Principal's Message

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

• Winter Fete
• Food Allergy Aware & Heat Packs
• Updated Photo Permission Policy
• eSafety Tips
• Teacher Planning & Report Writing
• Showcase of students' learning from across the school in the Junior School, Middle School and Senior School
• Health and Wellbeing information to support you and your child.
• Community news including from Jackson OSHC provider TheirCare.
• School Dates: For the most up-to-date calendar dates, always refer to the Xuno Calendar in your Parent Portal.

Dear Families, 

Winter Fete

Thank you to all of the parents, carers, family members and friends who were able to join today's Winter Fete. We were lucky to have such a sunny day, and had over 120 families attend, many with children in tow. Due to your support we raised over $3,400! Thank you for your contribution as always. School Council will decide how the money will be allocated. Our students displayed many of our employability skills in preparing for and running their stalls. Thank you to Helena McAloon (Leading Teacher) for your coordination of our Winter Fete and thank you to all the staff and students who made it such a wonderful day. 

Thank you to again to all of our partners you contributed to our raffle. As always, thank you to Rod Tobin (School Council President) and Wynstan Blinds for your generous donation of a $500 voucher for our raffle. The winner of this prize was - Lorenda from ASDAN!! 

Food Allergy Aware

Please be aware that at Jackson School many of our students have food allergies. It is important that parents and carers are aware of this when packing your child's lunchbox. Where there is a child in your child's class who is at high risk of anaphylaxis, we may request you do not send certain allergens to school where possible. Staff at Jackson School are trained in anaphylaxis management. To view our Anaphylaxis policy, please click here. Some of the known allergens within our school are:

Wheat, egg (raw and cooked), all nuts (including: peanuts, cashews, pistachios, walnuts, pecans, tree nuts) kiwi fruit, banana, strawberry, grass pollen, seafood and dairy.

For tips on providing your child with a healthy lunchbox, please visit: https://heas.health.vic.gov.au/schools/healthy-lunchboxes or click here to download the poster: https://heas.health.vic.gov.au/sites/default/files/pick-mix-lunchbox-poster.pdf. Please do not hesitate to contact our School Social Worker, Alex Baynes, if you would like some food support for at home or school.

Please be aware we are not permitted to heat student lunches at school for safety reasons. This also includes microwave-heated personal care products like wheat/heat packs. Cold compresses are still able to be used. 

Updated Photo Permission Policy

In line with updated Department of Education requirements, photo, video and recording permissions will now require specific, one-off parent/carer consent rather than ongoing consent or families to opt-out. During Term 3, schools will collect and review these permissions as part of Student Support Group (SSG) meetings. 

Families will be asked to provide consent for three separate areas:

• use of images within the physical school environment (such as classroom displays and celebration boards)
• use of images within the school community (such as secure communication and learning platforms like Xuno and SeeSaw)
• use of images beyond the school community/publicly (such as the school website and iNewsletter)

This process will ensure families can make informed decisions about how images of their child may be used and update their preferences as needed. Further information and consent forms will be provided prior to SSG meetings.

eSafety

As we all navigate the Social Media ban and the changing world of AI, the eSafety Commissioner website has many resources for families, such as:

• eSafety has a guide for parents, carers and grandparents (in six languages) which covers key online safety issues for young people and includes a range of practical advice on what to do if things go wrong. These resources cover the big issues and has tips for the hard to have conversations.
• Screen time for your child – 7 tips on how families can balance their time on and offline.
• eSafety Parents provides advice on social media, screen time, personal information, cyber-bullying, stranger contact and inappropriate content.
• Be an eSafe kid for students with limited literacy.
• Join one of the Parent Webinars:  https://www.esafety.gov.au/parents/webinars 

If you have any concerns about your child or another child online, you can report this directly to the social media platform. If you do not get a response within 48 hours you can then report this to the eSafety Commission. Learn how to report cyberbullying, image-based abuse and illegal content. School wellbeing staff are always available to support you and your family where possible. Issues that happen on social media out of school hours can also be reportable to Victoria Police.

Teacher Planning & Report Writing

Last week teachers spent a day out of class for their planning day. Teachers teams worked with leadership staff on their curriculum planning and assessments in readiness for Term 3. Teachers are also currently completing their end of semester assessments before student reports are completed over the next couple of weeks.

I hope you all have a lovely weekend!

Anthony