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Stop Press!
Port Fairy
Consolidated School
acknowledged as a
High Achieving
School!!!
High Gain Primary School
Port Fairy Consolidated School has been recognised by ACARA
(Australian Curriculum & Assessment Reporting Authority) as one of
the highest performing schools in the state in terms of student
improvement in reading and numeracy.
There are over 1500 primary schools in Victoria (State & Catholic)
and today it was revealed that our school was amongst the top 42
schools in the State. A great achievement!
This places PFCS in the top 3% of schools in Victoria.
Well done to everybody in our school community!
(Please see ‘The Age’ newspaper website for more details.)
Thursday 5th March 2015
The guiding principle for Port Fairy Consolidated School is to provide a high quality
education for all students and an opportunity for all students to grow to their full potential –
creatively, socially, physically and intellectually.
Our children are our future and we are honoured to be a partner in a child’s journey
through life.
Tuesday – Veg. Curry & Rice
Thursday – Mini Frittata & Salad
Principal’s Award – Jordyn Fiddy
For showing outstanding persistence with a challenging task.
00C – Lauchlan Edwards
For showing determination and persistence in all his schoolwork. Keep up the great
work Lauchlan!!
00W – Alexa-Jade Parnell
For always having such a positive attitude to everything at school.
1/2D – Francisco Cognian
For great work in Maths using place value.
1/2A – Emily Edwards
For always doing her personal best and approaching everything with a smile.
1/2T – Oscar Hughes
For his improved effort and attitude towards all class activities, well done Oscar!
3/4B – Charlie Cooper
For writing an informative, warm and welcoming letter to our Folk Festival visitors.
3/4H – Bridget Carbury
For showing an efficient work ethic and using class time effectively.
4/5M – Tenae Mounsey
For being a great classroom leader and setting a fabulous example to her peers.
5/6D – Oscar Reaburn
Terrific persistence with his stilt walking through maintaining a positive attitude
5/6M – Caitlyn Gilmore
Wonderful determination and persistence to make sure she completes all her
work.
A SAFE SCHOOL - I HAVE A RIGHT TO A SAFE SCHOOL AND A RESPONSIBILITY TO HELP KEEP IT SAFE
PRINCIPAL’S COLUMNFOLKIE CONCERT
Tomorrow all of our students will be walking down to the stadium at Southcombe Park to watch the ‘Folk
Festival Schools’ Concert’. All parents and friends are most welcome to join us (begins at 1pm).
FOLK FESTIVAL WHOLE SCHOOL PERFORMANCE
Thanks to all of our families who supported our ‘Folk Festival Whole School Performance‘ held last Tuesday
night. It was a wonderful event with many memorable moments. Many thanks once again to the ‘Connellan
Family’ for cooking the meal and to our ‘Parents and Friends’ for their coordination. Thanks also to our guest
performers, Terry Cole and Phil Melgaard, who worked with all of our students, to Maree Stewart for her
performers’ coordination and to the Port Fairy Folk Festival committee for their ongoing support of our school.
FOLK FESTIVAL
As mentioned in previous newsletters we will be operating our regular ‘School Accommodation, Bed and
Breakfast’ fundraiser over the Folk Festival long weekend and we’d appreciate lots of support from our school
community! Rosters still have a few gaps! Every year it is a challenge to get enough volunteers and we would
greatly appreciate any help that you can give. PLEASE SUPPORT US!
DISTRICT SWIMMING SPORTS
Good luck to our school swimming team, who will represent our PFCS at the district swimming sports in Portland
on Friday. They have trained very hard and I thank them all for their commitment and support of our school.
Well done!
NEW GARDEN
Please take the time to come and visit our new garden near the pirate ship. Thanks to Tracey Gray for her
coordination of this project and to Ben McKenzie for his time and expertise. Thanks also to the students from
Brauer Secondary College who came across and assisted with the planting. A great effort!
