[email protected]
Harrison School Newsletter 14 February 2017
Hello families and community,
A warm welcome to Week 3. As a Canberra person through and through I
am absolutely looking forward to a good old Canberra winter! I was so
impressed with our community energy dedicated to being kinder than
necessary last week to support our students and staff with the hot
weather conditions. Amongst many things, we appreciated: preparation
from staff to ensure students had the opportunities to be in cooler class
areas; teachers who treated their class to an icy treat, frozen grapes, cold
water and moments to rest and relax; parents who dropped off ice blocks
for the class; our building management team for bringing around ice
cubes for coolers and our front office staff for ensuring that
communication around what we needed was all happening! It is times
like these that I am so grateful I work with the students, staff and families
at Harrison!
Swimming: Congratulations to our swimming competitors yesterday and
thanks to Mrs Deb Gordon and team for their organisation of the carnival.
We had some very talented swimmers competing! A reminder that our
Aqua Fun Day is coming up for the 5-10 and notes need to be returned
tomorrow at the latest.
Information Sessions: Well done to our students and staff who presented
at the information sessions over the past two weeks. I was impressed to
hear the information shared from our Year 7-10 student presenters and
hope our families gained a good understanding of what will be happening
for their children this coming year.
Multi-Aged Classes: At our Year 1-4 information session we had a few
excellent questions around why we have and how we manage our multiaged classes. We talked through a few key elements:
 Multi-aged classes involve the combination of multiple: ages,
capabilities, learning styles, communication strengths and
perspectives.
Term 1 Week 3
Kindergarten – Yr. 4 Getting to Know
You Interviews
Kindergarten PIPS
Monday 13
Harrison School Swimming Trials - Ages
8 – 16 – Gungahlin Leisure Centre
Tuesday 14
GWS Community Day 1:00 – 1:50pm
Wednesday 15
Uke Project 8:15 – 8:50am
Yr.5 - 10 Assembly 9:15am – Gym
P & C AGM – 7:00pm – Library
Thursday 16
Kindergarten- Yr.6 AFL Clinics
Yr. 7 Drumming
Friday 17
Yrs. 5 – 10 Games Club – 3:00 – 5:30pm
– Library
Term 1 Week 4
Kindergarten – Yr. 4 Getting to Know
You Interviews
Kindergarten PIPS
Monday 20
Yrs. 5 – 10 Aqua Fun Day
Kindergarten – Yr. 6 AFL clinics
Kindergarten – Yr. 4 2017 Community
Carnival
Tuesday 21
Kindergarten – Yr. 6 AFL clinics
REMINDER: For ALL events in the Gym
please wear flat-soled shoes ONLY
2017 Calendar


The diversity in a multi-aged class allows for
students to socially construct learning. There
will be opportunities where a student’s
thinking is stretched, supported or affirmed
by their peers. This is an integral part of
collaborative learning.
Multi-aged classes allow for student learning
to be targeted on an individual basis and link
across curriculum year groups. For example,
just because you are 7 years old doesn’t
mean you can do everything on the 7 year
old curriculum- sometimes you might be
working a bit above and sometimes you may
not be ready for that skill/content yet. It
means teachers are required to know
exactly where your child is up to and where
they need to be challenged next. It means
that teachers make some adaptions and
changes for individual students to ensure
that point of challenge. It means that
teachers know the curriculum links well. We
have really good systems in place for this.
The short discussion made us wonder a couple
things: Is it was worth sharing some more
information about our multi-age structure and your
child? Our second thought was- is it the right
conversation? I wonder if it is more about how we
personalise for each child in a way that meets their
personal development, wellbeing, social and
academic needs in our classroom context. We
want to make sure we are giving you information
that you are seeking. If you have questions
regarding our classroom structure and how that
supports our students, please feel free to email me.
I will collate those questions and look at how we
can provide further information through our
Harrison News site, our future newsletter articles or
an information session.
Have a great week and thanks for being kinder than
necessary,
Allison Edmonds
[email protected]
HOUSE CAPTAINS
Congratulations to our 2017 House Captains and
Vice Captains
NULLARBOR
Captains: William R and Alana J
Vice Captains: Marcus S and Jasin R
WIMMERA
Captains: Mikayla C and Lyi C
Vice Captains: Alex F and Oscar H
MAPLETON
Captains: Lachlan M and Nikki K
Vice Captains: Dee Dee L and Finn H
KATOOMBA
Captains: Tyson B and Shaan R
Vice Captains: Jeremiah S and Charli M
It’s HUPpening again!
Harrison Ukulele Project:
Every Wednesday
8:15-8:50am in the Music room located in the
Library.
Harrison Ukulele Project is open to students,
staff, families and community members. It
involves musicians from absolute beginner to
absolutely brilliant and all are welcome. You can
bring your own ukulele or we have plenty for
you to borrow for the session. We practise
together every week and if you would like to
perform we do have optional performances
across the year. There is no cost involved.
The next few weeks will be a ‘uke boot camp’
where experienced players will work in small
groups to teach our newcomers chords,
notation and some easy songs. It’s the perfect
time to come along if you have never played
before.
