Principal's Post
Dear Families,
After eleven weeks, we finally had the whole school back on site at 51 Centre Rd Vermont: our wonderful community of St James!
Most students in Years 3 - 6 were enthused and grateful to be back at school and socialising with their friends.
Thank you to all families who have followed our new procedures to help reduce the risk of transmission. While this may be a little inconvenient at times, it is much better than other possible outcomes of which the worst one is that the school closes again.
Our end of day dismissal has worked extremely smoothly on most days so we are going to trial bringing the 3.25 dismissal forward to 3.20 as of tomorrow. Evidence suggests that this time should still provide a safe social distancing environment.
Year Prep, One and Two Learning Conferences
These will take place next week on Thursday 25 June. Students who are at school for their Learning Conference will be with their teacher. Conferences booked in for after school times will obviously have students with their parents.
Families can make a booking via the school interviews website. Specialist teachers are also available for various time slots. Please make bookings by this Friday 19 June.
Please click on this link to book your interview time https://www.schoolinterviews.com.au/code?code=7ntzv
End of Semester One Student Reports
At the end of this term you will receive the written report about your child’s learning throughout Semester One. It will, however, look different from usual, as the content on which we will report will be reduced and the evidence we have of student achievement is not as comprehensive as usual. There will be no plotting of students against the Victorian Curriculum Achievement standards.
The June school report that you will receive in Week 11 will provide:
- an overview of the key learning curriculum areas of Religious Education and Integrated Inquiry Units taught
- an overview of the Specialist areas taught
- a list of student learning achievements for English, Mathematics and all other areas based on the Achievement Standards in the Victorian Curriculum
- a mark indicating effort and behaviour in every area
- a General Comment on your child throughout Semester One, including reference to the Remote Learning time.
The end of year report in December will provide a more comprehensive view of the year’s
learning across all usual curriculum areas and the usual dot marked against the Victorian Curriculum Achievement Standards.
Remote Learning Feedback
We are seeking feedback on the Remote Learning experience from families. Today, all families were sent a google forms survey to complete. It should take no more than 5 minutes to complete and will provide us with valuable information to both help evaluate. We welcome your responses. The survey will close next Monday 22 June, Thanks - in advance!
Board Shorts
We held our second Education Board Meeting Hangout for the term on Wednesday evening. Here are a few short summary statements of what we discussed:
- There are many additional procedures and practises in place to keep everyone safe and minimise the risk of transmission
- Many thanks and appreciation for all the effort put in by teachers, staff and parents throughout Remote Learning!
- Teachers are gathering assessment data about children’s growth after returning from Remote Learning
- Reports will not include progression points (‘dots’) as teachers do not have sufficient evidence to report against the standards at this time of the year
- Our Child Safety and Infectious Diseases Policies were reviewed and ratified
NCD Funding Letter
The NCCD is an annual collection of information about Australian school students with disability. The NCCD enables schools, education authorities and governments to better understand the needs of students with disability and how they can be best supported at school. Please read the information sheet below:
School Bus to go home
This is an option some families might like to consider. The bus route is - left into Heatherdale Rd, left to Good Governs, right to Purches St, right to Dudley St, left to Cochrane St, right to Orient Ave, left to Mitcham Rd, right to Canterbury Rd, left to Nurlendi Rd.
Students catching the bus depart their classroom at the 3.10 bell and head up the driveway to be supervised by the teacher on duty (usually Dave or Carmel). They board the bus as the only passengers and remain so until the bus reaches Vermont Primary School. All students need is a myki card.
Please email your child's class teacher and the school office if yo would like to add your child to the bus list.
Remote Learning Photo Gallery
I encourage you to have a look at the Remote Learning Photo gallery set up by Wendy from the many photos sent in by students and families throughout the term. The link is in the top right hand corner of the Student Landing Page.
https://sites.google.com/vic.catholic.edu.au/sjvstudents/photos
Parish Information
Father Dispin is available for any families who require pastoral or spiritual assistance. Feel free to call him 0413 683 153
Please see the parish website for the weekly mass and other information
New Kiss and Drop Procedures in the Morning
We are going to continue the same procedures for the rest of the term. Morning drop off has been working really well with social distancing not being an issue because most parents are staying in their cars. If you have been getting out of your car, I encourage you to trial staying in your car this week and allow your child to depart via the kerb side passenger door. Please keep our neighbours happy by not parking over driveways!
After School Pick Up Procedures
Thank you to all families who have been paying careful attention to social distancing and staying in your cars if possible. Because we have been able to safely dismiss students in a quick manner after school, we are going to trial Green and gold House dismissal at 3.20 from tomorrow onwards.
2021 Prep Enrolments
At this stage we have well over 60 applications for enrolment so a Waiting List is imminent. Unfortunately, any current families who have not handed in an enrolment form will need to join the waiting list once offers are sent out this week.
Did you know?
*Congratulations are in order to Molly and Rhett Masters, who are expecting their first child in December.
**Food Day orders need to be at the office before school TOMORROW morning. Thanks Kylie and her team for making this treat possible!
***Believe it or not - There's already some lost property in the tubs. Please check and make sure all of your child's items are clearly labelled.
COVID-19 and Wellbeing
Coronavirus: A Guide for Parents delivered by Dr Michael Carr-Gregg
Emerging Minds - Supporting Children During three COVID-19 Pandemic
Managing the disruption caused by COVID-19
It was great to have footy back on the weekend and we look forward to children's sports resuming next term!
Have a sensational week,
Dave