From the Principal 

Book Week Celebrations

Our annual Book Week Character Dress Up Day was held last Tuesday, 12th August. It was great to see so many students and staff get into the spirit of the day with their costumes. These days really bring the school community together, as was evident with the fantastic turn out for our morning ‘parade’ in the gym.

Students were so excited to see what their classmates were dressed up as and they loved engaging in conversations about their character and their favourite books.

Students also participated in an incursion on the day. ‘Treasure Hunt’, a Children’s Book Council 2025 shortlisted book, was performed by Perform Education in the school gym. The performance was positively received by our students and staff and was another great way to celebrate high-quality literature at school. 

Thanks to all the families for your support for this day. The costumes on display were amazing and we know that you must have put a lot of effort into making them.

Staffing

We have welcomed Justin Ferrari to all school this term. Justin will be teaching in year 6 for the second half of the year, while Mr Simon Judkins is on leave.

We also welcome Christine D’Souza to school on a full-time basis this term. Christine has worked at the school for a number of years as a casual teacher, as well as a year 5 and 6 French teacher. This term, Christine will be teaching 3L Monday – Friday as well as continue teaching year 5 and 6 French.

Mr Judkins and Miss Lonsdale are on leave this term.

Child Safe Standards

The new Child Safe Standards and Ministerial Order 1359 began on 1 July 2022. In 

preparation to meet the new standards, Camelot Rise Primary School is building on existing child safety strategies, policies, and practices to strengthen our culture of child safety and protect children from abuse.

Standard 1 

Organisations establish a culturally safe environment in which the diverse and unique identities and experiences of Aboriginal children and young people are respected and valued.

Standard 2

Child safety and wellbeing is embedded in organisational leadership, governance and culture.

Standard 3

Children and young people are empowered about their rights, participate in decisions affecting them and are taken seriously.

Standard 4

Families and communities are informed and involved in promoting child safety and wellbeing.

Standard 5

Equity is upheld and diverse needs respected in policy and practice.

Standard 6

People working with children and young people are suitable and supported to reflect child safety and wellbeing values in practice.

Standard 7

Processes for complaints and concerns are child focused.

Standard 8

Staff and volunteers are equipped with the knowledge, skills and awareness to keep children and young people safe through ongoing education and training.

Standard 9

Physical and online environments promote safety and wellbeing while minimising the opportunity for children and young people to be harmed.

Standard 10

Implementation of the Child Safe Standards is regularly reviewed and improved.

Standard 11

Policies and procedures document how the organisation is safe for children and young people.

https://ccyp.vic.gov.au/child-safe-standards/the-11-child-safe-standards/#TOC-1

Father's Day Event

We are looking forward to our upcoming Father’s Day Event on Thursday 11th September.

We are aware that this event is after Father’s Day which will is on Sunday 7th September, 

however, both Ben and Matt are at a Principal’s Conference the week before so would be unable to attend. We are looking forward to doing something a little different this year and we hope you can join us between 5:00 – 6:30pm.

Uniform

We have recently noticed that many of our students are out of uniform on a regular basis. We encourage all families to ensure that their child is wearing the appropriate uniform for school on a regular basis.

Wearing a school uniform has the following benefits: 

• encourages a school spirit and atmosphere. 
• helps develop a sense of pride and identification with the school. 
• negates peer group pressure and promotes equality amongst the students. 

• Uniform provides a measure of security and identifies the students when they are participating in excursions and other activities. 

   

We have recently had a drive to collect any uniform that is not being used to sell at our second-hand uniform sale. Thank you to families who have donated uniform for the stall. If you are looking to buy school unform, the second-hand stall we be held on 22nd August from 2:00pm – 3:30pm, outside the canteen.

Alternatively, uniform can also be purchased from PSW in Glen Waverley. 

Making your school look great Camelot Rise Primary School - Schools

Mobile Phones Under 13

There was a story in the media recently about a study into the use of mobile phones by children under the age of 13. The study, published in the Journal for Human Development and Capabilities, discusses the global rise in smartphone and social media use and how it 

has dramatically reshaped childhood and adolescence. It looks at the effects of smartphone ownership before the age of 13 on mental health and wellbeing. The results showed that the relationship between earlier smartphone ownership and poor mental health outcomes in early adulthood, particularly among females, especially when paired with access to algorithmically curated social media (which is pretty much all social media), profoundly diminishes mind health and wellbeing and is associated with increased symptoms and diminished functioning across a range of domains, with consequences extending into education and civic participation. 

Accessing social media and smartphones is often an unsupervised gateway that disrupts key developmental activities such as person-to-person relationships and sleep. It also exposes children to harmful content online including violence, ideologies, deepfakes and inappropriate images.

As the age at which children receive a smartphone continues to decrease, the “data suggests a concerning trajectory toward a population with higher rates of aggression, suicidal thoughts, feelings of detachment from reality, and diminished self-worth, emotional control, and resilience.”

The study found that, “globally, the age of access to social media accounts for approximately 40% of the overall association between age of smartphone ownership and mind health. Other significant contributing factors include poor family relationships (13%), cyberbullying (10%), and disrupted sleep (12%). Notably, 68% of the negative impacts associated with poor family relationships and 63% of the negative impacts associated with cyberbullying are downstream of age of first social media account.”

The authors of the study call for restrictions on the use of smartphones and social media, similarly to what we see with tobacco, alcohol and driving, based on a child’s developing mind and body during these critical formative years. This is of course what we will be introducing later in the year with a world first ban on social media by the Federal government.

Camelot Rise Primary School has long had a ban on the use of smartphones in the classroom. The current policy states that any child who brings a phone to school must turn it off and hand it in to their teacher who will securely store the device until the end of the day.  Should there be any family emergency, please call the school office and we can arrange the necessary support for your child. There is no reason that a child needs their phone between 9am and 3:30pm. We also expect that any smartwatches are disconnected from phones before the start of the school day.

Connecting with other people is the essence of humanity. School is one of the best places to achieve that, but so too is joining a club and actively engaging in in-person social activities outside of school hours. I would encourage all families to look into the study and make an informed choice regarding smartphone access for primary school aged children.

Matt Coney and Ben Heys