Welcome to IPS

I have been asked when extra curricula programs such as Creative Music, Kelly Dance, Tennis in Stages can return onsite. At this point we are evaluating the risk on a week to week basis. As some of these programs are popular, crowded and require significant mixing of year levels the chances of infection increases. While vaccination of children is increasing, meaning we do not get as sick, the reality is that a 7 day isolation period is disruptive for the individual's education and the organisation of the school.

As school's open up their services, there is a marked increase in community transmission. Similarly, some schools have chosen to relax the wearing of masks and resume activities such as whole school assemblies in indoor spaces.

IPS has been fortunate, so far, to have a low number of students and staff in isolation. We continue to maintain the practices that have served us well up until now.

We look forward to resuming whole school activities and welcoming parent involvement just as soon as practicable. We will have a welcome to IPS picnic for the community, we will hold our school camps and we will welcome the music, the dance, the sport and chess programs back soon.

Thank you for your support and your patience.

2022 School Council

Congratulations and welcome to our new school councillors;

Stuart Cross - parent of Harvey in Foundation

Nina Bosco - parent of Christian and Alexander in Year 2

Belinda Hill - parent of Petra in Year 3

Lisa Gelonesi-Dal Pos - parent of Damon in Year 6

Rajesh Rajagopal - parent of Ross in Year 3 and Ruxin in Foundation

They join;

Anton Wolmarans - parent of Monje in Year 2

Gabrielle Elliott - parent of Pippa in Year 2 and Harvey in Year 4

Xuemei Liu - parent of Hongjian in Year 1

Mark Kent - Principal

Sue Kelly - Learning Specialist

Leigh Morrison - Teacher

Clare Makoni - Teacher

Pam Wright - Assistant Principal

As the number of nominations was equal to the number of vacancies there is no need to run an election. The first meeting of school council will be on the 2nd of March at which office bearers will be elected to the positions of President, Vice President and Treasurer.

School Council Sub Committees

There are a number of sub committees of school council. They are: Buildings and Grounds/Facilities, Education, Out of School Hours Care and Finance. Each committee is generally, but not always) convened by a member of school council. Please consider joining one of these committees as they all make a valuable contribution to the operations of the school. The dates and times below are a guide and can be changed by the committee to suit the members. Sub committees meet in the week(s) preceding the meeting of school council to allow time for reports to be distributed.

Working Bees

Working Bees are a great way to contribute to the school. We know how busy weekends can be with sporting commitments etc. However, in a time where opportunities for involvement in school is limited due to covid, the school cannot hold the typical program of fundraising events. We desperately need help from the community to help keep our school clean, safe and beautiful.

In the last six years we have secured capital works money to build both The Treehouse and The Beehive, we have installed new playgrounds, revitalised the school oval, re furbished the historical Waterdale Rd building and completed a myriad of other projects fundraised by the PFA and local community.

The task now is to keep our school in good shape. Children take care of their environment when they are proud of it. When it is shabby or falls into disrepair they lose interest and that affects school pride and morale.

Working Bee's are once a term on a Sunday from 9am to 12pm and coordinated by Mr Bull (PE and Year 6). Whilst we suggest which year levels should come to each event you are welcome to come to any that you are able. Please consider and diarise the following dates.

New Playground

The installation of the new playground begins next week and part of the oval will out of bounds during construction. The work should take approximately 5 days to complete.

Communications

You should receive a personal communication from your child's teacher this week and a term outline from the year level team next week. At IPS we pride ourselves on building positive relationships with parents and carers in the best interest of every student. The closer we work together the better the educational outcomes.

Parent Information Evenings

While we still struggle with social distancing and space, we have developed a hybrid approach to the Information evening that occurs in Term 1. Before, or on Friday the 18th of February you will receive access to a video and information from your child's year level and access to a tool to record questions you may have. The following week you will receive a link to a year level video conference for a more personalised experience. The times for these Information evening link ups are as follows.

Date	Class	time
Monday 21st February	Year 1	6 - 6:30pm
	Year 4	6:30 - 7pm
Tuesday 22nd February	Year 2	6 - 6:30pm
	Year 5	6:30 - 7pm
Wednesday 23rd February	Specialists	6 - 6.30pm
Thursday 24th February	Year 3	6 - 6:30pm
	Year 6	6:30 - 7pm

Meet the Teacher

At this stage Meet the Teacher will be held online over two days. Specialists will also make themselves available. Each session will be10 minutes in duration and closer to the date’s bookings will be opened up.

