Updated Policies:

Our childsafe policies have recently been updated and audited by the department. Once School Council have approved these updated policies at our meeting on Monday night they will be uploaded to the school website. Please take the time to familiarise yourself with these policies. The policies that have been updated are: Student Engagement and Well Being, Bullying Prevention, Digital Learning, Child Safety, Child Safety Responding and Reporting Obligations, Complaints, Visitors and Volunteers.

Complaints:

I would like to draw your attention in particular to the complaints policy. I know our staff work their hardest to do their absolute best for every child in our care, however there are times when our processes or decisions may not align with parent / carer expectations. In these cases, we welcome a discussion to have clarity and to support a positive home – school partnership.

When addressing a complaint, it is expected that all parties will:

be considerate of each other’s views and respect each other’s role
be focused on the resolution of the complaint, with the interests of the student involved at the centre
act in good faith and cooperation
behave with respect and courtesy
respect the privacy and confidentiality of those involved, as appropriate
operate within and seek reasonable resolutions that comply with any applicable legislation and Department policy
recognise that schools and the Department may be subject to legal constraints on their ability to act or disclose information in some circumstances

As part of the communication process, parents and teachers often communicate by email and I know this can be timely and effective. I would ask however that before you send an email to staff that you pause to reflect on:

The time you are sending the email. Emails sent late at night are often not thought through and cannot be attended to until the next day.

The tone of your email – please do not send an email that is aggressive or rude. These types of emails not only damage your relationship with your child’s teacher, but they also have the potential to have a negative impact on the mental health and well being of staff who are entitled to a safe work space.

Sometimes the best course of action is to have a face to face conversation. If you are not confident to have this conversation or are unsure of the best course of action, please make contact so I can help you sort through any concerns you may have.

Whilst this is an uncomfortable topic, it is one that needs to be addressed. We value our partnerships with our families and keeping these guidelines in mind can help to support positive partnerships. If we can improve in our responses to your concerns, I am more than happy to receive your feedback.

Grade 3/4 Camp:

A huge thank you to Sherrell Cini for attending our Grade 3/4 camp as a parent helper and also to the staff John Wigg, Maxine Howard and Leanne McKane for your willingness to attend camp. The students had a wonderful time and were even asleep by 11.30pm 😊

There were many opportunities for students to try new activities and challenge themselves including rock wall climbing, low ropes course, bushwalking, bush cooking and initiative activities. All students had a turn at duty groups, either setting up for meals or packing up after meals. It was great to see their willingness to be responsible and help. Thank you to our students for taking part and doing their best.

Next year Grade 3/4 students will again have the opportunity to attend camp. We usually go every second year but our bookings were a little out of whack with students missing our during covid. Grade 5/6 students will have their next camp in 2025.

Silly Socks Fundraiser:

Don’t forget to support our P&F fundraiser and order your silly socks. It’s an easy process once you follow the link on line.

Christmas Decorations:

As part of our family Christmas Celebration planned by P&F, classrooms will be taking part in a ‘best decorated’ classroom competition. I’m sure if you have some spare decorations that you no longer need, your child’s classroom teacher may be willing to take them off your hands.

Bunyip Primary School Newsletter

“To empower students to embrace learning, achieve their personal best and build their emotional, social and physical wellbeing.”

Issue 17 · 09 Nov 2023

In this issue