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)
BUILDING WORKS As of next Thursday, March 9, the Art and Japanese room will be out of action. We will be ‘decanting’ the building and moving Art Room and Japanese Room furniture to a portable ‘pod’ located on the oval in order to make the soon to be demolished classrooms available to the construction company (or in this case ‘destruction’ company!) on the following Tuesday. This is the day after the Labour Day weekend. There are a number of very important things to note:-
- Art and Japanese lessons will be taking place in classrooms for the remainder of Term 1
- as of Tuesday, March 14, the Foundation and Grade 1 playgrounds will be out of bounds and will be fenced off until the end of Term 1
- there will be NO ACCESS through the main gate (Gate 1) for the remainder of Term 1
- there may be limited access to the gate at the top of the ramp on Lascelles Avenue for a day or two. The specific days will be advised via Compass
- we are seeking any member of the community with a few hours to spare on Thursday, March 9, or (if needed) Friday, March 10 to help us with the furniture move to let me know (bill.kersing@education.vic.gov.au) . Many hands make light work (or, indeed, lighter work!)
This phase of the building program will enable the Art and Japanese room to be demolished by the end of term, and site services connected/installed in order for four new classrooms to be delivered and installed over the holiday break. Our grade 2 classes will start Term 2 in these new classrooms and access to the main gate (Gate 1) and to the Foundation and Grade 1 playground will be reinstated by that date.
Also, by the holidays, all classes currently located in the three portables on the Nevin Parade side of the school (rooms 21, 22, 25, 26, 27 and 28) will vacate their classrooms. This will enable those classrooms to be relocated to the building site in the north-west corner of the school site, and placed alongside four further new classrooms over the Easter holiday vacation. It is anticipated that five further weeks will be needed to have those classrooms ready for occupation by all Grade 3 and 4 students, as well as dedicating two of those classrooms to our Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Program. This should be complete by May 26.
At the start of Term 2, Grade 3B, 3D, 3K and 3M will operate out of the main building in the classrooms vacated by the Grade 2s. 4N and 4K will be sharing the library space.
It is a large logistical exercise and we are all aware of restrictions and complications imposed by trying to manage a safe school site, a safe traffic and vehicle environment and a safe and productive building environment. I have included an aerial map of the school site with this newsletter, which identifies gates by their numbers ( harking back to COVID times). We may need to use the gates just outside the Foundation classrooms from time to time – identified as temporary gate 3B on the map. This will be essential in identifying the entrances/exits that will be closed for short periods of time as well as navigating your own parking and pick up plans to enable the safe drop off and pick up of students each day.
We implore cooperation and understanding over the next few months. Ultimately, short term pain makes way for long term gain with the provision of upgraded facilities and greater ‘space’ utilising the whole school site but there will be headaches along the way. I’ve already had a few!!
DISTRICT SWIMMING Congratulations to all competitors who swam in the District carnival at WaterMarc last Monday. As a result of their efforts, some students have qualified for the Divisional Carnival to be held on March 14 – our Divisional Swimming Team is listed below. Again, many thanks to Lucas Prell and his team for coordinating this event on behalf of our school.
GRADE 3 TO 6 ATHLETICS CARNIVAL It’s a busy term in the PE Department with plans for the school athletics carnival on Thursday, March 9, at Willinda Park. All students from Grades 3 to 6 will be taking part, dressing in their house colours and supporting either Darebin, Plenty, Diamond or Yarra. These events also act as selection trials for the District event later in the year.
SUSTAINABILITY CAPTAINS BADGE PRESENTATION We were graced with the attendance at Assembly on Monday of Ellie Hall, Community and Climate Change Lead at Banyule Council. Ellie kindly agreed to attend to present the Sustainability Captains badges to Alexandra Palmer and Gwendolyn Parrent. As always, we are very grateful for community members such as Ellie giving of their time to make presentations such as these and making the wearing of the badge an even more significant undertaking. We trust Ellie and Banyule Council will work closely with Alexandra and Gwendolyn, as well as other students, this year in order to promote and embed sustainability practices at our school.
BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS COMMITTEE MEETING The first Buildings and Grounds Committee meeting for 2023 is scheduled for next Tuesday night, March 7, at 7.00pm. It will be a big year for this committee with all the works happening on site, so the more in attendance the better. Hope to see you there!
I hope everyone has a lovely weekend. Enjoy the autumn weather!
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) in the second half of March. The following table shows our schedule:
Make up assessments will be provided within the assessment window (between Wednesday 15th March and Monday 27th March). Make up tests will only be provided for students after the class has attempted the tests and in line with NAPLAN administration guidelines. We will not be doing make up tests in advance.
