Principals' Update

Welcome Back

We’ve had a fantastic start to the year. All of our students (and staff) appear to have settled back into the routines of school. After 2 years of on and off remote learning, it’s great to see happy faces and hear the voices of students playing in the yard. Some of us have found it hard to return to this new normal and unfortunately, some of us have been impacted by COVID cases and haven’t quite made it back to school yet.

We have had a challenging two years and whilst some of our students have thrived in the remote learning environment all of our students have developed their resilience, independence and resistance to ongoing change. We are excited to be starting a new year of school at CNPS.

2022 Goals and Priorities for CNPS

Goal 1

Some of our students have thrived in the remote learning environment, others have maintained their learning progress, and some need extra learning and wellbeing support despite the best efforts of their teachers and families. In 2022 we will continue to focus on student learning with an increased focus on Numeracy and Student Wellbeing. We will teach and support each student at their point of need and in line with the Framework for Improving Student Outcomes.

Goal 2

To build a culture where students feel positive and connected to the school, see themselves as partners in their learning, better understand their learning growth and feel confident in expressing this to others.

Goal 3

To develop a community of learners (students, parents/carers, staff) where there is mutual trust, effective communication, respect and shared responsibility for the education of all students.

2022 School Council

Our first School Council meeting for 2022 will be Wednesday 24 February at 6:30 pm. We will have a small number of vacancies and will open nominations for School Council membership next week. We invite any parents or carers that might like to know more about the role of School Council to please contact the School Leadership Team.

Leadership News

I have thoroughly enjoyed returning to Carlton North Primary School and re-engaging with the students, staff and community over the past two weeks. I appreciate the warm welcome that I have received and it is with very mixed emotions that I share that I have been asked to continue on in the role of Senior Education Improvement Leader at Region for Term 1. CNPS will be going through a School Review process this term and whilst I am working in the role of SEIL, I will also be heavily involved in this process. The School Review process is an opportunity to celebrate the huge amount of successes and achievements that we have made as a school community over the past five years.

Keith McNeill, Assistant Principal from Princes Hill Primary School will be stepping into the Acting Principal for Term 1. Keith is very excited to step into the role of Acting Principal at CNPS for Term 1 and he comes with a canine colleague, Heidi, the schnauzer. Heidi is another Lead the Way Therapy Dog graduate. Erin has worked closely with Keith as colleagues in the Yarra Darebin Assistant Principal Network and we feel that Keith is a great fit for the school.

The CNPS Leadership Team is excited and ready for a year of learning and re-engaging with our school community after 2 tumultuous years. We are really fortunate to have such an experienced Leadership Team Trish, Erin and Jane continuing to lead the school and supporting Keith in the role of Acting Principal.

Thank you to our wonderful school community for your ongoing support.

Rachel

CNPS Baby News

Congratulations to Carlye and Chris, who welcomed Rex Travis Milton Atkins on Saturday 25 January. Chris reported that “Carlye absolutely smashed it and the girls love their new baby brother.”

Covid 19

Permission required to enter school buildings

Parents and carers are only permitted inside the school buildings if they are attending the administration office or if they have made prior arrangements to meet with the classroom teacher. When entering the building they must check in with the QR code and provide evidence that they are double vaccinated.

Contacting the school if families are in isolation

All families with children required to isolate due to being a household contact or if they return a positive Covid test must notify the school. To notify the school please call the office on 9347 4822 or email your child’s classroom teacher.

School Work for students in isolation

Students required to isolate will be provided with optional learning task boards. We recommend students take their device home with them each day in case they are required to isolate and would benefit from accessing their device at home. In the case of a family finding out they need to isolate and the student’s device being at school, please make arrangements for the device to be collected.

Supervision in the School Yard Before and After School

Carlton North Primary School’s grounds are supervised by school staff from 8.45 am until 3.45 pm. Outside of these hours, school staff will not be available to supervise students.

Hats

A reminder that we are a SunSmart School and that all students and staff are required to wear hats when outside. We require students and staff to wear a hat that protects the face, neck and ears such as a broad-brimmed, legionnaire or bucket style hat when UV index levels are 3 or above (generally mid-August – end of April).

Permission Forms

Walking Permission and Photo Permission (internal and external) forms have now been uploaded onto Compass to allow you to provide online consent. Check your new notifications above your ‘News Feed’ called ‘Course Confirmation/Payments’ and follow the prompts.

Please note that students can only attend events such as our upcoming Yr 3-6 Swimming Carnival if the Walking Permission form has been completed.

Updating Personal Details on Compass

All families need to ensure that their personal details on Compass are up to date and correct. This includes postal addresses, phone numbers and email addresses. If you need support to do this please contact the school office on 9347 4822.

BYOD

At CNPS, the use of technology is embedded in our teaching and learning. Students are asked to bring their own device to school to support their learning and make connections between home and school. A priority for student learning at CNPS is to promote voice and agency and this access to personalised technology provides more opportunities for individualised learning. Students are supported in the development of cyber-safe and digitally aware behaviours and will collectively work towards shared essential agreements surrounding the use of digital devices.

Arthur Ho is our school IT Technician and is available to provide technical support on Tuesdays.

School Operations and Policy Advice

Nut-Free School

A reminder that the sharing of foods between all students is actively discouraged at CNPS. CNPS does not permit nuts to be brought on to school grounds during normal school hours or on school excursions or camps. The school Anaphylaxis Management Policy extends to all children and staff.

School’s Privacy Policy

The Department of Education and Training (which includes all Victorian government schools, central and regional offices) values the privacy of every person and is committed to protecting information that schools collect.

All staff, service providers (contractors) and agents, (whether paid or unpaid) of the Department, and this Victorian government school (our school), must comply with Victorian privacy law and this policy.

In Victorian government schools the management of ‘personal information' and ‘health information' is governed by the Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014 (Vic) and Health Records Act 2001 (Vic) (collectively, Victorian privacy law).

This policy explains how our school collects and manages personal and health information, consistent with Victorian privacy law.

https://www.education.vic.gov.au/Pages/Schools-Privacy-Policy-information-for-parents.aspx

Personal Property

CNPS understands that staff and/or students may sometimes like to bring items of personal property to school.

The Department of Education and Training does not have insurance for personal property of staff, students and visitors. CNPS does not take responsibility for items of personal property that are lost, stolen or damaged at school or during school activities. Damage to personal property brought to school is the responsibility of the owner of that property.

CNPS encourages staff and students not to bring items of value to school, or to obtain appropriate insurance for such items.

If students bring items of value to school, they will be confiscated and stored securely until the end of the day, when the items may be collected by the student and/or parent.

Rachel Corben, Erin Brown & Jane Bilby

Library News