• Tuesday 23rd February, 2021 - School Photo Day (MSP Photography)

PUPIL FREE DAYS

• Friday 5th March, 2021

TERM DATES

• 2021 TERM 1: Wednesday 27th January Teachers start (All students start Thursday 28th January) - Thursday 1st April (2:30pm finish)
• 2021 TERM 2: Monday 19th April - Friday 25th June (2:30pm finish)
• 2021 TERM 3: Monday 12th July - Friday 17th September (2:30pm finish)
• 2021 TERM 4: Monday 4th October - Friday 17th December (1:30pm finish)

2021 CAMP DATES

• Year 3: Arrabri Lodge Camp - Wednesday 4th August to Friday 6th August
• Year 4: Anglesea Recreation Camp - Wednesday 19th May to Friday 21st May
• Year 5: Lady Northcote Recreation Camp - Tuesday 5th October to Friday 8th October
• Year 6: Canberra Camp - Monday 24th May to Friday 28th May

SCHOOL COUNCIL MEETING The final meeting of the current School Council is scheduled for 7pm next Tuesday, February 9 in the staff room. As detailed below, a new School Council will be in place for the March meeting.

INFORMATION UPDATES I trust that families have been able to access the information posted today which outlines the classroom programs, processes and other information for each grade level in the school. You will recall that, due to Covid, this information is posted in lieu of Information Nights. Please ask any questions that you might have in relation to this information via the link to a Google form – team leaders will answer all of your questions on behalf of their team at their earliest convenience.

FOUNDATION WELCOME PICNIC We did manage a ‘physically-distanced’ Foundation welcome picnic for families and students on Tuesday evening which was well attended. It wasn’t ‘quite the same’ as previous years, but was a great opportunity, nonetheless, for our Foundation students to show off their school and for families to meet and mingle. Thank you to the staff for attending as well.

SWIMMING TRIALS Trials for our District Swimming Sports have been organised for next Monday, February 8, at the WaterMarc pool. This is a student-only event, due to Covid. Many special thanks to the Physical Education Department (Sharon Groves, Kori Stuckey and Patrick Walsh) for the meticulous planning and organisation of the trials and to supporting staff on the day. Hopefully, it will run like clockwork!! Good luck to all participants.

NOTICE OF SCHOOL COUNCIL ELECTIONS Each year we conduct School Council Elections at our school. Our School Council is made up of NINE members in the ‘Parent Category’ and FOUR members in the ‘School Employee Category’ (formerly known as the ‘DET Employee Member Category’). The intent is that each year half of the positions in both categories become vacant, as the elected members have served their two years term of office.

Consequently, I would very much like to thank Gill Nicholls and Patrick Walsh (School Employee Category) and Ian Sherlock, Dale Armstrong, Cosimo Graps, Nicholas Deane and Owen Dransfield (Parent Category) for their contributions to our school these last two years. All Council members have contributed in a significant way to the decision making at our school, and on behalf of the community, I thank you all. Whilst these terms have finished, the aforementioned are eligible for re-election, providing they still have children at our school, or remain as a School Employee (depending on the category).

Therefore, I am now in the position to give notice of an election for members of Viewbank Primary School’s Council. There are five two-year vacancies in the Parent Member category, and two in the School Employee Member category. Nomination forms may be obtained from the General Office and must be lodged by 4.00pm on Monday, February 15, 2021. If a ballot is required, it will close at 4pm on Monday, March 1, 2021. For further information please read the included advice on School Councils later in this newsletter.

ASSEMBLIES We held our first student assembly in what seems like ages (!), last Monday with Grade 3 to 6 students attending in the gymnasium. It will be Foundation –Grade 2’s turn next Monday. We anticipate trialling an outside assembly the week after and will advise on possible parent attendance in due course (QR scanning would be mandatory!!).

TRAFFIC SAFETY I have had a number of extremely concerned residents contact me about dangerous and selfish driving and parking practices they have observed around the school at pick up and drop off times since the school year began. Banyule Council’s traffic management team and parking inspectors have been contacted in recent days and we will continue to work with them to improve traffic management and monitor blatant breaches of parking regulations and road rules. It is unacceptable that the safety of students and, indeed, adults is put at risk because of the selfish actions of a few.

SCHOOL CAPTAINS Plans are afoot for the presentation of badges to our student leaders during Term 1. Our school captains participated in their first assembly in their new roles on Monday, and continued the tradition of weekly updating of the noticeboard on the corner of Martin’s Lane and Winston Road shortly thereafter!

