Principal's Report                        

End of Year

Thank you to all members of the school community for once again providing our students with the very best educational opportunities in 2015. To all the staff at Concord School, thank you for all your hard work and dedication throughout the year.

On behalf of the staff at Concord School, I wish every student and their family a Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year. Best wishes for a safe and relaxing holiday period and we will see students back at school on Friday 29th January 2016.

Tomorrow morning all students will be involved in an orientation morning from 9.05-11.45am: 

Please see the timetable below.

9.00am:  

Current students will line up/enter their classrooms as normal.

9.05am:  

Current students will move to their classroom for the following year.

9.15am:

Bundoora Campus

New parents/carers and new students will meet at the Discovery Centre.  

New students will be escorted to their classroom by the section Team Leader (or a section aide).

Jason (Principal) and Kirrily and Colin (Assistant Principals) will address both new and current parents/carers.

Watsonia Campus

New parents/carers and new students will meet in the multi-purpose hall.

New students will be escorted to their classroom.

Kath (Assistant Principal) will address both new and current parents/carers.

Parents/carers are then invited to share morning tea with Kath and the other parents/carers at the conclusion of the meeting.

Prep students will leave with their parents at the end of this meeting/morning tea. Other parents/carers are requested to leave the school after this.

9.30am:  

Bundoora Campus

All Team Leaders will then address the parents/carers of all students who will be in their section the following year.

Upper Primary – Discovery Centre

Secondary 7/8  – Library

Secondary 9/10  – Conference Room

Secondary 11/12 - Transition Centre

Parents/carers are requested to leave the school after this.

Start of recess:  

All students will play in the playground area that they will be in the following year.

End of Recess:  

Students will return to the classroom 

11.45am:  

Parents/carers of new students will collect their children from the classroom.

Current students will return to their current classroom escorted by an aide.

Staffing News

There are no Education Department members terminating their employment from Concord School at the end of 2015 although some staff members are taking other leave. Carole Meade is taking Long Service Leave for term 1. Alessia Borreca is taking one year Leave Without Pay as is Jess Fitzsimons who will work in a remote aboriginal community in the Northern Territory. Nicole Haspell recently commenced Family Leave.

There are 14 Educational Trainees finishing their traineeships at the end of 2015. They are:

Eliza Pywell

Alysha Hopgood

Brooke Hollingsworth

Lara Bufalino

Krystal O'Brien

Renee Balzan

Melissa Osman

Emily Edwards

Hayly Stanton

Madelyn Brown

Shea Baker

Sheree Himmerman

Jessica DeJong

Joanne Kite

We welcome several new staff members to Concord School. 

They are:

Elise Vallender (Teacher - Lower Primary)

Aroha Yates (Teacher – Upper Primary)

Stefanie Ouliaris (Teacher - Secondary 11/12)

Deb Oliver (Teacher – Social Competencies) Term 1

Rebekah van den Heuvel (Speech Pathologist – Watsonia Campus)

Mia Rigoni (Education Support – Upper Primary)

In addition, we have three staff members returning from Family Leave. 

They are:

Hayley Northridge (Teacher - Secondary 11/12) returning in March

Alix Boyton (Performing Arts – Watsonia Campus) returning in Term 2

Lexi Doherty (Education Support – Upper Primary) returning in Term 1

Christmas Concert

A huge thank you goes to everyone in the school community for making the Christmas Concert such a success. The class performances were fantastic and a credit to our wonderful students and the teachers and aides who prepared their performances and costumes.

The concert was washed out on Monday evening but it was fortunate that the Primary students were able to complete their items. The show must go on and it continued on Tuesday morning in the gym with the remaining acts. Santa made his traditionally appearance and the students enjoyed an opportunity to ask him some questions.

A special thank you goes to Steve Kinrade who was responsible for the majority of the concert organization. Thank you also to Tim Clarke (MC), Ken McDowell and Mark Lancaster and the School Councillors, parents/carers and staff volunteers who cooked the BBQ, sold items and cleaned up afterwards.

Thank you to Antoinette Ribchester, Viv Butler and the other dedicated band of workers from the Family and Friends Association (FFA) who organised the fundraising activities and assisted on the evening. The FFA made a profit from the concert which will be reinvested into providing resources and activities for our students.

A number of parents and family members were fined by the Banyule Council for parking on the nature strip in Gleeson Drive. I have been liaising with Banyule Council in regard to this however they have refused waive the fines. 

