From the Office
And the winner is...... Raywood!
Earlier in February, we were notified that we were finalists in the Healthy Schools Category in the Bendigo Sports Star of the Year Awards. Last Friday night Mr Collins went along to the gala (looking very dapper in his suit) to discover that our school had been judged the winner of the category; an amazing achievement as previous winners had been very large schools. Below are some photos of the evening, trophy and the submission which gained us our win. Our school has won $2000 which we will use to provide our students with a sporting experience that they would otherwise not be able to access (stay tuned) .
News From the Principal
New School Banner
We have a brand new coloured banner out the front of the school, as our old one was looking a little worse for wear. The banner will hopefully encourage families to come and look at our school as an option for their child/ren's education.
Over the next few weeks, I plan to visit the kindergarten's and long day care centres in the area and drop off some flyers that also advertise our school and invite families to tour. If you know of any families who have pre-school or school aged students that live in the Raywood, Neiborough, Sebastian and Eaglehawk areas, we would love the opportunity to show them what a great school we are. We have flyers that we can provide as well as an information book. School tours are operating throughout the year to show families around.
Below is a copy of one of our flyers (we have a range of different ones that feature some of our students at school).
School Council 2022
We are urging any parents that could possibly volunteer to be on our 2022 School Council to come forward. As mentioned in the previous newsletter, it is not a time consuming or difficult commitment.
Our small school managing to fill our parent positions shows the Department of Education that we are a committed school community who can see a real future in our little school and that we are willing to work to make our school the best it can be.
Please let us know if you are willing to attend two meetings per term (we can offer supervision of students whilst the meeting is on, if that is something that would otherwise hold you back). Lisa, Hayden, Lynley or Bree are happy to answer any questions you may have about School Council and how easy it is to participate.
Cleaning Up
We are taking part in Clean Up Australia Day on Monday March 7th. The local excursion form which everyone has signed over uEducateUs applies to this event, so there is no need to give further permissions. We aim to leave the school grounds at 10.00am and walk to various locations around Raywood picking up rubbish. We have been supplied with special clean up bags and our students will be wearing gloves. We will not be picking up anything deemed a hazard and our students's health and safety will be our main concern.
Rapid Antigen Testing
A third package was sent home last Friday for each student. We will continue to send out tests every two weeks until the end of Term. A reminder that our suggested testing days are Sundays and Wednesdays. Thank you for your assistance with this.
Headlice
Thank you to Yoli who has completed a lice check. We are delighted to report that no new cases were detected. However, we ask families to be vigilant and continue to regularly check their child/ren's hair.
Thank you everyone, Lisa Duffy
News from the Business Manager
Get Active Kids Voucher Program
The Get Active Kids Voucher Program helps eligible families get their kids involved in organised sport and recreation activities by reimbursing the cost of membership and registration fees, uniforms and equipment.
Eligible families may be able to receive up to $200 each per child, per round.
To be eligible, kids need to be aged 0 to 18, a Victorian resident, named on a valid Commonwealth Health Care Card or Pensioner Concession Card and named on a valid Medicare Card at the time of application.
The program also provides a special consideration stream to support temporary or provisional visa holders, undocumented migrants and international students aged 0 - 18 years at the time of application.
To be eligible under the program, the activity or program must be affiliated to a Sport and Recreation Victoria recognised Victorian State Sporting Association (SSA) or Victorian State Sport and Recreation Body (SSRB).
To apply or for more information visit the Get Active Kids Voucher Program.
https://www.getactive.vic.gov.au/vouchers/
Please note this is not related to school in anyway, I came across it and think its a wonderful Program and thought I would share.
Shade Sail Grant
Raywood Primary School has been successful in the process of applying for a shade sail grant. This shade sail will be put over the basketball court. The aim of the fund is to help schools maximise their outdoor learning areas and environments by creating safe and shaded outdoor learning spaces in schools to help prevent the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19). Works will begin to take place in the next few weeks; how exciting!
That is all for this week, Bree Blake.