I hope everyone has a lovely weekend.

Kind regards,

Bill Kersing

Principal

Foundation Welcome Picnic It was wonderful to see so many Foundation families enjoying the Welcome Picnic on Tuesday evening. Our new courtyard and tiger turf areas were perfect for relaxing and socialising, enjoying the play equipment, having fun with the parachute and sport equipment and finding out a bit more about school life. If you couldn't make it, there will be many other opportunities across the year to get to know others and become involved with school life.

Thank you to our amazing Foundation teachers Kelsey, Amanda, Kirsten and Colleen and the wonderful parent helpers who volunteered their time to make the evening such a success.

Tutor Learning Initiative The Tutor Learning Initiative (TLI) has been funded by the Department of Education during the 2021 calendar year. The Tutor Learning Initiative is designed to support students whose learning has been disrupted as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Sally Ruddock and Marina Gourzelas are coordinating the TLI and with the support of our classroom teachers, they are currently identifying the students who may qualify for the program. The TLI will address both literacy and numeracy support.

They are using existing assessment data and students’ Individual Learning Plans along with teacher judgement, supported by school-based moderation processes, to identify students in need of tutoring support. These judgements are based on multiple sources of evidence including classroom-based observations, existing classroom-based assessment schedules and standardised assessments.

As you can imagine, this is a time consuming process and we certainly do not want to overlook any student so we ask that you remain patient. Families will be contacted in the coming weeks if your child is to be included on the program.

Be kind and caring and have a great week.

Gill

Getting To Know You Interviews The 2021 ‘Getting to Know You Interviews’ are being held on Tuesday 9th and Thursday 11th February. These 10-minute meetings are an excellent opportunity for you to share important information regarding your child, information that will help the classroom teacher best support them to ensure that they can succeed after a challenging 2020. As it is very early in the year, the teacher will be able to provide information on how your child has settled into their 2021 class, as well as some preliminary information regarding initial academic performance. A comprehensive report and interview regarding academic and social progress will be offered mid-year.

The booking system is currently open via Compass and will close to further bookings on Monday 8th at 12pm. If you have any difficulties booking a time, feel free to contact the Office.

Parents and guardians who have children in 1/2G or 1WS, please ensure you check these times carefully.

Child Safety at Viewbank Primary School

Viewbank Primary School has a number of Student Wellbeing Policies that support the health and wellbeing of the students while at school. We are also required by law to abide by the Child Safe Standards, that is the compulsory minimum standards for all organisations that provide services to children including Victorian schools. The aim of the Standards is to ensure we are well prepared to protect children from abuse and neglect. Further information from DET can be found here: https://www2.education.vic.gov.au/pal/child-safe-standards/policy

The Standards are:

• Standard 1: Strategies to embed an organisational culture of child safety, including through effective leadership arrangements
• Standard 2: A child safe policy or statement of commitment to child safety
• Standard 3: A code of conduct that establishes clear expectations for appropriate behaviour with children
• Standard 4: Screening, supervision, training and other human resources practices that reduce the risk of child abuse by new and existing personnel
• Standard 5: Processes for responding to and reporting suspected child abuse
• Standard 6: Strategies to identify and reduce or remove risks of child abuse
• Standard 7: Strategies to promote the participation and empowerment of children.

As required by law, Viewbank Primary School has a Child Safety Officer – currently our Principal Mr Kersing. If this changes in the future, you will be informed via the newsletter. Information about the role of Child Safety Officer can be found here http://www.viewbankps.vic.edu.au/s/Viewbank-Primary-School-Child-Safety-Officer-Policy-2020-21.pdf

There has also been a recent update to the ‘Child safety responding and reporting obligations (including mandatory reporting) policy and procedures’ document (to outline explicitly who mandatory reporters are). This will soon be available on our website. Our current Policy is here: http://www.viewbankps.vic.edu.au/s/VPS-Child-Safe-Standard-5-Child-Safety-Responding-and-Reporting-Obligations-Including-Mandatory-Repo.pdf

Paragraphs of note in the above document and have not changed in the new policy that outline our legal obligations to protect children in our care include:

POLICY All children and young people have the right to protection in their best interests. Viewbank Primary School understands the important role our school plays in protecting children from abuse including:

• Physical abuse
• Sexual abuse (including sexual exploitation)
• Family violence
• Emotional abuse
• Neglect (including medical neglect)
• Grooming

The staff at Viewbank Primary School are required by law to comply with various child safety reporting obligations. For detailed information about each obligation, please refer to Identifying and Responding to All Forms of Abuse in Victorian Schools.

