Hello Vermont Primary School & Kindergarten families!

We would like to welcome you all back to another school year, one that we are hoping is full of learning, excitement and positive connections. Term 1 has started smoothly, and we are so proud of the way students (and teachers!) have transitioned back into the classroom.

Our Foundation students started on Tuesday, and have made a spectacular start to their primary school careers. With smiles all around, and only a few tears (mainly from parents!) the students have taken to school life with enthusiasm. We are looking forward to watching their confidence grow as they become more familiar with the routines of school. We would also like to extend a warm welcome to the 30+ students and families who have commenced at Vermont Primary School in other year levels as well. Our Kindergarten students are starting at different times throughout the week, and we are looking forward to watching them grow throughout the coming years.

A reminder of our teaching teams for 2023 is below;

Year level	Teachers
Foundation	Nikki Lewis, Courtney Williams, Bec Mealings, Damon Webb + Nic Walsh and Fiona Hedstrom
Year 1	Zara Abrahams, George Samothrakitis, Hsien Tran, Maddi Fletcher
Year 2	Sarah Battle, Bronwyn Moore, Nerida Forster, Katia Lumley
Year 3	Andrew Wastie, Phil Allison, Lisa Shoebridge, Christina Tsotsos, Kate Yates
Year 4	John Hoskin, Sally Dyett, Eli Dahlenburg, Charlotte Caldarelli, Paul Souter
Year 5	Lauren Strachan, Chris Bird, Gillian Prentice, Ryan Condron
Year 6	Al Straughan, Kerryn McConachy, James Sadler, Cyara Pittas
PE	Clinton Walsh
Music	Travis Fraser
Art	Chris Mulvany, Meredith Simpson
Indonesian	Yvonne Smith
Digitech	Julie Hall
Tutoring	Nic Walsh, Fiona Hedstrom, Peta Jenkin, Michelle Guye
Teaching Support	Julie Reid, Kath Jones, Alisha Tarenidis, Brierly Parker
Literacy Support	Noelene Iacovangelo, Fiona Van Zuylen
EAL	Dianna Fuller
Chaplain	Carly Cassidy
Library	Emma Stroud
Education Support Staff	Fiona, Emma, Gemma, Megan, Jo, Rachael, Georgia

This newsletter will contain important reminders from the Leadership team, and the office, so please take the time to carefully read the following information. Our next newsletter will be full of exciting updates from the classroom.

Grounds updates

You may have noticed some works that have been completed over the holidays. We have added large sections of synthetic turf around the North playground and at the front of the school, as well as some sections near the basketball courts. This addition not only improves the look of the area and increases our available play space, but reduced the mud-pit that appears in winter.

We also have had painting completed throughout various areas of the school, including the Old School Building. There will also be some upcoming works around the gardens in this area, as well as some significant plumbing work to the Stadium.

Community Network

In 2023, we are looking to revamp the Community Network. (In some schools, this may be known as a PFA). The Community Network is a group of parents and carers who volunteer their time to assist with things like school events, special days, fundraising etc. Many schools found that community groups lay dormant through Covid, and we are keen to see this active group back up and running. We have some fantastic community events in store, and would love to see the Community Network engaging with these in the future.

If you are keen to be part of the Community Network, we will be holding an information session on Friday 17th of February at 9:10am in the Staffroom. Please come along if you would like to learn more about how you can be involved in some awesome whole school events.

Please register your interest in attending using the following link https://forms.office.com/r/PHcHPnKVKb

Parking & School Crossing

We remind all members of the school community to closely monitor and follow parking restrictions and regulations in the streets surrounding the school. The 'Kiss & Go' zones are not parking spaces, and are simply to drop your children and depart.

We are very lucky to have Crossing Supervisors ensuring that students and families can cross the road safely, so please ensure that you cross at these points should you need to get from one side of the road to the other. Crossing the road without using the crossing can be dangerous, especially on the extremely busy roads surrounding the school.

We also remind families that parking along and around the shopping strip on Boronia and Canterbury Roads have a 1 hour limit, and are restricted to patrons of the business, and are not for school parking.

2023 Parent Payments

Some families may have already noticed that the 2023 Parent Payments are listed up on Qkr!. Information relating to these payments can be found here, and we ask that families view this information as soon as possible. These optional contributions go towards the running of vital programs in the school, and make a huge difference in the organisation and planning of our programs.

We thank the families who have already made payments.

CSEF

The Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund (CSEF) provides payments for eligible students to attend activities like:

school camps or trips
swimming and school-organised sports programs
outdoor education programs
excursions and incursions.

Families holding a valid means-tested concession card or temporary foster parents are eligible to apply. Families can list more than one student in the one application form if they are attending the same school. Information can be found here

YSafe Parent Information evening

Protecting children in their digital worlds is an ever-evolving task for Australian families. Now more than ever parents are looking for guidance in how to manage screen time and navigate the world of games and social media.

