Dear Viewbank College Community,

Week four complete and students are well settled into their learning programs.

Thanks

We appreciate the support of parents and guardians with a few changes being implemented this year. The majority of students are now paying at the canteen with debit cards or cash. This means mobile phones are securely in lockers, as per the Department of Education guidelines and Victorian legislation.

It is great to see students generally adhering to uniform policy.

Incorrect shoes and black tracksuit pants continue to be incorrectly worn by a small number of students. If your student chooses to wear incorrect uniform, they will be issued a detention.

Attendance at our new Launch/Lead/Future Ready programs has been good, a real improvement on last year and the feedback already has been positive.

If students are absent or late without your approval, they will be issued with a detention. Please do not excuse them, this is enabling poor behaviour that has an impact on their learning progress and the learning of others.

We are trying to teach your students a whole range of life skills, including punctuality (necessary when they enter the workforce), commitment, discipline and organisation. Critical skills for their future selves.

College drop off and pick up

Over the next few weeks, Banyule Council will have their traffic management team surveying our drop-off and pick-up congestion. This has become an increasingly dangerous time, with not just car congestion, but buses navigating Warren Road and Robern Parade, in particular.

The Council will report back with some recommendations and changes to enable better traffic flow. I will update families when that occurs.

In the meantime, if you can park further away, please do so. Students can walk an extra 100 metres and if it saves a major incident and possibly a life, it will be well worth the extra effort.

New Staff Featured

In our newsletters this term, we will be featuring some of the new staff at the College.

This year, we have fourteen new staff and we welcome them to the College. The staff features will hopefully enable you to ‘put a name to a face’, well before we have our student lead conferences towards the end of term.

College Council Elections

This year, we will be holding elections for parent and student representatives on College Council. The Council has an important governance role – with oversight of finances and decision making on programs, facilities and policies.

Nominations have now closed and we will be sending out information about each candidate today on Compass and ask parents to vote for their preferred candidate. Students will also vote for their representatives.

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 (School Documentation | Compass) 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/Google Workspace for Education] 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/Google Workspace 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

Easter Hot Cross Bun - Raiser

On behalf of our parent groups: ASPA, FOPA and FOSTEAM, we are running a Hot Cross Bun drive.

Bakers Delight Rosanna are offering our families the opportunity to purchase Hot Cross Buns to assist in raising money for our basketball back boards, rings and nets.

For every 6 pack of Hot Cross Buns ordered, Bakers Delight Rosanna will give $2.00 to our school.

We would love it if you could ask family and friends if they would like to order some too to support our school.

There are 3 amazing flavours to choose from:

- Traditional

- Apple and Cinnamon

- Choc Chip

Cost: *$10.00 per 6 pack

(*Please note that there is 50 cent per pack Trybooking fee)

Orders are now open and close at 11.59pm sharp on Thursday 27th March, 2025.

Hot Cross Bun orders will be available for collection from Viewbank College on

Thursday 3rd April, 2025.

Get Involved at Viewbank College

There are many ways to get involved as a parent or community member at Viewbank College.

College Council

All government schools in Victoria have a school council. A school council directly influences the quality of education that a school provides to its students.

The work of the College Council, among other responsibilities, is to:

Establish and articulate the broad direction and vision of the school within the school’s community
Develop and monitor the school Strategic Plan
Review and update school policies
Raise funds for school related purposes
Approve the annual budget and monitor expenditure
Maintain the school’s grounds and facilities
Stimulate interest in the school generally

College Council nominations are called for in February each year, and where nominations exceed available places, an election held in March.

The College Council President is Sam Ricardo.

Advocates for Sport and Physical Activity (ASPA)

The Advocates for Sport and Physical Activity is a group of interested parents, staff and students with a collective vision to coordinate and promote sport and physical activity at Viewbank College.

The group will engage in fundraising for specific programs and work to establish links with external organisations to auspice programs and opportunities for students to engage in sport and physical activity.

Friends of Performing Arts (FOPA)

The FOPA group of parents who are interested in supporting the College’s excellent and extensive Music and Performing Arts programs. They meet twice a term in the lead up to significant fundraising and performance events for the College including the Autumn Festival, Music Showcase, Production and Middle School Production.

FOPA initiates fundraising to purchase and upgrade music and drama equipment.

Funds are also raised to help support transport costs to Camps and Performance Assessments.

Please check the College website for upcoming meetings and anticipated music and performance events.

Friends of STEAM (Science Technology -Engineering - Arts Maths)

A parent-teacher-student body supporting the STEAM program at school. The various activities undertaken include fundraising through the annual STEAM futures conference, supporting grant writing proposals and providing the opportunity to students to attend specialist talks in various STEAM fields of study.

For further information or if you are interested in joining any of the above,

please email the College.

Sharon Grimes, Principal

Emma Ford, Assistant Principal

Rachael Smith, Assistant Principal

Anna Crosswhite, Assistant Principal

Penelope Cleghorn, Assistant Principal

From The Wellbeing Team