PUPIL FREE DAYS

• Wednesday 27th January, 2021
• Friday 5th March, 2021

TERM DATES

• 2020 TERM 4: Monday 5th October - Friday 18th December (1:30pm finish)
• 2021 TERM 1: Wednesday 27th January Teachers start (All students start Thursday 28th January) - Thursday 1st April (2:30pm finish)
• 2021 TERM 2: Monday 19th April - Friday 25th June (2:30pm finish)
• 2021 TERM 3: Monday 12th July - Friday 17th September (2:30pm finish)
• 2021 TERM 4: Monday 4th October - Friday 17th December (1:30pm finish)

2021 CAMP DATES

• Year 3: Arrabri Lodge Camp - Wednesday 4th August to Friday 6th August
• Year 4: Anglesea Recreation Camp - Monday 17th May to Wednesday 19th May
• Year 5: Lady Northcote Recreation Camp - Tuesday 5th October to Friday 8th October
• Year 6: Canberra Camp - Monday 24th May to Friday 28th May

SCHOOL COUNCIL The final School Council Meeting for 2020 was held on Tuesday night with full attendance, and onsite to boot! We started the evening with a guided tour of our new facilities, before sitting down to business. Friday, March 5, 2021 was approved as a pupil free day (making an extra long weekend for some), and a range of policies were either ratified or approved. Council was briefed on the School Review process, as well as spending a little time reflecting on the year’s achievements under difficult conditions. With a few members stepping away from Council next year, either because of work commitments or because their youngest child is graduating (and therefore they are no longer eligible to be on Council), it seems a perfect time to advise that anyone contemplating joining School Council in 2021 might start writing their personal brief to sway the electorate!!

2021 GRADE STRUCTURE AND TEACHER ALLOCATION We haven’t quite completed our staff selection process but we will DEFINITELY publish our grade structure and teacher allocation list in next week’s newsletter.

PARENT SURVEY You will have noticed an invitation to participate in Viewbank’s parent survey this week. I hope you can find the few minutes needed to contribute your thoughts and opinions, to help guide us during the School review process in February and into the future!

TRAFFIC SAFETY I have had two near misses advised to me in the last two weeks, in relation to car parking or cars leaving the vicinity of the school in haste (or disregard for others) and nearly hitting one of our students. PLEASE take extra care and time in arriving and departing from school at drop off and collection times.

DROP OFF AND PICK UP ARRANGEMENTS Arrangements have been reasonably well followed and we thank the community for this. PLEASE remember that students may only enter the schoolgrounds from 8.45am and ALL children are expected to go directly to their classrooms from arrival. Gates will be open from 3.25pm until 3.45pm in the afternoon for the collection of students after school.

END OF YEAR ARRANGEMENTS Transition day is next Tuesday, December 8 for all of our Foundation to Grade 5 students, when they will meet their new classmates and 2021 teachers for the first time. We will also be joined by new enrolments from other schools on that day, with our 2021 numbers expected to be around 650 across the school. As well as the virtual Graduation organised for our Grade 6 students on Wednesday, December 16, we have also managed to organise an end of year excursion for our Graduates to Funfields in Whittlesea on Thursday, December 17, to put the icing on the cake for Graduation Week. Many thanks to the Grade 6 team for pulling that all together. The Graduation Ceremony will be spectacular, but has taken many, many hours of work to coordinate and will be a fitting culmination of seven years of education at Viewbank Primary School for our Grade 6 students. A reminder that the last day of school is Friday, December 18 and as is traditional, dismissal time will be at 1.30pm.

Enough from me for this week.

Have a great weekend.

Kind regards,

Bill Kersing

Principal

Our 2020 Specialist program will conclude this week. For the remaining two weeks of the school year we will be following an alternative timetable. Students will attend some specialist lessons during the remaining weeks but they will likely occur on different days.

And just a reminder that next week will be planning week across the school.

As the year concludes, stress levels always seem to increase. Please remember to keep things in perspective and consider those around us.

Be kind and caring

Gill

2021 Classes As Mr Kersing mentioned above, Tuesday the 8th December is the day that the students find out who their 2021 teacher is and who is in their class. Creating grades is a long and complicated process with teachers spending many hours (occurring at the same time as writing student reports after hours and on weekends) placing students carefully into the ‘right’ class. As asked for by Mr Kersing early in Term 4, and required to be returned to school around the Melbourne Cup weekend, the many written requests have been carefully considered and acted upon - where possible. A particular challenge around this is when a parent has one set of requests (e.g. for a particular friendship group) and the child has a conflicting set (e.g. a friendship group that is not the same as the parent request). This can lead to either upset parents or upset children.

Earlier this term, every student was given the opportunity to list 4 students that they would like to be in a grade with. Out of approximately 575 students who did this, less than 20 students will end up being placed in a grade with all 4 friends, and in most cases (around 400), each student will receive only 1 from their nominated list. Sometimes, some of our students will be disappointed that they only have ‘1’ friend, sometimes we are told ‘I didn’t want that friend’.

