PUPIL FREE DAY
- Tuesday 15th March 2022
FUNDRAISING BAKERY LUNCH ORDER DATES
- Thursday 24th February (Orders closing on 21st February, 3:00pm)
- Thursday 10th March (Orders closing on 7th March, 3:00pm)
- Thursday 24th March (Orders closing on 21st March, 3:00pm)
- Thursday 7th April (Orders closing on 4th April, 3:00pm)
2022 TERM DATES
- Term 1: 28th January (Students start 31 January) - 8th April (2:30pm finish)
- Term 2: 26th April - 24th June (2:30pm finish)
- Term 3: 11th July - 16th September (2:30pm finish)
- Term 4: 3rd October - 20th December (1:30pm finish)
2022 SCHOOL CAMP DATES
- Year 3: Arrabri Lodge Camp - Monday 8th August to Wednesday 10th August
- Year 4: Anglesea Recreation Camp - Wednesday 18th May to Friday 20th May
- Year 5: Lady Northcote Recreation Camp - Tuesday 4th October to Friday 7th October
- Year 6: Canberra Camp - Monday 6th June to Friday 10th June
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 Jane McLeod (School Employee Category) and Fiona Mitsinikos, Carole Seneca, Anu Chikarsal and William Tong, (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 four two-year vacancies in the Parent Member category, and one in the School Employee Member category. Nomination forms may be obtained from the General Office (please ask for them to be emailed or sent home with your child if at all possible) and must be lodged by 4.00pm on Monday, February 21, 2022. If a ballot is required, it will close at 4pm on Monday, March 7, 2022. For further information please read the included advice on School Councils later in this newsletter.
Information Night – Remote The information commonly discussed by staff at Information Nights has been made available remotely this evening, due to the limitations imposed by the pandemic. Teachers have posted links at 5pm, so please avail yourselves of the opportunity to view the information prepared and if there are still any queries, please email your child’s teacher.
Swimming Trials Many thanks to the Physical Education Department, headed by Lucas Prell and ably supported by Patrick Walsh and Kori Stuckey, for their coordination and implementation of last Friday’s swimming trials at WaterMarc. I also wish to acknowledge the support of our parent volunteers who enabled the delivery of a hassle free programme. These trials are the basis for participation in the District event to be held on Monday, February 28. Congratulations to all students who participated and gave their all and it was nice to run an event given the hesitations and postponements of the last few years.
Getting To Know You Interviews I do hope everyone has availed themselves of the opportunity to book up a time for these next Tuesday and Thursday nights. More information from Patrick Walsh later in this newsletter.
Distribution Of Rapid Antigen Tests – Second Round The second distribution of the Rapid Antigen Tests will take place tomorrow, Friday February 11. These can be collected from 9.15am until 11am or from 3pm until 4pm. Like last time, these can be collected from the breezeway at the western end of the main building (come in through Gate 1). We found last time that the collection process was relatively quick, so we will NOT be specifying a particular time, and rather just ask that you come during those times.
Kits not collected on Friday will be sent home on Monday, February 14.
Vaccination Hub at Viewbank Primary School The Department Of Education has requested we use the school’s facilities to host a vaccination hub on Saturday, February 19. Further details will be provided as soon as these become available.
I hope everyone has a lovely weekend.
Kind regards,
Bill Kersing
Principal
Emailing teachers Last week we communicated that parents may now email teachers directly, using their @education email address.
Parents are asked to email teachers via Compass. This feature has recently been enabled allowing you to communicate directly with the teacher
Launching SWPBS The beginning of the 2022 school year has provided the perfect opportunity to launch our School Wide Positive Behaviour Matrix, which is based on our four School Values- Respect, Responsibility, Resilience and Kindness.
School Wide Positive Behaviour Support (SWPBS) at Viewbank Primary School is used to promote and maintain a reliable and controlled approach to behaviour management.
Students are being introduced to the matrix and are currently working together to formulate their 4-6 positive class expectations/rules, using the matrix behaviours to guide their final choices.
Throughout Term 1, all students will be explicitly taught the positive bahaviours for each setting. As children demonstrate these behaviours they will be acknowledged via our individual and whole school BEEhave system. Hopefully, as the term progresses, many of you will begin to receive a Compass ‘celebration email’ alerting you to the fact that your child has collected their ten positive rewards for one of our School Values. Once students complete all four Values cards they will be presented with a certificate at assembly. As students complete their Values cards they are exchanged for a BEE sticker which is added to our whole school BEEhive in the main entry foyer.
