Volume 3 -  9th March 2006
Week 6 .... Term 1

Ph: 8381 7166
Fax: 8381 6041

Email:
hvsadmin@happyvalley.sa.edu.au

Website:
www.happyvalley.sa.edu.au

Inside this issue...................
Harmony Day, International Competitions, Due Dates, Healthy Eating, JP Assemblies, Governing Council AGM, Chess League, Educational Software, Kookaburra Cafe, Resource Centre, Fundraising, LAP, Sport, Parent Club, Community News, Tear Off Slips & Inserts.

On Friday the 17th of February eleven Korean teachers came to our school.  Jake Fauser, Rebecca Jutilane-Maynard and the two of us showed them the reserve and other places such as the Wetlands . Later on we went to the Edible Garden where they met some other year 6's who showed them different spots around the school including the pedal prix bikes, computer room and students working in classrooms, whilst the four of us followed them around taking photos with the school's digital camera.

Just a reminder that our school Sports Day will be held on Friday, March 31^st. We will be sending home maps and programs prior to the day but remember to mark this date on your calendars now!

The Sports Captains are already showing their leadership skills by organizing meetings for their teams, decorating their "house windows" (near the Computing Room) and training their relay teams on the oval at lunch times.  Congratulations on getting the Sports Day preparations off to a great start.  We are also very appreciative of the work undertaken by Mike Lane in ensuring that the grounds will be in peak condition for the day.

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Harmony Day is on Tuesday March 21^st. Harmony Day is a national day that encourages all Australians to celebrate the following values: harmony, community, diversity, commitment, goodwill and understanding.

The first Harmony Day was held in 1999, and it has grown into one of Australia's biggest multicultural events.

To celebrate Harmony Day in our school, on the 21^st March, we ask that the whole school community, including students, wear something orange - even an orange ribbon would be great.

For many years we have offered students the opportunity to participate in the Australasian School Competitions.  This year the name has been changed to International Competitions and Assessments for Schools (ICAS) though the program is still run through the University of NSW.   The competitions are available worldwide and in 2005 nearly 2 million entries were received.  You may find the website www.eaa.unsw.edu.au of interest.  

At Happy Valley assessments in Mathematics, English and Science have been offered to students from year 3 - 7.  This year we are including the Spelling and the Writing Competitions as well.  The Writing assessment is based on narrative writing and each paper is marked individually as is the Spelling.

All participating students will receive a certificate and those with high achievements will be acknowledged.

The dates of the assessments are Science: Wednesday May 3, Mathematics: Thursday May 11 and English: Thursday June 15, Spelling: Tuesday May 30, Writing: Tuesday May 30.

If you wish your child to take part please complete the form within this newsletter.  Payments may be made up to, and including, the dates on the form.  Money will not be received after those dates, as applications need to be forwarded interstate.

Barb Williams

Can we please remind all parents and caregivers to ensure that money that is expected for any school activity is with Andrea our Finance Officer on or before that date?

On Monday of this week our Year 3s & 4s were going swimming at 9.00 am. As some people had not paid by the due date, last Wednesday, and some student forms had not been returned, the rest of the children had to wait while some very frantic staff had to chase up the information. As a consequence of this all students missed at least 15 minutes of their lesson time.    

We are therefore seeking the cooperation of all parents to

• Read all information which goes home and make payments when due.

• Please put all forms in a safe place so that school personnel is not having to use their valuable time and the school's money sending home forms up to 3 times!

• Be aware that money is not taken on a Monday, as Andrea does not work on this day.

Payment for aquatics starting next Monday was due yesterday, Wednesday the 8^th of March.

Please find with this newsletter a re-run of the information, which went out last year re "Healthy Lunch-boxes".  If parents or caregivers have any ideas or recipes that they would like to share with the community please send them in to Lorraine for the newsletter.

Junior Primary assemblies will be held in Weeks 7 and 10 for the remainder of this term. (Please refer to your Term 1 planner). Junior Primary staff decided that we will have our assemblies at 12.00, as the children tend to get quite tired by the end of the day, and the Hall can get really hot. Please note that in Terms 2, 3 and 4, we will have our JP assemblies in Weeks 3, 6 and 9.

