2023 TERM DATES
- Term 1: 27th January - 6th April (2:30pm finish)
- Term 2: 24th April - 23rd June (2:30pm finish)
- Term 3: 10th July - 15th September (2:30pm finish)
- Term 4: 2nd October - 20th December (1:30pm finish)
WELCOME A very warm welcome back, and first time welcome, to current and new Viewbank PS community members! I hope everyone had a great break – the weather has been relatively kind, and I for one have enjoyed the opportunity to swim, golf, binge TV, catch up with friends and overeat as always. I have a resolution to counter that!
We welcomed 80 new Prep/Foundation students at Viewbank PS on Monday, along with more than 30 students and their families commencing at different grade levels across the school. We trust your stay with us will be a long and productive one.
We welcome Karina Dudderidge (3D), Nicola Triantafillis (2T), Zoe Birse (5Z), Heather Gulliford (Educational Psychologist) and Annabell Dransfield (Foundation D) to our school as new appointments, and welcome back Bonnie Boness (5B) and Andrea Cleeve (EAL) to our school site.
As always, Term 1 offers a number of highlights with ‘Getting To Know You’ interviews, Information Nights (virtual), School Swimming Trials, Foundation Family Welcome Night, a School Community Picnic Night, Junior School Council Elections, School Council Elections, House Athletics and more.
We encourage you to keep informed by reading the newsletter religiously each week, bookmarking and visiting Compass and the school’s website frequently and asking any questions if still in doubt by contacting the General Office.
As we navigate our way through the year, we encourage you to ‘get involved’ in any way you can . Initially you can become involved in membership of any of the many sub-committees we have (Parents and Friends, Buildings and Grounds, Education, Engagement), membership of School Council (I will be calling for nominations in next week’s newsletter!), submitting an expression of interest to attend camps as a parent helper, attending working bees, being a ‘reading’ parent, and more.
BUILDING WORKS 2023 After anticipating these so often during 2022, they have finally commenced!! The end of Nevin Parade is blocked with the builders setting up their ‘compound’ there and as detailed before parking will be quite limited for at least the first six months of 2023. We seek tolerance and understanding of these necessary arrangements and hope you have done your homework and found alternative parks within a short walk to school. Stage 1 of the works covers the provision of services to the site in the north west corner of the school (once known as Jilinga) and the demolition of the Art Room in late March. Two new Mod 5 relocatables (four classrooms) will be ‘landed’ in the Art Room site and we are hopeful these will be ready for our Grade 2s to move into in late April/early May. Once our Grade 2s are settled in, the Grade 3 and 4 classes will be temporarily relocated to the main admin building and library for around 4- 6 weeks to enable the three Nevin Parade portables to be relocated to Jilinga along with another two new Mod 5 relocatables (making ten classrooms in total in Jilinga). And, all things being equal, all of our Grade 3 and 4 classes will be happily settled in to these rooms by early June. The final, and significant works, will be the building of a new administration building near the turning circle on Nevin Parade (where the old vegie patch was), with a hope that the whole project will be completed (along with paths, landscaping, fences and Tiger Turf) by early October. It will be a big year and one requiring plenty of patience and flexibility to enable our school to have the facilities and space that will be the envy of many others.
EMAILING STAFF AND ENHANCING COMMUNICATION With today’s newsletter you will find a copy of our emailing staff policy. Staff education email addresses will be provided to parents to assist with communication, but it is extremely important that this communication occurs within the framework of the parameters of the policy. Please read this policy, and use this form of communication only for the purposes and reasons intended and expressed.
SCHOOL COUNCIL The first School Council meeting for the year, and the last for this current School Council, will be held at school on Tuesday, February 21 from 7.00pm. To all Council members, all paperwork will be emailed out next week and also be accessible from our shared Google drive.
YARD SUPERVISION You will be aware that all of our staff are timetabled on for yard duty supervision at various times throughout the day. Supervision hours extend from 8.50am through to 3.40pm. Outside of those hours, if you cannot care for your child, we have an Out Of School Hours Care program (TheirCare) that can cater extremely well for your child’s supervision. At morning recess (10.40am-11.10am), there are 4 teachers on yard duty at any time. Similarly at lunch time (1.00pm – 1.50pm) there are 4 teachers on duty. The Principal Class and Education Support staff members will be at each of the entrance gates into the school grounds to meet and greet our students each morning and in the afternoon there will be two staff members on duty to ensure our school grounds are cleared by 3.45pm.
MOBILE PHONE POLICY Just a reminder of our school’s mobile phone policy. Mobile phones and any device that may connect to or have a similar functionality to a mobile phone such as a smart watch, must not be used at Viewbank Primary School during school hours, including lunchtime and recess, unless an exception has been granted. Mobile phones owned by students at Viewbank Primary School are considered valuable items and are brought to school at the owner’s (student’s or parent/carer’s) risk. Students are encouraged not to bring a mobile phone to school unless there is a compelling reason to do so. Where students bring a mobile phone to school, Viewbank Primary School will provide secure storage. Secure storage is storage that cannot be readily accessed by those without permission to do so. At Viewbank Primary School students are required to store their phones. These should be handed in to the school administration office to be placed in a lockable cupboard. Classroom teachers will assist in ensuring this policy is enforced. Students who use their personal mobile phones inappropriately at Viewbank Primary School may be issued with consequences consistent with our school’s existing Student Wellbeing and Engagement Policy.
