Principal's Report

Congratulations to our Prep students who started their first full day at school yesterday. It was wonderful to see them playing with their Grade 6 Buddies and enjoying the playgrounds and open spaces. We are very proud of how our newest students have settled into the school routine. 

Some of the lovely things I see at school...

A fellow student gently patting her friend's back as she was a little upset going into class.

The Grade 6s helping their Prep buddies. Today at canteen, I could see the Grade 6s helping their buddy with choosing an item, counting money and making sure they got change if needed.

Students greeting me and asking me how my day is going.

A number of students seeing someone is lonely and asking them to join in their play.

Students being proud to display their smiley face stickers and share what they got it for.

Key dates for Term 1

Tuesday 22 Feb            Meet the teacher Interviews

                                           3.50pm - 8pm

Thursday 24 Feb           3.50pm - 5pm

Friday 25 Feb                 Tasty Treat Friday (See the School council President's report for                                                     more information)

Monday 28 Feb             School Photo Day

Saturday 19 Mar           Warrandyte Festival 

Congratulations to our Green Thumbs who received their certificates today!

Prep - Sonny and Penelope

1D - Arlo and Taylor

1O - Eva and Oliver

2SB - Evie and Luka

3/4Z Melody and James

3/4M - Abby and Maddison

3/4F - Anna and Phoenix

5/6A - Giacomo, Cass and Maggie

5/6E - Chloe and Felix

5/6J - Patrick and Hugo

Assemblies will now be held on a Friday afternoon at 2.45pm each week unless advertised otherwise. At present we will be holding our assemblies outside on the blue basketball court. We welcome parents and carers to all our assemblies.

Meet the Teacher Interviews

Please open the attached letter or click on the link below to book an appointment for our upcoming Meet the Teacher Interviews. These interviews will be held in your child's classroom and are strictly 10 mins long. If you require a longer interview please contact your child's teacher directly.

https://www.schoolinterviews.com.au/code/gdujb

Information Nights

This week we held our information nights for all levels. Thank you to the families who attended to learn more about their child's program for this year and to our teachers who prepared and delivered engaging sessions. It was great to see parents playing maths games, actively involving themselves in a Kahoot quiz and asking questions. 

School Council Elections

It’s that time of the year again when we invite members of the school community to nominate for vacant positions on School Council. If you are passionate about ACPS I would encourage you to apply.

As Executive Officer of School Council I need to conduct the 2022 Elections and fill the seven retiring School Council positions.   

The following points are intended to explain procedures and timelines for the process. 

The present Council has fifteen members - 10 parent representatives and 5 DET representatives. 

The composition of the Council is as follows:

Unless elected to fill a casual vacancy, all councillors are appointed for a two year term.  This year we will be seeking nominations for five ongoing parent representatives. We also require two DET representatives for a two year term

NOMINATION OF CANDIDATES:

This is the first step in the process and nominations must be handed to the Principal by Monday, 21 February, 2022 at 4.00 pm.  If you would like to nominate a candidate, official Nomination Forms (Form 4) may be obtained from the Office. Self-nomination forms are also available (Form 3).

If there are more nominations than positions available, a ballot will be conducted. If a ballot is required, candidates will be asked to submit a personal profile of not more than 200 words.  These personal statements will then be circulated within our school community prior to the election.

VOTING PROCEDURES:

DET and parents candidates require separate elections.  Teachers vote for teachers and parents vote for parents.

Parents who are DET employees can stand as parent members of School Council. 

The ballot paper will be required to be in a sealed blank envelope then placed in the ballot box at the front office with the voters name and address on the back of the sealed envelope.

All voting must be completed by 4.00 pm on Tuesday, 8 March, 2022. 

A register of all voters will be retained at the office of the school.

A vote may be recorded in one of two ways:

1.   Returning a postal vote to the school by 4.00 pm on Tuesday 8 March, 2022.

2.   Completing a vote and depositing it in the ballot box prior by 4.00 pm on Tuesday 8 March, 2022.

CLARIFICATION:

Please contact me if you require further clarification.

Principal/Executive Officer of School Council

Thank you to the parents who have been nominated. A reminder that the closing date for nominations is 4.00pm Monday, 21 February. Please consider joining School Council.

