27 Aug 09
Contact our school
18-20 Ruskin Avenue(P. O. Box 249)
CROYDON, Vic 3136
Ph: (03) 9723 3886
Fax: (03) 9725 5355
OSHC: 0439 345 134
Email: ruskin.park.ps
@edumail.vic.gov.au
Web: www.ruskinparkps.vic.edu.au
Our Sponsors
Please click on the advertisments to view more details
 AUGUST
Mon 31st Aug
Assembly & Principal's Awards
Tues 1st Sept
Teachers Team Planning Day with Dr. Jeni Wilson
Tues 1st to Sun 6th Sept
Numeracy & Literacy Week
Fri 4th Sept
Reach for the Stars National activity
School Level Numeracy Championships
SEPTEMBER
Fathers' Day is coming!
Mon 7th Sept
Assembly
7:00pm - School Council Meeting
Thurs 10th Sept
Ruskin News
Fri 11 Sept
1:00-2:00pm - Prep Transition
Mon 14th Sept
Assembly
Tues 15th Sept
7:30pm - Families and Friends Meeting
Fri 18th Sept
2:30pm DISMISSAL
Lunch 1-2 pm / Last day of Term 3
OCTOBER
Mon 5th Oct
Term 4 Starts
Assembly & Principal's Awards
Thurs 8th Oct
Footsteps Dance program commences for 5 weeks
Ruskin News
Mon 12th to Wed14th Oct
Year 4 Gundiwindi Camp
Mon 12th Oct
Assembly & Principal's Awards
7:00pm - School Council
Thurs 15th Oct
Footsteps Dance program
Mon 19th Oct
Assembly & Principal's Awards
Tues 20th Oct
7:30pm - Families & Friends Meeting
Thurs 22nd Oct
Ruskin News
Footsteps Dance program
Mon 26th Oct
Assembly & Principal's Awards
Tues 27th Oct
Free Dress Day
Spring Walk-a-Thon (Whole School)
Wed 28th Oct
Japanese Day - special activities
Thurs 29th Oct
6:45-7:45pm - Mothers and Daughters Night
Footsteps Dance program
NOVEMBER
Mon 2nd Nov
Assembly & Principal's Awards
Thurs 5th Nov
Footsteps Dance program
6:45pm - 7:45pm - Blokes Night
Ruskin News
Fri 6th Nov
Students' Disco Night
Mon 9th Nov
7:00pm - School Council
9:15-10:15 am - Prep Transition / Years 2-5 Swimming
 Parent Opinion Survey
Parent Opinion Surveys have been sent home to fifty randomly selected families this week. We
value the opinions of all our parents and this data is used by the school and the Department of
Education and Early Childhood Development to drive further improvements for the benefit of every
student attending Ruskin Park Primary School.
Footy Day Fun
Well done to all the students and teachers who participated and proudly wore the colours of their
footy team on Thursday, 20 August and raised over $100 for the State Schools Relief fundraising
drive. The parade was also lots of fun and I'd like to thank Mr. Murphy for organising the day. A big
thank you goes to Families and Friends Club members Belinda Tyack, Samantha Unsworth and
Natalie Tisch who organised and ran a successful Footy Day Lunch raising over $400 for the
school.
Our Students Shine
Congratulations to Josh C and Caleb B who are this year's State Champions in t
he Robocup
Challenge. Their design and programming of robots was outstanding and they will be heading to
Sydney for the Australian finals. A special thank you goes to Mrs. Pope and Mr. Cain for their
ongoing support of the boys.
Well done to all those students from years 4-6 who participated in the recent production of Bye Bye
Birdie in partnership with students at Maroondah Secondary College. A great big thank you goes to
Mrs. Rainbow and Miss Campbell for their support of the students and this wonderful opportunity to
perform and excel in the dramatic arts. Thanks also to Judi Benney and the staff and students at
Maroondah Secondary College for offering our students this experience and for providing the
training and transportation to make it all happen.
RPPS website and eNews
Presently the school is working on updating the school website for easier navigation and to ensure
that relevant and up-to-date information is available to all parents and interested visitors at the click
of a mouse. We appreciate your patience as we develop the website and we are always interested
in feedback from the school community.
The eNews is accessible from the school website as well as via the following link:
The school aims to have the newsletter draft ready by the Tuesday morning of the week the
newsletter goes home. Given that schools are very busy places, in the past, the draft has not
always been ready on time and therefore the eNews has not been available online by the end of
the week that the newsletter issue is due to go home.
We are striving to improve in this area and if there are parents still unable to access the eNews,
please contact the school and let us know. Hard copies of the newsletter are sent home to all
families who have submitted a written request to receive a paper copy of the newsletter. Anyone
may submit a request for a paper copy at any time.
