TERM 4 PARENT AND FRIENDS BAKERY LUNCH DAYS - All Term 4 dates are now open for ordering via Compass Canteen.

• Thursday 9th December (Orders closing on 6th December, 3:00pm)

2021 TERM DATES

• Term 4: 4th October - 17th December (1:30pm finish)

2022 TERM DATES

• Term 1: 28th January (Students start 31 January) - 8th April (2:30pm finish)
• Term 2: 26th April - 24th June (2:30pm finish)
• Term 3: 11th July - 16th September (2:30pm finish)
• Term 4: 3rd October - 20th December (1:30pm finish)

2022 SCHOOL CAMP DATES

• Year 3: Arrabri Lodge Camp - Monday 8th August to Wednesday 10th August
• Year 4: Anglesea Recreation Camp - Wednesday 18th May to Friday 20th May
• Year 5: Lady Northcote Recreation Camp - Tuesday 4th October to Friday 7th October
• Year 6: Canberra Camp - Monday 6th June to Friday 10th June

This time of the year is traditionally busy, and 2021 is no exception. Whilst we are unable to run some of the ‘normal’ activities that are common at this time of the year, we have endeavoured to provide a range of activities for our students to keep them engaged and make their end of the year a little special. The children have thoroughly enjoyed their dancing and swimming lessons this week, and whilst a broken-down bus took some of the shine off the Grade 4 excursion to Werribee Zoo, reports back nonetheless were very positive. The Grade 6s are rehearsing regularly for their graduation next week, Grade 5s have a disco planned for the final week of term (in lieu of the camp we simply could not get over the line) and there are still several other activities scheduled for the next 11 days.

GRADE STRUCTURE AND STAFFING 2022 I can report that at time of writing we have 642 students enrolled for 2022 and we will be running 27 grades – an average of 23.77 students per class. This is the same number of classes as for 2021. All classes will be ‘straight’ classes, except for two Grade 3 and 4 composite classes. I would like to take this opportunity to announce some staffing news for next year as we have two staff members leaving us for different reasons. Bonnie Boness, the current Grade 6 team leader, has successfully applied for leave to pursue a dream to teach on Groote Eylandt for all of 2022. Before you possibly head to Google to find out where exactly that is, I can tell you (because I took the liberty of getting precise details myself!). Groote Eylandt lies about 50 km from the Northern Territory mainland and eastern coast of Arnhem Land, about 630 kilometres from Darwin, opposite Blue Mud Bay. The island measures about 50 kilometres from east to west and 60 kilometres from north to south. We wish Bonnie all the very best as she embarks on this adventure next year, and look forward to lots of fun communications with her students (given we are all WebEx experts now). We look forward to her return in 2023. Another staff member leaving us next year is Paige Deery who has picked up a teaching position at Carey Grammar in Kew. Again, we wish Paige all the very best, and thank her for her contributions to our school over these last six years.

The departure of Paige and Bonnie leaves us in the position of needing to advertise and fill two vacancies, and our selection panel will convene in the next few days to select replacements. Therefore the staff list below is missing some names and these will be advised (hopefully) in next week’s newsletter.

I can announce the following staff appointments/positions for 2022:-

Classroom Teachers

• Foundation M Kelsey MENTIPLAY
• Foundation E Amanda ELLIOTT
• Foundation R Ellen MAXWELL
• Foundation G Bessie GRANT
• Grade 1D Suzie DOUMAS
• Grade 1SW Ashleigh WALKER (W-F) Emma SARGEANT(M/Tue)
• Grade 1W Pete WALKER
• Grade 1? To Be Advised
• Grade 2M Kim MOUCHA
• Grade 2K Claire KIELTY
• Grade 2R Rachel RICHARDSON
• Grade 2? To Be Advised
• Grade 3/4M Blair MORTON
• Grade 3T Rhys TEGG
• Grade 3K Kylie KIRKWOOD
• Grade 3/4C Dana COHEN
• Grade 4NK Sophie NOAKES (M-W) Meredith KEARNEY (Thu/F)
• Grade 4R Jamie RUDDOCK
• Grade 4B Michael BETSON
• Grade 5T Narelle TAYLOR
• Grade 5L Kara LANE
• Grade 5F Sandy FARLEY
• Grade 5D Tara DEAN
• Grade 6G Sharon GROVES
• Grade 6M Jane McLEOD
• Grade 6B Phil BYRNE
• Grade 6Y Kirsten YATES

