From the Principal

Child Safe Standards

Camelot Rise Primary School is committed to safety and wellbeing of all children and young people. This will be the primary focus of our care and decision-making. Camelot Rise Primary School has zero tolerance for child abuse.

Our school is committed to providing a child safe environment where children and young people are safe and feel safe, and their voices are heard about decisions that affect their lives. Particular attention is paid to the cultural safety of children from culturally and/or linguistically diverse backgrounds, as well as the safety of children with a disability.

Every person involved in Camelot Rise Primary School has a responsibility to understand the important and specific role they play to ensure that the safety and wellbeing of our students is at the forefront of every decision they make.

To create and maintain a child safe organisation, we maintain ongoing compliance with the Seven Child Safe Standards. For registered schools, Ministerial Order No. 870 sets out the specific actions to meet these requirements.

Access to our school ‘Child Safe Standards’, ‘Mandatory Reporting’ and ‘Student Engagement’ policies is via the school website. 

School Council

Thank you to our departing School Councillors 

We would like to acknowledge and thank all our departing School Councillors: 

• Anna Earl 
• Jo Dutoit

We thank these departing members of School Council for their service to our school. They have been a great support and we greatly appreciate their efforts over the past 2+ years. We thank all our departing school councillors for their contributions to our school.  They have all made their mark and left the school in a very good place. 

We would like to welcome our new school council members for 2022 & 2023:

• Saugat Dey
• Shyam Gomatam

Our first School Council meeting for our 2022 committee will be held on Thursday, 24th March. 

Congratulations to our Interschool Sport Teams and Staff

It is always great to receive positive feedback about our students and staff and last Friday was another example of this. Our Year 6 students played Interschool Sport against Weeden Heights Primary School and one of the teachers from Weeden Heights sent our PE Teacher, Cam Stillman, this email below…

Hi Cam

Just wanted to let you know that it was a pleasure to play your school today.

The students were polite and showed great sportsmanship. 

The staff were also very helpful and supportive.

This is a wonderful email as the teacher must have been so impressed by our students and staff that they felt it appropriate to send this email.

Well done to the students and staff who were involved last Friday.

We are very proud of you all!

Every day counts!

Regular school attendance is vital and missing school days can have a big impact on your child’s future – missing one day a fortnight will miss four full weeks by the end of the year. We understand that this year has been a particularly disjointed start to the school year for many families and students with our daily absence rate being much higher than normal due to the Coronavirus. This has been the same in many schools. 

Going to school every day is the one of the most important parts of your child’s education. Students learn new things every day and missing school on a regular basis puts them behind. 

Why regular attendance is so important

• Teachers often present new concepts in a sequential way, so missing out a day of school can mean missing out on the fundamentals. It’s hard to make up this learning so keeping student absences to a minimum is essential. 
• Friendships and socialising can also be interrupted when children are frequently absent, which can be distressing for children. 
• Every day that a student misses is associated with lower achievement in numeracy, writing and reading.

What we do know is that attendance patterns are established early in life and will often continue unless non-attendance is addressed.

What you can do to support regular attendance.

• First, there are always times when a student becomes ill, and in this instance, they should stay home to recover. It’s vital however that they are only away when genuinely sick.
• To assist with good health and minimise illness children need to have a good sleeping pattern, eat well and exercise regularly. 
• Families are encouraged to think twice before giving children a ‘day off’ unless they are genuinely sick.
• If your child is experiencing any issues such as not wanting to come to school, then please alert your classroom teacher. Working together on such matters is most helpful. 

What to do if your child has been absent

• Talk to your child’s teacher and find out what work needs to be done to keep up with learning.

Remember, that every day counts. If your child must miss school, speak with your classroom teacher especially if the absence is longer than a couple of days. 

Mathletics 

This year all students at Camelot Rise PS will be registered to access Mathletics, which is

 an online Maths Program that the children can use both at school and at home. In the next few weeks all students will receive a password and login from their class teacher.

Some of the many benefits of Mathletics are:

• Mathletics captivates and challenges students in a stimulating, interactive, environment
• Used by millions of students each month
• Used by more than 250,000 students each day
• Students are motivated and engaged
• Students can work through the curriculum at their own pace
• Students are assisted by an online support centre
• Live Mathletics fosters a stimulating and exciting online learning community
• Students are engaged and motivated to learn
• Easy to use
• Students have access to Mathletics 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
• Provides the perfect link between home and school, where results flow seamlessly
• Hall of Fame and certificates recognise and reward participation and achievement.

Please have a look at the website link below to find out more information about Mathletics

http://www.mathletics.com.au/

Teachers may use Mathletics to set learning activities and set specific homework for the students to complete as part of their Mathematics program. 

Year 6 Camp to Cape Otway

We would like to wish the Year 6 students and staff a great time at camp in the week of Monday, 7th March to Friday, 11th, March. Our school has been attending this camp since 2019 and this is an outstanding camp. The feedback from last year’s camp was incredibly positive and we have no doubt the Year 6 Camp this year will also be a great highlight for our students and staff.

Our year 6 camp will be held in the Otways, on the western coast of Victoria. This camp is designed as a team building and collaboration camp; it is being run by Out Beyond – a camp provider with a focus on leadership development. 

The 2022 Year 6 camp offers a wide range of exciting activities:

• environmental activities
• hiking
• surfing
• kayaking
• visiting a lighthouse
• two nights staying in tents and two nights at the Apollo Bay Youth Hostel
• students will have opportunities to develop their skills via the system of student leadership during activities/roles
• group and beach games
• a wildlife tour

All activities throughout the camp are designed to tap into and develop the core areas of critical thinking, creativity, collaboration and communication.

Thanks to the staff that have spent many hours preparing for and attending the camp.

Both Ben Heys and I be attending this camp with the Year 6 students and staff. In our absence Mrs Giiannopoulos will be Acting Principal and Mrs Humphries will teach 1GH for the entire week.

https://www.outbeyond.com.au/

2022 Parent Payments Reminder

Parent payments are an essential source of funds for a school to operate effectively. Without student fees schools would not be able to provide the many programs and resources we provide for the students at Camelot Rise Primary School. We would like to thank the parents that have already made these payments.

Working with Children Checks (WWC)

We encourage and value parental and community support at Camelot Rise Primary School. There are many ways that parents, grandparents and friends can assist at our school. We encourage all parents to obtain a Working with Children’s Check that will allow you to be very involved in your child’s education. These checks are free for volunteers. Once you have your WWC please come to the office so we can photocopy this, and we will add your name to our list of parents who have a current WWC check.

Matthew Coney