From the Office 

News From the Principal

New Newsletter

Welcome to our very first e-newsletter, which should have arrived automatically into your preferred email inbox. If you know anyone else who would like to receive our fortnightly newsletter, please contact Bree or Lisa so we can add them to our subscribers list.  

The newsletter is accessible from your smartphone, iPad, laptop or desktop computer and will often have live links and attachments that you can click on to read. 

Whilst we can print off copies, it is worth noting that this format is best read online (as that is what it is designed to do) and that the links and attachments are not accessible in printed format. 

The new online format means we can inexpensively provide our school community with a more interactive and informative newsletter, with more photos and information. The ease at which this can be put together will save a lot of time and stress in the office. It also allows for our wider community to receive information about what we here at Raywood Primary are up to and for families to always have access to dates and times for events. 

No more soggy or lost paper newsletters for our families. 

School Council 2022

We need some parent members on our Raywood Primary School Council. As you would have read in the last newsletter, this is not a time consuming task, but such a small (twice per term) contribution makes a huge difference to our school. 

Parent members do not require any specialised skills, just a keen interest in continuously improving our school and as a safeguard to ensuring that as  a school we are meeting the needs of our parents, community and following departmental regulations. 

Please consider joining us, meetings are only an hour in length and we can certainly organise supervision of children if that is the only thing holding you back. Without parent members on School Council we can not perform our legal obligations as a school. 

Nomination forms are available at the office or you can ask to have one sent home with your child. 

Please give this your consideration.

Vaccinations

It’s been really fantastic to see such excitement around the return to school and we want to keep it that way. A crucial part of that is getting as many students vaccinated as possible. 

Alongside ventilation and other vital COVIDSafe steps such as regular rapid antigen testing, supporting as many students as possible to be vaccinated will help make our school as safe as possible. 

Bookings for children aged 5 to 11 to receive the paediatric Pfizer vaccine are open and we encourage parents and carers to get your child vaccinated, if you haven’t already done so.  The Pfizer vaccine is safe and recommended for children. The vaccine will help protect your child from getting sick from COVID-19, help to reduce the spread of COVID-19, and help ensure kids can have more time at school and playing with their friends.

Vaccinations for children aged 5-11 years old are delivered at 2 appointments, 8 weeks apart. Children with specific medical vulnerabilities can access their second dose 3 weeks after their first dose.

If you’d like more information about this, you can read a recent statement from the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI): https://www.health.gov.au/news/atagi-update-following-weekly-covid-19-meeting-19-january-2022  

To book an appointment You can book at your local GP or pharmacy: https://covid-vaccine.healthdirect.gov.au/booking

You can also book at a family-friendly vaccination centre by calling the Coronavirus Hotline on 1800 675 398.

You can also make vaccination centre bookings for your children online, though you will need to use an email address that has not been used in the system before: https://portal.cvms.vic.gov.au/

Helping children to get their vaccination

Vaccination centres understand that children may feel anxious about vaccination or have other support needs. A range of options are available to help children get vaccinated. Please discuss your child’s needs with the vaccination centre when you book an appointment. 

Appointments are also available at Aboriginal Controlled Community Health Organisations.  👉 Find out more about vaccination for kids: https://www.coronavirus.vic.gov.au/vaccination-information-children-and-teenagers

Rapid Antigen Testing

We have just received word from the Department of Education and Training that the Rapid Antigen Testing program will continue until the end of Term 1. This means that we will receive another supply of testing kits and will issue one per student to families. We ask families to test each Sunday and Wednesday as a means of keeping each other safe and preventing an outbreak that could lead to a school closure. This testing is not compulsory but strongly recommended.  A huge thank you to those families and staff who have been regularly testing. 

Headlice

We have already had one reported case of headlice. It is a timely reminder that families ensure that they are regularly checking their children for signs of infestation. We suggest a weekly check if there has been no evidence of lice or eggs in the past fortnight with a daily check if your child has been recently infected.

We are going to reinstate regular checks at school too, with families having given permission for this when they first enrolled. However, if you would like to opt out of this check all you need to do is message us via uEducateUs (so it is private and confidential) and let us know you would prefer to perform the checks yourself. 

Please click on the link below if you require some further information about headlice infestations or treatments. 

https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/conditionsandtreatments/head-lice-nits

If you have any questions please do not hesitate contact Lisa at the school. 

Thank you everyone, Lisa Duffy 

News from the Business Manager

Voluntary financial contributions

I've attached below a letter explaining voluntary contributions. If you have any questions or concerns please contact Bree or Lisa. 

Also attached is  a brief overview of the Parent Payments Policy which came into place Mid 2021.

Thanks so much 

Bree

uEducateUs Notification Preferences within the App

A Reminder to everyone to please ensure you have set up uEducateUs on your device.

I have attached below  a "How To" document, this also explains how to manage the notification preferences on your phone so you can receive a notification letting you know you have a message to read. 

That is all for this week, Bree Blake.