Library - Lego lunchtime commenced this week

Every Wednesday I have the pleasure of running our Library/Lego lunchtime session where students from across the school can come to read a book, create a Lego masterpiece and at times lead an activity they've shared with me prior to the session. 

Our 5/6 students who attended were excited to have access to our new Lego Technic equipment. I thank Giacomo who has accepted being the Lego Technic leader and responsible for ensuring we take care of this wonderful new equipment. Depending on numbers attending, Grade 4 students may also participate in this activity. This week Lucas ran a tower building activity using cards.  

I thank our Library leaders Max and Sam for leading the set up, pack up and working at the desk on book borrowing.

Covid 19 - Updates

We want to thank parents and students for the great job they have done in keeping our school as safe as possible by following important COVIDSafe measures such as mask wearing, physical distancing, ventilation, getting vaccinated and rapid antigen testing.

This has meant that our school has remained open and our students in class. This is a fantastic outcome and a testament to the hard work of parents, carers, students and school staff.

Rapid antigen tests

To keep schools as safe as possible, the Victorian Government has extended the COVIDSafe measures introduced for the beginning of Term 1. This includes extending the availability of free rapid antigen tests (RAT) for screening until the end of term. It is anticipated an additional 24 million RATs will be provided to schools and early childhood settings to continue to support early detection and prevent infection, for use at home.

The need for this program will continue to be monitored, and may end earlier based on health advice. This is great news and will mean we’re able to continue identifying COVID-19 cases as early as possible, reducing the impact on our school and individuals.

Department of Health modelling indicates that in the first two weeks of school returning, the program has already prevented more than 21,000 cases in schools alone. Their modelling indicates, assuming a 75 per cent compliance rate with screening of students, that by continuing RAT screening in schools for the full 10 weeks of Term 1, we will prevent:

* 61,000 COVID-19 infections in children aged 5 to 17

* more than 150,000 COVID-19 infections in the overall community (on average 15,000 per week over 10 weeks, or more than 2,100 per day)

* around 400 hospital admissions.

The department will continue to supply RATs to our school for your use. We will send them home with the students and let you know when this will happen.

Twice-a-week testing continues to be strongly recommended for both students and staff.

Testing will be conducted at home, and students and staff must report any positive result. There is no requirement to report a negative result.

Vaccination

Vaccination is another key component to protect students and staff in school settings.

Vaccinations for children aged 5 to 11 are open and third dose vaccinations for 16 to 17 year olds are now available.

There are lots of convenient options to access vaccinations. These include state-wide vaccination hubs, your local GP or pharmacy.

You can book your appointment in a few different ways, including: * online: coronavirus.vic.gov.au/vaccine

* by phone: 1800 675 398 (Coronavirus Hotline)

* In person: talk to your local pharmacy, doctor, or attend a state-wide vaccination hub. * using the COVID-19 Vaccine Clinic Finder - COVID-19 Vaccine Clinic Finder | Australian Government Department of Health

In addition, schools provide a trusted place among the community to access vaccination, particularly for families who may experience language or social barriers.

Following successful implementation of school pop-up clinics at the commencement of Term 1, more than 230 schools across Victoria are currently hosting mini-vaccination clinics led by GPs and pharmacists. Many of these clinics will also make vaccinations available the broader school community, inclusive of families of students and school staff.

Ventilation

Improving ventilation is one of the most effective measures to keep education settings safe. 51,000 air purifiers were delivered to schools by Term 1, 2022 to support COVIDSafe settings in schools.

Up to an additional 60,000 air purifiers will be rolled out to schools ahead of winter to supplement natural and mechanical ventilation during the cooler months.

The winter allocation will provide enough purifiers to cover all classrooms, in government schools and low-fee non-government schools based on current enrolments. This includes general purpose classrooms and other specialist classrooms such as art and science rooms.

Mask rules will remain the same, with students in Grade 3 and above required to wear masks – although they will not be required outdoors.

On behalf of the school, I would like to thank you again for your continued support in helping your child to complete the rapid antigen tests and other COVID Safe measures. As a result of these efforts our school can continue providing a safe environment for students and staff.

Have a happy and safe weekend...

Sue Dyos