Campus News

Term 2
Campus News
21 June 2013
Eblana— Mr John Nolan Head of Eblana
Reports
Eblana’s Years Prep-4 Semester 1 reports were mailed home to parents on Wednesday.
Staff hope you have found these to be valuable conversational pieces for your family and
urge you to view them closely with your children. Within the reports there is a great deal
to celebrate and so we will, in varying degrees, declare all Eblana students recipients of
our ‘Achiever of the Week’ status.
www.mentonegrammar.net
Key Dates in Eblana
Sunday 23 June
Next week parents should have made appointments with their child’s Homeroom teacher
for a parent and teacher meeting. We encourage where possible for children to attend
with their parents to discuss moving forward to greater learning.
National Aerobics Competition
Head of Eblana’s Reading Challenge
Tuesday 25 June
Are we there yet? Yes we are! This week children who are participating in the Head of
Eblana’s Reading Challenge will be receiving the final story for this year’s challenge. The
story they will be dramatising is: Goldilocks and the Three Bears.
MG Showcase
Enjoy the final story in this year’s Challenge and take the opportunity to recall all the stories read throughout this challenge, using it as a reflective time to engage your children’s
interest and understanding of the stories shared and literature in general.
I remind families involved in the Challenge to ensure they have completed the weekly
information in their child’s record form and return it to school. In Term 3 there will be a
special Eblana assembly where all children in the Mary Jones ELC who have involved
themselves in the Challenge will be presented with their certificates and awards. Remember to continue to share books and stories with your children on a daily basis. One way to
ensure your children develop a strong love of books, reading, discussion and listening,
which are all paramount to their literacy development, is to read to, with and for (role
modelling) your children every day. Putting in the effort at
the earliest of ages leads to exciting and great outcomes
later on.
Read! Read! Read! The more you read, the more you will
learn! The more you learn, the more you will read!
It has been lovely to note the terrific number of children in
the Early Learning Centre who have entered the 2013 Challenge. The feedback from parents has been very encouraging and it is lovely to hear what
great times families are having with books as they share the adventure together. Dive
into the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears and enjoy the adventure! Perhaps a discussion about the animals you might meet in the forest, or better still, the Australian
Bush. Pack a picnic basket and go on a picnic in the country or to the park.
Find some pictures of different animals and describe their features i.e. sharp teeth, bushy
tail, scaly skin, tiny eyes and so on. What features are similar from one animal to the
next? What features are really different? Discuss hot and cold foods. Dress up as different
animals or the characters in this week’s story and dramatise. Play hide and seek in the
park, the backyard or the house.
Enjoy the tale! Enjoy the fun! Enjoy the conversation!
Monday 24—Friday 28 June
Eblana P/T Interviews
The Plenary, Melbourne Convention &
Exhibition Centre, 7pm
Wednesday 26 June
Evening Interviews 4—7pm
Friday 28 June
End of Term 2
Term 3 Important Dates
Tuesday 16 July
All students return
Tuesday 30 July
Ambulance visit, Pre-prep CF & R
Tuesday 6 August
Sandringham hospital visit Pre-Prep CF & R
Wednesday 7 August
Sandringham hospital visit Pre-Prep W & M
Friday 9 August
Junior AGSV Cross Country
Friday 10 August
School Tours 9.30am & 11am
Tuesday 13 August
Wakakirri —Frankston Arts Centre
19-23 August
Book Week
Wakakirri
What an exciting Term 3 event it is that our Eblana staff have arranged for our young Eblana students!
Amidst the enormously busy timetabling staff face on a daily basis to present students with the best of classroom curriculum opportunities, they are continually going beyond, to enrich students learning opportunities and personal development through involvement in extracurricular activities.
Wakakirri is one such extravaganza. I call it an extravaganza because it is not just about the one-off night of entertainment, but the
hours and hours staff give of their own time to work with enthusiastic students in the area of the performing arts. Wakakirri is not
a compulsory event. It is an opportunity for dedicated students who will receive the support and encouragement of their parents
to be involved in the performing arts beyond their classroom and school.
By the time our students ‘hit’ the stage on Tuesday 13 August, they will have completed a minimum of 30 hours of rehearsal.
I sincerely thank staff members, Bree Walker, Jackie Smith, Justine Hamilton, Margaret Hewett and James Yerondais, who supported by the entire Eblana teaching team, have so enriched our students with their generosity of passion, time, performing arts
skills, nurturing and team connectedness. The Wakakirri teaching team has not only given of its time to rehearsals, but also in
attending workshops at the Jason Coleman Ministry of Dance in North Melbourne and completing numerous amounts of detailed
planning to ensure our students are provided with the best of involvement opportunities. This year our performance will take place
at The Frankston Arts Centre, being so much closer than HiSense Arena, performance day will be shorter, as will travelling distance,
resulting in far less demand on students, staff and parents.
