Huntingdale Primary School

Christmas Concert

Thank you to all the parents, grandparents, extended family members and friends who joined us last Thursday as the children sang and danced their way into our hearts in a spectacular concert. The children performed with confidence, pride and joy.

It was truly a celebration of a wonderful school community and a very successful school year. A celebration of a school where children love to learn, love to come each day and are a joy to teach. Such events are only made possible by the kindness, talent, goodwill and hard work of many. Our amazing music staff who coordinated the items: Shoya sensei, Nishikubo sensei, Hanazono sensei, Smith sensei and Harada sensei and equally amazing classroom teachers and all our staff; our talented Assistant Principal, teaching assistants, Chaplain, Office staff and many volunteers. In particular thanks to Gillian Penfold and the teams of parents who bought, prepared and cooked food, particularly the mothers who spent the morning cutting onions and the Demosthenous family who have been cooking souvlaki every year for longer than anyone can remember. It is always difficult to single out people, but we would like to thank Kaya, Naoko and Naoko’s mother who began preparing food at 9am and were still cooking at 6.30pm that night.

Thank you also to the parents who donated items for the raffle, bought tickets and calendars and supported the various fundraising events throughout the year.

ジル・ペンフォールドを始めとする、保護者の方々のご協力により、今年もまたクリスマスコンサートでソーセージシズル、スブラキの販売は大盛況となりました。特にDemosthenous一家には、皆様の記憶にも無いほど何年も前から毎年コンサートでのスブラキ販売担当をして頂いてます。また今年はあらたにやきそばの販売もさせて頂き、たくさんの方に喜んで頂きました。

ご協力頂いた保護者の方々への感謝の気持ちでいっぱいです。中でもやきそばを担当して頂いたかやさんを始めとするお母様方には朝の９時から１０ｋｇもの玉ねぎのスライスから始まり、直子さん、そして日本からいらっしゃている直子さんのお母様にもその他野菜切りから、夕方のやきそばの調理までお手伝い頂き、本当に感謝しています。また急遽飛び入りでお手伝いに参加して頂いたお母様方にも心よりお礼を申し上げたいと思います。

またコンサートでのもう一つの恒例行事でもあるラッフルは毎年子供達がとても楽しみにしています。景品を寄付していただいた保護者の方々、チケットの売り上げにご協力頂いた保護者の方々にも心から感謝したいと思います。

I would also like to thank and acknowledge the work of the parents on School Council and the various subcommittees: grant writing, fundraising, Japan trip and building and grounds for their energy and commitment to resourcing our programs and enriching the success of the school.

Most of all, thank you to our children whose joy, energy and enthusiasm bring the spirit of Christmas to our school each and every day.

 Graduation 2011

 As this school year draws to a close I would like to make special acknowledgement of our Year 6 students: School Captains Billie Rae and Sai, our House Captains  Alyssa, James, Tierra, Kayden, Bianca, Connor, Sophia and Gab and all our Year 6 students for the kind and courageous way they have led the school this year. Tonight we will be hosting a formal Graduation ceremony where we will celebrate the wonderful young people they have become. The tone of a school is greatly influenced by the attitudes, values and leadership of the Year 6 students. Visitors to Huntingdale this year, and there have been many, resoundingly comment on the feel of our school

• a feeling of happiness,
• a feeling of harmony and
• an excitement about learning.

That is exactly how our Year 6 students approach each and every day

• happy to come to school,
• happy to be with their friends and teachers,
• excited about their  learning

We will greatly miss their presence in our school and wish them every success in their new schools

2012 Staffing

Please find below a list of our 2012 staff

Assistant Principal: Kate Spithill

Art and Music Specialist: Tomoko Smith

Teaching Assistants: Honami Ando, Wakana Karchnak, Jean Tait, Magda Pernitis-Vrontzos, Rafael Fernandez

Business Manger: Rosella Dossi

Office Manager: Gillian Penfold

Chaplain: Jenny Celle

OHS Care Coordinator: Nessie Viola

JPKids Director: Kyoko-sensei

 2012 Start

 School will close at 1.30pm tomorrow Thursday 22^nd December and resume Thursday 2^nd February 2012. The Office will reopen on Wednesday 1^st February 2012.

