IMPORTANT DATES!
TERM 4 2020
PRINCIPAL’S MESSAGE
As I write today we have had another wonderful week at RGLPS. Students are already right into the swing of things with our Start – Up program concluding today and our regular learning program commencing on Monday the 15th of February. Our new Prep students have had an incredible transition. I continue to walk into very calm and settled work spaces and have really enjoyed learning all about our new students.
Around the school it was a fairly exciting week with most classes running an electoral process where student representatives were elected to work with our school community and represent their peers. This process is a great opportunity for students to get out of their comfort zones and practice some skills that will support them in all of their future pursuits. I have had many conversations this week, where students have expressed how exciting and nerve racking an experience it is. It does give me an opportunity to reiterate how important the effort is and not the result. I am very excited to spend some time with our leaders and listen to their ideas in the near future.
5-Day Lockdown Announcement
As you know there has been an announcement that we are in a stage 4 lockdown from tonight until 11:59 on Wednesday the 17th of February. We will keep you updated as soon as additional information has been posted to schools. In the interim we assume that these restrictions will operate as per the last stage 4 lockdown. At this stage that means that the school will not be open until the 18th of February. TheirCare will run before and after school care for only those students who are permitted to attend school. If you believe that your child/ren is eligible to attend school for the three days please contact me directly at Kirrily.Lamers@education.vic.gov.au over the weekend so that I can organise supervision.
During the last lockdown the following students were the only ones permitted to attend.
- Children on days when they are not able to be supervised at home and no other arrangements can be made. This will be available for children of parents who cannot work from home and must attend a workplace
- Any vulnerable children
I believe that the same conditions will apply but I do need to wait for direction from the Department of Education and Training (DET) before I can confirm this.
As soon as we know what format of learning is expected we will inform you of the next steps.
Parent Information Session
Whilst we had planned to run our parent information session next week we are now altering our plans due to the latest lockdown restrictions. Our plan is to record the information when we are able to have all teachers on site and send the videos to our community as soon as we can. During the session we will be running through reporting for 2021, curriculum content, camps, excursions and other team specific information.
Meet the Teacher Evening
Meet the teacher night is something that we are trying this year as we work together to find the best methods for communication and reporting. Once again just to be safe we will now run these sessions through Webex during the week beginning on the 22nd of February. Each session will be 10 minutes in duration and bookings are open now through Compass. Once your booking has been made classroom teachers will send out a link to the meeting as confirmation of your time slot. Please note these are not sessions for reporting as classroom teachers have not yet had time to accurately assess each student’s point of need. They are a great opportunity for you to share information about your children and to open the lines of communication with a new classroom teacher. Please note that SSG’s will commence the following week. SSG’s are in lieu of a meet the teacher session as we have increased the length of the SSG.
A getting to know your child form has been posted on Compass. It would be greatly beneficial if you could return a copy to your child/ren’s classroom teacher by Friday the 19th of February in preparation for the meet the teacher session.
School Council
An election is to be conducted for members of the School Council of Rosanna Golf Links Primary School.
Nomination forms may be collected from the office from Thursday the 18th of February and must be lodged by 4pm on Monday, 25th February, 2021.
The ballot (if required) will close at 4pm on Thursday, 4th March, 2021.
Following the closing of nominations a list of the nominations received will be posted at the school. The terms of office, membership categories and number of positions in each membership category open for election are as follows –
If the number of nominations is less than the number of vacancies, a notice to that effect and calling for further nominations will be posted in a prominent position at the school.
Kirrily Lamers
Principal
ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL’S REPORT
Changes to Parking
Banyule City Council:
“Standardisation of parking restriction times around schools
Following schools adopting staggered starting and finishing times, Council has conducted a review of parking restrictions around schools in the municipality. As part of this review we have identified some changes that need to be made to the existing school related parking restrictions.
To incorporate the staggered school starting and finishing times, Council will be standardising school related parking restrictions to occur between
8:00am – 9:30am and 2:30pm – 4pm.