I also make mention of a group of wonderful parent volunteers who have spent hours cutting, sewing and creating our sensational
costumes for the performance. The generosity of spirit and creative talent extended by this cheerful band of helpers is greatly appreciated and we should thank them enormously for their support and involvement! Thank you so very much: Rosie Cowan, Jennie
Tavilla, Jackie Edwards, Anna Somogyi, Melissa Lancaster, Melanie Frost, Vicky Hammond and Jennifer Mentiplay. You are all so
fantastic!
Possibly one drawback for some families will be the limited amount of tickets available as the venue only seats 800 - therefore
only 160 tickets per school. As the largest contingent of student performers, we have been lucky to receive a larger number of
tickets than most schools. Apart from Prep students, any student in Years 1-4 who so desires to be involved and is committed to
the event can participate, making us a most inclusive production.
Our grand performance is only 7 weeks and 5 days away. That is only 53 sleeps! Now is the time for families to prepare themselves
for what they need to do on the night, organising any babysitting, car-pooling and ticket orders. The Eblana staff will prepare the
performance. On the evening of the performance next term parents attending might like to arrive a little earlier and enjoy the
food and beverage facilities pre-show.
Further Information for Parents of Wakakirri Performers from the Frankston Arts Centre
General Access to the Frankston Arts Centre: Everyone is welcome at the Frankston Arts Centre. Babies and children are welcomed in the company of their parent/guardian at all times the Centre is open. General access and enjoyment of our Centre is reliant upon visitors conducting themselves in a mindful way which does not interfere with the enjoyment of other patrons.
General Performances: Everyone attending a performance at the Frankston Arts Centre, including children and babies, must hold a
valid ticket for that performance, with the exception of those attending a specially designated 'Children's Performance'.
Parking: Please be aware that there is parking available at the venue, entering via Young Street at a cost of 80c p/hour, $4.70 p/
day. Alternatively, there is street parking, however, please be aware of signage.
Designated Children's Performances: In accordance with the Victorian Equal Opportunity Act (1995) the Frankston Arts Centre has
a policy outlining ticket guidelines for children and babies at designated 'Children's Performances'. At these specially designated
'Children's Performance' shows, patrons under a specific age will be admitted free of charge on the condition that they are seated
on the lap of their accompanying parent/guardian and not occupying their own seat.
Smoking: Smoking is NOT permitted within the Frankston Arts Centre.
Electronic Devices: To ensure an enjoyable experience for all visitors and no distractions for our performers, we ask all patrons to
ensure they turn off or mute all mobile phones, pagers etc before entering the Theatre.
Cameras / Recording Devices: The use of cameras, video cameras and other recording devices is NOT permitted during performances. Exceptions sometimes apply and will be announced before the commencement of the performance.
Latecomers: Patrons arriving late to any performance will NOT be admitted until a suitable break occurs in the performance. The
Front of House Manager will determine the suitable time of entry for all latecomers.
Food and Beverage: Non-alcoholic beverages in plastic bottles and dry food are the only consumables permitted in the Theatre
during performances.
Prams/Pushers: Prams and pushers are NOT permitted in the Theatre. However, we will happily store them while you attend one
of our performances. Please ask one of our friendly staff members for assistance.
2013 ELC & Prep Orientation Day
Families of students enrolled into Eblana’s Prep classes for 2014 will soon receive a letter informing them of the details for the
Prep Transition Program, which will take place throughout Terms 3 and 4. It will also contain information regarding the ELC and
Prep Orientation Day to be held on Friday 22 November.
Families of students enrolled in the Mary Jones Early Learning Centre will receive information regarding the ELC Orientation
Day, also to be held on Friday 22 November, once we have finalised our enrolments for those year levels
It is most important that our current ELC students’ families are aware that Friday 22 November is a student free day for children in Kindergarten and Pre-Prep who are not returning to Mentone Grammar in 2014 and they should start planning arrangements for their child on this day as our staff will be involved with activities involving our 2014 student cohort.
Performing Arts
We all look forward to seeing you at The Plenary next Tuesday 25 June, for our magical MG Showcase.
Thank you to Miss Holly and all our talented Musical Theatre students for a wonderful concert last week.
Here are a few photos from the event:
2013 FOUNDATION AWARDS
Students are invited to apply for the 2013 Foundation Awards. The Awards are
open to all students, so whether you are a film maker, footballer, scientist, writer
or video game designer you could win up to $500 to assist you to build on your
dreams and pursue your passion!
Make sure you address the following points in your application:
 outline your area of interest
 give evidence of your skills or ability
 detail your achievements in your chosen area
 describe your level of commitment
 attach any relevant awards or certificates
 explain how you would use your cash prize if you were successful
Applications close Friday 2 August. Applications may be left at Main Reception
or Campus offices, addressed to:
Mr Simon Appel OAM
Chairman
Mentone Grammar Foundation
63 Venice Street
Mentone Vic 3194