Dear BEPS community,

It is really exciting to be back with our school community for the year ahead. There was a great buzz about the school last week as our Year 1-6's returned for their first day of school, with many smiles and impromptu catch ups with students and families providing a great sense of routine being restored.

I trust that each of you had a really nice opportunity to unwind over the holiday break and to spend time with those special to you, perhaps in the company of good music, a book or a beach towel. I enjoyed a great break in Hua Hin, Thailand, with plenty of time to relax, enjoy the food and morning walks on the beach.

Staffing

A very warm welcome is extended to our new staff. Please make them feel welcome in our community.

Edwina Aikman - Acting Assistant Principal

Katie Abbott - Leading Teacher Disability Inclusion and Student Wellbeing & Engagement

Lorraine Howell – Year 2 and Learning Specialist Mathematics

Ken Nguyen - Year 5

Yasmin Bohn - Year 2

Ally How - Year 5

Harrison Carter - Year 4

Rocky Davidson - Physical Education

Sam Rinderhagen (returning) Year 4

Colin Cheong - Performing Arts

School Review

Our school review was completed at the end of Term Four last year. The reviewer stated the working culture was one of openness and progression. The final report has been received and the school focus areas for the next four years are outlined below:

Goal 1: To optimise the learning growth of every student in literacy and numeracy

KEY IMPROVEMENT STRATEGIES

1. Deepen and embed whole school collaborative approaches to build curriculum knowledge, and evidence based instructional approaches.

2. Strengthen teacher capability to collect, analyse and use learning and wellbeing data to inform differentiated learning.

3. Enhance teacher capability to provide effective learning focused feedback to students.

Goal 2: Empower all students as active agents in their learning and wellbeing.

KEY IMPROVEMENT STRATEGIES

1. Develop a shared understanding and approach to student agency across the school community.

2. Build teacher practice of High Impact Teaching Strategies (HITS) to support learner agency.

Goal 3: Strengthen the connectedness, resilience and wellbeing of all students.

KEY IMPROVEMENT STRATEGIES

1. Promote and implement evidence-based strategies to develop students' mental and physical health and social/emotional wellbeing.

2. Build staff capability to meet the learning and wellbeing of students with diverse needs.

Communication 2024

As our school is a complex working environment where a range of situations occur on a daily

basis, we continue to streamline our approach to handling concerns and worries. For all classroom matters of concern, the first ‘port of call’ is the respective classroom teacher, who

is normally in the best position to answer any questions or clarify judgements on student

progress or wellbeing.

Our school’s teachers are highly professional, approachable and focused upon support and solutions. With healthy relationships at the core of our school's success, our staff openly share their email details. Should you need to contact your child/ren’s teacher, an email is the suggested starting point, with this form of communication particularly accessible for working parents who are not able to visit the school and chat before and/or after school.

When emailing, we ask parents to respectfully give staff sufficient time to respond or to take

action as requested, as we concentrate our efforts on the students during school hours. Our

teachers and staff are very responsive to parents and carers; however, they are extremely busy each day. For this reason, we ask for emails and phone calls to be kept to a minimum – and not to be an avenue for daily updates about individual students.

Remain mindful that teachers are occupied during much of the day. It is very important that

teaching staff devote full attention and ‘duty of care’ to our school’s students throughout each school day (also note that some staff are not full-time and therefore may need a longer response timeframe depending on working hours and days).

We’re sure you appreciate that staff responses to emails cannot be expected outside of

‘business hours’, during holidays or on weekends. Of course, the expectation is that students,

parents and other members of the school will observe common courtesy when addressing staff and other members of the community.

Emails are best used when you have a message that does not require a lot of detail and is not

urgent; if a message is urgent please call the school office on 9802 8618.

Should a matter not be resolved or an agreement not gained, school leadership can also become involved to assist in and direct towards positive outcomes, including Edwina (Foundation, Years 1, 2 and 3), Teri (Years 4, 5, 6, Specialists) AND Darren (whole school).

Our door is always open should any parent need to chat. Our number one priority is the engagement, wellbeing and care of all students at Burwood East Primary School, and we are always happy to hear feedback on the improvements we are making and what we can do to better assist our students.

