I hope you all enjoyed a fantastic Father’s Day last Sunday and got to enjoy some special family time together.

As I reflect on Term 3, I am continually amazed by our wonderful school community. It has been a long, difficult, and tiring term with many challenges along the way. We really appreciate the resilience, optimism and support shown by our parents/carers and staff in supporting our students with Remote and Flexible Learning. We would all rather be onsite in the classrooms than online for this extended period, but everyone’s collective effort has contributed to making the best of this current situation. As the Term draws to a close and we are all feeling a little fatigued, we thought for next week to help keep interest levels high and provide a little more fun for the end of the term that we would have on Thursday 16th September a Footy Day. All lessons will have a distinct footy flavour to celebrate the 2021 AFL season and the upcoming Grand Final. Friday, the last day of the term will be a regular remote learning day for all year levels across the school, remembering that the school day will finish at 2.30 pm.

RUOK?

Today is R U OK? Day 2021. The R U OK? Day message this year is 'Are they really, OK? Ask them today.' The ups and downs of life can affect each of us differently. Sometimes it won’t be obvious that someone is struggling, but having the support of family, friends and close colleagues can help us better navigate the challenges that come our way. Don't wait until someone is visibly distressed or in crisis to ask them how they're really going. Make a moment meaningful and ask, "are you OK?" Your conversation could change a life.

Planning for 2022

The school is about to begin recruitment processes to ensure all staff are in place for 2022. A critical part of this planning is trying to ascertain the school’s overall enrolment. We had a number of families leave us at the end of 2020, as a result of the pandemic and families moving to the outer suburbs areas. To this end, we are very eager to fine tune our enrolment data and therefore request that any families who already know that they will be leaving the school at the end of the year to make contact with the school straight away. Please feel welcome to call the school’s main office on 9802 5277, or alternatively email the details through to the school’s email address syndal.south.ps@education.vic.gov.au.

This information is so important for our planning next year and we would really appreciate the support of parents on this matter. If you are unable to confirm any changes for 2022 at this stage, but anticipate that your circumstances will change, please continue to touch base with the school over the coming weeks as these matters are confirmed.

NAPLAN

We received our NAPLAN results last week and I am very pleased to announce, despite a disrupted 2020, our results were excellent. Congratulations to our wonderful Year 3 & 5 students and all staff.

ICAS Assessments

ICAS (International Competitions and Assessments for Schools) assessments will still be going ahead but have now been moved to Term 4. The timeframes for these will depend on the restrictions and will be communicated when known.

Finally, the term will finish on Friday 17th September. We hope that all our students and families get some time to relax and unwind, away from computer screens. We look forward to seeing the students for the first day of Term Four on Monday 4th October. Please look out for announcements through Compass Newsfeeds regarding whether we are onsite or Remote and Flexible Learning from home. I would also like to highly recommend this presentation to you: “Supporting children’s mental health during the pandemic and beyond” from the Royal Children’s Hospital.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?fbclid=IwAR1WCeM_pmIRU-Tk7Lz1GVZRJiqkZKfO-xCPeBWcla2R7HZ7NBqJGwLqXkI&v=y1DizMUOeng&feature=youtu.be

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