Welcome Back!

Welcome Back to Term 2!

I hope you all have had a relaxing and well deserved Easter break. I am enjoying catching up with my family in the UK (once we got over the journey and jet lag) and showing off Ollie and Lottie to anyone who visits. We’ve already celebrated Lottie’s 1st Birthday and my brother’s wedding with more celebrations to come.

During the holidays I officially accepted the substantive Principal position at Jackson School. DET will confirm the provisional approval after 28th April. It gives me great pleasure to be able to continue the school improvement journey we have started together. I feel very honoured to have been chosen by DET and School Council to be the next Principal of our community. I would like to thank you all for your support and encouragement throughout my time as a teacher, PLT Leader, Assistant/Deputy Principal and Acting Principal at Jackson School. I am immensely proud of all we have achieved at Jackson School and I look forward to continuing this work with you all.

Workforce & HR

On behalf of the Jackson School Community, I would like to officially welcome Aaron (78E), Kieran (P-12 STEM), Dona (LS  Release -3/4A & 9/10C), Anne (Speech Pathologist), Pushp (IT Support), Felicity (ES 5/6D), Kim (ES SSD). Thank you Ingrid for your willingness and flexibility to move to support 78E.

Performing Arts will now only run for selected year levels (Prep-Year 6, ASDAN Elective). Kieran will work out of the back of the Food Tech room until the modernisation project commenced. He will develop a program to offer Prep-Year 12 students a blend of ICT and Kitchen Science through a STEM lens. This will not alter APT allocations. Ian will continue to lead our Health & Fitness SSP work and additional offer intervention for our students as part of the Wellbeing team. Kelly will continue to work supporting our Specialist PLT.

We have a number of people on leave this term which will cause additional pressures on staffing. Michael will continue to work as an in-house CRT to provide cover. Vlado will also join us in this capacity later in the term.

Due to increasing enrolments we currently have a Prep Teacher and ES positions advertised. These will be recruited early in Term 2.

I would like to congratulate all of the following Education Support Staff who are now eligible for and have been rolled over into ongoing employment as part of the VGSA 2017 Annual Translation: Ingrid, Lauren L, Nadya, Emily, Amber, Aparna and Soumya.

School Council

I would officially like to welcome all new and returning members of School Council.

School Councils comprise of parents/carers, the principal, staff, community members and secondary students.

• President & Chair: Nerida Auld (Parent)
• Vice-President & Treasurer: Joseph Lawrence (Parent/Carer)
• Executive Officer: Anthony Jackson (Principal & DET Representative)
• Returning Parent Members: Sarah Jarman (DET), Peter Auld
• New Parent Members: Loretta Sultana, Cathy Sama
• Staff Member: Matthew Gravatt (DET/Business Manager)
• Community Member: Natalia Giglietta (OSHC Their Care Area Manager)
• Secretary (Non-Voting): Halina O'Neill
• School Captain: Tahlia M
• School Vice-Captain: Arvin L

COVID Overview & Operations Guide Update

Download the updated School Operations Guide below. For the most up-to-date version please and resources click here (login first and reload). Please check the guidelines for camps and excursions. 

From 11:59 pm Friday 22 April, face masks, while recommended, are not required in any school setting. This means students in Years 3 to 6, staff and visitors in primary schools are no longer required to wear face masks. Any student or staff member who wishes to wear a mask may do so, including those who are medically at-risk. We have a large supply available from the office. Everyone including students aged 8 years and above must wear a face mask when travelling on public transport. School bus staff, adult travellers and students are required to wear face masks as is the case for public transport.  Lawful exemptions continue to apply. 

The Victorian Government has announced it is extending the RAT screening program for the first 4 weeks of Term 2. Thank you to all staff who have played their role in regularly testing.

Our efforts have seen COVID-19 cases being picked up at the earliest opportunity, meaning less cases in our school and more time in the classroom for our students.

The testing recommendations will remain the same for the first 4 weeks of this term for students and staff with Special schools recommended to test 5 days a week at home due to the higher risk of severe illness for medically vulnerable children. These will continue to be sent home with your students on Mondays and collected by staff each Thursday from the office for the following week.

Jackson School is hosting another mini COVID-19 vaccination clinic on behalf of Taylors Hill Medical Clinic. The next clinic has been scheduled for Wednesday 3rd May from 3:00 pm in the Jackson School Hall. Please encourage your students and their families to attend the vaccination clinic at our school for their first or second dose of COVID-19 vaccine, or for third doses if eligible. Vaccination is not mandatory for students and will not be given to students without parental consent.