Specialist teachers

• Visual Arts Jen HALL
• Performing Arts Renee DAVEY
• Japanese Angela ROCCASALVA (Grades 1-6) and Sally RUDDOCK (Foundation)
• Phys Ed Lucas PRELL and Kori STUCKEY
• STEM Lisa MAY and Nat CARR

Support Teachers

• Judy COURSE Literacy Support
• Andrea CLEEVE English As An Additional Language (EAL), Other Support
• Bec ANDREW Literacy Support and Maths Support
• Sally RUDDOCK Tutoring Support
• Marina GOURZELAS Tutoring Support

Administration

• Lucy ADDATI Business Manager
• Sue WRIGHT General Office
• Georgeina FISHER General Office/Defence School Mentor
• Fiona CROWE First Aid

Education Support

• Louise BUISSINK
• Thelma RIGONI
• Sarina SHERLOCK
• Bree BUSZARD
• Kelli WALKER

Principal Class

• Bill KERSING Principal
• Gill NICHOLLS Assistant Principal
• Patrick WALSH Assistant Principal

Speaking of Patrick Walsh, a very warm welcome back to him next Monday after his successful stint as Acting Principal at Research Primary School.

SCHOOL COUNCIL The final meeting of School Council for 2021 is scheduled for next Tuesday night, December 7 at 7pm via WebEx. Many thanks to all School Councillors for a job well done under sometimes difficult circumstances throughout the year. Your collective wisdom and support is appreciated by all!

TRANSITION AND CLASS ANNOUNCEMENTS Next Tuesday, December 7 is a Transition Day for ALL of our students (including our 2022 Foundation students). Our graduating Grade 6 students will be spending the day at their 2022 schools, and all of our other current students will spend the morning meeting their 2022 classmates and their 2022 classroom teacher. In addition our new Foundation students will be completing their second transition session on site with their teacher for 2022. It will be a big day!!!

SCHOOL CAPTAINCY It gives me great pleasure to formally and finally announce all Grade 6 Leadership positions for 2022. For a range of reasons, we have been unable to arrange the presentation of badges, but if it is at all possible before the end of the year we will. Please watch this space or Compass.

Visual Arts Captains

• Marena Moschoni
• Bonnie Smith

Sustainability Captains

• Keira Moucha
• James Morris

Performing Arts Captains

• Lily Jensen
• Matilda Parker

Japanese Captains

• Emily Ding
• Joon Park

Diamond House Captains

• Captains Angus Cahir Anastasia Dyachkov
• Vice Captains Lucas Grimshaw Veronica Dyachkov

Plenty Captains

• Captains Ayaan Ohri Andrea Thomas
• Vice Captains Holly Deane Maya Deane

Darebin Captains

• Captains Brody Cameron Crissy Patroungas
• Vice Captains Matthew Gamble Summer Vasic

Yarra Captains

• Captains Hayden McMurray Isla Elliott
• Vice Captains Hayley Gordon Kate Su

As you will recall we previously announced next year’s school captains

• GIRLS – Ivy STEVENS (Captain), Sofia HADJIGEORGIOU (Vice Captain)
• BOYS – Callum McLAUCHLAN (Captain), Jacob CLARE (Vice Captain)

Congratulations to all Captains. These are important positions of responsibility, but we know you will all do yourselves, your school and your families proud.

UPDATES TO THE DET OPERATIONS GUIDE RE COVID (November 26) An updated Operations Guide was released last Friday with a few key changes outlined. One of the most significant was to make double vaccination status mandatory for outdoors events at schools, which was changed advice. I have direct copied a few key points for everyone’s information.