 On behalf of all the staff I would like to thank everyone for helping to make Huntingdale such a  vibrant and successful school community and wish each and every person a very joyful Christmas and a wonderful holiday.

Monica Scully

Principal

Japan Trip

What an amazing opportunity for our Grade 5 & 6 students!  Shoya sensei, Harada sensei, Smith sensei, Jenny, a host of talented parents and me were lucky enough to enjoy the many opportunities provided for us at Adanak Camp in mid November.  The children were immersed in many Japanese cultural activities.  These experiences included the tea ceremony, zori sandal making, Japanese carpentry, fan making, traditional painting and other incidental experiences such as meal etiquette.  The manner in which the children conducted themselves and endeavoured to speak Japanese over the experience was fabulous.  I was personally extremely grateful for the support they gave me in learning some of the functional language required so I could speak during the three days away!  The children (and some brave teachers) were also lucky enough to experience some of the activities the camp had to offer.  The waterslide was a hit along with the ropes course, flying fox, beach volleyball and Hedgend Maze.  However, by far the highlight of the time away was the support and caring environment provided by all people involved in bringing to life an amazing experience for the children to celebrate all the hard work the children have put in over the years to develop their language skills.   A huge thank you to everyone who made this trip possible!  What lucky children to have such a fabulous support network in place to enable this trip to take place.

Student Leaders

In 2012 the structure of our student leaders program will be enhanced by the introduction of additional captain roles and a restructure of the current format.  The students are currently preparing speeches to present to their peers and teachers to demonstrate the skills and passion they would bring to the various roles.  The children who take on these roles will be supported by both a teacher and a team of grade 6 students to ensure the demands of the role can be met.

I will work with the captains early in the new year to define their roles and also work on their ability to lead the various initiatives and jobs these roles entail.  This is an exciting new addition to the program offered to our Grade 6 children in transitioning to secondary college.

Kate Spithill

Assistant Principal

2011 has been a year of many significant projects and achievements for our school community including the Victorian Education Excellence Curriculum Innovation Award, the Intercultural Understanding Field Trial Research Project, the NALSSP Language and Technology Project and being nominated as lead school in the Leading Innovative Language Provision in Cluster Project.  A refection of the high esteem our teaching staff are held for their innovation and excellence. Our children have excelled in their learning, demonstrating a genuine excitement to come to school each day. Parents support of our teaching and learning programs and encouragement with projects, homework, classroom assistance, class visits, excursion and incursion assistance participation in celebrations such as Education Week and our Monday Children’s Assembly is highly valued and greatly appreciated.

 Christmas Concert: Thursday 15^th December 6.55pm

 The annual Christmas Concert is always a highlight, the children are excited by the performance opportunity and we look forward to sharing this special night with parents and extended family members. Food will be available from 6pm and the children will be asked to be seated in their classes by 6.55pm ready for a prompt 7pm start. Please bring your chairs as this is a very popular outdoor event.

 2012 Planning

 Planning for the following year begins in July with the development of our Workforce Plan based on predicted enrolment. 2012 planning is now  almost complete. Developing the optimal class structure and  optimal placement of each child is a lengthy and complex process and I would like to thank our staff for the time and thought they have dedicated to ensuring a successful outcome for all.

 Class Structure

 In 2012 we are anticipating an enrolment of 260 students across 12 classes. The grade structure will be as follows:

 Staffing

 To cater for the additional class we will be increasing the time fraction of Naomi Mori-Hanazono and Tomoko Smith and welcoming Linda Ooi to our school. Gillian Taylor will be taking Long Service Leave in Semester One and therefore we will also be welcoming Simon Jenkins for Semester One. Specific roles of all staff will be outlined in our final newsletter next week.

 Student leadership

 In 2012 we will be broadening the student leadership roles to reflect the diverse talent of our students, the richness of our teaching and learning programs and greater ownership envisaged for our students in leading aspects of their school. Along with School Captains and House Captains we will be introducing Arts Captains in the areas of Media and Visual and Performing Arts, Environment Captains, Teacher Liaison Captains and Community Spirit Captains. Letters will be sent home to Year 6 parents today and a formal presentation ceremony is being planned for Week 2 Term One rather than at the Christmas Concert. When the time, date and guest presenter have been finalised we will be sending a letter home to the parents involved so they can share this special event with their child.