We are therefore pleased to help our parent community by offering a crucial and engaging education session with ySafe, Australia’s leading provider of cyber safety education. This practical, strategy-rich session will cover the most important points that all families need to know about online safety, covering key information about social media and gaming, screen time recommendations and step-by-step instructions on how to set up a cyber safe home for children of all ages.

If you’ve ever struggled with getting your children off their games and into bed, worried about the content of the games that they are playing or felt concerned that your child was spending too much time in the digital world, this workshop is for you!

We would love to see as many parents as possible attending this excellent event.

Click the link below to register. **Please note the session will be on the 2nd March

Parent Cyber Safety Information Session -Vermont Primary School Tickets, Thu 02/02/2023 at 7:00 pm | Eventbrite

Upcoming Curriculum Days

Our Curriculum days for 2023 are -

Friday 27th January (State Wide Curriculum Day)
Thursday 30th March (School Review Preparation)
Friday 9th June (Professional Practice Day)
Monday 11th September (Professional Practice Day)
Monday 6th November (Assessment & Reporting Day)
Wednesday 20th December (Curriculum Day )

The term dates for 2023 are -

Term 1 : Friday 27th January - Thursday 6th April
Term 2 : Monday 24th April - Friday 23rd June
Term 3 : Monday 10th July - Friday 15th September
Term 4 : Monday 2nd October - Wednesday 20th December

Upcoming Parent Teacher Interviews

This term, families will have the opportunity to have an interview with teachers to discuss students achievements and areas of need. Parent Teacher Interviews will be offered both onsite, and virtually to meet the needs of individual families. The interviews will be held on Tuesday 21st of March, and Monday 27th of March (until 7:45pm), as well as other times by negotiation with the teacher. More information about these interview times will be sent out closer to the time. 'Getting to Know you' forms will be coming home next week for families to fill in for teachers.

Parents onsite

There are so many ways that parents can be involved at school, and we love parent helpers at VPS! If you would like to help out around the school, in the classroom, in specialists, as part of a lunchtime club, on excursions, camps with the Community Network etc, we would love to have you. We ask that all parents who would like to help around the school have a current Working With Children Check. These can be obtained online here.

If you are volunteering in the school (as opposed to just entering the grounds to drop off or pick up a child) you will need to sign in at the office. We remind families that the student toilets are not for adult use. This applies to toilets in the North Building, and in the Learning Centre.

School Review

Every 4 years, government schools undertake a review, managed by an external agency. This is an opportunity for schools to reflect on their practices, collaborate with teachers, students and families to find out what works best in our setting, and to make plans for the future learning, growth and development of out students and school community. We will be undertaking our review in Term 2, and look forward to inviting parents to be part of this process in various ways.

Student arrival and departures

We remind families that the school grounds are supervised from 8:45am-9:00am, and after school from 3:30pm-3:45pm. Outside of these times, students who are onsite are unsupervised. If your child needs to be at school earlier than 8:45am, or after 3:45pm, they will need to make use of the onsite Out of School Hours Care (OSHC) program that operates in the Learning Centre. Information about OSHC can be found here

Contacting Teachers

We understand that from time to time, there will be a need for parents to contact teachers. At Vermont Primary School, we acknowledge and value the role of parents and carers in building strong partnerships between home and school, and encourage you to share information relating to your child's well being and learning. The best way to contact your child's teacher is via email. However, please keep in mind that teachers will not be able to read or respond to emails during class time, and may not respond until the following day if an email is sent after hours. When in class, especially before school, teachers are busy preparing for the day and may not be able to give the time and attention needed to a conversation. If you need to speak with the teacher at length, please make contact to organise a mutually suitable time.

Assembly

Whole School assemblies will be held each fortnight on a Monday morning at 9:10am. Assembly is held in the stadium, and we welcome parents and friends to come along. Assemblies are an opportunity to engage with our school community to share student celebrations and successes, update the community on important events or activities and reaffirm our core school values. We look forward to seeing you there!

School Council 2023

Please be on the look out for information coming out very soon in regards to nomination for parents to join our school council. This is a rewarding position that enables parents to take an active role in various school processes. Information regarding the process of nomination, as well as relevant time lines will be out shortly.

Please take the time to read through the important Department policies and reminders below.

School 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 above as well as the letter provided by the Department in the following link: DET Privacy Statement. For more information about privacy, see: Schools’ Privacy Policy – information for parents. This information also available in nine community languages.

You can access information about the Privacy Policy at the Department’s School’s Privacy Policy Page at the following link: Education Department's School Privacy Policy

Accident Insurance at school

The Department of Education and Training (DET) does not provide personal accident insurance for students. Parents are generally responsible for paying the cost of medical treatment for injured students, including any transport costs. The Department of Education states that reasonable low cost accident insurance policies are available from the commercial insurance sector. Similarly, DET (which includes the school) does not offer replacement of personal items which are brought to school and are lost, broken or stolen. Sentimental or expensive belongings and toys, including sports equipment and electronic devices, are normally best left at home.

We look forward to sharing lots of exciting events and information with you in the next issue of our newsletter.

Take care,

Jess (Principal), Joy (Assistant Principal) & Jacci (Assistant Principal)

Special Celebrations