At Viewbank Primary School we also recognise the diversity of the children and young people at our school and take account of their individual needs and backgrounds when considering child safety.

Mandatory Reporting The following individuals are mandatory reporters under the Children, Youth and Families Act 2005(Vic):

• Victorian Institute of Teaching (VIT) registered teachers, including principals
• School staff who have been granted permission to teach by the VIT
• registered medical practitioners and nurses
• registered psychologists
• all members of the police force
• People in religious ministry
• Staff who provide direct support to students for mental, emotional or psychological wellbeing, including (but not limited to) school health and wellbeing staff, primary welfare coordinators, student wellbeing coordinators, mental health practitioners, chaplains, and Student Support Services staff

All mandatory reporters must make a report to the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Child Protection as soon as practicable if, during the course of carrying out their professional roles and responsibilities, they form a belief on reasonable grounds that:

• a child has suffered, or is likely to suffer, significant harm as a result of physical abuse and/or sexual abuse, and
• the child’s parents have not protected, or are unlikely to protect, the child from harm of that type.

A mandatory reporter who fails to comply with this legal obligation may be committing a criminal offence. It is important for all staff at Viewbank Primary School to be aware that they are legally obliged to make a mandatory report on each occasion that they form a reasonable belief that a child is in need of protection and they must make a mandatory report even if the principal does not share their belief that a report is necessary.

At our school, all mandated school staff must undertake the Mandatory Reporting and Other Obligations eLearning Module annually.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Patrick

School Tours We will not be running any school tours in term 1 due to the current Covid guidelines. Detailed information about our school and enrolment process can be found on our website

Enrolments We are currently accepting enrolments for 2022 and are happy to assist with any queries.

Term 1 Expenses & Swimming Trials Term 1 Expenses & Swimming Trials have been posted on Compass. Permissions and payments are due 05Feb.

Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund (CSEF) The Government assisted Fund provides payments for eligible students to attend camps, sports, incursions and excursions ($125 per child). Applications for the Governments ‘CSEF Fund’ can be accessed by filling in the application form and returning it to the office with a copy of your current Health Care Card. Families holding a valid means-tested concession card or temporary foster parents are eligible to apply) i.e. a Centrelink Health Care Card or Pension Concession Card or Veteran Affairs Gold Card.

Funds are paid to the school and will be automatically allocated to the Term Expenses unless otherwise stated by the parent at the start of the year.

Thank you

Lucy Addati

Business Manager

BOOK CLUB Issue 1 catalogues have sent home this week. All orders are due by Wednesday 17th of February. Every dollar you spend earns points to buy more books for the Library. Thank you for your support.

Art News For the first week back in the Art Room our source of inspiration was the summer abundance of insects. We created small studies of these small creatures but still individuality in the artworks was apparent. Please enjoy these wonderful examples of some of the students’ observational drawings…

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SECOND HAND UNIFORM SALE - Every Friday 8:30am to 9am, next to the music room. Jumpers with the school logo, long and short sleeve school polo tops and school dresses will be $5.00 and all other items $2.00. We are currently asking for donations of any unwanted reusable school uniform items to sell at our stall.

Instrumental Music Enrolments 2021 Can all students who would like to join or continue to participate in our school instrumental music programs in 2021 please inform the relevant teacher below of your expression of interest.

SINGING WITH GABRIELLA - Gabriella

• Email: favrettogab@gmail.com
• Phone: 0413 676 733

STRINGS WITH MR CAI - Gabriella

• Email: favrettogab@gmail.com
• Phone: 0413 676 733

GUITAR/BASS GUITAR - Alec

• Email: alec.stalder@gmail.com
• Phone: 0422 690 842

PIANO/KEYBOARD - Ella

• Email: ellac.blackburn@gmail.com
• Phone: 0410 938 840

DRUMS - James

• Email: orangejimmy@gmail.com
• Phone: 0405 845 628

PHONE NUMBER: 0448 075 422

EMAIL: viewbank@oshclub.com.au

A PLUS SCHOOLWEAR Our uniform supplier is A Plus Schoolwear which is located at 41-43 Northern Road Heidelberg West. Open hours are Monday, Wednesday and Friday’s from 9am to 4.30pm (closed on weekend and public holidays).

You can also purchase your uniform online at www.aplusschoolwear.com.au