Australia in 1976, he's

been telling stories and

singing songs about his
homeland, South Africa.
He spoke about growing
up under the apartheid
system, which forced
him to leave South
Africa, and how sharing
stories from his homeland
through performance and
song keeps his culture
alive.
This week is not yet over.
It has been a time of
sharing, celebrating and
marvelling at the happy
nature of our students and
witnessing the results of
their hard work and
persistence at school.
Thank you to everyone
who has attended an event
(or perhaps a few) this
week as we have opened
up our school for a wide
range of visitors; family
members and special
friends from far and wide.
It is not surprising to hear
staff professional learning
team (Community
Building) for their hard
work behinds the scenes
to make sure everything
worked like clockwork,
coordinated most
efficiently by Miss Lara
Mackie and Andrew
DeVisser. Well done!
Launching Place -Education Week 2014
Thursday Thoughts
L a u n c h i n g P l a c e P r i m a r y S c h o o l
Issue 16
Newsletter Date 22nd May 2014
Important Dates:

May
22nd
Book Character Dress
Up Day
22nd
WHYLD Market
3.30pm-5pm
23rd
Writing Workshop
Incursion
30th
Aussie Sport Expo
Grade 5/6 students

June
2nd-4th
Grade 3/4 Camp
6th
Book Club due
9th
Queens Birthday
11th
School Photos
13th
Disco

Student Absent
Hot Line Number
5964 7783
positive comments from
those who note the
positive tone of the
school, the outstanding
calibre of our teachers,
the cohesive nature of the
parents and friends group
and the quality of our
children.
We wish to make a
special mention to the
Due to flight cancellations,
our incursion with Sean
Choolburra has had to
postponed until later in the
year.
We were lucky enough to
have Valanga Khoza as a
replacement artist last
Monday.
Valanga Khoza was born
in the Limpopo province of
South Africa and grew up
in Alexandra, a black
township in Johannesburg
and one of the poorest
urban areas in the country.
Growing up in a
community where many
people could neither read
nor write; music and
storytelling became all the
more important for
Valanga. Since moving to
Incursion
throughout the day. They saw class
and aerobics performances as well
as joining the children in the
classrooms. They enjoyed their
morning tea, mingling with other
grandparents and friends over a hot
cup of tea or coffee and a plate of
delicious snacks. It was fantastic to
There have been many highlights
this week, including my favourite,
Grandparents/ Special Friends Day.
Photos are the best way to show
how successful our Grandparents
and Special Friends Day for 2014
was. There was an amazing turnout
with over 300 visitors to our school
see the children so proud and
excited about having the chance to
take their Nana, Pa or special friend
to their classrooms and for a tour of
the school.
Page 2
Thursday Thoughts
Launching Place Primary School Carter Street Launching Place 3139 Telephone 5964 7783 Fax 5964 6171 Email launching.place.ps@edumail.vic.gov.au
ABN 96 199 518 803
Grandparents and Special Friends Day
progress to the Wildcard event with
yet another opportunity to progress
through to the Finals.
There were lots of videos and
photographs being taken. Just a
reminder about sharing videos of the
performances on social media - the
choreography is the intellectual
property of Candice Nyman and she
has requested that it be for your
personal viewing only.
Saturday saw an early start for many
families and staff as they journeyed
to Geelong for the Aerobics
Preliminary Championships. This
year we have seen 76 students,
participating in ten teams, involved
in the competition. It was a
successful day with six of the ten
teams automatically qualifying for
the State Finals on Saturday, June
21
st
. The remaining four teams
Aerobics Preliminaries
Page 3
Please Note: That other advertisements and publications published in this newsletter do not imply
school or Department of Education and Early Childhood Development endorsement.
Presidents Report

School Council met last Tuesday night and discussed a number of items,
including:
Smoking on school grounds. Education Dept. policy dictates that there is to
be no smoking on school grounds, however, concern was raised that children waiting to be collected after school
at the rotunda and at the bottom carpark were still being exposed to smoke. School Council has recommended that
No Smoking signs be erected at both locations to discourage parents from lighting up. While we have no ability
to enforce this request, as it is on Shire land, we hope the school community will understand and abide by it.
Dogs on school grounds. A formal policy was prepared and presented to Council, which was subsequently
ratified. In essence, dogs must be on a leash and under the immediate control of an adult at all times. This in no
way prevents a dog from being bought along for Show and Tell or as a part of V.I.P. week. Just remember,
however, that any contribution the dog makes to our grounds must be disposed of appropriately by the dogs
owner! ( Policy has been attached to this newsletter).
The Hex building is having a facelift over the term break and well need the help of 6 8 able bodied parents
(with trolleys) to help shift the contents of the rooms. If youre able to help, contact Audrey in the front office.
Narelle and I met with representatives from the Shire and the Education Department last Friday to discuss the
bottom carpark. The work is likely to be undertaken over the Christmas break, spilling over into term one next
year. We were hoping to have the job done over the September break, but the timeline for tendering would be too
tight and unlikely to be achieved.

