From the 

Assistant Principal

I AM GRATEFUL FOR...

Our amazing PE teacher, Jarn Osman. She has put in an enormous amount of effort to put together our House Games Day (Friday 26 November), along with visiting athletes, activities and great opportunities for our students to connect and celebrate together. Without all her extra work and effort days like this would not be possible.

PARKING

Just another reminder that the road out the front of the school (Albert Road Drive South) is a clear way during school drop off and pick up hours. Please mention this to the rest of our community as we know a number of families have received fines for parking during these times.

16 DAYS OF ACTIVISM AGAINS GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE

The 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence is an annual international campaign that kicks off on 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, and runs until 10 December, Human Rights Day. It was started by activists at the inaugural Women’s Global Leadership Institute in 1991 and continues to be coordinated each year by the Center for Women’s Global Leadership. It is used as an organizing strategy by individuals and organizations around the world to call for the prevention and elimination of violence against women and girls.

The global theme for this year’s 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, which will run from 25 November to 10 December 2021, is “Orange the world: End violence against women now!”

Please visit https://www.unwomen.org/en/what-we-do/ending-violence-against-women/take-action/16-days-of-activism for more information. 

STORY DOGS

As you may know, South Melbourne Park Primary School will be welcoming Story Dogs to our school in 2022. This was originally going to start this term, but we due to COVID we are starting it at the beginning of the next year. This program is active in every state in Australia and has been running for twelve years.  Selected students will be invited to read each week with a trained Story Dog and their handler. Consent forms will be requested before the students begin the program. All dogs are vet checked and tested by an authorized assessor. All handlers are volunteers and undergo training. All volunteers will have a current Working with Children check and COVID vaccinated. The Program volunteer, along with the dog, works 1:1 with the student for about twenty minutes each week, and assists up to four children.

In order to increase the number of children the Program can support at school, we need volunteers with obedient dogs of any breed to become part of the Story Dog team. Please contact Megan from Story Dogs on 0409 227 787 if you are interested or would like more details. We know that a volunteer has reached out and unfortunately the contact details were lost, please reach out again to Megan if you would be interested in being involved.

Please visit the Story Dog website www.storydogs.org.au for more information.

CHRISTMAS APPEAL

We know that the holiday period can be very hard on a lot of families. The Macnamara Christmas Appeal, organized by Josh Burns, focuses on collecting donations for local charities in our electorate providing crisis accommodation to those in need. If you are able to do so, we would greatly appreciate donations of new toys, non-perishable food items and toiletries. A full list of items can be found by clicking here. You can drop any donations off at the front office by Friday the 3rd of December, there will be a box out the front that you can leave them in.

DROPPING OFF ITEMS FOR STUDENTS AT THE OFFICE

Please ensure that your child has all the items they need for the day when they arrive at school i.e.: lunch, water bottle, show and tell, jacket etc. Our Office Staff cannot take items to students constantly throughout the day and it is also quite an interruption to the classes and student’s learning when we have to seek out the student to come collect their items. Children feel more settled when they start the day knowing that they are organised with everything they need and it helps them start the day effectively. 

Also, please let your child know before school what the arrangements are for them to be picked up from school, especially if these are social arrangements for pick up. This will allow the office to effectively handle urgent matters and emergencies.