Classes take turns to run assemblies and we are currently focusing on good audience manners. We are very happy for parents to join us. Just remember the new time of 12.00.

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This is to be held on Monday the 20^th of March at 7.00pm. Please have a look at the last newsletter for details and complete the nomination form we have included again this week.

The League is basically a team-based competition, but individual performances are also recognised.  The Southern Chess League is staged every second Tuesday in terms three and four. Hundreds of students from southern schools gather to battle it out. You don't have to be experienced, in fact many at the beginning of the season have never played before. We look forward to seeing last year's players again, and invite anyone who's interested to join. It's a heap of fun.

Pretty soon, students will be given details of how to take part. So dust off the chessboards and pieces, and start practising!

Mark Smith 0418-137777  Yvonne Smith 0419-811539
Co-ordinators.

Thanks to Mark and Yvonne Smith who are happy to co-ordinate the Chess teams again this year. 

Soon we will have the extra large chess pieces out in the courtyard for students to use at break times.  We will also be using the expertise of our own students to assist beginners.

Help us to get some quality educational software at a great price!

With this newsletter you will find a copy of the 'EdAlive' Community Software Plan. We have found the software to be well-priced and good quality. As well as giving you the chance to have good software at home for your children, the school will be using incentives it receives from sales to hopefully run 'Baggin' the Dragon', 'Volcanic Panic', 'Ultimate Maths Invaders' and 'Typing Tournament' on the school computers.

The programs run well on almost all machines. The computer requirements are in the catalogue.  Any orders need to be sent to the front office before the 17^th March.

I hope the information on products outlined in the last newsletter helped.  A few points to note:-

• If a student has no lunch, the teacher will send the child to the canteen with a note.  I will provide a sandwich or some other choice, depending on what is available and send home an account.

• Money required as change is stapled into the corner of the lunch bag.  New lunch bags cost 10c for 25 or 5c each when lunch is ordered without a bag.

• Potato Smiles are back on the menu.  Cooked in Canola Oil, Cholesterol Free and Low in Saturated Fats. They have been approved by FOCIS and School Canteen Associations.  Cost will be 10 for $2.00 or 5 for $1.00.  Available from Monday 13^th March.

• Sports Day Order Forms will be out soon.  Don’t forget to put your orders in.  They are to be returned and paid for by Thursday 23^rd March.  Food will be sent to the eldest child's classroom for the family to collect.  There will be a limited amount of food available over the counter.

• Help will be required on Sports Day to prepare the trays of orders, so please come and see me -- any time you can spare will be appreciated.

ROSTER
Mon. 13 Mar.                PUBLIC HOLIDAY
Tues. 14 Mar.                Katrina Allen
Wed. 15 Mar.                Jodie Chudleigh
Thur. 16 Mar.                Tracey Willshire
Frid. 17 Mar.                 Glenys Moylan
Mon. 20 Mar.                Fiona Bellis
Tues. 21 Mar.               
Wed. 22 Mar.                Andrea Chapman
Thur. 23 Mar.                Nikki Foran
Frid. 24 Mar.                 Ali Mayer

 Regards, Helen King

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Winners of the Term 1 Resource Centre Awards are -- Callie Smallwood and Caleb Chudleigh.  They both receive a free book from the Book Club.

Runners Up are: Gemma Brown, Mitchell Molnar, Emily Brautigan and Scott Vanderham.  They each have a free pick from a box of goodies.

Thank you to these people for helping make the Resource Centre a great place to be.

Judy Miller

Sunscreen
Next week we will be sending home your packs of 5 x 50ml Sunscreens to sell. They are great value at just $4.00 a tube, and a handy size to keep just about anywhere.
Please support our school and help keep our children "sun safe."

Coming soon -- Bulbs
Later in the term, we will be sending home a bulb catalogue. So for all you keen gardeners, look out for this booklet and its great offers. The bulbs will be delivered in the first week of second term.

Sports Day -- 31^st March
This year we will be having a Sausage Sizzle at lunchtime. We will also have drinks available.
 

