Principal's Message
Dear Families,
I am pleased to share with our families that the last fortnight we have continued to grow and learn as a whole school community. Please take some time to read below the varied contributions and learnings that have taken place at our school in the last fortnight. This week’s Newsletter provides our community with an opportunity to read the overviews of each teams planned learning for Term 2.
Curriculum Day Friday April 26th:
Last Friday we had our Curriculum Day. We spent part of the day as a whole staff and part of the day working in year level teams. In teams staff worked on assessment and reporting, for the morning session. We then came together as a whole staff for a presentation from our Student Support Services Key contact, Chantelle Schokman, who is also a psychologist. Chantelle presented to our staff on functions of behaviours and behaviour support plans. In addition, on the day our staff engaged with a presenter from the Resilience project.
Coffee and Chats:
Our first Coffee and Chat occurred on Tuesday. This is a fantastic initiative led by our school chaplain, Nicky, with the goal of tapping into the lived experiences and skills of our parents/carers in supporting the wellbeing and mental health of children. On Tuesday parents/carers shared strategies they have used to support children to regulate emotions and feel safe. All of this took place in a safe environment over a cup of coffee. Please look out for further dates of our Coffee and Chats via our communication channels.
Year 3 -6 Athletics Day:
It was fantastic to be a part of and to see so many happy faces at our 3-6 Athletics Day at Sunbury College on Wednesday. Thank you to Mr Corcoran for all his organisation and leadership of the day. Thank you to all our staff who supported on the day and prior to the day. Thank-you to all parents/carers and families who took some time to make their way to Sunbury College and spend some time with us cheering children on as they participated in various events. Events like these are an opportunity for us to come together as a community and celebrate the sporting strengths of our children.
Anzac Day March and Ceremony:
It was wonderful to see many of our students and their families at the Sunbury War Memorial Cenotaph last Thursday to commemorate ANZAC DAY. A special thank you to our student leaders who did an exceptional job in representing our school. Thank-you to Mrs. Tabone for guiding our student leaders and supporting them through the process.
Mothers Day Stall and Muffins with Mums
Our students are looking forward to our Mother’s Day Stall on Monday 6th of May. On Friday 10th of May we also look forward to seeing families to celebrate our mums and special persons with our Muffins with Mum Breakfast! Our classrooms will also be open from 8:45am - 9:30am where families can visit their childs classroom.
Smoking and Vaping Ban:
Parents, carers, schools, and community all play an important role in protecting children and young people from, and educating them about, the harmful effects of smoking and vaping. Research from the Royal Children’s Hospital shows many parents and carers are not aware of the harmful effects or how their views about smoking and vaping can impact the likelihood of a young person taking up smoking or vaping. The Department of Education has developed resources to help you learn more about the health risks of smoking and vaping. The resources include advice about how to talk to children and young people about vaping, and where to get support. To access the resources, go to https://www.vic.gov.au/smoking-and-vaping-advice-parents.
You can also view this video on smoking and vaping from experts at the Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne for health advice and tips for starting a conversation with young people.
Safe and Responsible Parking:
A friendly reminder to all in our community regarding the safe parking around our school grounds. Please avoid parking across driveways, in driveways that block residence coming in and out of their homes. McEwen Drive, Irvine Close, Turner Court and Holloway Street are experiencing cars parking in and across driveways blocking families from leaving and entering their homes. I trust that our community will take this communication on board and will park elsewhere to avoid this situation. I am thanking all in our community in advance for your support with this matter.
We also ask that parents/carers do not drop off students do not park in the staff car park, especially in the parking bays located pictured below. These are assigned for emergency vehicles only.
Responsibilities Regarding Supervision of Children:
A friendly reminder to all our families that playground supervision begins at 8:35am daily. Wherever a student comes to school before 8:35am parents/carers need to be with their child supervising the child/children please.
If your child/children need to be at school regularly BEFORE 8:35am please reach out to THEIR CARE our Out of School Hours Care provider. THEIR CARE provides before and after school care for children every day. The program begins at 6:30am for BEFORE school care and care concludes at 6:30pm daily. Below are our school's daily operating times. Arriving at school from 8:35am will ensure students are adequately supervised.
SCHOOL HOURS
8:35am Playground supervision commences
8.45am Welcome and Getting Ready For Learning
8:55am Teaching and Learning
11.00am Morning Recess
11:30am Teaching and Learning
1.15pm Students in lunch in classrooms
1.30pm Afternoon play
2.15pm Teaching and Learning
3:15pm Students dismissed
3:30pm Playground supervision concludes
Warmest Regards,
Kathy Cvitkovic
Principal
‘Building the foundations for success and happiness’.