Newsletter

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15th December 2020

News From the North

Summer Holidays

What a year 2020 has been! It certainly has been like no other year that any of us have ever experienced! All of the plans, hopes and excitement that greeted the new year, were thrown into turmoil by the COVID19 pandemic which has gripped the world.

This pandemic has shown us what a fantastic community that we have here at Dandenong North. Everyone supported one another, ensuring that we not only survived, but thrived! There were tales of families helping one another and of our teachers going above and beyond to make connections with families and ensuring that children were supported emotionally.

Our Year 6 cohort were particularly effected by the school closures, lock downs and the pandemic in general. What a disappointing final year that the students found themselves in. Our leaders could not lead, our athletes could not perform and new friendships could not be forged. But in spite of all of the disappointments they have modelled a resilience and a ‘can do’ spirit that they should be very proud of. They have made the year a successful one for themselves, despite all of the challenges that 2020 has brought. As this is the end of the year, we would like to wish all of our Year 6 students the very best of luck at Secondary School and we look forward to them returning to DNPS and sharing their new adventures.

As this year has been challenging, we are all looking forward to the summer break and a chance to farewell this year! However, holidays are not a time to stop learning! Children should continue to read each day - Dandenong Library is a wonderful place to visit and often offers holiday activities for students. As well, the practice of times tables can be undertaken regularly as well as snapshot writing pieces about personal experiences.

We would like to wish all of our families a very safe and happy Summer holiday break. We look forward to seeing you all again in January 2021, with a hopefully much more normal year, for us all to be a part of.

Term 4 ends Friday 18th December - School finishes at 1:30 pm.

Term 1, 2021 begins on Thursday 28th January

Year 6 Certificate Ceremony

The Grade Six Certificate Graduation Ceremony was held today in the hall. This ceremony is a celebration of the achievements of our Year 6 students and it marks the beginning of the next chapter in their educational journey.

Due to COVID19 restrictions, we were not able to have parents attend this event as we have in previous years. To compensate for this, the ceremony was professionally filmed and a copy of the event along with highlights from the Graduation Luncheon, which will be held on Thursday, will be given to every Year 6 student on the last day of the year.

Mrs Hilton opened the ceremony congratulating all of the students on their achievements, and then the School Captains Zehra and Hristhoth, presented an emotional speech to their peers, sharing memories and highlighting their growth as students.

Next, each individual student was called up by their classroom teacher to receive their certificate, a DNPS badge and this year a very special memento - a Year 6 Yearbook.

Mr Mackay then presented the Mackay Medallions, which are named in his honour. These medallions have become a tradition at DNPS and they signify amazing educational, social or emotional growth made by an individual student over the course of the Year 6 school year. The following students received a Mackay Medallion at today’s ceremony:

Elaha R (6A), Anmol A (6A), Yousef H (6L), Sophie N (6L), Sahel N (6K), Vaishvi P (6K), Neloofar S (6D), Berrin R (6D), Madina S (6V) and Sadia A (6V)

Congratulations to all of the Mackay Medallion winners!

Mr Mackay then announced that Aminah (6D) will be a part of a Zoom meeting tonight with Julian Hill MP as part of the 2020 Community Spirit and Leadership Awards. Aminah is being recognised for her remarkable contribution to Dandenong North Primary and the wider community.

Next, Mr Hilton presented the academic awards to the top performers on the PAT Reading and Mathematics tests. The award for Literacy went to Ananya (6K). Ananya was tested as working at a Year 10 level. For Mathematics the award went to Michelle W (6L) who achieved over 90% on a PAT Year 10 test. Congratulations to both of these students - an exceptional effort.

Mr Fenby presented the Malone Medallions. These children live by the motto “ Fitter, Faster, Stronger, Further” and have been recognised for their fantastic sporting achievements. The recipients were:

Bol N (6K), Qasim Q (6A), Joshua J (6K), Jayden M (6V), Marko R (6D), Luka R (6A), Tame D (6K0, Sachin R (6A), Thevan N (6D), Elyas M (6A), Shivesh M (6K), Mugib K (6V), Kalab S (6V), Hasnain M (6K), Connie P (6D), Yalda Y (6A), Ruhama A (6A), Hoda M (6A), Raeann V (6D), Michelle W (6L), Sandy N (6V), Isabella V (6K), Sahar A (6L0, Neloofar S (6D), Patience D (6V) and Mahi N (6L)

Congratulations to all of the Malone Medallion winners!

Mr Fenby also announced the Year 6 Cup Winners for 2020. The winning team was The Ferocious Falcons. The cup was presented to the team captains Joshua and Connie and each student in The Ferocious falcons was awarded a medal. This is a new competition and something that is going to be continuing for the Year 6 students in 2021.

Mrs Mackay closed the Certificate Day Ceremony, telling the children to take care, look after each and that they are always welcome back at Dandenong North.

Congratulations to all of the award winners and good luck to all of our Year 6 students.