 Working Bees

 A group of dedicated parents are organising a series of Working Bees in 2012 to assist the development of our gardens and beautiful grounds. More details will be sent home at the start of next year but just for your information the dates currently planned for Working Bees in 2012 are: Saturday 3^rd March, Sunday 20^th May, Saturday 11^th August and Sunday 13^th November.

 Japanese Immersion Camp

 Photos and personal reflections of the children attending the Japanese immersion Camp have been included in this newsletter with more photos displayed in the foyer of the main building. I would like to add my thanks to Hisa, father of Nanami in Prep, who also gave up his time to share his knowledge and skills with the children and our staff Jenny and Wakana who assisted on different days.

 Year 1 and 2 Indigenous Studies

The Year 1 and 2 students have been involved in a unit of work on Indigenous Studies, student reflections of their learning have also been included in the newsletter.

 2012 Prep  Parents Welcome Morning Tea

 This year a beautiful morning tea was provided by parents to welcome our prep parents into our community on their child’s first day of school, an act of kindness that was greatly appreciated. We will be opening the hall to our Prep parents between 9am and 10am on Thursday 2^nd February and will once again be providing tea and coffee. If any of our current parents would be interested in hosting this event by providing their time and a small plate please let Gill or Rosella know at the Office.

We are looking forward to celebrating a wonderful year with all our families at our Christmas Concert tomorrow,  Thursday 15^th December.

Monica Scully

Principal

Chaplaincy/ Secular Welfare Officer Program Update

Thank you to the many parents who responded to the request for feedback on our current Chaplaincy program. The feedback has demonstrated an overwhelming appreciation of the dedication, skill and ompassion of our current Chaplain.
An application for the continuation of funding for the next four years has been submitted today. As part of our ongoing funding we are required to regularly consult with the School community. School Council has agreed that this process will take place in Term 3 of each year in the form of an information morning and
evening for parents followed by a community survey and opportunities for feedback. If you have any  questions or require further information about this process please don’t hesitate to contact myself or a member of our School Council.

 Outstanding performance

Congratulations to our outstanding Taiko group for their extraordinary performance at the Glen Eira Japanese Cultural Festival on Sunday. For the Year 4 students it was only their second performance and they showed great courage and perseverance to overcome some initial fears. Congratulations to our  wonderful Taiko director Shoya sensei who dedicates so much time to preparing the students.

 Japanese Immersion Camp

Stunning success have been the words to describe the wonderful camp that our Year 5 and 6 students had the option of attending. After much research, planning and replanning a wonderful range of traditional experiences were prepared for the children including a Japanese tea ceremony, Kakejuki , Uchiwa and Zouri making and a Kendo demonstration and workshop. Set in surrounds of natural beauty the children also enjoyed the camp’s water slide and flying fox and participated in a night hike. Throughout the three days the students were fully immersed in Japanese language.  Special thanks must go to parents Eiko Roskam-Hirokawa who prepared and conducted the beautiful Tea Ceremony and Kaya Sauer who prepared the beautiful sweets for the ceremony and sourced and ordered the yukata the children wore at the camp. Kate Spithill, Yukiko Shoya, Keiko Harada and Tomoko Smith dedicated many hours to creating this opportunity  for the children and their dedication is also greatly appreciated. The Bunnings’ sausage sizzle raised a profit of over $1,200 which will offset the cost of the camp for families.

 2012 Prep Transition

Our Prep transition program has been a great success. The 2012 Prep Parent Information Evening will be held on Tuesday 29^th November at 6.30pm in the Gillian Penfold Hall.

 Sun Smart Policy

School Council has recently updated our Sun Smart policy to ensure the wearing of SunSmart hats from the 1^st September through to the 30^th April of each year. Students will also be encouraged to bring sunscreen to school to apply before going outside to play. Teachers have noticed that for our younger students the roll on type sunscreen is much easier for children to use.

