Welcome to the first newsletter of 2024. Can you believe that we are already at the end of Week 3? The students have all settled in so well to school this year, getting into routine, particularly after the first two weeks of our starting right program. Our Grade 4 and 5 students enjoyed their schools camps to Coastal Forest Lodge and Cave Hill Creek. I know lots of photos were shared on Seesaw, make sure that you check them out for the families involved. Our first assembly will be held on Monday 19th February, as soon as the classroom rolls have been completed. A big apology to those families who received a Compass message with the assembly still listed as this Friday - this has now been rectified. We have some photos to share from our Grade 6 students receiving their jumpers. A very big thank you to the PFA for their support of this initiative for our students.

There has been quite a bit of sickness around school this week, and we have a large number of students away today. Just a reminder to families that if your child is unwell, please keep them at home - if they have a lingering cough from an illness, we understand that this can hang around for a long time and this is ok to send to school as they are generally no longer infectious. We appreciate your cooperation with this.

Garden Program and Chickens

It is so exciting to see the progress that was made in our garden and yard made over the holiday period. We are now the proud owners of 10 chickens who have settled in well to life at Anakie. We also had our first egg laid during the week - I'm not sure who was most excited about this! We look forward to having fresh produce and eggs for sale in the coming future.

DATES TO COME - also in the calendar

Monday 19th February - School Council Meeting 6pm
Tuesday 20th February - Parent/Teacher Interviews
Wednesday 21st February - Quantum Excursion (Grades 1-6), no Foundation students
Thursday 22nd February - Parent/Teacher Interviews
Tuesday 27th February - Ecolinc Excursion (Grade 3/4)
Wednesday 6th March - Curriculum Day (no school for students unless booked in to OSHC)
Thursday 7th March - Grade 5/6 North Geelong Secondary College visit
Monday 11th March - Labour Day holiday - school closed
Wednesday 13th - Friday 15th March - NAPLAN (Grade 3 and 5 students)
Sunday 24th March - Anakie House Community Day
Thursday 28th March - Last day of Term 1
Monday 8th - Friday 12th April - School Holiday Program (booking essential)
Monday 15th April - First Day of Term 2
Tuesday 16th April - District Aths

Many thanks,
Louise Kahle

FOUNDATION: Alfie Ellery - For always being a ‘great mate’ when at school and for showing care and respect to your classmates. Keep up the great work Alfie.

GRADE 1/2: Hunter Grant - Congratulations Hunter for your very big achievement in reading this week. You have demonstrated our school value of RESILIENCE in your learning as you persisted when faced with challenges. You have also demonstrated aiming for EXCELLENCE when you tried your hardest to achieve your learning goals and more.
You should be so proud of yourself, keep it up!

GRADE 3/4: Keegan Bubb - For your remarkable display of both Responsibility and Resilience so far this Term. Well deserved, Keegan!

GRADE 5/6: Edie Hruska - for AIMING for EXCELLENCE and demonstrating RESILIENCE in handwriting sessions. Edie, especially when things are challenging, you embrace a growth mindset and show an admirable resolve to improve. Keep it up!

ART: Jaxon Brown - You did such a terrific job of your dotty self-portrtait! You listened to the instructions and thought carefully about the features that make you unique. Great job!

AUSLAN: Charlotte Capuano - You were so amazing during your first Auslan session! You listened carefully and quickly leant the signs for the colours including your favourite colour: rainbow!

PHYSICAL EDUCATION: Ned Bubb - For demonstrating excellent leadership during our buddy P.E. session with the Foundation students. You made sure your buddy was having fun, involved and showing good sportsmanhip. Great modelling Ned!

KITCHEN GARDEN PROGRAM: Beau Denny - For being such an enthusiastic member of the new Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden program. You show Respect to your fellow students and are always willing to lend a hand. Keep it up, Beau!

Ned Bubb - For showing great Responsibility. You have been such a fantastic help with our new chickens with feeding, watering and locking up. Thank you, Ned!

PERFORMING ARTS: Unfortunately we have not had a Performing Arts session so far this year.

PRINCIPAL'S AWARD: Charlize Vasils - for demonstrating our school values of Responsibility, Respect, Resilience and Aiming for Excellence in all areas of your learning and in the school yard. You are positive, supportive and inclusive of all. Well done!

Annual privacy reminder for our school community

Our school collects and uses student and parent personal information for standard school functions or where permitted by law, as stated in the Schools’ Privacy Policy and the Schools’ Privacy Collection Notice.

Our Photographing, Filming and Recording Students Policy describes how we collect and use photographs, video and recordings of students. The policy also explains when parent consent is required and how it can be provided and withdrawn.

We ask parents to also review the guidance we provide on how we use Google Workspace for Education safely at the school and what parents can do to further protect their child’s information. If after reviewing the guidance, you have any questions or concerns regarding your child using Google Workspace for Education, please contact the school.

For more information about privacy, refer to: Schools’ Privacy Policy — information for parents. This information is also available in ten community languages:

• Amharic
• Arabic
• Dari
• Gujarati
• Mandarin
• Somali
• Sudanese
• Turkish
• Urdu
• Vietnamese

We are excited to have an amazing team working at Anakie Primary School this year. There are some new faces around, and some that have been here for a while. School photos will be held in Term 2, however in the mean time I would like to formally introduce you to our Classroom Education Support Team. Our Wellbeing Team will be introduced in our next newsletter.

Courtney - Courtney is supporting in our Foundation classroom support Miss Colebrook, and also facilitating the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Program. Courtney has done a power of work getting our garden off the ground and we can't wait to see the development of this program throughout the year.

Kat - Kat is supporting in our Grade 1/2 classroom and Auslan. Kat has been with us at Anakie Primary School since the beginning of 2023. Kat has been working in Education Support for many years, in both classroom, student and Auslan support.

Aleisha - Aleisha is supporting in our Grade 3/4 classroom. Aleisha has been with us since Term 4, 2023 and has personal experience in neuro-diverse learning field.

Steph - Steph is also supporting in the Grade 3/4 classroom. Steph has begun her traineeship with us this year and we look forward to supporting her through this experience.

Laura - Laura is supporting in the Grade 5/6 classroom. Laura has been working in Early Childhood for many years, and is excited for the transtion to the primary school setting.

Grace - Beginning at Anakie PS in 2023, Grace is continuing in the OSHC Coordinator role and supporting students with tutoring in literacy and numeracy. Grace has a great rapport with the students and does an amazing job facilitating our OSHC and holiday programs.

Digital Tattoo Waurn Ponds Library

Free parent information session about screen use, the internet, and children: Tuesday 20 February 2024 at 6:30pm-8:00pm at Waurn Ponds Library.

Lara Secondary College invite you to our upcoming Information Night at the College on Monday 4th March 2024 at 5.30pm, where we will provide details about our programs and initiatives. A short presentation at 5.30pm will be followed by an opportunity to visit displays from all learning areas and allows time to properly view areas that are of interest to prospective students. We encourage parents/carers and prospective students to join us for a personal school tour before or after the Information Night, providing an excellent opportunity to see our school and classes in action. Tours with a member of our principal team can be booked by contacting Natalie Nocevski on (03) 5282 8988 or [email protected]