2021 Student Leadership Positions Announced

At our final Virtual assembly for the year, Mr Mackay announced the student leadership positions for 2020. It was a very different process announcing the leadership positions this year, as we usually have a hand over from our current Year 6 leaders to those in 2021. Unfortunately we could not have any parents witness their child receive a badge for their leadership position, so we have held over the badge ceremony until next year in the hope that they will be allowed onsite to view this assembly.

Congratulations to the following students:

School Captains - Ishani R (5L) and Adem D (5D)

SRC President - Kavya (5G)

School Leadership Team Members: Pavithran P (5G), Melek R (5L), Tiana M (5G), Janusha J (5F), Elaha R (5F), Ashmi T (5D), Aishani M (5F)

The House Captains were also announced:

Keys Captains: Lachlan H (5F) & Rida Y (5D)

Keys Vice Captains: Dairah M (5F) & Toirah M (5L) & Sanaz R (5L)

Verey Captains: Shekib A (5L) & Iqra S (5F)

Verey Vice Captains: Aleem K (5L) & Keerthana K (5L)

Marsh Captains: Aiden D (5D) & Nayab A (5D)

Marsh Vice Captains: Ave F (5G) & Nandini L (5G)

Leed Captains: Hashir N (5L) & Sherothi K (5G)

Leed Vice Captains: Saalih D (5F) & Fathima M (5D)

Staff Goodbyes

At this time of year there always seems to be some staff leaving DNPS to continue their career at other educational settings or to take on new adventures.

Mrs Catherine Hilton is leaving Dandenong North PS after 22 years. Mrs Hilton began her teaching career at Dandenong North and has taught most year levels. Over the past seven years, she has also competently lead the Year 5 and 6 Area. She has also had other positions of responsibility around the school. In 2021, Mrs Hilton will be taking up the role of Assistant Principal at Pearcedale Primary School. We would like to thank Mrs Hilton for her many years of loyal service to the staff and students of Dandenong North. Good luck Mrs Hilton with your new role!

Mr Michael Domogala first began at Dandenong North in 2017. In his time at our school he has spent the four years teaching our Year 6 students. Mr Domogala has decided to take a position in the Northern Territory at Tennants Creek, working with children in Years 3 and 4. This is a fantastic opportunity for Mr Domogala and we wish him all the best with this challenge.

Miss Chloe Gage is going on maternity leave as she awaits the arrival of her first born child in early February. Miss Gage joined the Dandenong North team at the beginning of 2019 spending her two years teaching in Year 1. We wish Miss Gage all the very best and look forward to her return towards the end of 2021.

Mr Tim Allman has decided to return to the Northern Territory. He has received a wonderful offer to work with Year 5 & 6 students at Ngukurr in Arnhem Land. Mr Allman has been at our school for two years since his return from the Northern Territory at the beginning of 2019. We wish him all the very best with his new adventure.

Whilst it is upsetting to see our staff depart - we would like to take this opportunity to thank them all for their dedication to ensuring that each and every student at Dandenong North, has been provided with the best possible education.

Keyboard Lessons

Learn keyboard at school during school time in 2021

Places for 30 minute group

Available for grade 2-6 students

Enrolment form available at school

or call Lili 0438 901146- Music Melodies

lili@musicmelodies.com.au

UNSW English Testing

Last Friday, Mr Mackay handed out the Credit, Distinction and High Distinction certificates achieved by the students who sat the University of New South Wales English and Mathematics tests earlier this year. These tests are particularly difficult as they determine the top performers across Australia.

These tests were delayed this year due to COVID 19 and all tests were completed online.

Three children achieved a High Distinction in the Mathematics test! Vibhish (3W) , Kavya (5G) and Owen (5F) achieved in the top 5% of all children in Australia. A fabulous effort by both these children. Vibhish also scored a Distinction on the English test. Read below for the other children who performed well on the University of New South Wales testing.:

English
Distinction	Vibhish (3W), Hrishoth (6V)
Credit	Dhattatray (3A), Hannah (3B), Oneesha (3V), Vigashni (3A) Miheli (3V), Samaana (4P), Emily D (5D), Aishani M (5F), Ashmi T (5D),

Mathematics
High Distinction	Vibhish (3W), Owen (5F), Kavya (5G)
Distinction	Hannah (3B), Oneeesha (3V), Emily D (5D), Aishani M (5F), Ashmi (5D)
Credit	Dhattatray (3A), Ranjana (3F), Hrishoth (6V), Varooniha (6K), Jahnavi (6A)

End of Year Reports

Teachers have completed the end of Year Reports for students to take home on the last day of the school year. These reports will be in line with what the June Reports looked like. Due to students returning in early Term 4, children have been able to complete testing requirements, enabling classroom and specialist teachers to provide an assessment of each child’s learning.

The end of year reports will consist of:

An English and Mathematics overview
An assessment of the students learning. in English and Mathematics.
Specialist class overviews
An assessment of the students learning in specialist classes e.g Physical Education
An assessment of the children’s efforts during remote learning and the work habits they displayed.
A General comment.

Past Newsletter

Term 4, 2020

Term3, 2020

Term 2, 2020