A message from Tami-Jo

Acknowledgement of Country

We would like to acknowledge the country that I am writing this newsletter on. It is the land of the Bunurong people, the water people and we thank them for the exceptional care they have taken of the land. They have cared for the land all the way from the Werribee river to Wilsons Prom. We also thank them for the lessons they have taught us about community and its importance. We acknowledge that this is and always will be Aboriginal land and that sovereignty was never ceded. 

Traffic

As you are probably all aware, we have some significant issues with traffic. I think it is important to emphasise that we are meeting with the Wyndham Council regularly around new crossings, different parking restrictions and the number of cars we have accessing the school. It is a standing agenda item for our school council and a concern that we are consistently focusing on.

You may have noticed on our Facebook page, that we have started a campaign around asking individuals to take responsibility for being safe. It is up to each individual to choose safe behaviours and choices rather than quick or convenient ones. We are also investigating some student information sessions to support student safety.

Please take the time to think about the safest course of action when dropping your child/ren off at school. Remember we are all part of the DCC village and need to take care of each other.

Athletics Carnivals/Incursions/Excursions

It has been so exciting that we have been able to run sports events such as the Athletics Carnivals and excursions. We really feel that school is starting to return to normal. These events provide wonderful opportunities for our students that cannot usually be given in the same way at school with our teachers.

Reminders about paying for events

Please be checking Compass very regularly as there are a number of families who have missed deadlines for payment of events and then want to pay afterwards. Unfortunately we will not be accepting late payments due to the amount of preparation that needs to be done following the closing date to ensure children have a positive and safe experience. Also be aware that often there is a limited number of places due to buses so please do not assume that if you wait until the deadline that there will be spots. It is a good idea to confirm with the class teacher. 

Parent/Teacher Conferences

We had a highly successful afternoon with such positive feedback from families about having the opportunity to speak to their teachers regarding their child’s progress and school report. Please remember that you can access your child’s school report through Compass and if you need assistance with this, contact the classroom teacher. It is extremely important that you are aware of your child’s progress and how you can support them at home so we can have a highly successful partnership together working for the benefit of your child. 

Teacher Absence

Again, I want to thank everyone for their patience with teacher absences. It is unfortunate but not something we can change and the lack of casual relief teachers hinders us also. As much as we can, we try to keep the specialist program running and have only disbanded it once. We split students to their own year level as often as possible so they can join in the classes with their year level and their program isn’t compromised. When we have a casual relief teacher, we use the class teacher’s own program to guide the work throughout the day. If you have any concerns , please do not hesitate to contact me. This is a complicated jigsaw puzzle to be solved every day.

Cover for our multi-courts

In 2023, we will not have sufficient space to run our PE programs in the gym and weather will affect what we can run outside. The School Council and I have been investigating the possibility of putting a cover over the multi-courts which will give us significant space to run classes outdoors in inclement weather. This will also give us an area to run assembly and other events as a whole school. 

There is a significant cost to this with preliminary estimates between $750 000 and $1,000,000 and the costs of materials keeps rising. This is a cost that we will have to accommodate ourselves and will require significant fundraising. We will be in touch very soon with some fundraising ideas and opportunities and hope that you will support us as it is such a large amount of money to raise but will benefit our students enormously.

Enrolments for 2023

We are currently taking enrolments for 2023. If you have a child to enrol or know someone who does, please enrol and encourage others to enrol as soon as possible so we can make accurate decisions about class sizes and the buildings we will need for 2023. Accurate information allows us to negotiate with the Department of Education. They will only organise new building with accurate data so the more information we have the better.

Staffing for 2023

We have begun recruiting for 2023 with a number of primary classroom, more secondary and specialist teachers needed to accommodate our growth next year.

Travelling Overseas

Whilst we understand that many families are trying to organise to see their families overseas after so long, I think it is really important to remind you that any extended absence means that the children are not receiving the teaching and then practice that they need to consolidate their skills. This means on their return, they have to catch up. Many children find it difficult to assimilate back into their friendships group during this time also.  If children are away at the beginning of the year, the school DOES NOT receive funding for them. This means we have less money for teachers and resources for all the children who are not included in our Census at the beginning of the year even if they are already enrolled at school. Please do not organise holidays or travel that results in your child being absent when school begins at the beginning of the year as it disadvantages us financially. We already have to accommodate those children who move into the area throughout the year without funding for them; please think carefully about how this affects our ability to run programs and build facilities to support the education of your children. 

The first day of Term 1 next year will be Tuesday the 31st of January.

Whilst living during a pandemic continues to be challenging, it is so exciting that we have started our third term on site with uninterrupted learning. We make time every week to check on student well-being. We relax the academic program when students need to reconnect more with the social and emotional learning curriculum as we see this as vitally important and is a focus of the Department of Education. 

I want to thank you for your continued support of our staff and school; I am so proud to be leading such a wonderful community.