Principal's Report

School Road Safety 

As we ease into the routines of the new school year, it is important to remember the importance of some basic road safety rules around school. Unfortunately, I have seen a few near misses already, as I watch parents run with their children between traffic.

Now is the time, I urge you all to role model to your children the expected behaviours at drop off and pick up times. Here at my most important reminders:

• Please drive carefully, remembering the 40km/h speed zones. 
• Simply, use the school crossing.
• Crossing the road between parked cars is not recommended. The potential danger of being hit by a car whilst crossing between parked cars is enormous. Drivers cannot always see pedestrians (particularly small children) waiting to cross the road. 
• Do not leave your car in the Kiss and Go/Drop Off Bay.
• If your child is riding a bike or scooter to school, please make sure they have an appropriately fitted helmet.
• Our schools can be very busy at drop off and pick up time, and your courtesy and patience are appreciated.

Parent Helper Training

Are you interested in being a Parent Helper at our school?  Parent Helpers are involved in many aspects of our school, including things like Breakfast Club, support for reading programs, camps, excursions, Mother's Day and Father's Day stalls etc.

If you are interested I invite you to attend an important information session where we will be outlining the expectations of helpers, ways to offer assistance and the Working With Children Check application process.  You must attend this training to be eligible to be a helper.  If you have attended a training session in previous years and have completed all of the requirements you do not have to attend the information session again.

 To register for this event please ring or email the school office on 5998 5293. Parent support is always greatly appreciated. 

NAPLAN 2025

The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy is a national test conducted in March each year. The NAPLAN test dates for 2025 are scheduled to take place from Wednesday 12 March to Monday 24 March. Students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 complete individual tests in four areas:

• Writing
• Reading
• Language Conventions (spelling, grammar and punctuation)
• Numeracy

Parents of Year 3 and Year 5 students please read the NAPLAN page of this newsletter.

School Photos

Save the date for our school photo day, which is booked for Tuesday 25th of March.

Information and payment options will be sent to families via Compass shortly.

2025 Camps

This year both our school camps are being held at Golden Valleys Adventure Camp in Flinders, approximately 45 minutes away.

The Year 5/6 team will be heading there on Tuesday 27th May and returning Thursday 29th May. (Term 2 - Week 6)

Year 3/4 will head out on Wednesday 8th October and return home on Friday 10th October. (Term 4 - Week 1)

Buddy Bench

Our buddy bench creation is well underway, as Mrs Steckyj, our Art teacher, has been working with some Year 5s to paint the bench based on the SRC drawings from last year and I have to say they are all doing a spectacular job. Mrs Steckyj, hopes it will be completed sometime in the next week or so. The cost of the bench and paint was covered by our cheese toastie fundraiser in 2024.

Parent Conferences

As of 2025, there will be changes to the way Clyde Primary School runs our Parent Conferences.

The first of our two Conferences will be held in the last week of Term 1. Teachers will send an individual Compass message to parents stating if a conference is ‘encouraged’ or ‘welcomed’. 

• If a parent receives an ‘Encouraged’ message this means that the teacher has items that they would like to discuss with you and would like you to book in a time. 
• If you receive a ‘Welcomed’ message, you are welcome to book in a time if you have an item you would like to discuss with the teacher.

These conferences can be offered in various forms to make it easier,  such as face to face, phone or WebEx.

Messages will be sent by teachers in the next few weeks and we will notify you once the online booking system is open.

Conference 2 will now be held on the last week of Term 3. The same process will be followed, and the purpose of the conference is the same as Conference 1.

This means that along with our formal reporting system, teachers are touching base with parents each term around student progress and actively working with parents to support students in reaching their goals.

Harmony Week

Harmony Week celebrates Australia’s cultural diversity. It is about inclusiveness, respect and a sense of belonging for everyone. To celebrate Harmony Day on Friday the 21st of March, we are having a special dress day where students are asked to wear something orange or wear something to represent your family’s culture. Traditionally, orange signifies social communication and meaningful conversations. It also relates to the freedom of ideas and encouragement of mutual respect.  

Important Reminder

Children who bring mobile phones to school must turn them off when entering school grounds. The phones need to be given to the office for safe keeping at the start of each day and collected at the end of each day. Please note that this also applies to smart watches (watches that can message or GPS locate).

Annual Privacy Reminder for our School Community

Our school collects and uses student and parent personal information for standard school functions or where permitted by law, as stated in the Schools’ Privacy Policy and the Schools’ Privacy Collection Notice.

Our Photographing, Filming and Recording Students Policy [insert link to your school policy], describes how we collect and use photographs, video and recordings of students. The policy also explains when parent consent is required and how it can be provided and withdrawn. 

We ask parents to also review the guidance we provide on how we use Microsoft 365 safely at the school and what parents can do to further protect their child’s information. If after reviewing the guidance, you have any questions or concerns regarding your child using Microsoft 365 for Education, please contact the school.

For more information about privacy, refer to: Schools’ privacy policy: information for parents. This information is also available in ten community languages:

• Amharic
• Arabic
• Chinese
• Dari
• Gujarati
• Mandarin
• Somali
• Sudanese
• Turkish
• Urdu
• Vietnamese