Dear Parents/Carers,

Welcome to 2024

And just like that, the Christmas, the new year, holidays and all that comes with them is like a distant memory.

Welcome to all our new students and their families. I hope you have managed to work your way through the first week of school and that help has been available if needed. All of our new students and families are important to us, but the start of a year also highlights just how much our school continues to grow. In 2024 we have seen the largest intake of Prep students yet with 124 little preppies kickstarting their school careers with us.

In total, we have 815 students enrolled with us at Armstrong Creek School - well today anyway! We frequently see many families joining us throughout the year. Breaking down the numbers further sees 71 of these students are in our secondary setting with the other 744 in Years Prep - 6. Whilst this sounds large, and is comparatively so, the thing that stands out most to me is the sense of community and connectedness that still exists despite our tremendous growth. It exists in our staff team and culture but also in our student population where there is a genuine, discernable display of care and belonging to a community.

Acting Assistant Principal Clarissa Jelley has just this afternoon sent an email out to all staff with some feedback after her observations of all classes in action this morning. The gist of her email was one of awe; of the students, the staff and the impressive way each class and learning community has seamlessly started the year in harmony. This is a great acknowledgement of the considered effort and time the teachers and ES have put in to planning and preparing for each student and their classes. Equally as impressive is the way our students have bravely navigated the new year and all that it brings; new faces, new environments and lots of new learning.

Over the course of the term we will continue to send out communication via the newsletter and compass to keep you informed of important events, but also of some of the key pillars of what makes ACS what it is. It is important to us that our families and carers feel equally a part of the community and that the sense of belonging to something extends beyond the school gates.

Part of starting the new year means establishing new routines or returning to old ones from previous years, including the arrangements you make in your own family before and after school together with the pick up and drop off locations. It is so encouraging to see the number of students riding or walking to school each day. For some families this is not an option and so alternative arrangements are made.

Chat with your child/ren about the arrangements you have as a family. Be clear on who, what, where and when the pick up/drop off will take place and when there is a change, do your best to remind your child of the new plan. For many of our students, particularly the younger ones, sending through a schedule to their teacher can often help, especially when the day to day arrangements are different. It may be simply communicating to the teacher that your child will be collected by a grandparent on one day and attend YMCA after school care the others. By having a record of this your child's teacher can always refer back to it when any confusion sets in.

Child safety and the Child Safe Standards are very important to us and help us recognise that all children are vulnerable and that it is up to us as the adults to build a culture of child safety that extends in to the community.

See below for supervision arrangements which is just one way of promoting overall child safety and wellbeing in a school community.

School Day - times and schedules

The whole school timetable is as follows:

8:40 Gates open - student supervision begins

8:55 In class - instruction begins - first 2 hour block of learning time

10:55 Recess - Play time

11:25 End of play time - Eating time inside

Middle block of learning time

1:25 Lunch - Play time

1:55 Eating time inside

2:10 Learning time

3:10 End of day

Your child/ren will also have their own class timetables which includes when they go to specialist classes and any other weekly events.

Early departures process

In the rare event you need to collect your child early from school, please observe the following early departure times:

If you have a pre-planned appointment/event that requires you to take your child/ren out of school prior to the end of day (ie. 3:10) please use the window of time which is most suitable for your engagement, selecting from either:
- the beginning of recess (11 am pick up),
- the beginning of lunch play (1:30) or
- the end of lunch play (2pm)
Email your child’s teacher prior to 8:50am on the day of the early departure with the details so they can ensure your child reports to the office with their bag at the correct time
In the case of an emergency, always call or attend the office for an immediate response 52185100

Supervision arrangements - before and after school

Student safety at Armstrong Creek School is our highest priority and the safe and appropriate supervision of students is an important element of our duty of care to students. Part of this duty is ensuring parents and students are aware of our student supervision arrangements before and after school.

Before school: School grounds are supervised at 8:40 when the gates open each morning. Each gate has a staff member assigned to it as well as someone supervising the central plaza and bike shed. No other areas of the school grounds are open for play at this time.

Learning Communities also open their doors at 8:40 each morning. This allows students to drop off their bags, say good morning or complete any other tasks to get ready for the day.

The gates are then locked each day at 8:55 when learning time commences.

After school: School grounds are supervised from 3:10 - 3:25 with the gates opening just after 3pm and students dimissed at 3:10. All gates in use have a staff member supervising and there is also supervision provided at the bike shed and in the central plaza.

The gates are then locked again at 3:30.

Students on school grounds outside these times will not be supervised (unless they are attending a before or after school care program or supervised extracurricular activity).

Parents/carers are requested to ensure that students do not attend school outside of these supervised times unless they are attending before or after school care, or a pre-arranged supervised activity (i.e. sports practice).

Families are encouraged to contact the YMCA on 0418 195 782 or email them at armstrongcreek@ymca.org.au for more information about the before and after school care facilities available to our school community or if you would like any further information about our student supervision arrangements.

Before School

If a student arrives at school before supervision commences at the beginning of the day with no parent/carer (i.e. prior to the gates opening at 8:40), the principal or nominee staff member will, as soon as practicable, follow up with the parent/carer to:

advise of the supervision arrangements before school
request that the parent/carer make alternate arrangements

After school

Students remaining in the school yard awaiting collection after 3:25 pm will be directed to the office waiting area (after the school bell). The school will then follow up with the parent/carer to:

determine the supervision arrangements for the student after school
request that the parent/carer make arrangements for their child to be collected on time or to consider alternate arrangements

We appreciate that from time to time, emergencies do arise. In the instance that you have made all attempts to collect your child on time and still can't quite make it, please email your child's teacher or call the office to let us know you will be late.

Protecting against Mosquito Borne Diseases

Warm and wet weather can result in greater numbers of mosquitoes and increased risk of illnesses from mosquito bites. While the overall risk is low, some mosquitoes carry diseases that make people sick.

The best protection against mosquito-borne illness is to avoid mosquito bites.

Families can protect against mosquito bites by:

· covering up as much as possible with long, loose-fitting, light-coloured clothing

· applying insect repellent that contains picaridin or DEET on exposed skin when leaving home

· limiting outdoor activity if lots of mosquitoes are active.

Families with any health concerns should see their doctor or phone NURSE-ON-CALL: 1300 606 024 (available 24 hours).

Free Japanese encephalitis vaccines

Japanese encephalitis virus is spread to humans through bites from infected mosquitoes and can cause a rare but potentially serious infection of the brain.

Free Japanese encephalitis vaccines are available to protect Victorians at higher risk of the virus.

The Victorian Department of Health encourages eligible people who live or work in high-risk local government areas to get vaccinated.

For more information, including what is considered a high-risk area and eligibility for a free vaccine, refer to the Department of Health’s Japanese encephalitis webpage.

Find out more

For more information on protecting against mosquito-borne diseases, families can refer to the following Better Health Channel pages: ·

Mosquitoes can carry diseases ·

Protect yourself from mosquito-borne disease, including a handy checklist to help reduce mosquito breeding sites at home and resources translated into other languages.

Term one is already shaping up to be a good one but no doubt there are a few weary faces out there in need of a big sleep this weekend.

Have a great weekend and stay nice and cool, it is going to be a hot one!

Kathryn Sier

Acting Principal

Armstrong Creek School Newsletter

Care, Collaboration, Commitment

Issue 1 · 02 Feb 2024

In this issue