Principal's Desk 

Corinne Pupillo 

Dear parents, carers and friends of the school community,

In Metropolitan Melbourne we've now completed week five of Lockdown 2.0, with one more week of the six week Lockdown to go!  Premier Daniel Andrews has announced that he will communicate a plan moving forward this Sunday which includes how schools will plan for Term 4.  What we know from the Premiers early advice is that workplaces need to consider keeping doors and windows open and not relying solely on air conditioning during the warmer months.  This may mean that staff and students can utilise outdoor spaces for classes, meetings  and breaks, particularly as the weather improves. 

Spring is now upon us and we can take advantage of the warmer weather and gorgeous blossoms that are in our local neighborhood.  We begin to look towards planning for the 2021 school year which includes the important tasks of class placement and staffing.  Our usual school tours have been impacted by COVID and it's been somewhat challenging for prospective families to access the school and view our facilities and programs first hand.  

Student Transition Co-ordinator, Julie Coonan is continuing the process for enrolment albeit remotely.  The process for new prep enrolments will continue and to support families with making their final decision, the school has developed a Virtual School Tour video which will help bring our school facilities and programs to families during these challenging times. We hope to have the short film ready to publish as soon as possible.

How inviting does the school look?  We do miss having you all back onsite and look forward to welcoming everyone back when restrictions ease.  

Happy Father's Day 

Happy Father's Day to all the dads, grandpas, padres, and babas just to name a few.  I'm sure many of you will enjoy creative ways to celebrate during this pandemic.  The use of Face Time, Video Conferencing and phone calls will be the new ways to connect this year. 

Onsite learning support and supervision 

Our onsite numbers have increased slightly this week and we continue to assess the parent carer requests under the DET criteria.  Thank you to Richard Crawshaw, Michelle Zammit and Emmaleen Oakley for their assistance with assessing onsite learning support and supervision requests.   A special thank you to those staff that are supporting students onsite and their willingness to support our students both remotely and onsite. 

National Health and Physical Education Day - Wednesday 2nd September 

Our special Health and Physical Education Day has created a lovely intersection of literacy, numeracy and health and physical education curriculum.  Connecting our community remotely through Seesaw and Facebook and increase engagement was a huge success. Congratulations to all our students, staff and families for their organisation and participation. The day has been a timely reminder to focus our efforts on our own health and wellbeing with no better way than to channel our learning for the day on health and physical education activities. 

Classroom Placements for 2021

The classroom placement process is very complex with many factors impacting on the decision making process.  Placing students and considering the make up of each classroom is an intricate process that takes some time to work through. I recognise as a parent or carers you are the most valuable teacher for them and your contributions will be helpful in making an optimum decision for your child's placement in 2021. Should you feel the need, I invite you to communicate any information about your child that will assist us with the decision. Each family would have received an email which included a form for you to complete.   You are under no obligation to complete the input form however we welcome  your contribution and voice in the process.   Parents and carers were sent the "Parent and Carer Input Form" via email on Monday 31st August.  Should you choose to complete the form, please return the form via email to jacana.school@education.vic.gov.au by Friday 18th September 2020.

End of Term 3

Please note that the end of term is fast approaching.  On Friday 18th September, students will finish at 2pm.

School Council Meeting 

Our next meeting will be held on Thursday 29th October. 

School Council Sub Committee Representatives

Finance Sub Committee Representative - Sharon Borg 

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