Corinne Pupillo

Dear parents, carers and friends of the school community,

As moving day for some of our secondary classrooms gets closer, there has certainly been a great deal of excitement about the new Yaluk Building. I want to share The story behind the Yaluk (river) Building with the community so you too, can appreciate the significance of the name.

The Durrung of the Yan-yan - Heart of the young man. Told by Aunty Doreen Garvey- Wandin including Wioiwurrung words

Part 1

In my lalal’s (grandfather's) day, there were no supermarkets. The Birrarung Yaluk (river) was their 'supermarket' providing the natural resources for the survival of the Wurundjeri gulinya (men/people) . The yaluk is like veins in Biik (country), winding and turning, bringing to life everything it touches, giving our gulinya (men/people) fresh baan (water), duat (fish) and bundabun (tortoise) to hunt as tucker. We camped close to yaluk (river) for this reason. Many years ago in the 'Dreamtime', there was a yan-yan (young man) who asked wirrirrap (magic man/traditional doctor) to give him special skills and power to be a great hunter, to provide tucker and help for Wurundjeri gulinya (men/people) .

School Upgrade Funding

Jacana School for Autism received notification of an additional federal grant for the sum of $884,295.00 which has been targeted for fencing replacement and playground upgrades. This will be led by Victorian Schools Building Authority and planning is likely to commence later this year.

School Saving Bonus

You may have seen the recent announcement of the School Saving Bonus, as part of the Victorian Budget 2024/25. We are sharing more information about how families will be able to access and use this support.

This one-off support will include $400 for each eligible student to help families cover the costs of school uniforms and activities in 2025.

It will be available to parents and carers of every child enrolled in a Victorian government school in 2025.

Cash will not be paid directly to individuals or families. Instead, families will receive the bonus as credits on their school accounts that will help meet the costs of your children’s activities and uniforms.

Existing supports

The School Saving Bonus support will be in addition to existing and continuing means-tested supports for camps, sports, excursions and uniforms.

The application-based Affordable School Uniform program, through State Schools’ Relief, will continue to be available to families experiencing financial hardship or other forms of vulnerability and short-term crisis. This program allows schools to make multiple applications for support on parents' behalf throughout the year if needed.

There will be more information and guidance about the School Saving Bonus in Term 3, 2024, ahead of its implementation in 2025.

Term 2 Student Support Group Meetings

This term, Student Support Group (SSG) meetings are a vital way to support students learning and well-being development. SSG meetings will be conducted after school again this term.

Parents/carers will be given the opportunity to meet from 3.30 pm - 4.30 pm in weeks 4, 5 and 6 (Monday 13 May – Thursday 30 May ). Staff are also looking forward to continuing to build positive relationships with families in order to best meet the needs of your child/ren.

Unwell student

In the last few weeks we have had an increase in students presenting with cold and flu like symptoms and kindly ask families to keep your child at home if they are experiencing symptoms. In the event that 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

Staffing Update

A warm welcome to our new staff, it's great to have you all on board.

Tinas Wong - Occupational Therapist

Acting Sub School Leader - Michelle Davies

Classroom Teacher - Liberty Brereton

School Council News

School Council welcomed a new parent rep last night, Jay Murali. Jay has filled the casual parent rep vacancy ending March 2026. Jay is looking forward to working closely with other school councillors and being part of the team that oversees the governance of the school.

School Council has endorsed a student free day on Monday 15 July where staff will be participating in a session to develop our Restorative Practice Action Plan [facilitated by Sheila Bollard] as well as completing the 3 hour Anaphylaxis Training.

Fundraising Co-ordinator - Vacancy

Lisa Sette has stepped down from the Fundraising Co-ordinator role after 14 years.

School Council recognised the commitment and dedication that Lisa has made over this time and the most significant legacy will be the funds raised for the school to purchase and install the $68,000 stage curtain in the new Yaluk Building. Thank you Lisa for all your hard work with all the fundraising activities over many years.

If you are interested in coordinating the Fundraising Sub Committee, please contact Corinne Pupillo on 9309 6258.

Our next School Council meeting will be held on Thursday 13 June at 5.30pm

MEMBER	POSITION
Corinne Pupillo	Executive Officer (Principal) /corinne.pupillo@education.vic.gov.au
Lisa Sette	Community Representative & President / lisa.sette@education.vic.gov.au
VACANCY	Community Representative
Paul Malavisi	Parent Representative
Mark Mansfield	Parent Representative
Chris Ernst	Parent Representative
Michelle Owen	Parent Representative
Andrew McDonough	Parent Representative
Jay Murali	Parent Representative
Stephanie Torchia	DE Representative
Daniel Moloney	DE Representative

School Council Sub-Committee Representatives

Finance Sub Committee Representative - Mark Mansfield
School Infrastructure Sub Committee Representative – Denise Clarke
Fundraising Sub Committee Representative – Vacancy

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 and Instagram Page, Seesaw or on the school's website.

JSA also has a Facebook and Instagram Page. Please like and follow our pages.

https://www.facebook.com/JacanaSchoolforAutism

https://www.instagram.com/jacana.school/

Virtual School Tour

Our virtual school tour is now live on our school website. Please check it out and refer any members of the community to our page.

https://www.jacanaschoolforautism.vic.edu.au/

Student Engagement