Vaccination requirements for parents, carers and other adult visitors not performing work

Parents, carers and other adult visitors not performing work need to show evidence of vaccination when entering a school building. This includes for the purpose of activities such as school tours and kindergarten transition programs.

Parents, carers and other adult visitors attending a gathering at school, such as a fete, school play or graduation ceremony, whether indoors or outdoors, need to show evidence of vaccination on arrival.

When parents and carers do not meet vaccination requirements, the school should hold meetings and other discussions (such as Student Support Group meetings) virtually.

For all school settings, the Victorian Chief Health Officer:

• Directs primary school students in Grade 3-6 to wear a face mask indoors at primary school (including in P-12 and specialist schools), including Outside School Hours Care (OSHC) programs, unless a lawful exception applies. Students must wear face masks even if vaccinated. (For composite classes that include students in and above Grade 3 and below Grade 3, those below Grade 3 are strongly encouraged to wear masks).
• Facemasks are not mandatory for students in Grade 3-6 and primary school staff when attending school camps or excursions, although mask use for this group is encouraged when physical distancing cannot be maintained indoors.
• Directs school staff in primary schools (including P-12 and specialist schools) to wear a face mask in all indoor settings , except where removal of a face mask is necessary for effective communication.
• Directs visitors to primary schools to wear a face mask in all indoor spaces when attending the premises, unless a lawful exception applies.
• Strongly recommends students in Prep to Grade 2 to wear a face mask indoors at school or OSHC program.
• A face mask must cover the nose and mouth. Face shields, scarves or bandanas do not meet these requirements.
• There are a number of lawful reasons for not wearing a face mask, including for staff and students who are unable to wear a face mask due to the nature of their disability, medical or a mental health condition. Parent/carers of a student/s who meet the criteria for an exception should provide their approval in writing for their child/ren to not wear a mask to the school.
• There is no requirement for a letter for medical exception for not wearing a face mask from a medical practitioner.

That’s it for me this week. A lot to get through!

Kind regards,

Bill Kersing

Principal

2022 Classes As Mr Kersing mentioned above, Tuesday the 7th December is our in-school transition day when students meet their 2022 teacher and new classmates.

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. Parent requests have been carefully considered and acted upon - where possible, along with teacher recommendations, gender balance and academic, social and wellbeing factors.

Earlier this term, every student was given the opportunity to list 4 students that they would like to be in a grade with. All students will receive at least one person from their list.

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 through school, and into post-secondary study and work.

The broader our friendship group, the less chance there is for mental health issues related to friendship worries.

Most of you will have very happy children on Tuesday afternoon when you see them. Unfortunately, some of you may have upset children. Please use this as a learning opportunity and to talk about resilience. Be the positive, optimistic role model for your child.

When your child successfully navigates the next 12 months, they will be mentally stronger for the experience – they will have faced a challenge and succeeded.

Have a great week,

Gill

Face Masks Please remember to provide masks for your children as the school only has a limited number of disposal masks available.

2022 Parent Payment ArrangementsThe 2022 Parent Payment Arrangements letter was emailed to families yesterday.

We continue to value your contributions in supporting our school’s programs and resources. These contributions assist us to broaden the educational experience for our students. Without your contributions some of these may not be possible.

Please note: All classroom supplies will be provided directly to the classrooms in bulk, we are no longer providing individual book packs. Teachers (including specialist teachers) will distribute stationery and other supplies to the students as they are needed.

Payments will be able to be made on Compass from Saturday 18 December 2021.

If you did not receive the Parent Payment Arrangements letter please contact the office asap.

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 Second Thursday - All Term 4 dates are now open for ordering via Compass Canteen.

• Thursday 9th December (Orders closing on 6th December, 3:00pm)

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

Orders need to be placed in advance via Compass Canteen. Ordering will close the Monday before the lunch date at 3pm.

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.

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. Due to COVID-19 Guidelines, this stall is closed until further notice.

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