PUPIL FREE DAYS 2023 (TheirCare will be running their day care programs at school on all student free days)
- Friday 26th May - Staff professional practice day
- Monday 10th July - Three way conferences
- Monday 6th November - Report writing day
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)
WORKING BEE AND OPEN MORNING The school will hopefully be abuzz with visitors this Saturday morning from 9am. Our Term 2 working bee is scheduled along with the opportunity for potential enrollees for 2024 to visit the school and be shown around by some of our student leaders. If you can make the former, we would love to see you here and if you could mention the latter to those you know who might enrol here for next year we would be very grateful.
2024 ENROLMENTS And whilst on that same topic, we are asking all families with sibling enrolments for 2024 to submit their enrolment forms as soon as possible. The enrolment process across Victorian schools is somewhat different for 2024. No enrolments are taken until the start of Term 2, and then only ‘in-zone’ enrolments are confirmed. Those out of zone can submit an application by July 28, and can only be confirmed thereafter if the school has capacity. Our site limit is 675, and we have capacity for 80-90 Foundation students in 2024. Please get your enrolment forms in as soon as possible, to give us some certainty on any potential out of zone enrolments for next year.
ANGLESEA CAMP Our Grade 4 students journeyed down the highway to Anglesea yesterday and from all reports are having an excellent time. They are due back by 3.30pm tomorrow. A few photos have been included in this newsletter for your viewing pleasure.
PUPIL FREE DAY A reminder that school is closed for students on Friday, May 26 to enable staff to participate in a professional practice day. Day care is available from Their Care via the usual booking process.
NAVY BAND A special highlight is scheduled for next Tuesday, May 27 when the Royal Australian Navy Band Melbourne, based at HMAS Cerberus, Westernport, Victoria, comes out to play for us. The Band consists of approximately 35 full-time members under the musical direction of Lieutenant Andrew Stokes, and is complemented by a number of Naval Reserve Musicians as required.
The Band will perform in the gymnasium from 11.15am until midday, and community members are cordially invited to attend.
Hope you have a good weekend.
Kind regards
Bill Kersing
Principal
Student Illness As Term 2 has progressed, we have been required to send a number of students home during the day due to illness. Viral infections, flu and Covid are slowly, but surely, working their way through our school community. The staff have been asked to be hyper-vigilant around hand washing and cleaning high-contact surfaces (as much as is reasonably possible). We also have plenty of face masks available for those that wish to use them – staff and students. We understand that it can be difficult juggling unwell children and work commitments. However, students who are unwell before school rarely get better during the day at school. Please keep your children at home if they are unwell.
It is becoming increasingly difficult to find replacement teachers for staff who are unwell (or may have sick family members). Every effort will be made to source a Casual Relief Teacher (CRT) but we may need to ‘split’ a class across a grade level or two. As an example, a class of 25 students may be split up so that an equal number of students go into the 5 other classes for the day or part of a day.
Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability (NCCD) Every year, all schools in Australia participate in the Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability (NCCD). The NCCD process requires schools to identify information already available in the school about supports provided to students with disability. These relate to legislative requirements under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 and the Disability Standards for Education 2005, in line with the NCCD guidelines (2019).
Information provided about students to the Australian Government for the NCCD includes:
- year of schooling
- category of disability or need: physical, cognitive, sensory or social/emotional
- level of adjustment provided: support provided within quality differentiated teaching practice, supplementary, substantial or extensive.
In our context at Viewbank Primary School, students will be included in the NCCD process if they have (amongst other things) evidence of an IEP in 2022 or 2023, notes from parent teacher interviews or emails that outline adjustments in the classroom, participation in Literacy and/or Numeracy support classes, had an educational assessment (cognitive, hearing, speech etc) that outlines particular strategies that need to be implemented, the school receives funding for a students under the Program for Students with Disabilities, etc.
This information assists schools to:
- formally recognise the supports and adjustments provided to students with disability in schools
- consider how they can strengthen the support of students with disability in schools
- develop shared practices so that they can review their learning programs in order to improve educational outcomes for students with disability.
The NCCD provides state and federal governments with the information they need to plan more broadly for the support of students with disability.