Prep Transition Days
Well done to the Prep Team - Mrs. Beare, Mrs. Tozer and Miss Birch for the many prep transition
sessions that have already been conducted for new prep students starting in 2010. There are a few
more sessions to go and we welcome all the new students and their families to the Ruskin Park
Primary School learning community. Also, Families and Friends Club members have been actively
involved in supporting these sessions by providing morning or afternoon tea for all the parents
while the children enjoy the planned sessions. Thank you to all the members who have provided
delicious treats and friendly company to our new families.
What's o.k. to bring to school?
Students are welcome to bring personal belongings to school for sharing time. Families are
reminded that the school is not responsible for the loss or damage to any personal belongings that
students may bring to school.
 The following items are discouraged: ipods; mobile phones; cameras; electronic games and
devices; precious or breakable objects. It is up to the student to ensure that any of these items if
brought to the school are placed in a safe place while at school. The school's procedure for mobile
phones is that students are required to hand these to the classroom teacher for safe keeping
during the day. Mobile phones and cameras may not be used by students during the day unless
approved and supervised by a teacher. Students are reminded that taking photos of other students
is strictly prohibited unless it is approved, directed and supervised by the classroom teachers.
The following objects are not permitted at school: toy weapons of any sort - guns, swords, laser
pointers, etc.; videos or video games unless approved by the principal and used by the classroom
teacher for educational purposes; usb storage devices that come from home unless they have
been checked and approved for use at school by the assistant principal.
The school values the privacy and confidentiality of all members of the school community. The
school is also concerned that personal belongings as well as school property are properly cared for
and used appropriately at all times. With the support and guidance of all families in partnership with
the staff, the school can carry out its' duty of care and due diligence and set an example of high
regard for all students, teachers, parents and community members alike.
Elle May Laikve
Principal
School Webpage
We are currently working on updating the school webpage and would appreciate ideas and
suggestions from the school community for items to be included in the new webpage. Some
suggestions have included a school uniform order form and price list, excursion notices and
canteen price lists. We would like the new webpage to be informative and practical. Please send
you ideas to ruskin.park.ps@edumail.vic.gov.au The new website will contain up to date
information about the school, student work and current photographs. A special thanks to parents
who have already made suggestions for our new web page.
House Teams
Students are working very well across the school to earn points for their team. Congratulations to
Alex and Gemma, Blue house captains, who have led Blue House to win the House Cup for two
weeks in a row. Well Done!
Mary Kelly
Assistant Principal
Footy Day
Thanks to all the parents and children who supported our footy day last Thursday. The children
looked great and a special thank you to Steve and Merrilyn Davidson who gave up their time to
help with some footy skill activities.
Aths Carnival
Tomorrow weather permitting many of our children are involved in the inter school Athletics
carnival at Town Park. Please remember to provide your child with lunch and a drink and all are
welcome to attend on the day.
Tri Skills
This gymnastic skills program for our Year Prep 1 and 2 children has now commenced. If you have
not yet made your final payment can you please do so as soon as possible. This Friday morning
program runs until Week 9 Sept 11
Many Thanks
 Brendan Murphy
Congratulations to all of the students who participated in the Bye Bye Birdie performance at
Maroondah Secondary College last week. We know how much you enjoyed the experience and
are proud of the way that you represented our school. Wonderful work.
Jenny Rainbow and Julie Campbell
 Hi Everybody,
Thank you to every one who participated in a very sucessful Footy Day Lunch. We have made a
good profit of around $400.00 which is a fantastic effort. Special thanks to Belinda Tyack and
Natalie Tisch for cooking and distributing the lunches.
On another note, Fathers' Day is just around the corner and this year we will be holding a stall with
items for sale at the usual $4.00. Please keep an eye on the newsletter for the exact date of the
stall sometime in early September.
Kind regards
 Samantha Unsworth
Family and Friends President
Welcome
We would like to welcome Emma Stirling to our Oshc staff team. Emma will be assisting in After
School Care on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday afternoons till the end of term three then Monday to
Friday afternoons during term 4.
New Equipment
We recently purchased some new sports equipment for the Oshc program, including a boxing set,
hoola hoops, Frisbees, totem tennis, badminton and tennis racquets, gymnastics ribbons, hockey
sticks and a number of items to use for obstacle courses. The children are really enjoying using
this new equipment and have constructed some interesting obstacle courses for everyone to try.
Programs
These programs are planned in consultation with the children and highlight "Special "activities
based around the children's interests and requests. We aim to repeat these activities during each
week to ensure all interested children have an opportunity to participate.
Other activities available every day include: Dramatic Play, Construction, Music/DVDs, Game boys
and Computers, Drawing, Junk Construction, Puzzles and Board Games, Quiet Area for Reading
and Homework, Sports Equipment and Outdoor Games.