This year our Pupil of Week Awards will also be aligned to our School Values.
How Families can help
SWPBS is an approach to help all students learn to self-manage behaviour.
Family involvement is a key feature and important in all aspects of SWPBS.
A strong partnership between school and family is important because when families are involved, outcomes for students are better.
You can be involved in SWPBS in many ways by:
- reading materials distributed by the school via Compass
- using the Positive Behaviour Matrix to role model positive behaviours
- verbally acknowledging and recognising when your child meets expected behaviours
- responding consistently and with meaningful consequences when problem behaviour occurs.
For further information about School Wide Positive Behaviour, please see the information presented within the 2022 Grade Level Information PowerPoints that will be released to parents shortly.
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.
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.
Have a great week,
Gill
Get To Know You Interviews Thank you to everyone who booked a Get To Know You Interview time last week. The booking system closed to further bookings on Monday 7th February at 12:45pm. If you have a change of circumstance, please contact your child’s teacher to request a change.
On Friday (in some cases earlier), families who have booked in a time for next week’s Get To Know You Interviews will receive a meeting link. It is the families’ responsibility to ensure that they access the meeting at the time they nominated in Compass – this is still accessible. When you log on to the meeting, you may be directed to a ‘Lobby’ or ‘Wait Room’. The teacher will be notified that you are there and will admit you to the meeting as close to the start of your meeting time as possible. In some cases, there may be a delay, we do apologise for this in advance.
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!
Class Coverage As with every other employee in Victoria, our staff are entitled to sick/personal leave. Due to the current isolation requirements, finding Casual Relief Teachers (CRTs) has been a particular challenge – CRTs are now being booked up to cover 5-day absences, or may be in isolation themselves. Schools do not have an allocated pool of CRTs that are designated to that school only, they are free to work at any school they wish (some CRTs may choose to only work at one or two schools though). If a staff member is absent, we will attempt to find a CRT, if this is unable to occur, we will attempt to cover this by staff who do not have a class or a member of the principal class team. We will do our best to not ‘split’ classes (that is, allocate 3 or 4 students to a number of grades for a period of time) unless it is necessary.
Winston Road Traffic On Tuesday morning, I witnessed a lot of concerning traffic and pedestrian behaviour along Winston Road. I opened the gates just after 8:45am and saw mayhem. There were cars parked illegally (partially blocking our neighbours’ driveways, in No Parking zones etc.), cars doing U-turns in front of other users, and parents crossing Winston Rd between cars when we have a great school crossing supervisor whose job it is to keep everyone safe, less than 50 metres away. I would like to remind everyone that from time-to-time, Banyule Council will visit and issue fines.
I would particularly like to point out in the images, the sign posts along Winston Road. It is ‘No Parking’ between 8am and 9:30am on school days. I have also attached an image which explains what No Parking means. You can find this on the VicRoads website here: https://www.vicroads.vic.gov.au/safety-and-road-rules/road-rules/a-to-z-of-road-rules/parking. Please help us keep everyone safe. None of us want to have to call an ambulance at 9am in the morning because an accident has occurred.
Have a great weekend.
Patrick
Face Masks Please remember to provide masks for your children as the school only has a limited number of disposal masks available.
Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund (CSEF) The Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund helps eligible families to cover the costs of school trips, camps and sporting activities.
If you have a valid means-tested concession card, such as a Veterans Affairs Gold Card, Centrelink Health Care Card or Pensioner Concession Card, or are a temporary foster parent, you may be eligible. There is also a special consideration category for asylum seeker and refugee families.
Payment amounts this year are $125 for eligible primary school students. Payments are made direct to the school to use towards expenses relating to camps, excursions and sporting activities for the benefit of your child.
It is important that funding made available in 2022 supports students to participate in school trips, camps and sporting activities this year rather than being held for future years. This funding can also be used in conjunction with any funding accrued from previous years. Please note these activities will only take place if they meet COVIDSafe requirements.
If you applied for CSEF through our school last year, you do not need to complete an application form this year, unless there has been a change in your family circumstances.
If you would like to apply for the first time, please complete the attached application form and return to the office with a copy of your card.
You can also find out more about the program and eligibility, on the Department of Education and Training’s Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund web page.
Check with the school office if you are unsure, and please return completed forms to the school office as soon as possible.
