Principal's Desk 

Corinne Pupillo 

2020 THEME - EMPOWERING LEARNING & TEACHING (REMOTELY) 

Dear parents, carers and friends of the school community, 

Transition back to face to face schooling 

Plans to return to face to face learning are well underway and I would like to thank you for all your support during these past few weeks of remote and flexible learning.  I’ve been so impressed by the way our community have adapted to the remote and flexible learning framework and sincerely thank students, staff, parents and carers for the way we have worked so positively to support all our students whether they have been onsite, off site or a combination of the two.  We are certainly looking forward to welcoming you all back albeit with a few adjustments to our typical practices. 

LEARNING FROM HOME SURVEY

We value your feedback.  If you haven’t already completed the Learning from home survey emailed to families on Friday 15th May, please follow the instructions in the email to complete the survey. Please note: Only one parent from your family is invited to complete the survey.

Onsite schooling commences Tuesday 26th May

Following advice from the Chief Health Officer, the Victorian Government has advised that all students in specialist schools will return to school from Tuesday 26 May.  StudentTransport will also resume as normal on this day. 

Thank you for your continued support and patience during this time. We look forward to welcoming our students back to the classroom.

Please contact the office if you did not receive letters regarding the arrangements to transition back to face to face schooling.   These highlight some of the important adjustments to the way we operate during the global pandemic. 

PUPIL FREE 25th May 2020

To support all school staff to prepare for this transition, Monday 25 May will be a pupil-free day.

It’s important to note that all students will be expected to attend school as normal. This means if you choose to keep your child/children home after 25th May,  we can no longer support their learning from home.  This does not apply to children who need to be absent for health or medical reasons.  For those families, please contact Assistant Principal, Richard Crawshaw: richard.crawshaw@education.vic.gov.au so we can make an appropriate plan.

Student Support Group Meetings 

The Student Support Group (SSG) brings together the people responsible for the wellbeing and education of the student.  SSG meetings have been conducted during the COVID-19 Pandemic under more flexible times that suit families and staff.  

The aims of the Student Support Group are to; 

• ensure that those with the most knowledge of, and responsibility for the student, work together
• establish shared goals for the student's educational future
• plan reasonable adjustments for the student to access the curriculum
• provide educational planning that is ongoing throughout the student's life
• monitor the progress of the student.

Staff are also looking forward to continuing to build positive relationships with families in order to best meet the needs of your child/ren and making provision for the transition back to face to face learning on Tuesday 26th May.   

NEW MODULAR BUILDING 

I am delighted to share the designs of our new permanent modular building with you. Architecturally designed and constructed offsite, the building will be ready quicker with far less disruption than a traditional building. We have worked closely with the design team to ensure our new buildings reflects Jacana School for Autism’s vision and needs. The new learning centre will link formal learning, specialised learning spaces, and areas of respite with the layout being developed with careful consideration of how teachers use spaces. Wrap around external decking will provide a second exit and enables direct access to playgrounds from all classrooms. It is safe to say we are looking forward to the official opening and occupancy in the year. 

Please feel free to contact me with any questions as we work towards this exciting milestone

SCHOOL COUNCIL VACANCY

There is one parent representative vacancy that exists and 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 either by email corinne.pupillo.education.vic.gov.auor calling the office.

School Council Sub Committee Representatives

Finance Sub Committee Representative - Sharon Borg 

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