It has unlimited potential to make a real difference. It can change the attitude of the student assisted, it can (usually does!) bring joy to the volunteer but also offers an important opportunity for improvement for parent and community participation.  At this stage we do have one grandma as a volunteer who brings with her a wealth of experience and is very much appreciated by both her student and the school for her contribution.

Volunteers are matched with students carefully, with no pressure put on the volunteer.  All is asked is a once a week commitment.  Please leave your name and phone number with the front office if you are interested. 

Wendy Nicolle

SOCCER
We still have vacancies for students wishing to play, especially year 6 and 7 boys and years 2, 3 and 4 boys and girls.

Senior squads will commence training on Wednesday 29th March and Junior squads on Thursday 30th March.  We still need a Junior coach as we may have two junior squads.

Children will need to have yellow sports socks and shin pads and boots for training.

Letters will go out next week advising which team your child will be in.

Georgie Goldfinch

NETBALL
We will be able to fill two netball teams on Saturday morning this year!  The older team (at this stage some yr 5's and 6's) will play at 9am and the year 3/4/5 team will probably be at 10am.

Registration forms will go home by the end of the week for those girls who have already expressed an interest in playing this season.  If you did not fill in a sports notice last year with netball ticked, please get a netball registration form from the front office.

Just a reminder to return your help forms for the Hot Cross Bun stall we are running on Sports Day.  Any amount of time you can give on the day is much appreciated.

We will be selling the Hot Cross Buns with either tea or coffee from the Sports Shed Canteen.

Our next meeting is on the 5^th April at 9.00am in the Long Room.  Everyone welcome.

Karen Erlandsen

HAPPY VALLEY SCOUT GROUP Bingo Night Sat. 8^th April at 7 pm.  Happy Valley Scout Hall, Candy Rd.  Eyes down 7.30pm sharp.  $3.00 for a book of 10 games.  Beer, Wine and soft drinks available on the night. BYO nibbles.  Tickets available at the door.  Ph. Penny Braddon 8381 5974 for further details.

• I am willing to be on Governing Council for 2006        

• I am willing to join the following committee (Please tick box)

Sport	Canteen	O.S.H.C.	Finance
Environment	Education	Fundraising	Parent Club
(Grounds Dev.)	Health Promoting School

NAME: ___________________________________           CHILD'S TEACHER: ____________________________

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SCIENCE -- Please return to the bookroom window by Monday March 27^th 2006        (Refer: D'Arcy Jones)

Student's Name: ____________________________          Year level _____ Class Teacher ______________________
will participate in the 2006 International Competitions and Assessments for Schools (ICAS)

Please find enclosed $6.00 entry fee.

Signed: ____________________________________         (Parent/Guardian)            Date: _________________

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MATHEMATICS -- Please return to the bookroom window by Monday April 3^rd 2006. (Refer: Bob Beaton)

Student's Name: ____________________________          Year level _____ Class Teacher ______________________
will participate in the 2006 International Competitions and Assessments for Schools (ICAS)

Please find enclosed $6.00 entry fee.

Signed: ____________________________________         (Parent/Guardian)            Date: _________________

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SPELLING -- Please return to the bookroom window by Monday April 10^th 2006.

Student's Name: _____________________________        Year level: _____ Class Teacher ____________________
will participate in the 2006 International Competitions and Assessments for Schools (ICAS)

Please find enclosed $8.00 entry fee.

Signed: ____________________________________         (Parent/Guardian)            Date: _________________

(Refer: Carol Atherton / Stephanie Kakoschke)

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WRITING -- Please return to the bookroom window by Monday April 10^th 2006.

Student's Name: ____________________________          Year level: ______ Class Teacher ___________________
will participate in the 2006 International Competitions and Assessments for Schools (ICAS)

Please find enclosed $11.00 entry fee.

Signed: ____________________________________         (Parent/Guardian)            Date: _________________

(Refer: Carol Atherton / Stephanie Kakoschke)

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ENGLISH -- Please return to the bookroom window by Monday May 8^th 2006.                (Refer: Barb Williams)

Student's Name: ____________________________          Year level _____ Class Teacher ______________________
will participate in the 2006 International Competitions and Assessments for Schools (ICAS)

Please find enclosed $6.00 entry fee.

Signed: ____________________________________         (Parent/Guardian)            Date: __________________

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