Principal's Message

There is a saying "a picture paints a thousand words". The pictures of happiness, laughter, and smiling faces around our school this week have said a million words about how great it is to have everyone back on-site. 

As you begin to reconnect during drop-off and pick-up, you may see a number of new faces across our school this term, as we have been joined by a double-digit number of students since we were last back on-site together. Please make our new families feel welcome across our community. 

Once again our school is filled with playfulness and learning. 

Please take the time to read each page of our newsletter, as we provide you with information updates across each curriculum area. 

Additional Event Details (in addition to Compass post dated Friday 29/10/2021)

Gifted Insights Enrichment Programming

The Gifted Insights Program will return to our school in Term One, 2022. 

Families involved in the program will receive an email communication from Jennifer Grant (Program Facilitator) regarding arrangements for the remainder of this term.

Blacksmith Lunch Orders 

A reminder that these will begin again as of Friday 12th November (inclusive) and will conclude on Friday 10th December (inclusive). 

Please note that due to circumstances beyond our control, lunch orders will only be available on a Friday for the remainder of the term. Please continue to order via QKR. 

Breakfast Club is Back!!!

Breakfast Club recommenced this morning, and was a huge hit! A reminder that this service is available for all students to access each Friday morning from 8:30am-8:50am. 

A huge thank you to our parent volunteers who have partnered with DRERS and the DET School Breakfast Club Program. 

Yarra Valley Psychology is partnering with our school!

We are pleased to share with you that our school has secured a partnership with Yarra Valley Psychology (YVP) Services (https://yvp.com.au/), with the aim of providing in-school counselling services to students. 

Throughout schools across Victoria, student counselling is a much needed (and under resourced) service. Many of our families are currently experiencing first-hand the difficulties associated with trying to gain access to support services for their children. Therefore, we must be grateful that we have been presented with the opportunity to enter a partnership with YVP, as the resources do not exist for this partnership to occur across schools within our region. 

Please be aware of the information below:

Is there a cost involved to access the service, and does my child require a Mental Health Plan?

There is no cost involved for the family. 

Your child does not require a Mental Health Plan to access the service. This is due to the fact that the counselling sessions will be delivered by a Masters of Counselling practitioner, who is under the direct supervision of Yarra Valley Psychology (YVP) Services. 

There is also no limit on the number of sessions a child may access. Access to sessions, and duration (in weeks) will be determined between YVP, the school, and the parent/carer. 

When do sessions commence, and how will they be structured?

Sessions will commence from the beginning of Term Two, with student-needs being prioritized in partnership with the school and YVP. Prior to any child commencing, a confidential discussion will take place between the YVP counsellor and the parent/carer. 

Our school has been allocated a male counsellor (name TBC) who will conduct sessions each Wednesday for the entire duration of Term Two and Term Three. 

The counsellor will have the time allocation to see up to five students per day, with each session being allocated 50 minutes. At this stage sessions will be occurring each Wednesday. 

Will each child who is referred be able to access the service?

Unfortunately, this is not achievable within the current mental health environment. Referrals will be prioritized on a needs basis from within our own school cohort. 

If I wish for my child to access the service, what do I need to do?

Please complete the referral form below and return it via the instructions on the form. 

Keeping Aware of Information Relating to School

As a school we work hard to keep our families informed of happenings across the school. We acknowledge that receiving information in a timely and consistent manner can help to alleviate the pressures which come from managing a busy family calendar. 

Communicating via Compass

All of our school notifications are sent via the Newsfeed within the Compass app. There is also a calendar of events within the app, which sends push notifications to users to remind them of school events. 

In 2021, we will continue to utilise Compass for families to consent and pay in order for their children to take part in school events. 

In order to filter notifications which are received, you will notice that we send out notifications which are year level specific. This means that sometimes not all notifications are sent to all year levels. 

Administration Reminder

Please be reminded that if you need to collect your child/ren early, please contact the office when you are five to ten minutes away so we can have them at the office for collection.

Communicating with the School Administration Team

We look forward to partnering with you in 2021, and welcome your input: 

Damien Kitch (Principal)  damien.kitch@education.vic.gov.au 

Paula Lee (Business Manager) upwey.south.ps@education.vic.gov.au

Janette Clarke (Office Manager) upwey.south.ps@education.vic.gov.au