Jackson School is a collaborative learning community for all. We aim to develop independence through safety, respect and responsibility. We aspire to offer authentic, quality educational experiences that develop futures, create opportunities and inspire student potential; enabling our students to be valued and contributing members of the wider community. We share and celebrate our successes and achievements.

The Issue Highlights

Luna New Year
Welcome BBQ
Student Support Group (SSGs) Meetings
Healthy Student Lunches
Bikes & Scooters
Communication
Students of the Week from our PBIS rewards system.
Showcase of students' learning from across the school in Primary and Secondary
Health and Wellbeing information to support you and your child.
Community news including from Jackson OSHC provider TheirCare.
School Dates - For the most up-to-date calendar dates, always refer to the Xuno Calendar in your Parent Portal.

Dear Families,

It's been a busy but positive two weeks back at school. During my visits around classrooms, I have seen students settling well into their new classes. Staff are currently focusing on our Ready to Learn program where they establish clear expectations and routines as they get to know their new students. This allows all students to be successful throughout the year. Formally learning is also commencing with our Ready to Read program. Some of our offsite Senior Secondary programs have already starting with the remainder of them starting over the next two weeks.

Lunar New Year

Happy Lunar New Year (Tết for our Vietnamese community). Vietnamese New Year is the most important festival of the year in Vietnam, celebrating love, the start of spring, and the best of hopes for the new year. It is observed on the first day of the first month of the Vietnamese Lunar Calendar and ranges between late January and mid-February on the Gregorian calendar. Lunar Year 2025 is the Year of the Snake on the Vietnamese zodiac, from January 28th, 2025 to February 3rd, 2025. Snake is the sixth sign in Vietnamese Zodiac.

Welcome BBQ

We would like to welcome families to join our Meet & Greet Welcome BBQ on Wednesday 12th February from 3:30pm to 5:30pm. Our Welcome BBQ (Sausage Sizzle) enables families to connect with their child’s teachers in a less formal setting, and further strengthen our community spirt, particularly in absence of the Concert in the Courtyard at the end of last year. A formal invitation will be provided soon – we hope to see you all there!

Student Support Group (SSGs) Meetings

Following feedback from staff and families, School Council has decided to revert back to our original format of SSGs (parent-teacher interviews) in 2025. This is due to working families and staff family commitments. We know this won’t suit all families but we thank you for your understanding in advance.

Our Semester 1 Student Support Group Meetings (SSG) are scheduled for Tuesday, February 18th between 3:30 pm and 7:30 pm. Each appointment has a 20-minute time slot to ensure all parents and carers have an opportunity to meet with your child’s teacher.

To ensure as many families are connected to school as possible, all SSG bookings will be made through Xuno where you can book a face-to-face meeting or a phone call.

You can only see the available SSG meeting times on Xuno. Once you have selected a time, it will be confirmed. You will no longer receive a letter of confirmation regarding your meeting time. If a suitable time is not available, please contact your child’s classroom teacher to make an alternative booking.

If you require an interpreter, please specify the language you require when booking the SSG meeting. As mentioned in the first Newsletter, our interpreter and translation services are now provided by “All Graduates”. Please see our Translation Services page for more information. Please select your language when booking and we will arrange an in-person interpreter for you.

For on-site appointments between 3:30 pm and 4:30 pm, our staff can supervise your child/ren at school during your SSG meeting. If you wish for your child/ren to remain and be supervised at school, please specify this in the comments section when booking your SSG meeting.

If you would like to discuss your child’s progress in our specialist areas, please make an appointment through the office.

We are kindly asking that you log into Xuno and schedule an SSG meeting by Wednesday, 12th February 2025.

Please find attached a ‘how to’ guide to help you book your SSG meeting time through Xuno. Physical copies of this note and your Xuno login details if you haven’t logged into Xuno since December 2024 will be sent home with your child/ren today.

If you are experiencing issues booking an SSG Meeting time through Xuno, please contact the office on 03 9366 4322.

Healthy Student Lunches

This year we have launched a new weekly Health Curriculum at Jackson School. This combines what we have previously taught our students on healthy eating, drugs and medicines (including smoking, alcohol and energy drinks), self-care and personal hygiene, sexual health and consent and body autonomy. In addition to our "wet" swimming program for our primary years, we will also focus on a "dry" swimming program focused around water safety around rivers, lakes and the beach.

Even though we will never judge what students bring to school for lunch, we do encourage families to provide students with healthier lunches where available (less pre-packaged foods). We have Food Bank food packs available for families should you require these. Our students also can access our breakfast club in the courtyard each morning.

Students are encouraged to bring store their lunches inside the classroom; particularly in secondary where they have an outside locker. This is to increase student independence and for food safety. We unfortunately do not have provision to refrigerate or heat student lunches at school. Please consider this when packing your child's lunchbox (deli meats/chicken/fish/dairy/salads/leftover rice or pasta). We also recommend you place an ice block in your child's lunch box. These are readily available at local supermarkets from $2. We recommend the MontiiCo brand as these last up to 8 hours. Failing this you can use a wrapped frozen water bottle.

e-Bikes & e-Scooters

Following the Christmas break, we have a number of students who now have an electric scooter. We unfortunately don't currently have secure bike or e-scooter storage at school. If these are brought to school then these are stored at family's risk and the school is not covered for loss or damage to these items.

Riders of e-scooters must:

be aged 16 years and over
not exceed 20 km/h
ride only on roads that have a speed limit of 60km/h or less and on bike or shared paths
always wear a helmet (fine of between $231 up to $925)
always have proper control and ride responsibly
use a warning (e.g., bell, horn, or verbal) to avert danger
follow traffic rules
give way to pedestrians where appropriate
have front and rear lights if riding at night
do not use your mobile phone
do not carry a passenger (dinking)

Please find below public advice on the use of eScooters:

I hope you have a lovely holiday break as a family.

Communication

To maintain a strong home-school partnership, Parents/Carers main point of contact for school communication should be your child's classroom teacher. This can be through SeeSaw, by phone (leave a message at the school office) or by appointment (additional SSGs can be booked through the school office). Whole School communication will continue to be sent out through Xuno News items and SMS notifications. iNewsletter remains our main whole school communication tool with families for general information and notices in place of hardcopy letter. Please ensure you have let your child's teacher know if there are any daily bus, OSHC or parent pick-up changes through SeeSaw or by calling the school office directly on: 03 9366 4322.

I hope you all have a lovely weekend!

Anthony

Middle School News

Upper Primary (Years 5-6)