Ashby Christmas Tree on Pako

Hard to believe but the holiday season is already here. Earlier this week we installed the Ashby Christmas Tree at Michael's on Pako. While setting up the tree, one of the customer remarked to Mrs. Hyland that she has one creative imagination; that he has enjoyed watching what she comes up with from thongs, to cds to plastic bottles as ornaments. This year the students created fish from plastic bottles, cds paint and glitter, stars from plastic, paint and bottle caps and christmas trees from foam and glitter.

Thank you to the students and parents who helped set up the tree. We encourage you to stop by for a look!

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Order Your Art Cards!

As part of our fundraising activities for the art program this year Friends of Ashby is printing Art Cards featuring the panels created by our students for the Ga-Ga pit in the front playground. Each classroom was involved in creating one or more of these panels, which are both individually and collectively beautiful pieces of art.

 

Gaga Pit Art Panel Pictures

The Art Cards are available two in ways:

• Set 1: you can purchase a package of 8 cards featuring a single panel. Please view the included pictures of the panels and be sure to indicate which panel you would like all eight cards to feature.
• Set 2: you can purchase a package of 8 cards featuring 8 different panels these eight panels will be selected for you.

All cards will feature our school name and logo on the back.

 

Through this special pre-order option the Art Cards (Set 1 or Set 2) will be available for only $12 – that’s only 1.50 a card. A bargain by any standard, especially for such special art work! If you don’t pre-order your cards limited sets will be available for purchase, but at the price of $15 per set.

 

So download the order form and purchase your Art Cards now – they will make a great Christmas gift for family members and friends!

 

Ashby Primary School Art Card Pre-Order Form

Art Show Thank You’s

Thank you to all those who assisted in preparation for the Art Show as well as at the event including: Klous Antonenko, Sonya Dalton, Jill Donaldson, Monica Fox, Di Gillick Thompson, Ian Thompson, Christine Morrissy, Tracy Raby, Melissa Wirrata, Jerry Wirrata, Cynthia Scherer, Mrs. Welsh, Mrs. Thomas, Mrs. Sawyer, Mrs. Biscan, Mrs. Omachen, Mrs. Sweeney, Steve, Denise, all the grade 5/6 students who helped with set up on Friday and anyone else we may have forgotten!

And of course, a big thank you to Mrs. Hyland and the students for the wonderful art that was featured at the show. To date about $800 has been raised through the event. All proceeds support the art program. This year the funds helped bring added magic to the Junior Playground through the creation of a mural behind the castle and sandpit area.

If you weren’t able to attend on the evening much of the art can still be viewed up and down the main corridor, so please take an extra moment at drop off or pick up to take a look!

Vege and Herb Stall Thank You’s

Thank you to all those who assisted with the Vege and Herb Stall last Friday including Di Gillick Thompson, Tracy Raby, Cynthia Scherer and Trish MacKenzie. Thank you also to the students in Mrs. Slade’s and Mr. Holloway’s grade who made the lavender sachets and helped harvest fresh veggies and herbs from the school garden for the stall. There was a wonderful array of fresh produce including potatoes, broad beans, cabbage, beetroot and silver beets, as well as seedlings, seeds and greenhouses. Thanks to Trish MacKenzie there was also some homemade quince paste and a few jellies! The stall was incredibly successful and raised about $170. All proceeds will go to support the kitchen and garden programs at the school.

Don't Miss the Annual Art Show, Friday November 5th!

Join us for this annual fundraiser for the school art program from 6-8pm (BBQ begins at 5:30pm). Entry is $5 per family.

This year’s Art Show will feature a variety of art work created during the year by the students (at least 2 per student), Grades prep through 6. So come see your child’s creativity in action! The show will also include:

• an auction of seven pieces of artwork (one by each grade) at 7:00pm;
• a chance for students to put their personal mark on the new Junior playground fairytale mural by purchasing a leaf (for $3) that they can date and sign their name to that will be affixed permanently to the mural and;
• an opportunity to pre-order Art Cards (8 cards for $12) based on the Ga-Ga pit panels created by the students.

So join us Friday, November 5th from 6-8pm for an evening of art and fun!

Veggie and Herb Stall, Friday, November 5th

Friends of Ashby, with the help of Grade ¾ Slade and Holloway, will be hosting another veggie and herb stall this Friday, November 5th at pickup (approximately 3:00-3:30pm) and at the Art Show. The stall will feature fresh herbs and veggies from the school garden, Living Fundraiser organic greenhouses, seeds and grow in a bag herbs, seedlings, cookbooks, lavender bags and more, so stop on by! All proceeds from the stall will go towards kitchen and garden programs at the school.