NOTICES FOR APPROVAL Each year we distribute information via Compass seeking blanket permission for students to undertake a range of activities – for example, permission to undertake local excursions within walking distance of the school, permission to publish photographs in the newsletter and so on. If you did not complete your permissions online can you please contact the office within the next week.
That’s it for me for our first newsletter of 2023. I hope you have a lovely weekend.
Bill Kersing
Principal
Welcome Back Welcome to the start of another exciting school year! I hope you all had a wonderful summer. I am incredibly grateful to be one of the assistant principals at Viewbank PS. Our school is filled with dedicated teachers, supportive staff, and eager students who are ready to learn and grow together. I have no doubt that this year will be filled with opportunities for personal and academic growth, and I can't wait to see all the amazing things our students will accomplish. Let's work together to make this a year to remember and to build a foundation for a lifetime of learning. I am looking forward to getting to know you all and to seeing the positive impact you will have on our school community.
Get To Know You Interviews You will be able to access Compass to book your child’s 2023 ‘Get To Know You Interview’ time at 4:30pm on Friday 3rd February. These will be held via WebEx on Tuesday 21st February and Thursday 23rd 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 2022. As it is very early in the year, the teacher will be able to provide information on how your child has settled into their 2023 class, as well as some very preliminary information regarding initial academic performance. A comprehensive report and interview regarding academic and social progress will be offered mid-year.
The booking system will close to further bookings on Monday 13th February at 12pm. If you have any difficulties booking a time, feel free to contact the Office (94591512 or viewbank.ps@education.vic.gov.au).
Staff will email you a WebEx link to access the meeting by Friday the 17th February at 5pm.
Viewbank families who have children in 1/2R (Ms Ruddock) please ensure that you check times carefully as there are some different options available.
I would like to thank the teachers for giving up their evenings with their families and other commitments on these nights. Our staff do this because they recognise the importance of a strong school-home relationship, and that they value your input. We are fortunate to have such committed teachers and support staff at Viewbank PS!
Parents and Friends Please see the information further below in the Viewbank Voice regarding our first event of the year – the Welcome Back Picnic on Tuesday 14th February 5:30 – 7pm on the oval and Tiger Turf.
Student accident insurance, ambulance cover arrangements and private property brought to school Please be aware, the Department does not provide personal accident insurance or ambulance cover for students. Parents/carers of students, who do not have student accident insurance/ambulance cover, are responsible for paying the cost of medical treatment for injured students, including the cost of ambulance attendance or transport as well as any other transport costs.
Private property brought to school by students, staff or visitors is not insured and the Department does not accept any responsibility for any loss or damage. This can include mobile phones, ‘wearables’, calculators, toys, sporting equipment and cars parked on school premises. As the Department does not hold insurance for personal property brought to schools and has no capacity to pay for any loss or damage to such property, students and staff are discouraged from bringing any unnecessary or particularly valuable items to school.
Parents/carers can purchase insurance policies from commercial insurers.
Have a great weekend!
Patrick
Welcome to all of our new and returning students and families.
I hope you all had a safe and relaxing holiday break. I certainly enjoyed some down time, travelling interstate to see family and recharging the batteries with time in the garden. Hopefully, we all feel ready for a productive year.
Congratulations to all our new Foundation students who finally got to put on their uniform and come to school. I’m sure as the term progresses you will hear more and more about their days at school.
As Assistant Principal, I have numerous roles with my major responsibility being Welfare.
If you have any concerns regarding your child’s wellbeing, mental health or progress please speak with your child’s teacher in the first instant (personally or via email) and/or contact me. There are many avenues for support if we know there is a concern.
The Department of Education provides many relevant Parent and Carer resources to assist with student mental health and well-being which you can access online, and I often share in the newsletter.
Tips to support your child’s health and wellbeing
Tips and resources available for parents and carers to support their child’s mental and physical health and wellbeing.
- Looking after your child’s wellbeing
- Looking after your child’s mental health
- Wellbeing activities for parents of primary school students
- Wellbeing activities for parents of secondary students
Parent Cyber Safety Webinars Please take advantage of the parent cyber safety webinars run by the Cyber Safety Project that are currently available for all Viewbank PS parents . They are on demand and can be accessed any time by families for 90 days starting from Feb 1st.
You should have received the information through Compass and there is also an information flyer later in the newsletter.
Wearing Hats at School Just a reminder ALL students must wear a school approved hat at school each day.
As outlined in our school Sunsmart Policy (available on the school website)
- From mid-August to 30 April, all students must wear a sun protective hat that shades the face, neck and ears for all outdoor activities. Hats may also be worn for all outdoor activities outside of the August to April time period, by parent or student choice.
