Principal's Desk 

Corinne Pupillo 

Dear parents, carers and friends of the school community,

Welcome back to our final term for the year in particularly, I'd like to welcome back all our students who have been learning from home since early August when the Premier, Daniel Andrews announced the return to Stage 4 Lockdown and return to remote and flexible learning.   Whilst it's been enormously challenging for students, staff and families, we've been very grateful for the partnerships that were further strengthened during this period.   Parents and students spent the weekend preparing for school by restoring kitchen, living rooms and packing lunches and bags ready to head back to school. Attendance is much higher this week and students appear to have settled back into routines very well considering the length of time spent learning from home.  To see all our staff and students arriving back onsite safe and well on Monday 12th was so lovely.      

The transition back from remote and flexible learning has been relatively smooth for most specialist schools. Students on the whole at JSA have been excited to be returning back to the onsite routines and reconnecting with their classmates and friends. Whilst many of our extra curricular and off site activities remain suspended, staff are making the most of hearing all about the experiences of remote and flexible learning. In particular I've enjoyed hearing about how parents and carers have again embraced the role of learning facilitator. Executing this important role has provided families with the confidence to support their child to learn from home and to understand how teachers plan and assign work for students that is differentiated to their child/ren. Well done to all our families for again navigating through the remote and flexible learning period, we applaud each and everyone of you. 

A special thank you to our staff who have also continued to learn new ways of delivering the curriculum content and connecting to students though other platforms. 

Collectively you have all done an incredible job and I'm proud of the way we all adapted and navigated through this period.

Term 4 Focus 

Leading into our final term of the 2020 school year, JSA has a range of events on the school calendar, including the preparations for student’s class groups for 2021.     

The focus for Term 4 is health and wellbeing, literacy and numeracy and transitions, however during this pandemic, Year 6 and Year 12 graduation ceremonies,  school performances and awards ceremonies have been cancelled.  I have encouraged staff to explore ways we can celebrate these important events on an individual or class by class basis so we can acknowledge these important milestones. 

The Victorian Government has committed $250 million to support pre-service teachers, teachers on leave, teachers working part-time who are looking for more hours, recently retired teachers and casual relief teachers to become a tutor to support every student who has missed learning due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.  This is the largest initiative to support individual student learning in the history of the state.

More than 4100 tutors will partner with schools to support student learning.  

The department acknowledge that Victorian teachers and parents have done a remarkable job this year and with the additional support of on-site tutors, these teaching teams can ensure that students have dedicated support throughout 2021.  Whilst I don't have all the details and information as yet, this is a really positive step towards supporting all students in need of the additional learning support. 

Transition Week 

This year again, the final week of the term Monday 14th – Friday 18th December, 2020 will be dedicated for the transition to your child/ren’s 2021 class. In the past we have found this provides students with familiar transition supports from staff that hold a deep knowledge of how they learn. 

Recognising Outstanding Achievement – PASS Awards 

Principals Association of Specialist School (PASS) hold the annual awards ceremony which is attended by Minister for Education, Mr James Merlino. The state-wide awards recognise an individual or groups outstanding achievement and are judged under ten categories. The PASS Awards also provide recognition and celebrate the outstanding achievements and excellence of people involved in special education in Victoria.

I’m very proud to announce the following nominations from JSA and the categories in which they were nominated for. 

• Outstanding Volunteer Category: Fundraising for Climbing Gym: Lisa Sette
• Outstanding Team Category: COVID-19 Incident Management Team:  Denise Clarke, Leila Teherani Homa, Michelle McMaster, Fiona Micelotta, Richard Crawshaw, Emmaleen Oakley and Corinne Pupillo
• Outstanding Team Category: Student Voice and Agency School Improvement Team: Richard Crawshaw, Dan Moloney, Mark Taylor, Loren Cendlewski, Rachael MacMillan and Miranda Ingram

All the best to those staff for the shortlisting process.  

Parent Opinion Survey

Our school is conducting a survey to find out what parents think of our school. The Parent Opinion Survey is an annual survey offered by the Department of Education and Training that is conducted amongst all parents. It is designed to assist schools in gaining an understanding of parents’ perceptions of school climate, student behaviour, student engagement and experiences of remote and flexible learning. Our school will use the survey results to help inform and direct future school planning and improvement strategies. All parents will be invited to participate in this year’s survey. All responses to the survey are anonymous. This year, the Parent Opinion Survey will be conducted from Monday 12th October to Friday 13th November.

The survey will be conducted online, only takes 20 minutes to complete, and can be accessed at any convenient time within the fieldwork period on desktop computers, laptops, tablets or smartphones. The online survey will be available in a range of languages other than English. These include: Arabic, Vietnamese, Mandarin, Chin (Hakha), Hindi, Japanese, Somali, Turkish, Punjabi and Greek.  Results from the survey are communicated through the annual reporting.

A link has been sent to families via email earlier this week. 

Online Art Exhibition 

The annual Art Exhibition will be held online this year and we plan to showcase each sub school as the term progresses.

• Secondary School  -  Monday 26th October - Friday 30th October
• Middle School - Monday 9th November - Friday 13th November
• Primary School – Monday 23rd November - Friday 27th November

All parents and friends and members of the community are invited to see the amazing art work students have created this year via the school's Facebook Page and website. 

Graduation Ceremony – Year 6 and Year 12 

The graduation ceremony for the students finishing their Year 12 will be held on Friday 4th December from 5.30 - 7.30pm 

The graduation ceremony for the Year 6 students moving into secondary years of schooling will be held on Thursday 10th December from 1.30-3.00pm 

Preparations for the events are well underway for this important transition for students and their family.   Karen Glare will be sending more information to these families soon which will highlight the COVID protocols we intend to implement.  

Curriculum Day Monday 2nd November 2020

Staff will be participating in professional learning on this day and students are not required at school. 

Public Holidays 

Friday prior to Grand Final Day - Friday 23rd October.Students and staff are not required at school on this day.

Melbourne Cup Day – Tuesday 3rd November.  Students and staff are not required at school on this day. 

School Council Meeting 

Our next meeting will be held on Thursday 29th October. 

School Council Sub Committee Representatives

Finance Sub Committee Representative - Sharon Borg 

Building and Grounds Sub Committee Representative – Alisha Minns 

Fundraising Sub Committee Representative – Lisa Sette

School Council Representative on Student Representative Council (SRC) – Alisha Minns

Reminder: Our newsletter is published each fortnight and will provide you with important information about the school and events that may be of interest to you. I encourage you to read the newsletter that will be sent home via your home email, on the school's Facebook Page or on the school's website. 

JSA also has a Facebook Page administered by the leadership team.  Please like and follow our page.

https://www.facebook.com/JacanaSchoolforAutism