Principal's Message

Please take the time to read each page of our newsletter, as we provide you with information updates across each curriculum area. 

Wow...what an amazing start to Term Three!

Over the first three weeks of school it has been so wonderful to see our students once again being able to consistently engage in extra-curricular programming opportunities. 

We have had Jacob represent our school at the Victorian State Cross Country Championships (pictured), our football and netball teams compete at the Divisional Finals, our VSSS Dance and Choir attend mass rehearsals, students taking part in Gifted Insights, and officially launched our Let'sTALK Program. All of that is on top of the learning which is detailed in further pages of this newsletter. 

We love Upwey South Primary School... it's such a great learning community to belong to!

We WANT to hear from you!!!

Survey Purpose

Our school is undergoing a strategic school review, and we are seeking your input.

Please take the time to respond to our short survey. The information gathered will be used to help shape our school’s direction over the next four years, and is part of a strong school review process.

What is a school review?

Every four years, Department of Education and Training (DET) schools undergo a ‘School Review’ as part of a school’s ongoing improvement processes.

Our school review will be occurring over the months of August/September 2022, and will focus upon our school’s achievements in the period of 2018-2022. 

The review process involves a panel of school reviewers who visit the school in person to look at the barriers and enablers which exist across the school. The panel members then use these findings to make recommendations for the school moving forward.

For extensive details refer to: https://www2.education.vic.gov.au/pal/school-review/policy

Survey Delivery

The survey contains 14 question prompts, and the estimated time to complete the survey is up to ten minutes.

Survey Identification of Respondents 

Please be aware that following the completion of the survey, you will be asked to enter your contact details. 

If you wish to undertake the survey anonymously, you may choose not to enter your details.

The details you enter will be used to assure that any required follow-ups can be actioned. 

You will not receive any additional emails in relation to the school review process, unless you indicate that you are willing to talk in-person to a members of the Review Panel.

Responses close 4:00pm Friday 12th August 2022. 

ACTION THE SURVEY NOW

To access the survey, click on the following link: 

https://forms.gle/sy5Rb1da4MAxzxAn8

2023 Foundation Enrolments- ACTION REQUIRED!

In 2022, we will once again be limiting our Foundation enrolments to two classes only. 

Last week we sent out enrolment confirmations to families who have submitted an enrolment to date, inclusive of our Foundation 2023 Transition Program details. 

If you, or someone you know, have not actioned a Foundation 2023 enrolment you must do so now. 

Please contact the school office for details, or download an enrolment form from the following link: 

http://www.upweysthps.vic.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2023-Enrolment-Form.docx 

Gifted Insights Select Entry Enrichment Program

Gifted Insights Mentoring Gifted Kids at Upwey South Primary School  provides small group enrichment experiences for selected students. Classes are held each Tuesday morning, based in our school library. 

The next unit being held is "Hands-On Equations: Making Algebra Child's Play". 

For further information, or to register for a program, please contact Jennifer 

E: jennifer@giftedinsights.com.au 

M: 0414642560

Further details are below: 

Recognition of our amazing community members

Whilst the large majority of our school newsletter content focuses on the amazing achievements of our students, we also take the time to highlight the diverse achievements of our wider community. 

A long-term parent of our school community, Kylie Orr, has recently published a book titled "Someone Else's Child". Kylie has spoken in the past with our students about the process which professional writers undertake, and has always motivated our senior students to excel with their own creative writing. 

See below for further details of Kylie's new book.  

Increased and Proactive School Counselling Services

As a school focussed upon the Berry Street Education Model (BSEM) underpinned by our School Wide Positive Behaviour for Learning (SWPBL) framework, we understand that sometimes students need to be given time to talk to a trusted adult. These conversations can be many and varied, and will often revolve around what is going on in the world of the 'child' with whom the conversation is being held. 

Whilst many of these conversations take part with our trained Let's TALK mentors (the fancy name for teachers who have been trained to manage difficult conversations about facts, feelings and fears) some of these conversations are referred to our School Counsellor, Carvin, who is part of Inspiro Health (formerly Yarra Valley Psychology Services). 

Currently, Carvin's service occurs one day per week- being focussed upon personalized sessions being held with students. However, through discussions with our SWPBL team we have determined that this limits the effectiveness of the service. Therefore, we will be expanding counselling services at our school; which will further support the staged introduction of 'Respectful Relationships' to our school curriculum ( https://www.vic.gov.au/respectful-relationships#what-respectful-relationships-is ). 

As part of this curriculum rollout, from Week Two of Term Three we have been able to fund increasing the school counselling service available through our school. This is relevant, as it will increase the service from a single day of individual therapy/counselling to now also include an additional day of small group sessions (a proactive rather than reactive strategy). The first round of group sessions for Term Three is targeted at our Year Five/Six students and is based upon ‘respectful communication’ and expectations of each other, as students become pre-teens and enter high school with students from many different backgrounds.  

For more information about our School Counselling Service, visit the page of this newsletter titled 'Culture and Climate- Social Emotional Wellbeing'.

Spotlight on School Policies

Each Department of Education and Training (DET) school is mandated to hold a minimum of eight School Council meetings per calendar year. At each of these meetings, the School Council members oversee the governance of the school; part of which is the updating and publishing of policies which are aligned with DET legal obligations. As these policies are updated, they are distributed to the community via school websites. 

In order to bring these updated policies to the attention of our school community, we will be including a "spotlight on policies" twice per term through our newsletters. 

In this edition we focus upon the area of Duty of Care and Child Safe. 

Please refer to the below policies: 

Keeping Aware of Information Relating to School

As a school we work hard to keep our families informed of happenings across the school. We acknowledge that receiving information in a timely and consistent manner can help to alleviate the pressures which come from managing a busy family calendar. 

Communicating via Compass

All of our school notifications are sent via the Newsfeed within the Compass app. There is also a calendar of events within the app, which sends push notifications to users to remind them of school events. 

We continue to utilise Compass for families to consent and pay in order for their children to take part in school events. 

In order to filter notifications which are received, you will notice that we send out notifications which are year level specific. This means that sometimes not all notifications are sent to all year levels. 

Administration Reminder

Please be reminded that if you need to collect your child/ren early, please contact the office when you are five to ten minutes away so we can have them at the office for collection.

Communicating with the School Administration Team

We look forward to partnering with you in 2022, and welcome your input: 

Damien Kitch (Principal)  damien.kitch@education.vic.gov.au 

Paula Lee (Business Manager) upwey.south.ps@education.vic.gov.au

Janette Clarke (Office Manager) upwey.south.ps@education.vic.gov.au