Art Show and Market Day - Stallholder Feature

We hope you are planning to join us for our Annual Art Show and Market Day, November 5th from 10am-3pm. The event will have something for everyone! We have lots of fabulous stallholders who will be participating in the Market Day below are just a few:

WishArtCraft - what started out as a mum making pictures for her children has turned into a handmade business. WishArtCraft creates collages, pictures, mobiles and garlands all perfect for your child's bedroom or playroom! WishArtCraft also does custom orders, so feel free to contact Heather via her facebook page or to see more of her lovely work visit her Etsy shop.

Wombat's Picnic - A little piece of handmade Australia - literally. Wombat's Picnic celebrates Australiana with handmade items ranging from stationary, home wares, accessories and toys. Many of the items are made from vintage materials and are one of a kind. To learn more about Wombat's Picnic and it's maker Cyndy, you can visit her blog, facebook page or Madeit shop.

Market Day Cake Stall

Does anyone in your family love to bake? Mum, Dad, Gran? If so, the Market Day Cake Stall is a great way you can support Ashby Primary School.

Everyone loves homemade food, and we will be hosting a Cake Stall at the Art Show and Market Day on Saturday, November 5th. So bring your cakes, biscuits, jams, chutneys or other baked goods to help us raise money for Ashby!

If you can provide freshly made goods for this day, please download this flyer and return to the form to the office by Friday 23 September 2011.

Ashby Primary School Art Show and Market Day - Stall Holder Information

This year, on Saturday November 5th our school will be showcasing our children's’ work in our annual art show! Adding to the fun of the day, Friends of Ashby Primary will be holding a market to support our music and arts program. In the sustainable spirit of the school we are currently seeking stalls for the market which have items that are: handmade, reuse or recycle vintage goods, have a positive environmental impact and offer good quality products.

If you are interested in having a stall or have talented friends or family members who would like to be involved please let them know! Below is

We hope you will consider joining us on Nov 5th to help raise much needed funds to support the music and arts program, build the school and community and just have some fun!

Ashby Primary School Market Day Stall Holder Packet

Help Ashby just by buying your groceries! - Woolworth's Earn and Learn Program

This year Woolworth’s have launched a new program called Learn and Earn which gives primary and secondary schools the opportunity to get needed educational resources, like books, furniture, puzzles and arts and craft supplies.

The Woolworth’s program is already underway (it started July 18th) and will go until September 18th. The program gives primary and secondary schools the opportunity to get needed educational resources, like books, furniture, puzzles and arts and craft supplies.


For every $10 you spend in store (excluding the purchase of cigarettes, alcohol and gift cards or purchases made through Woolworths online or at Caltex Woolworths co-branded fuel outlets) you can earn one point. Points will automatically appear on your shopping dockets (at the bottom). Please return your shopping docket (or at least the bit at the bottom with the points you earned and their code) to your child’s teacher or the school office or place it in the collection box on the Friends of Ashby Bulletin Board just outside the staff room. The school will enter your code online to get your points.


Don’t forget to ask your family and friends for their points too! At the end of the program we can redeem the points we have earned against a choice of more than 7,000 educational resources including library books, classroom equipment, art & craft materials and much, much more for our school.

2011 Trivia Night and Auction Catalogue and Event Information

Well, its almost here! Our 2011 Trivia Night and Auction is in seven days - Saturday, June 25th from 6:30-10:30pm in the school hall. This year's event has been shaping up nicely. We have received donations from over 100 local businesses and have some new fun activities planned for the Trivia Night. On Monday, June 20th the Catalogue and Event Information Booklet will go home with students. However, if you want a sneak peak you can see the whole Booklet here. It includes everything you need to know about the event, information on how to submit a Proxy Bid if you are unable to attend and information on all the items currently included in the Live and Silent Auction (there will be additional items in the auction on the night, we just didn't get the information soon enough to include in the Booklet). We hope you are planning to come - tickets are available at the office for $10 per person and will also be available at the door on the night for $12.

Don’t Miss Out on Our Silent and Live Auction Items!

This year the Trivia Night and Silent Auction Night Event on Saturday, June 25th will end with an exciting Live Auction. We are pleased to share that we have two major items that will be featured:

• A Year’s Worth of Bread from Brumby’s – This includes 4 x $25 vouchers a month for twelve months. Please note vouchers can only be used on bread products. This item is valued at $1,200.
• Tickets to The Footy Show – That’s right we have 4 tickets to Channel 9’s The Footy Show. These tickets are hard to come by, but you and three of your friends can spend a Thursday evening in the company of Sam Newman, Garry Lyons and James Brayshaw and their guests as they tackle football’s big issues. Excludes September shows. This item is priceless!

