Meet the Team

Ms Jan = Office Manager

Ms Karen = Office Assistant

Miss Tess = Business Manager

Mr Noel = Principal

Miss Carmen = Assistant Principal

Miss Beth = Leading Teacher

Learning Tasks

This term, families will be receiving Learning Tasks via Compass. Learning Tasks will provide continuous ‘real time’ snapshots of learning so that families are able to monitor their child’s progress across Literacy and Numeracy.

Our first Learning Task will be published via Compass by Monday. Please note, to access your child's Learning Task, families may be required to open Compass via your internet browser, and not the app.

If you have any questions regarding your child's Learning please don't hesitate to contact your child's teacher directly to discuss.

OSHClub - End of Day Procedure

This week, the School and OSHClub leaders met to review safety and supervision parameters given the popularity of the program and significant rise in enrolments.

Please note the following changes to our

End of Day Procedures -

All children report to OSHClub Staff immediately after School to sign-in
1. Prep Children will be collected on the Community Steps on Level 2. An OSHClub staff member will mark the role before moving children down to Level 1
2. Grade 1-6 children will line up in front of signs (eg Grade 1, Grade 2, Grade 3, Grade 4 etc) in the space between the canteen and the stairwell
Clubs/Extra Curricular activities will need to collect children from OSHClub only after they have been signed in/marked off the attendance role
OSHClub will collect children from the Clubs at the conclusion of each session
All families to enter/exit the building/collect children via the side entrance on Ferrars St, using the lift to access Level 1
No families are to exit via the stairs to Ground Level for safety and security reasons.

Students will need to sit quietly in lines so that OSH Club staff mark the attendance role
CLUBS: A line will be designated for children attending Clubs that day. They will be marked off the attendance roll first to ensure they can get to their Club/Activity on time

Uniform

We are very proud of our uniform and we think the children look fantastic when they are all in the correct uniform.

It is important that all students are wearing the correct uniform. Below you will find pictures that outline the correct uniform.

I have also included some FAQ and answers to guide you.

If your child is out of uniform, please inform their teacher of the reason why and endeavor to correct the issue as soon as possible.

Teachers will follow up on incorrect uniform.

Our Uniform:

Summer Uniform (Academic)

Short Sleeve Shirt (Unisex)

Dress

Tailored Shorts (Unisex)

Bomber Jacket

Winter Uniform (Academic)

Long Sleeve Shirt (Unisex)

Tailored Pants (Unisex)

Tunic (Doubles as a skirt)

Bomber Jacket

Navy Tights (not leggings)

Navy Crested Coat (Optional)

Sport Uniform

Sports Polo

Track Pants

Sport Shorts

Skort

Bomber Jacket

Accessories

School Bag (medium or large)

School Hat (worn from the start of April to the end of September as per SunSmart Policy)

Navy Socks, Tights and/or Bike Shorts

Shoes

Summer/Winter Uniform: Black leather (polishable) school shoes (velcro or lace up)

Sport Uniform: Non-marking soled runners

Question: What is the Academic Uniform and how can it be worn?

Shirts, shorts, trousers, dress and tunic are all interchangeable and unisex

Bomber Jackets are part of the academic and sport uniform (to be worn as needed)

For colder weather, a Navy Crested Coat will be available

For colder weather, students should wear the long sleeved shirt. Visible long sleeved T Shirts are not to be worn under the short-sleeved shirt.

Question: What is the Sport Uniform and when can it be worn?

Children in Years Prep to Grade 6 will need a sports uniform

Sports uniforms are worn on sports days or days when the student has Physical Education class or other special activities such as active (sports-based) excursions. Students can wear it all day and do not need to change in and out of it for the Physical Education session. It should not be worn on non-Physical Education days

Skorts are available, but are part of the Sports Uniform not the Academic Uniform

Sports uniforms should not be worn as part of the everyday uniform

Sports Shoes: Can be Velcro or lace up with non-marking (non-black) soles as we want to preserve our sports surfaces

 Question: What are the guidelines around Shoes?

School shoes should be black

School shoes should be polishable and either lace ups, Mary-Jane/Velcro style

Runners can be worn on sports days or on days when the student has Physical Education class or other special (sporty) activities

6/7 Transition

Parents in Grade 6 will need to complete the Grade 6/7 Application form below and return to our school if they are intending to send their child to a Victorian Government Secondary School in 2020.

Enrolling a child in Year 7 is an important choice. To support your decision making, the Department has launched a new website to help you locate your local school, and give you transparency of choice in public schools across the Victorian public school system.

Your child is guaranteed a place at their local designated neighbourhood school, however you can choose to request enrolment at another school if you prefer. The school will use the Placement Policy to consider the application.

