PUPIL FREE DAYS

• Monday 25th May, 2020 (Additional COVID 19 Day - to transition back to school)
• Two extra days yet to be confirmed in 2020

TERM DATES

• 2020 TERM 2: Tuesday 14th April - Friday 26th June (2:30pm finish)
• 2020 TERM 3: Monday 13th July - Friday 18th September (2:30pm finish)
• 2020 TERM 4: Monday 5th October - Friday 18th December (1:30pm finish)

CAMP DATES

• Year 5: Lady Northcote Recreation Camp (Tue 06Oct to Fri 09Oct 2020)
• Year 3, 4 & 6: As Camps are closed due to COVID 19 we are looking at rescheduling these 3 camps to later in the year. If this is not possible a full refund in term 3 will be provided to families who have already made a payment.

STAGED RETURN TO FACE TO FACE TEACHING

By now, I am certain that everyone is aware that Foundation to Grade 2 students will be returning to school on Tuesday, May 26. Many will be excited by that news, some will be apprehensive and most of us will continue to reflect upon, yet deal with, the uncertainty of these times. You will be further aware that all Grade 3 to 6 students will be able to return to school on Tuesday, June 9. OSHClub will be running a day care program on Monday, May 25, when all staff return on-site for a pupil free day.

You will read further in this newsletter of ongoing arrangements for remote learning until that week, and I cannot emphasise strongly enough the need to continue to read these newsletters and Compass posts in order to make the return to school as safe as possible. We have certain conditions that we must adhere to including, but not limited to, staggered start and finish times … In metropolitan, regional and rural schools where there is any risk of congregation at school entry and exit points, schools must introduce staggered drop-off and pick-up times. Parents must enter the school grounds only when essential. If they do have to be on-site, they must minimise their time and practice physical distancing.

Currently, we are working through a few ideas on how best we can adhere to these conditions, and we will certainly advise in a separate circular early next week. We are also considering different recess and lunchtime breaks outside for Foundation to 2, and Grades 3 to 6, and the best implementation of strict physical distancing (adults)and hygiene practices (all of us). It is going to be very challenging, and I cannot emphasise strongly enough that we absolutely need the support of our school community in the enforcement of some protocols and routines that may seem or be inconvenient. I don’t doubt that we will get it.

I wish to commend the teaching and support staff for the superb way they have embraced the challenges of remote learning and put together a program which has continued to support learning for our students. I couldn’t be prouder. I have had the opportunity to attend WebEx catch up with classes, observe some amazing work, hear some virtuoso performances on piano, and read some brilliant pieces of writing.

Patrick has referenced our first School Council meeting on WebEx that was held on Tuesday night. I have to admit that sitting in the relative comfort of my study at home as the meeting progressed, I made an almost subconscious comparison to School Council meetings held on nights in the depths of Winter with the rain belting down outside in Arctic conditions, (and the dash to the car afterwards, the fumbling with locks and keys in the dark, and the drive home) and wondered whether I might surreptitiously sneak in a line in the Standing orders of Council that Winter meetings will be via video conference in the future!! Perhaps not, but I commend all members of Council on a very efficiently conducted and organised meeting!!

Thanks to the initiative and drive of the Foundation team, we have now made available on our website a virtual Information Night for prospective 2021 families. Please let your friends know if they are contemplating enrolling at our school, and have a listen and look for yourself. Whilst on that subject, we are now calling for enrolments for 2021 and especially from our current families who have younger siblings starting next year. Whilst we guarantee enrolments for siblings, we’d love to know as soon as possible, to give us some certainty of 2021 numbers in otherwise uncertain times.

Finally, the demolition company will leave us this week, after five weeks of levelling the Northern Classrooms and clearing the space. We won’t miss the noise. The Victorian Schools Building Authority has kindly put together a flyer for us announcing the new buildings and I have attached this below for your interest.

I trust our Mums had a lovely Mothers’ Day last Sunday. Hopefully, the weekend will be a great opportunity to catch up with further family and friends.

Kind regards,

Bill Kersing

Principal

.

Communication Over The Next Few Weeks As I am sure you can imagine, there has been a fair bit of information that Bill, Gill and myself have had to process and attempt to contextualise for Viewbank Primary School since the Premier and Education Minister announced the staggered resumption to school. One of these areas is how we will be communicating with families over the coming weeks. We have had to balance out the requests for more contact, with the requests for no contact, and this has been a challenge and led to frustration at both ends of the spectrum.

The below outlines what will occur between now and 22 May for Foundation, Grade 1 and Grade 2, as well as for Grades 3, 4, 5, and 6 from now until 5 June.

• Foundation, Grades 1 & 2 Due to having a Webex meeting with the class next week, only prior arrangement of phone calls will occur. Please ensure you read any communication sent by your child’s teacher.
• Grades 3, 4, 5 & 6 A phone call will be offered as per the current arrangements until Friday 5th June. Please ensure you read any communication sent by your child’s teacher. It is envisaged that a Webex video chat will be offered once per week from the 26 May until Friday 5 June. This would remain as a catch up and will not be online teaching. A timetable will be released shortly.

