Principal's Message

Report Cards
Student report cards will go home this Friday, 19th June. All parents are encouraged to attend parent/teacher interviews or three way conferences during the week of June 22nd. Comments and feedback in writing about your child's report or the interview process are welcome at any time.

Simply forward your feedback to the classroom teacher, school principal or assistant principal. This feedback helps us to improve our practices and processes and we thank you in advance for taking the time to reflect and consider the strengths and areas for improvement.

Parent Forum
On Wednesday, 24th June at 7:00 pm all interested parents who wish to learn about and discuss the results of the 2008 Parent Opinion Survey, are welcome to attend a forum which will be held in Room 1. This is an opportunity to talk about the statements presented to parents and what these mean as well as considering how the school can make further improvements based on the data provided from this valuable survey.

TRIVIA NIGHT - SATURDAY, 20th JUNE
This Saturday evening from 7:00 to 11:00 pm, the school will host its second annual Trivia Night to be held at Pembroke Secondary College. Individual tickets cost $15 and a table of ten costs $135. Tickets are still available and will also be sold at the door on the night.

A special promotion will be held until Friday, 19th June to the close of business at 4:00 pm. Everyone who purchases an individual tickets at $15 each, will be placed into a draw to be eligible to win one of 12 bottles of wine. Any groups who purchase tables of 10 tickets by 4:00 pm on Friday, 19th June, will be placed into a draw to win one of two boxes of one dozen bottles of wine for the table. The draws will be made during this evening.

You are invited to challenge the teachers' tables to a contest of wit and trivial information. Why not join a table of your friends or make new friends and join in the community spirit!!

TICKETS ARE AVAILABLE FROM THE SCHOOL OFFICE AND AT THE DOOR ON THE NIGHT. PLEASE ENSURE THAT ANY TICKETS PURCHASED FROM THE 15TH-19TH JUNE HAVE THE SCHOOL STAMP AND ARE SIGNED BY THE OFFICE. TICKETS PURCHASED AT THE DOOR WILL AUTOMATICALLY GO INTO THE DRAW.

THANK YOU TO...

Kids Hope
I'd like to take this opportunity to thank all the Kids Hope mentors and the Kids Hope Coordinator, David Fitzgerald, for the fantastic job they do with all the students they mentor at Ruskin Park Primary School. The care and attention given to the children who participate in the Kids Hope program is a special and wonderful opportunity for the children to develop positive relationships with a trusted adult.

The Kids Hope Break Up Party will be held on Thursday, 25th June starting at 3:30 pm in the Staff Room. All Kids Hope students and their parents are warmly welcome to attend and participate in the celebratory end of semester event.

Parent Helpers, Volunteers, Tutors
Thank you to all those parents, grandparents, all other volunteers and service providers who work so hard to provide the children at Ruskin Park with the support they need to improve and excel in their learning every day. On behalf of the school community, I'd like to thank all of you for your contributions and efforts to make a positive difference and demonstrate the importance of a robust education and the value of becoming a ‘life-long learner'.

Anni Wu
Thank you to Anni, our canteen manager, who works hard to provide all the children with healthy and nutritious snacks and lunches every week.

Fazzino Cleaners
The schools cleaners work energetically to ensure that the school looks its best. I'd like to thank Hiroshan and his new cleaning colleague Darshan for their friendly and efficient manner and the great job they do every day.

Leanne Smith
Leanne has been the coordinator of the Scholastic Book orders for the past ten years. She is now handing this job on to Cath Williamson. On behalf of the school and the school community, I wish to sincerely thank Leanne for the time and incredible effort she has put into this labour of love. I'd also like to thank Cath for taking up the role and succeeding Leanne in this very important service offered to the children at Ruskin Park Primary School.

Creative Music Concert
Ann and Stewart do a magnificent job teaching Instrumental Music to over 40 students at Ruskin Park every week. I'd like to extend my sincere thanks to both Ann and Stuart for their hard work and for sharing their talents and teaching the children valuable musical skills.

Ann's concert will be held on Thursday, 25th June at 11:35 am and Stuart's concert will be held on Friday, 26th June at 3:15 pm. Both concerts will take place in the General Purpose Room next to the school canteen. All parents and interested family members are welcome to attend these concerts.

OSHC Team
Thank you to Sharyn, Merrilyn, Bev, Benita, and the junior assistants who work so hard to provide the children at before and after school care with a safe and fun-filled program throughout the school year. This accredited service to the school community is a valued and important program of an excellent standard. Well done to everyone on the Team!

