In our classrooms
Prep Nursery Rhyme Day
The Preps celebrated Nursery Rhyme Day last Friday. The day started with a parade on the coloured squares. The children then enjoyed a morning of games on the oval with the Nursery Rhyme Olympics. Games included the Jack and Jill water relay and Hey Diddle Diddle egg and spoon races. Our Preps then put their nursery rhyme detective skills to the test as they went on a scavenger hunt around the school grounds in search of treasure.
In our Kitchen Garden
Our school garden had a big makeover this term, thanks to the helping hands of our amazing students! Over the past few weeks we have rolled up our sleeves to weed our beloved school garden.
Armed with gloves, shovels and determination, we tackled the weeds and transformed our planter boxes, ready for new seeds.
This week something unexpected happened...... we found potatoes! It was like discovering buried treasure in GIPS!!
Keep an eye on our school garden over the next few weeks to see us transform this space!
-Miss. Wellington, Mr.Hosking and the Gardening Club
Hoop Time
Social Squad
Social Squad has lifted
off in the second half of this term, with small groups of students coming
together to complete challenges designed to promote and celebrate strengths
such as teamwork, bravery, fairness and perspective. Students have worked
together to make and create, solve puzzles (blindfolded!) and complete team
challenges. It has been exciting to see the enthusiasm of all participants and
to celebrate moments of communication, support for each other and leadership.
Ready to Learn Scales
2GJ have been developing their computer skills by creating their very own personalised Ready To Learn scales. Students learnt how to create a table and insert a picture revealing a fabulous ‘never give up and keep trying’ attitude. Every morning, after every break and when we’re not feeling 100%, we reflect on our emotions and implement strategies to help us to be ready to learn for the day. We’re very proud of our new Ready to Learn scales and invite you to come and visit our classroom to see them in action!
In our Art Room
Following Reconciliation Week, Year 3 students have listened to the Dreamtime story of the Brolga to create a unique three-dimensional artwork. Students were inspired by the exhibition Wurrdha Marra at the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV), and the Indigenous artwork with many patterns, to decorate their brolgas. Pop in to see their beautiful Brolgas on display near the office and the art room! A big thank you to Aiden, Nathan and Seb from 5/6C on helping with the display.
Wurrdha Marra (meaning ‘Many Mobs’ in the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung language) is a free exhibition, open to the public at NGV Federation Square.
GIPS Got Talent
Our GIPS Got Talent auditions are well underway! Check out the photos below showcasing the children auditioning today with the SALT Performing Arts team as judges.
In our staffroom
Dr Bridget McPherson Visits GIPS
On Wednesday, Dr Bridget McPherson visited GIPS to help us learn more about Emotion Coaching. Emotion Coaching is a practice for parents and school staff that helps children tune in to their emotions, thus building resilience and emotional intelligence. Outcomes achieved from emotion coaching include higher resilience, wellbeing, academic outcomes, and health for children.
Bridget is a practicing psychologist specialising in children and adolescent mental health, with a particular expertise in supporting anxiety, perfectionism and school refusal. Bridget is the Head of Wellbeing at MacRobertson Girls' High School, where she has revolutionised the school's wellbeing program.
Thank you Bridget for attending! We are excited to share that Bridget will be returning to host a parent workshop on Emotion Coaching soon. Stay tuned to find out more.
Professional Learning Communities (PLCs)
As part of our whole school improvement efforts, this year our teaching teams are meeting in multi-year level teams investigating problems of practice in order to improve student outcomes. For instance, our grade 4, 5, and 6 teachers have been investigating ways in which to improve and deepen student understandings of angles. Together, the teachers are developing innovative strategies focussed on cohort-wide improvement.
In our Community
Silent Auction
As a major fundraising activity of the year the Silent Auction is being planned by the School Council and they are seeking the support of the wonderful GIPS community. In order to be successful, they require donations of products, services, or experiences that will be auctioned over the coming months and will conclude at our Parents/Carers Social Night on 3rd August.
School Council is seeking your support in offering any donation items you may be able to give, or taking some time to talk to your family, friends, and any local businesses that may consider donating to support this fundraising activity. Some examples of popular items from past years include:
- Weekends away at holiday homes
- Wine/beer tasting experience
- Beauty treatments
- Gift vouchers from local restaurants
For any enquiries or to donate items for auction please contact Misoo. Please see Compass for her contact information. Thanks!
Save the Dates
Please look out for further communication about the below dates as we get closer to the date on Compass.
- 28 June: Last day of Term Two with a 2:30 pm early dismissal
- 15 July: First day of Term Three
- 25 July: Parent Teacher Interviews
- 30 July: Professional Practice Day (student free day- Team Kids will be available)
- 22 August: Book Week Parade
- 13 September: School Production
Student Voice and Agency SALT Group Seeks to Improve Assembly
Thanks to our Student Voice and Agency SALT, we are focussing one area of school improvement on school spirit, particularly through assembly. Our student leaders reached out to the students and asked them ways that we can improve assembly. Then, they looked through the collection of submissions and chose two ways last week: a movement break halfway through and decorations. Thanks to all of the students and their voice and agency for helping us improve school spirit.
New Readers from Make and Bake Sales
Thanks to your generous contributions at the Make and Bake sale, we were able to purchase more decodable readers to support our synthetic structured phonics work.
Mother's Day Lunch and Walk-a-Thon Money Raised
Thank you to Georgie and everyone who helped with the Mother's Day lunch. Thanks to their hard work, we raised $4068.86 to go towards new iPads and readers!
Thank you to the entire GIPS community who helped the School raise money for improved buildings and grounds near the Pavillion. Thanks to your support, we raised at total of 14, 607.71.
An interesting podcast- recommendation from Liam
Dr Michael Carr-Gregg recently visited GIPS teaching us practical strategies for building resilience in kids. For more strategies, Liam suggests checking out Episode 25 "Good Will Hunting and Our Role in Kids Resilience" on the podcast Pop Culture Parenting with Dr Billy Garvey, a developmental paediatrician who on this episode of the podcast discusses parenting strategies that support resilience. In this episode, he interviews a Wellbeing and Family Coordinator from Carlton Primary School. You can find this episode on Spotify or any podcast app.
Sibling Enrolments
This is a friendly reminder that enrolments for the Prep school year are closing soon.
The School follows the Department of Education's enrolment policy. Priority is given to
(1) Inzone students
(2) Out of zone students with a sibling currently at the school
(3) Out of zone students based on proximity to the school
Please make sure your enrolment details are completed on Insight by the due date.
More information on how to enrol can be found at the link below.
