November 6th 2014 Newsletter No.35 THE NFPS NEWS DATES FOR YOUR DIARY Nov Dec Sat Sun Mon Wed Fri Mon 8 9 10 12 14 24 Wed 26 Thurs Tue Fri Mon Tue 4 9 12 15 16 FETE SET-UP – 12PM-4PM FETE FETE FETE FETE FETE FETE Grade 1 – Swimming Starts Preps 2015 - Transition Starts 9.15am 2015 OSHC Registration Closes Prep - Swimming Starts Gr 5s - Woorabinda Camp Preps 2015 - Dot Deviney, Guest Speaker Nude Food Day Ensemble Concert Year 7 Transition Day Mid Summer Nights Dream (Block) Prep Concert Grade 6 Graduation Dinner FROM YOUR PRINCIPAL Our NFPS Community at its best I never cease to marvel at what happens every year at Fete time at North Fitzroy Primary School. A huge number of time poor parents and staff (about 800 of us in all) seem to manage to pull time and extra energy from somewhere to put on a huge and action-packed event for our kids that also makes enough money for the school to keep our buildings and grounds safe and attractive for the students and to offer them a well-resourced, rich and broad educational experience for another year. There are no selfish motives or hidden agendas, just hard working people, dedicated and community minded enough to work tirelessly and selflessly for a great cause. In these times of ever dwindling public money for the school from Government sources, we have to rely more and more on this community mindedness and capacity to work together as a team. “THE NFPS FETE” is a kind of public metaphor for all the quiet achievers in our school community who love NFPS and wish it, and its whole community, well. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. See you all on Sunday for the fun, fun, fun! Connie Watson – Principal Look for your next newsletter Thursday 13th November or on our website www.fitzroynthps.vic.edu.au November 6th 2014 Newsletter No.35 GRADE 4 EXTENDED BIKE RIDE ALONG THE MERRI CREEK. - Fantastic weather for it. Look for your next newsletter Thursday 13th November or on our website www.fitzroynthps.vic.edu.au November 6th 2014 Newsletter No.35 100 WORD STORIES FROM GRADE 4B The Escape Plan By Tash By Isaac One morning when Tim’s family were having breakfast, they had a visitor from next door. It was Bill, John’s dad. John was Tim’s friend. He invited Tim to sleep over and they all agreed. Bill had a coffee and then Tim went to John’s place. On the way he fell off his bike and was grabbed by a stranger. He tried to run off but couldn’t get away. John was outside playing basketball. He saw what was going on and rang the police quickly. They came straight away and arrested the stranger. He was taken to jail immediately. The boat trip By Chloe I raced down the jetty as my dad left with his boat. “Wait.” He stopped. Soon, I could see no land. “I’m taking a dive,” I yelled. “Sure” he answered. I dived down deep into the water. I could hold my breath for fifty seconds but no longer. I tried to beat the record. I sunk to the bottom. I struggled to pull myself to the surface, it was too hard. All of a sudden there was a splash. My dad he was coming. He pulled me up. Out of the water I struggled to get my breath back. We started the motorboat and headed back to the jetty. Streamers flew and the sounds of party whistles were stuck in Imogen’s head. The floor was covered with food, empty chocolate wrappers and rubbish. People danced and sang as Imogen picked up after everyone. She had been lonely and trapped her whole life. Day after day she wished to be free until the opportunity, when the door was left open. Imogen ran for her life. She had taken her mother’s diary along with her grandparent’s home address. Their house was the one place that she knew she would be safe, and she was. The Criminal By Antonio 4B Billy was playing footy with his dad when he heard a cry. Billy ran to the scene. A lady was being robbed. Billy decided to chase after the thief. Billy was fast but still couldn’t keep up with him. Then he had an idea. He was almost at his friend Ben’s house. He could use the phone there to call the police! He ran to Ben’s house as fast as he could. He knocked on the door and told Ben the story and he immediately called the police. The police came and asked the boys where the criminal was so they led the police to him. They arrested him and he spent the next five years of his life in jail. Look for your next newsletter Thursday, November 13th or on our website www.fitzroynthps.vic.edu.au November 6th 2014 JSC NEWS Newsletter No.35 DON’T FORGET Do you have the cutest pet at NFPS? READ THIS WEEK’S “FETE” NEWSLETTER Lort Smith- Animal Hospital Fundraiser Cutest Pet Photo Competition (From your email) FNPS PARENTS ASSOCIATION NEWS PARENTS ASSOCIATION NEWS FILM NIGHT - FRIDAY 28TH NOVEMBER 6:00PM “MY OLD LADY” - An Apartment in the Marais, with complications and family secrets Come along for an end of year catch up, a drink and a film! All welcome - parents, teachers, staff and friends. The JSC are running “The Cutest Pet at NFPS” photo competition to raise money for the Lort Smith Animal Hospital. Entry: You can enter a photo of your pet for just $2. All photos will