Raywood Primary School Newsletter

From the Office 

News From the Principal

Working Bee

We are hosting a family working bee on Saturday December 9th commencing at 10am. The main purpose of this event is to remove the existing old structures in the playground to make way for Stage 2 of our new playground (scheduled for delivery and installation on December 19th). 

We would love a great turn out of helpers to complete this job and some work relocating and reinstating our sandpit area. We have a sausage sizzle lunch as a thank you to those who have helped out. Children are most welcome on the day ( however toddlers will need to be supervised carefully due to mechanical equipment and vehicles in the yard to remove the playground equipment). 

Please put this date in your diaries and we hope to see lots of our families there. 

Melbourne Cup Day

Don't forget that students and staff have school on Melbourne Cup Day (having already had Bendigo Cup as their horse related public holiday). Therefore on Tuesday November 7th we will be hosting a special Cup Themed Day that is going to make our Literacy and Numeracy learning for the day lots of fun. Students are encouraged to dress up as though they were heading to the cup (maybe as fashions on the field, as a bookie or even a horse or jockey). Students can also bring along a plate of food for a shared lunch so we can eat buffet style on the day. No champagne will be flowing on the day but I did hear a rumor there may be a glass of lemonade instead! 

Year 5/6 Cluster Camp

Thank you to our families who have returned all of the paperwork and organised payment. Can I please remind families to read over the What To Bring sheet carefully to ensure that they pack all of the necessary clothing and materials; especially school uniform for our visit to parliament house. Also please ensure you have the pick up/drop off venue and

 times noted to ensure no mix ups occur. A reminder that if your child requires medication whilst on camp for any existing condition, to clearly mark this on the medial form as well as having a conversation with Lisa about it prior to the camp. 

 

The Year 5/6 students and Miss Duffy will away in Canberra with our five other small school counterparts from Monday November 20th to Friday November 24th. 

Local Excursion

Whilst our grade 5/6's are travelling around Canberra, we have decided to take our Prep - Yr3's on an adventure. On Friday November 24th we will leave Raywood in the morning to visit the Chinese Gardens and Golden Dragon Museum in Bendigo. This informative excursion coincides perfectly with the integrated units on world travel and studies of Asia currently being taught in our classrooms. Please head over to uEducateus to sign the permission forms. There is no cost for this excursion, just the opportunity to purchase a delicious lunch- details to be sent home with students. 

Graduation

Sadly we will be saying farewell to our two Year Six students at the end of this term. We will again be hosting a graduation dinner but this year we will be holding it at the Raywood Hall. The dinner will also be accompanied by a ceremony and slide show to honour our graduating students. 

This event will be held on Monday December 18th commencing at 6pm at the Raywood Hall. The cost will be $20 per adult and $10 for primary school aged children. This cost includes a two course dinner and drinks. 

We would love as many of our families, students and community members to join us for this event. Invitations will be sent out shortly and we ask for RSVP's to be returned as soon as possible for catering purposes. We have tried to keep costs low to allow for as many guests as possible to attend as it is a lovely way to not only say goodbye and good luck to our graduates but also to celebrate the end of another wonderful school year at Raywood Primary School. 

If you have any questions about this event, please contact myself or Bree. 

Its that time of year....

 As you would all be well aware, the warmer weather brings with it  some friendly reptiles (like our good friends Stumpy the stump tail lizard and a recent visitor to our grounds, a frill necked lizard); but it also brings some not so welcome guests. We have recently found

some snake eggs on our grounds (quite broken and empty as we believe our afore mentioned friends have eaten them for lunch- way to go lizards), but none the less we know that there is the potential for a snake sighting. Last week the students watched an informative clip on what to do (and more importantly, what not to do) if you come across a snake. Staff will ensure that we keep our students out of harms way as their safety is our first priority. With recent clearing of our ground cover and low growing shrubs, we have also made it more difficult for snakes to hang about in our yard, so we hope that we can continue to have no sightings of snakes.

School Council News

At our last meeting council approved a student free day on November 29th so that staff can attend training on applying the new Victorian Mathematics Curriculum. Therefore, students can enjoy a mid-week day away from school. 