As you are more than aware, as we move through life, we all have to meet new people, work with new people, sometimes do things (work and home) that we don’t want to – but we do these things anyway. Where did we learn how to be resilient in this manner? Generally, we learnt these skills at schools. Those students who learn how to do this well will cope better moving into secondary school, post-secondary study and into work. The broader the friendship group, the less chance there is for mental health issues – having trouble with 1 group of friends? change friendship groups for a while!

Most of you will have very happy children on Tuesday afternoon when you see them. Unfortunately, some of you will also have upset children. Please use this as a learning opportunity and to talk about resilience. When your child gets through the next 12 months, they will be mentally stronger for the experience – they have faced a challenge and succeeded. Just remember, it is only for 1 year and then you will likely have the opportunity to make a request (as long as it is submitted on time!) for the 2022 school year.

Parent Tips

The following link is to a Facebook page that is an article along the same lines as the above.

https://www.facebook.com/positivemindsaustralia/posts/2816590495238773

From Positive Minds Australia:

Worried about your child’s class placement in 2021? It’s perfectly natural to have a preference for a particular teacher and normal to feel worried or disappointed if they don’t get them.

A child’s emotional adjustment to leaving this year’s teacher and preparing for next year’s teacher is interconnected with your feelings about it.

Here are loads of ways you can help make the transition smoother for your child if you or they didn’t get the news you were hoping for….

Have a great weekend everyone!

Patrick

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 2020, you do not need to complete an application form in 2021 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 2021 or you did not apply in 2020.
• changed family circumstances; such as a change of custody, change of name, concession card number, or new siblings commencing at the school in 2021.

Funds are paid to the school and will be automatically allocated to the Term Expenses unless otherwise stated by the parent at the start of the year.

2021 Parent Payment Charges/Arrangements Viewbank Primary School is looking forward to a new year of teaching and learning and would like to advise you of the 2021 Parent Payment Charges/Arrangements.

Parent Payment Charges/Arrangements are paid on Compass from Saturday 19 December 2020. Please check 'Course Confirmation/Payment' in 'My News' on your homepage and follow the prompts. If you are having issues with Compass, have forgotten your password or have no access please contact the school office as soon as possible.

Payments are due by Monday 27 January 2021. A Compass Payment Plan Option for Essential Student Learning Items is also available on Compass: Four even payments of $75.00 to be deducted on 01Feb, 01Mar, 01Apr & 01May 2021.

Please be advised there are alternative payment options for families who may be experiencing financial hardship or who would prefer a personalised payment plan. Please contact me if you wish to discuss these arrangements.

Late Arrivals The gates will be locked at 9.00am, if you arrive after this time please go to the Main Gate, Gate 1 on Nevin Parade and call the office and a staff member will meet your child at the gate.

Early Leavers If you need to collect your child early please call the office and a staff member will arrange for your child to meet you at the Main Gate, Gate 1 on Nevin Parade.

Thank you

Lucy Addati

Business Manager

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EXCITING NEWS!!! We’re excited to share with you that Channel 7 Melbourne is proudly supporting the 2020 Victorian State Schools Spectacular. A special broadcast with behind-the-scenes highlights will air on Saturday 5 December at 7pm on Seven in Victoria. It will also be livestreamed on the 7plus app and 7plus website, www.7plus.com.au, and will be available for catch-up viewing on the 7plus app and website for 30 days from the broadcast date.

These 16 amazing VBPS students have been dedicated, enthusiastic and an absolute pleasure to work with during the entire process. Whilst the Spectacular didn’t turn out to be exactly what we had hoped for, these students kept their heads held high, and demonstrated incredible resilience by continuing to rehearse and choosing to be a part of the alternative virtual performance despite experience locate and Remote Learning.

I could not be more proud of the way the students stayed in touch, adapted to changes in choreography, altered their expectations, and decided to make the most of a disappointing situation. They have been amazing role models to their fellow students and have represented our school brilliantly!!

We would love our Viewbank community to support and recognise these students by tuning into Channel 7 on Saturday evening at 7pm, for the Virtual broadcast of the Victorian State School Spectacular 2020.

Renée Davey (Performing Arts Teacher)

ART NEWS Collage was the theme of the last cycle of sessions in the Art Room with paper of all textures and colours being shaped with scissors into wonderful works such as the examples below:

There are some similarities between the symptoms of hay fever or allergies and coronavirus that may make it difficult to distinguish without a test. If you are experiencing ANY of the below – no matter how mild – get tested ⤵️

🤒Fever

😰Chills or sweats

🤧Cough

🥵Sore throat

💨Shortness of breath

💧Runny nose

👃Loss of sense of smell or taste

Don’t assume your symptoms are ‘just allergies’ – get tested and know for sure. Find your nearest testing location: https://www.dhhs.vic.gov.au/getting-tested #EveryTestCounts

More info about hay fever and coronavirus (COVID19): https://www.dhhs.vic.gov.au/seasonal-hayfever-and-asthma-covid-19

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).

They will be closed from Friday 18th December 2020 to 13th January 2021 for the annual Christmas break. From 13th January until the first week of February My Uniform will be open 5 days a week from 9am to 4.30pm.

You can also purchase your uniform online at www.aplusschoolwear.com.au