Principal's Message

Anthony Jackson (Principal)

Jackson School is a collaborative learning community for all. We aim to develop independence through safety, respect and responsibility. We aspire to offer authentic, quality educational experiences that develop futures, create opportunities and inspire student potential; enabling our students to be valued and contributing members of the wider community. We share and celebrate our successes and achievements.

The Issue Highlights

Cultural Diversity Week took place across the state from 11th-21st March.
Today our students took part in our annual Fun Run.
The delivery of our new Prep and Allied Health Therapy Centre has been delayed. These will now be delivered during the first week of the school holidays.
If you would like more information or support with accessing NDIS, please contact our NDIS Navigator, Christine Tidswell, through the school office. Bernadette (Leading Teacher) can support with other NDIS requests.
Our online platforms are used to support learning in the classroom and can also be accessed to support learning at home. You may use Reading Eggs / Wushka as online texts or use Mathletics / Maths Seeds to support numeracy skills at home.
We welcome our new parent members of School Council: Alisha Spargo and Rod Tobin. We also welcome Robyn Procak (Assistant Principal) as a voting staff member. Congratulations to our new and returning office bearers: Nerida Auld (President), Marg Keatley (Vice-President), Joe Lawrence (Treasurer).
This is the last newsletter of Term 1. I hope that everyone is able to spend some quality time with your families over the upcoming Easter holidays.
Below are some websites with ideas for the school holidays.
The last day of Term 1 for students is Thursday 6th April. School will finish at normal time.
Students return to school on Wednesday 26th April 2023.
Students of the Week from our PBIS rewards system.
Showcase of students' learning from across the school in Primary and Secondary
Health and Wellbeing information to support you and your child.
Community news including from Jackson OSHC provider TheirCare.
School Dates -For the most up-to-date calendar dates, always refer to the Xuno Calendar in your Parent Portal.

Dear Families,

Cultural Diversity "Harmony" Week & Fun Run

In 2023, Cultural Diversity Week took place across the state from 11th-21st March. Multiculturalism and diversity is a core part of our school community. Our school is home to people who speak around 30 languages and our staff, students and their families have many different ancestries. It's also a place where anyone can contribute and belong. Next week I will proudly undertake my Australian citizenship ceremony.

Many of the Muslims within our community are currently fasting from sunrise to sunset for Ramadan. The first night of Ramadan began on Friday, 21st April and will end on the evening of Saturday, 22nd April (Eid al-Fitr). Ramadan is a month of self-reflection and a way for Muslims to develop positive habits that can be continued and encouraged once Ramadan is over.

Today our students took part in our annual Fun Run. This is typically apart of Harmony Week but due to inclement weather this had to be postpone from last week. The students loved every minute! Thank you to all of our families who were able to attend.

New Buildings

The delivery of our new Prep and Allied Health Therapy Centre has been delayed. These will now be delivered during the first week of the school holidays. Work is continuing in the factory in the meantime with external cladding and windows being installed. These will now be ready for handover in the middle of Term 2. The build overall is still on track for completion in August of 2023.

Work is still continuing onsite and things are starting to take shape. Our contractors have been busy building a staff professional learning space as well as renovating our admin building, community hub/library, food technology/cafe, performing arts including our new radio and film studios.

We are making the most of the temporary hoarding around the school. Our students have helped paint some engaging murals on the walls. Do you know all the areas of Australia? Thank you Helena for leading this project.

National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS)

The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) is a national approach to providing individualised support and services for people with a disability. Many of the students at our school have or will commence the process of becoming NDIS participants. NDIS is an extremely valuable program for all of our students and will allow our families to access external therapists, programs and support in the home.

Please find below the guidelines for Victorian Government schools and National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) funded therapists. A family may request that an NDIS funded therapist:

observes their child in the classroom or in the school environment (upon submission of Therapy Request Form, Parent Consent Form, Principal Approval and supporting documentation*)
attends a Tier 3* Student Support Group (SSG) meeting, to monitor and tailor the support they provide to their child (upon request to the Principal/Nominee)

NDIS is a national health initiative so due to these practical, legal, and educational conflicts NDIS therapy will generally not be permitted during educational time at school. In some circumstances, families may request for an NDIS funded therapist to deliver therapy at school. The decision to approve these requests rests with myself as the school Principal in consultation with the School Council.  This is generally for Allied Health services which the school does not provide, for example: physiotherapy.

To ensure educational programs are not disrupted, our teaching and Allied Health staff are not directly available to support with NDIS requests. Bernadette O'Sullivan (Leading Teacher) is our NDIS Coordinator and is able to provide you with letters of support and copies of any previous assessments to support your application. No new assessments will be completed for the purpose of NDIS.

