Parent Helpers

I would like to send out a huge thank you for all the parent help. This has been increasing since the return of parents and visitors to school in 2022. Schools need the assistance of parent helpers to run, whether it is in a large or small role, all help is important. From proofreading the newsletter, icy-pole Friday, sushi, classroom help, organising fundraising events, taking part in committees, member of School Council, attending working bees, helping with gardens and planting, sustainability, attending excursions and camps, the list goes on! We are constantly in search of help.

Yearbook help wanted!

We are looking for some new members of our yearbook team! Emilly Rose (teaching staff member on family leave) will be overseeing the program and has excellent systems in place to manage the publication. If you would be interested in being part of this team please contact me. To ensure the continued success of the year book, we require parent assistance!

Grant Application help

If you are willing and able to assist with grant applications please contact me. There are often many grants on offer and having a team of people who could assist with writing applications would be ideal. If you would be interested in being part of this team please contact me.

Staffing News

Samantha Lim, has be appointed as the acting Learning Specialist for the remainder of 2023 at Boronia West Primary School. We wish Sam all the best in this new role.

Parent Information Evenings

A big thank you to the parents and staff who attended the parent information sessions last week and yesterday. We hope these were beneficial. We have not been able to hold these since 2019. It was a great opportunity for year levels to give parents specific information about the year ahead. The slides for these have been posted, so if you were unable to attend you can look over the information. Please reach out to your child’s class teacher if you have any questions.

Swimming

Congratulations to the students who represented Solway at the District Swimming a couple of weeks ago. They did a fabulous job, with 15 students making it through to the Division Swimming Championship on Wednesday 8 March. Congratulations to the students and we wish you all the very best at the division event tomorrow.

iPad Parent session

Last week, Solway and Ashburton Primary School parents and carers joined Lynette from iTandCoffee for an online session 'Keeping kids safe on their iPad, iPod Touch and iPhone’. Lynette took parents through the family set up of Apple devices with tips on how to set up devices safely using screen time from your own device to control many aspects of your child’s device. From security restrictions, to age appropriate settings and setting time limits, the session covered many tips for ensuring your child is safe. A recoding of the session will be available for the next three weeks and can be accessed here: https://www.itandcoffee.com.au/ashsol2023.html

Traffic Safety

Last week I met with our Crossing Supervisors to gain a perspective from the footpath. These dedicated supervisors are extremely worried about the safety of our students. They have requested that we keep in mind to take care and pay close attention to road rules around the crossings. I would prefer our students are a few minutes late in the morning, rather than being injured. Please take your time, follow parking signs and use your indicators.

Bikes and Scooters

To ensure everyone’s safety, riding bikes and scooters is not permitted in the school yard between 8:30am-3:45pm. We ask all students, parents and community members to follow this safety rule.

Clean Up Australia Day

A huge thank you to the 2023 Green Team members, Ms Brooke Danaher and Mrs Sarah de Jong, who will take part in our annual Clean Up Australia Day tomorrow at Gardiners Creek. The rest of the school will take part in Clean Up Australia Day at Solway on Wednesday afternoon!

School Photo Day

Class photos and student individual photos will be taken on Wednesday, 8 March. We expect to see all students in full school uniform with black or white socks and school coloured hair ties. The day's running schedule is quite tight, so please avoid appointments for students on this day. It would be a shame for a student to miss their class photo. Year 6 students are asked to bring along their Year 6 tops and wear their black polos (if they have one) for their class photo.

All students have an individual photo taken for our school records. The Photographers will take leadership group photos on the day, time permitting.

Camp Program 2023

You may have seen in the media that many schools are making changes to their school camp program after the VGSA teaching agreement last year. This agreement formalised teachers being acknowledged with time in lieu when participating in school activities outside of their working week. It is important to be aware that until this time, teachers have not been recognised for their management and participation in activities such as camps – this has been voluntary for many years.

As a result of the changes, we are trialling parent helpers at our camps in 2023 and will work with School Council to review our 2024 camping program and investigate the way we will be able to fund these activities. Solway has valued the camp programs for many years and we will work hard to ensure they remain a part of the experiences we can offer at Solway, in a modified way. Thank you in advance for your support this year.

Fair

Only one and a half weeks now until our big day! By our next whole school newsletter it will all be over!

Raffle Tickets – keep selling your tickets.
SuperPasses and ride wristbands are on sale now here: https://www.trybooking.com/events/landing?eid=1008723&
Volunteers needed – we are still in need of 200 volunteers - please sign up to help at a stall here:
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0845A9AD22ABF94-solway
Free Dress Day – Thursday 9 March – students are asked to bring along a bar of chocolate for the Lob a Choc. Students hand these into their class teachers when they arrive at school.
Book your ticket to the Fair After Party at the East Malvern RSL. This is an adult only event and will take place the night of the Fair. https://www.trybooking.com/CGABW

Thank you to everyone for all your help with donations, preparation and organisation!

We are all looking forward to a fantastic day on 18 March.

Reminders

Students should not be at school unsupervised until 8.40am, unless they are participating in a school run activity. We have noted many children arriving early and wish to remind you that supervision does not begin until 8.40am, if you need to drop your child off prior to this please enrol them in the TeamKids before school program. Thanks for your support with this.
It is currently hat wearing time, until the end of April, and all students must have a broad brim/school approved hat to ensure they are ‘sunsmart’.
Our clubs are starting for this term and at this stage we have drama club on Monday, Lego club on Tuesday, Collectors club on Wednesday, Art club on Thursday and cultural club every second Friday. The library is also open the second half of lunchtime. Running club is before school on Wednesday morning unless otherwise communicated through Compass.
Monday 13 March is the Labour Day Public Holiday.

Lyn Rodda

Principal

School Photos