Primary School and Secondary School Graduation Ceremonies

This week is an extremely important week for our Upper Primary and Secondary 11/12 learning areas. The Year 6 students had their Primary School graduation ceremony yesterday afternoon and our Year 12 students will graduate from Secondary School tonight in our gymnasium.

It is always a pleasure and a privilege to attend these graduations and to see the development and achievement of our students. It is a wonderful experience for them and their parents/carers. Each student is extremely excited about their graduation as they realise they are moving on to the next stage of their lives.

The culmination of achievement is in the presentation of awards to our final year students. Many of these students have spent 13 years at Concord School, so this is always a very emotional evening for both the parents and the students. There is no doubt that our students have grown in their maturity, social development and learning. It has been wonderful to see our Secondary students preparing and reading their own speeches.

We wish these students all the best of luck for the future and look forward to seeing them return as a ’visitor’ to Concord School. Thank you to all the teachers and support staff whose organisation makes these graduation ceremonies so special for the students and their families.

Community Forums in 2016

In 2016 Concord School is seeking to increase engagement with our school community and provide sessions that will provide information and support.

On Tuesday 16th February a Community Forum, open to all members of the school community, will be held in the Transition Centre from 6.30pm and the topic will be the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). It is extremely important that parents/carers understand what this is and what this may mean to families as the NDIS will be ‘rolled out’ through the Council areas of Banyule, Darebin, Nillumbik, Whittlesea from 1st July 2016.

Free child minding will be provided by the school to support attendance.

Uniform

This is a reminder to all families that students are expected to wear full school uniform from the commencement of the 2016 school year. This includes clean white shirts and black school shoes (as applicable) for students within the Secondary School. 

If you require further information regarding the uniform, please go to our school website.

Suggestions for Addressing Children and Young Peoples’ Responses in Relation to Traumatic Events such as the Terrorist attacks in Beirut and Paris

DET EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT

Children and young people will have seen and heard about the terrorist attacks that occurred in Beirut on Thursday 12th November and Paris on Friday 13th November 2015.

The authorities in countries around the world will help to support the people who have been impacted by this event.

Children often worry and know more than we realise. Adults may assume that children are doing okay if they don’t talk or ask questions about what has happened. Sometimes they have questions they may not ask unless we provide the opportunity. 

Most children and young people will experience normal reactions to something that is distressing and with support from trusted adults around them these reactions will subside.

Routines are important when an event like this occurs. School can be very useful to support all children and young people.

Remember sometimes teachers and parents feel like we don’t have the answers.  It is helpful to remind children and ourselves that there are people working hard to make the current situation better.

Exposure to television, print media and social media

•        Many children are likely to be unsettled by the images on television, in the print          media and online media reports about the terrorist attacks.

•        It is important to understand what sense a child or young person makes of                what they are seeing on television or hearing via the media (this includes                    social media) and what they are hearing in adult conversations.

•        It is important to monitor the amount of news coverage they see and hear.                  Seeing the event over and over again can cause vicarious trauma to adults                and children.

•        Children and young people may experience sleeplessness and or nightmares            about imagined consequences or images from television or print or social                  media coverage.

Responding to the concerns of children and young people

•        Children and young people may need to talk about what they have seen and               heard. It is important that we listen to their concerns.

•        Keep information factual and dispel any rumours. Don’t be afraid to tell them              that you don’t have all the answers.

•        Children and young people may need reassurance about their safety and the             safety of those they care about.

•        Teachers and parents should listen to the child or young person’s cues as to              what they want to know about the terrorist attacks. It is important to be honest             with children and young people in an age appropriate way.

•        It is not unusual for young children to want to be close to those they love and            care about. 

•        Older children will possibly want to discuss the events, it is advisable to clarify             information and dispel rumours as this helps them to process the information             more accurately.

Principal's Award

The Principal's Award goes to Kulkiran!

Kulkiran is always well presented and polite.  He is very studious and often helps other students.  He loves Science and has written some excellent stories this year.  Kulkiran has also been a leader in the buddy program, providing mentoring to younger students.

Kulkiran is a shining example of a Concord Student, personifying the school values. 

Well deserved recipient of the Principal's award Kulkiran! 

"Students striving to be the best they can be"

"Students striving to be the best they can be"

Jason Coningsby

Principal