By the time we reached the end of the first week of the school year, the holidays seemed like a distant memory and all classes - even the Preps - were quite settled and focused on learning. Preps met and had lunch with their Year 5/6 buddies last Thursday and enjoyed the attention and sense of security of having an older student looking out for them while they were in the playground.

The Year 5/6s are busily planning their nominations for student leadership roles. House captain candidates will give their speeches in the coming week, with other roles filled very soon afterwards. Junior School Council elections will take place in each classroom, except Prep rooms, next week. As flagged last year, the representatives will be elected for the year, rather than the semester, so that JSC can trial the formation of student action teams, giving that group a specific focus.

It certainly doesn't take long to get back into the swing of things! This coming Friday, February 12th,  we are looking forward to a big turn out for the annual Welcome Picnic - an Auburn PS, BYO everything, social traditional which provides an oportunity to welcome new families and catch up on holiday news. The picnic takes place in the school grounds, in the area around the school's hall.

The term planner will come home this week, outlining all events and activities planned for the term. You can also check the calendar on this page for the same information.

Hopefully all families received the 2010 Excursions and Camp Costs Information last week. School Council asked that we provide an annual outline of the costs of excursions, camps, swimming etc so that families can either make a single payment or budget across the year. The first payment is due on Friday February 12th, whether choosing instalments or paying in full. The Footsteps dance sessions are the major activity for all classes this term and they began last week, with lots of movement and loads of fun! We welcome feedback on the annual excursion charge and any ideas on how we can improve the system we have in place.

Relevant families have received written information about the unforeseen problem that was discovered as we tried to load software onto the netbooks. We are working with the supplier to find a fix, which may be a software solution, but could possibly  mean that all units currently at the school have to be returned to the factory. This is very disappointing for all concerned, and we are working hard to find a solution as quickly as possible.

Marcia Lane, principal

The Artist in Residence enrolment form for 2010 is available here.

Check out the calendar to read about some holiday activities you may like to consider.

You can register for an online email alert at http://www.auburnps.vic.edu.au/text/subscribe_to_the_mailing_list_a1dn.htm. If you haven't signed up for a very convenient email alert when The Oracle is published online, just click on the bright red button in the top right hand corner of this page. You’ll be guided to the right spot. It’s that easy!  You can also register to view the private pages by filling out the form to apply for password access.