The NCCD will have no direct impact on your child and your child will not be involved in any testing process. The school will provide data to the Australian Government in such a way that no individual student will be able to be identified – the privacy and confidentiality of all students is ensured. All information is protected by privacy laws that regulate the collection, storage and disclosure of personal information. To find out more about these matters, please refer to the Australian Government’s Privacy Policy (https://www.dese.gov.au/about-us/resources/department-education-skills-and-employment-complete-privacy-policy-0).
Further information about the NCCD can be found on the NCCD Portal (https://www.nccd.edu.au).
If you have any questions about the NCCD, please contact the school.
Have a great weekend. Rug up, the cold is not going away anytime soon!
Patrick
Greetings from Anglesea It’s great to report that everyone is travelling well and the students are definitely having a fun time.
We arrived safely on Wednesday and enjoyed a fun-filled afternoon down on the beach, enjoying a Beach Carnival with the whole group.
This morning saw us getting straight into the activities - canoeing, beach mini golf, mountain bike riding, the giant swing, crate climb and the Park Search.
The cabins are warm, the food is yummy and the students are participating enthusiastically in all the activities. And some are even sleeping at night!
We look forward to seeing you on Friday afternoon.
Just a reminder that if you have not already registered online for your child to visit the Smile Squad free school dental program, please do so by the 26th May.
Smile Squad need your consent before they can provide services. Consent is usually provided by a parent or guardian. Please complete and submit the online consent form by 26/05/2023.
If you wish your child/ren to receive a dental check please sign up to Smile Squad at: https://bit.ly/smilesquadvic.
Next week all Viewbank students will receive a free dental pack. The dental pack contains a toothbrush, full sized toothpaste, and an oral health brochure. Please take the time to read the brochure. It’s full of helpful hints and tips to help your whole family eat well, drink well and clean well – for life.
Have a lovely week.
Gill
FIRST AID AND MEDICAL CONSENT The Department no longer seeks parent consent to administer first aid or receive medical attention. This Department update has been made because schools have a duty of care to provide appropriate and reasonable first aid to students and to take action in emergency situations. Additionally, parents cannot delegate decision-making authority, including consent for medical treatment. Where a student requires medical attention, the medical professional administering treatment would either speak to the parent or provide treatment without consent.
UNIFORM SHOP RELOCATION The school uniform shop provider A Plus Schoolwear/My Uniform store has relocated to new premises. Please find attached information re location and updated operating hours.
If you order online your order will be delivered to the school. If there are any issues with sizes etc uniforms can be returned to the office for exchange.
Kind regards,
Lucy Addati
Business Manager
JSC Art Competition! Would you like to be in the running to win one of these art packs?
The JSC is running an art competition and hope that submissions can link to the Reconciliation Week theme: ‘Be a Voice for Generations.’
What does ‘Being a Voice for Generations mean? It means that we want a ‘fair go’ for all Australians. It means that we want to a fair and just future for everyone.
What should I draw/paint?
Maybe you could draw something that represents our shared culture? Maybe you could draw something that celebrates our First Nations people and their culture? What would you like our future to look like? Can you draw a multicultural celebration/activity of some sort? There is no right or wrong here!
Please hand your artwork to a responsible JSC member, Ms Walker or Ms Yates and pay $1 to enter by Monday 29th May (WE HAVE EXTENDED THE DEADLINE!) Prizes include ribbons and an art pack for 1st to 3rd place.
Good luck!
Year 4 Inquiry This week (before camp), the Year 4 students organised and ran an Inquiry Expo for some of the younger classes to demonstrate knowledge of Health and Wellbeing.
Students explored ways of keeping our bodies and minds well, as well as making broader healthy choices. They did an excellent job showcasing what they have learnt across this unit of work and made sure that their presentations were engaging for our audience members.
The Year 4 students were responsible for planning different ways to show their learning. We had many different ideas, including: puppet shows, posters, puzzles, booklets, interactive games, slideshows, quizzes and video presentations.
You should be very proud of your efforts, Year 4!
Look what our Year 4's cooked this week!
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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 2 Fundraising Lunch Order Dates are:
- Thursday 25th May (Orders closing on 22nd May, 3:00pm)
- Thursday 1st June (Orders closing on 29th May, 3:00pm)
- Thursday 8th June (Orders closing on 5th June, 3:00pm)
- Thursday 15th June (Orders closing on 12th June, 3:00pm)
- Thursday 22nd June (Orders closing on 19th June, 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 2 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.
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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
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
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