Mt Stirling Cross Country Skiing Wednesday 31 July 9am – 4pm

Bindaree - Prep Visit Thursday 1 August

Class 1 Parent Information Night Thursday 1 August 7pm

Class 6 Overnight Astronomy camp Thursday 1 August details to come

Class 5 Play Ramayana Thursday 1 August 12pm, 7pm

Census Day Friday 2 August

Prep 1 & 2 Mt Stirling Cross Country Skiing Monday 5 August 9am – 4pm

Secondary Parent Information Night Yrs 7, 8 & 9, 10

Please note change of date for Yr7Monday 5 August 6.45pm for 7pm start - 8.30pm

Class 3, 4 Mt Stirling Cross Country Skiing Tuesday 6 August 9am – 4pm

Class 2 Parent Information Night Tuesday 6 August 7pm

Class 5, 6/Years 7-9 Mt Buller Downhill Skiing Wednesday 7 August 8am – 5pm

Class 3 Parent Information Night Wednesday 7 August 7pm

Year 7 Play – King Arthur Thursday 8 August 12pm (TBC) and 7pm

Stay up-to-date with all our events and date changes by subscribing to the 2019 Calendar...

KINDER & SCHOOL WORKING BEEKinder and School working bee – SATURDAY 20 July 8am – 1pm. Pat would appreciate your help with a couple of big landscaping tasks which he already has underway.

Pathway to Merton Hall – carting gravel. (Please bring wheelbarrows and shovels).

Tyre wall in the winter garden – continuing building wall (tools supplied).

Repairing chook domes.

Preschool parents: please see Taryn or Ariel for early childhood jobs.

Breakfast at 8am

Please bring a slice for morning tea. We need a parent volunteer to set up for morning tea please let Pat know if you can assist, thank you.

SCHOOL SKI PROGRAM

Prep to Class 4 - 4 weeks to Mt Stirling Cross Country Skiing.

Class 5 - Year 9 - 2 weeks to Mt. Stirling Cross Country Skiing, 2 weeks to Mt. Buller Downhill Skiing.

Mt Stirling 9am - 4pmPrep 1 & 2 Monday 22/7, 29/7,5/8,12/8Classes 3, 4 & 5 Tuesday 23/7, 30/7Classes 6, 7, 8 & 9 Wednesday 24/7, 31/7Classes 3, 4 Tuesday 6/8, 13/8

Mt. Buller 8am - 5pmClass 5 - Yr 9 Wednesday 7/8, 14/8

PLAYGROUP

PLAYGROUP will be held each Monday of the school term, 9.30-11.30am, commencing on Monday 22 July.

Jane Nealon is our playgroup facilitator.

All parents and friends are welcome to attend with infants and children up to 3 ½ years of age.

There is no cost involved but please bring a piece of fruit to share for morning tea.

SUBSCRIBE

EARLY CHILDHOOD

As we welcome the children back after the holiday we will be immersed in our winter program.

New songs to learn about King Winter and Jack Frost, our stories also follow the theme of winter – The Magic Porridge Pot, The Three Bears etc.

Many indoor activities will be shared around the warm fire, little fingers will learn new craft skills with sewing and weaving being introduced.

In the 4-year-old kinder we hope to help keep the children warm by making tie dye singlets together that can be taken home and worn to kinder each day, we will have rainbow tummies under our clothes!

Rosa Mundi will be embracing winter with our songs, stories and activities and looking forward to our first trip to the snow at Mt Stirling.

PRIMARY

Term 3 is always exciting as the ski program starts in week 2. There will be lots of excited students (and teachers) travelling to Mt Stirling. It looks like we should have plenty of snow if this weather keeps up!

Class 1 will be introduced to recorders in their first main lesson of the Term. Their new recorders will be kept snug and warm in their newly finished recorder bags.

Class 3 will be starting the term with a money main lesson – beginning with bartering and then moving on to actual money before moving to the practicalities of planning for a market stall.

Class 6 has a science-based main lesson at the beginning of the term with magnetism and electricity as the focus. This is a huge area of science and is an introduction to the work that will be carried out in secondary school in later years. What materials are attracted to

magnets? Which ones aren’t? Can you predict which ones can be made into magnets? are some of the questions that will be considered.

We will also be starting our term 3 parent information nights, so do keep a close watch on the calendar.

Photo: Class 3 unveiled their Class Building Project at the end of Term 2 - a Ferro-cement rendering of The Paps, Mt Battery, Samaria, Timbertop, Mt. Stirling and Mt. Buller - built under the tutelage of Sioux Dollman - Thanks Sioux!

SECONDARY

We welcome back our Year 10 students from their term away in Slovenia, and they have launched right back into life in Mansfield. They start off the term with their Main Lesson, the Chemistry of Salt, in which they explore the fundamentals of chemistry, looking at both acids and bases in an experimental way.

Year 8 and 9 have started their journey into creative writing, by looking at various poems, texts, and stories to gain inspiration for their own stories. Students have been engaged in using their five main senses to describe the world around them.

Year 7 have started practicing for their Class play ‘King Arthur’, with preparations for the final performance underway.

Students are looking forward to getting back into the rhythm of this term and exploring the new content within each of their practice lessons. However, students are most looking forward to the ski days, happening later in the term.

PARENT INFORMATION NIGHTS

The class teachers welcome the opportunity to gather with parents to discuss the year's progress.

Discussion nights are planned as follows in your child's classroom. Your participation is highly valued...

