PUPIL FREE DAYS 2024
- Tuesday, March 12
- Friday, April 26
- Monday, July 15
2024 TERM DATES
- TERM 1: 29th January - 28th March
- TERM 2: 15th April - 28th June
- TERM 3: 15th July - 20th September
- TERM 4: 7th October - 20th December
2024 CAMP DATES
- Grade 3 Camp to Phillip Island - October 28 to 30
- Grade 4 Camp to Anglesea - May 15 to 17
- Grade 5 Camp to Bacchus Marsh October 9 to 11
- Grade 6 Camp - April 29 to 1 May
SCHOOL COUNCIL Many thanks to everyone who voted in the recent election for the final parent member vacancy on School Council. As reported already, via Compass, Svitlana Ilevlieva was the successful candidate after all the votes were counted after the close of the ballot. Accordingly, our School Council for 2024 will comprise :-
Parent Category
- Jason Hemingway
- Michael Parrent
- Kate Cullen
- David Filcoff
- Kate Doran,
- Michelle Pan
- Anthony Spence
- Ben Bailey
- Svitlana Ilevlieva
School Employee Category
- Bill Kersing
- Patrick Walsh
- Gill Nicholls
- Lucy Addati
The first meeting of the new School Council will be held at school next Tuesday night from 6.30pm in the Conference Room where office bearers for 2024 will be elected – President, Vice President, Treasurer and Secretary. The office bearers will be announced in next week’s newsletter.
CAR PARKING AND TRAFFIC IN NEVIN PARADE After my Compass post of a few weeks ago, I can report that there have been improvements in the particularly difficult pick up time in Nevin Parade, with increased courtesy and adherence to the safety concerns mentioned. The challenge now is to sustain this but thank you for efforts to date.
DISTRICT SWIMMING Congratulations to our swim team, all 39 members, who competed at WaterMarc in the District event on Monday. I know each competitor gave of their best with a number qualifying to swim at the Divisional event in upcoming weeks. Well done and thanks to Lucas Prell and Patrick Walsh, along with their merry band of helpers for coordinating this and future events.
HOUSE ATHLETICS As always, term 1 is ‘full-on’ with different sporting events, not least of which is the House Athletic carnival held today at Willinda Park in Greensborough. Hopefully we will have a full report on the day’s events in next week’s newsletter.
STUDENT LEADERSHIP We are drawing to a close with our presentations to student leaders with our Green Team members having received their badges last Monday. It is the turn of our Peer Mediators on Monday, March 18 and I’m sure parents have been informed and I hope will be in attendance at Assembly. Peer mediation is designed to contribute to a positive, caring, safe and friendly school environment. The program we run helps students identify issues amongst peers and teaches students skills and guidelines for resolving low-level conflicts. Mediation opens up communication channels and allows students to discuss their problems with the guidance of mediators and come to a reasonable resolution. Congratulations to those students who have volunteered to take on this challenge in 2024.
That’s it from me for this week. A reminder that not only is the weekend a ‘long’ weekend with the Labour Day Public Holiday on Monday, but that Tuesday is also a pupil free day as the staff work on activities in preparation for our School Review later in the year and on other professional learning activities.
Kind regards,
Bill Kersing
Principal
National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy Our Year 3 and Year 5 students will be completing the National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) starting next week!
Make up assessments will be provided within the assessment window (between Thursday 14th March and Monday 25th March). Make up tests will only be provided for students in line with NAPLAN administration guidelines.
SCHOOL ATTENDANCE
The Department of Education initiative EVERY DAY COUNTS highlights the importance of regular school attendance.
- Going to school every day is the single most important part of your child’s education. Students learn new things at school every day – missing school or being late to school puts them behind.
SCHOOL IS BETTER WHEN YOUR CHILD IS THERE
Why it’s important
- We all want our students to get a great education, and the building blocks for a great education begin with students coming to school each and every day.
- If students miss school regularly, they miss out on learning the fundamental skills that will set them up for success in the later years of school.