Please be advised that this change is not expected to have any adverse effects on parking for residents in the area, as only the time is being adjusted to assist the school community.”
If you have any queries or concerns, please contact Banyule City Council on 9490 4222.
Also, please be aware that the drop off area has now been changed to a 2 minute area. We have had parking officers present and giving out fines.
Free Parenting Seminars
Given the news today about the lockdown occurring tonight. It is an important time to keep talking to our children and supporting them through this potentially confusing and uncertain time. Our children look to us for guidance and stability and it is vitally important to model how we manage ourselves through adverse situations.
Here are a few resources that you might find useful to begin talking to your child about COVID-19
https://nursedottybooks.files.wordpress.com/2020/03/dave-the-dog-coronavirus-1-1.pdf (picture book for Foundation -1/2)
INSERT – How to communicate with your child about COVID-19 PDF
Luke Franklin
Assistant Principal
TEACHING AND LEARNING
Term 1 2021 Team Newsletters
Team newsletters for Term 1 are now available for parents/carers to view on Compass. These newsletters provide an overview of the teaching and learning focus for the term, details of specialist days/times and other useful information and reminders. We encourage all parents/carers to take the time to read these newsletters so you can support your child’s learning and stay informed about what is happening at school.
See Term 1 Team Newsletters at Compass -> Community icon -> School Documentation -> Year Level Newsletters -> 2021
Benefits of Regular Home Reading
Regular reading is probably the most important learning habit that children can develop. At RGLPS, it is expected that all children read daily as part of our school homework expectations. This might be with an adult in the early years or independently as children gain confidence and move up the school. Taking time to discuss the text before, during or after reading also helps to build comprehension.
‘Reading stamina’ is the ability to maintain reading focus for an extended period. Many classes across the school are currently focusing on their ‘stamina’ to help children read for longer periods. Like any skill, we learn through regular practise. The longer students can sustain reading focus, the more reading experiences they will be able to enjoy and the more their reading and related skills will improve. A quick challenge is to encourage your child to time how long they can read for and to set stretch goals for their reading stamina.
The table below paints a clear illustration in the difference in words encountered by a person who engages in regular and sustained reading as opposed to short, irregular bursts of reading:
Imagine the amount of new words, concepts and ideas that Child A would have exposure to over time compared to Child B!
However, aside from improving reading skills, reading also positively impacts many other aspects of learning including:
- – Improved vocabulary
- – Improved writing and spelling
- – Development of empathy
- – Improved self-awareness
- – Improved memory
- – Increased general knowledge
- – Awareness and understanding of difference
Hopefully, this information has convinced all parents to support their child in developing positive reading habits and a regular home reading routine. If you would like to read more about the benefits of regular reading, please click the following link: https://youngreadersfoundation.org/importance-of-reading/#:~:text=Reading%20is%20an%20exercise%20for%20the%20mind.%20It,up%20to%2030%20reasons%20why%20reading%20is%20important. You are also welcome to speak to your child’s teacher, the team leader or myself if you need further advice around this.
Essential Learning and Portfolio Tasks on Seesaw
This year, our ‘Essential Learning’ updates will commence from Term 2 and reflect the Victorian Curriculum Achievement Standards. Teachers will provide an update to parents/carers on student progress in English, Mathematics and Specialist areas. The updates will reflect what your child has demonstrated they can do on a year level portfolio task or skills that the teacher has observed during class.
Teachers will update your child’s learning at the Victorian Curriculum level your child is working within using a two-point scale:
Not Yet Apparent
Complete
‘Essential Learnings’ will be updated throughout the year as your child progresses in their learning. You will be able to see the evidence of their learning on tasks uploaded to Seesaw. Classroom teachers will annotate and add portfolio samples several times per term and specialist teachers will upload one portfolio sample per term for their respective area. (Please note that specialist portfolio samples will not be annotated.)