CONGRATULATIONS
Our school extends congratulations and good luck to Benji Hawkins, Riley Edwards and Finn Sheppard-Wright
who have been selected in the ‘South West Football District’, under twelve squad. The boys will compete in an
upcoming soccer tournament in Bendigo. We look forward to their feedback. Well done!
NEW STAFF
On Wednesday, Warrnambool College student, Sam Carter began his training work as an Education Support
worker. Initially Sam will be working with Mrs McLaren’s homeroom but his duties will be extended later in the
year. We welcome Sam and look forward to his time with us.
HOUSE ATHLETIC SPORTS
Congratulations once again to all of our champion students who received their medals at last Monday’s
assembly. Thanks to Deanne Elliot for organising the medallions and to Karen Argent and Brendan Dowd for
their work behind the scenes.
HOMEROOM REPS INFORMATION
Our ‘Homeroom Reps’ for this year are: Prep C: Ebony Perrin (0407355686), Prep W: Kristy Sanderson
(0431522760), 1/2A: Jaqui King (0408377570), 1/2D: Lisa Payne (0417392500) & Linda McPherson
(0409165252), 1/2T: Claire Hynes (0422239988), 3/4B: Dominique Quirke (0458300458) & Cathy Connellan
(0458074804), 3/4H: Max Kelly (0409350719), 4/5M: Jane Condon (0448965071) & Vicki Mounsey
(0418751848), 5/6D: Brooke Green (0427797928)and 5/6M: Jill Gibson (0429134519). We would appreciate it if
all families could make an effort to contact their Homeroom Reps by way of introductions and offers of support!
At our first meeting for 2015 Lisa Payne, Vicki Mounsey and Ebony Perrin volunteered to be our ‘Parents and
Friends’ executive team. Our meetings will be held on the fourth Wednesday of each term, at 9:10am, in the
meeting room at school. Everybody welcome! Next meeting: Wednesday, May 6.
STUDENT LEADERS’ CONGRESS
Last Friday I attended the ‘Student Leaders’ Congress’ at Deakin University, Warrnambool, with our 2015
student leaders. This event was initiated last year and it provided a great opportunity for our young leaders in
this district, to come together to develop their leadership skills. The keynote speaker at the congress was Simon
Breakspear who gave a very inspiring address.
Simon is an international leader in the learning field and well worth a search on the internet. I would like to
take this opportunity to once again thank our student leaders who represented our school with great style
and professionalism. Well done! Our student leadership team will now concentrate their efforts on support
for our local environment and community.
STORIES OF THE SEA
Don’t forget to get your copy of ‘Stories of the Sea’ (available from our main office). The ‘Stories of the Sea’
booklet, was created, as part of the 2014 Ex Libris Port Fairy Book Fair Festival of Words, to record stories of
living near the sea. The project was generously funded by grants from the South West Community
Foundation, the Isobel and David Jones Family Foundation and the Gwen & Edna Jones Foundation. Our
school, as well as individuals and other local community groups, contributed stories and photographs to the
publication. Copies of the booklet are available for purchase for $10 each. The following students had their
writing published in the booklet; Tenae Mounsey, Johanna Robinson, Shona Martin, Lexie Finnigan, James
Ebery, Maddie Lee, Maddie Green, Nina Fitzsimmons, Michael Dwyer, Ascha Peterson and Ashby Hoey and
Finn Sheppard-Wright.
COAST SURVEYS SUPPORT
Please consider completing a ‘Threatened Coastline Community Survey’. The surveys and coastal area
displays are located at the main office.
AACE 2015
Last week our ‘AACE Program’ for 2015 got underway. The AACE Program (Advanced Academically
Customised Enrichment) aims to meet the needs of our students who have been identified at the gifted and
talented end of the educational spectrum. This program targets the highest performing students at each year
level as evidenced by their assessment results and completed work. This year the program is facilitated by
Mrs Tracey Gray and the students who have been selected will meet as a group for two hours every Friday.