We also approved the 2024 Parent Payment Policy. A copy of this policy will be sent our to families ne week (as well as available on our school website). This will be accompanied by a letter that further explains family contributions. 

Our final meeting for the year will be on Monday December 11th. 

School preparations for the bushfire season

Each year, to prepare for bushfires and grassfires, schools and early childhood services complete a range of activities. 

The Department of Education runs an annual fire risk assessment of schools and early childhood services. They are allocated a category of risk (categories 0 to 4) and are published on the Bushfire At-Risk Register (BARR). 

All schools and early childhood services listed on the BARR and Category 3and 4  list will also close when a Catastrophic fire danger rating day is forecast in their fire weather district.   

When the Bureau of Meteorology provides public fire danger rating forecasts or fire weather warnings, they use fire weather district areas. In Victoria, there are 9 fire weather districts, which are based on Local Government Area boundaries. Our school is in the Northern Country fire weather district.

As part of preparing our school for the fire season, we have updated and completed our Emergency Management Plan and reprioritised any maintenance works that may assist in preparing for the threat of fire and cleared our facility’s grounds and gutters.

What does this mean for our school?

Our school has been identified as being at risk of bushfire or grassfire and is a Category 3 

Our school will close on a day forecasted as Catastrophic fire danger rating in Northern Country  fire district. 

What is the department’s policy?

The department’s Bushfire and Grassfire Preparedness Policy requires all schools and early childhood services on the BARR and the Category 4 list to close when a Catastrophic fire danger rating day is forecast in their fire weather district. All school bus routes which travel in or through a district with Catastrophic fire danger must also be cancelled. 

When will our school be closed due to Catastrophic fire danger?

Our school will close on a day forecasted as Catastrophic fire danger rating in  Northern Country  fire district. 

Closure of the school due to a forecast Catastrophic day will be confirmed on the day prior and we will provide you with advice before the end of the school day. Any information regarding potential or confirmed Catastrophic fire danger days will be communicated to you by phone call and text messages. 

Once confirmed, the decision to close will not change, even if the weather forecast changes.  This is to avoid confusion and help your family plan alternative care arrangements for your child.  It is also important to be aware that:

  • No one will be on site on days where the school is closed due to a forecast Catastrophic day.
  • All bus routes that travel through the Catastrophic area will be cancelled.
  • School camps will be cancelled if a Catastrophic fire danger rating day is forecast for fire weather district in which the camp is located, or if the travel involves passing through areas that have Catastrophic fire danger.

Families are encouraged to action their Bushfire Survival Plan on Catastrophic fire danger rating days.  On such days, children should never be left at home alone or in the care of older children.

For those of us living in a bushfire prone area, the Country Fire Authority (CFA) advises that when Catastrophic days are forecast, the safest option is to leave the night before or early on the morning of the Catastrophic day.

What can families and the school community do to help us prepare?

  • Ensure we have your current contact details, including your mobile phone numbers.     
  • Keep in touch with us by reading our newsletters, checking our website, by talking to your child’s teacher or any other member of the teaching staff about our emergency management plan.
  • Make sure your family’s bushfire survival plan is up-to-date and includes alternative care arrangements in the event that our school is closed due to elevated fire danger or closed due to a Catastrophic fire danger. Further information can be found on the CFA’s website.
  • Action your family’s bushfire survival plan if your own triggers are met. Our school community may be spread out across many areas and some families may be at higher risk than others. Your family’s safety is critical, so please let us know if you are actioning your bushfire survival plan and if your children will be absent on these days.
  • If your child is old enough, talk to them about bushfires and your family’s bushfire survival plan. 

You can find more information on emergencies, warnings and preparedness actions here:

  • VicEmergency app – that can be downloaded on your android and iOS mobile devices
  • VicEmergency Hotline (1800 226 226)
  • Website https://emergency.vic.gov.au
  • ABC local radio, Sky News and other emergency broadcasters

 

 

That's all for this week- Lisa Duffy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

.