 A full Auction Catalogue with these and all the items in the Silent Auction will be sent home on Wednesday, June 15th and will be available for download from here. The Catalogue will also include information on how you can submit a proxy bid if you are unable to attend on the night for anything listed in the Catalogue. So don’t miss out, even if you can’t be there!

Seeking Silent Auction and Trivia Night Donations - How YOU Can Help!

Critical to the success of our annual Silent Auction and Trivia Night Event are donations for the Auction, raffles and mystery envelopes. While businesses are our primary donors, there are a number of creative ways that YOU, our parent community, can get involved in providing items for the auction:

1) Distribute the Donation Solicitation Packet to local businesses - You can find the targeted list of local businesses on the FOA board outside the staff office. Simply list your name by businesses you are willing to drop the Donation Solicitation Packet off at and take the required number of packets. If a business isn’t on the list just write it in at the end of the list.

2) Donate an item from your place of business – if you own or work for a business, consider donating an item.

3) Donate an item you don’t want/need anymore – Do have something that is new or still in “as new” condition that you think might make a good auction item? Maybe you received a second slow cooker for Christmas, just never got around to opening that new fan, or now don’t think those cushions you purchased for your lounge room really look the way you imagined. Well, donate them for the auction! If you have something that is new or in as new condition, complete the Donation Form from the Packet and bring the item in to the school office. If you have questions about whether something is appropriate, email friendsofashby@ashbyps.vic.edu.au.

4) Donate an item you have made - Are you the creative sort? Do you crochet, knit, make cards, scrapbook, sew, paint, cook, etc? Well, make something to donate for auction, or donate a voucher for a custom item! If you have something you have made or a voucher for a custom item, complete the Donation Form from the Packet and bring the item in to the school office. If you have questions about whether something is appropriate, email friendsofashby@ashbyps.vic.edu.au.

5) Donate an item with a group – get together with a group of friends or parents from your child’s classroom and create an item for the auction. Below are some ideas of things you might do with groups, where each individual donation is low cost ($5-10 per person), but it will create an interesting item for auction:

• Arts and Crafts Package – have each member of the group donate art supplies e.g. paints, brushes, paper, glue, stickers
• Family Fun Beach Package – have each member of the group donate an beach related item e.g. towels, sunscreen, beach toys
• Cooking with kids package – have each member of the group donate a cooking related item e.g. cookie cutters, spatulas, wooden spoons, mixing bowl
• A case of wine – get together a group of 12 people and have each member of the group donate a bottle of wine

The ideas are really endless and as suggested above don’t have to be expensive for each individual, but when you put them together they make a wonderful item for auction. If you have a group item to donate, complete the Donation Form from the Packet and bring the item in to the school office. If you have questions about whether something is appropriate, email friendsofashby@ashbyps.vic.edu.au.

You can pick up a Donation Solicitation Packet from the FOA board outside the staff office, send an email to friendsofashby@ashbyps.vic.edu.au to request a PDF version or download a copy from here.

Mother Day Stall This Friday, May 6th

Mother’s Day is a chance for families to get together and celebrate mum and the mother figures in their lives (e.g. stepmother, aunt, grandmother, teacher, elder sister). It’s a chance to spoil mum and remind her of how special she is to you! Friends of Ashby will be hosting a Mother’s Day Stall, Friday, May 6th from 9:15-11:30am for students. There will be small gifts for mum ranging from $1-5 in price. So if you are looking for something special for Mum look no further!


Volunteers are also needed for setup and manning the stall – see how you can help.

Last Day of Term 1

Seems like we just started and its already the end of term 1! Just a reminder that students will be released at 2:15pm tomorrow (last day of term).

Also this is your last chance to purchase your hot cross bun vouchers, so make sure to submit your form by the morning of Friday, April 8th, or stop by the office to purchase some at pickup Friday.

Family Information Forms

The 2011 Family Information Forms are due Wednesday, April 6th to your child's teacher or the school office. The forms allow families to share how they might be a resource to the school and provide information to create classroom friendship lists. If you have completed and returned your form yet you can download one from here.

FOA 2011 Annual General Meeting

On Friday March 4th FOA held its 3rd Annual General Meeting. The primary agenda item was the election of 2011 officers. Please join us in welcoming this year’s officers: Cynthia Scherer, President; Tracy Raby, Treasurer; and Christine Morrissy, Secretary. We would like to thank Di Gillick-Thompson for her services as treasurer during 2010. Her leadership was greatly appreciated and we look forward to her continued involvement in FOA’s ongoing activities.

