IMPORTANT DATES
- Saturday 19th March 2022 - Working Bee - 9am to 12noon
- Wednesday 6th April 2022 - JSC Casual Dress Day - Royal Children's Hospital
PUPIL FREE DAY
- Tuesday 15th March 2022
- Wednesday 13th July 2022
- Monday 31st October 2022
FUNDRAISING BAKERY LUNCH ORDER DATES
- 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
DIVISIONAL SWIMMING I was very fortunate to be able to attend the Divisional Swimming Carnival held at WaterMarc, Greensborough, on Monday, March 7. Congratulations to the following students who all performed extremely capably and were a credit to themselves and our school:-
Freestyle
- Jacob Clare 3rd
Backstroke
- Brody Cameron 4th
- Johan In 4th
- Anne Carpenter 4th
Breastroke
- Darragh Finn 2nd
- Luke Cullen 3rd
Butterfly
- Jacob Clare 3rd
- Abbey Lewis 3rd
- Luke Cullen 3rd
- Summer Vasic 5th
Relay
- Harrison Kent, Joshua Cadusch, Darragh Finn, Johan In 2nd
- Brody Cameron, Jacob Clare, Luke Forbes, Lewis Stevenson 5th
PUPIL FREE DAY A reminder that next Tuesday, March 15, is a pupil free day. Staff will be participating in professional development in relation to School Wide Positive Behaviour Support (SWPBS) and Professional Learning Communities (PLCs). A further reminder that whole day care is available from OSHClub.
SCHOOL COUNCIL The new School Council met on Tuesday night and formalised arrangements for 2022. I am pleased to announce that these parent members were elected to the following office bearing positions:-
- President Jason HEMINGWAY
- Vice President Nicholas DEANE
- Secretary William TONG
- Treasurer Michelle PAN
With nine parent members in total, the following five parents complete the list of parent members on School Council – Michael PARRENT, Roger SCHMIDT, David FILCOFF, Kate DORAN, Carol SENECA
The school employees on School Council for 2022 are Gillian NICHOLLS, Jane McLEOD, Patrick WALSH and myself.
SCHOOL ATHLETICS The 2022 School Athletics Carnival is scheduled for tomorrow at Willinda Park. Fingers crossed for good weather and lots of fun. Thanks to the P.E. department for all of their hard work in putting together this event.
I trust that everyone has lots to look forward to over the upcoming long weekend. We look forward to seeing everyone back after the weekend on Wednesday.
Kind regards,
Bill Kersing
Principal
Planning for a safe and supportive school community On Friday 18 March 2022, Viewbank Primary School is participating in the National Day of Action against Bullying and Violence (NDA). Students are encouraged to add some orange to their uniform to help raise awareness about the NDA and bullying prevention.
The NDA is Australia’s key bullying prevention initiative, connecting schools and communities to find workable solutions to prevent bullying.
The theme for the 2022 NDA is Kindness Culture. Viewbank Primary School will demonstrate Kindness Culture by promoting inclusiveness, respect and community belonging for all students.
Planning for a safe and supportive school community requires a whole-school community approach. Whole-school responses to bullying prevention build positive and supportive school environments by incorporating strategies for intervention at all levels, inclusive of students, teachers, parents and carers.
Three key characteristics outlined in the national definition of bullying distinguish bullying behaviours from other forms of peer aggression behaviours which do not constitute bullying. The key characteristics of bullying include:
- power imbalance
- deliberate intent to cause harm, and
- ongoing and repeated behaviour.
While the following behaviours of peer aggression do not constitute bullying, these behaviours may still be serious and require intervention at home and at school:
- arguments and disagreements (where there is no power imbalance)
- single acts of social rejection or meanness, or
- isolated incidents of aggression, intimidation or violence.
It is important for our entire school community, including our staff, parents, carers and students to have a clear understanding of the definition of bullying to be able to distinguish these behaviours from peer aggression, and correctly identify and respond to incidents of bullying.
