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Absences
If your child is going to be absent from school, it is important you notify Jackson School and provide a reason for their absence. To notify Jackson School of your child’s absence, please call our student absence hotline by dialling (03) 9366 4322 and selecting Option 1. Notification is sent to you via Xuno through an SMS message for any unexplained absences. You may respond directly to the text message you receive or log in to Xuno and provide a reason for their unexplained absence. Promptly replying to this message is greatly appreciated and will avoid further contact needing to be made.
Adverse Weather
During extreme weather conditions we may keep students inside for recess and lunch break times. Students are supervised in classrooms by staff. These staff may not be your child's usual Teacher or Education Support Staff. For extreme weather conditions we will follow our Emergency Management Plan.
Allergies
Please be aware that at Jackson School many of our students have food allergies. It is important that parents and carers are aware of this when packing your child's lunchbox. Where there is a child in your child's class who is at high risk of anaphylaxis, we may request you do not send certain allergens to school where possible. Staff at Jackson School are trained in anaphylaxis management. Some of the known allergens within our school are:
Wheat, egg (raw and cooked), all nuts (including: peanuts, cashews, pistachios, walnuts, pecans, tree nuts) kiwi fruit, banana, strawberry, grass pollen seafood and dairy.
Allied Health
Jackson School’s Allied Health team works collaboratively with our whole school community to create a positive and inclusive learning environment. Together, we engage, inspire and encourage our students in their learning and support them to maximize their ability and potential to independently participate in a variety of activities across the school day. We currently have five Speech Pathologists, two Occupational Therapists, and one Allied Health Assistant. These staff members support the Gross-Motor Program and Learn to Play programs in the primary school and support teachers and ES staff across the school with the students in their care.
Click here to learn more about our Allied Health team.
Ambulance Cover
In an emergency we may be required to contact 000 for an ambulance to transport them to hospital. Department insurance policies do not cover personal accident insurance or ambulance cover for students. Parents/carers of students, who do not have student accident insurance/ambulance cover, are responsible for paying the cost of medical treatment for injured students, including the cost of ambulance attendance or transport as well as any other transport costs.
Click here to purchase Ambulance Victoria Membership
Anaphylaxis
Anaphylaxis is a severe allergic reaction that is potentially life-threatening. The most common allergens in school-aged children are peanuts, eggs, tree nuts (e.g., cashews), cow’s milk, fish and shellfish, wheat, soy, sesame, latex, certain insect stings and medication. The key to the prevention of anaphylaxis in schools is knowledge of those students who have been diagnosed at risk, awareness of triggers (allergens), and prevention of exposure to these triggers. Parents must inform the school of the diagnosis and its causes. Parents/Carers are responsible for ensuring that the school is provided with an 'in date' EpiPen® or Anapen kit. A current management plan signed by a doctor is also required to attend school, and this plan needs to be updated annually.
Click here to view our Anaphylaxis policy
Art Therapy
Jackson School employs 2 part-time Art Therapists. Arts therapists use visual artmaking, drama, dance and movement to improve physical, mental and emotional well-being. They work with individuals or groups using art processes such as painting to create meaning rather than focusing on the end product. Art therapy can be helpful for people who cannot verbalise their feelings due to developmental, cognitive or other conditions. This is a school initiative as part of DE's wider Mental Health Fund, with the aim of supporting social & emotional health in our school. This is implemented in individual and small group sessions and is incorporated within our school-wide mental health programs.
Assessments
Assessment of student progress is an ongoing process. Students at Jackson are exempt from the mandatory assessment (NAPLAN). Instead teachers use a range of school-wide assessments to inform teaching and learning. Teachers report on students’ achievements to parents/carers each semester. These reports are published in our school management system, Xuno, for parents to view.
Click here to view our Assessment & Reporting policy.
Asthma
All children who are asthmatic require an Asthma Plan signed by their doctor. As these are updated annually, please make sure new annual plans are submitted to the office on or before the renewal date. Students who have asthma should either carry their own inhaler or give it to the classroom teacher, who will ensure its safety and accessibility throughout the school day, for student use, if required.
Attendance
We are working with families to continue to support student attendance at school. There is an increasing number of students regularly arriving late to school or being collected early from school. This significantly affects your child's education over the year. We understand families have a variety of commitments and some NDIS appointments cannot be avoided as we are unable to be accommodated during the school day. Between 9:00am and 9:20am and between 2:00pm and 2:50pm each day our students learn about our Independent Learning areas of the Victorian Curriculum including: our Allied Health programs (Jackson Social and Zones of Regulation), our PBIS behaviour program, RRRR our social and emotional learning program, eSMART online safety, Health and Fitness. This is vitally important to our child's learning and development.
Click here to view our Attendance policy
Annual Implementation Plan (AIP)
The AIP documents the annual plan for school improvement priorities and provides purpose for all members of the school community as they work towards the goals set out in the four-year School Strategic Plan (SSP). The AIP is developed and monitored by the school leadership teams in consultation with staff.
Click here to view our current AIP
Annual Report
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. The preparation and publication of an Annual Report is a legislative and regulatory requirement for all schools under the Education and Training Reform Act 2006 (Vic), Ministerial Order 1280 and the National Education Agreement 2008. Annual Reports are presented to the school community via a public reporting meeting of the school council in March, and are published on our website and on the Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority (VRQA) State Register.
Click here to view our Annual Report to the Community
Assemblies
Assemblies are held weekly in cohort teams (PLTs). This is a celebration of the work across the week and is usually led by a class within the team on a rotational basis. At assemblies we also do our PBIS Draw from the Jackpoints collected throughout the week.
At the start and the end of the term we hold a whole school assembly, including our end-of-term Achievement Assembly. For the majority of the year these are held outside in the courtyard. In the winter months, these may be held in the hall in sub-schools (Junior, Middles and Seniors) to be able to accomodation all students, staff and families in attendance. Throughout the year we may also have special whole school celebrations, including: Literacy & Numeracy Week.
Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islanders
Jackson School is a child safe community. We acknowledge the traditional owners of the land on which our school is situated, the Wurundjeri (Woi Wurrung) peoples of the Kulin Nation, and pay our respects to elders past, present and emerging.
We are lucky to have many First Nations students and their families within our community. Our school has a number of measures in place to ensure our community acknowledges and appreciates the strengths of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures. These measures are outlined in our Aboriginal Learning, Wellbeing & Safety Plan.