Welcome Back!

Term 1 2024

Welcome back to the start of a new school year. I hope you’ve all had a well-earned, relaxing break after another very busy year for us all. We should all be immensely proud of our success and resilience in navigating the challenges we faced (a $12 million capital works program, reduced spaces with larger class sizes, and staffing/recruitment challenges, to name just a few) whilst continuing to offer quality and authentic learning opportunities for our students. Thank you!

Personally, it has been lovely to spend quality time together as a family. In addition to the Christmas festivities and house designing, we were able to get away to Noosa for a week on the river. Whether you were able to get away or spent time at home watching the Australian Open, I hope you were able to turn off from work, and feel refreshed to start back at work. At least the weather has been half decent.

Workforce & HR

Despite the many staffing and recruitment challenges faced across the state, I am proud that we are starting the 2024 academic year with a teacher and education support staff member assigned to every class. We still do have some open positions yet to recruit (1/2C Teacher, P-2 ESS, OT) to ensure that we are able to run the school at full capacity to ensure our students have the very best learning opportunities.

On behalf of the Jackson School Community, I would like to officially welcome our new staff for 2024.

Teachers: Jessica R. (Inclusion Outreach Coach), Julianne P., Maddison B., Yaqi Y., Rohan W., Tori B., Ethel M-W., Dash A., and Louise B. (CRT).
ES Staff: Donna E., Faye C.

A full staff list is available on the 2024 Timetables and Lists page.

With the completion of our $12 million school upgrade, our school is now structured into three collaborative learning communities (sub-schools): Junior School (Prep - Year 4), Middle School (Year 3 - 8) and Senior School (Year 7 - Year 12). Within these communities, staff and classes work in smaller collaborative Professional Learning Teams (PLTs) led by an Assistant Learning Specialist (PLT Leader). These are

Belinda, Justin, Uzer, Aaron, Gabby RM., Jo P. and Ben have been appointed as Assistant Learning Specialists (PLT Leaders) for 2024.

Cody and Kat D. (Independent Learning), Dash (Career Education), Vu (Jobs, Skills & Pathways) and Ian (Health & Fitness/Active Schools) also take on Assistant Learning Specialist roles to support the School Improvement Team.

Helen, in her role as the Health and Safety Rep (HSR), will continue work with Graeme, Sharon and Matt on OHS; Ingrid will continue to support Bern and Julie with the transition from PSD to Disability Inclusion; Janine will support Allied Health as a newly qualified Allied Health Assistant and Library; Bec M. will support our ES staff with their induction program and support the delivery of the ES professional learning; Jodie will continue to support the specialist team in her full-time role; Nadya and Liz will support the teaching and learning team with literacy and numeracy resources; and Sandra will support in the running of our new PBIS Rewards Shop.

Congratulations to all of the staff who were successful in being appointed to a new position or position of responsibility for 2024.

I would like to welcome the newest members of our leadership team: Jaclyn (Learning Specialist - Numeracy), Sarah (Learning Specialist - Numeracy) and Jessica R (Inclusion Outreach Coach). Jess comes to us from the Department of Education, where she worked in the Brimbank-Melton Area as a Visiting Teacher. We look forward to working with you in your new roles.

Robyn remains on personal leave. In Robyn's absence, we will advertise for an Assistant Principal to backfill her role. We wish Robyn a speedy recovery. She has very much appreciated all the well wishes from staff and passed on her thanks to you all.

The leadership team will continue to focus on our SSP goals and AIP actions and activities in three smaller School Improvement Teams: Achievement, Engagement and Wellbeing. These are as follows:

Achievement SIT: Anthony (Chair), Kelly (LT Curriculum & Assessment), Gabi M. (LS - Professional Learning), Sarah B. (LS T&L - Literacy) & Jaclyn (LS T&L - Numeracy). Assistant Learning Specialists (Vu and Dash) may also work with this team on school-wide SSP projects related to career education.
Engagement SIT: Anthony (Chair), Bern (LT Transition & Partnerships), Matt (Business & Operations Manager) & Jessica R. (Inclusion Outreach Coach).
Wellbeing SIT: Robyn (Chair), Julie (LT Disability Inclusion), Michelle (LT Mental Health & Wellbeing), Helena (LT Community Engagement), Alex (Social Worker & Child Safety Officer). Assistant Learning Specialists (Ian, Cody and Kat) may also work with this team on school-wide SSP projects, e.g Independent Learning programs including RRRR, eSMART, PBIS & Active Schools.