 2012 Planning

We are in the process of finalising the 2012 class structure and subsequent grade structure. If your child will not be returning to Huntingdale next year I would appreciate you informing the office as soon as possible, as we currently have parents waiting for confirmation of a place at the school across a number of year levels.

Monica
Scully

Principal

Chaplaincy and
Student Welfare Program

Due to the announcement of the extension and expansion of the National School Chaplaincy Program to the National School Chaplaincy and Student Welfare Program (NSCSWP), schools such as Huntingdale who are currently funded for a Chaplain are required to lodge an application for funding to secure continuation of these services. The timeline to secure the funding is quite short so School Council has agreed to the  ollowing actions

1.  Immediately proceed with the submission for funding. As part of the submission we are required to provide evidence of support for the program and invite members of the community to share their feedback about the current program in writing to School Council by Tuesday 15^th November 2011.

2.  As School Communities now have the option of choosing between the position of School Chaplain or Secular Welfare Officer, School Council will be designing a process of consultation with the community
involving sharing of information about the educational rationale behind both programs, the specific role of each program, opportunities for questions and answers via information sessions and to again respond in writing to School Council. Time at our next School Council meeting has been designated to this process and information will be provided to each family.

It is important that we take the time for information sharing and consultation. This process does not reflect either satisfaction or dissatisfaction with our current program but it is an important opportunity to make an informed choice as a community. Please don’t hesitate to contact myself or Kate Spithill if you require clarification of  the  process or the reasons  underpinning its  design.

現在の「全国学校チャプレン^＊・プログラム」から「全国学校チャプレン及び学生福祉プログラム（NSCSWP）」に拡大拡張するという豪州政府の発表に伴い、当校を含め現在チャプレン予算を支給されている学校は上記プログラムの予算を継続維持するため、予算申請書を提出するように求められています。現在上記予算を確保するための締め切りが迫っているため、スクール・カウンシル（学校自治会）は下記の内容に同意しました。

1. 予算確保のため早急に申請書提出準備に取り掛かる。申請書提出には上記プログラムを支持する証拠類の提示も求められており、保護者各位に　現在のチャプレン・プログラムについてのフィードバックをスクール・カウンシルに２０１１年１１月１５日（火）までに文書で提出　してもらうようお願いする。

2. プログラムの拡大拡張に伴い、学校保護者には「学校チャプレン」か「非宗教福祉官」のどちらかを選択する機会が与えられるため、スクール・カウンシルは両プログラムの背後にある教育理論的根拠、それぞれのプログラムの役割、説明会を設けての質疑応答、そして再度プログラムについてスクール・カウンシルに文書で提出してもらう事を含めた保護者各位との協議・相談プロセスの形を考える。次回のスクール・カウンシル会議はこのプロセスに的を絞り、同内容は各家庭に配布する。

保護者各位と内容を共有、相談することに時間を費やすことは重要なことです。このプロセスは現在の当校のチャプレン・プログラムに対する満足または不満を反映するものではなく、保護者各位に内容を踏まえた上での選択を提供するための大切な機会です。もしこのプロセスのより詳しい説明、またはプロセスの形自体に対する質問等ございましたら、遠慮なくモニカ・スカリーかケイト・スピットヒルにご連絡ください。

*日本の辞書では、「チャプレン」とは「キリスト教で学校・病院・軍隊などに属して宗教活動を行う聖職者」とされていますが、当校でのチャプレンは必要であればキリスト教に基づき話・相談を聞くことが可能で、基本的にキリスト教とは無関係に当校の生徒、保護者、教師からの色々な話・相談を聞くという役割の立場をとっています。

 2012 Planning

We are about to commence our class placement planning process. This is a very comprehensive process as we take into consideration the myriad of factors  impacting on students’ learning achievement and ngagement. As a parent if there is specific information about your child  that you feel the school may not  be aware of, I invite you to put this information in writing to myself  by Wednesday 16th November. The final decision in class placement rests with the Principal and I can assure you we engage a most omprehensive process to ensure the best possible outcome for all children

World Teachers’ Week

World Teachers’ Day is officially this Friday 28th October. In appreciation of the dedication and talent of all our staff we are having World Staff Week. On Monday we were treated to a beautiful lunch provided by our
parents and coordinated by our Chaplain. It was a lovely surprise and greatly appreciated and I would like to extend a sincere thank you on behalf of the staff to all parents involved and of course to Jenny.