Cheers,
Andrew.
School Council
school, which includes stickers and
posters and for the first time, a
sophisticated Apple and Android
Walk Safely to School Day will be
held throughout Australia on Friday
24 May 2014. This annual, national
event encourages all Primary School
children to walk and commute
safely to school. The community
event seeks to promote Road Safety,
Health, Public Transport and the
Environment and communicates the
vital road safety messages. National
Walk Safely to School Day will be
sending a promotional pack to our
App called Walk Safely to School
Day. This App will assist our
children to map: kilometres travelled
(to and from school), times spent
walking, average speeds and
kilojoules burnt. We hope all
children are able to stretch their
legs a little more in some way on
this day.

Regards,
Narelle Messerle and Deb Hobbis
National Walk Safely to School Day
Page 4
Thursday Thoughts
Parents and Friends
Next upcoming event is the Disco on Friday 13th June, date will be confirmed and information will be sent
home soon.
Next meeting is Monday 2nd June in the staffroom just after assembly. So come along have a cuppa and chat
about future fundraising activities.
invented their own planet and space
colony. We have enjoyed learning
about space and beginning our
PowerPoint presentation.
Grade 5/6: Wow, what a busy week
we had. We have been revising the
four processes and started a Maths
journal. We have enjoyed learning
about characters. We loved playing
hockey with Mr Gray and cooking
with Miss Stewart from Upper
Yarra Secondary College. We are
super excited about our upcoming
Interschool Sports game at Badger
Creek on Friday.
Principal: Last week ended with a
highly successful Aerobics
weekend. Congratulations to all the
10 teamsyou represented yourself
and the school well. Six teams have
automatically progressed to the state
finals. A special thanks to Miss
Nyman and Mrs Kemp for the many
early mornings and lunch time
practice sessions.
School Captains Report
Prep: In Maths we have been
learning to name the days of the
week. We looked at different
versions of the Very hungry
Caterpillar and sequenced the days.
We looked at numbers before and
after. In Literacy, we are really
enjoying using our book boxes and
have looked at the Caf reading
strategy: can use the pictures to
read a word! We had fun at Photo
Trail.
Grade 1/2: In 1/2 this week we have
worked on the Caf strategy of
reading on and going back to work
out the word and re-telling the story.
In writing we have been practising
the letter x and the number 3. In
Maths we have been working on
addition strategies and money. We
really enjoyed the Photo Trail and
had an awesome time.
Grade 3/4: Last week Grade 3s
were busy completing the NAPLAN
test while the Grade 4 students
Canteen
Student Awards
Grade Prep F Hannah C
Max B

Grade Prep K Curtis D

Grade 1/2 B Ella T

Grade 1/2 N Taleisha B
Madison P
Aaron C
Darcy T

Grade 1/2 S Aden M
Luca L-H

Grade 3/4 F Kayla M
Bailee L

Grade 3/4 S Sophie G
Jai D
Zoe M

Grade 5/6 L Mason B
Chloe M
Holly B

Grade 5/6 R Erin S
Jack A
If you send your child/rens lunch order on an envelope please include
10 in the order for the cost of a paper bag.
Slushies are NOT available this term.
Roster
May
29th Maryann E, Janine K, Peta R
June
5th Fiona T, Gillian S, Bianca D
12th Janie G, Jodie D, Jaimie C
Page 5
Family Day Care
In
Hoddles Creek
Personal home based
childcare with small groups.
Play based learning with no
T.V.
Family Day Care is supported
by Murrindindi Shire Council.
Childcare Benefit and Rebate
can be applied for.
Vacancies for 2014 now
available
Enquiries welcome please call
Lisa 0402 730 126
Page 6
Thursday Thoughts
LETS GO FAMILY DAY CARE
A locally run scheme, providing warm, nurturing care to
small groups of children
At Lets Go Family Day Care, we put the "Family" into Family
Day Care.
Children are cared for in a warm, safe, homely environment
that consists of only a small group of children.
We have vacancies for care in Warburton, Yarra Junction, Wesburn and Millgrove.
Our educators are qualified and trained to provide the best possible care for your child. Each
educator is monitored and supported by our coordination unit, to enable them to continually grow
professionally within themselves.
Reduced fees are available as we are CCB and CCR approved through the Department of
Education.
If you have any enquiries in relation to finding care for your child, or if you would like to find out
how to become an educator, please call Olivia Moller on 59 647 244 or 0402315332.

PIANO LESSONS ARE
HERE
BEGINNER PIANO LESSONS FOR YOUNG & OLD
Piano is hard work! Piano takes years to get anywhere! You need to
practice scales and exercises for a long time before you get to have
any fun and play great songs...
WRONG!!!
Piano can be fun straight away. You can learn to play two-handed
tunes in your first lesson! Piano instruction has come a long way in
the last few decades. New techniques and approaches allow for the
student to enjoy the learning process and experience making music
straight away. Piano is a journey, not a destination, so the experience
should be enjoyable.
I specialise in absolute beginners for children and adults. Cost is $20
upfront for materials, and $20 per 25 minute lesson. Students will
take home songs and exercises to practice. Private lessons are being
offered for the kids at Launching Place Primary School each
Thursday morning starting on the 13th of March. Private lessons are
also available for children and adults outside these hours by
appointment.
If you or your child have always wanted to learn piano, I would love
to help you make this come true.
Contact Corrie on 0401 096 079 or check out www.thefifthcorner.co/
music
Corrie Wade
THE FIFTH CORNER
"Choreography for Life"
www.thefifthcorner.co
www.facebook.com/TheFifthCornerDanceCompany
www.facebook.com/TheFifthCornerDivineMathematics
0401096079
Page 7