WHAT'S ON AT BEFORE SCHOOL CARE
Monday 31st August - Friday 4th
September 2009
Craft: - Balloon Critters
Cooking: - Savoury Muffins (Tuesday)
Games: - Celebrity Heads
Outdoor fun: - Morning Walk
Monday 7th September - Friday
11th September 2009
Craft; - Modellene Creations
Cooking: - Zucchini Slice (Thursday)
Games: - Hyper Dash Challenge
Outdoor Fun: - 3/4 Equipment
WHAT'S ON AT AFTER SCHOOL CARE
Monday 31st August - Friday 4th
September 2009
Cooking: - Apple Crumble
(Wednesday) Requested by Renee
Craft: - Balloon Critters
Games: - Blind Fold Games
Sports: - Badminton (Wednesday)
Dance (Thursday)
Monday 7th September - Friday
11th September 2009
Craft: - Modellene Creations
Outdoor Fun: - Free Play
Cooking: - Fruit Squares (Friday)
Sports: - Badminton (Wednesday)
Dance (Thursday)
OSHC Team
Out of School Hours Child Care
 Congratulations to Josh and Caleb for their wonderful effort at the Robocup Junior Victorian
Championships which were held at Scienceworks on Friday 14th August. The standard of
competitors was a lot higher at this competition, but the boys entry was up to the challenge.
They are already preparing for the Australian Championships by making changes and additions to
their program in the areas that they lost a couple of points in their interview.
The rest of the school had an opportunity to watch the robots dance last week. Everyone was
amazed at how well the robots actually moved to the music. Students wanted to know how they
controlled the robots and how they told them what to do.
Margot Pope
 On Friday the 14th of August, Caleb and I went to Science-Works in the city. We were competing
in the Robocup State Championships against sixteen teams in the Junior Dance section.
We competed with our two robots, one in an orange prison suit, the other in a black and white
striped prison suit. They danced to the song Jailhouse Rock by Elvis Presley. We also had some
props to put in the background.
We were a little bit shocked to see that one of the robots wasn't even made of Lego and also did
some extremely difficult things like handstands and break dancing.
It was a long day and we had a lot of competition but in the end we came first. We were given $400
to help fund our trip to Sydney for the Australian Championships.
ROBOTICS by Caleb
On Friday the 14th of August Josh and I went to the
Victorian State Robotic Championships at Scienceworks.
It took ages to get there because of peak hour traffic, but time flew.
The robotics competition was held at the bottom of the pipe works.
THE ROBOTS
We created two robots one is a prisoner and the other is Elvis as a prisoner.
Josh programmed the robots to dance to a song called Jail House Rock by Elvis.
For two months Josh worked on the program, second by second.
We also created a static robot which represents a guard which was also programmed to the music.
THE BACKROUND
We got two cardboard boxes painted it grey and stuck silhouettes of prisoners into windows,
then we stuck coiled wire on top. We also painted another box and put it in a cage thing, and on
top of the box was the static robot.
Then we made a box with lights in it and we laminated and stuck more prisoner silhouettes inside
the box so the prisoners flash.
WHAT HAPPENED
We performed in front of 5 judges. Caleb was dressed as a burglar
and Josh dressed as a policeman.
We danced to the music with the robots.
After our first performance we had our interviews. We did pretty well,
we were always like 6 marks off the maximum score.
After the interview we had our second performance. We thought it was better than our It was then
time to do what we wanted until the presentations. We went in the Super Witty Nitty Fun City.
It was great fun.
THE RESULTS
At 3:30 we had our presentations. There were six categories: Rescue, Premier rescue, Robo
soccer, Premier soccer, Dance and Theatre and each one had the
junior comp and the senior comp.
We were so nervous, there were lots of good performances from other schools.
And then
WE WON!
Hooray we won! We won! We were so happy!
We were rewarded with a trophy, a medal each and $400 towards expenses to go to Sydney for
the Australian Championships.
 Since we won, we get to go to Sydney.
Thank you to all the families who attended the working bee last Sunday morning. Fine weather and
an enthusiastic group helped complete a number of important jobs. A special thanks to Marty
Dankwort who does the work of a small army with the efficient use of his bobcat and truck!
Martin Dankwort of FDF Contractors has donated many hours, equipment usage and supplies
including the tree guards for the newly planted trees and a bench for parents to sit on near the
back laneway. Marty's contribution has saved the school many hours and dollars and brings a
wealth of knowledge and support to the school. It is people like Marty who make Ruskin Park the
wonderful school community it is.
Thanks Marty.
 The Auskick season has finally come to the end with this Saturday August 29th being our last day
for the 2009.
We started just after Easter and have run for 18 weeks, we have been to Etihad Stadium to see
the Lions take on the Roos, we played brilliantly at our Interclinic matches against Mooroolbark
and Sacred Heart, we fought out a hard day at the Round Robin at Eastfield Park, we were
visited by up and coming Indigenous player Alroy Gilligan of the Richmond Football Club, we
practised and learned new skills and had lots of footy matches and on Saturday it will be
Presentation Day.
