A note from Mr Jackson

Welcome Back

It was great to spend time in classrooms over these last three days. Students and teachers have entered the year with a great deal of energy and excitement. These coming days will be filled with opportunities to create interdependent learning communities. Routines are developed, expectations are set and relationships developed.

Our new 2020 Preps were welcomed on Thursday. They have spent time renewing friendships with their buddies and settling in to their new classrooms. It was great to celebrate this moment with parents over a ‘tea and tissues’ moment in Chandler Hall.

A special welcome to Eleanor Kaiser who starts with us this year in 12K. This year we welcome back Taya Eddy (P1), Krystal Rosbrook (PE) and Anita Simpson (12R) who have returned from family leave. It has been great to have them back with us. Leeann Sartorel is with us as our Italian teacher this semester. She comes with a wealth of experience that our students have enjoyed already.

Along with our 2019 team we are all looking forward to the learning adventures ahead.

School Charges and Term Planners

School Charge accounts (annual costs for educational items and activities) can be completed on QKR. Thanks to those who have made payment already. Registering with QKR enables you to streamline your payment processes.

Please feel free to contact the office if you would like to make payments at any stage once you have received notification of the planners. The school accepts cash, QKR, EFTPOS and credit card payments as well as direct deposits for all payments, essential, optional and voluntary.

Consent Notices

The start of the year requires schools to have a number of consents signed for our everyday experiences. In an effort to streamline this process, you will be sent home a number of notes on Monday. These notes are all important and require you to return them to school as soon as possible. They include consents related to local excursions, technology (Agreements and Seesaw) and publishing of student work. We hope that having these notes together will facilitate their signature and return to school. Please feel free to speak with the classroom teacher if you have any questions related to these forms.

Parent Teacher Interviews

At the beginning of the school year we offer the opportunity for parents to meet with teachers to share information about students. The date for these meetings will be Monday, 17 February. A note with details and booking information will be sent home today and is available on compass. Bookings can be made online through Compass from Monday evening. If you have more than one child at the school we encourage you to consider booking sooner to ensure your children can be scheduled at appropriate times.

Clothing

We have already gathered some jumpers left in the playground but are unable to return them to their owners because they are unnamed. Please ensure all clothes are clearly labelled with your child’s first and second name. Please check all clothing as names written on tags can fade and become unreadable.

Around the Yard

A special thanks to those who spent the last few days of holidays and their Australia Day weekend sweeping, mowing, blowing, spraying and generally tidying up our yard. Their hard work meant we were able to return to school and be proud of our school facilities. If you would like to contribute to our team of volunteer lawn mowing team then please contact the office and we can pass on your number to the coordinator. Every hand makes a difference.

After a thorough inspection of our trees in November last year a number of high risk trees were identified and either removed, pinned or pruned during the holidays. These works have ensured the safety of all who visit our site. It has been funded by the Victorian School Building Authority (VSBA). Whilst it a sad to say farewell to these trees, some victims of our extended drought, we look forward to replanting over the year to ensure our green environment is renewed over time.

Data Collection Privacy Policy

Our school collects, uses, discloses and stores student and parent personal information for standard school functions or where permitted by law, as stated in the Schools’ Privacy Policy.

Please take time to remind yourself of the school’s collection statement that can be found in this newsletter or on our website.

For more information about privacy, see: Schools’ Privacy Policy – information for parents.

Coronavirus Reminder

A reminder of the news from the Deputy Secretary concerning corona virus that was issued on Tuesday 28 January. Further resources are on Compass;

As you may be aware, the situation regarding the emerging outbreak of novel coronavirus has continued to evolve.

The Commonwealth’s Chief Medical Officer and Victoria’s Chief Health Officer have this afternoon recommended a stronger precautionary approach to managing coronavirus for travellers returned from Hubei province.

This recommendation is that

parents/guardians/carers of students should ensure that any returning student is isolated at home and should not attend school for 14 days:

• following exposure to any confirmed novel coronavirus case; or
• after leaving Hubei Province.

This same advice applies to any staff who have returned or are returning from Hubei province.

The Chief Health Officer’s current advice is that staff and students do not need to be isolated at home if they have recently travelled in other parts of China or other countries and are not showing any symptoms of the virus.

Air Quality

Many have been devastated by the extremity of weather conditions this summer. Due to poor air quality readings throughout our community at times a range of changes have been put in place to manage students when there is poor air quality. During times when the EPA declare air quality to be ‘Very Poor’ or ‘Hazardous’ students will remain indoors during recess and lunch periods.  A reminder to all parents that students experiencing asthma should have an up-to-date asthma plan and any medication should be handed in to the office with a ‘Medication Authority Form’ (available at the office or on Compass).

It is important to note that there will be no crossing guards present on