From the Principal
Welcome to 2023
We would like to welcome you to the start of the 2023 school year.
We are just thrilled with how well all the students have returned to school. The transition to primary school for our Foundation students has been outstanding.
Thank you to all the dedicated staff that spent many days at school over the holidays preparing their resources and classrooms for that start of the school year. We are most
fortunate to have such dedicated, professional staff who work collaboratively to ensure the best learning environment for our students.
On behalf of the staff, I would like to welcome all our new families to Camelot Rise Primary School, and we trust that you will enjoy working with us to provide your child with the best possible education.
Class structure for 2023
Foundation L: Miss Hayley Lonsdale
Foundation J: Miss Ashleigh Jacobs
Foundation N: Miss Amanda Neary
1GH: Mrs Tennille Giannopoulos (Monday – Wednesday) & Mrs Jane Humphries (Thursday & Friday)
1K: Mrs Mary Katsigiannis (Wednesday – Friday) & Mrs Jane Humphries (Monday & Tuesday)
1A Mrs Aggie Kurzak-Reeves
2G: Miss Lauren Gabrielle
2JR Mrs Stephanie Johnson (Monday, Thursday & Friday) &
Mrs Peta Rose (Tuesday & Wednesday)
2S Mrs Julie Shepherd
3BM: Mrs Linda Bett (Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday) &
Mrs Adrienne Meer (Thursday & Friday)
3E: Miss Caroline Eaves
4J: Mr Simon Judkins
4WT: Mrs Sarah Woods (Monday - Wednesday) & Ms IIana Tusia
(Thursday & Friday)
5Y: Mr Chris Young (Monday – Thursday) & Mrs Sarah Woods (Friday)
5CB: Mrs Michelle Cohen-Beavis
6Y: Mrs Wendy Yoong
6N: Mrs Sharyn Newstead
Specialist Programs for 2023
Physical Education: Mr Cameron Stillman
Visual Arts: Ms Deb Hong (Year 3 – 6 classes) & Ms Rosemary Thom (Foundation – Year 2 classes) & Mr Cameron Stillman (One Junior class)
Performing Arts: Ms Deb Hong
French: Ms Rosemary Thom
STEM: Mrs Lorna Vinar
EAL: Mrs Leilani Burgess
Tutor: Mrs Sarah Martin (Monday – Wednesday)
Administration
Principal Mr Matthew Coney
Assistant Principal Mr Ben Heys
Learning Specialists Mrs Tennille Giannopoulos, Mr Simon Judkins and
Mrs Wendy Yoong
Business Manager: Mrs Christine Chara
Student Administration: Mrs Kerryn Wardle & Mrs Tracy Davidson
Education Support Staff
(Integration Aides) Mrs Jo Hewett
Mrs Deb Oakey
Mr Andy Pullar
Mrs Chrissie Sandford Ricci
Mrs Fiona Schwass
Welcome to our new staff in 2023
In 2023 we would like to welcome
Mrs Aggie Kurzak-Reeves (Year 1 teacher)
Mrs Julie Shepherd (Year 2 Teacher)
Mrs Lorna Vinar (STEM Teacher)
Productive Partnerships
Camelot Rise Primary School staff are looking forward to a productive partnership with you to ensure all children can achieve their highest potential. We recognise that in order to be successful in school, our children need support from both the home and school, knowing that a strong partnership with you will make a great difference in your child’s education. As partners, we share the responsibility for our students’ success. We want you to know that we will do our very best to carry out our responsibilities, and we ask that you guide and support your child’s learning by ensuring:
- Attendance at school daily and arrival on time, ready for the day’s learning experience
- Supporting the school values
- Daily reading to develop a love for literature and to improve critical language skills
- Sharing school experiences with you so that you are aware of your child’s school life
Working and ‘learning together’ we can achieve great results.