Webex Catch Ups With Students On Wednesday, we started the process of having grade having a catch up via the video conferencing software, Webex. While there were a few technical ‘hiccups’, the majority of these had no issues and the students behaved admirably. While attendance at these is not compulsory for students, we believe it is vital to help students reconnect with each other in a small way before classes resume.

We have been in contact with our Department of Education and Training provided psychologist and speech therapist for a number of weeks now to help to ensure we put in place some support structures for returning students, this has been a confusing and stressful time for all involved while we adhere to the guidance given to us by DET and the Victorian Chief Health Officer.

School Council It was an historic School Council Meeting on Tuesday evening. Due to the current restrictions, our meeting, like the student catch ups, was held via Webex Meetings. Every school councillor was ‘in attendance’ and was able to contribute and be involved.

One of our ‘big picture’ items we had to discuss was the future of the 2020 School Fair. There was much debate, however, as a council, we understand that asking businesses and families to contribute to such a large fundraising effort at the current time was not the right thing to do.

We passed a resolution to postpone the fair until 2021 when family and community finances will be better placed – we need our families to have a roof over their heads and food on the tables at the moment, and for businesses to get going again. We hope you understand our decision.

We would like to thank the School Fair Committee who have done an enormous amount of work over the past many months. Their work will not be wasted, just saved for better timing in 2021!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Patrick

With timelines being announced on Tuesday for the return of students to school, it has been another busy week. Planning is underway for a smooth return and we very much look forward to welcoming back our Viewbank students in the coming weeks. It has been great to catch up with quite a few staff, in person, across the week as many have come onsite for team planning days and Webex class meetings. I have been able to join in several class meetings and it’s a joy to see the smiling faces of so many of our students. I’m sure a huge range of emotions have been on display in recent weeks but they certainly enjoyed the opportunity to interact with their teacher and communicate with each other. Stories of new experiences, enjoyable pastimes, fun activities, new skills learned and adorable pets were all high on the agenda. All classes will have their turn over the coming week and a half for a Webex catch up. After that, our Foundation to Year 2 classes will be able to see each other daily and our Year 3 -6 classes will have several more chances to meet remotely before their return to school.

​

Principal Class On behalf of the staff we would like to thank you for your unwavering dedication and commitment to our students, staff and parents. You have been working tirelessly to ensure the wellbeing of all and we truly appreciate all your efforts over the past couple of months.

Bill, Gill and Patrick you are absolute champions!

Education Support Staff (ESS) Week (Sue - Office, Georgeina - Office/Defence Force Mentor, Fiona – Nurse, Louise – Integration Aide/Library Technician, Thelma – Integration Aide, Sarina – Integration Aide, Bree – Integration Aide)

I would like to thank the wonderful ESS for their continual support during this challenging time. The care and compassion you demonstrate towards the students, staff and parents is to be admired. I am so proud to be part of such a superb team of women.

Remote Learning: Limited Access Access to school grounds is limited to:

• school staff
• students attending on-site learning
• contractors, including cleaners and maintenance workers
• outside-school-hours-care (OHSC) staff, enrolled children and their families.

If you need to collect anything from the school please call the office and a staff member will meet you at the gate at the top of the ramp on Lascelles Avenue.

Remote Learning Office Hours The new Remote Learning Office hours are from 9am to 3.30pm. To contact the school outside of these hours you may send an email to viewbank.ps@edumail.vic.gov.au or leave a message on the answering machine.

Attendance On Compass Can all parents continue to mark any school absences on Compass as normal. This will allow the school to be aware of missed lessons.

Thank you and take care

Lucy Addati

Business Manager

Hello everyone!!

This week there is going to be a sudoku, Mandela, A maze, and last week's answers. Hope you enjoy these puzzles and learning from home this week.

Joel, Luke, Annabella and Phoebe

P.S I hope everyone is excited for going back to school over the next few weeks!!

Answers for last week

​

Australia's Biggest Morning Tea - Thursday 28 May 2020

Want to make a BIG difference to those impacted by cancer?

We know it's not the time to be gathering together in large groups, but there are ways you can keep your social distance, and still make a really big difference to people impacted by cancer.

Whether it's a virtual morning tea with your colleagues online, or a catch up and cuppa with your household, every dollar you raise will help fund Cancer Council’s life-saving research, prevention, support programs and information.

Donations can be made online by clicking here.

People impacted by cancer need your support now, more than ever.

https://www.biggestmorningtea.com.au/fundraisers/ViewbankPrimarySchool

ALIA National Simultaneous Storytime 2020 - virtual event This year ALIA National Simultaneous Storytime (NSS) takes place on Wednesday 27 May 2020 at 11:00am and we would love it if you could join us by sharing Whitney and Britney Chicken Divas written and illustrated by Lucinda Gifford. Everyone can join NSS, it doesn't matter whether you are at home, a school, a public library or even a university library! Register to participate - (it's free)

https://membership.alia.org.au/events/event/national-simultaneous-storytime-2020-2

PHONE NUMBER: 0448 075 422

EMAIL: viewbank@oshclub.com.au

Uniforms can be purchased online at www.aplusschoolwear.com.au with one of three delivery options:

• Free collection in store during trading hours
• Postage to address of customer’s choosing, at $12.50 for two items or less, or $17.50 for three items or more
• Free delivery to school, to an existing student at Viewbank Primary. Please note, this option is not available if the customer does not already have a student at the school