PALMERSTON POST
29 June 2017
Week 10, Term 2
Board Chair: Julian Fior, Board Members: Parent Reps: Jesse Dang and George Villaflor
P&C President: Lisa Fior
Principal: Melissa Travers Deputy Principal: Kate Flynn
Executive Teachers: Haeley Simms, Emily Ashcroft, Eleanor McMillan
ASSEMBLY:
30 Jun Whole School (2RA & 2LM)
DATES TO REMEMBER:
JUNE:
26 - 29 Parent Teacher Interviews
30
Pirate Day
JULY:
1
School Holidays Commence
17
Term 3 Commences
21
Yr3/4 Canberra Theatre
Excursion - Mr Stink
NOTES HOME:
 Emergency Management Plan

 School Parent Forum - night 2

 1FB - Ms Black’s leave
P&C NEWS
31 Jul 7pm P&C meeting
All P&C activities, meeting agendas
and minutes are available from the
School website at – Parent Corner
PRINCIPAL’S MESSAGE
Welcome to Week 10 of Term 2. We are right in the middle of
winter and this term, fog!
Remember tomorrow to check the lost property, as any without
names and not claimed will go into the second-hand pool (after
washing) or donated to charity. This school holidays would be a
good time to check if your child’s name is on every
jumper/jacket or hat etc.
Community Evening/ School Review update
Thank you to the parents who came out in the cold on Tuesday
evening for our presentation on Palmerston’s Five Year Strategic
Plan update. Parent feedback was so positive. Thank you so
much for supporting our journey of high expectations at
Palmerston and our initiatives that we have brought in over the
last 5 years. We also held a session afterwards on Framing the
Conversation: Future of Education. If you missed this
presentation and would like to be part of it, we will be holding
another session on Wednesday 19 July at 8.45am in the library.
See more on this below.
Palmerston will be featured on the ABC news on Sunday evening
with a focus on our School Improvement Journey. We were
chosen to outline how our teachers plan and program together,
reflect on our teaching practice & student learning, plan
assessment, collect data on student’s growth in the Key Learning
Areas and provide quality feedback to students and families. The
Director General, Natalie Howson, has visited our school twice in
the last few weeks to observe and question staff about our
journey of school improvement. As a school, we have met all our
NAPLAN targets over the life of the School Strategic Plan.
School Board:
20 Jul 7:30am Board meeting
Together, we learn from each other
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Parent Teacher Interviews/ Reporting on Student Achievement
Thank you to all who attended the parent teacher interviews. Palmerston introduced the Directorate
Report format last year and this year we expanded the information we provided based on parent
feedback at the P&C meeting. Each Key Learning Area is carefully reflected on by teachers and,
with our team approach to increasing student outcomes, we provide a comprehensive report to
families. We have had great feedback from parents recently about the report and the approachable
nature of the teachers. I would like to thank the teachers for the work they have put into preparing
the reports on student learning.
Teacher Professional Learning
Many teachers are using their time these holidays to attend professional learning. Teachers will
be attending:
 Gifted and Talented workshops ( staff)

 English Teacher’s conference- ALEA in Hobart ( 5 staff)

