From the Assistant Principal

It's hard to believe we have reached the middle of Term 4! It's been an action packed start to the term, with so many exciting opportunities for our students to be involved in. 

The following areas will be explored in this issue of the newsletter;

-Policies update (Education Sub Committee) 

-Volunteer Training (Child Safety Standards)

-Cyber Safety (Child Safety Standards)

-Freezer Angels

Policies 

Communication with the School Policy

The Communication with School Policy has been updated, you can click on the link to see the policy in entirety.  Changes made to the policy reflect guidelines for school staff in the Victorian Government Schools Agreement 2022. Changes to the policy includes the following;

Staff are on duty 10 minutes prior to instruction time. The office will take phone calls from 8.40am. At this time calls will be put through to staff if of urgent nature. Parents are welcome to see the teacher during the Golden 10 (to share something that may impact their child’s day and/or request a phone call).

Calls that are received after school will be put through on a Mon-Wed up until 4.30pm, (unless the staff member is in meeting). For calls received on Thursday or Friday, the teacher will get in contact with the parent on the next working day.

Other policies recently updated include;

• Child Safety Responding and Reporting Obligations Policy and Procedures
• Volunteers Policy
• Digital Learning Policy  - please note pages 5-10 will re reviewed soon by our ICT captains

Child Safety Standards 

Volunteers

We are mandated (without exemption) to provide training for all volunteers working in our school. Volunteer training sessions have commenced - this term training is being targeted at anyone volunteering with the swimming program and/or the 1/2 Celebration evening. 

It's a requirement that our staff and volunteers are equipped with knowledge, skills and awareness to keep young people safe through ongoing education and training. Training is required to be updated annually. 

From 2023 all volunteers working in all school will need to have completed the training prior to working with students at our school. Training sessions will be be on the Sentral calendar and will be also shared via email. 

 Cyber Safety Awareness 

From the Safety Commissioner 

The video on Digital technologies and mental health explains how to support a young person's mental wellbeing when they are using social media and apps. It's designed for parents and carers of young people aged 10 to 18 years old.

From the Cyber Safety Project 

We have an ongoing  relationship with the Cyber Safety Project - the team visits our school annually to work with students, staff and parents. Their Cyber Safety modules are explored with our students on a regular basis. 

The team is offering a series of free family webinars this term. Webinars include;

First Mobile Phone - Wednesday 9th November 7.30pm

Online Gaming Safety - Tuesday 22nd November 7.30pm

Digital Balance and Wellbeing - Monday 28th November 7.30pm

Freezer Angels - Home Cooked Meals Available

We have a delicious array of home cooked meals available for our Wonga Park PS community. 

Life Ministry Church has also offered additional support for families in need. 

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you require support, we are always here to help.

Please do not hesitate to chat to me if you have any questions relating to anything I've shared in this issue of the newsletter. 

Adele Brice