Jackson School Newsletter

Principal's Message

Anthony Jackson (Principal)

Jackson School is a collaborative learning community for all. We aim to develop independence through safety, respect and responsibility. We aspire to offer authentic, quality educational experiences that develop futures, create opportunities and inspire student potential; enabling our students to be valued and contributing members of the wider community. We share and celebrate our successes and achievements.   

The Issue Highlights

Dear Families,

 

I hope you all have had a lovely holiday as a family. I spent a lot of the holidays doing house DIY in preparation for the pending arrival of Baby No. 3 at the end of August. I will then be on paternity leave until Term 4. Bernadette O'Sullivan will be the Acting Principal whilst I am on leave. We did also managed to spend a few nights in Melbourne visiting Disney on Ice and Lightscape with the kids. 

 

On behalf of the Jackson School Community, I would like to welcome our new staff: Leyla Munir (1/2C ES) and Maggie Vu (Speech Pathologist commencing in Week 5). Welcome to our community!

NAIDOC Week - Keep the Fire Burning! Blak, Loud and Proud

National NAIDOC Week celebrations are held across Australia in the first week of July each year (Sunday to Sunday), to celebrate and recognise the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Prep to Year 10 students participated in an incursion with Will where they explored indigenous instruments and dancing. 

School Review

 

We have now completed two of the four allocated review days which has focused on our performance over the last four years and fieldwork. This has included visiting classrooms, teacher professional learning team meetings and focus groups with our staff and students. Thank you to the parents/carers who have agreed to be part of a focus group next Friday. We value your views and opinions on how we can improve.

 

All schools must participate in a school review every 4 years. The school review informs the development of the school’s 4-year School Strategic Plan. The review panel will be conducted by a lead school reviewer from Monash University, our school Senior Education Improvement Leader (SEIL), School Council President and three Challenge Partners from the Department of Education or other Special Schools. 

2024 Parent / Caregiver / Guardian Opinion Survey

 

Our school is conducting a survey to find out what parents, caregivers and guardians think of our school. The Parent / Caregiver / Guardian Opinion Survey is an annual survey offered by the Department of Education that is designed to assist schools in gaining an understanding of families’ perceptions of school climate, student behavior, and student engagement. Our school will use the survey results to help inform and direct future school planning and improvement strategies. A random sample of approximately 30 per cent of parents / caregivers / guardians has been selected to participate in this year’s survey. If you have been chosen to participate and complete the survey, you will go into a draw to win a $50 Woolworths voucher. 

 

The Parent / Caregiver / Guardian Opinion Survey will be open from Monday 29 July and Friday 30 August. If you have been randomly selected to complete the PCGOS you will be contacted directly.

 

The survey will be conducted online, only takes 20 minutes to complete, and can be accessed at any convenient time within the survey period on desktop computers, laptops, tablets or smartphones. If you would like access to a computer, then please let the school office know. The online survey will be available in English and 10 other languages including Arabic, Greek, Hakha Chin, Hindi, Japanese, Punjabi, Simplified Chinese, Somali, Turkish, and Vietnamese. 

Student Enrolment Census

 

Thank you for participating in the Department's (DE) August enrolment census. This occurs in every school to support the development of the school budget (SRP). As part of the upcoming August Census, DE collects family occupations and education which determines our Social Disadvantage equity funding. If you have not yet completed the census form or spoken to a member of our Admin Team, we kindly ask that you return this form to us asap. Thank you to families for your participation in helping complete this census. 

Early Arrivals

Parents/Carers are responsible for the supervision of their children until 8:45am. We are unable to open the school grounds before 8:45am due to staffing and supervision requirements. Students are being dropped off very early between 8:00-8:15am. As per DE policy, schools are required to supervise students on school grounds 10 minutes before the start of the school day (8:50-9:00am) and 10 mins after school (2:50-3:00pm). 

Semester 2 SSGs Changes

 

Parents and carers will have an opportunity to discuss your child's progress from Semester 1 and their proposed learning goals for Semester 2 2024 at your upcoming Student Support Group (SSG) parent-teacher meeting next week. 

 

In consultation with School Council, our Staff Consultative Committee and feedback collected from our families, we are changing the way we deliver SSGs to increase the meeting times to 30 minutes. This will support with our evidence collection for the new Disability Inclusion process and time-in-lieu requirements of staff. SSG meetings will now be offered over three evenings after school Monday 29th July, Tuesday 30th and Wednesday 31 July from 3:30pm to 5:30pm. These will be offered in-person, virtually or over the phone to suit family's circumstances. You should have received SSG booking forms this week, please ensure all forms are returned to the classroom teacher asap.

I hope you have a lovely weekend!

 

Anthony