Principal's Report

It's great to be back!

After 5 weeks leave I was thrilled to come back to a school full of children again! I'd like to extend my thanks to Jake Laurie and Meredith Thornton for capably leading the school in my absence. I'd also like to acknowledge the fabulous contributions Jake made to ACPS and wish him all the best in his new role as Acting Principal at Kallista Primary.
Meredith will continue to replace Jake for the remainder of the year.
Organisation for 2022 is well under way. Please keep an eye out in the newsletter for updates.

2022 Grade Structure

In 2022 we are running on a 10 grade model as follows:

1 x Foundation
2 x Year 1
1 x Year 2
3 x Year 3/4
3 x Year 5/6

This week your child will be completing their Learning Buddy Friendship requests for next year. Each child will select four students they work well with and we guarantee at least one of their requests.

Remembrance Day
Rosalie Austin - Year 5

As many of you will know, this Thursday was Remembrance Day. This is a day to celebrate all those who have died in all the wars from all the countries, not just those from Australia like in ANZAC day. Like every year, we held a ceremony at our school to celebrate this special day, and have a minutes silence at 11am.
We have this minutes silence at the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month because this was when the Armistice to agree to end the First World War.
At our ceremony we had members of the JSC presenting a speech about the World Wars one and two, why we wear poppies and then we had some students read the poem Normally we would have had parents at this ceremony, but, once again, COVID stopped these plans so we could only have students and staff at the proceedings.
The Junior School Council shared poems, family stories and the history of the Poppy.
Our thanks go to the entire Anderson’s Creek Primary Community.

Why do we wear Poppies?

The Flanders poppy has long been a part of Remembrance Day, the ritual that marks the Armistice of 11 November 1918, and is also increasingly being used as part of Anzac Day observances. During the First World War, red poppies were among the first plants to spring up in the devastated battlefields of northern France and Belgium.
In soldiers' folklore, the vivid red of the poppy came from the blood of their comrades soaking the ground. The sight of poppies on the battlefield at Ypres in 1915 moved Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae to write the poem In Flanders fields. In English literature of the nineteenth century, poppies had symbolised sleep or a state of oblivion; in the literature of the First World War a new, more powerful symbolism was attached to the poppy – the sacrifice of shed blood.

On Tuesday, ACPS held its 2021 FESTA ITALIANA, a jammed packed day full of fun activities to celebrate Italian culture, through art, music, language and sport.

Check the Specialist Program page and each cohort level page for more details and awesome pictures. GRAZIE!!

We extend our thanks to Ginevra for organising an outstanding day for our students!

We are still looking for parent helpers to assist us with supervising the Bop Till You Drop event next week. This is one of the first social activities we are offering our students and one the students absolutely love. We currently have two volunteers but need at least another 5 for each event. You can volunteer by calling the school on 9844 2757.

Please note volunteers must show evidence of at least one dose of the vaccination for this event.

Vaccination requirements for parents and carers attending schools

All parents and carers attending schools, including for drop off and pick up must also adhere to physical distancing, density limits, face mask requirements and practise respiratory etiquette and good hand hygiene.

Parents and carers who enter school buildings must check in using the QR code.

Parents and carers who enter school buildings must also have had at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine and must have had two doses of COVID-19 vaccine by 29 November 2021 or have a valid medical exception with the following limited exceptions:

when attending to administer medical treatment to their own child when the treatment cannot be administered by the school
when attending to collect their child who is unwell and cannot leave the school building unaccompanied by their parent/carer.
when attending for a momentary period that does not involve any sustained contact with staff or students, for example, to collect a completed art project or similar.

Parents and carers attending any event or activity inside a school building including, but not limited to tours, graduations, kindergarten transition, whole of school events are required to show evidence of vaccination.

Meetings and other discussions (such as Student Support Group meetings) with parents and carers who do not meet vaccination requirements should be held virtually.

Parents and carers attending school sites for drop off and pick up who do not enter school buildings do not need to comply with vaccination requirements.

With Covid cases presenting in schools, I encourage all parents to continue our 'drop and go' and 'pick up and leave' processes.

Please note that parents attending Year 6 Graduation will need to be fully vaccinated to attend the indoor graduation ceremony.

Christmas Food Drive - CareNet

Normally on the final day of Term 4 we have a food drive to support families over the Christmas break. This year we are joining with CareNet to help provide Christmas hampers to families in need within our community. To have these hampers delivered in time for Christmas we are calling for food donations earlier than we have in past years. CareNet have provided us with lists of items needed the most to fill these hampers. Donations can be left at the office up until Friday 26 November when CareNet will collect them so they can commence delivery of hampers prior to Christmas.

Thanking you in advance for your support of this worthy cause.

Have a happy and safe weekend...

Sue Dyos