Special Presentation Assembly

Just a reminder that there will be no assembly Monday 31^st October due to a special assembly on Wednesday 3^rd November, for the presentation of the Prime Minister’s medal and prize to the NAIDOC Week Winner.

Taiko Performance Japan-Australia Cultural Afternoon

Our outstanding Taiko group have been invited to perform at a Japan-Australia Cultural afternoon at the Glen Eira Town Hall on Sunday 13^th November. It is an honour for our students to be asked to perform and we congratulate them on such recognition of their talent and dedication. Our students will be performing at
2.30pm.  All our families would be welcome to attend.  Admission is $15 per family.

Monica Scully

Principal

Hong Kong / Korea Study Tour

Bilingual education is a significant feature of both the Hong Kong and Korean Education systems. A focus on preparing students to be successful and active participants as global citizens drew many similarities with education here in Victoria. The investment in educational research particularly in Korea and the development of digital resources to support students learning anywhere, anytime was very impressive. Accessing such resources for our students to connect with their global peers is a process we are discussing with DEECD.

National Asian Languages and Studies in Schools
Program (NALSSP) Federal Grant

Huntingdale has been awarded a $20,000 grant to continue the alignment and documentation of  our English and Japanese literacy practices. $5000 has been allocated to the purchase of additional netbooks / laptops, $10,000 to classroom Japanese literacy resources and $5000 for the continued development of curriculum and assessment resources that we will share back into our education system. The project is managed by the University of Melbourne through the AEF Asian Education Foundation on behalf of the Australian Government. Continued system recognition of the outstanding innovative teaching and learning that develops at Huntingdale and that we so willingly share our practice with other schools.  Congratulations to our extraordinary staff.

Visitors

Our school hosts a number of visitors each term and over the next few weeks will host the Principal of Caulfield Primary School, the Principal and a team of teachers from the Japanese School of Melbourne, Principals from a cluster of schools in the Barwon Heads network and lecturers and students from RMIT.

2012 Planning

Congratulations to Kim Philpott, Olivia Frances and Tomoko Smith who have had their contracts extended  for 2012. We are most fortunate to have secured such outstanding teachers. We are in the process of  planning classes for 2012. The quality of the teaching staff and success of our students is resulting in unprecedented enrolment demand across the school. If your child or children will not be returning to
Huntingdale next year could you please inform the office as soon as possible as there are prospective families waiting for confirmation of enrolment acceptance at particular year levels.

Special Assembly

We have just been advised that the special assembly planned for Monday 31^st October for the presentation of the Prime Minister’s NAIDOC Week prize has been postponed until Wednesday 2nd November at 11.30am, all parents are welcome to attend. Subsequently there will be no assembly on Monday 31^st October.

Calendar

A beautiful calendar has been created by our children through our Parent fundraising committee. The calendar features a self portrait of every child and most staff in our school. It is a beautiful memento that would make a lovely gift. Calendars are on sale at the office. A separate flyer with more information is enclosed with this newsletter. All profits from the sale of the calendar will go towards purchasing additional English and Japanese literacy resources.

Sporting Achievement

Ten of our students will be representing Huntingdale at the Division Athletics at Knoxfield. Congratulations to the children on this honour and we wish them well in their events. Athletics epitomises the wonderful personal qualities of persistence and  confidence as reflected in our You Can Do It program many thanks to the parents, who are assisting with transport to make such an opportunity possible for the students.

 Stranger Danger

With the warmer weather approaching and more of our older children walking home independently, a reminder to parents of the importance to talk with your children about safe ways to travel to and from school and strategies  that can used if they come to a situation they feel unsure about. Unfortunately the issue of stranger danger is ever presence in our society.

