Principal's Message

Welcome back everyone. While it was a cold holiday, it was also a nice chance to catch up with family and friends, that is, of course, if you had a holiday.

Someone who had a very special holiday was Ms Tran Bernard, whose son, Vincent Oscar Ellis Bernard, arrived four days early on Friday 12 July at 5.30pm, weighing 3.2kg. Mother and son are all doing well and Tran and her husband, Mike, are really enjoying the time getting to know their little man. We are looking forward to meeting Vinny when he returns with his mother for a visit.

More wonderful news when we found out that on Sunday the 14th of July at 8:54pm Ms Kate Fitzmaurice and her partner Matthew welcomed their precious little boy Jax Barnes into the world!

Apparently, and we believe them, he is just perfect and weighs 3.85 kg. Everything went well.

Kate says she loves having Matthew as her personal assistant as they enjoy these early days as a family. Congratulations to you all.

First Aid good news. Thank you very much to the family of Gabby (1-21) who donated a new mobile for use in First Aid. This will make the communication between school and home easier. Full details will be published when operational.

We wish Mrs Kerry Gibbs a relaxing and enjoyable holiday with her husband as she takes two weeks leave.

You may have read about the mobile phone ban for all students in Victorian primary and secondary schools from Term 1, next year. This ban was announced by the Minister for Education James Merlino with the aim of reducing distraction, tackling cyber bullying and improving learning outcomes for students. As part of the Department’s new policy, students must switch off their phones and store them securely from the start of the school day until the final bell. When emergencies occur, parents and guardians can reach their child by calling the school.

Given that we already have a Mobile Devices Policy, there will be little change for us. Please note that our policy includes smart watches and any device with the capacity to be connected to wifi or to take photos. I have included a copy of our Mobile Devices policy.

MOBILE DEVICES POLICY

• Mobile devices brought to school by students are not to be turned on between 9:00 a.m. and

3:30 p.m.

• Mobile devices brought to school are to be stored in the student’s bag and they must remain out of sight.

• Students are not allowed to use the camera on their mobile device to capture video or images of people, including students, teachers and members of the school community without their permission. This is in recognition of the rights of students and staff members to privacy with regard to having photos posted online.

• The school recognises that parents/students may need to communicate by mobile device. This can be done before school commences at 9:00 a.m. and after school finishes at 3:30 p.m. Between 9:00 a.m. and 3:30 p.m., the school will contact parents if and when necessary and parents can contact the office when an important message has to be passed on to their child.

• Mobile devices are brought to school at their owner’s risk (students and staff). The Department of Education and Training does not hold insurance for personal property brought to schools and will not pay for loss and damage.

• The school will not interrupt programs to investigate damage, loss or theft of mobile devices.

• Staff are not permitted to use mobile devices for private use when they are supervising or teaching students because of their “Duty of Care” legal requirements to students.

• Students will not be allowed to bring their mobile devices on school camps or excursions.

• Serious consequences will be put in place when mobile devices are used in ways that do not abide by the school policy and school values. The Principal may revoke a student’s permission to bring a device onto the school premises. In some circumstances, students’ mobile devices may be confiscated and stored securely at the school office.

• Mobile devices must not be used to send inappropriate, harassing or threatening messages or device calls, or to engage in inappropriate social media use including cyber bullying.

• Parents, staff and students need to be trusted to abide by the school policy. 

For the families who use the top gate into the school, we have some good news. You may remember that in November 2017, staff from Whittlesea Council attended the Plenty Parklands Primary School Year 6 Market Day and held an onsite pop-up session in Telopea Park. 

A concept plan was presented at these sessions so that the community could see what Council was planning and the reasoning behind the decision process.  School students, and their parents/guardians, plus visitors to the park, were able to ask some of Council’s landscape architects questions and provide their thoughts about the current park, and what they would like to see in an updated park. Idea boards were provided so that the community could write down their ideas. 

Two questions were asked on the Ideas Boards to Participants. What are your favourite features of the overall plan? What would you like to see included in the play space?

Council is please to confirm that many of the ideas raised by students and residents are being delivered during the upcoming construction works. 

These include:

• Concrete paths
• Shelter for summer shade
• Seating
• Different playground equipment for various ages
• Slides and birds-nest swings
• A climbing net

Following the construction of the half-court basketball court in 2018, Council will soon begin the construction of the next phase of works to improve this park. 

During this time some parts of the park will be fenced off, but the footpaths will remain open, so you can still access the school.    The Council has asked us to say that they appreciate your patience while improvements are made to the park. Needless to say, we are very pleased with the upgrade.

If you have any questions about the park or the construction process, please contact Katelyn Stanyer parks@whittlesea.vic.gov.au or

phone 92172286

Claire McInerney

Principal