Principal's Desk 

Corinne Pupillo 

Dear parents, carers and friends of the school community,

As we move towards a more COVID19 normal, daily Rapid Antigen Testing helps us keep our community safe.  I understand this may be challenging for some of our students and I sincerely thank those families that have committed to supporting their child /ren to take the daily nose swabs.  This practice will continue until the end of term 1. 

Staff are also in the process of receiving their mandatory 3rd COVID19 vaccination which DET is managing.  We hope the mandatory 3rd vaccination will provide our staff with additional protection against COVID19. 

Positive COVID19 Test Result

Just a quick reminder that if your child/ren tests POSITIVE to COVID19 (via a PCR or rapid antigen test) parents and carers are requested to log this on the COVID Test Portal.

Schools are required to notify the community of all COVID exposures in a timely way so your support with this is greatly appreciated. 

Prep Students 

Reminder: Prep students commence full time from Monday 28th February.   

Personal Property Policy – REMINDER 

Jacana School for Autism understands that staff and/or students may sometimes like to bring items of personal property to school.

The Department of Education and Training does not have insurance for personal property of staff, students and visitors. Jacana School for Autism does not take responsibility for items of personal property that are lost, stolen or damaged at school or during school activities. Damage to personal property brought to school is the responsibility of the owner of that property.

Jacana School for Autism encourages staff and students not to bring items of value to the school, or to obtain appropriate insurance for such items.

Please contact the general office if you would like a copy of the Personal Property Policy 

School Privacy Policy

Our school collects, uses, discloses and stores student and parent personal information for standard school functions or where permitted by law, as stated in the Schools’ Privacy Policy.

Please take time to remind yourself of our school’s collection notice, found on our website

Jacana School for Autism  

For more information about privacy, refer to: Schools’ Privacy Policy — information for parents. This information is also available in ten community languages:

• Amharic
• Arabic
• Dari
• Gujarati
• Mandarin
• Somali
• Sudanese
• Turkish
• Urdu
• Vietnamese.

Home / School Communication  & Student Diaries

All students have been issued with a Student Diary, which is a valuable way to stay connected with your classroom teacher.  This, however, may not be the only form of communication between parent’s/ carers and teachers.   Please discuss other ways of communication when there are more pressing or urgent matters.  Telephone and email communication are also an option for those situations that extend beyond the space allocated in the home diary. 

Leading Teachers can also be contacted via email:

• Primary Years Sub School Leader: Rachael Macmillan: rachael.macmillan@education.vic.gov.au
• Middle Years Sub School Leaders: Linda Wakeling:               linda.wakeling@education.vic.gov.au
• Secondary Years Sub School Leader: Miranda Ingram:  miranda.ingram@education.vic.gov.au
• Student Transition Co-ordinator: Natalie Conboy: natalie.conboy@education.vic.gov.au
• Learning Specialist (Welfare): Joel Hockings: joel.hockings@education.vic.gov.au  

Members of the Principal Class Team can also be contacted via email or by calling 9309 6258

• Principal: Corinne Pupillo:                                        corinne.pupillo@education.vic.gov.au
• Assistant Principal (Excellence in Teaching and Learning):  Stephanie Di Salvo:  stephanie.disalvo@education.vic.gov.au
• Daniel Moloney: (Curriculum Development, Assessment and Reporting):                       daniel.moloney@education.vic.gov.au

Independent Travel Requests 

Parents/carers may request independent travel education because they believe their child is ready to take this step, or their child is nearing the end of their secondary education and is in transition to further education and training or employment. It should be noted that parental request alone is insufficient to determine participation and their request should not be given greater weight than others involved in the selection process. Please contact your child’s classroom teacher if you would like more information regarding Independent Travel Education. 

Each morning when students are getting ready for school, I ask that you be mindful of how your child is presenting.  If they/he/she is feeling/looking/ acting unusual or is complaining of being unwell please take them to the doctor. Minimising the cross-infection will assist in reducing the risk of spreading the winter bugs and viruses.

All student absences can be made through the dedicated student absence notification number. Text the student's name, room number and reason for absence.

Make sure you have the student absence notification number saved in your contacts: 0439 114 197

School Council 

Modified 2022 Class list

Due to the workforce challenges related to the pandemic, school council endorsed a revised class list for Term 1, 2022.  Despite trying to recruit 3 classroom teachers and challenges with accessing casual relief staff, the leadership team have created a modified class list that includes condensing three classes (one in each sub-school).  This decision was carefully considered and has been on trial now for three weeks and whilst this is not a perfect solution, it was based on providing consistency for those classes where a teacher was not available. With the international borders opening last Monday, we are hopeful the supply of teachers will increase.   The modified class list will commence Term 1 from Week 3 to Week 10.

A number of policies were endorsed by school council last night.  if you would like a copy please contact reception.  Policies endorsed by school council include:  

1. Communication with Staff Policy 2022
2. Code of Conduct for School Council 2022
3. Standing orders for School Council 2022
4. Personal Property Policy 2022
5. Statement of values of school philosophy 2022
6. Cash Handling Policy 2022
7. Asset Management Policy 2022
8. Electronic Funds Transfer Policy
9. Petty Cash Policy
10. School Purchasing Card Policy

Notice of Election 

Nominations closed on 17th February and we didn't receive any nominations, unfortunately.

A call for nominations is now extended to Monday 28th February 2022 

Casual (parent) Vacancy on School Council 

We currently have one parent representative vacancy on School Council.  If you would like to learn more about the school and be part of our team that shares the governance role, please get in contact with Corinne Pupillo - Principal, either by email corinne.pupillo@education.vic.gov.au or calling the office.

Our School Council meeting is scheduled for 31st of March and will be conducted via Webex

• Monday 14th March - Public Holiday 
• Tuesday 15th March - Curriculum Day  

Aerial View - Jacana School for Autism

To complement our Schools Virtual School Tour, this aerial photography has captured our school from above.    Please take a look and see how wonderful the facilities look from above.  

School Council Meeting 

The next meeting of School Council will occur Thursday,  31st of March at 5.30pm.

School Council Sub Committee Representatives

• Finance Sub Committee Representative - Alisha Minns
• Building and Grounds Sub Committee Representative – Alisha Minns
• Fundraising Sub Committee Representative – Lisa Sette
• School Council Representative on Student Representative Council (SRC) –Alisha Minns

Reminder: Our newsletter is published each fortnight and will provide you with important information about the school and events that may be of interest to you. I encourage you to read the newsletter that will be sent home via your home email, on the school's Facebook Page or on the school's website. 

JSA also has a Facebook Page administered by the leadership team.  Please like and follow our page.

https://www.facebook.com/JacanaSchoolforAutism