If your child is already an NDIS participant and you would like support with your planning meetings, Bernadette can provide you with a pre-prepared document with guidance about what to discuss at your planning meeting. No individual documents will be created for each individual family.

We are also aware that there is a shortage of therapists available to you in the West of Melbourne for you to access as part of your plan. Because of Allied Health staff are employed by the Department of Education, Victoria to support your child at school, they are unable to provide external support to your child as part of their NDIS plan or as a private therapy service.

To receive the best package available to support your child, ensure that you contact your Local Area Coordinator (LAC) is: the Brotherhood of St Laurence (BSL). Their team is there to help you to access NDIS, community and government supports. To contact BSL telephone 1300 275 634, email ndis.info@bsl.org.au, or visit https://ndis.bsl.org.au/service-areas/brimbank-melton.

If you would like more information or support with accessing NDIS, please contact our NDIS Navigator, Christine Tidswell, through the school office.

Supporting Learning from Home

During our two years of lockdowns Jackson School purchased a range of resources to support families with learning from home. Although at Jackson School we don't formally set homework for our students, we do encourage students to read at home with their families daily and consolidate learning through everyday, real-life experience such as: naming/labelling objects in the environment to develop oral language, writing/drawing/painting, counting objects, measuring in the kitchen, telling the time...

For more information about how to support learning in mathematics at home please visit: https://www.education.vic.gov.au/Documents/school/teachers/teachingresources/discipline/maths/mathematics_%20teaching%20toolkit_map_for_parentsandcarers.pdf

As part of the 2023 Parent Payment Arrangements, parents/carers have contributed $20 towards our online subscriptions. Our online platforms are used to support learning in the classroom and can also be accessed to support learning at home. You may use Reading Eggs / Wushka as online texts or use Mathletics / Maths Seeds to support numeracy skills at home. SeeSaw also has a library of learning activities available for your student. These are particularly valuable when your child is off school for extending family holidays. Please contact your child's teacher through SeeSaw for their login codes.

This booklet from the Department of Education provides handy tips and ways you can help your child develop literacy and numeracy skills. It provides fun, inexpensive, accessible and practical activities you can do with your child at home. The booklet also provides questions you can ask your child to help them learn.

https://www.education.vic.gov.au/Documents/literacy-numeracy-tips-booklet.pdf

Literacy & Numeracy Tips Booklet

New School Council

Last Tuesday we had our Public Reporting Meeting of School Council. At this meeting we thanked our outgoing member, Peter Auld, for his time, effort and support as part of our School Council. We also welcomed our new parent members Alisha Spargo and Rod Tobin. They both bring a range of experience to help in governing our school. School Councils comprise of parents/carers, the principal, staff, community members and secondary students. We also welcome Robyn Procak (Assistant Principal) as a voting staff member. Congratulations to our new and returning office bearers: Nerida Auld (President), Marg Keatley (Vice-President), Joe Lawrence (Treasurer). The members of the Jackson School Council are:

President & Chair: Nerida Auld (Parent Member)
Vice-President: Marg Keatley (Community Member)
Treasurer: Joseph Lawrence (Parent Member)
Secretary (Non-Voting): Halina O'Neill
Executive Officer: Anthony Jackson (Principal)
Returning Parent Members: Sarah Jarman (DET), Loretta Sultana
New Parent Members: Alisha Spargo, Rod Tobin
Returning Staff Member: Matthew Gravatt (Business & Operations Manager)
New Staff Member: Robyn Procak (Assistant Principal)
School Captain: May-Jane Purcell
School Vice-Captain: Ben Gardener / Arvind Singh

For more detailed information on School Council roles and responsibilities, please visit: https://www2.education.vic.gov.au/pal/school-council-composition-and-office-bearers/policy

Things to do these term holidays

This is the last newsletter of Term 1. Over the term Teachers and Education Support Staff have established clear routines and expectations with their classes. They have delivered engaging activities and experiences for our students. It has also been an unusually long term. This means that Term 2 after the Easter break is only 9 weeks long. I know staff and students have felt the impact of this over the last two weeks. I hope that everyone is able to spend some quality time with your families over the upcoming Easter holidays. Below are some websites with ideas for the school holidays:

The last day of Term 1 for students is Thursday 6th April. School will finish at normal time. Friday 7th April is a public holiday (Good Friday). Monday 24th April is a Curriculum Day where staff will receive professional learning on the upcoming Disability Inclusion Reform in our area. Tuesday 25th April is ANZAC Day. Students return to school on Wednesday 26th April 2023.

I wish you all a lovely holiday break!

Anthony