Hi Everyopne and welcome to the 2024 school year!

It was so good to see so many smiling, eager faces on Tuesday. I would like to offer a sincere WELCOME to DPS to our new students, their families and our new teachers and support staff.

I am sure you will enjoy your time here at DPS which is YOUR school. As I have said so many times, we have such caring staff here. They work hard to develop the curriculm so all students are catered for through a differentiated approach. Teaching is complex and we have outstanding teachers, so please join us in supporting our students to be the best they can be. It's an exciting journey!

We are looking forward to the year ahead and there are many activities and events planned, so please check Compass regularly, read the newsletter and also follow us on Facebook and Instagram to keep up to date with what is going on. DPS is a busy place.

Special welcome to our new Preps. They looked amazing in their new school uniforms and already they have learned so much and are finding their way around the school.

As I have been around to visit classrooms a few times it is great to see them so settled.

The first year of school

Find out about what your child is learning at school. By doing this, you can support your child’s learning and find out how your child is adjusting to school.
If your child is having difficulty at school, talk to their teacher. Your child can also say what they think might help them.
Keep talking to your child about school. Ask them about their new experiences, what they like and what they find hard.
If your child goes to care before or after school, find a way of sharing your child’s school progress with the staff.
Share feedback about your child’s experience of starting school with the school and early childhood service.
Organise time for your child and their new friends to play together outside of school.

COVID is still around!

There is at present an increase in community transmission of COVID-19 in Victoria.

You can help us keep our school as safe as possible by taking 2 important steps:

1. Ensure your COVID-19 vaccinations are up to date. Information on how and where to get vaccinated is available on the Get Vaccinated webpage.

2. If your child shows symptoms of COVID-19, please ensure they stay home and get tested. The easiest way to test is to use a rapid antigen test (RAT).

Free RATs are available from your local council where you can collect 2 packs of 5 RATs and an extra 2 packs for each person in your household. People with disability and their carers can get 4 packs of 5 RATs. You are not required to have a Medicare card and you can collect RATs as many times as you need. You can also buy RATs at supermarkets, pharmacies and other retailers.

If your child has symptoms but tests negative, please ensure they stay home until they no longer have symptoms.

If the RAT test result is positive, please ensure they stay home for at least 5 days and until there are no more symptoms.

Thank you for your support – these steps will help us all stay well.

School Councils

School councils are groups that make decisions that set the direction of the school. They:

help create and check the school's budget
contribute to the school strategic plan
make decisions on policies like investments, payments by parents, dress code.

Councils usually have between 6 and 15 members and include:

the principal, who is the executive officer
parents who are chosen through an election
a school or department staff member
a student, if the school has year 7 students and above.

Some councils also have community members who are chosen by the council. These members have special knowledge or experience in the local community.

Become a school council member

Being a school council member means taking part in shaping the future of the school. You will need to attend meetings and may need to develop new skills.

In most cases, you need to be elected to become a council member. Elections happen by March each year and all parents and guardians from the school can vote.

If you're elected, you're a council member for 2 years.

The process:

The principal will announce an election in late February or early March. They will provide a form or other way to nominate.
Complete the form or reply to the principal by the deadline.
If there are more nominations than vacant positions, a vote will happen.
The principal will run the vote and announce the outcome.

Regards

Jim Hill

Principal

VILLAGE OSHC