Weekly Update - Term 2 Week 3

07-May-2021

Dear families,

A huge thanks to the army of volunteers who helped us transform a couple of outdoor spaces last week at our Working Bee. The results are fantastic, and we are excited to see the Veggie patches planted out with seasonal seedlings (beetroot, snow peas and carrots etc) and the Indigenous garden along Edithvale Rd. with 125 new plants and grasses now in the ground. The efforts of everyone in attendance has made a big difference to our school, and importantly, through the Veggie Patches, we are able to provide new opportunities to learn about Biological sciences.

NAPLAN– we wish all of our Year 3 and 5 students all the best for next week as they embark upon the NAPLAN assessments. I want to take a moment to reassure our students that the results, although of some importance for future teaching, do not define them. We will be proud of our students, no matter what their test scores show and we will continue to encourage them to try their hardest and do their best in whatever they put their mind to.

When the testing is finished our students will still have the same talents and abilities and still be great kids! ‘Not everything that can be counted counts and not everything that counts can be counted‘ (attributed to Albert Einstein)

Tip of the week- from the Springfox group https://www.springfox.com/

Realistic Optimism – Optimism is a broadly based ability to think positively. Optimists are more successful in life and work if they can be realistic. Optimists focus on, and celebrate, the positive.

Realistic optimists balance out negative and positive things in situations, circumstances and people. They have the courage to explore opportunities, where others are blocked by risk and failure, with the belief that the future will be better than the past. It turns out that:

  • Optimists are less likely to develop infectious diseases than pessimists
  • Optimists maintain a healthier lifestyle than pessimists
  • There is evidence that optimists live longer than pessimists

Child Safety – The Victorian Government is committed to the safety and wellbeing of all children and young people. The Child Safe Standards are compulsory minimum standards for all Victorian early childhood services and schools, to ensure we are well prepared to protect children from abuse and neglect.

As an example, all Staff undertake the Department’s Mandatory Reporting and Other Obligations eLearning modules annually. A code of conduct and Child safety policy further detail how we aim to keep our community safe. The attached ‘PROTECT’ pdf reaffirms that everyone has the right to be safe and protected from any form of abuse. These posters are displayed throughout the school.

Staffing Update. We recently appointed a new First aid Officer – Holly Smith- who takes over from Stacey in this role. Stacey will still be available to help out in the sick bay in between undertaking other tasks in her Administration/Business role. Welcome Holly!

Happy Mothers’ Day to all of our amazing Mums for Sunday May 9th. I hope that you have a very special day and that you are appreciated for the incredible job you do each and every day.

Take care and have a great weekend

Term 1 Canteen Price List Child Safe Standards Poster

James Whitla