We also have a group of beginning guitar players
who are part of HUP and this year they will be
supported by Mr David Finch.
Looking forward to making music with you!
Allison Edmonds: [email protected]
LIBRARY NEWS
Welcome back everybody! I hope you all had a
good holiday and read some great books! We
know today is Valentine’s Day, but did you know it
is also Library Lovers’ Day? All week we are
celebrating how much we love libraries and
reading 
1&2, - 2 books; Year 3&4 - 4 books; Year 5-10 - 6
books. Please check with class teachers for your
child’s library day.
* Library hours – the library is open from 8.30 –
8.50 every morning. It is also open between
1.10 – 1.50 every lunchtime, and until 3.15 after
school.
* Volunteers - we are always looking for
volunteers in the library, for shelving (between
9.00-9.30 is fabulous) and covering books
(anytime), Please come and see us if you would
like to help in our library.
Pamela Gaukroger and Nola Zorzi
Teacher Librarians
HARRISON SCHOOL BOARD
The next Harrison School Board meeting will be
held on Tuesday 28 February 2017. The contact
email address for parent representatives on the
school board.
[email protected]
A few reminders for the beginning of the year…
* Family borrowing – families are eligible for their
own barcodes which allow you to borrow library
resources, including from our community section.
If you don’t have one already, please visit or phone
the library to organise one.
* Library bags – each child in Pre School to Year 2
is required to have a library bag to be able to
borrow books. Not only do they protect our
books, but also usually prevent books from going
missing! We sell Harrison School library bags in
the front office for $3, but any bag will do – even
supermarket bags.
* Bookclub – Issue 1 brochures have gone home.
Orders are due by THIS FRIDAY - February 17th.
Place cash orders in a labeled envelope and return
to the library by this date. You may also pay by
credit card online following the LOOP instructions
attached to the newsletter.
* Borrowing Limits – Pre-school - 1 book; Year
FRONT OFFICE HOURS
Harrison School Front Office hours are:
Monday – Friday
8:30am – 3:30pm
For all enquiries and calls
STUDENT ABSENCES
If your child/ren are absent for any reason from
school could you please call the school on
61422200, or email the school at
[email protected]
Please include the students name and class.
EXCURSION/CAMP PAYMENTS
Please ensure when depositing into the Harrison
School bank account for direct deposit that you
include: Students Name and Excursion details.
HARRISON HOPPERRS
Harrison Hoppers have been asked by the Heart
Foundation to be the ACT Jump Rope for Heart
Demonstration team again this year. Try outs
will be in the hall, Thursday 16th Feb, at lunch.
Anyone who can skip from Year 1-6 are invited to
give it a go. This is a year-long commitment of
training once or twice a week. You will need your
own rope and appropriate shoes.
The Harrison Hoppers travel to other schools in ACT
demonstrating skipping skills and promoting the
Jump Rope for Heart Fundraiser.
See you all next Thursday!
[email protected]
WORKING WITH VULNERABLE PEOPLE
REGISTRATION RENEWAL
REMINDER
Time for volunteers and visitors to renew their
WWVP registration.
Parents and other adults who volunteer, or work in
some capacity, at school are required under the
Working with Vulnerable People Act to be registered
with Access Canberra.
Those who registered in 2013 will need to apply to
renew their registration. If your card is over three
years old it has probably expired and you cannot
lawfully have contact with children as a volunteer or
visitor in a school-related activity.
If you are uncertain, you should contact Access
Canberra on 13 2281 or accesscanberra.act.gov.au,
or in person at an ACT Government shopfront. You
can also download the application forms from Access
Canberra. If you think you may be exempt under the
Act, you should contact the school.
To assist schools in providing a safe environment
and a positive educational climate, volunteers and
visitors are asked to comply with the Code of
Conduct for Volunteers and Visitors. This code of
conduct has been formulated to clarify the type of
conduct that is expected of volunteers and visitors
participating in programs and activities supporting
students in ACT public schools.
Please sign in at the front office and up-date WWVP
details.
DEFENCE NEWS
This Wednesday we are hosting a morning tea
with our new defence students in Years 7 to 10.
This will allow us to meet the students and give
them the opportunity to meet other new
students.
If you haven’t received an email from us and
believe you should have or would like to please
let us know. If you have any questions or
concerns, please give us a call or send us an email.
With some year groups having their parent /
teacher meetings over the next couple of weeks,
some of you may be wondering how your child is
going academically and whether they are behind
or not. If you and your child’s teacher feel that
your child needs help due to recently posting into
the area please feel free to chat with Sarah
regarding Education Assistance.
Coming Up: Wed 15 Feb Defence Morning Tea
at Recess for new students in Years 7-10.
Dinner Date – Thursday 23 March @ Gungahlin
Lakes Golf Club if you are interested in attending
please let us know. More info will follow shortly.
Sarah McGavin and Jake Provan
[email protected]
[email protected]
DSTA: available Mon – Wed and Friday during
school hours.