Reminder: Coles Sports for School Promotion Ending

October 31st was the last day you could collect vouchers for this program which will assist Ashby in getting needed sports equipment. Please make sure to bring in any vouchers collected during the promotion period no later than Wednesday, November 11th, as we will be turning in our collection box on Friday, November 13th. Vouchers can be given to your child's teacher, the school office or placed in the collection box outside of the staff room.

Thank you to everyone who collected vouchers - we can't wait to see how many we have!

New Fairy Garden

During Term three the small garden near the junior playground entrance underwent a transformation, thanks to Natalie Kelly and her students from the Gordon Institute. If you haven’t had a chance to check it out please do! Below are some photos, but they don’t do the newly landscaped Fairy Garden justice!


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Ashby Art Display at Geelong Show this Weekend!

Don't forget when you are visiting the Geelong Show this weekend to visit the Education Pavillion to view the Ashby Primary School Art exhibit. The exhibit features artwork created by the students, including much of the bicycle related art work recently displayed at Michael's at Pakington Strand for the UCI World Road Championship.

We also found out yesterday that Ashby's art exhibit came in FIRST in the school's display section at the Show! This is another wonderful honour for our art program and for the creative leadership that Kathy Hyland provides. Great work Ashby!

The Last Week of the School Term

The last week of the school term includes a variety of activities, from the Grade 3/4 Robot expo for junior school students, to the Grade 5/6 Science Expo for parents and the entire school, our school concert (Thursday at 7pm at the Geelong West Town Hall) to the Grand Final of the Ashby World Cup Tournament (Friday at 1pm on the front oval). We hope parents will take advantage of these many opportunities to see our students in action and to have some fun!

Thank You Father's Day Stall Volunteers!

A special thank you to all the moms and dads who assisted with preparing and manning the Father's Day Stall held for students last Friday. We hope all dads enjoyed their gifts as much as the children enjoyed picking them out!

Vegetable and Herb Stall Thank You's

We hope you had a chance to visit the Vegetable and Herb Stall held last Friday. The stall featured fresh vegetables and herbs from the garden as well as Organic Veggie Greenhouses, Seed Packets and Grow in the Bag Herb Kits from our latest fundraiser “Lets Get Growing.” Thank you to Mrs. Slade. Mr. Holloway and the students of Grade 3/4; the students harvested and packaged fresh silverbeet, garlic, sage, rosemary, jonquils and lavender, and in some cases brought in fresh produce from home gardens! Thank you also to the Community Garden for contributing some fresh produce including rhubarb, leeks and broccoli. Finally thank you to some special Grade Prep/1 helpers in setting up the stall and to stall organizers, Di Gillick-Thompson, Tracy Raby and Cynthia Scherer. We are pleased to share the stall raised over $250 for the school’s kitchen and garden programs!

If you missed out, don’t worry, we hope to organize another stall this year. You can also still purchase Organic Veggie Greenhouses, Seed Packets and Grow in the Bag Herb Kits from our latest fundraiser “Lets Get Growing.” Due to such a great response, we have extended the deadline to submit orders until Friday, August 20th. Order forms are available from the school office or from the blog entry below on the Living Fundraiser.

Vegetable and Herb Stall, Friday, August 6th, 2:30-3:30pm

Friday, August 6th from 2.30-3:30pm Friends of Ashby and Grade ¾ Students will be hosting a stall in the garden in the junior playground. Organic Veggie Greenhouses, Seed Packets and Grow in the Bag Herb Kits from our latest fundraiser “Lets Get Growing” and seasonal herbs and vegetables grown by the students from the school garden will be available. There will also be recipes featuring the veggies and herbs for sale, so make sure to join us. All proceeds will help support the school’s kitchen and garden programs.

Ashby Participation in the McCAIN School Veggie Patches Promotion

You may have seen the commercials on TV highlighting a new program being promoted called McCAIN School Veggie Patches. Through the program primary schools around Australia and New Zealand have been invited to build their own veggie patches and grow their own vegetables. To lend a helping hand, McCAIN is giving away over $500,000 worth of veggie patch equipment to primary schools during 2010.

Helping Ashby Primary School access some of the equipment McCAIN’s is giving away is easy. Simply collect barcodes (the UPC symbols) from McCAIN frozen vegetable and McCAIN Purely Potato packs and return them to our school. We can then submit them for points which can then be redeemed for veggie patch equipment. Below is a fact sheet with more details on how the promotion works.