Knowing the types of bullying behaviour can also help you identify if the incident is bullying, or peer aggression. While neither of these behaviours are tolerated at Viewbank Primary School they do require different management strategies, and the first step for responding is to correctly identify the behaviour.
If you have concerns that your child is being bullied, please contact the classroom teacher in the first instance. You will be referred to the Principal/Assistant Principal if a satisfactory outcome is not achieved. If you believe the behaviour constitutes a crime, or is a serious incident of cyberbullying, please also refer to the Bullying. No Way! website for information on how to report to other authorities and gaining further help.
You can read our Bullying Prevention Policy on our school website to learn more about our school’s process for managing incidents of bullying.
For more information, please visit the Bullying. No Way! website for additional resources.
Smile Squad will be at Viewbank PS on the following dates:
Smile Squad provides free, high quality dental care to all Victorian public primary and secondary school students.
Please complete the Dental Consent Form and return it to the school office or your child’s teacher by Friday 31st March. If you have misplaced the consent form it can also be found on Compass.
Parents may attend dental appointments with their child, if required, subject to current DET Covid Operation Guidelines.
Learn more about the Smile Squad by visiting www.smilesquad.vic.gov.au or contact the team at smilesquad@dhsv.org.au.
Enjoy the long weekend and be kind to yourself and others.
Gill
Mandatory Reporting All staff (including volunteers) who are in schools are required by law to be mandatory reporters. This means we have a legal responsibility to report to Child Protection if we form a belief that a student is at risk of harm from:
- Physical abuse
- Sexual abuse (including sexual exploitation)
- Family violence
- Emotional abuse
- Neglect (including medical neglect)
- Grooming
A report may also need to be made to Child First and/or to the Victoria Police.
Reporting child sexual abuse is a community-wide responsibility. All adults (ie persons aged 18 years and over), not just professionals who work with children, have a legal obligation to report to Victoria Police, as soon as practicable, where they form a ‘reasonable belief’ that a sexual offence has been committed by an adult against a child under the age of 16 by another person aged 18 years or over.
Failure to disclose information to Victoria Police (by calling 000 or local police station) as soon as practicable may amount to a criminal offence unless a person has a ‘reasonable excuse’ or exemption from doing so.
“Reasonable belief” is not the same as having proof. A ‘reasonable belief’ is formed if a reasonable person in the same position would have formed the belief on the same grounds.
Viewbank Primary School has a ZERO tolerance to child abuse, and we will report to the appropriate authorities as required by law.
We have a number of Child Safety related policies on our website here:
http://www.viewbankps.vic.edu.au/forms-policies
These include:
- Child Safe
- Child Safe Code Of Conduct
- Child Safe Empowerment Of Children
- Child Safety Officer
- Child Safety Risk Register
- Child Safe Strategies To Embed An Organisational Culture
- Child Safe Strategies To Reduce Or Remove The Risk Of Abuse
- Mandatory Reporting
Have a great weekend.
Patrick
OSHClub (Outside School Hours Care) Please be aware that if your child is not registered with OSHClub they will be unable to access the program in an emergency. Therefore it is highly recommend that you register your child/ren for OSHClub in case you may need it one day.
School Tours We will be running school tours on a Tue, Wed, Thu at 9.30am for prospective families from 29Mar. Please call the office to make a booking.
Enrolments We are currently accepting enrolments for 2023 and are happy to assist with any queries.
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
2022 VIEWBANK PRIMARY SCHOOL EASTER RAFFLE $1.00 per raffle ticket, great prizes to be won!! Please return all sold tickets to school by Friday 1st April, 2022. Raffle to be drawn on Monday 4th April, 2022. Please ensure name and phone number are clearly written onto all sold tickets.
All money raised will be going towards our school's major upgrade fundraising project.
Thank you for your support.
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 upgrade.
Our Term 1 Fundraising Lunch Order Dates are:
- 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.
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