Teaching and Support Staff
Once again this term has flown by! I'd like to take this opportunity to thank all the teachers, aides, office personnel and auxiliary service providers for their diligence and hard work during the second term and the entire first semester of school.

It takes a community to bring up a child and with the continued efforts and support of everyone, Ruskin Park Primary School will Rise to Every Challenge with a view to providing every student with the best possible learning environment and opportunities to shine!

I wish to thank our school psychologist, Rod Happell for his contributions during the year and on behalf of the school community, I'd like to wish him and his family all the best as they relocate to Mildura for Term Three. I'd also like to wish Mrs. Jennie Bickford a wonderful, interesting and safe Long Service Leave - one she certainly deserves, as she travels around Australia for the duration of Term Three. I'd like to welcome back Ms. Beth Woods, who will be replacing Jennie during her absence.

Koori bracelets on sale for $2

In celebration of Naidoc Week in July, students will have the opportunity to buy a bracelet to support Koori Kids. These bracelets will be on sale between the 19th June to the 17th July, or until quantities last.

Happy and Safe School Holidays to All

I'd like to take this opportunity to wish all the students and their families a safe and happy term two school break. We look forward to seeing everyone back on Monday, 13th July for another exciting term of learning and fun!

Thank you,

Elle May Laikve,
Principal

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Traffic Signage on Ruskin Avenue

Please note the following:

When you see this sign, you are NOT permitted to stop between the hours indicated from Monday to Friday in the direction the arrow is pointing.

You may NOT stop at all in the direction of the arrow where you see the letter S with a line through it between the days and hours indicated.

You may NOT stop in the area of the Bus Zone between 3-4 pm on school days in the direction of the arrow. (The school is investigating eliminating the bus zone area as there is no regular bus service for the students.)

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Assistant Principal's Report

It is important to have a positive working relationship between home and school. Education is a responsibility between students, parents and teachers. We encourage all parents to take an active role in their child's education. There are many opportunities to get involved. Parents are encouraged to participate in a range of activities including visiting the school during special days, attending assemblies, helping in the classroom or on excursions. Parent volunteers are also welcome at working bees, fundraising activities and as members of various committees. Find out what is happening at school; read weekly newsletters, talk to your child about school and attend Parent/Teacher interviews. It is important to be supportive of the school and let the children know that we are all working together. Give the school feedback when necessary and organise interviews if there are concerns.

Going to school every day is important for every student's education.  Absence from school means that learning opportunities are reduced and this can ultimately lead to poorer student achievement.  As well as ensuring that children attend school and are punctual, parents and guardians have a responsibility to notify the school of any absence. On a busy day it can be easy to forget to advise the classroom teacher. Your assistance is appreciated.  It is important the parents and teachers to work together to ensure that students attend school. If you are having difficulties please contact the school.

Mary Kelly
Assistant Principal

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PE News

Swimming Survey
Thank you to all the parents who responded to the Swimming Survey in the last Newsletter. If you would like to respond and haven't yet done so feel free to do so before the end of the term.

Inter School Sport
Tomorrow we host Pembroke PS and next Friday we will be hosting Montrose PS. Please note that as the 26th June is the last day of term these matches will commence at 10.30am

Thank you,

Brendan Murphy

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WiseOnes - Moving Clever To Wise

Coming up Term 3 ...

WiseOnes is a program for fast learners* from Grades 1-6. It operates during school hours, in small groups. It provides students with an opportunity to mix with other creative thinkers, be challenged and have fun. There is a levy of $190 for the term - 8 one hour sessions in a very small group - as this is a differentiated curriculum for special needs. The levy is payable in the first week of term.

* Children with high potential for learning may show the following characteristics:

• Requires less sleep than other children
• High energy levels
• Quirky sense of humour
• Advanced ethical and moral concerns
• Flexible, creative thinker
• Understands abstract concepts well ahead of others the same age
• Highly perceptive of own and others feelings, needs.
• Perseveres for long periods of time in special interest areas
• Gets on better with older children and adults
• An inquiring mind, highly curious
• Sets high standards for self, perfectionist tendencies
• Excellent vocabulary for age
• Able to solve problems quickly and often creatively
• Believe that school is for learning Ref: Professor Joyce Van Tassel-Baska.

For students already qualified: Individual notices are being sent next week.

For new students:

The free Problem-solving try-out, which is quick to do, suits students with maths and science type abilities. The free Reading test suits those with high ability in language.