How to Support Ashby Participation in the McCAIN School Veggie Patches Promotion

Living Fundraiser

Would you like to grow your own cheap, environmentally friendly veggies and herbs? Would you like your children to develop the lifelong skills of growing, harvesting preparing and sharing fresh food? Friends of Ashby is currently selling organic ready to grow vegetables and herbs to raise money to support kitchen and garden programs at Ashby Primary School. Items available include:

• Organic Veggie Green House Kit – $6 each
• Organic Seed Packets - $4 each
• Organic Grow in the Bag Herb Kits - $6 each

You can support this fundraising activity in two ways:

1. Purchase Items for your own use – to purchase items, please complete the Order Form on the Information Sheet below no later than Friday, August 6th. Please include payment with your order and submit the form and payment to your child’s teacher or the school office. Items ordered will be sent home with your child on a first come first serve basis as your order is received.
2. Sell Items to family, friends and/or workmates – to sell items please complete the Order Form on the Information Sheet below. Items will be provided to you in bags. With each bag you will receive additional information on the items for sale and a tally sheet. You must return money for items sold and any unsold items no later than Friday, August 13th.

 Ashby Primary School Living Fundraiser Order Form

Geelong West Neighbourhood House "Come and Try Day"

This Sunday, July 18th from 12:30-2:30pm come along for an afternoon of family fun at the Virginia Todd Centre, 9 Clarence Street, Geelong West. Organised by the steering committee of the Geelong West Neighbourhood House, there will be a series of activities you can try that are designed to give you an idea of what is possible through a neighbourhood house in our community. Some of the activities include:

• Indian Vegetarian food demonstration
• Learn how to make a worm farm
• Yoga/meditation demonstration
• Make your own greeting cards
• Help to make a mosaic

There will also be a number of stalls featuring other local community organisations/activities, so please stop by and show your support!

Junior Playground Mural Progress

Check out the slideshow below for the latest on the Junior Playground Mural!

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Trivia Night and Silent Auction Thank You's

Thank you to everyone who contributed to the success of our annual Trivia Night and Silent Auction event held this past Saturday, June 19th. The evening was a night of FUN and FUNdraising! The success of the event would not be possible without the efforts of many:

• All of our business friends for their generous donations;
• Mark Hyland, BayFM 93.9 for MCing the night;
• Kathy Hyland and Mary Slade, for scorekeeping;
• Ian Thompson for running a tight bar, and Wine Justice for the alcohol and glasses;
• Kat Eadie and Steve Macklin for creating the Photo Quiz;
• Raffle ticket and lucky envelope helpers and table clearers (current 5/6 students Darcy, Hayden, Ellen, Jess and Tayla);
• The classrooms of Mr. Dyer, Mrs. Biscan and Mr. Holloway for the use of their tables and chairs;
• Jenny Sweeney for taking messages from donors, handling ticket sales, making lots of copies, and putting up with lots of requests and questions
• All those who assisted in planning the event, securing donations, communicating about the event, setting up on the day, assisting on the night, and cleaning up after, including:

                 Ken Bennett
                 Dave Collinson
                 Kate Collinson
                 Sonya Dalton
                 Ally Gitzel
                 Louise Fogarty
                 Monica Fox
                 Di Gillick Thompson
                 Gary McClean
                 Rosemary Nugent
                 Tracy Raby
                 Jo Sadd

                 Cynthia Scherer

                 Fred Slade

                 Mary Slade

                 Chris Vine

                 Heather Vine

                 Melissa Wirata

                 special helpers at set up: Anne, Oscar, Jack
                 and Jess

• And lastly all of our attendees.

If you missed this year's event, don't worry, we are already looking forward to next year's event! So stay tuned.

2010 Trivia Night and Silent Auction Catalogue

Our annual Trivia Night and Silent Auction is almost here! This year's event is Saturday, June 19th from 6-10pm in the school hall. The event features a number of activities including a Silent Auction. This year we have published a Guide to the night and Auction Catalogue to assist you in preparing for the event. Catalogues were sent home today. Below is an online copy of the document, so please feel free to share this link with family and friends!

Ashby Primary School 2010 Trivia Night and Silent Auction Catalogue

Junior Playground Mural Progress

Work on the mural in the Junior Playground continues and it looks great! Enjoy some of the latest photos of it's progress...


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Tickets to 2010 Trivia Night and Silent Auction Event Now Available!

Our annual Trivia Night/Silent Auction event is almost here and promises to be a fun and lively evening! We hope you are planning to join us Saturday, June 19th, 6-10pm in the Ashby School Hall for our largest fundraiser of the year. Tickets are now available for purchase from the school office for $10 per person (tickets will be $12 per person if you wait to purchase them on the night at the door). You can also register your table on the FOA bulletin board outside the staff room. We hope to see you there!