Please see further information from DET on the COVID-19 Update page.

Buildings & Grounds

A number of building and grounds works have been completed over the holidays. They include: landscaping and shade for the front of the school in preparation for our new Community Cafe, additional storage on the oval for PE and Games equipment, and the Prep playground fencing has been modified to allow for the future decommissioning of the current playground equipment. Three new cubbies and loose playground equipment have been purchased for the students to use. Thank you to Phil Cox for managing these projects.

The basketball court canopy has now been approved by the VSBA which will provide an additional outdoor learning space. Additional to the authorisation received by Western Heath to modify the access to the back car park, Brimbank Council has now approved the planning permit to install a cross-over. This work will commence shortly to provide new electronic entry and exit gates, and a turning circle for the SDTP coaches and buses to allow our students to arrive safely on and off the buses in the morning and afternoon. An additional gate will be installed into the back carpark off the bike track. This will not currently change bus operations until we have worked through the logistics of the capital works program with our builders, project managers and architects.

To download the draft plans please click below:

The $11 million Asset Management Plan (AMP) for our school redevelopment project has now gone to tender for a builder. The builder for the project will be appointed after the 10th of May. The building program is currently running behind schedule. However, the project is still due to commence in Term 2. The VSBA will coordinate the removal and/or demolition of the portables in Week 1. Thank you for your patience and flexibility as we all squash into a smaller site during the building works.

Professional Practice Day - Friday 3rd June

The department recently reached an in-principle agreement with unions, as bargaining representatives of employees in the Victorian Teaching Service. If approved, teachers will be entitled to 3 additional professional practice days in 2022. For Term 2 2022 only, the department recommends schools hold their first professional practice day on the same day for all staff. This is to make it easier for schools to source casual relief teachers. School Council has motioned that our common Term 2 Professional Practice Day will be on Friday 3rd June. This will be a pupil free day. Staff will undertake Protective Behaviour Training on supporting students with complex behaviours. Planning Days will still continue this term in the same format (100 mins collapsed PLT, 100 mins APT plus an additional 50 mins non face-to-face) as Term 1 by using specialists to release PLTs for a full day.

Secretary & Deputy Secretary Visit - 10th June

The Department of Education & Training (DET) leads the delivery of education and development services to children, young people and adults and is led by our Secretary Jenny Atta. As DET’s most senior public servant, Jenny works closely with two Ministers to deliver Victorian Government priorities.

DET is structured into three main divisions (Early Childhood, Schools and Regional Services, Higher Education) and seven groups each led by a Deputy Secretary:

• People and Executive Services (PES)
• Financial Policy and Information Services (FPIS)
• Policy, Strategy and Performance (PSP)
• Early Childhood Education (ECE)
• Higher Education and Skills (HES)
• School Education Programs and Support (SEPS)
• Schools and Regional Services Group (SRS)

The Schools and Regional Service Group is led by our Deputy Secretary David Howes. 

The South-West Victoria Region (SWVR) is led by our Regional Director Chris Thomson who visited Jackson in Term 1. SWVR has five Areas in locations across south-western Victoria, including Brimbank Melton. The Brimbank Melton Area (comprising of 75 Schools) is led by Area Executive Director Bronwen Heathfield who also visited with Chris in Term 1. Jackson School is part of the Keilor-St Albans Network (comprising of 25 schools). Our Senior Education Improvement Leader (SEILs) is Anne Fox.

It will be an honour to welcome both the Secretary and Deputy Secretary to Jackson to showcase the outstanding work you all provide our students every day. Since both Jenny and David were appointed at the start of the pandemic, this will be one of the first schools they will have visited in our area since schools reopened. I know this visit will cause some stress and workload for some but the school is now well set up for the year ahead and should be a celebration of everyone’s hard work and achievements.

ANZAC Day - Lest We Forget

Please take some time on Tuesday to remember ANZAC Day with your students and all the Australian and New Zealander soldiers who have fallen in the First World War and subsequent wars and conflicts. There are many educational resources available online, including: https://anzacday.org.au/. I encourage you to be creative on your first week back to engage students after the holiday break and re-establish routines, expectations and a positive climate for learning. 

I will continue to be on leave until Week 3 of this term. Robyn will be the Acting Principal in my absence. Thank you Robyn for taking on this role. I look forward to seeing you all on my return. Enjoy the last long weekend of your holidays.

Best wishes,

Anthony