To view ‘Essential Learning’ updates, please follow the pathway below:
Compass -> View Academic Reports -> Continuum’ -> 2021 and then choose the relevant curriculum area.
Please speak to your child’s teacher, the team leader or myself if you need further support or have questions around Essential Learning updates.
Have a great week everyone!
Kerron Worsdell
Teaching and Learning Coach
SCHOOL PHOTOS
CSEF – CAMPS, SPORTS AND EXCURSIONS FUND
The Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund helps eligible families to cover the costs of school trips, camps and sporting activities.
If you have a valid means-tested concession card, such as a Veterans Affairs Gold Card, Centrelink Health Care Card or Pensioner Concession Card, or are a temporary foster parent, you may be eligible. There is also a special consideration category for asylum seeker and refugee families.
Payment amounts this year are $125 for eligible primary school students. Payments are made direct to the school to use towards expenses relating to camps, excursions and sporting activities for the benefit of your child.
If you applied for CSEF through our school last year, you do not need to complete an application form this year, unless there has been a change in your family circumstances.
If you would like to apply for the first time, please contact the school office on 9457 4178 and ask for an application form.
You can also download the form, and find out more about the program and eligibility, on the Department of Education and Training’s Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund web page.
Check with the school office if you are unsure, and please return completed forms to the school office as soon as possible.
PRIVACY COLLECTION STATEMENT – PRIMARY SCHOOLS
Information for Parents and Carers
During the ordinary course of your child’s attendance at our school, school staff will collect your child’s personal and health information when necessary to educate your child, or to support your child’s social and emotional wellbeing or health in the school context. Such information will also be collected when required to fulfil a legal obligation, including duty of care, anti-discrimination law and occupational health and safety law. If that information is not collected, the school may be unable to provide optimal education or support to your child, or fulfil those legal obligations.
For example, health information may be collected through the school nurse, primary welfare officer or wellbeing staff member. If your child is referred to a specific health service at school, such as a Student Support Services officer, the required consent will be obtained. Our school also collects information provided by parents and carers through the School Entrance Health Questionnaire (SEHQ) and the Early Childhood Intervention Service (ECIS) Transition Form.
Our school may use online tools, such as apps and other software, to effectively collect and manage information about your child for teaching and learning purposes, parent communication and engagement; student administration; and school management purposes. When our school uses these online tools, we take steps to ensure that your child’s information is secure. If you have any concerns about the use of these online tools, please contact us.
School staff will only share your child’s personal or health information with other staff who need to know to enable the school to educate or support your child, or fulfil a legal obligation.
When our students transfer to another Victorian government school, personal and health information about that student will be transferred to that next school. Transferring this information is in the best interests of our students and assists that next school to provide optimal education and support to students.
In some limited circumstances, information may be disclosed outside of the school (and outside of the Department of Education and Training). The school will seek your consent for such disclosures unless the disclosure is allowed or mandated by law.
Our school values the privacy of every person. When collecting and managing personal and health information, all school staff must comply with Victorian privacy law. For more information about privacy including about how to access personal and health information held by the school about you or your child, see our school’s privacy policy: https://www.education.vic.gov.au/Pages/schoolsprivacypolicy.aspx
Throughout this notice, ‘staff’ includes principals, teachers, Student Support Service officers, youth workers, social workers, nurses and any other allied health practitioners and all other staff at our school. This includes employees, agents and service providers (contractors) of the Department, whether paid or unpaid.
CANTEEN
Welcome to canteen for 2021!
Lunch must be ordered via Flexischools.
The canteen is open Monday, Wednesday and Friday for lunch. Smaller items can be purchased over the counter at recess and lunch.
Regards
Margaret Groves
COMMUNITY NOTICES
Disclaimer: Rosanna Golf Links Primary School (RGLPS) does not endorse any product or service advertised in this newsletter. RGLPS takes no responsibility for the content of advertisements or the quality and reliability of products or services offered in the advertisements
