Out and about with Mr Walsh

We have now had all of our students back at school for a week and it has been pleasing to hear the buzz of student voices in the playground again (albeit the volume has risen a few decibels) and seeing our students engage with their friends and teachers. Thank you to everyone who has adapted to the slight changes but this has allowed us to have our students back in the classroom. We will continue to monitor ongoing advice from the State Government and Department of Education. We thank our staff who have participated in their Professional Practice Days over the past couple of weeks and this has enabled our staff the opportunity to hit the reset button and plan to hit the ground running in term 3. We have been able to confirm our arrangements for our scheduled curriculum day on Friday 17th July (first Friday of week 1). This will allow us to realign the focus of our Annual Implementation Goals in the areas of student voice and numeracy.

Attached is a letter of thanks to our school community and acknowledge them for the work that has been completed throughout remote learning:

School Camps

We were excited on Sunday to hear that the restrictions on school camps have now eased and school camps will be operational from term 3. We will use term 3 to work with our camp providers to ensure the health and safety of all of our staff and students and look forward to our students having this wonderful experience.

Reports and Student Led Conferences

Week 11 will see our reports released and student led conferences taking place. Below is the timeline through week 11 to support the reporting process and our parent/teacher/student led conferences. Due to the current situation our reports have been altered and this is explained within the newsletter further and our conferences will be via telephone call. This has been explained in previous newsletters and a page with a sample is also included :

• Thursday June 18th - Conference bookings close for parents
• Monday June 22nd - Semester reports released live to parents via compass
• Wednesday June 24th - Student led conferences (students not required at school on this day but will be present for interview via phone on this day - interviews will be throughout the day and will be via telephone - meetings to run for strictly 10 minutes due to logistics and organisation)

Men's Health Week - June 15-21

Across Australia this week there is a dedicated focus on men's health and people may ask why all the fuss our boys are ok aren't they?

In many cases, the answer is NO!

A boy born in Australia in 2010 has a life expectancy of 78.0 years while a baby girl born at the same time could expect to live to 82.3 years old.  Right from the start, boys suffer more illness, more accidents and die earlier than their female counterparts.

Men take their own lives at four times the rate of women (that's five men a day, on average).  Accidents, cancer and heart disease all account for the majority of male deaths. In our current situation it is important that we support and keep an eye out for everyone but our boys sometimes need that extra conversation, that extra question or that extra nudge in the right direction. 

Recent circumstances in the Geelong region and our current COVID-19 situation has highlighted the need for extra support for young people and in particular young males so please don't just make a week of an emphasis on male health make it a life long goal. Our thoughts go out to the schools and families that have been impacted by the recent increase in teen suicide in our region and the health and wellbeing of all of our students is a priority at Surfside Primary School that is supported through our school values, respectful relationships program and social and emotional learning within the classroom. Please continue as families to engage with our wellbeing page that is updated regularly and will highlight supports, strategies and resources to support us all through not only these times but the particular developmental stages of our children and our families which at times can be complex. If at anytime extra support is required please touch base with our wellbeing team on 5256 1411.

Road Safety and Awareness

With the return of our year 3-6 students and some increased traffic at the rear of the school it is important that all students and families are following the traffic and pedestrian regulations especially in the Bellarine Sports and Aquatic Centre Carpark:

• Please use the crossing areas to the BASC carpark. These are indicated with a zebra crossing.
• Students are to walk their bikes along the gravel path and then hop on their bikes past the bollards.
• Families are not to park in the picnic area near the tennis courts as this is a no parking zone and you can be issued with a parking infringement.
• Please continue to use the crossing on John Dory Drive and do not cross the road to get to your car.
• A few families have been parking near and utilising the Arlington Road entry to the school and there has been plenty of space so please try to use this as an alternative.

As adults we are the most important role models for our kids so it is important that we lead by example to ensure the safety of our students.

Virtual Assembly - Week 10 - 2:30pm

Thank you to all of our students and families who have been joining in on our Friday Virtual Assemblies. We will again have an earlier start time of 2:30pm and a shortened assembly to coincide with our staggered afternoon finish times for our F-2 students.

Last weeks highlights included the celebration of our 3-6 students returning on-site and celebrating their successes and challenges. 

We will be running our virtual assembly this week highlighting our student leadership team and student voice team and their goals for term 3 beyond.

The assembly will be open 15 minutes before and all of our Foundation students will log on via their classrooms:

Virtual Assembly Link: Week 10 Virtual Assembly Link

It is preferred that you access the virtual assembly on your device by downloading the Webex Meetings App and use the following login:

Using the Webex App please add the

Event Number: 165 159 7418

Event Password: surfside

Surfside Staff and Families Art Challenge

It is time to vote for your favourite art recreation by our staff and Surfside families. Please log on to the links below to see the entries and vote. Winners will be announced in our final assembly next Friday. We will also have 2 special prizes for our voters. The votes have been flooding in and it is extremely close in the polls.

Surfside Family Art Challenge Vote Here

Surfside Staff Art Challenge Vote Here

Surfside PS Student and Community Art Challenge