From the Principal
Child Safe Standards
Camelot Rise Primary School is committed to safety and wellbeing of all children and
young people. This will be the primary focus of our care and decision-making. Camelot Rise Primary School has zero tolerance for child abuse.
Our school is committed to providing a child safe environment where children and young people are safe and feel safe, and their voices are heard about decisions that affect their lives. Particular attention is paid to the cultural safety of children from culturally and/or linguistically diverse backgrounds, as well as the safety of children with a disability.
Every person involved in Camelot Rise Primary School has a responsibility to understand the important and specific role they play to ensure that the safety and wellbeing of our students is at the forefront of every decision they make.
To create and maintain a child safe organisation, we maintain ongoing compliance with the Eleven Child Safe Standards. For registered schools, Ministerial Order No. 1359 sets out the specific actions to meet these requirements.
Our ‘Child Safe Standards’ and ‘Student Engagement’ policies are available on the school website.
Assemblies - Hot days
Last Friday we had to alter the way we conducted our assembly due to the extreme heat (and the heat is even more oppressive in the school hall). During our student leadership
badge presentation last week we only had the Year 5 and 6 students in the hall whilst the remainder of the students stayed in their classrooms and viewed the assembly via Webex.
If we have weather like last Friday we will conduct our assemblies over Webex to enable all the students to stay in their classrooms. Our student leaders can conduct the assembly online from the air-conditioned Conference Room.
We are aware that some parents like to attend assemblies, particularly if their child is receiving an award, making an announcement or part of a presentation. We will notify families via Compass on a Friday if our assemblies will not be proceeding in the hall in the normal manner.
School Council
Thank you to our departing School Councillors.
We would like to acknowledge and thank all our departing School Councillors:
· Carrie Foster
· Martin Grieve
· Nadia Liu
· Bronwyn Miller
· Kim Doan
We thank these departing members of School Council for their service to our school. They have been a great support and we greatly appreciate their efforts over the past 2+ years. We thank all our departing school councillors for their contributions to our school. They have all made their mark and left the school in a very good place.
We still have two vacancies for our 2023 and 2024 School Council. Please come and see me if you are interested in joining our School Council
We would like to welcome our new (and returning) school council members for 2023 & 2024:
· Dean Clinton
· Madara Marasinghe
· Sheryl Lee
· Xuan Li
Our first School Council meeting for our 2022 committee will be held on Thursday, 16th March.
Tutor Learning Initiative
The Victorian State Government has funded the tutor learning initiative for 2023 to support learning catch up. The Tutor Learning Initiative (TLI) is worth $200+ million across State Government Schools, which is an unprecedented investment of a program of this
nature. This funding is being used to employ Tutor Teachers to work with students who fell behind in their learning. Typically, students participating in the TLI will have made less than 12 months of learning growth in 2021.
Our Tutor Learning Teacher is Mrs Sarah Martin. Mrs Martin has been working with individual students and small groups of students since the start of the year. Mrs Martin works with the classroom teachers to plan and teach a program that reflects on the work being completed in the classroom and works on the individual learning needs of these students.
Mrs Martin has communicated with all families that have their child / children attending these Tutor Learning Sessions.
The main focus areas for tutoring are Number, Reading and Writing, and there are also many incidental benefits, such as the development of confidence, independence, building self-esteem and persistence.
Parental Communication Policy
At Camelot Rise PS we are committed to effective communication and ensuring that appropriate opportunities exist for parents to raise any concerns and ask questions related to their child's education, wellbeing and progress.
Typically, parents will need to make an appointment to meet with their child’s teacher, especially if the matter needs an in-depth discussion. A meeting such as this is best done at a mutually convenient time, where there is enough time to have a proper discussion. Please contact the office if you wish to make an appointment with one of our teaching staff. You can also contact the teacher via Compass or email.
Before school is usually not convenient to contact teachers as they are usually making final preparations for teaching. A brief message is usually okay before school, so long as a long discussion is not required. After school is the best time and our teachers will endeavour to fit this in around our regular meetings, which are held on Tuesdays and Wednesdays
Every day counts!
Regular school attendance is vital and missing school days can have a big impact on your child’s future – missing one day a fortnight will miss four full weeks by the end of the year.
Going to school every day is the one of the most important parts of your child’s education. Students learn new things every day and missing school on a regular basis puts them behind.
Why regular attendance is so important:
· Teachers often present new concepts in a sequential way, so missing out a day of school can mean missing out on the fundamentals. It’s hard to make up this learning so keeping student absences to a minimum is essential.
· Friendships and socialising can also be interrupted when children are frequently absent, which can be distressing for children.
· Every day that a student misses is associated with lower achievement in numeracy, writing and reading.
What we do know is that attendance patterns are established early in life and will often continue unless non-attendance is addressed.
What you can do to support regular attendance.
· First, there are always times when a student becomes ill, and in this instance, they should stay home to recover. It’s vital however that they are only away when genuinely sick.
· To assist with good health and minimise illness children need to have a good sleeping pattern, eat well and exercise regularly.
· Families are encouraged to think twice before giving children a ‘day off’ unless they are genuinely sick.
· If your child is experiencing any issues such as not wanting to come to school, then please alert your classroom teacher. Working together on such matters is most helpful.
What to do if your child has been absent:
· Talk to your child’s teacher and find out what work needs to be done to keep up with learning.
Remember, that every day counts. If your child must miss school, speak with your classroom teacher especially if the absence is longer than a couple of days.
Mathletics
This year all students at Camelot Rise PS will be registered to access Mathletics, which is
an online Maths Program that the children can use both at school and at home. In the next few weeks all students will receive a password and login from their class teacher.
Some of the many benefits of Mathletics are:
· Mathletics captivates and challenges students in a stimulating, interactive environment
· Used by millions of students each month
· Used by more than 250,000 students each day
· Students are motivated and engaged
· Students can work through the curriculum at their own pace
· Students are assisted by an online support centre
· Live Mathletics fosters a stimulating and exciting online learning community
· Students are engaged and motivated to learn
· Easy to use
· Students have access to Mathletics 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
· Provides the perfect link between home and school, where results flow seamlessly
· Hall of Fame and certificates recognise and reward participation and achievement.
Please have a look at the website link below to find out more information about Mathletics
Teachers may use Mathletics to set learning activities and set specific homework for the students to complete as part of their Mathematics program.
2023 Parent Payments Reminder
Parent payments are an essential source of funds for a school to operate effectively. Without student fees schools would not be able to provide the many programs and resources we provide for the students at Camelot Rise Primary School. We would like to thank the parents that have already made these payments.
Working with Children Checks (WWC)
We encourage and value parental and community support at Camelot Rise Primary School. There are many ways that parents, grandparents and friends can assist at our
school. We encourage all parents to obtain a Working with Children’s Check that will allow you to be very involved in your child’s education. These checks are free for volunteers. Once you have your WWC please come to the office so we can photocopy this, and we will add your name to our list of parents who have a current WWC check.
Matthew Coney and Ben Heys