Monday 22 July Class 5, 7pmWednesday 24 July Class 6, 7pmMonday 29 July Class 4, 7pmTuesday 30 July Rosa Mundi, 7pmThursday 1 August Class 1, 7pmMonday 5 August Secondary, 7pmTuesday 6 August Class 2, 7pm Wednesday 7 August Class 3, 7pm

SLOVENIA NIGHT

Please join us as Year 10 students share their experience of a term long cultural exchange in Slovenia.

Student presentations and slide show.

All welcome.

Thursday 25th July, 7pm in the Galinbirem room.

PARENTS & FRIENDS - CRAFT GROUP

Craft Group will recommence on

Tuesday 29 July 2019, 9.30am

at Eileen Wettenhall’s, 8 Links Road, Mansfield.

All skills levels catered for.

Please bring reading glasses and scissors if you have any.

Enquiries to Eileen: 0488555952.

PLASTIC FREE JULY

Yes, it’s Plastic Free July again. Back in 2011 Plastic Free July began in a humble way in Western Australia and from there it has moved on to a worldwide campaign.

It was only last year with the pending withdrawal of plastic bags from

supermarkets, that concerns centred around what would we put our rubbish in if we didn’t have a shopping bag to line our bin and could we remember to bring our shopping bags with us each time? Thankfully, we have seamlessly moved on from this and are starting

to focus on minimising other bits of plastic that creep into our lives.

Fortunately, in Mansfield, we have three places (Wholefoods Harvest, All Things Natural & Organic and High Country Fresh) where we can practice some pre-cycling by buying bulk goods like flour, pasta, dried fruits, nuts and seeds. The first two places also stock many other bits and pieces to help reduce our reliance on plastic, from wax wraps to metal clothes pegs. It is well worth having a meander to see what they have.

Our supermarkets also stock a myriad of other environmentally friendly products as well as non-plastic water bottles and lunch boxes. More locally, one of our Class 6 students, made and sold some produce bags last term to fundraise for her cause. The bags were really well made and I wish I had had the foresight to purchase some more for gifting. Well done Isobel, it was a great idea and beautifully done.

If you need inspiration for going plastic-free, have a look at the Plastic Free July website. There are lots of stories from people who have chosen to minimise their plastic waste and there’s a challenge you can sign up to as well.

www.plasticfreejuly.org

OUR TEACHERS

LOU PULLARCLASS 5 TEACHER

Lou came to the school seven years ago on the eve of a sailing adventure with the intention of immersing her family in the Steiner experience and then homeschooling with the curriculum whilst travelling. Meeting the children at their level of

consciousness through an emphasis on story, art and music resonated with her and when they returned the following year, the girls were enrolled, and Lou started teaching.

“To me the pedagogy is common sense and there are great examples of it throughout many education models, but one of the things that makes this school special, is holding onto those fundamental principles of childhood development in an age where

there is a race for children to develop their intellect to the detriment of their physical and emotional development.”

“It’s been an immensely satisfying challenge to work with the students on their journey, learning alongside them as we delve into the true nature of what it is to live in this world, hearing of how our civilisation has evolved and developing an inner

strength to contribute freely to the world.”

PONDERING STEINER

We will gather on Wednesday evening at 7.00pm for a 7.30pm start for our reading group.

There is no requirement of reading aloud nor homework. All welcome!

Shop 5, 12 High Street, Mansfield

Enquiries to: Janina 0421812881 or Ishe 0488 259 571.

NOTES FROM THE OFFICE

SCHOOL ASSEMBLY CLASS PERFORMANCE DATESPlease join us for our school assembly on Fridays at 2.45pm...Friday 26th July - Class 5Friday 2nd August - Class 4Friday 9th August - Class 3Friday 16th August - Class 2Friday 23rd August - Curriculum dayFriday 30th August - Class 1Friday 6th September - Class 6Friday 13th September - Class 5Friday 20th September - No assembly Spring Games/Early departure.

THE GOVERNANCE COMMITTEE (GC) meet on the Fourth Monday of each month, 6.30pm in the staff room.President – Sarah LieberVice President – John BowenTreasurer – Tim RossSecretary – Scott ErsvaerPeter Valerio, Catherine Yencken, Andy Stokes, Rosemary Brennan

PARENT RESOURCE PAGEWe now have a Parent Resource page on our WEBSITE. Please take a moment to find your child's class page and access all the resources now available to you in one place.

For further news and information please follow the links below...LIBRARY DAYSSTUDENT MOBILE PHONESSUNSCREEN PRESCHOOL & SCHOOL FAMILIES ALL VISITORS TO THE SCHOOL ALL VISITORS - CHILD SAFE ALL STUDENTS LEAVING EARLY OR ARRIVING LATE ALL PARENT HELPERS AT THE KINDERGARTEN AND SCHOOL MUST HAVE A WORKING WITH CHILDREN CARD STUDENT DROP OFFDO NOT PARK IN THE TURNING CIRCLESSUSTAINABILITY IN OUR SCHOOLOUR MUSIC PROGRAMSCHOOL POLICIES and PROCEDURESTHE SCHOOL GOVERNANCE COMMITTEE SCHOOL LEADERSHIP TEAMSTAFF SCHOOL EMAIL ADDRESSES

COMMUNITY NOTICES...

On Sat 3rd August some of our students will be taking part in string masterclasses with the Aequales String

Quartet. The Quartet is being joined by Damien Mansfield to perform on the evening of Saturday, August 3rd

as a fundraiser for Mansfield RAR – See flyer below...

Copyright © 2019 Education, All rights reserved.

Want to change how you receive these emails?

You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.