From Our School Leaders

Lockdown 6.0

The rollercoaster of lockdown continues. We are now in Lockdown 6.0 with news yesterday of it extending until mid-next week.

Lockdown is hard. It potentially hurts our kids and it’s a drain on parents. The first time was tricky; there were challenges. For some, it was horrible, but most of us managed ok and got through it. However, with each subsequent lockdown, things get harder - the pressure feels higher, the demands feel greater.

We are feeling it too, and all we can say is that it will end one day. You know there’s a myriad of things you can do – daily walks, podcasts, cooking, craft, mindfulness meditation, chatting to friends - it does just take that extra effort in these challenging lockdown times.

So, with a "Keep Calm, Carry On" mentality, we have a few things happening at Scoresby PS, and a few to celebrate as well.

New School Logo

We have been busily working away at our new website and logo over the past few weeks. We have come to an agreement on the following design. Please understand it is still a work in progress.

The logo we have been working on encompasses our 5 HEART values, represented by the 5 people coming out of the white heart. Scoresby Primary School text is wrapped around our 5 values representing our community.

We welcome your thoughts and feedback on the new design. The yellow banner will be the potential logo – it is placed on a green background to see the look on school bags and uniforms.

We are excited by the design; we like its clarity and connection to what makes SPS the HEART of Scoresby.

Year 4 Camp

It was such a huge relief to wave the buses off and get our Year 4 cohort off to camp. As expected, they had a fabulous time. Sue popped up and had breakfast with them on Friday morning and they were all happy to share their stories and pancakes with her. Reports from the staff were that the children were so beautifully behaved and showed great consideration for each other. They all tried the new experiences on offer; some even got up close and personal with reptiles!

Camping experiences don’t happen without organisation, and we would like to thank and recognise Carolyn Sheaf for her terrific coordination of the Year 4 Camp, and to Maddy Collins and Meaghan Edmondson for their work as well. They all did a great job of making this experience a fabulous success for these lovely Year 4 children.

Mini Olympics

On Friday 30th July, just as we came back from Lockdown 5.0, we held an impromptu Mini Olympics at Scoresby PS. It was a gorgeous, sunny (windy) winter’s day, so we were able to run the event outside. The children gathered and we spoke about sportsmanship, looked at the Olympic flag and then explained all the events for the day.

We had an equestrian event (galloping with hockey sticks), shooting event (nerf guns), canoeing event (on skate boards), hammer throwing event (tennis balls in stockings) and a few more…

We'd like to thank the wonderful Ms Symons for organising the very creative events which were fun-filled and totally engaged our whole school. It was lovely to come together after lockdown, reconnect and have a fun time at school, while celebrating the Olympics.

Please see the Mini Olympics report by one of senior students - accompanied by some fantastic photos - later in this newsletter.

Parent Opinion Survey

Once again, we have been asked by the Department of Education and Training (DET) to complete the annual Parent Opinion Survey. This Government survey is designed to give the Education Department and the school an understanding of families’ perceptions of our school climate, student behaviour, student engagement and our experiences of remote and flexible learning. All responses to the survey are anonymous.

This year, the Parent/Caregiver/Guardian Opinion Survey will be conducted from Monday 19th July to Sunday 22nd August. The survey will be conducted online, only takes 20 minutes to complete, and can be accessed at any convenient time within the fieldwork period on desktop computers, laptops, tablets or smartphones. The online survey will be available in a range of languages other than English if required.

Last year we used the survey results to assist us in creating our Annual Implementation Plan.

Please follow the instructions below to complete the survey. PLEASE NOTE: Only one parent/caregiver/guardian from your family is asked to complete the survey.

To complete the survey, simply:

Click on the link below, or copy and paste the text into your browser. This link will take you directly to the survey. https://www.orima.com.au/parent
Select the School and Campus name below.
School Name: Scoresby Primary School
Campus Name: Scoresby
Enter the School PIN : 332857
When complete, please click on the tick button at the end of the survey to submit your answers.

Please note that the survey will time out after 60 minutes of inactivity.

Thank you for taking the time to participate. Your assistance is greatly appreciated.

Attending SPS In 2022

We know it is only the beginning of August, but we are now starting to plan for the 2022 school year.

We are finalising our Prep enrolment for 2022 and another important piece of information we need when planning for a new school year is how many students we will have across the rest of the school. This information is essential when we are planning the number of classes at each level and how much money will be available for staffing, specialist programs, etc.

If you know that your child will not be at Scoresby Primary School in 2022, please let Sue know in writing as soon as possible. Please do not leave it until Term 4. We realise that some families find this conversation difficult for a range of reasons, however it will be a huge assistance to us to know as soon as possible.

Postponements And Cancellations

Many planned events will be postponed or cancelled over the coming weeks and months due to lockdowns. Sometimes there’s just not enough time to fit them all in and, with many other schools are also moving things around, and it’s getting increasingly difficult to rearrange events.

The following are some of the events on the school calendar which have been affected:

School Review – moved until late August 24th & 25th / September 10th
School Production – postponed until 2022
Scholastic Book Fair - rescheduled to last week of Term 3
Working Bee - postponed until further notice
F-4 Swimming - waiting to be notified
Year 5/6 Summer Sports – waiting to be notified
Hooptime - waiting to be notified
PFA Father’s Day Stall – will go ahead in some form

Thank you all for working so cooperatively with us during Remote Learning. We know some children thrive and some dive during this learning at home time for a plethora of different reasons. It’s a matter of supporting each child together as best we can. Don’t forget to call out to your class teachers if you have any concerns about your children.

SUE HARTLEY AND NICOLE RHEUMER

Scoresby Primary School Leaders