School News
Mr Irwin's Message
Hello families and welcome to this week's newsletter,
I want to start by commending all students on the way they have settled into the school year. Our first week at school focuses on establishing the routines and expectations that create a calm and orderly school environment. What I’ve seen so far is one of the more settled starts to a school year that I’ve experienced.
Routines and expectations around organising belongings, workbook habits, lining up and how to behave and strategies to emotionally regulate may seem obvious, but in a school environment to explicitly teach these at the start of the school year and refer back to is a powerful and effective tool.
Who doesn’t want to learn in a calm, safe and orderly classroom? And who doesn’t want their child to learn in a calm, safe and orderly classroom? That’s why we take the time to get this right at the beginning of the year. Across the school as I’ve been visiting rooms I’ve seen quiet and calm classrooms with students enjoying being back at school.
Every morning our school leaders and I run a ‘morning message’ via video conference that each classroom joins. Across the year we continue to talk about our school values, discuss upcoming events and news and also have important reminders about routines and expectations as they need addressing.
Contributions
In the back to school newsletter I talked about how important and how grateful we are to receive support from families via school contributions. This week our Discovery program starts up and students in both ends of the school will participate in the Kitchen Garden program as part of their learning each week. Every term students will work outside in the garden, as well as spend time in the mudbrick cooking and harvesting produce. In order for speciality programs like the Kitchen Garden to run we do need support in the form of contributions. As an extension to the mandated curriculum we are required to fund the kitchen garden program ourselves. With each class completing a kitchen garden session every week, the staffing alone for this program is in the tens of thousands of dollars. If you haven’t yet had the chance to pay your 2023 contributions they do make a huge difference to experiences we can provide our students and the support is greatly appreciated. It is not too late to pay these contributions by calling into the office, or via Bpay. If you don’t have your BPay code you can get this by contacting the office.
Calendar
Please make sure you check the upcoming dates page of the newsletter. Our House Athletics, Junior School swimming and NAPLAN are all events that will be upon us shortly. I can confirm in 2023 that Junior School swimming will again be of no cost to families. Information about the dates and arrangements for this will be communicated in the coming weeks.
Staff Carpark Safety
For safety reasons, we kindly ask parents and students not walk through the car park between the Admin Building and Junior Building at any time. Whilst it might a quick short cut, cars and emergency vehicles do move in and out of this space. So it is a NO GO zone at all times.
Notification of Footpath Works
The Golden Plains Shire Council will be conducting footpath maintenance works from Monday 13th February to update the asphalt footpath along the Bannockburn-Shelford Road. The works are expected to occur over the next 3 months. There will also be a pile of stone on the nature strip near the crossing car park. This should not affect the car park area. Please ensure students stay safe travelling to and from school while the upgrade works are being conducted.
Community OSH News
Healthy Lunch Box Choices and Nude Food
Please help reduce waste in our school by packing 'Nude Food' (food without excess packaging) and whole foods or unprocessed foods in your child's lunch box. Click here for further resources and 'Healthy Lunch Box' suggestions or to download the Pick and Mix poster for the fridge!