then be put on display. Voting: Students can vote for the pet they think is the cutest for just 50 cents. Winner: The photo with the most votes will win “The Cutest Pet at NFPS”. The winner will win a pet hamper, as well as the photo being published in the North Fitzroy Newsletter. All students who vote for the winner will then go into a draw to win a special prize. When: Photo entries (no larger than A4 size) must be submitted from week 3-5 and voting will open in week 6. The winner will be announced at Assembly Starring Kevin Kline, Kristin Scott Thomas and Maggie Smith, My Old Lady is a warm and witty tale set in the City of Light. Hard-up New Yorker Mathias (Kline) travels to Paris to sell a grand old apartment he has inherited from his estranged father. He is stunned to find a refined and spirited old lady, Mathilde (Smith), still living there with her very protective daughter Chloe (Scott Thomas). He soon learns that under ancient French law, he will not gain possession of the property until Mathilde dies. With a smart and funny script from celebrated writer/director Israel Horovitz, My Old Lady is a charming, sophisticated drama showcasing superb performances from its three expert leads. Look for your next newsletter Thursday, November 13th or on our website www.fitzroynthps.vic.edu.au November 6th 2014 Tickets are $25 which includes a complimentary beer or champagne and pre film snacks. Tickets are available through event booking website Try Booking. Please follow the links below or search for “NFPS Parents Association Film Night”. http://www.trybooking.com/GHKA or http://www.trybooking.com/110448 Bookings CLOSE Wednesday 26th November 2014. Proceeds from ticket sales are donated to North Fitzroy Primary School. UPCOMING EVENTS SAUSAGE SIZZLE - STATE ELECTION DAY CALLING SAUSAGE SIZZLERS The Parents Association is running the sausage sizzle fundraiser on Election Day, Saturday 29th November. Thanks to all the parents who have volunteered to help out on Election Day. We still have some spots to fill and are only looking for people to volunteer for an hour time slot. If you are interested in helping out please add your first name and phone number to the google docs roster at https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/17pJw WrzE6O05fXOkSmYE8mxsIRadbOv5HjpyGSpublU /edit?usp=sharing. NEXT MEETING Newsletter No.35 missing a small / precious item (eg glasses, jewellery) please also check the special shelf at the front office. Weather permitting the lost property will be near the flagpole at pick-up on Friday and assembly on Monday. Please have a look even if you don’t think you are missing anything - you may have a pleasant surprise. A “Sharpie” pen is also kept at the office for any last minute labelling! Please note all found and labelled items are returned directly to the child. A dedicated team of about five parents have been sorting and displaying lost property weekly. If you are able to help on an occasional Friday afternoon, please contact Georgina on [email protected]. CANTEEN NEWS & ROSTER 2014 NOV Mon 10 Tue 11 Wed 12 Thur 13 Fri 14 Caroline Leitch Melissa Raine Katherine King Michelle Hoppener Help Needed Mon 17 Tue 18 Wed 19 Thur 20 Fri 21 Julie Jansen Meri Hand Sheri Bruinhout Meridith Silver Help Needed The Parents Association will be holding its Annual General Meeting before the end of the school year. Keep a look out for the date and location of the AGM in the newsletter. For any questions about the Parents Association or to join contact Vinu Patel on 0414 789 432 or Simone Stevenson on 0426 257 904. LOST PROPERTY - FRIDAY AFTERNOON HELPERS WANTED The Parents Association is helping out the teaching staff by taking over the co-ordination of lost property. If you are looking for lost property you can find it near the lift in the senior building. If you are Look for your next newsletter Thursday, November 13th or on our website www.fitzroynthps.vic.edu.au THE OSHC NEWSLETTER th NOVEMBER 6 2014 ([email protected]) IMPORTANT DATES: Friday Nov 7th Accounts Due Monday Nov 17th Next OSHC Account Out Final Account out for non-returning families ACCOUNTS DUE TOMORROW 2015 OSHC REGISTRATION FORMS: Have you brought back your 2015 enrolment forms? Bookings close next Friday 14th Nov. Bookings do not carry over. FUN IN THE SUN PIC FROM AFTERCARE th Friday Nov 28 Accounts Due and Ezi Debit Date Monday Dec 1st Final Account Due Thank You. AASC HOOLA HOOPING CLASS WITH CHARLIE EVERY THURSDAY 4-5PM Nicole Cooper OSHC Coordinator/First Aid Officer 9482 4273 between 8.15am -11am 2pm-4.30pm 9481 5860 between 11am – 2pm Tanya Maroun Assistant Coordinator 10.15am-6.15pm 9482 4273 Look for your next newsletter Thursday, November 5th or on our website www.fitzroynthps.vic.edu.au Week 6 Term 4 2014 *Remember this program is flexible and can change at any time. Free choice is provided every day. THIS WEEK’S THEME IS … Afternoon Snack 5óclock food. MONDAY 10.11.14 TUESDAY 11.11.14 WEDNESDAY 12.11.14 THURSDAY 13.11.14 Sandwiches: Vegemite, Jam, Honey, Salad, Raisin Bread, Cream Cheese, Tuna, (chocolate spread & fairy bread on special days.) Lots of FRUIT. Sandwiches: Vegemite, Jam, Honey, Salad, Raisin Bread, Cream Cheese, Tuna, (chocolate spread & fairy bread on special days.) Lots of FRUIT. Sandwiches: Vegemite, Jam, Honey, Salad, Raisin Bread, Cream Cheese, Tuna, (chocolate spread & fairy bread on special days.) Lots of FRUIT. Sandwiches: Vegemite, Jam, Honey, Salad, Raisin Bread, Cream Cheese, Tuna, (chocolate spread & fairy bread on special days.) Lots of FRUIT. Fruit and vegetables, dips and crackers. Fruit and vegetables, dips and crackers. Fruit and vegetables, dips and crackers. Fruit and vegetables, dips and crackers. Free craft Banana Bread Cupcakes w/Choc Swirl Free craft Dominos w/spike Free craft. Pinprick pictures w/roro Free craft. Balloon Rocket challenge w/jess Library Inside Activities Available every day Outside Activities Chill out GAMES READING MOVIES DRAWING RELAXING CRAFT Lego, mobilo, blocks, books, dress ups, pencils, textas, tape Paper, marble run, play mats, crayons, stencils Magazines, sports equipment, board games, Glue sticks, toy cars, soft toys, chalk, colouring in sheets, Dressups, Construction David Attenborough WHO Am I Weird Science Fake Snot Games Club juggling Green Team Lady Bird Golf balls Trivia & Puzzles AASC Kids Clubs FRIDAY 14.11.14 Cricket Club Frisbee Hoola Hoop Adventure playground Early Years Learning Framework Outcomes: 1-Children have a strong sense of identity. (Emotional, Social) 2-Children are connected with and contribute to their world. (Emotional, Social Cognitive) 3-Children have a strong sense of wellbeing. (Emotional, Social, Physical) 4-Children are confident and involved learners. (Emotional, Social, Cognitive) 5-Children are effective communicators. (Emotional, Social, Cognitive) Asphalt Basket Ball Courts BEST BUDDIES BALLOONS Available for the first time at the Fete will be the My Best Buddies Balloon Collection. For $8 each you can have your own balloon pet follow you around and enjoy the fete with you. Simply put they are the most exciting and fun toy to arrive in Australia in years! They are adorable, safe and delight the whole family. These re-fillable walking pet balloons can last weeks and offer tremendous value for money. These fun balloons have legs that are slightly weighted so that the balloon pet appears to walk / skip/ hop along the ground and will delight everyone that sees them. INSIGHTS - WORDS Michael Grose BEYOND THEIR YEARS WORDS Lakshmi Singh As TVs, tablets, smart phones and other digital devices become more commonplace, so do the myriad types of content available on them. Lakshmi Singh looks at the important role parents need to play in monitoring and controlling the exposure of early-primary school children to content beyond their years. parentingideas.com.au The TV left on the latest hit crime drama while you’re cooking. The family iPad unlocked with access to Game of Thrones. The gaming device on which Dad has been spotted playing Grand Theft Auto.The drive to school with the radio playing songs full of sexual promise and expletives. These are just some ways in which young children might interact with content that is beyond their comprehension. As the saying goes, ‘children are not mini adults’ and seven to eight-year-olds in particular do not have the worldly knowledge or mental capacity to set apart events happening a world away from them, nor the maturity to rationally process content beyond their years. More than just putting parental locks and passwords on devices, experts say it is imperative that parents take a more firsthand approach in guiding their seven to eight-year-olds through the M-rated content maze. Fiction vs. reality Although most kids between seven and eight years of age know the difference between fiction and reality, the ‘type’ of reality portrayed in reality TV shows may not be something that they easily grasp, says Lynne Jenkins, author and clinical psychologist. “If what they are watching is scripted to be more dramatic, then that is how it is for them, unless an adult lets them know otherwise,” she says. The strung-out tensions between contestant teams, fabricated cat-fights and prolonged focus on habits that annoy each other could all come across as normal, unless kids are told otherwise, she says. “Of course in real life kids will come across bitchiness and things like that, but I don’t think shows like these are necessary to teach those lessons,” says Nathalie Brown, child behaviourist at Melbourne based consultancy Easy Peasy Kids. She cites The Bachelor as such a show that has settings which are very far from reality. “It’s a reality show but not a real concept. One man and twenty women ... it’s not going to happen in real life.” The dramatic statements made on the show can also create false impressions and wrongly influence young minds, she says. “Do we want little girls thinking that this is the be-all and end-all if you don’t have a man in your life?” Concepts beyond their understanding While children of this age may be exposed at school to some adult concepts like the dangers of smoking, they don’t