Important Announcements

Summer Reading Challenge

Congratulations to the students who continued their learning over summer by completing the Summer Reading Challenge! What a great way to stay engaged and continue to build a love of reading. If your child completed the Summer Reading Challenge, please ensure that this is returned to school by Monday. Miss Jo has put a box in the foyer for students to drop their challenges in, or they may return it to their teacher who will put it in the box. We will then be preparing certificates to recognise their participation. Well done to all participants!

Rock Band & Marimba Band Auditions

We are excited to get our ensembles program up and running in the coming weeks. The Rock and Marimba Bands are extra-curricular opportunities for students to engage in additional music education at our school.

Students who successfully audition for either band are expected to rehearse during one of their breaks or potentially during a 30 minute session during class time each week. Band members are required to commit to the program for the entirety of the year.

Auditions will be held at break times during Week 3. Students will be notified prior to audition times.

Here are the details of each band

Rock Band – Grade 5/6 Students

• 1 x drummer
• 1 x bassist
• 1 x guitarist
• 1 x keyboardist
• 2 x vocalists

Instrumentalists should prepare a 60 second piece to showcase their skills. Vocalists should prepare the first verse and chorus of a song of their choice.

Marimba Band – Grade 4/5/6 Students

• 14 spots available

No preparation necessary. Students will be provided with audition material upon arrival and given time to rehearse before their audition.

We very much look forward to developing some fantastic band material to share with you this year!

Uniform

During 2020, it was challenging to purchase school uniform items as many shops were closed. As a result, we needed to be forgiving with our uniform standards. However, now the shops are open, we are resuming our high expectations and follow up of uniform standards. The following items will be regularly monitored by teachers and followed up with parents where necessary.

Question: Why does the school have a uniform?

Answer: In our urban setting, it is very important for student safety that we can identify our children quickly in a crowd. Our students will be mixing in the urban environment to assist with the education experience and being identifiable is important for staff and helpers. A mandatory School uniform also provides students with a sense of belonging. 

Uniform Expectations

• Matching: Students wear 'short and short' or 'long and long'. This means that if they wear shorts, they must wear the shirt with short sleeves. If they wear long pants, they must wear the long sleeve shirt.
• Summer Dress: Should not be worn with tights or leggings. Navy bike shorts may be worn under the dress but should not be visible below the dress hem line when seated or standing.
• Tights: Tights are only to be worn with the tunic and long sleeve shirt, not the summer dress. Leggings are different to tights. Leggings are not part of the school uniform.
• Under Shirts: In colder weather, students should wear the long sleeved shirt. Long sleeved tee shirts are not to be worn under the short-sleeved school shirt.
• Bag: The school bag is a compulsory uniform item. A large and medium bag with the School's logo are available for purchase.
• Hat: The School hat is a compulsory item that needs to be worn when outdoors from the start of September to the end of April (as per the School SunSmart Policy). Hats must be the school hat.
• Nails: Finger nails should be natural. This means no nail polish or acrylic nails.
• Hair: Must be natural colours.
• Socks: Navy socks are a compulsory uniform item (long or short acceptable).
• Shoes
  • School shoes should be black
  • School shoes should be polishable and either lace ups, Mary-Jane/Velcro style
  • Black runners are not polishable and therefore do not meet the expectation
  • Runners can be worn on sports days or on days when the student has Physical Education class or other special (sporty) activities
• 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.

PE Days:

Question: What if there are cultural considerations around aspects of wearing School uniform?

• If there are any cultural issues which require (for instance) a dress which is longer than standard, Bob Stewart is willing to provide a special fitting. This takes time and a fitting request should be placed with Bob Stewart with sufficient lead-time given
• Any cultural or religious head dress should be navy blue to fit into the colour and style of the overall School uniform. Bob Stewart does not supply navy head scarves.
• Students who require their arms to be covered will need to purchase the long sleeved shirt.

School Gates 

Our school gates are locked at 9.05am and 3.35pm. It is really important that your child is on time in the morning. The latest they should arrive at school should be 8.55am to ensure they make it up to their learning level by 9:00am when learning begins.

If the doors are locked when you arrive, you need to contact the office on 9935 9399 to have the gates open.

If your family uses the bike shed - please ensure you close the gate behind you. We recommend you bring a bike lock to lock your bike/scooter in the shed. The school will not take responsibility for any lost or stolen items. 

Student Device Program - Grade 1 and 4, and New Families

It was wonderful to see almost all our Grade 1 and 4 families earlier this week picking up their devices. The support for our device program is fantastic. We really appreciate the enthusiasm shown by families towards this initiative. Thank you to all families who came in on Wednesday and Thursday to collect this vital learning tool. This has meant that the children are able to begin using their devices from day 1.

If you are new to our school and are yet to purchase your device, please see the table below of how to purchase it.

Student Device Expectations at Home

As mentioned last year, we urge families to exercise their parental responsibilities to limit the amount of screen time and device use in the home. It is important that families closely monitor the use of devices in the home and develop strict usage agreements with their children. It is not the school’s responsibility to monitor and track usage at home however, we are happy to share some strategies to support:

• Limit the screen time in the home each day (e.g. 15-30 minutes depending on the child’s age)
• Discuss what is appropriate to have on the device and what is not (e.g. apps, favourited websites, etc). Regularly check the device. See some age-restricted apps/websites below. As almost all our students are under 12 years old, they should not have access to any of the apps/websites listed below.
• Only allow device use in an open area such as the living room, dining table to enable close monitoring of their use by adults.
• Allocate a ‘public’ area in the home for devices to be stored/charged overnight. Do not allow children to take the device into their bedroom, especially overnight.
• Discuss cyber safety regularly.
• Model your own discipline when it comes to device usage. For example, turn your mobile phone off or place in your bag during family time.
• Encourage children to talk, play and socialize, particularly outdoors when possible.

We do not support game playing on school devices. They are for educational purposes but we also understand that we cannot fully control everything - we rely on working together. 

2021 Parent Payment Arrangements

The 2021 School Fees are now available to pay via Compass Course Confirmation and Payments. Our Parent Parent Arrangements are available on the school website (https://southmelbourneps.vic.edu.au/) along with the DET's Policy. 

Payments can be made in full or via the following set instalment dates: 1st December 2020, 1st of January 2021, 1st of February 2021 and 1st of March 2021. 

If you require an alternative payment plan, please contact our Business Manager, Tess, on 9935 9399 or tess.duerden@southmelbourneps.vic.edu.au. CentrePay is also available. If you believe you are eligible for Camps, Sports and Excursion Funding, please contact Tess prior to making your payment. We thank you for your continued support and voluntary payments and donations.