Staff will have an opportunity to contribute to our strategic direction in additional School Improvement Teams (SIT) during Terms 2 and 3.

Click below to download the School Structure for 2024:

Distributed Leadership Structure 2024.pdf

Curriculum Days - Monday 29th and Tuesday 30th January

Due to limited accommodation and weather on Monday 29th January 2024, we have decided to hold our Curriculum Day 1 at Lakeside Banquet & Convention Centre at 65 Melton Hwy, Taylors Lakes, VIC 3038.

Please arrive at 8:30 am. There is adequate parking onsite.

If you are planning to travel via public transport, we will offer a Bus Shuttle from Jackson School at 8:15 am on Monday. If you haven't yet completed the form that was sent on Thursday and wish to catch the shuttle bus, please contact Matt.

The day will be fully catered with morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea. There will also be a cash bar after the event, should you wish to stay and reconnect with colleagues.

Our Curriculum Day 1 will be focused on school operations, outlined in this bulletin, to begin the school year. We will also launch our 2024 AIP and how this aligns with staff PDPs and work through our Pre-Review Self Evaluation (PRSE) activities in readiness for our School Review in Term 3 this year. To make the most of the day we will also have a an Asthma/Epilepsy briefing, PBIS Refresher and an OHS/Emergency Management Briefing.

Our Curriculum Day 2, on Tuesday 30th January 2024, will be at Jackson School. This will be dedicated to PLT and classroom activities to ensure our school is ready for our students' first day back on Wednesday, 31st January 2024. Staff will be given the remainder of the time to work with other staff to continue to review your students' working files and set up classrooms and areas, as well as meet with staff/teams as required. No catering will be provided on this day, but we do have a little treat planned for the afternoon.

An OHS induction presentation for new staff will be held in the afternoon.

Buildings & Grounds

Thank you to Graeme and Lyle for your work over the holiday period in amongst your other commitments. This time last year, we began our school capital works upgrade. 12 months on, we are eventually at the finish line. The building surveyor completed the last inspection on Thursday, with practical completion to occur on Monday in readiness for our students return on Wednesday. Rendine Modularity are completing the remaining defects (including the Block 3 carpet leading from the library to Art and Design Tech), and new blinds are being installed this weekend. Some blinds remain in production and will be fitted on a Saturday in the next couple of weeks.

This milestone celebrates over 5 years of work in investing in our new facilities. Prior to receiving the $10 million from the Victorian Government, School Council had allocated $2 million towards a school upgrade. This investment has contributed to our finished project, which will deliver state-of-the-art facilities for our students for years to come. Our students and staff have coped remarkably with the disruption onsite and reduced facilities available. I am very proud of what we have achieved together.

In line with new Department policies, Jackson School will continue to invest $2.867 million over the next four years in our school infrastructure. Phil Cox has been engaged post-retirement to support the management of school-led capital works projects as part of our 2024-2027 Capital Management Plan.

We had planned for our Official Opening and Welcome BBQ on Friday 9th February 2024, between 12 pm and 2 pm. We are considering rescheduling the official opening of our new buildings due to incomplete aspects of the project and the short timeline. However, we will still have a school assembly celebrating Luna New Year (Tet), as well as a Welcome to Country and Smoking Ceremony from a Wurundjeri elder.

For more detailed information on other areas of School Operations, please click on the pages on the left for important updates ready to start the school year. These include:

I hope you enjoy the remainder of your break, and I look forward to seeing you all on Monday.

Anthony