Save the dates:

Wednesday 2nd March – 1pm – 8pm and Thursday 3rd March - 3:40pm-5pm.

*Check the letter from your child’s teacher or Year Level in case the above information has changed for your class.

Our School Values and where you can help

We focus on positive behaviours and good citizenship. Please help us by talking to your child often about our school values and the importance of being fair to and accepting of all people.

Everyone has the right to feel safe at school. Our School Values are Confidence, Independence, Persistence, Resilience and Respect.

It is up to all of us to bring our values to life and present them in a way that makes sense. Here are some examples.

Persistence is not giving up, having more than one go at something, trying again when you get something wrong or just practicing to do your best.

Resilience - Resilient people often feel good about themselves. There is a difference between people who bounce back easily and those who get frustrated. If you can learn to bounce back you’ll do better at everything in life.

Confidence - Self-confidence is the belief in yourself and in your abilities. That you can do it. When you experience success, you feel good inside and you want to do better.

Independence – our aim is to ensure that every student is able to develop into an adult capable of looking after themselves, to thrive on the challenges that life throws at us, to experiment sensibly with risks and develop your own ways of doing things successfully.

Respect - is thinking and acting in a way that shows others you care about their feelings and their well-being.

Fast forward to 1 minute 15 seconds to listen to some of our 2021 students talking about our school values and what they mean to them.

I am sure you can come up with plenty of real-life examples to help make our values stick.

*Behaviours that disrupt learning and teaching in the classroom will not be tolerated.

Celebrations and sharing food (food allergies)

For reasons relating to food allergies and safety, as well as the significant financial impost brought to bear, families are respectfully requested that under NO circumstances are you to supply birthday cakes, cupcakes, sweets, gifts and toys etc on school grounds – including at the OSHC program. I apologize in advance if this seems harsh, but the wellbeing of every student must be our primary concern. Consider celebrating birthdays and other events at a local park or in your own home. Be mindful that many of our students are anaphylactic and food allergens pose a very real threat.

SunSmart

Last year we were successful in gaining a grant of $25,000 to install a new shade sail down near the oval. Construction is due to commence this term subject to the availability of steel.

We are a registered SunSmart school and children must wear wide brimmed hats in Term One and Term Four. Children without hats will be directed to the shade cloth areas at the top of the school near the Waterdale Rd building. Hats are required for Physical Education classes and Sport.

Buddies / Peer Leaders

Some of our Foundation students may find settling in to the larger environment difficult initially but they have been assigned older buddies to help them make friends. Some may find it difficult separating from their parent(s) in the morning, but I assure you after parents and carers have left they do settle down. Please extricate yourself as soon as you can after they go into class and the anxiety will soon pass.

Traffic

Traffic is a big issue for our school particularly at drop off and pick up. Please consider walking to school or parking the car behind Bryant Reserve and walking through the park. It only takes a lapse in concentration or a distraction for someone to get hurt.

Please leave yourself enough time so you don’t have to rush. School staff are not traffic wardens and cannot direct traffic. Please use common sense and focus on safety when dropping off or collecting children.

2022 Ivanhoe Primary School Market Days

Have we got an exciting opportunity for you!!

With 2022 the year of being able to get out and have fun again, Ivanhoe PS Fair Committee will be coordinating and hosting 2 (yes, you read that right, TWO!) markets across the year.

Having had successful markets on election days in the past, we are aiming to have one on Federal Election Day, and one on State Election Day. We (the school) will be running a BBQ like you have never seen (with our popular bacon and egg rolls again, and snags), and inviting stall holders of all types to come and sell their wares (especially school families who like to be crafty or resourceful). This makes for a great community day and raises important funds to continue improving the school environment for our children.

We are seeking YOU to be a part of the committee! We want your ideas, your connections, and your passion, to help make this event come to life! Commit as much, or as little, time you have/want – there’s no pressure.

To be a part of our fabulous team, or to find out more, contact Cat on 0421 176 673, or climbatree1@gmail.com

Keep an eye out for a link to join our first meeting – 7:30pm – Wednesday 23rd February!

Finally

Just a reminder that students must wear the school uniform unless it's in the wash or being repaired. Stay safe, look after each other and thank you for supporting our great school.

Mark Kent

Principal

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