Principal's Message
Acknowledging our Community Strengths
As we reflect upon our achievements from Term Two, we are brought back to the reminder that education is a 'partnership' between the school and families. As the saying goes, "it takes a village to raise a child."
If you have recently dropped-off or collected your child, you would have no doubt noticed the amazing ribbon-art mural which stands proudly on the fence-line of our basketball court.
The symbolic representation of this project was detailed in our previous newsletter edition.
We are also pleased to say that we were recently approached by local media, who wanted to cover the project within the Ranges Trader Newspaper.
View the Ranges Trader article by clicking here.
Thank you to everyone in our community whose actions throughout Term Two helped to 'tie US-ps together'.
We also encourage you to visit the "School Council & Junior School Council" Section of this newsletter, which provides details of how we are further embracing to support our local community through Homelessness Week 2020, which is held from August 3rd- 8th.
Goodbye to Ms Oliver...for the moment...
As you may now be aware, we are delighted to share that Miss Hayley Oliver is expecting her second child in early August.
As a result, Mss Oliver will be taking approved family leave for the remainder of 2020. Miss Oliver's final day of attendance will be Friday 26th June 2020.
We are also pleased to inform you that we have secured the services of Mrs Judith Liddell, who will be replacing Miss Oliver from the commencement of Term Three.
Mrs Liddell is an experienced teacher who has undertaken numerous roles across our school.
In the leadup to her appointment, Mrs Liddell will be working closely with Miss Oliver and the Year Five-Six Teaching Team, in order to continue delivering the teaching and learning program for Class 56C.
Please be aware of the following arrangements:
- Mrs Liddell will be teaching Class 56C on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of each week.
- Mrs Jessica Cameron will be teaching Class 56C on Thursday, and Friday of each week. - These arrangements will commence from Day One, Term Three 2020.
- The above arrangements will remain in place for six weeks, whilst the DET recruitment process is undertaken, with the aim of securing a teacher for the remainder of 2020.
Should you have any questions regarding the above information, please make contact with our Year Five/Six Teaching and Learning Level Leader, Ms Llewela Humphries: Llewela.Humphries@education.vic.gov.au
Facilities Update
In the previous edition of our newsletter, we highlighted a number of improvements which we are making to our learning facilities.
In this edition, we are pleased to be able to share with you our continued focus upon improvement.
Lighting up our Learning!
Over the past fortnight, contractors have replaced every globe in our classrooms and shared learning spaces (such as the Library, and corridors) with LED lighting and new covers. This has made a huge difference to the quality of light within our classrooms, and with the Winter months approaching the classrooms are noticeably lighter!
We have also upgraded our line markings which was a welcome surprise for our students, who are now keenly playing handball, tennis, and basketball (just to name a few) with the new line-markings.
Over the coming break, we will be continuing upgrades to our facilities, with the following projects occurring:
- replacement of all internal gymnasium lighting
- sealing and commercial painting of floors within the student bathrooms in the external breezeway
- replacement of retaining walls at the Morris Road carpark entrance, and within Morris Road playground area
- resealing of internal lino floor surfaces within the main building
- replacement of carpet in staffroom, and adjoining Uniform Shop and PTA room
Curriculum Delivery- Term Three
Due to the current environment within Melbourne, and a recent increase in Covid-19 cases there remains some uncertainty as to what restrictions may be placed upon government primary schools as we enter Term Three.
At this stage we can confirm the following curriculum components will be operating:
- Groove Foundations Music Tuition will recommence on-site from Week One (refer to the Performing Arts piece for more information)
- UNSW/ ICAS Examinations- for families who wish for their child to take part in this opportunity, please refer to the attached .pdf. NOTE: The arrangements for parental permissions and payments differ to previous years, and are due by July 17th.
The following curriculum components are on hold until further DET directives are received:
- interschool sport
- Victorian State Schools Spectacular
- Gifted Insights
- Yoga
- Running Club
- DRERS Breakfast Club
- excursions/ incursions
- parent participation within the classroom
- Library borrowing and take-home readers
School Lunch Order Program- Term Three Update
View the Lunch Order Menu and prices online by clicking here.
As mentioned in our previous edition of the newsletter, our lunch orders will be moving to an online ordering service.
Our agreed provider is "The Blacksmith" and "Sushi Express" who are both local Belgrave businesses, and have combined to offer lunch orders available through the QKR app. There are even photos of each meal available for you to view!
Lunch orders will only be available on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday (which includes sushi available on each of these days) and must be ordered via QKR; with orders due by midnight the night before.
There are no cash purchases available.
The QKR app will be viewable for parents/carers from the second week of July.
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 2020, we are also utilising Compass for families to consent and pay in order for their children to take part in school events. The uptake and comments from families thus far is that it is so easy to do, and helpful to be able to consent at the push of a button.
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 2020, and welcome your input:
USPS Inbox:
upwey.south.ps@education.vic.gov.au
Damien Kitch (Principal)
Damien.Kitch@education.vic.gov.au
Janet Young (Business Manager)
Janet.Young@education.vic.gov.au
Janette Clarke (Office Manager)