From the Principal
Dear Parents and Carers
Welcome to the last Newsletter of Term 2.
Term 2 was short, lasting only 9 weeks. Due to illnesses and the ongoing spectre of COVID, it felt longer. It was a struggle at times to cover all classes when multiple teachers were away on the same day and the absence rate of students was higher than usual. This made the term challenging. As always, we had fantastic support from our families. Thank you to every family who has managed to keep sick children at home and test regularly so we could minimise the impact.
The best thing about our Queen of Peace is our people and that includes your children. They bring us joy each day. Working with children is not without its challenges but brings great rewards, our students are very responsive and eager to learn and improve.
I hope the winter holidays give you all the chance to recuperate if you or your family have been unwell. I also hope the children get the opportunity to participate in the little things that make a difference; extra reading before bed time, discussion of current affairs, outings and rich experiences, building vocabulary, taking time out from our hectic lives, being encouraged to be independent or to use initiative.
There is so much more involved in educating children than the tasks assigned at school. We want our students to be well rounded and to be able to make a positive contribution as worldly citizens. We know that when our students are encouraged and supported, when education is valued and attendance is regular, we have a better chance at making a difference.
Have a wonderful holiday and see you all on Monday 11 July.
Child Safe Standards In July 2021, the Victorian Government announced new Child Safe Standards to strengthen child safe environments further and protect children from abuse. On July 1 2022, Ministerial Order 1359 – the framework for child safety in schools, replaces Ministerial Order 870. Schools can build on existing child safety strategies, policies and practices to strengthen their culture of child safety and protect children from abuse. Like all child-safe organisations, schools need to take deliberate steps to create environments where children are safe and feel safe.
So what do child safe organisations – including schools, need to do? They need to:
• promote safety and wellbeing
• actively prevent harm
•empower everyone, including children, to speak up and respond effectively to concerns.
Schools have policies, strategies and practices to prioritise the safety of students. Schools also have processes to respond to and report all allegations of child abuse. The new Child Safe Standards work by further embedding a culture of child safety by clearly outlining the minimum standards for keeping children safe. The new Child Safe Standards build on the current Standards, with changes and new requirements for organisations, including for schools to:
• involve families and communities in efforts to keep children and young people safe
• provide cultural safety for Aboriginal children and young people
This means that the environment is made safe - free from assault, challenge or denial of Aboriginal identity and experience.
• Schools must meet this requirement regardless of whether or not Aboriginal children and young people are currently enrolled or using their services.
• better manage the risk of child abuse in online environments
• ensure governance, systems and processes to keep children safe.
We are in the process of updating Child Safe policies, which will be uploaded on our school website early next term.
2022 School Closure Days
Listed below are our School Closure Days for 2022. These are student free days. Staff use these days to further develop their learning and keep informed of current practice and procedures.
- Monday 15 August (Term 3) - Catholic Identity
- Monday 31 October (Term 4) - Report Writing Day
- Friday 25 November (Term 4 ) - Planning for 2023
Warm regards
Darren Gibbons
Principal
