Principal's Blog

Good Afternoon Parents Students, Staff and Friends of Derinya,  

As our school tours commenced this week, it was lovely to step back and reflect on the years commencement and the excitement around what lies ahead.  

Hats and Rubbish 

Staff and students have worked hard to improve our commitment to ensuring we are all wearing a hat when outdoors across the warmer months. Ensuring no wrappers go out into the yard has also seen a significant improvement to the cleanliness of our stunning yard. Many thanks for the fantastic teamwork.   

It’s Not OK to be Away  

Regular attendance at school is essential and has a long-term impact on learning achievement and future success. If your child is anxious or experiencing challenges that are making it difficult to come to school, please reach out to your child’s teacher or our wellbeing team to include Mr Cory Stevens cory.stevens@education.vic.gov.au or Mrs Nikki Trevaskis Nicole.trevaskis@education.vic.gov.au. Keeping your child home when unwell is appreciated.  

Evacuations and Drills  

Every term we hold a drill to practice in the event of an emergency. Usually these are announced, and staff are briefed beforehand. Please know that WE DO NOT hold drills that involve any directives that may cause harm or panic to students. Following instructions and procedures is the focus so that in the event of an emergency we are prepared and efficient with a focus on student safety. If there is an emergency, you can expect to be briefed on the circumstances (as appropriate) at a time that can be managed by the school without disruption to the school’s operation or ability to attend to the circumstances.  

Healthy Lunch Boxes  

A healthy and nutritious lunch can have a significant effect on children’s wellbeing and their learning. If you would like some ideas to support with this please check out this website https://healthylunchbox.com.au/. A reminder that it is preferred that nuts and nut products are not sent to school and that nude food is appreciated.  

Curriculum Day  

Friday was a very productive day involving staff collaborating around our upcoming review. This was a great opportunity to reflect on the wonderful work from the last four years and incorporate the voice of all staff in discussing the school’s future direction. Further upskilling around the Little Learners Love Literacy and Phormes programs was also a valuable part of the day.  

MyMtEliza Fun Run 

A reminder that the My Mt Eliza Fun Run is coming up on Sunday 16th March. This is a great family event and wonderful fundraiser to support research around blood cancer. Further information can be found https://mymounteliza.org.au/ 

 Annual Privacy Reminder  

Our school collects and uses student and parent personal information for standard school functions or where permitted by law, as stated in the Schools’ Privacy Policy and the Schools’ Privacy Collection Notice. 

Our Photographing, Filming and Recording Students Policy  Photographing students policy describes how we collect and use photographs, video and recordings of students. The policy also explains when parent consent is required and how it can be provided and withdrawn.  

We ask parents to also review the guidance we provide on how we use Microsoft 365/Google Workspace for Education safely at the school and what parents can do to further protect their child’s information. If after reviewing the guidance, you have any questions or concerns regarding your child using Microsoft 365/Google Workspace for Education, please contact the school. 

For more information about privacy, refer to: Schools’ privacy policy: information for parents. This information is also available in ten community languages: 

• Amharic 
• Arabic 
• Chinese 
• Dari 
• Gujarati 
• Mandarin 
• Somali 
• Sudanese 
• Turkish 
• Urdu 
• Vietnamese 

NAPLAN and assembly  

This week our Year 3 & 5 students sit the NAPLAN tests. These will be held on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. To support the best possible conditions for these tests to be held, there will be no assembly this week.  

Wishing everyone a wonderful weekend. 

Wishing everyone a fabulous weekend ahead. 

Kind Regards, 

Nadine Pye on behalf of the Derinya team.