From the Office

Welcome back to Term 3, a term that is traditionally prime learning time for students as they have transitioned into new learning environments across the first part of the year and the crazyness of Term 4 is yet to hit. We are excited about this term at Raywood PS and look forward uninterrupted learning for the first few weeks before we look forward some some excursions, sports and other activities in the second part of the term.

Staffing Updates - This term we are excited to welcome Zoe Light as a teacher to our school. Mrs. Light will be with us on a Monday, Tuesday and Thursday and will be running our Literacy Support program, along with taking STEM and Kitchen Garden Lessons across the week. Please introduce yourself to Mrs. Light as you bump into her in the school.

We are also looking forward to welcoming Darren from The Song Room into our school on a Friday morning until the end of the year.

Food Share Boxes - A reminder to please return the cardboard boxes your family's Foodshare Hamper came home in at the end of last term. This just saves FoodShare a couple of dollars per box and is really helpful to keep their running costs as low as possible. We are very appreciative of Anne and team's support at East Loddon Food Share!

Home Reading - A reminder that our expectations for Home Reading at Raywood Primary are that every child reads at home every day across the school week. This could be in the car, before bed, in the morning, on the phone with Nan, there are many options that provide your child with the chance to practice their reading skills and continue to build their reading fluency. Students should be bringing their Reader Bag to and from school each day and swapping take home books as required. Did You Know? - Talking about the story is just as important as reading it. Asking your child questions and discussing characters, helps to build your child's understanding and grow their vocabulary.

Upcoming School Staff Industrial Action - As I mentioned in the announcement through uEducateUs yesterday afternoon, further industrial action is being taken this term by school staff across the state. Next Thursday, a strike has been planned and as a result, there may be some disruption to normal operations for our school on this day. Our school staff will have until 8am, Tuesday 21st July to inform me of their intentions to strike. Following this, I will communicate any impacts to families as soon as possible.

Lock Down Drill - Next Friday we will be practicing our Lock Down procedures which are used in the unlikely event of a situation where staff and students would need to seek the safety of a lockable inside space. At school we practice different drills across the year and they form an important part of our Emergency Management Plan.

Updated School Timetable - This term we have made some adjustments to our timetable to be able to make some changes and additions to our learning program at school. Recess will remain at the same time, from 11am-11.30am. However lunchtime has been adjusted slightly to now be from 1.30pm-2.10pm. Please see below a timetable which shows the breakdown of learning across the week for both classrooms.

We are looking forward to being able to offer The Song Room across the next two term's at school and are excited about the opportunity for our students to experience music, drama and dance as part of the program. There will be a little performance at the end of each term too which will be great and we will provide lots of notice when this will occur so that families can make it if possible.

We are also excited to introduce a Kitchen Garden Program to our school alongside some STEM learning. Earlier this year our school received a Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden grant which included some funds and also access to the programs online portal of advice, resources and recipes. Mrs. Light will be establishing this program in our school and has already contacted other locals schools who offer a Kitchen Garden program to be able to go for a visit and then be able to work out how best to get this going at Raywood PS.

Literacy Support Program - This term we will be introducing some Literacy Support sessions to provide additional reading, writing and phonics assistance for selected students. The program is designed to complement classroom learning by providing targeted, small-group or 1:1 instruction focused on developing essential phonics, reading, spelling and writing skills. Students have been identified using a range of assessment data and teacher observations to ensure support is provided where it will have the greatest impact. Our aim is to build students' confidence, strengthen foundational literacy skills and help every child reach their full potential as a reader and writer. Families of students participating in the program will receive a short note next week. We look forward to working together to support our students' literacy growth.

Holiday Works - Over the term break we had a number of 'tidying up' jobs completed around the school, including the demolition of the old shelter shed/kitchen building. We look forward to installing a Concrete Rebound Wall in this space in the next few months. We have also moved our Library out of the Art Room and into the Common Area in our main building, it is exciting to see the kids already be more engaged with our book collection and they have been a big support, helping to sort through and organise our library. A big thank you to the Mountjoy Family for cleaning out the chicken house, and also to Mrs. Lehre and Mr. Collins who have been working on our Store Room, Art Room and Stadium spaces!

Upcoming Term 3 Events - We have a number of activities taking place later this term including:

100 Days of Prep Dress Up
Grade 3-6 Cluster Athletics
School Photos (Wednesday 19th August - Date change as there was a clash with Athletics).
Science Incursion Day
Book Week Excursion to Bridgewater PS
Swimming at Gurri Wanyarra
Student Learning Conferences
Rushworth P-12 Carnival Excursion
The Song Room Concert
Campaspe Cluster Science Day Excursion
P-2 Room On The Broom Theatre Excursion

Please keep an eye on uEducateUs as this is where permissions and activity information will be communicated. Whilst at Raywood PS we make every effort to significantly reduce the costs of activities offered at school, some of the above activities will incur a cost to families. Where this is the case, we will make sure plenty of notice is provided.

Term 4 Events - Some future notice as well about Term 4 events as we have a number of camps that will take place in the first few weeks of term:

Grade 5/6 Anglesea Camp: 19th-21st October
Whole School Melbourne Camp: 2nd-3rd November
Grade 3/4 Kookaburra Camp: 9th-11th November

More information regarding camps will be provided in the next few weeks.

AusAlert - Schools have been asked to pass on a community notice that a national test of AusAlert will happen across Australia on Monday 27 July at 2 pm. AusAlert is a new, national emergency warning system. It sends warning messages to compatible mobile devices during emergencies, to keep people informed so they can act quickly. The Australian Government plans to launch AusAlert in October 2026. On Monday 27 July at 2 pm, all compatible mobile devices will receive a Critical Alert. Compatible mobile devices include phones, tablets, smart watches, safety watches and some vehicle devices. These will vibrate and make a loud, siren-like warning sound for about 10 seconds. This will happen even if they are on silent or do not disturb. The message will clearly state that it is a test. No action is required from the test. You may also wish to let your child know that if they see or hear the alert, we will support them and we will also chat about it at school.

Safe Phones - AusAlert may increase risk for people experiencing violence, especially if they live with someone who uses violence. Alerts may expose safety devices. If you or someone you know has a hidden device, the best way to stay safe during the test is to turn off your mobile device or put it in aeroplane mode, keep your device off or in aeroplane mode for 24 hours. Silent mode and do not disturb will not stop the alert. For more information, please refer to the Staying Safe With AusAlert Page.

Mini Table Tennis Tables - During our tidying up efforts across the school, we have decided to give away some Mini Table Tennis tables that we no longer need at school. If you would like one, please let us know. Most have nets with them and we have a small number of bats as well that can go.

Thanks Everyone,

James