Corinne Pupillo

Dear parents, carers and friends of the school community,

On Monday 16th August, premier Daniel Andrews announced that Lockdown 6.0 will extend by a further 2 weeks, ending 11.59pm Thursday 2nd September 2021. I do understand that this news will be disappointing for many of us and I hope our community have the tools to support your wellbeing as we know this will provide some structure to support your wellbeing.

Within the current restrictions, school remains open for the students that fit under the following criteria:

Children where both parents and or carers are considered authorised workers who cannot work from home, work for an essential provider and where no other supervision arrangements can be made:

Where there are two parents/carers, both must be essential workers, working outside the home in order for their children to be eligible for on-site provision.
For single parents/carers, the essential worker must be working outside the home in order for their children to be eligible for on-site provision.

Children experiencing vulnerability, including:
- in out-of-home care
- deemed vulnerable by a government agency, funded family or family violence service, and assessed as requiring education and care outside the family home
- identified by a school or early childhood service as vulnerable, (including via referral from a government agency, or funded family or family violence service, homeless or youth justice service or mental health or other health service)
- Where a parent/carer indicates that a student with a disability is vulnerable because they cannot learn from home, and/or informs the school the student is vulnerable due to family stress, the school must provide on-site supervision for that student. This may apply to students enrolled in specialist schools and students with a disability enrolled in mainstream schools.

Please email corinne.pupillo@education.vic.gov.au if your family fits this criteria.

Please note all students that currently fit the criteria do not need to produce any further supporting documents.

Wellbeing

Lockdown is challenging for us all and we know that being kind to yourself is what can help get through these really difficult times. Being aware of what you are thinking, doing and saying during this time can help you become more grounded. Here is a simple framework for families to use to help guide this practice.

	Connect	Be Active	Keep Learning	Be Aware	Help Others
What am I doing now?
What do I want to change or do more of?
What is one step in each area I can take to get started?

2022 Class Lists - Parent/Carer Feedback

Assistant Principal Dan Moloney has been working to introduce a digital platform that helps us to formulate our class groups. The key characteristics to help formulate groups include:

identified medical conditions
welfare supports (external)
planned number of days attending dual placements in 2022
suggested names of 3 peers that your child might work well with

For more information, please refer to Curriculum, Assessment and reporting newsletter page.

Fundraising Events

Due to the further Lockdown, unfortunately the following fundraising events will be postponed or cancelled.

Father's Day Stall - cancelled
Footy Lunch Day - cancelled
Healthy Lunch Orders (from term 1) postponed to Term 4
Book Fair postponed to Term 3, Week 10

School Photos

School Photos will be rescheduled (again) Let's hope we can manage to get a confirmed date so families can have these wonderful memories.

PARENT OPINION SURVEY -

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 and 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 per cent 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 19th 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. The survey link was emailed to families last week.

Reminder: Absence Notification Number

As we return to school, I ask that you are mindful of how your child is presenting. If they he/she is feeling/looking/ acting unusual or is complaining of being unwell please take them to the doctor. Minimising the cross infection will assist in reducing the risks of spreading the winter bugs and viruses.

All student absences can be made through the dedicated student absence notification number. Text the student name, room number and reason for absence.

Make sure you have the student absence notification number saved in your contacts: 0439 114 197

Casual (parent) Vacancy on School Council

We currently have two parent rep vacancies on School Council. If you would like to learn more about the school and be part of our team that shares the governance role, please get in contact with Corinne Pupillo - Principal, either by email corinne.pupillo@education.vic.gov.au or calling the office.

Aerial View - Jacana School for Autism

To complement our Schools Virtual School Tour, this aerial photography has captured our school from above. Please take a look and see how wonderful the facilities look from above.

School Council Meeting

The next meeting of School Council will occur Thursday, 9th September at 5.30pm.

MEMBER	POSITION
Corinne Pupillo	Executive Officer (Principal) /corinne.pupillo@education.vic.gov.au
Lisa Sette	Parent Representative & President / lisa.sette@education.vic.gov.au
Andrew McDonough	Parent Representative
Paul Malavisi	Parent Representative
Angel Sauzier	Parent Representative
Michelle Owen	Parent Representative
VACANCY VACANCY	Parent Representative Parent Representative
Virginia Smedley	Community Representative
Dr. Denise Clarke	DET Representative
Alisha Minns	DET Representative
Stephanie Di Salvo	DET Representative

School Council Sub Committee Representatives

Finance Sub Committee Representative - Alisha Minns
Building and Grounds Sub Committee Representative – Alisha Minns
Fundraising Sub Committee Representative – Lisa Sette
School Council Representative on Student Representative Council (SRC) –Alisha Minns

Reminder: Our newsletter is published each fortnight and will provide you with important information about the school and events that may be of interest to you. I encourage you to read the newsletter that will be sent home via your home email, on the school's Facebook Page or on the school's website.

JSA also has a Facebook Page administered by the leadership team. Please like and follow our page.

https://www.facebook.com/JacanaSchoolforAutism

Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Update