In addition to the elections, the 2010 Treasurer’s and President’s report were presented. You can view this report below.

Friends of Ashby 2010 President's and Treasurer's Report

Involve your family, friends and co-workers in our Hot Cross Bun Fundraiser

Help Ashby raise funds by supporting our Hot Cross Buns Fundraiser this Easter season. It’s easy, simply purchase a Brumby’s Hot Cross Bun Voucher from the school for $6.50 (the same price you pay in store), and the school gets to keep $2!

The vouchers can be used until Easter at any of the five Brumby store locations in Geelong. While we encourage you to purchase vouchers for your own use, we have also created a flyer that you can download to share with family, friends and co-workers so they can also order vouchers through the school, helping us raise even more money!

2011 Hot Cross Bun Form

Pako Festa Thank Yous

We hope everyone enjoyed the Pako Festa this past weekend! We had a wonderful turnout for the parade, with students from prep to Grade 6 represented. A special thank you to the staff and parents who walked along side in the parade. In addition to the parade, we also hosted a stall on Pako where we sold mask kits and cookbooks. Through the stall we made just over $200. Thank you to all the volunteers who assisted with the stall:

Monica Fox
Di Gillick Thompson
Liz Hoornweg
Kathleen Jackson
Tina Martin
Gary McLean
Christine Morrissy
Diana Ojajune
Christy Phillips
Robyn Richmond
Cynthia Scherer
Heather Vine
Chris Wheelwright

Save the Date for Pako Festa, Saturday, February 26th

One of our first activities of the year will be Ashby participation in Pako Festa, the largest diversity festival in Australia, held right here in our own neighbourhood of Geelong West. Sponsored by Diversitat, this year’s theme is ‘The Beat of Pako.’ Ashby will be participating in two ways:

Parade - We encourage all students to participate in parade. This year in addition to wearing our student uniforms, carrying our school banners and signs, we will also be encouraging students to walk with their decorated bikes or scooters to show our commitment to active travel. Balloons and streamers will be provided to decorate bikes and scooters and we will also have face paint to create face stripes in the Ashby colors.  Look for a separate flyer with a permission form, parade meeting time and location.

Stall – Due to a generous donation from Third Ecology, Ashby will again have a stall on Pakington Street. the stall families will be able to purchase face masks kits for $2. We will also have our 2009 Ashby School Cookbook for sale. Parent volunteers are needed to help man the stall from 7:30am to 4pm (including set up and take down). It’s easy and fun - the more people that volunteer the less everyone has to do! If you can volunteer for an hour, please complete the form in this week's newsletter or email friendsofashby@gmail.com.

First FOA Meeting of the School Year

Friends of Ashby will hold its first meeting of the school year, this Friday, February 11th at 9am (right after drop off) in the staff room. We encourage returning parents and friends to get involved as well as those who are new to the school (don’t worry children are welcome at the meetingsJ). Your involvement in FOA is a great opportunity to help your child have the best possible experience at school as well as to meet other parents and friends.


Items on the agenda will include Ashby's involvement in Pako Festa and the startup of ongoing programs, including Tutti Fruitti Thursday, the HeadLice Check Program and the Classroom Support Team. If you are unable to attend this meeting, feel free to leave any comments or ideas in the FOA box in the staff room or at the front office. We look forward to seeing you there!

Starting a New School Year

It's hard to believe but the 2011 school year is about to begin. The first day for students is Friday, February 4th. Student requisites, however can be picked up Wednesday, February 2nd and Thursday, February 3rd between 9am-12:30pm and 1:30pm-3:00pm.

This year student requisites will be a total of $150. This amount pays for all the necessary resources required including books, pencils, readers, stationary, all art materials, computers and mathematics. This amount is not a fee; all of it is spent on school supplies that the children will use in the classroom, computer activities or during art and mathematics.

In addition, a one off payment of $60 is requested to pay for excursions during the 2011 at the beginning of the year. Paying this amount at the beginning of the year allows teachers to plan more efficiently their excursions for the year. If you are unable to pay this amount at the beginning of the year you will still be able to pay the required amount as each excursion occurs. Please note, the intensive swimming program and sport events are not part of this amount.

A voluntary fee of $20 per family is also requested to support the Information and Technology program by purchasing lap tops for student use.

In order to pay the above amounts you may use your EMA funds, cash or cheque.

We look forward to another wonderful year and seeing everyone on Friday, February 4th!