They will be encouraged to self-direct their learning with the support of Tracey and the other students in the
program. This year the students in Years 4, 5 & 6 will participate in terms one and two and the students in
Years Prep, 1, 2 & 3 will participate in terms three and four.
FAMILY NUMERACY PROBLEM
Don’t forget to ‘have a go’ at our weekly ‘Numeracy Problem’ in today’s newsletter. Thanks to Mr Twycross
for organising this.
BUS TRAVELLER AWARD
This year we will be recognising our best bus travellers with a weekly award. This award will be nominated by
Mr Matt Hoey and it will be given to those students who contribute to the safety, comfort and well-being of
their fellow passengers. Congratulations to Emily Edwards who received this award at last Monday’s
assembly. Well done Emily!
HEALTHY LUNCH AWARD
Each week we recognise a student with good food for lunch that is packed in a way that reduces our rubbish.
Each of these students receives a free lunch from our school café as a prize. The winner for this week, as
announced at Monday’s assembly was Maisie Conquest. Congratulations Maisie!
PLEASE REMEMBER
‘We aim for every child to be the best that they can be – without exception!’
‘MY DOOR IS ALWAYS OPEN’
Regards, Mark
School Council Elections 2015
Up to Friday 27th February, 81 votes had been received for the School Council Election 2015. Eight of
the votes received were informal. The remaining votes were counted on Monday 2 nd March, with
the following candidates being successful in obtaining a School Council position:
Judi Fitzgerald
Adison Cognian
Tracy O’Connell
Seona Dance
Dominique Quirke
Congratulations to these parents who will be attending their first School Council meeting on
Wednesday 18th March 2015.
Upcoming Events
Every Tuesday
Walking School Bus
from Elizabeth Street,
followed by Breakfast
Club in the Café .
Every Thursday
Walking School Bus
from Elizabeth Street,
followed by Breakfast
Club in the Café.
Friday 6th March
DirectWear Uniform
Shop 8.30 – 9.30am.
District Swimming
Sports
Folkie Concert
Monday 9th March
Labour Day Holiday
Thursday 12th March
District Tennis Sports
Friday 13th March
Regional Swimming
Sports
Tuesday 17th March
Finance Meeting
Wednesday 18th March
Moyne Athletics
School Council
Meeting and AGM
Friday 20th March
Regional Tennis
Tuesday 24th March
School Photos
Tuesday 24th&
Wednesday 25th March
5/6 Dinners
Thursday 26th March
District Athletic Sports
Friday 27th March
Last Day of Term One
Dismissal at 2.30pm.
May 12th, 13th & 14th
NAPLAN Testing
Friday May 15th
School Cross Country
Friday May 22nd
Moyne Cross Country
Homeroom Happenings
Prep’s – This week in Literacy we have been learning the work
'like' and the letter 'L'. In Numeracy we have been making our
own subtilizing cards to keep in our reader folders so we can play
lots of maths games at home. We hope everyone enjoys the
long weekend, see you all on Tuesday.
1/2’s - In Reading, we are learning about making connections
(text to self, text to text, text to word), to help us understand what
we are reading. In Writing, we are writing and drawing places of
interest for the B&B school guests. In Maths we are focusing on
place value and understanding about 100’s, 10’s and 1’s.
3/4’s – We are now entrenched behind enemy lines and the
Generals are commanding us to use our ‘addition strategies’ to
improve our counting skills. While we read, we are making
connections with the secret documents that have been
discovered in our quest for answers; we must use prior
knowledge and link it with books we have read, as well as
experiences with the ever-changing world. Reinforcements have
been called upon and we are now in the process of writing to
our Folkie-going visitors by welcoming them for their stay. Over
and out.
4/5M – In 4/5 we have been very busy with Folk Festival
Rehearsal. It was great to see so many children and parents at
our roast roll and performance evening.
We have been busy writing to our guests and hopefully will be
able to share some replies with you next week. WE are
continuing to look at text features and have learned a great
deal about history in this process. We are discussing ANZACs and
Gallipolli also.
