News From the Principal

Welcome Back!

Welcome to the 2023 school year. Staff and students are very much looking forward to an exciting year at Raywood Primary School.

In addition to our regular programs we have some exciting additions this year.

ART- weekly art lessons that will focus on the different elements of visual arts. We are gratefully accepting donations of any supplies such as pre-loved wrapping paper or ribbon, wool, material scraps, plastic lids, egg cartons, washed containers (such as yoghurt or butter), carboard tubing from foil or cling-wrap, newspapers, magazines, old greeting cards or any other interesting materials.

LOTE- Auslan- weekly sessions that will focus on learning how to communicate with the hearing impaired or those who can not speak. We will learn signing and finger spelling.

MUSIC/DRAMA Therapy Program- we are fortunate to have a specialist teacher from the Songroom join us in Term 3 for weekly sessions to help our students express themselves creatively through song, music and movement.

Of course our students will continue to receive individualised and intensive teaching in the core subjects such as Reading, Writing (including Spelling, Grammar and Vocabulary), Numeracy and Integrated Studies (Geography, History, Civics & Citizenship, Science), Health & Physical Education, Outdoor Education, Respectful Relationships and MARC Library. Our students are so lucky to have experienced teachers who ensure that they continue to update their knowledge and skills so that each and every one of our students can reach their full potential.

We would like to remind all students and their families that we do not share food brought from home with other students at recess and lunchtime. This has always been the case, for reasons related to allergies, hygiene and the fact that some parents do not want their child having access to certain foods. However this safe practice has become even more prevalent now that we have a student with Anaphylaxis- with an allergy to nuts. Whilst we are not banning nuts, peanut butter or foods containing nuts, we are insisting our students do not share food with anyone and wash their hands and face after eating foods that contain nuts.

We are vigilant at school in terms of foods we occasionally offer to all students, in circumstances such as forgotten lunches, Breakfast Club and special occasions.

If you are planning on sending along foods for a special occasion such as a birthday- please be mindful of this nut allergy and always check with staff prior to sending food along that is to be shared.

New Students

An extra special welcome to four new students who are joining our Raywood Primary School Family this year.

We have Stevie, Laxford, Marley and Cooper. All four students are in Mrs Lightburn's room, with Stevie and Laxford being our 2023 Preps and Marley and Cooper transferring into Year 2 from the NT.

We also extend our warmest welcome to the parents, families and friends of our four newest students and want to let you know that our doors are always open for you to come up to school and visit us.

Welcome to the World

A special welcome to Raywood's newest resident- Hudson Hill. Hudson was born over the holiday break and is a baby brother for Isabell and a son for Jess and Jason. We have reserved a place for Hudson in our 2028 Prep Intake!

School Council

On March 20th we will be holding our Annual General Meeting where we will elect the 2023 Raywood Primary School Council.

The February meeting will be held on Monday February 27th and although this is officially for the 2022 members to attend, we invite all prospective members to attend if they wish.

I am now officially calling for nominations for our Parent Member Category (community members do not nominate, but are co-opted once the new council is formed). Thank you to those parents who have offered to remain and join school council- nomination forms (if required) will be sent home this week.

The nomination period remains open for two weeks from today, so forms should be submitted by 4pm February 16th.

2023 Family Contributions

A reminder that our Family Contribution amount for this year is set at $150 per student. As explained in correspondence that was sent out at the end of last year and in the last two newsletters of 2022, we rely on this contribution to purchase student learning materials for each child, classroom requisites and online programs.

Thank you to those families who have already sent along their payment or made arrangements to pay in instalments.

We have not had any family contact us indicating that they wish to supply their own learning materials for their child/ren, so we are working on the assumption that each of our school families would like us to purchase and supply these (this was, as explained, our preferred option).

Could I please ask that all families forward the contribution amount (either in full or part payment) or make arrangements for periodic payments with Bree at the office, in the coming week. As a small school we heavily rely on this contribution so that we can continue to provide our students with quality stationary, books, materials and programs.

A copy of our Parent Payment Policy can be found on our website. If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to contact myself or Bree in the office.

Latest Advice From the Department

Staying safe from mosquitoes

Recent wet and warm weather has increased mosquito breeding. Mosquitoes can carry diseases that may be passed on to people through mosquito bites. A range of mosquito-borne diseases have recently been detected in mosquitoes in northern Victoria. Mosquito-borne diseases can cause serious illness, including infections of the brain, with children particularly at risk.

The best way to prevent mosquito-borne diseases is to avoid mosquito bites.

In line with community health advice , families can protect against mosquito bites by:

using insect repellent that contains picaridin or DEET on all exposed skin if outdoors when mosquitoes are observed, from October to March
wearing long, loose-fitting clothing outdoors if possible if mosquitoes are around and covering exposed skin as much as possible. Summer school uniforms, including polos and shorts, can continue to be worn, but students should use insect repellent on exposed skin if mosquitoes are active
limiting outdoor activity when mosquitoes are active.

At Raywood Primary we ask that each student bring their own repellent to school - we will name it and store it for the students to access at play and lunch times and as required. By supplying your child's own repellent, we can ensure that allergies are kept to a minimum as some brands can cause irritation to some children and adults.

Further information

A handy guide to help protect you and your family from mosquito-borne disease
Better Health Channel information about preventing mosquito-borne diseases.

Rapid Antigen Tests

We still have quite the supply of these tests at school. Whilst we are not required to send them home regularly any more we are happy to supply any family or community member with these tests. Please contact Lisa or Bree if you require some. A reminder for those storing tests at home that they do have a "used by" date, so be sure to check the dates on those you have in your possession.

That's all for this week- Lisa Duffy

News from Bree in the Office

Christmas Raffle

Our 2022 Christmas Raffle was wonderful our kids drew the winning tickets on the last day of school 2022, it was a lot of fun.

We would like to thank all our families and community for supporting the raffle and your wonderful raffle ticket selling skills.

All proceeds will go towards our new playground.

A big congratulations to Sam Davey on winning our first prize and to all of our other prize winners.

Uniform Purchases

We have stock of uniforms available for purchase from school.

Prices are hats $ 12, jumpers $25.95 and polos $15.95 (these have logos).

We are now only selling logoed hats, polo tops and jumpers; once the skorts and shorts that we have are sold we ask that you purchase plain navy bottoms of your choice from a department store or supplier of your choice, (Big W, Target and K-Mart all stock navy shorts, skorts and long tracksuit style pants).

If you would like to come up to school to view the clothing and try items on your child for sizing, or have any questions please don't hesitate to contact me in the office.

Update of Enrolment Forms

Last week I emailed out a Student Enrolment Information Forms.

This was to ensure our records are correct and up to date, thank you to those who have returned these. I will send paper copies home to the families that have not yet responded, that way you can just amend with a pen and return to school with your child, thanks so much. If there are no changes, please let me know.

That's all for this week- Bree Blake

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