What you need to do

Read the Department’s Placement Policy including the permanent address guidelines and the priority order of placement at: www.education.vic.gov.au/school/principals/spag/participation/Pages/placement.aspx
Locate your designated neighbourhood school or preferred secondary schools using www.findmyschool.vic.gov.au
Complete the Application for Year 7 Placement form and return to Beth Jones via email (bethan.jones@southmelbourneps.vic.edu.au) by Friday 17 May 2019.

If you unable to complete the form online and require a printed copy of the application form, please see Jan or Karen at our school office.

For any questions regarding Grade 6/7 transition, please do not hesitate to contact Beth Jones.

Young Engineers Completes One Year!

The Young Engineers has been in operation for one year now and we would like to congratulate them on their milestone. South Melbourne Primary School was their first Port Phillip School to get on board and the program has now expanded within the school and is now available to junior and senior students. Young Engineers have provided a quick update on what they have been doing this term:

Junior Group Video

Senior Group Video

Attendance

It is important that your child is at school every day. Attending and participating in school will help your child develop:

important skills and knowledge to help them learn
social and emotional skills such as good communication, resilience and team work.

If you child is away, it is a requirement that you let the school know the reason for this absence. You can do this by reporting it on Compass (preferred), calling the school office or emailing/contacting the teacher.

Teachers will follow up on any unexplained absences.

Please find the average attendance percentages for Week 3 for each class below:

Prep E	98.42
Prep D	94.50
2	94.32
1D	94.32
Prep F	93.18
Prep C	93.00
1A	92.44
1B	92.44
1C	92.30
Prep A	91.90
46B	89.59
46A	89.24
Prep B	86.67
3	85.55
1E	80.32

Woolworths - Earn and Learn

Woolworths Earn & Learn is back from May 1st and we are collecting this year. This campaign will earn the school resources and equipment.

When you shop at Woolworths you can collect Woolworths Earn & Learn Stickers from the checkout operator, via team members at the self service checkout or through an online order and place them on a Woolworths Earn & Learn Sticker Sheet. There will be one Woolworths Earn & Learn Sticker for every $10 spent. Once completed, simply place the Sticker Sheet in the Collection Box outside the office.

Please note that the school has no commercial arrangement with Woolworths and does not endorse its products over any other business. This promotion is mentioned purely because it may benefit our children if you happen to shop at Woolworths.

Morning Tea at 9am on 13th May

Please attend our 9am morning tea on Monday 13th May. We have a dietitian from Star Health presenting about healthy food choices and sharing some practical tips for creating healthy lunchboxes.

The morning tea is great way for parents to connect. We look forward to seeing many of you there at 9am in the Level 1 Multipurpose Room

SMPS and Star Health work closely together and have created a Health and Wellbeing Team so that the school can connect with their supports and resources. We are looking for a parent to join our Health and Wellbeing Team. We meet once or twice a term to discuss ways we can improve health practices across the school and community. If this is a team you would be interested in joining. Please email: bethan.jones@southmelbourneps.vic.edu.au

Healthy Recipes

Do you have a healthy recipe that your families love and request weekly?

If you do, we would love to see it! We are hoping to showcase a healthy recipe each week in this newsletter that we know have been tried, tested and children love.

If you have a recipe that you think our South Melbourne Primary School families would enjoy, please send your recipe with a picture to bethan.jones@southmelbourneps.vic.edu.au

Slippery Tiles

Reno is our new school maintenance worker and he ensures that the grounds of the school are clean at all times. Please note, however, that during wet weather, the tiles out the front of the school become quite slippery so please be careful at all times. Your safety is important to us!

Open Day Cake Stall

On Open Day, Monday 20 May, we have decided to run a Cake Stall for all our prospective families and the community attending. The stalls will be run by our amazing Parents and Friends Committee so we are please asking for donations of bite-size cakes, cookies and muffins that we can sell on the day as a fundraiser.

More information will come closer to the date via Compass. Thank you

Entertainment Book

On Wednesday, your child would have gone home with a sample of the Entertainment Book for you to explore what it has to offer as well as an order form. Please ensure all Entertainment Books are returned to the office with or without an order form.

Scholastic Book Club

Wow - we are off to a great start with Scholastic Book Club! Thank you to all those who have placed orders already. Orders for this issue will close this Monday night at 5pm. If you have misplaced your catalogue, please find it at the link below.

http://www.scholastic.com.au/schools/bookclub/assets/pdfs/pdf2019/bc319.pdf

Remember to pay online through the Scholastic website.

Once the orders are closed, the orders will be submitted, packed and delivered to school. We can't wait to see the kids' faces when they arrive!

Dates to Remember

May