A note from Mr Jackson

We are all looking forward to having students back on Monday. It has been a difficult and complex period as teachers, parents and students support students’ learning at home. Thanks to everyone who have contributed so much to ensure the health and safety of so many.  

A range of significant changes have been put in place to prioritise the wellbeing and safety of students and staff onsite. Please make yourself familiar with these changes that are detailed in the Term 4 Return to Onsite Learning Guidelines at Rosanna Primary, circulated on Compass. Changes include limiting access onsite to staff, students and maintenance workers, staggered pickup times that prevent the congregation of adults and new procedures concerning hygiene.

Priorities for Term 4

As we move into term 4, three priorities will continue to lead decision making.

Priority 1 – Mental health and wellbeing

Our highest priority is the mental health, safety and wellbeing of every student and member of staff. The implementation of restrictions has disproportionately impacted students and over the coming weeks we will ensure support for every student, including our most vulnerable.

Priority 2 – Learning 

Some students have been able to more quickly progress in their learning in the remote and flexible learning environment, others have maintained their rate of progress, and some have, despite their best efforts and those of their families and teachers, had great difficulty. Our priority will be to ensure those who have fallen behind can be supported and those who have progressed significantly can continue to be extended and stretched in their learning.

Student voice and student agency should inform how we provide continuity of learning and support for every student in this environment.

Literacy and numeracy across the curriculum remain a focus, with schools also adapting their teaching and learning program in Term 4 to be responsive to the needs of their students.  

Priority 3 – Transitions

Term 4 is a critical period, particularly for the children moving from kindergarten into Prep and from Grade 6 into Year 7. Students in other year levels will also prepare for a change of teachers and new classmates. 

A key focus of Term 4 will be to make every effort to ensure each of these end-of-year and beginning-of-year transitions occurs as successfully as possible. This includes finding contextually appropriate ways to conduct orientations and end-of-year celebrations and ensuring transition information captures additional details as necessary.

Parent Opinion Survey Invitation

As we emerge from isolation and head back to school, we are eager to gain an insight into the experiences and perceptions of families through a survey. 

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. 

An email will be sent to 'Parent A' on Monday with more information. The survey will be conducted online, only takes 20 minutes to complete, and can be accessed at any convenient time 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.

Uniforms and Hats

As we return, there have already been a number of enquiries from parents concerning the purchase of uniform. While many things have slowed down during the restrictions, it seems students have used it as a chance to grow! A reminder too, that students need to be wearing a school hat in Term 4. Uniform orders can be made through Qkr!. Once the orders have been received and then filled, you will be contacted and the order sent home.

2021 Prep Orientation Welcome

A special welcome to our new 2021 prep students who begin their orientation. While we would usually welcome them onsite, teachers have prepared a range of fun online sessions over the coming weeks. We are hopeful that along with the easing of restrictions they will have an opportunity to visit onsite later in the term.  Already this term they have participated in On Line Story Time!

RPSTV Assembly

A reminder that RPSTV Assemblies are still broadcast online, although shortened this week We broadcast from 2:45pm. The details are...

Meeting link:

https://eduvic.webex.com/eduvic/j.php?MTID=m23cb9561b5d0defa3a910e918b9e9918

Meeting number: 165 769 8318

Password: FGmYsfPp572

Wellbeing Day Thanks

What a wonderful conclusion to Term 3 we all experienced last term. Our Wellbeing Day proved a moment to simply celebrate all that has been achieved and have some fun and mindful time learning to draw with perspective,  create remarkable machines, Lego the morning away, as well as create unique cards. Some even learned a magic trick! Some of the lego creations can be found in our newsletter. If you participated the Lego Challenge don’t forget to drop into my office next week for your Lego Masters Certificate.

Preparing for 2021

One of the significant priorities for term four will be to support students’ to ensure a smooth transition into 2021. Our processes place students at the centre as many decisions around staffing, learning spaces, budgets and a range of other areas are made. In order that resources at our school are allocated efficiently, we need to know if your family is leaving the school and will not be present in 2021 as soon as possible. Thanks to those families who have already informed us. Please let your classroom teacher know or give me a call. I would appreciate a conversation with you even if you are unsure about your plans.

Planning for our new 2021 Prep students is well underway with the orientation sessions. Although this start a little differently this year with small group activities planned to take place online we are very hopeful there will be an opportunity for students to come onsite later in the term. If you have a child who will turn five before April 30 next year and intend for them to start school, could you please ensure that you have completed an official enrolment form. We are eager to plan for a positive start to their first year of primary education and are eager to have them involved in the orientation process. If you know of others who are eager to enrol their child please remind them to phone us or send through an email to the office.

 2021 Student Class Placement

Once we are clear on the students who will be with us in 2021 we will put a school structure in place to support teaching and learning. Teachers will then be able to thoughtfully consider each students’ needs in allocating them to a class. During this decision making process, staff consider a range of factors including social, emotional and academic needs along with creating balanced class groups.

Each year at this time we invite parents to share their thoughts and information which may affect their child’s class placement for the following year. We will work hard to consider all factors presented, although we cannot guarantee that all requests will be accommodated. It is important to note that requests for particular teachers cannot be accepted.

Any parent requests should be made to me in writing by Friday, 23rd October. Any correspondence received after this date cannot be considered.

Students will have an opportunity to nominate 2021 Learning Partners later in the term. This information will also ensure students are connected into supportive networks.