To try-out for WiseOnes, please contact Christine Ryan, Ph: 03 8320 3340 chrisray@netspace.net.au 

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The Principal's Award for Academic Excellence

Congratulations to Chloe N for winning the Principal's Award this week. Chloe is an amazing writer and I would like to share her story with everyone.
Jenny Rainbow 4R

THE MAGIC SHOES
O.K. I'm cleaning the house (Thanks to my brother!), what do you know a MASSIVE stain inside the bathroom cupboard that he's probably put there. I'm scrubbin' and scrubbin' but I realize every time I scrub more it feels like my hands are getting lower so I crawl right into the cupboard scrub once more and "AAAAHH"

A trap door opens and I'm deep DEEP under the house. Suddenly I start screaming and running around underneath the house. Then I trip over a mysterious black object. Luckily when I came through the trap I landed on a torch (and boy did it hurt!). The mysterious black object was actually a pair of dusty, old fashion, lime green elf shoes! Well I kinda like weird shoes so I tried them on, they turned out to be very comfortable!

When I found my way out of the trap I showed my Mum the shoes. She started laughing, she thought they were ridiculous! Well I don't her they were kind of weird but I still like them.

At school it was fancy dress day so I wore some of my favourite clothes. I wore my Pinocchio top from Italia, my Zebra stripe leggings and of corse the lime green-elf shoes! But when I get to school Volina Begward (a.k.a. Volina Bigwart) was wearing a miniskirt, a fox fur coat and shoes that look like little poodles.

"Oh gosh. Where did you get those ugly clothes... the trash?" teased Volina in her posh goody-two-shoes way.

"F.Y.I. I didn't. Anyway at least I don't have a big and I mean big wart on my face, pardon me that's just your nose!" I say in my coolest voice. I get so angry with that .......BIGWART! I just wish she would turn into a poodle see how she likes it! Suddenly my feet start tingling... my shoes start glowing...but Volina is standing still! I can't believe she isn't teasing me! (If I didn't do what I did, I wouldn't be what I am today) I touched her... she turned into a poodle wearing poodle shoes!

It's been happening all day. My teacher turned into a cow! My Dad turned into a parrot and my Mum turned into a MOUSE!

I thought in my mind,
‘I wish I knew what I would turn into?' I shouldn't have thought that thought because...I turned into an ELF!

I'm still an elf as I'm writing this today...Stop it Volina , my pet poodle!

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School Trivia Night 

Saturday 20th June - Tickets on sale!
Do you, a family member or a friend have a business that is willing to donate an item or service for auction or raffles at our trivia night? 
Do you work for someone who would be willing to donate an item?
Are you able to help with setting up on the Saturday afternoon?

If you can help with any of the above, please contact

Sandy Jackson on 9723 7379
Emma Wigley on 9723 3667

Note: all sponsors will have an advert placed in the first Ruskin news published after the trivia night. 

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Education Week - Book Fair

Lots of fun in Education Week with the Ruskin Park School Choir performing, entertaining activities in all the classrooms and many different book characters parading through Ruskin's school grounds!

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Out of School Hours Childcare (OSHC)

Last Day Term 2 - Friday 26th June - After School care will commence at 2.30pm on this day.

AASC Sports programs
Our sports for next term will be Dancing and Badminton.  Further information will follow once details have been finalised.

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 22nd June - Friday 26th June 2009
Cooking:      - Popcorn Caramels (Tues)   
Craft:           - Kites
Games:        -  Birrguu Matya (Bush Game)
Outdoor Fun: - Balloon Stomp

             
Monday 13th July - Friday 17th July 2009
Science Fun:- Invisible Writiing
Cooking: -  Sausage Rolls (Thursday)
Games: - Charades
Outdoor Fun: - Tug of War 

WHAT'S ON AT AFTER SCHOOL CARE

Tuesday 22nd  June - Friday 26th June 2009
Cooking; -   Pineapple Upside Down Cake (Friday)
Craft: -   Paper Mache Projects Continued
Outdoor Fun: - Make a Volcano
Sports: -  Karate (Monday)

Monday 13th July - Friday 17th July 2009

Science Fun :- Invisible Writing
Craft: -  Musical Instruments
Cooking: -  Burnt Butter Biscuits (Wed)
Outdoor Fun: -  Free Play

We hope you all have a safe and relaxing holiday.  See you in Term Three!

Oshc Team.

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Dorothea Mackellar Poetry Awards

Does your child like to write poetry? This year the Dorothea Mackellar poetry awards' theme is ‘Searching for Stars' and at Ruskin Park we have many.

If your child is interested they can see me or access the web on www.dorothea.com.au

Entries close on June 26th.

Good Luck!

Lynn Williams

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Ruskin Park's Talent Show 

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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.

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