Acting Principal's Message

As I write today, I’ve just finished yard duty in the Grade 1 playground, and I’ve seen the glorious spring flowers blossoming on the pink Cherry Blossom tree. I hope that this is a good sign that the warmer weather will become more frequent, and the 2022 winter season of illness is concluding.

As we pass the halfway mark of the school year, I reflect on the many challenges that have presented to the school community and how we have worked together to continue with the high academic standards and outstanding wellbeing programs, to support the needs of our students. Considerable work has been undertaken, by all stakeholders in our community, to support and drive the work that has been undertaken and the plans for the remainder of the year. The determination, collaboration, resilience and flexibility shown have ensured that considerable gains have been made in both the learning and wellbeing spaces. We are all better for the journey that we have undertaken as a school.

RAPID ANTIGEN TEST KITS – Keep our community safe

We still have a small number of COVID cases in our school community and I thank families for continuing to test when their child or extended family member exhibits any symptoms. We have additional RATs and masks available at school should you need them. Please contact the office if you need more supplies. Next week we will be sending home RATs to all families.

What Character is your child dressing up as?

This week is Book Week- Children’s Book Council of Australia - and the theme from CBCA (Children's Book Council of Australia) is ‘Dreaming with Eyes Open’. I am delighted to be able to say that we will be holding our much-loved dress-up book parade this Friday, directly after drop-off in the morning. I hope the children and parents have been busy preparing their costumes and I look forward to the return of this fun day.

Where is that school hat? Sunsmart Reminder 

For those students who have lost their school hat or for those students new to the school, now is the time to prepare for wearing a school hat to school every day. From Thursday 1st September our school hat should be worn at all times when students are outside, when at school.

We want our parents/caregivers/guardians to tell us what they think! 

Our school is conducting a survey to find out what parents/caregivers/guardians think of our school. The Parent/Caregiver/Guardian Opinion Survey is an annual survey offered by the Department of Education and Training that is designed to assist schools in gaining an understanding of families’ perceptions of school climate, student behavior, and student engagement. We encourage all families to participate in this survey. Our school will use the survey results to help inform and direct future school planning and improvement strategies. 

While previously a random sample of approximately 30 per cent of parents/caregivers/guardians have been selected to participate, this year, all families are invited to participate in the survey. The Parent/Caregiver/Guardian Opinion Survey will be conducted from now until Friday 16th September.

The survey will be conducted online, only takes 20 minutes to complete, and can be accessed at any convenient time within the fieldwork period on desktop computers, laptops, tablets or smartphones. The online survey will be available in a range of languages other than English. These include: Arabic, Vietnamese, Simplified Chinese, Chin (Hakha), Hindi, Japanese, Somali, Turkish, Punjabi and Greek. Last year we used the survey results to plan for next steps for the following years Annual Implementation Plan. A Compass post will be sent tomorrow indicating how to complete the survey.

A fabulous night of Trivia and Connection 

Last Friday night a small group of parents organised a wonderful community night - the annual trivia night. A big thank-you to Alicia Hanneberry (event organiser) and her crew of parents for making this night happen, so that we could reconnect, and at the same time raise some money for our grounds improvement plans.  This was our first trivia night since 2019 and it was a fabulous night of entertainment and community building.

How can we continue to make our school a great school?

Schools are positive places of learning where everyone has a right to a safe and healthy learning environment. Schools are also workplaces, and school staff deserve to work in an environment where they don’t feel threatened or unsafe. 

From Term 3, 2022, the School Community Safety Order Scheme (Scheme) will come into effect in all Victorian schools. This Scheme allows principals and other authorised persons to issue ongoing or immediate school community safety orders that place limitations on the way certain parents, carers or other adults who act in a harmful, abusive or threatening way behave towards staff, students or others in the school community. Click here for more information about the Scheme, including a short video that provides an overview of the Scheme. 

This Scheme provides a range of safeguards for people who may be subject to an order and their child. For example, before issuing an ongoing school community safety order, an authorised person must consider the person’s response to the notice to issue an order and how an order may impact their child. Orders can only be issued as a last resort option if it is the least restrictive option to address the behaviour. To read more about the protections built into the Scheme for parents, carers and other adults who may be subject to an order (including information on appeal rights), access the Department’s website. 

Everyone at school, particularly staff and parents/carers, play a role in making school a better place for learning and work. The Respectful Behaviours within the School Community Policy outlines the shared roles of parents, carers and school staff in creating a positive environment for learning. 

Our mutual objective is to support your child’s education. To do this, we ask that feedback and complaints are both constructive and respectful. Parents are reminded to follow the school’s complaints policy or process or the Department’s Complaints Policy if you wish to raise any constructive and respectful feedback.

You can find the Respectful Behaviours within the School Community Policy and other resources to build a positive relationship with our school community here.

Kind regards,

Sharon Wildermuth

Acting Principal