Curriculum and Teacher Professional Practice Days
2023 Curriculum Days
- Tuesday, 14th March (Term One)Teacher Professional Learning - Writing
- Friday, 18th August (Term Three) Teacher Professional Learning – Professional Learning communities
- Monday, 6th November (Term Four) Teacher Professional Learning - Assessment and Reporting Day
2023 Teacher Professional Practice days
- Wednesday – 31st May (Term Two) Teacher Professional Learning - Teacher Moderation and Report Writing Day
- Thursday, 30th November (Term Four) Teacher Professional Learning - Professional Learning Communities
All of the dates listed above are Student Free days at Camelot Rise Primary School. We will advise the community if Camp Australia will be able to provide a service on these days. Reminders of these dates will be sent out throughout the year.
Information Nights
Our Parent Information Nights will be held this week. We look forward to seeing as many parents as possible attend these events.
Tuesday, 7th February (Tonight!)
Foundation 5.00pm – 6.00pm
Year 5 /6 at 6.00pm – 7.00pm
Wednesday, 8th February
Year 1 /2 at 5.00pm – 6.00pm
Year 3 /4 at 6.00pm – 7.00pm
The powerpoint presentations that will used by the staff on the night will be sent home to families using Compass and displayed on our school website for future reference.
Parent Teacher Interviews
‘Getting to know you interviews’ will be held on Thursday, 16th February. Information about how to make a booking will be sent via Compass. You will select a time via our Compass platform. These meetings will be held either in person or remotely over WebEx.
The purpose of these interviews is twofold. Parents and guardians are encouraged to attend to:
- Meet their child’s teacher to begin an effective home/school partnership.
- Provide information to teachers regarding their child’s strengths, talents, issues or concerns.
Information shared by parents to teachers will assist us to plan for and work as effectively as possible with you and your child throughout the year.
'We are Learning Boards'
Each term our teachers carefully plan what the students will be learning in all curriculum areas for the upcoming term. This is based on the Victorian Curriculum. The Victorian
Curriculum F–10 sets out what every student should learn during their first eleven years of schooling. The curriculum is the common set of knowledge and skills required by students for life-long learning, social development and active and informed citizenship.
The Victorian Curriculum F–10 incorporates the Australian Curriculum and reflects Victorian priorities and standards.
Our staff carefully plan the content of what is taught based on the learning needs of the students, prior knowledge and student interests. The planning documents our teachers produce will now form part of our ‘‘We are Learning’ board that is displayed in the foyer of our school.
We invite parents to look at our 'We are Learning' board; it clearly articulates exactly what is being taught in all classrooms and specialist classes this term. As a parent it is invaluable to know what is taught at school so you can assist and support your child/children at home. This information will be updated each term. Thanks to all the teachers for the amazing amount of work they have put into this display!
We encourage all parents to look at this board and see what exciting learning adventures your child has to look forward to this term.
All of these ‘We are Learning’ documents will be sent out to all families via Compass by the end of Week Two each term.
Welcome to our new Foundation (Prep) students
We are thrilled with the way our 2023 Foundation (Prep) students have settled into schooling life. It was a pleasure to see so many smiling faces. I would like to thank Miss Lonsdale, Miss Neary and Miss Jacobs who have created wonderfully attractive classrooms for these students and the look of excitement on their faces was priceless.
School Council Elections
Last week information regarding the 2023 School Council election process was sent to
families via Compass. I would encourage any interested parent to contact me for more information. School council is an extremely vital part of the school, and it is from council that we take our direction. Please look out for this if you think you may be interested in nominating or being nominated for 2023. Information includes a timeline and summary of the role of School Council.
Student Leadership badge presentations
Our Student Leadership Badge Presentation will be held on Friday February 17th at 2.45pm as part of our school assembly.
Mr John Mullahy (MP – Member for Glen Waverley) will be at this assembly to present the badges to our student leaders and talk to all students about leadership. We would like to thank Mr Mullahy for attending this very special assembly.
