Principal's News Flash 

Corinne Pupillo 

Welcome back to the new school term.  I hope that you all had an enjoyable break with family and friends. The gorgeous (but chilly) sunny days provided us with lots of opportunities to explore the outdoors. I hope families and staff were able to have some well-deserved rest and some opportunities for relaxation. Winter can be a great opportunity to spend time indoors but also the great weather created opportunities for us to explore many of our amazing local surrounds.  

NEWS FLASH 

Jacana School for Autism is now a partner of  

Transforming and enhancing your school’s culture through a focus on what REALLY counts, Real Schools exists to build partnerships and experiences to help your school achieve its potential through Committed Teachers, Caring Students and Connected Communities.

Stay tuned for more exciting updates about our partnership with Real Schools 

Student Support Group Meetings 

As you know, Student Support Group Meetings are opportunities for families, students and teachers to celebrate the work that has been achieved, and collectively plan for the next steps of learning.  At JSA, teachers really value these opportunities and this lays the foundations of how you work together with the school to help your child/ren achieve their individual goals. There are 3 stages of student engagement that we encourage you to consider ahead of the SSG, these include:

• Stage 1: Students attend and teachers will support students to show parents the work they have done.
• Stage 2: Students will share and reflect on their work samples (using communication prompts as required)
• Stage 3: Students discuss their Personalised Learning Support Plan goals, and progress and share their opinion about their own development.

SSG's meetings will be conducted between Monday 25th July and Thursday 11th August.  I look forward to hearing about the success of these meetings and the input from students into their learning. Please return your form to the school as soon as possible to book your meeting time.

School Community Safety Orders 

Schools are positive places of learning and work where everyone has a right to a safe and healthy environment. Everyone is responsible for maintaining respectful, supportive relationships in their school community.  

The Department of Education and Training has introduced the School Community Safety Order Scheme to help prohibit or limit violence, aggression or other behaviours that make staff, students or others feel unsafe in Victorian schools.

The Scheme is part of the Victorian Government’s broader strategy to manage the risks to the safety of school staff and students and the school community resulting from the behaviours of a small minority of parents and other adults who interact with schools.  You will notice respectful behaviour signage at entry points to the school which was installed last week. 

For more information about the School Community Safety Orders please follow the link below. 

https://www.vic.gov.au/school-community-safety-orders-information-parents-and-carers

Staffing update 

Unfortunately, our workforce challenges continue with two additional teachers resigning from JSA.  Daniel Keane left suddenly and his last day was Friday 15 July and our school Tutor, Shirley Yip has found a job much closer to home and her last day is Friday 29th July.   I wish both Daniel and Shirley all the best in their new roles.  

Despite many attempts to recruit classroom teachers, I'm disappointed to report that the following classrooms are without a permanent classroom teacher. 

• Room 16 - CRT - Susan Purcell 
• Room 23 - Thank you to our Learning Specialist, Joel Hockings for stepping into this role. 
• Room 27 - TBC 

We will continue to recruit classroom teachers and education support staff.  My sincere appreciation for those staff that are working in classrooms with a larger number of students and also to those staff that are taking on additional responsibilities to ensure programs continue. 

The Leadership team and Consultative Committee endorsed the decision to recruit an additional assistant principal to support the operations and compliance functions to ensure our community has strong foundations that support teaching and learning.   We will be recruiting for the additional assistant principal, for a start date of Term 4, which is timely as we have our School Review in Term 4.   

Due to leadership shortages, our sub-school leaders have been split, and I encourage you to reach out to the sub-school leader of your child's class if you have any concerns.

Rooms 1 - 13 -   Rachael Macmillan rachael.macmillan@education.vic.gov.au 

Room  14 - 27 - Linda Wakeling  linda.wakeling@education.vic.gov.au 

A small increase in casual staff has been available as well as Julie Andrews from the regional team is with us for 4 weeks and will provide some consistency for a classroom that has a teacher away due to COVID.  Thank you Julie for your support to JSA as we continue to experience staffing shortages. There have also been around 70 students absent each day this week which has been due to a number of factors.  This has created a more balanced staff-to-student ratio with many staff absences due to COVID, Work Cover, illnesses and staff on leave.   I continue to communicate with the North Western Regional team about our ongoing workforce pressures and know they are doing what they can to support our community.  

COVID 19 UPDATE

Once again face masks have been reintroduced and are strongly recommended to wear indoors by all staff, visitors and students over 8 years old.   I encourage staff, students and parents to remain vigilant in regard to any cold or flu-type symptoms.    Currently, we have 8 staff and 8 students who have tested positive for COVID. 

Reminders 

Unwell Students 

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 the winter 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: 

0439 114 197. 

Aerial View - Jacana School for Autism

This aerial photography has captured our school from above to complement our school's Virtual School Tour.    Please take a look and see how wonderful the facilities look from above.  

School Council 

School Council Meeting 

The next meeting of the School Council will occur Thursday, 4th of August at 5.30 pm.

School Council Sub Committee Representatives

• Finance Sub Committee Representative - Mark Mansfield 
• Building and Grounds Sub Committee Representative – Denise Clarke
• Fundraising Sub Committee Representative – Lisa Sette
• School Council Representative on Student Representative Council (SRC) –TBC 

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 Page or the school's website. 

JSA also has a Facebook Page administered by the leadership team. Please like and follow our page.