Principal's News Flash 

Corinne Pupillo

Dear parents, carers and friends of the school community,

Unwell Students 

The last few weeks we have had an increase in COVID cases at school and I kindly ask families to keep your child at home if they are experiencing symptoms such as a cough or cold or flu symptoms. If your child tests positive on a RAT for COVID, we strongly recommend a 5 day period of recovery in this case.   

Each morning when students are getting ready for school, I ask that you be 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 risk of spreading bugs and viruses.

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

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

Student absence line: 0439 114 197

Student Support Groups Meetings 

The Student Support Group (SSG) brings together the people responsible for the well-being and education of the student.  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 adjustments to their individual program to maximise learning outcomes.  SSG's will be conducted from  15th May - 1st  June. 

 Staffing Update

Learning Specialist, Ashlie Hassall will be moving on from JSA and taking up a teaching role in the eastern suburbs.  On behalf of the school community, thank you for your notable contributions to the school improvement team and numeracy curriculum team.   We are currently recruiting for a replacement teacher and hope to advise families as soon as possible. 

Welcome to Matthew Ebsworth! Matthew will be working 3 days as the Music Specialist teacher.  It's great to have you on board. 

Reminder: Pupil Free Day - Friday 9th June 

Friday 9 June has been set aside for a designated Report Writing Day for teachers. 

Education Support Staff will participate in a range of professional learning opportunities including:

• Supporting Behaviours of Concerns facilitated by our Sub School Leaders 
• Reporting incidents on XUNO and Edusafe facilitated by Dan Moloney & Eva Primarolo 

ICT Workshops 

• Microsoft Word 
• Microsoft PowerPoint
• Microsoft Excel
• Microsoft Outlook 

School Council 

School Review Report 

Our School Reviewer, Dennis Pratt attended the School Council Meeting last night and provided a summary of the the School Review Report and some notable highlights included: 

• Successful completion of the Minimum Standards relating to Curriculum and Student Learning 
• Highlight 1 - The panel reported that all focus groups felt they were included and valued. 
• Highlight 2 - Student focus group was a fantastic example of voice, agency and engagement.  One of the best examples the panel had seen. 
• Highlight 3 - Partnerships with families that focused on students, demonstrated a positive school culture. 
• Highlight 4 - Enhanced opportunities for community links. 

Moving forward 

The Core Review Panel recognised the disruption that the Pandemic caused and this was evident in all of the data sets. It was a period of disruption for the school community and the primary focus for the next strategic plan was to reinvigorate some of the pre COVID work. 

Next Strategic Plan includes: 

• a focus on Summative and formative assessment schedules 
• reinvigorating our universal Autism Strategies 
• promoting programs that extend out current Mental Health and Wellbeing Programs 
• establishing ways to enhance parent engagement 

2022 Annual Report to the School Community 

The Annual Report provides principals and school councils with an opportunity to share the year’s achievements and progress with the school community. This includes reflecting on the school’s performance and explaining the impact of school improvement efforts on student outcomes. School Councillors endorsed the 2022 Annual Report last night and if you would like a copy of the full report, please refer to the schools website or call the office for a copy. 

Our next School Council Meeting will be held on Thursday 15 June at 5.30 pm.  

School Council Sub-Committee Representatives

• Finance Sub Committee Representative - Mark Mansfield 
• Building and Grounds Sub Committee Representative – Denise Clarke
• Fundraising Sub Committee Representative – Lisa Sette
• School Council Representative on Student Representative Council (SRC)  

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.

REMINDERS

Aerial View - Jacana School for Autism

This aerial photography has captured our school from above to complement our school's Virtual School Tour. Please take a look and see how wonderful the facilities look from above. 

Sun Smart 

Dear parents/carers JSA is a SunSmart community. You can help our students to be SunSmart at school by:

1. Dressing them in clothing that covers as much skin as possible.
2. Apply a generous amount of SPF30 (or higher) broad-spectrum, water-resistant sunscreen at the start of the day before drop-off.
3. Packing their sun-protective hat each day.