Principal's Desk 

Corinne Pupillo 

Dear parents, carers and friends of the school community,

Welcome back to the 2021 school year. The longer break allows you and your family to enjoy some quality time together with fewer restrictions on travel and indoor gatherings.  

We have another busy year ahead and hope that you are well rested and recharged for the upcoming school year. 

A very warm welcome to our new families and new staff,  I hope your time at JSA is positive and rewarding as we build a strong partnership with you during this time.   

Staffing Updates

We continued to recruit throughout the January break and I'm pleased to announce the following staff appointments:

• Assistant Principal:  Stephanie Di Salvo
• Mental Health Practitioner:  Zoe Sharpe
• Acting Teaching and Learning Coach:  Daniel Moloney ( 3 days)
• Acting Literacy & Numeracy Specialist:  Linda Wakeling (2 days)
• Acting Sub School Leader (Middle Years): Linda Wakeling (3 days)
• Visual Media Arts: Cisy Chan and Starlie Geikie
• Occupational Therapist: Tiffany Wasnig
• Hands on Learning Artisan Teacher:  Robert Ball
• Classroom Teachers: Jennifer Hayward, Leah Mallet, Ashima Ghuman & Ashley Stace
• Teacher Assistants: Imogen Brane
• Acting Facilities Manager:  Frances Hansen
• Acting Capital Works Manager:  Denise Clarke

Congratulations to all of those staff, we look forward to working with you in your new role. 

We also welcome back Kim Ross from family leave.  

Assistant Principal, Emmaleen Oakley will commence Long Service Leave from 19th February and we are in the process of recruiting for her replacement. I'll communicate this to the community as soon as possible. 

Notice of School Council Elections

Please refer to the School Community New Page for details.  

2021 THEME: EMBEDDING STUDENT VOICE AND AGENCY 

In continuing our commitment to building a culture of learning for all the community and following on from previous themes, our school goals align with the new theme, 

EMBEDDING STUDENT VOICE AND AGENCY  

It’s my pleasure to introduce the 2021 school theme and continue to enhance the teaching and learning. 

In our third year of our strategic plan, we  will continue implementing structures and processes that will not only enable students to monitor their learning progress, but also build staff capacity to further understand the link between communication systems and student participation in voice and agency. This will include developing the instructional model for student reflection, making all learning goals visible to students, and refining the whole school SSG process. Embedding student voice and agency will have a positive impact on our students self-worth, engagement, and motivation (Quaglia, 2016), as well as highlight our quality teaching and education support.

We will also continue to use the Professional Learning Communities (PLCs), Curriculum Teams and PDP process, to implement the continuous FISO improvement cycle to plan for, implement, review, refine and update teaching practices in reading and mathematics.

Effective professional learning is collaborative, inquiry focused and embedded in teaching practice. Therefore, a classroom peer observation framework will be designed and implemented to support teachers to reflect, provide and receive feedback on the effectiveness of their teaching practice.

School Organisation

This year we are anticipating an enrolment of 224 students. 

The school is structured to accommodate the stages of learning and includes: 

• Primary Sub School: Rooms 1- 9.  Sub School Leader is Elizabeth (Libby) Pitruzello
• Middle Years Sub School: Rooms 10 – 18.  Acting Sub School Leaders: Daniel Moloney & Linda Wakeling
• Secondary Sub School: Rooms 19 – 27. Acting Sub School Leader is Mark Taylor.

I would also like to acknowledge the staff who have been in attendance prior to the official start of school, ensuring the school is well prepared for the start of the school year for our students.   Thank you to you all. 

School Planning

Jacana School for Autism’s core business is educating students who have a primary diagnosis of autism.  The school motto is “Learning for Life” and strategies to support students with autism are embedded strongly at JSA and students will be supported to reach their full potential. In 2018 the school actively participated in a rigorous school review and a new School Strategic Plan was developed. Copies of the School Strategic Plan (2018-22) may be obtained by contacting reception or alternatively you can access the plan from the school website.