Parking Clarendon Street

I am once again asking parents to refrain from parking in the Clarendon Street driveway as it risks cars encroaching onto the footpath. A safety cone has been placed in the driveway as a reminder to parents which is causing some parents to drive onto the nature strip creating the same hazard to pedestrians. The  safety of our children entering and exiting our school ground is our collective responsibility and only as a community working together can we ensure maximum safety for our children.

Sunsmart

Over the holidays two shade canopies have been installed in the playground. All children are now required to wear hats when outside through to the 30^th April 2012.

Japanese Immersion Camp Parent
Information Meeting

A reminder that there will be a parent information meeting for parents of children attending the camp on Thursday 20th  October at 9.00am in the Hall.

Finally from all our staff a very warm welcome back to another exciting term at Huntingdale Primary School

Monica Scully

Principal

Internationalising Education is becoming a significant initiative of not only our Education Department but Education Districts around the world. In Eastern Region much of our work is influenced by Professor Yong Zhao who in his latest book Catching Up or Leading the Way highlights the need for education systems to prepare our students with the skills, knowledge and attitude to be successful global citizens. This has put Huntingdale Primary School firmly in the spotlight with DEECD analysing through a range of projects, all aspects of our leadership, curriculum planning and student learning outcomes.

Sister School Visit

It will be with great delight that we will welcome ten students, two teachers and a member of Shioya Education Board next week. The children will be involved in a range of activities and each class will have some time with the students so our children can benefit as much as possible from our shared student exchange. On
Friday morning at 9am we will be hosting a Whole School Assembly where our students and Shioya students will be performing. All families are most welcomed.

Assembly

Every day is a joy for the staff at Huntingdale Primary School. There are so many little celebrations of children’s learning some planned but many spontaneous. It is the essence of why we all chose to become teachers. To provide greater opportunities for parents to share in children’s learning across the school, at  each assembly one year level will showcase an area of learning. This week Year 4 shared their amazing self portraits. On Monday 15^th August the Year 5 and 6 students will be attending South Oakleigh Secondary College so there will be on Assembly. All parents are welcome to our special assembly on Friday the 19^th August where both Huntingdale students and Shioya High School students will be performing.

Athletics day

Last Thursday was a tremendous success. The weather was perfect as were our children. Teachers glowing in praise of the children’s energy, enthusiasm and commitment to their and their team’s personal best. These events occur due to the commitment of our staff to provide our students with a rich and varied curriculum. Special thanks to Nick Tolliday who coordinated the event, all the staff who assisted the students in their preparation and attended on the day and of course the parents who also joined in the spirit of the day. A number of our students will now move on to District level.

Working Bee Thank you

My first impression on my first day back from Long Service Leave was how neat and tidy our grounds appeared, many thanks to all the parents and children who participated in the working bee during the holidays. I too hope it may become a new Huntingdale tradition as it is lovely for our community to feel a sense of ownership of their school.

Clarendon Street Driveway

Just a reminder to parents to refrain from pulling in to the Clarendon Street driveway as it poses a  significant risk to children walking along the footpath. I thank you for your cooperation in this matter.

Monica Scully

Principal

There are some exciting changes to programming happening across the school this year in ICT Information Communication Technology).  With all classes now ableto access an Interactive Whiteboard from their home teaching space we are beginning to ensure ICT is a key part of our teaching and learning sequences.  Children have access to a bank of computers in their classroom and the combination of these two ‘in class’ resources as well as our ICT Lab ensure children have the necessary skills to use the technology effectively and independently in their classrooms.

Ultranet

Thanks to Ken, our network Ultranet coach, and all teachers for facilitating all children successfully accessing the Ultranet.  This was a significant step and we are working through different elements of use across various grades.

It is very important that all children learn the importance of keeping their username and passwords, in particular, confidential.  This is an important step in their exposure to online environments.  We will keep you updated via the newsletter of anything that you might need to know on a school wide basis.  It is also important that children don’t change passwords.  Please let your classroom teacher know if you have as they will need to record this for their information and to ensure children have access at school.  The  passwords are changed at regular intervals and we will assist children in doing this.