 Google Classrooms in Victoria

 Speech Therapy session in Victoria
And hopefully some will be having a well earned rest. I will be attending once again the ALEA
conference with staff. This assists us in keeping up to date with current practice and maintain our
high expectations.
Enrolments 2018 and Leavers
Letters of offer to Palmerston Preschool have gone out last week. Families are coming in to accept the
offers and we predict we will have 5 classes of preschool again in 2018 (at this stage). Year 6
students going to Government High Schools will also have had their offers of place sent to them. If
you have not enrolled your Year 6 child into a High School, please contact us and we can assist. If you
know you are leaving Palmerston at the end of the year and will not be enrolled with us in 2018,
please inform the front office. This assists in staffing the school for next year.
Have a safe two week break. Remember that the school will not have staff on site to supervise your
children, so if you come onto the school grounds, please stay with your child and supervise
appropriately.
Thanks for a great term, and see you at assembly tomorrow and in Term 3. We wish Kate
Cummins and Freya Black all the best as they go on maternity leave in Term 3. Welcome back
Tanya Duggan and a warm welcome to Palmerston to Peta James and Catherine Manners.
Melissa Travers
Together, we learn from each other
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DEFENCE NEWS
Dear families,
Wishing you all a very happy & safe holidays! I look forward to seeing you again
next term.
Please find below some information from Defence Families Australia ( ACT
& Southern NSW ) Delegate, Emma Steil.
Best Regards,
Mia Bartlett
DSTA
My name is Emma Steil and I am the ACT & Southern NSW National Delegate for Defence
Families Australia.
DFA are gathering feedback from families all over the country to present to senior Defence leaders
and decision makers in organisations such as the Defence Community Organisation (DCO),
Defence Housing Australia (DHA) and Toll Transitions, amongst others, at our National Conference
in August. Your stories help us determine the next steps we take in advocating for changes to
policies which impact ADF families.
I have been gathering feedback from around my region and would love to hear from you. This is an
opportunity for ADF Members & their families to share their views and priorities on issues which
affect them and other ADF families in our region. If you would like to share your feedback you are
welcome to contact me via the details [email protected] or message me via the DFA ACT
& Southern NSW Facebook
page. Ph: 0419 333 101
Emma Steil
VOLUNTEERS REQUIRED
If you have some spare time on Thursdays (school hours) your assistance in the library to cover library
books would be much appreciated.
No need to book, just drop in.
PEER SUPPORT
The Peer Support Program will commence in Week 2 of Term 3. This year’s program ‘Promoting
Harmony’ will encourage cross year level relationship building and leadership skills in older students.
The year 5 and 6 students will be undergoing Peer support training in Week 1.
Together, we learn from each other
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GOOGLE EXPEDITIONS
With modern virtual reality taking off, we have seen a great leap forward in how we can view the
world. With the new Google Expeditions software, your child could take an excursion to see the Great
Barrier Reef, visit the pyramids, explore artwork or enter the International Space Station. There are
currently more than 200 expeditions students can explore, with more being added regularly.
The hardware powering this technology is based around Google Cardboard, a cheap way to turn an
old smartphone into a virtual reality headset.
We are asking families that have any old smartphones that you no-longer need to donate them to
the school. Once we have enough, we will be able to engage our students with virtual reality
excur-sions to places too expensive or too dangerous to visit in real life. We are looking for phones
that are:
 Functioning

 Without any damage to the screen

 Cleared/set back to factory settings

 Android 4.4 or later OR iOS 8.0 or later

 1GB ram

 High resolution screen: 720p or 1080p is recommended.
A working charger is also desired

Any phone donated to the school will be kept by the school for all able students to utilise this
new experience.

If you are interested in finding out more about Google Expeditions, please visit https://
edu.google.com/expeditions/ or see Mr Witte.

We will be looking at giving parents an information night about this system in Term 3, once we have
enough devices.
Thank you for contributing,
David Witte
Digital Technologies Teacher
SCHOOL REVIEW PARENT FORUM - night 2
Palmerston District Primary School is undergoing a School Review. The details are as follows:
What: A parent forum to:


share views of the school’s improvements over the past few years

contribute to a conversation regarding the future of education.
When:
Wednesday 19 July at 8:45am – for approx. 1 hour
Who:
All community members
Where:
Palmerston District Primary School Library
Please note this a repeat of the session that ran on Tuesday 27 June at 5pm.
Together, we learn from each other
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UPCOMING EVENTS
Whole School - Pirate Day
Date: Friday 30 June 2017
Location: Palmerston District Primary School
Gold coin donation for the Kids’ Cancer Project
YR3/4 - Canberra Theatre Excursion ‘Mr Stink’
Date: Friday 21 July 2017
Location: Canberra Theatre
Preschool (Brave, Itchy & Noisy Bears) - Llewellyn Hall Noteworthy
Excursion
Date: Tuesday 25 July 2017
Location: Llewellyn Hall, ANU School Hall of Music
Preschool (Cranky & Hungry Bears) & Kindergarten - Canberra
Theatre Excursion ‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar’
Date: Friday 25 August 2017
Location: Canberra Theatre
P&C NEWS
The P&C are fundraising with the Entertainment book. The Entertainment™ Book is a local
restaurant and activity guide which provides hundreds of up to 50% off and 2-for-1 offers from the
finest restaurants, cafes, attractions, activities, retailers and hotel accommodation. The
Membership entitles buyers to exclusive offers that are virtually restriction-free, and is valid through
to 1 June 2018!
The Entertainment™ Digital Membership (app) puts all of the value of the Entertainment™ Book into
the customer's smartphone. With 'near me' technology and the ability to show and save using a
phone, this is perfect for the person on-the-go, with no card or voucher to present.
You can purchase a book through the front office or download the app via this
link http://www.entbook.com.au/2487s6
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SCHOOL HOLIDAY ACTIVITIES
Our friends at Questacon have an awesome evening program running from Thursday 6 – Sunday 9
July from 5.30 – 9 pm. There will be loads of activities on offer at Mid-Winter Nights @ Questacon including; tasty food, winter crafts, stargazing and spectacular science shows along with their eight action packed galleries! Admission is discounted ($15 adults, $10 children and $40 family) and you can
book tickets in advance or purchase on the door.
https://www.questacon.edu.au/visiting/whats-on/mid-winter-nights
Together, we learn from each other
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COMMUNITY NEWS
Together, we learn from each other