Dear Families,

It was amazing to see so many families this week onsite to attend the Student/Parent and Teacher conversations last week.

This year we have implemented a different structure for these meetings with students being in attendance.

It proved a very successful change with students part of the conversations about how they learn best.

If you do require a follow up meeting with your child's teacher, please don't hesitate to contact them and organise this.

Sentral and Seesaw

Thank you to all families for embracing our two major communication platforms Sentral and Seesaw. Sentral allows you to communicate with the school, view reports and log absences. Seesaw is where you can message the classroom teacher and also see your child's work. Please don't hesitate to contact the office if you need to access either of these platforms.

Staying safe from mosquitoes

Recent wet and warm weather has increased mosquito breeding. Mosquitoes can carry diseases that may be passed on to people through mosquito bites. A range of mosquito-borne diseases have recently been detected in mosquitoes in northern Victoria. Mosquito-borne diseases can cause serious illness, including infections of the brain, with children particularly at risk.

The best way to prevent mosquito-borne diseases is to avoid mosquito bites.

In line with community health advice , families can protect against mosquito bites by:

using insect repellent that contains picaridin or DEET on all exposed skin if outdoors when mosquitoes are observed, from October to March
wearing long, loose-fitting clothing outdoors if possible if mosquitoes are around and covering exposed skin as much as possible. Summer school uniforms, including polos and shorts, can continue to be worn, but students should use insect repellent on exposed skin if mosquitoes are active
limiting outdoor activity when mosquitoes are active.

Further information

A handy guide to help protect you and your family from mosquito-borne disease
Better Health Channel information about preventing mosquito-borne diseases.

Child Safe Standards

Keeping our children safe is an important responsibility we all share. Our children have the right to be protected wherever they are, and that includes at school and in other education environments away from home. Empowering children to understand their rights and raise concerns is paramount, because we know this is a powerful protective factor against child abuse.

The compulsory Victorian Child Safe Standards build on our already strong stance on preventing and responding to child abuse, providing more accountability and more consistency about how these issues are dealt with. The standards require schools and organisations to have particular measures in place to prevent and respond to child abuse, sending a clear message that abuse will not be tolerated. Our school has documented child safe policies, codes of conduct and clear strategies for responding to suspected abuse.

Victoria’s Child Safe Standards include special protections for some children.

The safety of our children is a top priority for Swan Hill North Primary School.

NAPLAN

The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) assesses literacy and numeracy skills that are essential for every child to progress through school and life.

Students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 participate in the annual NAPLAN tests in reading, writing, language conventions (spelling, grammar and punctuation) and numeracy.

The tests provide parents and schools with an understanding of how individual students are performing at the time of the tests. NAPLAN tests are just one aspect of a school’s assessment and reporting process; they do not replace ongoing assessments made by teachers about student performance.

NAPLAN tests also provide schools, education authorities and governments with information about how education programs are working and whether young Australians are meeting important educational outcomes in literacy and numeracy.

All students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 are expected to participate in the annual NAPLAN tests.

If your child regularly utilises adjustments in their classroom, it may be possible for these to be used. Where applicable you are encouraged to discuss the use of disability adjustments for your child with your child’s teacher.

A formal exemption may be granted for a student with significant intellectual disability and/or significant coexisting conditions, or for a student who has recently arrived in Australia and has a non-english speaking background.

The NAPLAN test window is 9 days. This is to accommodate schools that may have fewer devices. The NAPLAN test window starts on Wednesday 15 March and finishes on Monday 27 March 2023. Schools are advised to schedule the tests as soon as possible within the testing window, prioritising the first week.

Please don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions about NAPLAN.

School Council Elections

Nominations are now open for 3 parent vacancies on our School Council.

If you are an enthusiastic parent interested in getting more involved and having a say in what our school is doing, or know someone who is, we would love to hear from you. We are looking for people who are committed to improving the educational outcomes for all our students.

Nominations close at 4pm on Friday 3rd March 2023. Nomination forms were sent home to all families.

Please see below for information about School Council and more detailed information can be obtained from the office.

What is a school council and what does it do?

All government schools in Victoria have a school council. They are legally constituted bodies that are given powers to set the broad direction of a school, in accordance with Ministerial Order 1280 Constitution of Government School Councils, and the Education and Training Reform Act 2006. In doing this, a school council may directly influence the quality of education for students.

Who is on the school council?

For most primary school councils, there are several possible categories of membership:

A mandated elected parent member category – more than one-third of the total members must be from this category.
A mandated elected school employee member category – members of this category make up no more than one-third of membership. The principal of the school is automatically one of these members.
An optional community member category – members are co-opted by a decision of the council because of their special skills, interests or experience. Department employees are not eligible to be community members.

Parents on school councils provide important viewpoints and have valuable skills and a range of experiences and knowledge that can help inform and shape the direction of the school.

Those parents who become active on a school council find their involvement satisfying and may also find that their children feel a greater sense of belonging.

Do I need special experience to be on school council?

Each member brings their own valuable skills and knowledge to the role, however, to successfully perform their duties, councillors may need to gain some new skills and knowledge.

It is important to have an interest in your child’s school and the desire to work in partnership with others to help shape the school’s future.

Have a nice week.

Kind regards,

Brea

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