From the Principal

A NOTE FROM OUR SCHOOL COUNCIL PRESIDENT-Update on Principal Appointment

With the end of term 3 fast approaching, School Council would again like to acknowledge Linda and all that has been achieved under her capable leadership of the school over the past 14 years.

Members of council and our Assistant Principal Karen Bentata-Grimm, as the staff representative panel member, are working with the DET Regional Office to support the Principal appointment process. The process is ongoing and will continue into term 4.

An expression of interest has commenced for a short term Principal vacancy for term 4, providing further leadership support as the process to fill the substantive Principal role continues.

With the wonderful depth of leadership we have in the school, we know that Carnegie PS will be well placed to maintain the high quality learning programs, focus on wellbeing and strong partnerships with families throughout term 4, and we thank Karen and the senior leadership team for their support during this time. We will continue to keep you informed and look forward to our community having the opportunity to meet the Acting Principal for term 4.

Verity Walker

School Council President

SENSATIONAL SPORTING ACHIEVEMENTS

Congratulations to all of our year 3 to 6 students who participated in the Athletics Carnival on Wednesday 17th August. The weather was kind to us and the spirits high. Well done to all of the children who achieved their personal best or beat a school record. This was the first athletics day for our students in years 3, 4 and 5. We hope they enjoyed this special event. A special thanks goes to Mr Pollard and Mr Hodges, for spending many hours preparing and organising the day. Thanks also to the mums and dads who assisted on the day. The District Athletics will be held shortly, we wish all those competing at this level the very best.

BRILLIANT BOOK WEEK PARADE

Thank you for your efforts for creating very clever costumes for the book parade last week. The assembly, held in the gym, was streamed to families who were unable to attend. Thank you to Mr Nathan and year 6 students for using technology to enable this to occur. A thank you to Miss Schiano, our literacy leader, for sharing her passion for book week with our staff and students. All classes have had the opportunity to read a variety of the shortlisted books over the past few weeks. These will be available for student borrowing in the near future. We also acknowledge the Carnegie kinder students who attended the parade.

PARENT OPINION SURVEY

Our school is conducting a survey to find out what parents/caregivers/guardians think of our school. The Parent/Caregiver/Guardian Opinion Survey is an annual survey offered by the Department of Education and Training that is designed to assist schools in gaining an understanding of families’ perceptions of school climate, student behaviour, and student engagement. We encourage all families to participate in this survey. Our school will use the survey results to help inform and direct future school planning and improvement strategies.

While previously a random sample of approximately 30 per cent of parents/caregivers/guardians have been selected to participate, this year, all families are invited to participate in the survey.

All families received an invite, via Compass last week. The Parent/Caregiver/Guardian Opinion Survey is open until Friday 16th September.

Thank you to those of you who have already chosen to complete the survey. We value your feedback.

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. These include: Arabic, Vietnamese, Simplified Chinese, Chin (Hakha), Hindi, Japanese, Somali, Turkish, Punjabi and Greek.

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: Carnegie Primary School

You will need to use our CPS PIN which has been published on Compass. If you require a copy of the PIN, please contact the school office on 95712662.

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.

Please speak to Linda or Karen if you would like more information.

LUNCHTIME ACTIVITIES

Offering our children, a variety of choices during lunchtimes remains a focus at our school. Activities that are available and supervised by our staff, on various days, throughout the week, are Lunchtime Library, Art activities and Indoor& Outdoor Games with various teachers, Technology Club with Mr Nathan and Kenath, our ICT captain, Lunchtime Choir with Miss King, Mrs Dell and Miss Kelly and Japan Club with Sensei Yoshida and Sylvie, our Japanese captain.

Activities such as these support our students’ learning, build friendships, develop social skills and help ensure our school is a safe and happy place. I would like to thank the students and staff for giving of their lunchtime so generously. If students are unsure of what is happening on certain days, they can refer to the blackboard near the staffroom.

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION PRIVACY POLICY

The Department of Education and Training values the privacy of every person and is committed to protecting information that schools collect. All staff and service providers (contractors), (whether paid or unpaid) of the Department and our school must comply with Victorian privacy law and this policy. Below is a link that can be accessed to provide families with further information: -

https://www.education.vic.gov.au/Pages/Schools-Privacy-Policy-information-for-parents.aspx

If you have further questions, please call into the office and ask.

WORKS AROUND THE SCHOOL

Toilets upgrade - The last piece of advice we have received is that the design of the architects has been sent to the Victorian Schools Building Authority for consideration. We are hoping we will receive these for our consideration shortly.

Shade Sail – We met with contractor and discussed works we need to undertake to support this project. In order for the sail to be erected we need to remove much of the prep timber decking in this area for the poles to be installed. A temporary fence will be erected around this area once the works commence. We have engaged the services of a tradesman to work with Sunsoft in relation to this project. Thank you again to the PFA for supporting the additional costs associated with the project. Once completed, it will significantly enhance this area for our students and staff.

Lighting Upgrade - We have been liaising with a company, Shine On, in relation to upgrading some of the lights in our main building and many of our portables. This company focuses on delivering energy efficiency solutions to commercial businesses and government facilities using LED lights. The works will occur over our term 3 school holiday break.

Painting works and tile murals - Work has just been completed repainting the concrete stairwell of our main building prior to the installation of art tiles made by a number of students prior to covid lockdowns in 2019. Please take the time to look at this corridor when you have a few moments. the tiles have been framed and are displayed prominently in the stairwell. 😊

Under our DET Maintenance spending, we have recently completed painting the external lower windows of the far side of our main building.

TERM DATES FOR 2023 FOR YOUR DIARY

Term 1:

Year 1 to 6 students – Tuesday 31st January to Thursday 6th April, 2023

Preps – Thursday 2nd February to Thursday 6th April, 2023

On 2nd & 3rd February the Prep students will have a shorter session. Times to be advised later in the year.

Term 2:

Tuesday 24th April to Friday 23rd June, 2023

Term 3:

Monday 10th July to Friday 15th September, 2023

Term 4:

Monday 2nd October to Tuesday 20th December, 2023

Prep students don’t attend school on Wednesdays until Wednesday 15th March, 2023

WORDS OF WISDOM

Linda Jones & Karen Bentata-Grimm