From the Principals

Welcome to the second last newsletter for Term 3! With the official welcome of Spring this week, we have definitely seen some wild and windy weather. With information in the media over the weekend about some schools closing due to extreme weather warnings, we would like to remind parents that if there is ever such an event impacting Vermont PS, parents will be alerted via Compass. This is the most efficient way for us to contact our school community, so it is important that families all have access to the Compass portal.

A quick reminder of two important dates and times: 

-Next Friday 13th September is the Professional Practice Day for all staff at Vermont Primary School. This means that no students are required at school. The teachers will be involved in Curriculum Planning for Term 4.  

-On the last day of Term 3 2024, Friday 20th September, dismissal of the children will be at 3:30pm, the normal finish time. 

School Saving Bonus

Earlier in the week, families should have recieved a Compass notification in regard to the School Saving Bonus. 

In Term 4, 2024, families with a child enrolled in a government school from Prep to Year 12 in 2025 will receive the one-off $400 School Saving Bonus.

The $400 School Saving Bonus provides families with support for education-related costs, such as school activities and/or school uniforms and textbooks.

The School Saving Bonus is not available for full-fee international students, home schooled students, TAFE students and students attending kindergarten in 2025.   

Actions for parents and carers

Before 18 October 2024, the Department of Education is asking parents and carers to:

• Complete enrolment: If your child, or children are changing government school for Term 1 2025, or starting Prep or Year 7 in 2025. 
• Check your contact information: Ensure your email address and phone number is up to date with us. You can check this information by contacting us directly.

We need to ensure your contact information is up to date as the Department of Education will email you twice:

• in October, to verify your email address
• in November, with your $400 School Saving Bonus and access to an online system.

Please check your junk mail regularly to make sure you do not miss an important email.

Community Health

 We have had a rise in the number of students and adults in our community experiencing colds, flu and a return of covid. We ask for your cooperation to keep our school community safe and well by not sending children to school if they are unwell, especially if they have vomited or are experiencing high temperatures. Whilst we understand that there are no requirements to isolate with covid, we ask that people continue to practice good infection control habits, such as covering mouths when coughing or sneezing and washing hands regularly. 

Parent Teacher Interviews

We hope that many of you have taken up the opportunity to book a 10 minute interview with your child's teacher next week to discuss their learning and wellbeing growth. These interviews are a chance to celebrate how far students have come, their areas of strength and what the next steps in their learning are. 

We remind parents to please adhere to the 10 minute time limit as this impacts other people if teachers fall behind in their appointments. 

Bookings are via COMPASS and close at midnight tonight! (6th September 2024)

Community Network

Once again a huge thank you to the members of the VPS Community Network. The Father's Day Stall was a terrific success. We hope all the dads, grandads and special friends received some lovely gifts.  

Below is a photo of some of the members of the group who organised the stall and assisted on the day. 

Some parents have been asking about the Community Network. This is a group of parents that meet regularly to discuss a range of different topics and think of activities for our school community to enjoy. The purpose is not always to fundraise, but to create some amazing experiences and memories for our students.

Over the year we have had so many events some of which include: - the Colour Run, Mother’s Day and Father’s Day Stalls, Afternoon Teas, assiting with events such as Multicultural / Harmony Days, Hot Cross Bun days and many others.

If you would like to join the Community Network , you are very welcome to come along. Our next meeting is at 9am on Friday the 11th of October. It will be held in the staffroom. If you can't attend meetings, that is okay, we will add you to our contact list so that you can be included in any events or discussions. 

TK Tuckshop

We are pleased to announce that we are trialling a new lunch provider in Term 4. As you will be aware, we have Classroom Cuisine offering a lunch delivery service on a Wednesday and Subway on Fridays. We are adding 'TK Tuckshop' on a Tuesday, trialling this service during Term 4 of this year. Please see the below information if you would like to give it a go next term.