- A ‘No Hat, No Play’ rule will be enforced from mid August to the end of April. Students without hats will be restricted to playing in designated shaded areas during scheduled recess breaks. During PE and sport lessons or during excursions a hat may be provided by the school for the duration of the activity if you child does not have their own.
Volunteering at School Please read the Volunteer Induction Notice 2023 posted on Compass on 8 February if you plan to be a volunteer at a school this year. All adults volunteering at a school must have a current Working With Children Check and have completed the Child Safety Standards Induction Checklist. Both these documents must be sighted at the school office prior to volunteering.
Annual Privacy Reminder 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 our school’s collection notice, found on our website Privacy Collection Notice.
For more information about privacy, refer to: Schools’ Privacy Policy — information for parents. This information is also available in nine community languages:
- Amharic
- Arabic
- Dari
- Gujarati
- Mandarin
- Somali
- Sudanese
- Turkish
- Urdu
- Vietnamese.
I very much look forward to catching up with you as the term progresses.
Enjoy the week.
Gill
EXTRA-CURRICULAR ITEMS AND ACTIVITIES Term 1 Extra-Curricular Items and Activities were posted on Compass yesterday. Please be aware a flexible payment plan for extra-curricular items and activities are available, please do not hesitate to contact me.
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.
If you applied for the CSEF at your child's school in 2022, you do not need to complete an application form in 2023 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 2023 or you did not apply in 2022.
- changed family circumstances; such as a change of custody, change of name, concession card number, or new siblings commencing at the school in 2023.
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.
WORKING WITH CHILDREN CHECK (WWCC) A ‘Working with Children Check’ is just one part of creating and maintaining a child-safe environment. It is a requirement that all parents/careers who wish to volunteer or participate in school activities have a current WWCC. https://www.workingwithchildren.vic.gov.au/
Kind regards,
Lucy Addati
Business Manager
Hello Parents/Guardians,
This is a reminder that our Grade 3-6 Swim Trials event will be held next Friday 10th February at WaterMarc.
If you would like to sign your child up please refer to the compass annoucment that was posted on Tuesday 31st January.
Thanks,
Lucas Prell
PE and Sport Coordinator
Just a friendly reminder that the Parents and Friends meeting is around the corner, and we can't wait to see you all on Tuesday, 7th February at 7:30pm in the school staff room! This is a chance for us to come together and share our thoughts, ideas, and plans to make our school even better. You never know, you might even have some fun! We promise engaging discussions and a chance to connect with other parents. See you soon - all are welcome!
Parent reps needed for Grades: 6T, 6Y, 5T, 5B, 4B. The role of the parent representative is not complicated - it is to help communicate and organise the families in your class around class and school events. If you are interested in helping through this role for any of the classes listed above, please complete the information via the link below.
https://forms.gle/TznAAg9uQCdDvH597
Contact details of the successful nominees will be shared with the 2022 / 2023 Parents and Friends committee. Parent reps will be part of a broader WhatsApp group which includes all 2023 class parent reps, along with the P&F Committee. The group will provide you with information about upcoming special events. Your name will also be shared with the classroom teacher.
If you have multiple children at the school, and would like to nominate for multiple class representative roles, please select all that apply. You must write the name of your child for each class your would like to be considered for.
Lower Plenty Bakehouse will be providing 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 9th February (Orders closing on 6th February, 3:00pm)
- Thursday 16th February (Orders closing on 13th February, 3:00pm)
- Thursday 23rd February (Orders closing on 20th February, 3:00pm)
- Thursday 2nd March (Orders closing on 27th February, 3:00pm)
- Thursday 9th March (Orders closing on 6th March, 3:00pm)
- Thursday 16th March (Orders closing on 13th March, 3:00pm)
- Thursday 23rd March (Orders closing on 20th March, 3:00pm)
- Thursday 30th March (Orders closing on 27th March, 3:00pm)
- Thursday 6th April (Orders closing on 3rd April, 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.
Parent assistance is required on Lunch Days from 10:30am to 12:30pm to assist with the packing of our orders. If you are available to assist in anyway can you please email the school at viewbank.ps@education.vic.gov.au so your name can be added to our roster.
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 Upgrade Get a Free membership Upgrade (Validity 4th October - 24th November 2022) for a limited time only. You get all your usual vouchers plus more. Purchase any Single City Entertainment Membership and receive a bonus, Multi City upgrade*, unlocking access to 20 cities and thousands of offers across Australia and New Zealand. And of course 20% of the membership goes directly to support our fundraising at Viewbank Primary School. https://www.entertainment.com.au/current-promotion
People who purchase this book often get the entire value back through savings within the first few uses.
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 $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 Can all students who would like to join our school instrumental music programs please inform the relevant teacher below of your expression of interest.
We are in the process of employing a new piano/keyboard teacher to replace Ella. We will keep you updated when lessons will resume and details of the new teacher.
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
DRUMS/BEGINNER KEYBOARD - Michael
- Email: michaelfindlaymcnab@gmail.com
- Phone: 0451 394 540
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 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