26 July 2018

Newsletter Articles

Makers Empire Conference

During Term 1 and Term 2 our school trialled a 3D Modelling software called Makers Empire. We worked closely with the Makers Empire team and the Department for Education to create rich learning tasks for the students. Room 11 students redesigned and recreated a garden in our school as a water course, with the intention of using some of these plans for future designs! We then headed to the Adelaide Convention Centre during Week 10 to share our journey with 50 other schools in SA. EHPS had Year 6/7 students Connor, Gemma, Matilda and Tom from Room 11 and Rec/Year 1 students Sophie and Zac from Room 3. All of the students spoke very well and looked for new ideas from other schools.

Stew

The Makers Empire conference was really fun and interesting. There was a talk at the start and then everyone went back to their stalls to explain to people when they came to us. As soon as Matilda and I left, the Minister of Education came up to our stall and started talking to Tom and Connor.

Gemma

After a while there were prizes given to different schools that had won in a category, like best video or most helpful. We didn’t win anything but it was still a really good time and it was a good experience.

Matilda

The best part was talking to other people about my fidget tool. There were some big people that made houses and I wanted to make one too.

Sophie

Water Safety Lessons 2018

Reception to Year 5 students are participating in Water Safety Lessons at the SA Aquatic Centre in Marion from Monday 3 September – Friday 7 September. Please sign and return the permission slip, medical form and money by Wednesday 22 August 2018.

Below are the times for each class.

Book Week

This year we are going to celebrate Book Week in Week 6 (instead of the official Week 5). Week 5 is already jam-packed with activities so we thought we would space things out. Our Dress-up as a book character day will be Wednesday 29 August. Stay tuned for further details from our Year 6/7 Resource Centre helpers who will be organising the celebrations.

Play Group

The Eden Hills Primary School Playgroup is an all ages (0-5yrs), inclusive Playgroup that runs on Friday mornings from 9.00am-10.30am during term time. Co-ordinated by a trained SSO, the Playgroup is affiliated with Playgroups SA and is also part of the Department for Education Playgroup in Schools Program.

Playgroup is held in the school’s Resource Centre with an enclosed and sheltered outdoor area also being utilised. Entry is a gold coin donation and a piece of fruit to share during story time. Regular tea and coffee are included; Espresso coffee is available for $1.

Each week, Playgroup focuses on a different theme, providing a range of activities that allow parents/grandparents and caregivers to interact and strengthen attachments with their young children, and to share the experience of learning through play. The benefits of Playgroup for children include the development of social and oral language skills, building of problem solving skills and resilience, healthy development through fun and stimulating play opportunities, and the enhancement of early brain development.

Open to everyone, the Eden Hills Primary School Playgroup is a great place to meet other families from the community in a welcoming and friendly environment.

Lost Property

Thank you to Martine Garrett and Natalie Mattschoss, who tirelessly sorted through all of our lost property, it was a huge effort. They returned all labelled items to the students, but there was an alarming amount of unlabelled clothes, lunch containers and other personal belongings. All the left over items not claimed by the last Friday of Term 2 were donated to charity. Please take the time to label your child’s belongings so we can easily identify who the owner is and return them.

Nut Free Zone

SAPSASA Soccer Results

Congratulations to Jayden, Lennox, Romeo and Sean who played in the Southern Heights Soccer SAPSASA Team and finished 4th out of 12! The coach from Hawthorndene was very positive about the boys and how well they represented our school over the whole week.

A special mention to Romeo and Sean who were top goal scorers for the Southern Heights Team!

Congratulations

Over the school holidays Dominic represented Eden Hills Primary School at the South Australian Interschool’s Snow Sport Championships in the Skiing competition. He was one of the youngest competitors and got a great time on his races. Great effort Dominic!

Pedal Prix

Last week the Pedal Prix ‘Speed’n Eden’ Team were at Bunnings selling sausages to fundraise towards expenses and raised $610. Great effort and team work, with everyone just getting in there and getting the work done. The kids all enjoyed serving and got a lesson in making change.

Thank you to those of you from the school community who came down and bought a sausage!

The Team are competing again this Sunday 29 July at Victoria Race Park between 10.00am – 4.00pm so come and have a look and support our students.

Cluster Disco

Last Term the Year 6/7s were invited to attend a Cluster Disco. Our surrounding schools in our partnership get together for the social event and this time it was held at Hawthorndene Primary School and the theme was ‘Dress Your Best’ – Formal. Although the weather was unsavoury the children all had a great time. Below are a few comments from some of the students.

It was a great experience and we got to meet new people from different schools in our partnership. (Ashlee)

I loved having the Room 7 & 8 people at my house for photos before the disco. I definitely enjoyed seeing everyone having fun. (Baileigh)

It was really nice to see everyone dressed up and having a good time. (Chelsea)

Absences

It's NOT ok to be away. Every school day counts!

To get the most out of education, children need to go to school every day. School attendance has a major influence on educational outcomes. Students who attend school regularly are more likely to achieve better results at school and are more likely to complete their schooling.

Parents can encourage their child to attend school by having a positive attitude to learning and education.

Poor school attendance patterns can start as early as Reception. It is important that from the first day of school parents set an expectation that their children will be at school every day. Missing an average of ten days of school a term adds up to missing two full years of schooling by the end of Year 10.

If your child is absent from school you must notify the school as soon as possible. This can be done on the morning of the absence (before 8.50am) by phone, Schoolzine App or text message via 0427016460.

School Vision & Mission Statements, Set of Values and Motto

Our school has been working together to develop a vision statement, mission statement, set of values and motto since mid-2016. Throughout that time we have consulted parents, students and staff and asked for input and feedback on various aspects of our school.

Our staff has worked together to collate that information and identify the common elements which were: empowered learners, community, and understanding the world.

We had a look at other schools’ visions and mission statements and looked at the research of educators such as Sir Ken Robinson to guide the development of our own statements.

The vision statement is a broad statement of what we want our primary school graduates to be. The mission statement is a broad statement of how we will achieve the vision. The commitment and understanding statement is how we will support the mission. The motto captures the essence of all of the above.

We now have a draft vision statement, mission statement, commitment and understanding statement and motto, to join with our established values, which were presented to Governing Council for consultation. We are now inviting you to give feedback on the statements. Please read through the statements and send in your thoughts by Wednesday 8 August.

Send us your thoughts

History and Review

As a new addition to our newsletter we are looking at our past and reflecting on our future. Attached is a past newsletter from 1990 which makes for interesting reading.