Ashby Display at Westfield Shopping Centre Geelong

Today, Thursday, May 27th through Sunday, May 30th art and school work from Ashby Primary School will be on display at the Westfield Shopping Centre in Geelong's CBD. Ashby is one of four schools that will be featured over the next four days. So if you are doing any shopping this weekend in the CBD, please be sure to check out the school's display which can be found on the first level in the Centre foyer!

Check out our Classroom Blogs!

Many of the Ashby classrooms (including our specialist classes, art and German) try to use blogs to communicate about their activities, so if you haven't checked out your classroom blog recently you might want to! You can find the links to the various Ashby classroom blogs on the Ashby Primary School website. Keeping a classroom blog up to date can be time consuming, so if it's something that interests you, you might want to check with your child's teacher to see if you can help!

Ashby Primary School 2009 Annual Report to the Community Now Available

The primary purpose of annual reporting is to inform parents and the wider school community of the school's successes, activities and achievements throughout the year. The report also provides an opportunity to communicate and publicise the longer term directions for the school. Annual reporting is an important tool for effective governance within schools and the government school system. The 2009 Annual Report to the School Community: Ashby Primary School is now available online as is the Government School Performance Summary: Ashby Primary School. All parents are encouraged to read these public documents.

Fruit and Veg Week, May 17-21

Fruit and Veg Week is part of Home Economics Victoria’s Fruit and Veg Program and encourages students to take part in a variety of activities focusing on healthy eating during the week. Ashby Primary School already participates in the larger Program through activities like Fresh Fruit Friday, classroom cooking and classroom gardening.

During the week many individual classrooms will be engaging in activities related to the goals of the Week, but families at home might also want to participate. Below are some ideas of things you can do:

• Provide children with after school snacks that are fruits or vegetables
• Have children identify fruits or vegetables they have never tasted before and let them try them
• Let children pick what vegetable(s) to include each night with dinner
• Have children help you prepare or cook a healthy snack or meal
• Conduct a craft activity that uses fruits or vegetables like making a vegetable person or using vegetables and fruits as stamps with paint

Junior Playground Mural Progress

Local artist Mark (father of Luca in Grade 3/4H) is painting a mural in the junior playground in the back of the school next to the castles. Mark’s murals are scattered throughout Geelong and we are lucky to have him as our “artist in residence” on this project! The children have assisted Mark in painting some of the mural to date. Check out how its progressing!


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Celebrating National Volunteer Week, May 10-16

Volunteers are an important fixture in our school. They assist children with their reading, provide expertise around topics like biking and gardening, lead and staff programs including Fresh Fruit Friday and the parent managed head lice program and raise additional funds through grants and events. Volunteers help make our school a more vibrant learning environment in so many ways. This week (May 10-16) is National Volunteer Week. Around the country organizations are saying thank you to their volunteers and so we say thank you to all those who volunteer at Ashby!

Thank You Mother's Day Stall Volunteers!

A special thank you to all the moms and dads who assisted with preparing and manning the Mother's Day Stall held for students last Friday. We hope all moms enjoyed their gifts as much as the children enjoyed picking them out!

Walk Safely to School Day Friday 7 May

Walk Safely to School Day is an annual national event when all Primary school children are encouraged to walk and ride safely to school. The event promotes safe pedestrian and cycling behaviour and the associated health and environmental benefits.

Walking and riding all or part of the way to school is an easy, free and sustainable habit for children to develop. Healthy and active children live and learn better and grow up to be healthier and more active adults.

We hope that all Ashby students will participate by using leg and bike power to come to school on the day. The Active Travel Committee will be handing out stickers to those who use active travel and conducting the May Hands Up survey on the day so we are expecting an impressive result!

Don't Forget the Mother’s Day Stall this Friday, May 7th

Based on the success of last year's Mother's Day and Father's Day stalls, Friends of Ashby will be hosting a Mother’s Day Stall this year on Friday, May 7th from 11:30am-2pm for students. There will be small gifts for mum ranging in price from $1-5. Bags will be available for student purchases, but students are also encouraged to bring their own bags. Please note we are also looking for volunteers to help set up and man the stall during this time, see Can You Help for more information.

Welcome!

Welcome to our blog! Effective communication between school and home is important to children’s learning - the more parents know about activities at school the better they can support their children and the school. Friends of Ashby hopes to assist this communication through our new blog which we are launching today. Regular blog posts will include information about school and other community related activities as well as how you can get involved in supporting the school, so be sure to check back often for new blog posts!