Principal's Report 

Looking After Your Health and Wellbeing

It can be challenging to process and manage changes to routines and the uncertainty that comes with COVID-19 and related restrictions – including moving to remote learning.

To support our school community during this time, resources and support are available for parents, carers and families. These resources will help to support the mental health and wellbeing of our students and the young people in our care during this time. We encourage everyone in our community to access these resources and take care of themselves during this time.

A Quick Guide to Student Mental Health and Wellbeing resources is available for students, parents and carers looking to access expert guidance and resources to support wellbeing.

Supporting the mental health and wellbeing of our students remains our priority this year, especially during the continued COVID-19 pandemic and while students are learning from home during the current lockdown and remote and flexible learning period.

For students, the guide includes resources to support their own mental health and wellbeing.

· Advice and resources for students about ways to adapt their learning during COVID-19, to look after themselves and where to get help.

· Wellbeing activities featuring AFL and AFLW players with tips on managing stress, staying active and gratitude.

· Kick it with Victory physical activities with Melbourne Victory Football Club.

· Smiling Mind mindfulness activities for senior secondary school students, including short videos, online tip sheets and meditations.

The guide also includes resources and supports for parents and carers to help them build their child’s physical and mental health and wellbeing. This includes:

· resources to support children’s physical, mental health and wellbeing

· wellbeing activities and conversation starters

· Raising Learners podcast series

· how to talk to your child about COVID-19.

Wellbeing guidance for parents and carers is also available on the Department’s website, or through the confidential parent support hotline, Parentline, available 8am to midnight, seven days a week. Phone: 13 22 89. If you are concerned about your wellbeing or that of your child, we encourage you to contact your child’s classroom teacher or the school so we can talk with you about how we can best assist.

A reminder that if you, your child, or a family member develops symptoms of COVID-19, you should get tested at a COVID-19 testing facility and stay home. Each family should regularly check the list of public exposure sites in Victoria (where a person with COVID-19 has attended), and if anyone in the family has attended a site at the times listed, follow the instructions given. If you are eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccination, please check out the website for information and bookings. Like getting tested if you have symptoms, getting vaccinated goes a long way to keeping our communities safe and schools open.

Food Hampers Available

Food Hampers continue to be available to members of the Bimbadeen community, thanks to the generosity of Foodbank Victoria, through our school Breakfast Club program. 

If you or someone you know would benefit from receiving a food hamper, please contact the school office during school hours and we will organise a hamper for you.

Keeping Kids Active During Remote and Flexible Learning

When children participate in regular physical activity, it boosts their physical and mental health and improves academic performance.

Physical activity throughout the day also improves concentration, and the ability to retain information and solve problems.

There are many benefits to being active and getting your move on, but a lot of children aren’t moving enough, particularly while learning from home. 15 minutes 4 times a day is all it takes.

To help support your children to stay active while learning from home, families can access a range of free COVIDSafe ideas to stay active and games through Get Active Victoria.

Families should remember that whatever gets children moving, gets them active.

Victorian Premier’s Reading Challenge

The Victorian Premiers’ Reading Challenge is open and now is a great time to support your child to get involved!

The Challenge is open to all Victorian children from birth to Year 10 in recognition of the importance of reading for literacy development. It is not a competition; but a personal challenge for children to read a set number of books by 17 September 2021.

Children from Prep to Year 2 are encouraged to read or ‘experience’ 30 books with their parents and teachers. Children from Year 3 to Year 10 are challenged to read 15 books.

All children who meet the Challenge will receive a certificate of achievement signed by the Victorian Premier and former Premiers.

To read the Premier’s letter to parents, view the booklist and for more information about the Victorian Premiers’ Reading Challenge, visit: www.education.vic.gov.au/prc Your child’s classroom teacher can provide you with further information about how your child can participate in the challenge.

Parent/Teacher Interviews are now via Webex

Parent/Teacher Interviews will be held next week and have now been moved online. Information has been sent to families at the beginning of term, and parents/carers have had the opportunity to make booking via Sentral.

Interviews will now be held via WebEx, with teachers sending out further information to families today, including access codes and a reminder of interview times. If you need to make any changes to the times you have booked, please get in contact with your child's teacher via email.

Parent/Teacher interviews provide a great opportunity for parents/carers to discuss their children’s learning and progress over the past semester, and at this time, also provide the 

opportunity to discuss your child’s wellbeing and how they are engaging with remote and flexible learning.

If you have not made a time to meet with your child’s teacher next week, please do so at your earliest opportunity.

2022 Foundation Enrolments

Enrolments for Foundation in 2022 have been extended and now close on Friday 30 July. We strongly encourage prospective parents to complete an online tour via the school website where you can learn about our wonderful school and meet our staff and students. While school tours are unable to be held in person, we are more than happy to have a discussion with prospective families over the telephone where we can answer any questions you might have and discuss your child’s individual needs.

Parents/carers of 2022 Foundation students are encouraged to submit their enrolment form as soon as possible but no later than the state-wide Foundation enrolment due date of 30 July 2021. 

We will be notifying parents/carers of their child’s Foundation placement at Bimbadeen Heights PS by 13 August 2021.

Completed enrolment forms can be returned to the school:

· directly, by dropping enrolment forms and additional documentation into the school office

· via post to Bimbadeen Heights Primary School, 118 Hayrick Lane, Mooroolbark 3138  

· via email to bimbadeen.heights.ps@education.vic.gov.au (please scan and send both sides of the enrolment form, including additional documentation).

School Council Update

The May meeting of School Council was held on Wednesday 18 May. School Councils play an important role in Victorian government schools. The Bimbadeen Heights PS 

School Council is committed to sharing our work with the Bimbadeen community. To strengthen communication between council and our parents/carers, each newsletter, we will be sharing information about School Council, including general information about the functions and operations of council and the specific work of our own council at Bimbadeen.

