12-Feb-2021
Dear Families
As I write this, there is a sense of dread that at any moment a snap state wide lockdown might be called. If this is indeed the case we’ll be hurriedly getting information out to our families as soon as it becomes available – and hopefully this will provide appropriate direction and support to get us through this period.
On a more positive note, our staff continue to be delighted with the attitude, effort and application of our students towards their learning this week.
All classes continue to commence each day with a focus on phonics and the reason for this is highlighted below:
Written English is a code for speech. Spoken English has approximately 44 speech sounds that combine to make thousands of words but we only have 26 letters with which to represent them in writing.
The individual speech sounds that make up words are called phonemes. The individual letters or groups of letters that represent the individual speech sounds are called graphemes. Understanding how graphemes map to phonemes is essential for learning to read or ‘decode’ words efficiently.
Knowing letter names gives beginning learners some clue as to the sound that the grapheme will make when written in a simple word. Consider the letters B, D, J, K, P, T, V, Z . Their letter names all contain a clue to the sound the individual grapheme makes in a word — B (b-ee), D (d-ee), J (j-ay). These letters are often easier to learn than the letters that have clues at the end of their names — F (e-ff),L (e-ll), M (e-m), N (e-n), R (ar), S (e-ss), X (e-ks).
This week, in preparation for a launch on Monday, we have trialled our Reading Enrichment and Development (READ) support program. Through Government funding of 60K for the Tutor Learning Initiative, and a similar contribution from our school, we can continue to provide students with effective evidence-based targeted teaching to help them gain the necessary skills and knowledge to become proficient readers and equip them to successfully engage with the daily classroom instruction. Up to 60 students each term will be considered for our READ program. These students have been identified through a variety of screening assessments and standardised tests and we are very excited and bullish about the growth we will see in the coming weeks and months from these students.
Tip of The Week-
Although a quick glance outside the window today suggests that summer has past us by, it is timely to continue to reinforce the need for us all to be SunSmart. Included in the attachment below, among other tips and hints are where to find information about daily local sun protection times and weather details as well as some links to the Sunsmart app and Bureau of Meteorology.
A reminder that our First Student Free Day for the whole school is Friday March 5. On this day we will conduct a follow up session with our Literacy critical friend- Cathy Harrison- to build on our knowledge and skills in teaching reading. TeamKids is available to take bookings and they will run a holiday care program for enrolled students.
Our Second Student Free Day for the whole school is tentatively book for the middle of Term 3- Friday August 20. The focus will be on Wellbeing and we’ve locked in presentations from the Resilience Project and Respectful Relationships team (DET) to help us deeply understand wellbeing and expose us to the myriad of resources that we can use to support students’ health and wellbeing too.
Our last Student Free Day for the whole school will be a data handover at the end of the year- December 17
COVID Safety– From our most recent DET School Operation Guide-
To help reduce coronavirus (COVID-19) transmission risk in our school community please continue to to be vigilant and remain home if unwell. Further information can be found in Managing illness in schools and early childhood services during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic
Visitors to school sites must also wear masks when indoors.
Where possible support physical distancing by remaining 1.5m apart. Where physical distancing cannot be maintained Face masks are recommended
Edithvale Primary School is committed to the safety and wellbeing of children and young people. Our school community recognises the importance of, and a responsibility for, ensuring our school is a safe, supportive and enriching environment which respects and fosters the dignity and self-esteem of children and young people, and enables them to thrive in their learning and development.
This Code of Conduct aims to protect children and reduce any opportunities for child abuse or harm to occur. It also assists in understanding how to avoid or better manage risky behaviours and situations. It is intended to complement child protection legislation, Department policy, school policies and procedures and professional standards, codes or ethics as these apply to staff and other personnel.
To promote child safety in the school environment we acknowledge the following:
All students have a right to:
- Take part in learning programs that meet their individual needs.
- Feel secure and to be safe in a caring and supportive environment.
- Work and play without interference in an atmosphere of harmony and cooperation.
- Receive respect, kindness and courtesy and to be treated with fairness.
- Have learning continued without disruption in a supportive environment.
- Be valued for their individuality including; race, gender, cultural, physical or intellectual diversity.
- Expect the school rules are fair, consistently implemented and respect the rights of all involved.
- To be safe in every aspect of daily life at school, including Out Of School Hours Programs, camps and excursions.
All students have a responsibility to:
- Care and value themselves, others, teachers and the school community.
- Be safety conscious in relation to themselves and others.
- Treat others with respect and good manners.
- Keep the guidelines of good behaviour, modelling and supporting school rules.
- Develop a sense of accountability for their own actions.
- Work to achieve their personal best whilst allowing others to do the same.
- Allow for others to learn and to respect the rights of others.
- Explore their full potential in their learning.
School staff adheres to the following standards about the ways in which school staff are expected to behave with children:
- School staff provide opportunities for all students to learn
- School staff treat their students with courtesy and dignity
- School staff work within the limits of their professional expertise
- School staff maintain objectivity in their relationships with students
- School staff are always in a professional relationship with the students in their school whether at school of not
We are determined to uphold the school’s statement of commitment to child safety at all times and adhere to the school’s child safe policy.
Breakfast Club
It’s great to see so many students accessing Breakfast Club each morning. A reminder that this runs every day from 8:15-8:45. In order for our volunteers to be able to clean, pack up and prepare the space to use for teaching, we will not be allowing students to access this program outside of these times. Thank you for your assistance with this.
Dogs On School Grounds
A reminder also that in the best interests and safety of our students and broader school community, we again respectfully request that NO dogs enter our school grounds. We appreciate and acknowledge that while the vast majority of dogs do not pose a threat or a danger, some can act unpredictably and when they do students can find contact with dogs stressful or even frightening. If you are walking your dog to or from school, please remain outside the school grounds and stay with your pet at all times. Thank you.