WE have been working on our Toolbox maths and this week
have looked at formal addition. We are showing all of the
processes to show our understanding.
Have a great long weekend everyone.
5/6’s - 5/6s have looked at formal addition in maths,
persuasive text in writing and reciprocal reading whilst
researching the development of World War 1. 5/6s enjoyed the
Tuesday evening Folkie performance and it was great to see so
many of our students attend the night. We look forward to visiting
the Folkie site tomorrow for another great performance.
Fresh Fruit Friday – Friday 6th March
(Cancelled this week due to Folkie.)
Student name, class and day of order –
Student/s
Class
Tuesday
Thursday
Café Lunches for next week are:
Tuesday – Veg. Curry & Rice
Thursday – Mini Frittata & Salad
Orders can be placed at the office up until 9am on the day at a cost of $5 per child, which includes a
piece of fruit at snack time and a delicious home made meal, with a treat at lunchtime.
Show & Tell .. with Dean Dwyer
The best advice I ever received was….
When I was at Ballarat University, one of the older Physical Education lecturers often said, :”You only get one
chance at it (life) make the most of it." Also, “Rest is for the dead.” Whilst this might seem a bit extreme,
the message behind the statements are to basically while you are able to, try to make the most out of all the
opportunities that come your way.
The most important things I take into the classroom every day are…
“This is the beginning of a new day. You have been given this day to use as you will. You can waste it or use it
for good. What you do today is important because you are exchanging a day of your life for it. When
tomorrow comes, this day will be gone forever, in its place is something that you have left behind…… let it be
something good.” Anonymous
Like the advice above, I try to instil into my students that we should try and get the best out of each day!!
The most important lesson I’ve been taught by my students is…
Students are very forgiving and move on very quickly and not to hold grudges.
The most memorable moment in my teaching career was…
I continue to have many memorable moments.. The times where you see the reaction of students when
they “Get It!” Their faces light up and the energy they give is amazing. This is what teaching is all about.
If I had a magic wand I would…
Like most people, end world poverty and war. But on a community level, (and lots of people in Port Fairy do
this) have people help out where they can, especially with their children’s interests, such as education and
sporting clubs.
Our wonderful Medallion winners!
A Meal, A Song, A Beat & A Dance
A fantastic night was enjoyed last Tuesday!
Physical Education
Congratulations to Tenae Mounsey and Mitchell Sholl for making it through to the Divisions in
Tennis to represent the Moyne next Thursday in Warrnambool. Good Luck!! Well done to Eren
and Zoe for their great efforts and sportsmanship on the day. Harrison was outstanding as
‘Our Number One’ ball boy!
Our swimmers will be travelling to Portland for the South West Swimming Championships
tomorrow. Thank you to all the parents who have been assisting with their training on Tuesday
mornings. Your assistance was invaluable…
Next, the Moyne Athletic Carnival will be held on Wednesday March 18th at Brauerander. The
students qualified and were selected to competete from the results of our School House
Athletics Sports. PFCS are coordinating this event this year. We will need parent/family
volunteers to be able to run this day. Jill Gibson is overseeing the Café and I will be
organising the event. We WILL NEED help to run the
Café
Discus and High Jump events (11:00 to 12:30)
(There will be no Track events when the Field is on.)
Timekeeping/Marshalling/Result recording
We will have a gathering next Wednesday in the library after school to discuss roles people
could volunteer to fulfil. If you can’t make this time and would like to help out on the day in
some way then leave your name at the office or come and see me.
…
Thanks, Deanne Elliott
Areas 1 & 2 posters from the Our Threatened Coastline Exhibition are now on display in the school
office until 16 March when the exhibition ends. Please take pick up the surveys and have your say.
What's most important to you about these parts of East Beach? Is it a beach to play on, or somewhere
nice to walk? Do you like watching the dunes eroding, or are you concerned about the old tip sites? Tell
us about it and we will make sure that your voice is heard.
For more information visit the Port Fairy Coastal Group website at www.pfcg.org.au or try our
Facebook page.