The 2021 Key Improvement Strategies were developed as part of the School Review this year and include: 

GOAL 1:  By the end of 2021, students who have been recognised as falling behind during R& FL will have received regular small group interventions from the tutor teacher. Curriculum Planning and Assessment:  Learning, catch-up and extension priority

• Health and Wellbeing:  Happy, active and healthy kids priority
• Building Communities: Connected schools priority

GOAL 2:

To improve student learning gain in Reading. 

Building Practice Excellence 

• Build a culture of collaboration focused on refining teacher practice to improve student outcomes and to measure the impact on student learning

Curriculum Planning and Assessment 

• Develop, implement and embed a consistent instructional approach to the delivery of the English curriculum with a focus on reading (CPA).
• Develop, implement and embed whole school formative and summative assessment practices for reading (CPA)

GOAL 3:

To improve student learning gain in Mathematics (Lead by Assistant Principal, Stephanie Di Salvo) 

Building Practice Excellence 

• Build a culture of collaboration focused on refining teacher practice to improve student outcomes and to measure the impact on student learning

Curriculum Planning and Assessment 

• Develop, implement and embed a consistent instructional approach to the delivery of the Mathematics Curriculum with a focus on Number and Algebra.
• Develop, implement and embed whole school formative and summative assessment practices for Mathematics (CPA).

GOAL 4:

To improve student voice and agency in their learning.

Empowering students and building school pride

• Implement structures and processes that enable students and teachers to establish and monitor learning goals and track progress.
• Develop opportunities across the school for students to co–design their learning.

The Framework for Improving Student Outcomes (FISO) image below.

As you can see JSA priority areas are the Excellence in Teaching and Learning (Blue section) and the Positive Climate for Learning (Orange section) 

Privacy Policy

Our school collects, uses, discloses and stores student and parent personal information for standard school functions or where permitted by law, as stated in the Schools’ Privacy Policy.

Please take time to remind yourself of the school’s collection statement, found on our website https://www.jacanaschoolforautism.vic.edu.au/?page_id=1445.

For more information about privacy, refer to: Schools’ Privacy Policy — information for parents. This information is also available in nine community languages:

• Amharic
• Arabic
• Dari
• Mandarin
• Somali
• Sudanese
• Turkish
• Urdu
• Vietnamese.

Communication 

For our new families, our newsletter is published each fortnight and will provide you with important information about the school and events that may be of interest to you. I encourage you to read the newsletter that will be sent home with your child, emailed to you, if you provide an email address or alternatively it is on the school website.

http://www.jacanaschoolforautism.vic.edu.au/

All students will be provided with a JSA Diary again this year.  This diary is used for day to day notes and correspondence, and it also has key dates and important information for families. 

2021 Curriculum Days

• Wednesday 27th January
• Tuesday 9th March
• Monday 16th August
• Monday 1st November

Developing staff skills and competencies is a critical component of the school’s success.  A culture of continuous school improvement is embedded at the school. 

Please mark these days on your calendar.  Student diaries have these dates noted for your convenience.

Tuesday 27th January – In preparation for the new school year all staff were involved in presentations facilitated by members of the Leadership Team regarding important updates on how we intend to support the community to achieve the 2021 Annual Implementation Plan. Time was also set aside for staff to prepare and set up their classrooms in readiness for the students arriving on the Thursday. 

Aerial View - Jacana School for Autism

To complement our Schools Virtual School Tour, Karen Glare has engaged a photographer that has captured our school from above.  

Please take a look and see how wonderful the facilities look from above.  

School Council Meeting 

Our first School Council meeting for 2021 is scheduled for Thursday 18th February and will be conducted via Webex. 

School Council Sub Committee Representatives

Finance Sub Committee Representative - Sharon Borg 

Building and Grounds Sub Committee Representative – Alisha Minns 

Fundraising Sub Committee Representative – Lisa Sette

School Council Representative on Student Representative Council (SRC) – Alisha Minns

Reminder: Our newsletter is published each fortnight and will provide you with important information about the school and events that may be of interest to you. I encourage you to read the newsletter that will be sent home via your home email, on the school's Facebook Page or on the school's website. 

JSA also has a Facebook Page administered by the leadership team.  Please like and follow our page.

https://www.facebook.com/JacanaSchoolforAutism