A big Thank You must be said to all the people that have stood up and helped when needed, The
Coaches Stu and Cam and the dads that help them, Lou for the Round Robin, All the girls that
work the Canteen, Merrilyn, Jodie, Rose and helpers, Gabby who helps with the Admin, Elle
May and the Ruskin Park Community, Phil's Pies, The Canteen Specialists, AKT Trophies,
Jodie for our newsletters and finally all the Kids for being such great sports, you all made this year
Fantastic!
Presentation Day will start at 9am and run until approx 11am, we will start with our Kids V Parents
matches followed by our break up party, then all participants will receive a 2009 trophy and
certificate, One Auskicker form each group, (Junior, Intermediate, Senior) will receive a best and
fairest overall, Grade 6 players that have been at Auskick from Grade 1 will receive their
Longevity Trophies and winners of the combined Skills Test results will receive prizes.
What to Bring: Juniors: Food you can heat up e.g. party pies, franks etc
Inters: Savoury, Chips Twisties etc
Seniors: Lollies Sweets etc
Thanks again everyone see you there,
Cheers
Steve Davidson
Ruskin Park AFL Auskick Center
0412 104654
Put your money on the Magpies!
Victoria Police Show Band Visit Ruskin Park
Ruskin Park AFL Auskick Center
2009
Postal Address: 3 Fay Court
Croydon Vic 3136
 The Victoria Police Show Band visiting Ruskin Park Primary School.
 All the different activities at Ruskin...
Reading, Rock Bands and Robotics.
  Exchange Students in need of Volunteer Host Families
Have you considered introducing your own children to an older
international sibling? World Education Program is looking for volunteer host families
for international students arriving in February 2010.
If you are interested in becoming a host family please contact
Nikki Medwell Ph: (03) 9598 4733 or Email: nikkimedwell@wep.org.au
Scorpions Basketball Club
Do you want to play basketball with your friends or make some new ones, and have
lots of fun? The South Croydon Scorpions offer teams for boys and girls aged 5 to 21.
We also offer a first season free for all new miniball players, aged between 5 and 7.
Girl's games are played Tuesday or Wednesday nights locally. All training is held at
Cheong Park, an indoor, fully enclosed court located on the corner of Bayswater and
Eastfield Roads, Croydon South. As a club, we encourage all players to enjoy their
basketball and promote good sportsmanship in a team environment.
Visit our website at: www.scorpionsbasketball.com
For more information, please email us: scorpionsbasketball@hotmail.com
For more information about registrations contact Matt on 0423 264 194
St Francis in the Fields Anglican Community
presents
Friends of Jesus Program and would like to invite our children to come and join their children's
program at the Church Hall on Hull Road starting at 3:45 to 5:15. August 26th and September
2nd. Tea and coffee is provided for waiting parents. Please call Glenda 9725 1552.
CAR BOOT SALE & MINI FETE
Montrose Preschool
Saturday 17th October 9-00 to 4-00pm.
Held at Montrose Primary School Leith Road.
Call 0451472054 or email: montrosecbs@live.com.au
Great Day for the whole family!
Kids Of Gold Camp!
For children in grades 4 to 6.
Weekend October 23rd to 25th 2009.
At the Yarra Valley, Lyrebird Park Camp,
Yellingbo (Melways 308 K10)
$45-00 per child.
Enquiries Phone Rosa 3756-7438 or Sam 9725-8919
 MontyPythons Spamalot
Mahon Theatre, Ringwood.
August 21,22,27,28 and 29 at
8-oopm Adults: $33-00 10+/
Concession: $29-00
To Book Tickets Please Phone 9720 3205
Stage Creations
50% off your Childs first Stage Creations Class.
Drama, Singing and Movement.
For information please phone
9876 3038 or 0423044071.
South Croydon Cricket Club
Players Wanted
Registration Day Saturday August 29th, 10-15 to 12-00
Cheong Park Pavilion (Melways 50 G7). Registration for Milo
And Have-a-Game starter program will be Friday 6th Nov. 5-
30 to 6-30 at Cheong Park Pavilion.
Palm Grove Preschool 2010
Now Taking Enrolments for 3 and 4 yr olds
21 Palm Grove, Kilsyth. Mel Ref: 51 H6
Contact Dani 9779 6604 or
THE RUSKIN PARK PRIMARY SCHOOL VISION
Every student at Ruskin Park Primary School can develop their natural curiosity and
imagination through new and engaging approaches to teaching and learning.
The encouragement of a positive attitude within a friendly community of learners will
promote success today, tomorrow and into the future.
THE RUSKIN PARK PRIMARY SCHOOL VALUES ARE
Building Friendships
Creativity
Honesty, and Respect
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