Port Fairy Consolidated School becomes a Bed & Breakfast over the Folk Festival
Weekend! This is one of our biggest fundraising activities, and requires input from each
family at the school.
We understand many families are unable to give time over the weekend. If this is
the case, a cash donation to assist the purchase of breakfast foods would be greatly
appreciated.
FOLKIE Bed & Breakfast roster
(Please include a contact number)
SET UP & “BUMP OUT”
Curtain Set Up
Wednesday 4th March
5.30pm for 1-2 hours
Set Up
Friday 6th March
From 2pm on.
Clean Up
Monday 9th March
11am for 1-2 hours
Jason Dargan
Paul Ross
Jane Condon
Sean Peterson
Linda McPherson
Camilla Moloney
Margaret Bennett
Virginia van Engelen
Roz & Michael
Sam Love
Help Needed!
Christine Neal
Alison & Fabian
Lots of Help Needed!!!
BREAKFAST – (at least two helpers required for each shift)
Saturday
Sunday
Monday
6.30 – 9.00am
6.30 – 9.00am
6.30 – 9.00am
Rachel Ross
Lisa Rice
Robert Gibson
Ivan Parrett
Mark Carbury
Jen Lang
Jacqui King
Teena Lawrance
7.30 – 9.00
7.30 – 9.00
7.30 – 9.00
Tracy & Eric Smith
Deirdre Hart
9.00 – 10.30
Jane Condon
Alison Zehir
Chris Hannon
9.00 – 10.30
Brooke Griffiths
Maggie Spillane C/- H Parrett
Lisa Graham
9.00 – 10.30
Josh & Jodie Hill
Melina Sobey
Tracy O’Connell
Rachel Sholl
Felicity Little
Odette McCall
SCHOOL SUPERVISION - (at least two helpers required for each shift)
Saturday
Sunday
11am – 1.00pm
11am – 1.00pm
Paul Clift
Stuart Reeve
Ebony & Simon Perrin
Melina Sobey
1.00pm – 3.00pm
1.00pm – 3.00pm
Rachel Tolliday
Help Needed
Kristy & Brett Sanderson
Help Needed
3.00pm – 5.00pm
3.00pm – 5.00pm
Tracy O’Connell
Bev. Holcombe
Adison Cognian
Simon Doyle
Have you tried Scouting?
Is your child athletic, or a bookworm? Adventurous
or shy? No matter what their interest or ability, Scouting
has something to offer them. We run a varied program
to suit all ages and ability. 1st Port Fairy Sea Scouts
currently have limited vacancies in all our sections.
Places are available for boys and girls aged 6-8 in Joey
Scouts, 8 – 10 in Cub Scouts and 10-15 in Scouts. If you
think your child would enjoy the variety of activities and
aventure that Scouting offers, call to arrange a FREE
trial. Please call Michelle on 0409 932 867 after 4pm.
Blue Light FUN RUN
5Km Run/Walk
Along Port Fairy Rail
Trail
th
28 March
Cost $5 U18. $7 Adult
$20 Family
9am Registrations –
Railway Place Port
Fairy
Race Starts 10am
Hearts in Harmony
Community Music
An exciting opportunity to
make music for all ages!
Led by Susie & Phil Splitter
and Jon Madin.
Saturday 14 March from
9.30am to 3.45pm at
Deakin University
Warrnambool. Adults $20,
U/12 $5, Family $25. For a
full description check out
the flyer on School Bag web
page.
Warrnambool District
Hockey Association is
running Hookin2Hockey
Starting - Wednesday 4th March until Wednesday 25th March
Start time - 4:00 pm
Location - Warrnambool District
Hockey Association64 Cramer Street
Warrnambool
Cost - $60 for kit (including stick, ball,
mouth-guard, shinguards and shirt)
or $30 for returning players
Contact Tomas Tait 0407820116 for
any additional details.
Please note - all players must wear a
mouth-guard and shinguard's before
using the ground.