Kind regards,
Lucy Addati
Business Manager
Hello Parents/Guardians,
Last Friday 4th February, we had approximately 50 students from Grade 3 - 6 participate in our Swimming Trials at Watermarc.
Firstly, I would like to congratulate all students that participated on the day and tried their very best. Secondly, thank you to the parents that volunteered to help out on the day and also to the people that came along to watch their kids swim. A big thank you to Julienne, Neralie and James for helping at the event.
Congratulations to the following students for the Top 4 fastest times on the day:
GIRLS FREESTYLE U9/10
- Inaya Bhardwaj
- Sophie Clare
- Abbie Cox
- Sahara Tran
GIRLS BACKSTROKE U9/10
- Inaya Bhardwaj
- Sophie Clare
- Lily Vasic
- Sahara Tran
GIRLS BREASTROKE U9/10
- Lily Vasic
- Nhi Ho
- Sophie Clare
GIRLS FREESTYLE U11
- Anne Carpenter
- Madison Ford
- Rubi Parker
- Abbey Lewis
GIRLS BACKSTROKE U11
- Anne Carpenter
- Rubi Parker
- Alexandra Palmer
- Zara Narula
GIRLS BREASTSTROKE U11
- Rubi Parker
- Racquel Grigoropoulos
- Gwendolyn Parrent
- Anna Sofia Bergamin
GIRLS BUTTERFLY U11
- Abbey Lewis
- Alexandra Palmer
- Grace Nihill
GIRLS FREESTYLE U12/13
- Matilda Parker
- Isabelle Grant
- Grace Tilbury
- Summer Vasic
GIRLS BACKSTROKE U12/13
- Summer Vasic
- Isla Elliott
GIRLS BREASTSTROKE U12/13
- Chloe Burban
- Matilda Parker
- Isabelle Grant
- Summer Vasic
GIRLS BUTTERFLY U12/13
- Summer Vasic
BOYS FREESTYLE U9/10
- Johan In
- Joshua Cadusch
- Darragh Finn
- Harrison Kent
BOYS BACKSTROKE U9/10
- Darragh Finn
- Joshua Cadusch
- Zachary O'Reilly
- Johan In
BOYS BREASTSTROKE U9/10
- Darragh Finn
- Luke Cullen
- Joshua Cadusch
- Jeremy Seletto
BOYS BUTTERFLY U9/10
- Darragh Finn
- Luke Cullen
BOYS FREESTYLE U11
- Max Berry
- Hamish Dare
- Beau Martin
- Angus Cahir
BOYS BACKSTROKE U11
- Max Berry
- Hamish Dare
- Lennox Watt
- Ayaan Ohri
BOYS BREASTSTROKE U11
- Beau Martin
- Max Berry
- Hamish Dare
- Lennox Watt
BOYS BUTTERFLY U11
- Max Berry
BOYS FREESTYLE U12/13
- Jacob Clare
- Brody Cameron
- Luke Forbes
- Lewis Stephenson
BOYS BACKSTROKE U12/13
- Brody Cameron
- Jacob Clare
BOYS BREASTSTROKE U12/13
- Jacob Clare
- Brody Cameron
BOYS BUTTERFLY U12/13
- Jacob Clare
- Brody Cameron
Our District Swimming Carnival is on Monday 28th February. The District Swimming team will be announced as soon as possible.
Kind regards,
Lucas Prell
PE and Sport Coordinator
Lower Plenty Bakehouse will be providing the school with fundraising Lunch Orders every second Thursday during Term 1. These lunches have been implemented via our Parents and Friends Committee. All money raised will be used towards our major school oval upgrade.
Our Term 1 Fundraising Lunch Order Dates are:
- Thursday 24th February (Orders closing on 21st February, 3:00pm)
- Thursday 10th March (Orders closing on 7th March, 3:00pm)
- Thursday 24th March (Orders closing on 21st March, 3:00pm)
- Thursday 7th April (Orders closing on 4th 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. Due to COVID-19 Guidelines, this event has been cancelled until further notice.
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.
SINGING WITH GABRIELLA - Gabriella
- Email: favrettogab@gmail.com
- Phone: 0413 676 733
SINGING WITH JADE - Jade
- Email: jadefaving@gmail.com
- Phone: 0413 834 933
STRINGS - MR CAI
- Email: cai66@optusnet.com.au
- Phone: 0403 490 078
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