- There is no safe number of days for missing school – each day a student misses puts them behind, and can affect their educational outcomes.
- Each missed day is associated with progressively lower achievement in numeracy, writing and reading.
Getting in early
- Attendance patterns are established early – a child regularly missing days in kindergarten or in the early years of school will often continue to miss classes in the later years, and receive lower test scores than their classmates.
- It’s vital that students go to school every day – even in the early years of primary school. In
In Victoria school is compulsory for children and young people aged 6 -17 years
Student Absences
The main reasons for absence are:
- Sickness – There are always times when students need to miss school, such as when they’re ill. It’s vital that they’re only away on the days they are genuinely sick, and developing good sleep patterns, eating well and exercising regularly can make a big difference.
- Family holidays - It's vital that holidays are planned during school holidays where possible, and not during the term. If you are planning to go on holiday during term time, make sure that you talk to the school in advance, so we can discuss holiday learning tasks such as keeping a journal or continuing with online learning tasks.
- “Day off” – Think twice before letting your child have a “day off” as they could fall behind their classmates – every day counts.
- Truancy – This is when students choose not to go to school without their parent’s permission. There can be many reasons for truancy. The best way to address this is for schools and parents to work together.
- School refusal - School refusing children will experience significant emotional distress not only when going to school but also at the thought of going to school; they may be absent from school for weeks or even months at a time. School refusal differs from truancy as children generally stay home with the knowledge of the parents and despite their best efforts to encourage their child to go to school.
BEING AWAY FROM SCHOOL FOR ONE DAY A FORTNIGHT EQUALS MISSING 1.5 YEARS OVER 13 YEARS OF SCHOOL
If your child is away
Parents/carers are required to ensure their child attends school every day and have an obligation to enter the absence onto Compass or contact the school to notify their child’s absence. Parents/carers should inform the school or log the absence on Compass in advance of known upcoming absences, or on the day of absence as soon as practicable. In addition, in order to implement this requirement, it is essential that parent/carers provide schools with their most up-to-date contact details.
Remember, every day counts. If your child must miss school, speak with the classroom teacher as early as possible.
Openly communicating with the school about all absences is a good way to prevent attendance issues being escalated to a School Attendance Officer. A School Attendance Officer is a Department of Education Regional Director who has authority to follow up attendance issues. Chronic or ongoing attendance issues that are escalated can lead to an Infringement Notice being issued to parent/s.
If you’re having attendance issues with your child, please let the classroom teacher know so we can work together to get your child to school every day.
Top attendance tips for parents
- Schools want to work in partnership with parents – act early if you have any concerns by contacting the school and asking for advice and support
- Remember that every day counts
- There is no safe number of days for missing school – each day a student misses puts them behind, and can affect their educational outcomes and their social connectedness
- Talk positively about school and the importance of attending every day
- Open and prompt communication with the school about all absences is a good idea
- Avoid making routine medical and dental appointments during the school day or planning family holidays during the term
- Seek help from the school if you are concerned about your child’s attendance and wellbeing. Schools want to work in partnership with parents to support student attendance and wellbeing.
Parent can also refer to our Attendance Policy on the school website.
Have a great week.
Gill
SCHOOL TOURS We are running weekly school tours on a Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday at 9.30am for prospective families. Please call the office to make a booking.
LATE ARRIVALS Please ensure children who arrive late go straight to the office to be marked as present. If the child does not come to the office for a late pass a text message will be sent to the parent/carer notifying that the child is absent. Late arrivals can only be time stamped at the office. When parents/carers record the late arrival in Compass it provides us with the explanation but does not mark your child as present. When your child presents at the office, staff will record your child’s actual arrival time which updates the class roll.
CAMPS, SPORTS AND EXCURSIONS FUND (CSEF) The Government assisted Fund provides payments for eligible students to attend camps, sports, incursions and excursions ($150 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.
If you applied for the CSEF at your child's school in 2023, you do not need to complete an application form in 2024 unless there has been a change in your family circumstances.
