PUPIL FREE DAYS (OSHClub will be available on these days)

• Monday 1st November

TERM DATES

• 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 5: Lady Northcote Recreation Camp - Tuesday 5th October to Friday 8th October

PARENTS AD FRIENDS BAKERY LUNCH DAYS

• Thursday 2nd September (Cancelled due to COVID-19 Lockdown)
• Thursday 16th September (Cancelled due to COVID-19 Lockdown)

Spring is upon us and hopefully better weather will be accompanied by an easing of restrictions very soon. There is a lot to look forward to as the days get longer and fingers crossed for a ‘normal’ term 4 and beyond.

ARCHITECTURAL FIRM SELECTION I am pleased to announce that Kneeler Design Architects have been selected to develop our plans for our major construction works to commence next year. Their website is well worth a look, as they have an extensive background in planning and delivering school projects in innovative ways over a number of years. Fortnightly meetings with the firm, the Victorian Schools Building Authority and Gill and myself commenced yesterday with plans to meet onsite and commence the master planning phase as soon as is humanly possible.

PLANNING FOR 2022 At this stage we have 73 confirmed enrolments in Foundation for next year – please, if there are any other siblings to be enrolled could you contact the General Office or download the enrolment form from our website at your earliest convenience and submit. Greater clarity on our numbers for 2022 sooner rather than later is extremely helpful.

In a similar vein, if you know that your children won’t be attending here in 2022 could you also please advise. Thank you.

SCHOOL COUNCIL The September meeting of School Council will be held via WebEx next Tuesday, September 7, commencing at 7pm.

HAPPY FATHERS DAY To all of our Dads. I trust that you all have a suitably ‘chilled’ day on Sunday and are deservedly spoiled by your families.

I hope you have a great weekend.

Kind regards,

Bill Kersing

Principal

Student Dress Code Policy Viewbank Primary School has a School Council approved Student Dress Code Policy.

The purpose of this policy is to:

• foster a sense of community and belonging and encourages students to develop pride in their appearance
• support Viewbank Primary School’s commitment to ensuring that our students feel equal and are dressed safely and appropriately for school activities
• reduce student competition on the basis of clothing
• enhance the profile and identity of the school and its students within the wider community
• provide instant recognition of students thus contributing to individual student safety and group security.

The Department requires that this policy is reviewed annually to determine whether amendments need to be made.

With this purpose in mind, I would like to invite feedback from the community regarding the Student Dress Code Policy.

Please provide any feedback to Gill Nicholls via email by the end of term.

Once finalised, the Student Dress Code Policy will be ratified by School Council.

School Values Mascot Competition Don't forget to complete your BEE entry for the School Values Mascot Competition that is currently happening. See the poster below for all the details or ask your class teacher.

R U OK? Day (Thursday 9 September) is our national day of action dedicated to reminding everyone that every day is the day to ask, “Are you OK?” and support those struggling with life's ups and downs.

This year the message is: Are they really OK? Ask them today.

More than ever we all need to be checking in on those around us and asking

Are they really OK?

Your genuine support can make a difference whatever they are facing, big or small.

So, don’t wait until someone is visibly distressed or in crisis. Make a moment meaningful and ask them how they’re really going. Your conversation could change a life.

Please see below a Trust the Signs – How to Ask Guide to help begin the conversation as well as useful contacts if someone is not OK.

Happy Fathers’ Day Finally, I’d like to wish all our dads a super special day this Sunday. I hope you get spoilt!

Have a great week,

Gill

Hats Just a reminder for any students that are onsite during remote learning to bring a hat to wear each day. Students need to wear a sun protective hat that shades the face, neck and ears for all outdoor activities from Mid-August until the 30th April each year. To view a copy of Viewbank’s SunSmart policy.

eSafety Commissioner Want to know about the latest apps, games and social media that your child is using? The eSafety Guide includes important advice about their safety features, including how to use the settings to report online abuse and protect personal information.

The eSafety Commissioner also has free webinars for parents and carers. These live webinars explore the latest research and they are a great way to learn how you can help your child develop the skills to be safer online. All sessions are delivered by eSafety's expert education and training team. Please see the links below to register for the latest webinars:

1. eSafety's parent guide to popular apps Learn how to help young people safely use popular apps including Instagram, Snapchat and YouTube. This webinar is designed for parents and carers of young people aged 8-13.

It will cover:

• an explanation of the popular apps used by young people
• case studies, research, and targeted advice
• ways you can support the young people in your life to have safe, enjoyable online experiences.

2. eSafety's parent guide to digital technologies and mental health This webinar (that will occur in Term 4) will provide parents and carers with an understanding of how games, apps and social media can influence young people’s mental wellbeing.

It is designed for parents and carers of young people aged 10-18, and will cover:

• current research on young people, time online and mental health
• what to do about accidental exposure to mature content, including suicide, self-harm, eating disorders, etc.
• using games, apps and social media to support mental wellbeing
• the pros and cons of digital mental health platforms
• strategies for young people to support friends online

Book Week Last week the Viewbank community came alive with the love of reading! The Principal Team had an opportunity to read to students live on Webex, utilising some of the Book Council’s nominated Books of the Year. Also, the students had a virtual parade of themselves dressed in their favourite book characters, where we saw some fantastic costumes. Thank you to the families and teachers for organising a fun experience for the community. Please follow this link to view the Children's Book Council winning books and shortlisted books.

To all the Dads at Viewbank, we hope that you are spoilt this Sunday for Father’s Day, and that you and your families create some new and wonderful memories together. Have a great week!

Karen Butler

Term 3 Expenses The activities, incursions, excursions that were planned for this term and have been cancelled due to the current lockdown will either be rebooked for term 4 or the cost will be deducted from the Term 4 Expenses. Once all have been rescheduled I will advise of the outcomes via Compass and the newsletter.

Bakery Lunch Orders Due to our current COVID Lockdown our planned Bakery Lunch Orders for Thursday 2nd and Thursday 16th of September has been cancelled, all orders that had been placed for these days have been cancelled. All money has been returned to your own personal Compass Wallet.

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 or drop off anything at the school please call the office and a staff member will meet you at the main gate (Gate 1) on Nevin Parade.

Thank you for your understanding and stay safe.

Lucy Addati

Business Manager

Bakery Lunch Orders - Every 2nd Thursday During Term

Lower Plenty Bakehouse will be to providing the school with fundraising Lunch Orders every second Thursday during Term. These lunches will be implemented via our Parents and Friends Committee and all money raised will be used towards our major school oval upgrade.

Our Term 3 Fundraising Lunch Order Dates are:

• Thursday 2nd September (Cancelled due to COVID-19 Lockdown)
• Thursday 16th September (Cancelled due to COVID-19 Lockdown)

Orders need to be placed in advance via Compass Canteen. Ordering will close the Monday before the lunch date at 3pm. All of Term 3 Lunch dates are now open and ordering is able to 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.

​​ICY POLE FRIDAY Students are able to purchase icy poles over the counter at lunchtime every Friday. All icy poles cost $1.00 each. Due to COVID-19 Guidelines, this event has been cancelled until further notice.

CLASSROOM CUISINE provides lunch orders to our school on a MONDAY, WEDNESDAY and FRIDAYS.

Lunches must be ordered online using the CLASSROOM CUISINE website.

Extra Curricula Clubs We have a range of weekly extra curricula activities that students are invited to participate in. Some are free and others require parent payment. If your child wishes to join please encourage them to go along on the scheduled day or you may like to contact the school office or the classroom teacher to discuss participation.

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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 WITH MR CAI - Gabriella

• Email: favrettogab@gmail.com
• Phone: 0413 676 733

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