Middle SS News

Term 1, Week 2

You did it! We’ve conquered the first week of school for 2024. I’m sure we can all agree that whilst the set up takes an extra ounce of effort, patience and hard work, it is worth it to ensure routines and structures are in place to ensure a smooth year ahead.

SSG’s 

SSG’s are taking place this week, as well as into Weeks 3 and 4. These are a perfect opportunity for you to ask all of those questions you’ve been wanting to find out from parents and carers. Don’t forget to get an update on external supports and of course any exisiting medical concerns. If there are any changes, be sure to update classroom documentation including Student Profiles. Similarly, if there are any changes to medication and/or transport arrangements, be sure to update the office so that they can both update files as was as provide any forms that may need to be revisited by parents.

Please ensure SSG minutes are uploaded to students files on SharePoint as well as emailed to me. This can be done at the completion of your SSG’s. In the event you are not able coordinate an SSG with parents, please clearly document this on the SSG template, with the dates and times you made contact, and as you would your other SSG minutes, upload to SharePoint. 

A reminder that full time education support staff are available to support with minutes however this needs to be coordinated in advance directly with the ES. 

Visual Timetables

Visual Timetables should be sent home to parents by the end of the week. For further information regarding these, and to access a template please refer to my email sent in Week 1.

Playground Roster

I’d like to say a big thank you to everyone for their flexibility and ‘can do’ mindset when it comes to implementing a new playground roster. I appreciate the small, but significant arrangements you have in place around this to enable it to succeed. 

Work Programs & Maintenance Programs

It is wonderful to see so many rooms with maintenance programs on walls and weekly programs uploaded to SharePoint. I hope you begin to feel a sense of routine as we head into week 2, and continue on with a habit of uploading on Monday mornings!

Excursions

A reminder to begin to consider what excursions you may like to take your students on through the year, and begin to input this into your annual excursion planner, already saved on SharePoint, ready to be edited. No excursions will be taking place in Term 1 with the exception of ADVANCE and VPC. All documentation for future excursions is due by Week 5 of Term 1, to allow for adequate preparation time at both classroom, sub school and admin level. Thank you in advance for adhering to this timeline. As you can imagine, late submission of documentation has a knock on affect, and does not provide ample time for suitable measures to be put in place.

Please ensure you follow the below processes when planning for an excursion:

Excursions/Incursions Approval and Planning

Pre-Approval

1. Make a tentative booking for the excursion at the venue.  Check availability – cost, dates and time.

2. If applicable, make a tentative bus booking (SharePoint).  Classes with 2 teachers please see Finance / Transport Officer for information regarding arrangements for bus transport.  

3. Complete template Template Risk Assessment for Local and Day Excursions (Appendix A-A11 Template Risk Assessment for Local and Day Excursions (DOCX)). 

4. The sub-school leader MUST review and pre-approve the excursion before it is approved by the principal. 

5. (a) Complete an Online Purchase Order (Principal to authorise). The online ordering is completed via eSchools. Please contact the Finance Office if you require a login.

(b) If the funds are required for shopping for a cooking program, The Food Technology budget co-ordinator will authorise the purchase order.

6. Completed Excursion Notification to be placed in tray in the Finance Office.

And finally…

I hope this week is kind to you and that you’re able to apply yourself more confidently, knowing a little more about the students in your classrooms. Here’s to continuing to build rapport- with our students and with each other.