Principal's Message
Yarra Valley Psychology is partnering with our school!
We are pleased to share with you that our school has secured a partnership with Yarra Valley Psychology (YVP) Services (https://yvp.com.au/), with the aim of providing in-school counselling services to students.
Throughout schools across Victoria, student counselling is a much needed (and under resourced) service. Many of our families are currently experiencing first-hand the difficulties associated with trying to gain access to support services for their children. Therefore, we must be grateful that we have been presented with the opportunity to enter a partnership with YVP, as the resources do not exist for this partnership to occur across schools within our region.
Please be aware of the information below:
Is there a cost involved to access the service, and does my child require a Mental Health Plan?
There is no cost involved for the family.
Your child does not require a Mental Health Plan to access the service. This is due to the fact that the counselling sessions will be delivered by a Masters of Counselling practitioner, who is under the direct supervision of Yarra Valley Psychology (YVP) Services.
There is also no limit on the number of sessions a child may access. Access to sessions, and duration (in weeks) will be determined between YVP, the school, and the parent/carer.
When do sessions commence, and how will they be structured?
Sessions will commence from the beginning of Term Two, with student-needs being prioritized in partnership with the school and YVP. Prior to any child commencing, a confidential discussion will take place between the YVP counsellor and the parent/carer.
Our school has been allocated a male counsellor (name TBC) who will conduct sessions each Wednesday for the entire duration of Term Two and Term Three.
The counsellor will have the time allocation to see up to five students per day, with each session being allocated 50 minutes. At this stage sessions will be occurring each Wednesday.
Will each child who is referred be able to access the service?
Unfortunately, this is not achievable within the current mental health environment. Referrals will be prioritized on a needs basis from within our own school cohort.
If I wish for my child to access the service, what do I need to do?
Please complete the referral form below and return it via the instructions on the form.
First Aid Training for ALL Staff
Throughout Term One, 2021 our staff have been committed to undertaking First Aid Training, inclusive of first responder scenarios, CPR training, anaphylaxis training, and asthma training, amongst other scenarios.
This week, all staff undertook the 'practical' assessments required to achieve accreditation, inclusive of CPR and asthma management.
Should your child have any pre-existing medical conditions please make sure that the school office are aware of this so that appropriate steps may be taken to support your child.
Business Manager News
As a school we work hard to invest in building staff capacity, and preparing our staff to be the best they can be at their job. Sometimes this means that through the skills which are developed at Upwey South Primary School, a staff member is able to pursue other opportunities to further develop their career.
With the above in mind, we are pleased to share that Clare Bennet has secured a Business Manager role at Carrum Primary School, and will be commencing on Day One, Term Two 2021.
On behalf of our school community we would like to acknowledge the role that Clare has played in helping to continuously improve our school environment. Clare will be missed by all, and we look forward to what our school will continue to achieve into the future.
The Business Manager role for Upwey South Primary School is currently advertised via the Department of Education and Training (DET) website "Recruitment Online" www.education.vic.gov.au › schooljobs
Facilities Upgrades
As a School Council we are committed to providing our students with upgraded and improved facilities. Whilst the majority of School Council actions follow our school's Master Plan, we do also take into account general works which need to be undertaken around the school.
Most recently, we have completed improvement to the student toilets (external only) removing the exposed cisterns, and replacing these with in-wall commercial grade cisterns. This has been a huge improvement to hygiene and safety, and makes for a much more pleasant experience for our students.
Stay tuned for more upgrades occurring around the school over the coming term break!
Updates of news items from our previous edition...
Out of School Hours Care (OSHC) Tender Process
We are pleased to advise our community that we have secured a contract with a highly reputable OSHC Provider "TheirCare" (https://theircare.com.au/).
Please refer to the OSHC section of this newsletter for more information, including a profile of our Service Coordinator Jamie Seewald, and information on how to make a booking.
Hot Cross Buns Fundraiser AND the Return of our AMAZING PTA!!!
As you would be aware through recent Compass posts, we recently held a Hot Cross Buns Fundraiser. 107 packets were purchased which means that $214 was raised for our school community. Thank you to everyone for your support.
Annual Report- 2020 presented to the School Community
At our Monday 22nd March meeting, the 2020 Annual Report was presented to the community. Please refer to the "School Council News" for a .pdf copy of this report.
Please also be aware that our School Council have appointed Todd Pryse as President for 2021. For school related matters, you can email Todd via:
todd.pryse@education.vic.gov.au
Preparations for Possible Future Remote Learning
As you should be well aware, we have been planning as a school staff for possible future Remote Learning scenarios. In order to help our teachers provide an effective Remote Learning Program we need to hear from you!
Please visit the following link to complete our survey:
https://forms.gle/a6DKHgH9P1T42N3t5
A reminder that this survey closes today at 4:00pm on Wednesday 31st March 2021.
Carparking, Traffic Safety, and Yarra Ranges Council
Firstly, we would like to say a huge thank you to the large majority of our parent/carer community who have been supportive of the recent closure of the Riley Road carpark.
If you have mobility issues and/or extenuating circumstances please make contact with the School Office so that we can support you during drop-off/pick-up.
We have been informed by Yarra Ranges Council that police will shortly begin to patrol Morris Road, as they work to address dangerous driving habits. Please make sure that you are using the supervised crossing point on Riley Road, and do not park your car in the gravel bowl between Riley Road and Morris Road... parking here creates sever blind spots for drivers, and is just an accident waiting to happen!
Riley Road Proposed Works
Please see attached below a scanned copy of a community consultation letter from Yarra Ranges Council (dated March 16th 2021) regarding proposed road construction works along Riley Road.
This letter was presented to School Council at our meeting on Monday 22nd March 2021, and is now being presented for consultation from our school community.
Should you have any questions or comments regarding the proposed works, please make direct contact with:
Damien Southall-Project Engineer, Yarra Ranges Council
mobile: 0417 660 435
email: mail@yarraranges.vic.gov.au
Keeping Aware of Information Relating to School
As a school we work hard to keep our families informed of happenings across the school. We acknowledge that receiving information in a timely and consistent manner can help to alleviate the pressures which come from managing a busy family calendar.
Communicating via Compass
All of our school notifications are sent via the Newsfeed within the Compass app. There is also a calendar of events within the app, which sends push notifications to users to remind them of school events.
In 2021, we will continue to utilise Compass for families to consent and pay in order for their children to take part in school events.
In order to filter notifications which are received, you will notice that we send out notifications which are year level specific. This means that sometimes not all notifications are sent to all year levels.
Communicating with the School Administration Team
We look forward to partnering with you in 2021, and welcome your input:
Damien Kitch (Principal) damien.kitch@education.vic.gov.au
Clare Bennett (Business Manager) upwey.south.ps@education.vic.gov.au
Janette Clarke (Office Manager) upwey.south.ps@education.vic.gov.au