Mathletics

Similar to the launch of Ultranet we are beginning to trial the use of Mathletics across some of our middle and senior classes.  A note detailing how to access Mathletics from home will be sent to those classes over
the next week so that children can have 24hour access based on their unique username and password.  There are many benefits to integrating Mathletics into our teaching and learning program.  It is an effective tool for engaging students in a wide range of mathematics skills and concepts.  The skills and concepts are backed by animated maths support whereby an online tutor explains how the problems could be solved.

Kate Spithill

Assistant Principal

Welcome back!  It’s lovely to hear the chatter and laughter of staff and students back at school after our break.  We trust you have all had a lovely holiday as we have, ready and raring to tackle another term.

New Zealand Study Tour

As part of the Intercultural Understanding Field Trial John and I were lucky enough to travel to New  Zealand to spend seven days visiting bilingual schools who celebrate Maori culture.  We had an amazing time and we were lucky enough to be hosted by passionate and articulate pioneers in the field who were more than happy to answer our many questions.

We shared some of our highlights with staff last Monday and the key findings will spark conversations and impact the work our ICU change team are engaged with in developing Intercultural Understandings at  Huntingdale.

• Family backgrounds and welcoming the family into the community to share their unique  knowledge is a key aspect to cultural inclusivity.
• The structures and set up of the school isn’t as important as having passionate people leading the programs and sharing the collective vision with all community members.
•  The student/teacher relationship is vital for those students in low socio-economic areas. The key characteristics of these relationships revolve around empathy, caring, respect, passion to enthuse and motivate, going the extra mile and belief in their ability.
•  Specific learning technologies can improve intercultural understanding teaching and learning outcomes.

Ultranet

As part of the release of the Ultranet at Huntingdale we have been trialling with 4P and John Powell the use of various applications and functions over the course of first semester.  This has enabled us to refine possible starting points for implementation across the school in the second semester as well as ironing out the bugs any new venture provides.

Over the course of this semester, children across the school will be provided with log on details and staff will begin to guide the children towards areas that meet their learning needs.  At this stage our aim is to get all children logged on and able to access the Ultranet.  Ken Chatterton, our network Ultranet coach, will be at Huntingdale to assist the teachers and children with this stage.  The children will be sent home with a letter
detailing their User name and Password.  It is important that children who have access to changing their password (Grade 3-6) do not do so without letting the teacher know their new password.

One of the first teaching points for all children will be the need for confidentiality with passwords and respecting one another in an online forum.  As our experiences evolve we will keep you updated on what’s happening on the Ultranet at HPS.

Japan Trip Alternative

As you may well be aware we are looking into providing a locally based alternative to the Japan Trip for our current Grade 5/6 students.  We are sourcing venues and are also juggling possible activities to provide a rich immersion experience for the children.  We are asking for any parents/acquaintances (Japanese speaking to maintain the immersion) who would be able to travel down to the venue (within 1hour’s drive of the school) to assist.  Anyone with skills in Japanese craft (calligraphy, card making, ink art etc), cooking (mochi, noodles etc), tea ceremony, traditional dance/performances etc would be greatly appreciated.  Please leave your details and potential assistance at the office or pop in and see me and we will make contact with you once we have confirmed more details.

 Curriculum

This term our key concept is Global Issues for Grades 1-6 and Community for our Prep children.  Each level team is taking a different perspective on out how this concept affects our everyday lives.  As the term progresses we are looking forward to seeing some of our teams take action in and around our school grounds.  Undoubtedly there will be signs around the school and presentations at assembly to come!

We look forward to seeing Monica return from a relaxing and well deserved Long Service Leave on Monday 1^st August.

Have a great week everyone.

Kate Spithill

Acting Principal

On Monday 4th July we had our first school working bee, and it what a huge success. We had about 15 families turn up and everywhere you looked there were mothers and children working side by side raking, sweeping, digging, cleaning, laughing and loving. It was fantastic. We were able to cleanup most of the garden beds at the front of the school and also the area of the veggie patch and Japanese garden. Everyone we spoke to said they had had a great day and were looking forward to the next one. Let’s hope this is the start of a new Huntingdale tradition. Cheers

 Jess, Edwina and Janet