At this assembly we will be presenting badges to the elected students in these categories:
- School Captains
- Vice Captains
- Sport Captains
- Visual Arts Captains
- Performing Arts Captains
- French Captains
- STEM Captains
- Environment Captains
- Resource Captains
- Wellbeing Captains
- House Captains (Avalon, Galahad, King Arthur & Chivalry)
We hope to see as many parents as possible attend this assembly.
2023 Parent Payments Reminder
Parent payments are an essential source of funds for a school to operate effectively. Without student fees schools would not be able to provide the many programs and resources we provide for the students at Camelot Rise Primary School. We would like to thank the parents that have already made these payments.
Working with Children Checks (WWC)
We encourage and value parental and community support at Camelot Rise Primary School. There are many ways that parents, grandparents and friends can assist at our
school. We encourage all parents to obtain a Working with Children’s Check that will allow you to be involved in your child’s education. These checks are free for volunteers. Once you have your WWC please come to the office so we can photocopy this, and we will add your name to our list of parents who have a current WWC check.
Accident Insurance
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. Ambulance cover could be one consideration as the school will not hesitate to call an ambulance if we are concerned for a child’s health or wellbeing.
The Department of Education and Training (DET) states that reasonable low-cost accident insurance policies are available from the commercial insurance sector. For those parents who seek personal cover, details of an insurer who offers individual accident insurance is:
EBM INSURANCE BROKERS and the link is https://www.ebminsurance.com.au/personal-cover/student-cover.php
Personal goods brought to school at owner's risk
The Department of Education and Training (DET) does not hold insurance for personal property brought to schools. Principals are requested to remind students and parents/guardians of this at the beginning of each academic year and to discourage parents/students from bringing any unnecessary or particularly valuable items to school. Please, try and avoid bringing these items as it can be most upsetting for all concerned when items do go missing.
Annual Privacy reminder
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 our school’s collection notice, found on our website Camelot Rise Primary | Glen Waverley | Home
For more information about privacy, refer to: Schools’ Privacy Policy — information for parents. . This information is also available in ten community languages:
* Amharic
* Arabic
* Dari
* Gujarati
* Mandarin
* Somali
* Sudanese
* Turkish
* Urdu
* Vietnamese
Our Physical Education/Sports Uniform
As part of a school uniform the Year 4, 5 & 6 students will have the opportunity to purchase and wear a sports uniform. This sports uniform is an optional item.
Historically our students have worn their ‘normal school uniform’ on Sports Days, however, now students can wear their sports uniform when representing the school and participating in Physical Education classes.
These items are currently available in the PSW shop.
These are optional additions to the school uniform.
These uniforms can be worn by Year 4, 5 & 6 students on the following days:
- Physical Education classes
- Sporting events
- Interschool Sports
- House Sport events
We are very excited at the prospect of these sports uniforms as we will look fantastic and further develop a sense of pride in the school.
Literacy Parental Engagement and Activities
We have listed below a useful Department of Education website that provides parents with many activities that parents, and children can participate in to help inspire and boost their Literacy & Numeracy skills.
Help with school costs
Families are encouraged to contact Ben, myself or the school office if you are having difficulty with school costs. Programs like Affordable School Uniforms and the Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund (CSEF) can help with the cost of school uniforms and other essential school items as well as school activities for eligible students.
For more information for parents, refer to Help with school costs and fees.
Heat Policy
The school operates a heat policy and we keep the children indoors in air conditioned classrooms on very hot days where the temperature exceeds 35 degrees. We have also been asked to remind our parent community about the dangers of leaving children in cars on very hot days.
Home-school communication
Ben Heys (Assistant Principal) and I are always open and available to meet with parents and our community. Our number one priority is the engagement, wellbeing and care of all students at Camelot Rise Primary School, and we are always happy to hear feedback on the improvements we are making and what we can do to better assist our students. Ben and I are always available to speak to parents in relation to any feedback you can provide us that will ultimately benefit the students at Camelot Rise Primary School. Please feel free to drop in at any time or contact us to arrange a suitable meeting time.
Please come and see us for a chat!
Matthew Coney and Ben Heys