DTM: available Mon – Thurs, school hours
DEFENCE KIDS
Activity groups this week involved Valentines
Craft Activities we are sure many of you will
receive your child’s lovely work. Please remind
your children of the days that there year level has
activity groups and that they can bring with them
as many of their friends as they like. Kinder –
Year2 (Mon lunch); Years 3 and 4(Tues lunch).
HARRISON HEARTS
Is held in the Multi Purpose room (Junior Hall),
every Wednesday between 1:30 and 2:30, this
volunteer group is open to all community members.
It was great to see some new faces last week. We
would love to have you join us for a cuppa, a chat
and to create some resources for the classrooms.
Please remember to sign in as a volunteer at the
front office.
SAVER PLUS
Saver Plus is a free financial education program
delivered by The Smith Family that can help families
on lower-incomes pay for school costs like books,
uniforms, laptops, and excursions, by matching their
savings, dollar for dollar, up to $500.
To find out more about Saver Plus visit
https://www.thesmithfamily.com.au/programs/fina
ncial/saver-plus or contact the ACT Saver Plus
Coordinator, Kathleen Watson, on 0448 730 305 or
[email protected].
Please see the attached flyer.
P & C NEWS
REMINDER
The Harrison School P & C AGM will be held on
Wednesday 15 February at 7:00pm in the school
Library
SENIOR CANTEEN - IMPORTANT.
Unfortunately due to some technical issues outwit
our control, the Senior School canteen will no
longer be accepting Student ID Cards as a form of
payment. Students are still able to order online
through Flexischools Online Ordering or with Cash.
We apologize for any inconvenience caused.
CAR PARK TRIAL
We thank everyone for their continued cooperation and patience during the Car Park Trial for
this term. We have received lots of feedback,
positive and negative. We are looking to collate
this information and feedback at the end of
term and will keep everyone updated on future
changes arising from this trial.
AGM
All parents and carers of children at Harrison
School are considered members of the P&C
Association. There are no membership fees and
no expectations however; we cannot function
without volunteers; whether it be on a
committee or just to give an hour or two of
your time at one of our many events.
Harrison P and C run many exciting community
events throughout the year including discos, an
amazing Twilight Fair, as well as a second hand
uniform shop amongst others. P and C is also
responsible for running the school canteen.
Money raised by the P and C goes straight back
into the school to benefit all students.
Our Annual General Meeting will be held on 15
February 2017, 7pm in the Library, at which
time we will elect the P&C office-bearers and
other committee positions for this calendar
year. All positions will be available for selfnomination, and these include:
Office-bearers:
President
Vice-President & Public Officer
Treasurer
Secretary
Minutes Secretary
Sub-Committee Conveners:
Fundraising
Twilight Fair
Art Show
Other Roles:
Canteen Treasurer
Uniform Shop Coordinator
Parent Café Coordinator
Senior School P&C Council Representative
Junior School P&C Council Representative
Preschool P&C Council Representative
The Office Bearers for 2016 have agreed to
continue in their current function however, if you
wish to self-nominate for a position you may do so.
If two or more people self-nominate, a vote will be
taken. In addition we have a number of other roles
needing to be filled including Uniform Shop Coordinator and Twilight Fair for 2018, amongst
others. If you wish to find out more regarding any
of the positions, please contact
[email protected] or
[email protected]
HARRISON SCHOOL FAIR
https://www.facebook.com/HarrisonSchoolPand
C/
CANTEEN NEWS
The friendly canteen staff are always looking
for volunteers, if you have a spare hour or
two your help would be greatly appreciated,
just drop into the canteen and say hello.
Please see the link below for the 2017
Canteen Menu.
2017 CANTEEN MENU
FLEXI -SCHOOLS ONLINE ORDERING
NEW FLEXI_SCHOOLLS LINK IN STUDENT ID
CARD YR. 7 – 10
SECOND HAND UNIFORM SHOP
The second –hand Uniform shop opens every
Wednesday from 8:30 – 9:30am.
P & C COMMUNITY MORNING TEA
Saturday 1 April 2017 3:00 – 7:00pm
Harrison Fair is fast approaching. We need your
help by volunteering an hour or so on the day or in
the run up, and by bringing in second hand goods
for the Trash 'n' Treasure Stall, and new goods for
our raffle. Some examples of items to fill hampers
we will raffle are Art and Craft materials, Sporting
Goods, Board Games and Puzzles, Toys, Books, and
more. If you could bring donations to the room to
the left of the office.
Harrison's Twilight Fair attracts over 3000 members
of the local community and is a great marketing
opportunity for a local business or organization to
promote their brand. Please consider becoming a
Fair Sponsor. Information in the attached flyer.
If you wish to help please contact our Fair Coordinators at [email protected]
Harrison School P and C welcomes students, staff
and parents, returning and new. There are a few
things on this month so please put the following
dates in your diary:
February 22 - Wednesday at 7:00pm. Fair Planning
Meeting.
Remember to like the P and C Facebook Page to
keep up to date with events.
The P & C Community Morning Tea is held every
Tuesday from 9:00- 10:00am