Dear Parents / Carers,

Welcome to Term Two. I trust that all our families enjoyed time together over the term break. It is so good to be back at school mask free!

The proposed Victorian Schools Agreement sets out the working conditions for all teachers includes an entitlement to three professional practice days for teachers in 2022. In the final DET Schools Bulletin for Term One, information and advice was distributed regarding the implementation of Professional Practice Days (PPDs) for this term. The key recommendation is for schools to schedule the Term Two professional practice day on the same day for all staff. Normally, casual relief teachers would be employed to release teachers for a professional practice day but given the pressure on finding available CRTs across Victoria, this arrangement allows schools to plan for a day where students are not required to attend.

The Rowville Primary School Council has therefore approved Wednesday 18 May as an additional Curriculum Day. Students do not attend school on the day. Team Kids will operate on the day for children requiring care.

On ANZAC Day I posted a special ceremony that was filmed with our student leaders to commemorate this special day.

youtube.com/watch?v=GIANKkb2lks

So how is ANZAC Day relevant to us as a school community? The ANZAC spirit represents a sense of purpose and direction. The original ANZACs knew what they had to do, they knew of the dangers and the difficulties but they did not let those difficulties stop them from obeying their orders. The soldiers on the ground stayed until their leaders decided it was time to withdraw.

This is the important message that we need to share with our students and it links so well with our school value of perseverance. Every day there are learning expectations that are set in every classroom. There are the expectations that students will wear a full school uniform and be punctual every day. There is the expectation that our students will persist with all learning tasks. We also expect that every day, every student will represent themselves and their family in the best way possible

I would like to challenge our students to not focus on the difficulties that they perceive to be in the way of meeting these expectations, but to think of the ANZACs and others who have followed them and push the difficulties to one side and persist with tasks even when there are challenges.

Another school value that is represented by the ANZAC spirit is the acceptance of responsibility. We should aspire to accept responsibility for everything that we do.

It is easy to accept responsibility when everything goes well. However, it is inevitable that sometimes things will go wrong. Sometimes games that started off well go wrong. Sometimes our students behave in ways that are against the wishes of parents and teachers. I encourage our students to reflect on the ANZAC spirit and take responsibility for their actions.

The ANZAC spirit also demonstrates the value of care and compassion. The ANZACS watched out for one another.

In the current world it is more important than ever that we watch out for one another and help each other at all times.

In Term One, two of our Environment Leaders, Lily and Josephine, participated in an interview with a Victorian broccolini farmer. The question-and-answer video was produced by the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation in collaboration with their Community Partner, Coles Supermarkets.

From 6 April to 3 May, Coles will donate 35c to the Foundation from each Coles Family Broccolini sold (to the value of $90,000).

Enjoy the video, learning together about farming Broccolini and perhaps think about trying the recipe featured in the link below.

We congratulate Josephine and Lily on their great media skills.

https://vimeo.com/696374555

https://youtu.be/50oPAJ72DI4

We are currently accepting enrolments from students who will be commencing school in 2023. Parents of siblings who commencing are invited to submit an application.

Enrolment forms are available from the school office.

Anne Babich

Principal

Rowville Kids Cafe