You only need to complete an application form if any of the following changes have occurred:
- new student enrolments; your child has started or changed schools in 2024 or you did not apply in 2023.
- changed family circumstances; such as a change of custody, change of name, concession card number, or new siblings commencing at the school in 2024.
- Funds are paid to the school and will be automatically allocated to the Extra-Curricular Items and Activities unless otherwise stated by the parent at the start of the year.
Kind regards,
Lucy Addati
In the garden this week the grade 3's were busy watering, designing the lettering for our garden slogan, started clearing beds of summer crop, harvested, replenished beds with soil and compost and making and placing signs for our fruit trees.
On the menu in the kitchen we cooked:
- Tabbouleh
- Indian Flatbread
- Chickpea and lentil burgers
- Pancakes
Lower Plenty Bakehouse provide the school with fundraising Lunch Orders every Thursday. These lunches have been implemented via our Parents and Friends Committee. All money raised will be used towards our major school upgrade.
Our Term 1 Fundraising Lunch Order Dates are:
- Thursday 14th March (Orders closing on Monday 11th March, 3:00pm)
- Thursday 21st March (Orders closing on Monday 18th March, 3:00pm)
- Thursday 28th March (Orders closing on Monday 25th March, 3:00pm)
Orders need to be placed in advance via Compass Canteen. Ordering will close the Monday before the lunch date at 3pm. All of Term 1 lunch dates are now open for orders and can be placed in advance for the whole term if you choose to do so.
Please see attached a Parent User Guide on how to order via Compass Canteen. Please note a 35 cents order fee will be charged at check out.
Thank you for your support.
ICY POLE FRIDAY Students are able to purchase icy poles over the counter at lunchtime every Friday. All icy poles cost $1.00 each.
Entertainment Book 20% of the membership goes directly to support our fundraising at Viewbank Primary School. https://www.entertainment.com.au/current-promotion
Lunches must be ordered online using the CLASSROOM CUISINE website.
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WEEKLY SECOND HAND UNIFORM SALE - Every Friday 8:45am to 9:15am, next to the music room. Jumpers with the school logo, long and short sleeve school polo tops and school dresses will be $2.00. We are currently asking for donations of any unwanted reusable school uniform items to sell at our stall.
Instrumental Music Enrolments Can all students who would like to join our school instrumental music programs please inform the relevant teacher below of your expression of interest.
SINGING WITH GABRIELLA - Gabriella
- Email: favrettogab@gmail.com
- Phone: 0413 676 733
STRINGS - MR CAI
- Email: cai66@optusnet.com.au
- Phone: 0403 490 078
GUITAR/BASS GUITAR - Alec
- Email: alec.stalder@gmail.com
PIANO/KEYBOARD/DRUMS - Daniel Tucceri
- Email: info@banyulemusicandtutoring.com
- Phone: 0405 667 908
Our school has partnered with an independent provider called TheirCare to provide exceptional Outside School Hours Care services for our school community.
The program is available for all children at Viewbank Primary School from 6:30am until 9:00am in the morning and from 3:30pm until 6:15pm each school day.
During School Holidays & Pupil Free Days the service will operate from 6:30am until 6:15pm.
Families wishing to use this service can visit the TheirCare website: www.theircare.com.au
Families are eligible for a Government Rebate called the Child Care Subsidy which can reduce the cost per session by up to 85%.
More information can be obtained by contacting the school or ringing TheirCare Support Team on 1300 072 410.
TheirCare provides a stimulating and safe environment for all children. During sessions, children develop life-skills, friendships, confidence and creativity through play-based programs.
A PLUS SCHOOLWEAR
Shop Details:
- Unit 3/30 Heaths Court, Mill Park
- T: 9436 4005
- E: info@northernregionaluniforms.com.au
Opening Hours:
- Monday to Thursday 9am to 5pm
- Friday 9am to 3pm
- Saturday 9am to 12pm
Online Ordering Please Visit: www.aplusschoolwear.com.au