Another important factor to achieving success at school is school attendance which contributes to a students’ overall wellbeing. The Department of Education expects that students should have an attendance of around 95%, which means that they should be away from school only when necessary due to illness, a bereavement or serious family matter. We also know that when students are absent it often leads to loss of learning continuity and interruption to friendships.

As always, I’d like to thank those parents who ensure their child/ren arrive on time to school every day. Punctuality is an important life skill and a great habit to form early in life. Students ideally should arrive at BEPS at around 8.45am, which allows enough time to enjoy a quick catch up with friends before the school music and bell, ready for a 9.00am start. We also ask that students do not arrive at school earlier than necessary unless they remain in the care of an adult.

School Council

School Council last year approved the following student-free days for 2024

Friday 7th June-Assessment/Report
Friday 9th August-IEP's/Wellbeing
Monday 4th November-Assessment

There will be several positions available on School Council this year. If you are interested, please give me a call on 9802 8618. You can also do your own reading at this link: https://www2.education.vic.gov.au/pal/school-council-powers-and-functions/policy

Parents who have been on School Council have really enjoyed it and frequently comment on how much more they know about what’s going on in their child’s school. School Council nomination forms will be available from the front office from Monday the 12th of February, 2024.

Our next and final school council meeting for the current membership is on Monday the 26th of February (via Webex).

Kiss and Go Parking:

A reminder to families that cars cannot be left unattended if you are using the Kiss and Go drop off and pick up zone on Highbury Road. I understand the tendency to think that a quick trip to the office won’t hurt, but traffic flow (or lack thereof) and congestion in that area in the morning and afternoon can be dangerous for our students.

Working with Children Checks (WWC)

We encourage and value parental and community support at BEPS. There are many ways that parents, grandparents and friends can assist at our school. We encourage all parents to obtain a Working with Children’s (WWC) Check that will allow you to be very involved in your child’s education. These checks are free for volunteers. Once you have your WWC please come to the office so we can add your name to our list of parents who have a current WWC check.

Accident Insurance:

The Department of Education and Training (DET) does not provide personal accident insurance for students. Parents are generally responsible for paying the cost of medical treatment for injured students, including any transport costs. The Department of Education states that reasonable low-cost accident insurance policies are available from the commercial insurance sector. Similarly, DET (which includes the school) does not offer replacement of personal items which are brought to school and are lost, broken or stolen. Sentimental or expensive belongings and toys, including sports equipment and electronic devices, are normally best left at home.

Annual Privacy Reminder and Working with Children Checks (WWC):

Our school collects, uses, discloses and stores student and parent personal information for standard school functions or where permitted by law, as stated in the Schools’ Privacy Policy. In encouraging and valuing parental and community support at BEPS, there will be times that a ‘need to know’ approach must be applied. Being sensitive to this, there are many ways that parents, grandparents and friends can assist at our school, and with it (required by law that people engaging in child-related work have a Working with Children Check), we ask parents to share your WWC status with our office so that we can photocopy your card and add your name to our register of parents who have a current WWC check.

Camps Sports and Excursions Fund (CSEF)

The Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund helps eligible families to cover the costs of school trips, camps and sporting activities.

If you have a valid means-tested concession card, such as a Veterans Affairs Gold Card, Centrelink Health Care Card or Pensioner Concession Card, or are a temporary foster parent, you may be eligible. There is also a special consideration category for asylum seeker and refugee families.

Payment amounts this year are $150 for eligible primary school students. Payments are made direct to the school to use towards expenses relating to camps, sporting activities and excursions for the benefit of your child.

If you applied for CSEF through our school last year, you do not need to complete an application form this year, unless there has been a change in your family circumstances.

If you would like to apply for the first time, please contact the school office on 9802 8618 and ask for an application form. A copy of your eligible card will also be required to submit your application.

Find out more about the program and eligibility on the Department of Education and Training’s Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund web page.

Check with the school office if you are unsure, and please return completed forms to the school office as soon as possible.

Enjoy the weekend!

Darren

School Photography