To begin our series of articles, we would like to share information about the key functions of School Councils. The following information sets out the various functions prescribed in the Education and Training Reform Act and the Education and Training Reform Regulations.

The key functions of school council with regard to the school are:

· to establish the broad direction and vision of the school within the school's community

· to arrange for the supply of:

                                                       • goods

                                                       • services

                                                       • facilities

                                                       • materials

                                                       • equipment

                                                       • other things or matters required for the conduct of the                                                                       school, including the provision of preschool programs

· to raise funds for school related purposes

· to regulate and facilitate the after-hours use of the school premises and grounds

· to exercise a general oversight of the school buildings and grounds and ensure they are      kept in good order and condition

· to provide for the cleaning and sanitary services that are                necessary for the school

· to ensure that all money coming into the hands of the council      is expended for proper purposes relating to the school

· to provide meals and refreshments for the staff and students of    the school and make charges for those meals or refreshments

· to inform itself and take into account any views of the school community for the purpose      of making decisions in regard to the school and the students at the school

· to generally stimulate interest in the school in the wider community

· to prepare the School Strategic Plan and the Annual Implementation Plan — to be signed    by the president and the principal

· to report annually (the Annual Report) to the school community and to the Department         on:

            • the school’s financial activities

            • the School Strategic Plan, and

            • any other matters that are determined by the Minister

· to manage the hire, licence and shared use of school facilities

· to determine the dates for the school’s student-free days:

                                                       • in accordance with the number of student-free days each                                                                calendar year specified by the Secretary of the Department

· to perform any other function or duty, or to exercise any power conferred or imposed on      the council by or under:

                                               • the Education and Training Reform Act 2006, or

                                               • any regulations made under that Act

                                               • a Ministerial Order made, or direction issued, by the Minister                                                        under the Education and Training Reform Act.

Information on the role and responsibilities of the various school council officer bearers (such as the principal as Executive Officer and the school council president) is available on School Councils – Composition and Officer Bearers.

If you have any matters associated with the functions of school council that you would like discussed at our next meeting, please reach out to a member of School Council. 

Our membership includes: 

· Executive Officer: Adele Gregson (Principal) Adele.Gregson@education.vic.gov.au

· President: Troy Hovey

· Vice President: Kate Hession

· Treasurer: Andrew Lanigan 

· Minutes Secretary: Bree King Bree.King@education.vic.gov.au

· General committee members:

· Parent Members:

                                   • Matthew Genever (Until March 2023)

                                   • Matthew Richardson (Until March 2023)

                                   • Angela Moody (Until March 2023)

                                   • Janet Hatvani (Until March 2022)

                                   • Morgan Gardiner (Until March 2022)

                                   • Paul Canning (Until March 2022)

                                   • Lauren Elliott (Until March 2022)

· School Employee Members: 

            • Catherine Buckland (Until March 2022) Catherine.Buckland@education.vic.gov.au               • Sabrina George (Until March 2022) Sabrina.George@education.vic.gov.au                             • Melinda Ruscitti (Until March 2023) Melinda.Ruscitti@education.vic.gov.au

We look forward to continuing our school improvement work with School Council with a focus on improving student learning outcomes.

WE WANT OUR PARENTS/CAREGIVERS/GUARDIANS TO TELL US WHAT THEY THINK!

Our school is conducting a survey to find out what parents/caregivers/guardians think of our school. 

The Parent/Caregiver/Guardian Opinion Survey is an annual survey offered by the Department of Education and Training that is conducted amongst a sample of randomly selected parents/caregivers/guardians (previously known as the Parent Opinion Survey). It is designed to assist schools in gaining an understanding of families’ perceptions of school climate, student behaviour, student engagement and experiences of remote and flexible learning. Our school will use the survey results to help inform and direct future school planning and improvement strategies. 

Approximately 30 percent of parents will be invited to participate in this year’s survey.  

All responses to the survey are anonymous. 

This year, the Parent/Caregiver/Guardian Opinion Survey will be conducted from Monday 26th July to Sunday 22nd August.

The survey will be conducted online, only takes 20 minutes to complete, and can be accessed at any convenient time within the fieldwork period on desktop computers, laptops, tablets or smartphones. The online survey will be available in a range of languages other than English. These include: Arabic, Vietnamese, Mandarin, Chin (Hakha), Hindi, Japanese, Somali, Turkish, Punjabi and Greek. 

Results will be sent back to our school at the end of September, reported to School Council and made available to the school community.

If you are one of the randomly selected parents you will be notified via email with a link that will take you directly to the survey.  

Thank you in advance for completing this survey.

Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund applications

The Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund helps eligible families to cover the costs of school trips, camps and sporting activities.

If you have a valid means-tested concession card, such as a Veterans Affairs Gold Card, Centrelink Health Care Card or Pensioner Concession Card, or are a temporary foster parent, you may be eligible. There is also a special consideration category for asylum seeker and refugee families.

Payment amounts this year are $125 for eligible primary school students. Payments are made direct to the school to use towards expenses relating to camps, excursions and sporting activities for the benefit of your child.

If you applied for CSEF through our school last year, you do not need to complete an application form this year, unless there has been a change in your family circumstances.

If you would like to apply for the first time, please contact the school office on 9726-9989 and ask for an application form.

You can also download the form, and find out more about the program and eligibility, on the Department of Education and Training’s Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund web page.

Check with the school office if you are unsure, and please return completed forms to the school office as soon as possible.

We hope you all remain safe and well and enjoy a lovely weekend.

Adele Gregson and Sabrina George