From the Principal

Welcome to IPS.  

It has been lovely to see some students taking exercise with their parents while the sun has been shining on our wonderful community. Two of our external street libraries are up and I have noticed some books moving in and out of them.

While you were away we have been organising a few improvements that will be ready for you once everyone can finally return to school.

For example, 

The electrical box in the front garden is getting an artistic makeover this week.

Our building works are on track - see newsletter front page or when you're out for a walk.

Skylights for hall toilets will be in which will solve the occasional blackout issues.

Classroom heaters and airconditioners have been serviced.

Exhaust fans will have been installed in the main student toilets.

We have conducted an arborist tree audit to ensure the health and safety of our trees.

Our Telstra router has been replaced. DET have identified schools that have outdated equipment and are replacing them. This is to help provide the ability for future bandwidth upgrades for our school internet service.

Remote School 2.0

As you are no doubt aware staff were all back at school last week reflecting on the previous remote school. Teams addressed what worked well, what needed tweaking as well as what to drop from their programs. We had received feedback from students and parents and this informed much of our discussion and planning.  

We know that we excelled in many areas and can improve in others. Let's not forget that what we are all going through now has ever occured before. We acknowledge it can be as difficult for you as it can be for staff but if we try to see this as an opportunity rather than a trial we come to the task with a different mindset.

Here is an opportunity to build trust and effective partnerships between home and school, we can all try to be better listeners to our students / children to gather purposeful feedback to improve the learning program and improve student agency. 

Here is an opportunity to help students / children make objective judgements about their own learning. You know your children and while you, of course, prioritise their learning you will need to make reasonable adjustments so that they, and you can cope with the workload. A little quality that a student is proud of will prove far more satisfying than dilligently insisting on, or struggling through, every task.

Wellbeing has always been a large part of any primary school's program and while the academic curriculum is important never lose sight of the need for enjoyment and good mental health. I hope you have got off to a great start with Remote School 2.0 and if you are in need of assistance by way of technology, advice or just a friendly ear please contact your child's teacher. Getting a good rhythm going early will help if there are hurdles later.

Let's check in with some Foundation Students to get a feel for what remote schooling might look like in some homes. Thank you FM for sharing the following stories.

Archies Number Work

Serah 'Living and Non Living'

Zoe  'I am grateful for'

We will continue to look at how we are working? , how are the students learning? , how are we are supporting families? Rest assured we are listening.  

Mini hint: You can help by providing an environment conducive to learning (access to technology where appropriate and a safe and quiet space during daytime).

Mini hint: You can support emotional balance by providing ample room and time for reflection, physical activity, conversation, and play.

Feel like engaging fun mental health activity with your child right now? 

Go to  https://www.jigsawplanet.com

It's on again - From the students

During Remote School V1 the From the Students  section of the newsletter was one of the most often accessed which tells me that students and families enjoyed contributing to it as well as checking out the content. The Open Invitation page will show you how.

School Review Information and Survey. 

Dear community members,

Every four years, each school undertakes a self-evaluation of the previous four years and engages the whole school community in a reflective analysis of the school’s performance.

A purposeful, high quality self-evaluation makes an important contribution to improving our school and in raising the achievements of learners. 

In the link there are four questions that have been developed by Ivanhoe School Council to clarify and identify those things we do that lead to sustained successful outcomes, and the barriers that may have prevented success.

I hope that you will engage with this opportunity so we can continue to improve. We need to know what we are doing well and what we can do better.

This survey will remain open until 4pm Thursday 30th of July.

All answers are anonymous and I thank you in advance for participating.

Triple P stands for Positive Parenting Program.

In recognition that families might be doing it tough the Victorian Government has made Triple P Online free to all Victorian Families.

The Victorian Government has funded the online Triple P – Positive Parenting Program providing all Victorian families access to expert parenting advice during these challenging times.  The program is the online version of the Triple P Program that was developed in Australia and successfully implemented around the world.  

"The Triple P – Positive Parenting Program’s simple, practical strategies that have been proven to work around the world, helping parents raise happy, confident children; set family routines and rules that everyone can follow; and balance work and family life with less stress."

I located the frequently asked questions page at this link https://bit.ly/2Ys9MjL

The newly formed Environmental Working Group.

The newly formed Environmental Working Group is now looking for parent members from all backgrounds to join the team.

We are looking for individuals that have a passion for sustainability and the environment who would like to use their skills and interest to support opportunities and projects at IPS.

This working group sits within the Facilities (Buildings and Grounds) Sub Committee, of the School Council and aims to provide another lens to enhance IPS to a greener and a more sustainable future. 

We will aim to meet twice per term, (remotely at this stage) and may be in contact at other times as relevant opportunities present themselves for consideration. Please join us!

For further information, or to confirm your interest in joining please email juliashea@outlook.com 

Finally.

The Chat function in TEAMS is causing issues because a few students are using it inappropriately during teaching and learning time. The Chat function is instrumental to most classes learning programs and as it can only be either ON or OFF for the whole school it would be completely counter productive to turn it off.

Therefore, we are asking parents to revisit the cyber safety and other IPS school agreements and remind your child that the Chat function is not to be abused.

Parents are asked to monitor their child’s access to the online environment and WebEx (particularly the Chat) and highlight to classroom teachers if they are having trouble accessing online lessons.

Parents are asked to ensure their child is participating in scheduled video or morning introductions at the appropriate times.

Be kind to yourself, wear a mask when outside and stay safe.

Mark Kent

Principal