Principal's Desk 

Corinne Pupillo 

Dear parents, carers and friends of the school community,

Welcome back to our final term for the year.   I'd like to welcome back all our students who have been learning from home since early August when Premier, Daniel Andrews announced the return to Lockdown 6.0.   Over five weeks there will be a staggered return to onsite learning as the government aims for 80% double dose vaccination rate. 

The STAGGERED RETURN TO ONSITE TERM 4, 2021 is below and I'm looking forward to the 5th November when all students will be back onsite. 

Please refer to the table below to find out when your child's classroom returns onsite. 

Prior to our positive COVID-19 cases and subsequent school closure, the onsite learning was available for 78 students across the school.   Throughout the staggered return to onsite learning the school continues to provide onsite learning support and supervision for children of permitted workers, vulnerable children and also any child with a disability that cannot learn from home.  It was also wonderful to see all our Year 12 students back last week for their final weeks of the year.  I know how the disruptions have impacted your final year and a special thank you to teaching teams for supporting our students in their final years of schooling.  

Students in Year 12 may finish school on Friday 3rd December.  

Interruption to MEES Bus Service 

I know many families were impacted by the interruption of the MEES Bus service and my sincere apologies for the disruption this causes you.  The difficult decision to suspend bus services is always made with the intention to keep our community safe.   On the flip side, it was really lovely to meet some parents and carers we wouldn't typically meet at drop off and pick up times so there was some advantages for us when families are picking up and dropping their child off at school. 

Air purification devices

The Victorian Government has announced the beginning of a roll out of air purification devices to Victorian government schools from the beginning of Term 4.  Initially, 2000 air purification devices will be provided to schools identified through public health advice with a further 35,000 devices to be rolled out over the following weeks to government schools.   Our school has received our allocation and the Building and Grounds Committee have established the location based on high traffic areas. 

COVID-19 Vaccination for staff 

All staff who work in schools will be required to have a first dose of the vaccine by 18 October 2021 or be able to produce evidence of a vaccination booking within that week.

All staff are required to:

• have a first dose of the vaccine by 18 October 2021 or be able to produce evidence of a vaccination booking within that week; and
• be fully vaccinated by 29 November 2021 unless a medical exemption applies and will be required to show evidence of their vaccination status.

This includes principals, teachers, administration and education support staff, including casual relief teachers (CRTs) and pre-service teachers.

A special thank you to our staff who have also continued to learn new ways of delivering the curriculum content and connecting to students through other platforms. 

Collectively you have all done an incredible job and I'm proud of the way we all have adapted and navigated through this period.

Term 4 Focus 

Leading into our final term of the 2021 school year, JSA has a range of events on the school calendar, including the preparations for student’s class groups for 2022.     

The focus for Term 4 is health and wellbeing, literacy and numeracy and transitions, however during this pandemic, Year 6 and Year 12 graduation ceremonies,  school performances and awards ceremonies have been cancelled.  I have encouraged staff to explore ways we can celebrate these important events on an individual or class by class basis so we can acknowledge these important milestones. 

The Victorian Government has committed $250 million to support pre-service teachers, teachers on leave, teachers working part-time who are looking for more hours, recently retired teachers and casual relief teachers to become a tutor to support every student who has missed learning due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.  This is the largest initiative to support individual student learning in the history of the state.

More than 4100 tutors will partner with schools to support student learning.  

The department acknowledge that Victorian teachers and parents have done a remarkable job this year and with the additional support of on-site tutors, these teaching teams can ensure that students have dedicated support throughout 2021.  Whilst I don't have all the details and information as yet, this is a really positive step towards supporting all students in need of the additional learning support. 

Staffing update

It's my pleasure to welcome to  Joseph (Joe) Kaldas to our welfare team.  Joe is contracted through Your Dream School and his role in Health and Wellbeing.  Through the Chaplaincy in School Funding, we have employed Joe to complement our  student welfare supports.  Joe will be co-ordinating the Breakfast Program, State Schools Relief and will undertake counselling under the direction of the Social Worker (Zoe Sharpe) and Stephanie Di Salvo (AP) and Michelle Zammit (Student Welfare).  

Teaching and Learning Coach, Elizabeth Smith will be moving to Melton Specialist School from next week.   Elizabeth has been with NSA/JSA since 2011 and has taken many different leadership roles over the past decade.  Elizabeth has been instrumental in creating our inclusive practices and supporting teams to build their capacity to support students with an autism diagnosis in the learning journey.   Elizabeth will be missed by students and staff and we wish her well in her new role at Melton. 

Elizabeth's case load will be distributed between the welfare team in preparation for the new leadership model in 2022. 

Transition Week 

This year again, the final week of the term Monday 13th – Friday 17th December, 2021 will be dedicated for the transition to your child/ren’s 2022 class. In the past we have found this provides students with familiar transition supports from staff that hold a deep knowledge of how they learn. To support the preparation for Transition week, School Council has approved the change of pupil free day from 1st November to the Friday 10th December 

Pupil Free Days 

Melbourne Cup Day:  Tuesday 2nd November - Public Holiday 

Curriculum Day -  Friday 10th December (Please note the change from 1st Nov )

Reminder:  Absence Notification Number

When we return to school, I ask that you are 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 risks of spreading the winter bugs and viruses.

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

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

Casual (parent) Vacancy on School Council 

We currently have two parent rep vacancies 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.

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, 9th December 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