We are well and truly into Term 2.

The teachers and students are working hard; assessing skills, setting goals, working to achieving them and writing reports. The students have been involved in sporting events, incursions, excursions, camps and listened to guest speakers. We have had a visit from the DET Regional Director who really enjoyed seeing the students working hard in their classrooms and specialist classes. I am looking forward to reading to all the Prep- Year 2 students on Wednesday 22nd May for National Simultaneous Storytime. It has been such a busy term and we still have a lot to fit in before it finishes.

School Council

School Council met last Wednesday 15th May. We reviewed policies, passed the finance and principals’ reports and discussed some proposed changes to the facilities. We are currently looking at upgrading some of the play areas. We are also having partitions, purpose built, for Waa, Wadjil and Ngarnga to separate classrooms in a more permanent way to block out noise and distraction as much as we can. We also celebrated that the VSBA has finally approved our covered walk ways around Ngargna and the shelter above our soccer field so we have another PE space during inclement weather. We are really grateful for our councillors who volunteer their time, ask interesting questions, advocate for the parent community and support the school.

Curriculum Day

On the 17th May, DCC held a Curriculum Day which focussed on School Wide Positive Behaviour. The staff revisited strategies for supporting and scaffolding student behaviour in the classroom; the process for mandatory reporting and ways to support students by making adjustments to support their learning needs with our allied health team. Our ES staff spent a half day at Warringa Park Specialist School, working with their allied health team; exploring different strategies to support students who need adjustments made in order to learn. It was a very productive day.

The next Curriculum Day is Friday 23rd August 2024 no students are required at school.

Attendance

Attendance is an issue facing Wyndham schools. For us, it is particularly so. In 2023, more than 45% of our students had 20 or more days off from school. As mentioned previously, this equates to a year off school over a student’s primary school. We really want to ensure that children are here for their learning. Here is an indicator of acceptable absence days for the year so you can think about your own child and how they are tracking with absence days. Of course, we do not want children at school if they are sick but having days off for birthdays, short appointments or holidays impacts their schooling.

Regular attendance	Risk of chronic absence	Chronic absence	Severely chronic absence
0-5 days	5.5-7 days	7.5-9.5 days	10+ days

Below are some tips for assisting you if you are having difficulty getting your child to school and on time.

Tips to help improve your child’s attendance

Talk to your child about school and how important it is. You can ask them how they feel about school, what they liked and if there are any problems.
Reward good behaviour and not bad behaviour. For example, if your child refuses to go to school, do not let them have access to their phones or the internet.
Set a good example. Show them how you keep to your own commitments.
Encourage your child to take on hobbies that your child enjoys such as sports and clubs. This will help them develop positive relationships outside of the classroom.
Have a set time to do homework and go to bed.
Leave all technology out of their bedroom.
Pack their school bag the night before with everything they need.
Have a set time for breakfast.
Plan to meet up with a friend so they can travel to school together.

Shop for your school

This weekend, my mother and I met at Werribee Plaza to do our weekly shopping so we could register our receipts for our school in the Shop for your School Competition. All shopping that you do at the plaza before 26th June can be added to our tally. Fresh food has double points!! Twenty schools are vying for the prize of $15000. I hope you can help by diverting some of your shopping to the plaza over the next month. The link to register your receipts is below:

https://pacificwerribee.qicre.com/Promotions/Shop%20for%20your%20school

Parent Chats on the Apps

A number of parents have brought to our attention, conversations that have occurred on the parent chat apps which have either made them upset or uncomfortable. Whilst we encourage parents to chat to one another and to support one another through a number of apps, we ask that if you have an issue with anything to come and have a conversation with us. I ask that instead of complaining about things and gathering support online that you come in and speak with us. I cannot emphasise enough that nothing will change and/or your perspective won’t be understood by the school if you are having those conversations online but not with us. We endeavour to listen; to seek to understand and we will try to work with you.

Gates

Our gates close at 8.40am in the morning and close at 3.15pm in the afternoon. Teachers are on duty in the playground from 8.25-8.40am. If you need to leave the grounds after 8.40am then you need to leave via the Administration building. We close the gates at 8.40am because teachers are no longer on duty in the yard. This is for the safety of your child.

We recommend you dropping your child off at the classroom; the routines are in place for the children at this stage of the year; they know where and how to wait for the teacher to open their classroom. If you do want to wait for the classroom doors to open before you head off, then please be respectful to those who have been doing duty in the yard and are locking the gates. No member of staff should have to experience rude behaviour or language from our community. The expectation is that parents exit via the administration building if they need to exit after 8.40am as the safety of your children is paramount to us.

Year 7 Camp

Year 7 camp last week was a huge success. Camp is such a wonderful opportunity for the students to get to know each other and the staff in a different environment. It helps build their resilience and independence.

Assemblies

Assemblies this term have focussed on building community and understanding someone’s else’s perspective. We need to be able to acknowledge someone’s else’s perspective (not necessarily believe the same or even agree) in order to work with them. This could be a helpful and supportive discussion for you and your children around the dinner table.

Reports will be coming out at the end of term. Please make sure you access them via Compass and if you need help, let us know. Celebrations of Learning at the end of the term will help give you an understanding of how your child is achieving as will Parent/Teacher interview early next term.

Have a great few weeks.

Acknowledgement of Country