necessarily understand in great detail the information presented in health programs, for example says Jenkins. “They will need a sensible adult to explain what they are seeing in a way that won’t cause them to take on too much information that they aren’t really ready for, or don’t really need to know about yet. For example, at seven or eight children don’t really need to know about drugs leading to death and disease. That can be something to be discussed at least in senior primary.” In a similar vein, rite-of-passage concepts are better passed down from parent to child, says Brown. “I believe it is okay for children to have knowledge on puberty but that initial talk should be from their parents, not from a movie. It depends on emotional maturity; if it comes up in a movie it may just go right over their heads or scare the living daylights out of them.” The same concept also applies to games and apps, she says. “Children believe what they see. Parents have to communicate that a movie or game is not real life,” she says. Even if exposure is inadvertent, the impact can be very obvious, she says. “If a child is constantly playing or watching violence their understanding in handling their own emotions can become aggressive. What a child sees repeatedly is what they learn. It becomes acceptable to be aggressive and they can become desensitised to violence.” Conflicting values of shows/ themes Certain themes like revenge may not be ideal to teach your seven to eight-year-old, but they do get portrayed in movies. The important point is that labels need to be given to shows and games that deal with such plots and an explanation given as to what the characters are doing. “Revenge does occur, this is a how the movie plot is dealing with it, it is something the parents have to discuss with their child,” says Brown. Sometimes culture and religious beliefs mean parents limit or screen what their children can watch. Here, an honest explanation as to why parents believe their children shouldn’t be viewing or interacting with such programs may be in order, especially if there is a risk that they may go behind your back and source it, says Jenkins. “If [the reason given] is something like: ‘Just because’ or ‘Because I said so’ a child with a certain personality might go looking for it themselves to find out why they can’t watch it. If, however, a parent acknowledges that their child would like to watch the show and explains that the reasons have to do with their family values or culture for instance, it might be better received,” she says. More harm than good? The brain of a child who’s seven or eight does not have the necessary processes in place to exercise the judgement necessary to make sense of M-rated games, says Brown. “Again it depends on the emotional maturity of the child and how much the parents have explained to them. I find that a lot of the parents aren’t even aware that the ratings are there for a reason.” At this age, looking for big banks to loot and zombie monsters to kill will not be something a child can do with the strategic mindset or understanding demanded by these games, she says. However, they might have a more poignant influence psychologically and result in the child having nightmares. “These graphics at the moment are so realistic, bloody and gory,” she laments. Regular exposure to M-rated content where the language might be peppered with profanities and disrespect may also impact an impressionable seven or eight-year-old’s speech, says Jenkins. “If they are exposed to expletives regularly, whether on a show or in their house, they will absorb them as ‘normal’. This ‘spongelike’ phenomenon applies more to younger children, but if a seven or eight-year-old has been exposed to such things for most of their life, they will become normal for them. And if they start watching this material at age seven or eight and the adults in their life don’t say that they can’t watch it, or don’t turn it off, or at least don’t comment that it is wrong, then the kids won’t have the understanding that using expletives is not okay.” Words of wisdom from the experts 1 Set boundaries from early on in children’s lives. Instil the message that we only watch G or PG material in our family. 2 Watch news programs when kids have gone to bed. This is especially important if a child (of any age) is anxious or has a predisposition to anxiety or worry. If they do come across tragic events, reassure them that even though these events have happened in real life, the child, their family and friends are safe. 3 Be prepared to keep pace with children as they grow older. Assess whether an M-rated show might be appropriate for a particular child’s personality, intelligence and maturity by watching it first. Be available for explanations and fastforward any questionable parts. 4 Always encourage open discussion about content your children interact with, allowing them the confidence to ask questions when confused. 5 Don’t allow TVs and other devices in kids’ bedrooms. 6 Use parental locks and passwords but try to invest more in gaining their trust.