If you have any concerns about your Year 3 or Year 5 child completing NAPLAN in 2023, please contact your child's teacher a soon as possible.
2022 NAPLAN Results The official NAPLAN results for 2022 are now available on the MySchool website www.myschool.edu.au. Our Viewbank staff are feeling incredibly proud of the results achieved by our Year 3 and Year 5 students from last year.
Over the past few years, we have had a sustained focus on staff professional development with the explicit goal to increase literacy and numeracy outcomes for our students. It is important to note that while NAPLAN is one measure of our success, there are many other wonderful things we do here at our school that deepens and broadens the learning for all our students.
At every year level, we strive to offer something unique that enriches our students beyond their academic achievements. We are equally proud of these accomplishments, and we appreciate the ongoing support from our Viewbank community.
Parents and Friends As mentioned in last week’s Viewbank Voice, the Viewbank Primary School Parents and Friends Committee will be holding our Annual General Meeting. It is a Department of Education requirement for schools who have Parents and Friends Committees for the purpose of fundraising, must hold an Annual General Meeting each year. All positions are to be declared vacant, and nominees will be sought for President, Secretary and Treasurer. Previous holders of these position are more than welcome to nominate. The Annual General Meeting will be held online (via WebEx) on Thursday 9th March starting at 7:30pm, everyone is welcome to attend. To ensure the security of the meeting, this link will be sent via Compass on Monday with the subject line: Viewbank PS P&F Annual General Meeting.
Have a great weekend.
Patrick
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 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. See: Anxiety about going 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.
Have a great week.
Gill
ATHLETICS DAY - BAKERY LUNCH ORDERS On Thursday, 9th of March the students in Years 3 to 6 will be attending Athletics Day. As a result, there will be no Bakery lunch orders for students in Year 3 to 6 on that day. However, lunch orders will be available as usual for students in Foundation to Year 2.
If you have already placed an order for Thursday, 9th of March, please note that you can cancel it before Monday via Compass Canteen. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and appreciate your understanding.
TheirCare (Outside of School Hours Care) Please be aware that if your child is not registered with TheirCare they will be unable to access the program in an emergency. Therefore it is highly recommend that you register your child/ren with TheirCare 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 09Mar. Please call the office to make a booking.
HELP NEEDED – SECOND HAND UNIFORM SALES We are seeking a parent volunteer to assist with the second-hand uniform sales at the school every Friday for half an hour at 8.45am to 9.15am. Please contact the office if you are able to help. Thank you
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 ($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
Who are we? We are the Foundation Team – Amanda Elliott, Ellen Maxwell, Bessie Grant and Annabell Dransfield
Between us, we have worked in 8 schools for a combined total of 28 years. Our professional education has included: 4 x Bachelor of Education, 1 x Cert 3 in Hospitality, 1 x Cert 4 in Outside School Hours Care, 1 x Diploma of Human Resources, 1 x Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) qualification and 1 x AUSTSwim aquatic certificate.
Between us we have had 11 dogs, 6 cats, 3 rabbits, 10 fish and 2 budgies. We also have 3 sons and 3 daughters between us (with only two of us being parents).
Can you guess which member of the Foundation team…
- speaks Farsi?
- plays the trombone?
- can Hula Hoop?
- used to be a chef?
VPS Colour Explosion Run Fundraiser There are 3 weeks until the Colour Explosion Run Fundraiser. Thank you to everyone who has registered. So far, we have had 180 children register.
Please complete the event registration as detailed in the link below if you haven’t already. Fundraising closes on the date of the event, 17 March 2023; so, get fundraising!
The funds raised will go towards improving our school grounds and classrooms and the cost of the event. The specifics of these improvements are to be decided, and communicated once the major building work is nearing completion.
Free Dress Day - wear a WHITE shirt that covers your shoulders (no singlets) and closed in shoes. Students wearing school uniform without a change of clothing will not be able to participate.
Please inform your class teacher via email if you do not wish for your child to be covered in non-toxic, biodegradable colour powder from head to toe. IF YOU DO NOT EMAIL YOUR CLASS TEACHER, THIS WILL CONFIRM THAT YOUR CHILD CAN PARTICIPATE.
This fundraiser is run in conjunction with Viewbank Primary School by Australian Fundraising (https://australianfundraising.com.au) with a percentage of funds raised going towards the running of the event including materials provided, fundraising platform and prizes.
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 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 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.
.
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
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
PIANO/KEYBOARD – Tiaryn Griggs
- Email: tiaryngriggs@gmail.com
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