Capital Works Update

The demolition program and site establishment is drawing to an end and the construction company is now preparing for the earthworks, which includes the site cut, installation of in-ground services and concrete footings. Fortnightly meetings are held onsite between the school, VSBA, CBRE project manager and SJ Higgins senior project manager. Progress of the program is running on time, with stage 1 of the three stages expected to be completed by the end of the year.

Our school captain Charlie met with Sam the site manager earlier this week to check in on progress of the work to provide an update to students and staff on Friday at our whole school assembly. Charlie was happy for me to share their report with you.

School Building Report (June 2022) - made by Charlie (SLC7)

Hi everyone, today I'm here to give you all the news of what's happening with our new school build. A lot has changed since last month, they have almost completed demolishing for the new school, about 95% completed and they will continue to work on making sure the school is ready. Some changes that you may have heard are that the playground area has been demolished so there's not much left besides dirt and machines. One of the biggest changes I noticed is that the old PLC4 classroom has been removed so there's a lot more space. I even saw a big truck helping to remove all the old concrete and rubbish they don't need, they hope by the end of this year the first stage of the school will be hopefully finished which includes the new admin office and new classrooms. They still have a while to go so expect things to be busier as they continue to work hard to make sure we have a new awesome school. I'll see you in the next report.

COVIDSafe Update

As detailed in my BSC message sent on Monday, following advice from the Acting Chief Health Officer, there will be no changes to the mandated vaccination requirements for staff working in specialist schools, given the higher percentage of vulnerable students in our specialist schools. This means that all Belmore School staff must continue to have three-doses of a COVID-19 vaccine.

Belmore School Bank Details

The Department of Education and Training have recently renewed their Banking and Financial Services State Purchase Contract with requirement for all Victorian Government schools to change their official account to a bank selected from a panel of three suppliers: Commonwealth Bank, Westpac Bank and National Australia Bank.

Subsequently the Belmore School Council advises that from 11 July 2022, the Belmore School Official Account will change to the Westpac Bank with our new banking details being:

Account Name: Belmore School Official Account

BSB: 033 089

Account Number: 671337

Please be assured our previous Official Account held with Bendigo Bank will still operate for a short time during our transition between banks. I take this opportunity to recognise the incredible support Bendigo Bank has provided to Belmore School over many years through our close association.

NAIDOC WEEK

National NAIDOC Week celebrations are held across Australia in the first week of July each year (Sunday to Sunday), to celebrate and recognise the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. NAIDOC Week is an opportunity for all Australians to learn about First Nations cultures and histories and participate in celebrations of the oldest, continuous living cultures on earth. This year, NAIDOC Week is celebrated from 3-10 July (the second week of the school holidays) with the theme of ‘Get up! Stand up! Show up!’

The use of children’s books and stories can help our students learn more about First Nations cultures and histories. I encourage you to access Story Box Library over the holidays to participate in the NAIDOC Week Story Box Library Reading Challenge:

watch the story read
learn more with short films
play with activity time
borrow and discover more

https://storyboxlibrary.com.au/blog/join-our-reading-challenge-naidoc-week-stories

SLC 6 and SLC 7 Excursion

I was fortunate to join a number of our secondary students and staff on their excursion to the Melbourne Recital Centre on Monday to enjoy a relaxed performance presented by Songmakers Australia. The Centre’s series of Relaxed Performances are specifically suited for audiences with sensory sensitivities, using altered lighting, more in-depth musical explanations and accompanying access resources. Our students were impeccably behaved with all appreciating this unique musical experience.

The next relaxed performance will be performed by Ensemble 642 during the holidays on Wednesday 6 July at 11.00am. Information can be found on the Melbourne Recital Centre's website.

https://www.melbournerecital.com.au/events/series/relaxed/

End of Term 2

I would like to congratulate our entire school community on their achievements throughout the first half of the year. We have all appreciated being back onsite together, enabling a refreshed focus on teaching and learning. Given the significant impact of the demolition works enduring impact of COVID-19 and a host of additional winter illnesses, our students and staff have continued to demonstrate their extraordinary resilience and ongoing positive approach to teaching and learning. Two weeks of rest and recreation is well deserved by us all.

I look forward to welcoming all students and staff back to school on Monday 1th July for the commencement of Term 3.

Karen Overall

Principal

Dates to Remember

Friday 24 June

Monday 11 July

Wednesday 20 July

Wednesday 27 July

Monday 15 August

Friday 16 September

Monday 3 October