20-Nov-2020
Dear Families
We are expanding our whole school transition plan to make the start to 2021 as smooth and successful as we can. This means that on Tuesday December 8 and Wednesday December 9, students will spend 2 full days in the classroom with next year’s teacher and their 2021 classmates. We will make every effort to ensure that our students, families and staff lay a strong foundation for what will hopefully be a year with greater certainty and less disruption.
In 2021 our school goals, as they will be for all schools throughout Victoria, are sorted into 3 key areas
- Happy, Healthy and Active Kids
- Learning Catch Up and Extension
- Connection to School
The transitions days will provide an opportunity to start to address these goals and provide a platform for strong relationships to be developed between students and teachers. Over the 2 days of transition we will support students to step up into their new Year level and we are confident that by the end of this expanded transition program our students and staff will be ready to hit the ground running in 2021.
Noting the disruption of 2020, we have, where possible, kept students in a learning environment they are familiar with. We acknowledge that a couple of staff on our 2021 roster cannot be with us for transition but we remain confident, as history tells us, that this will not get in the way of our students’ preparation for the start of next year.
Our planning is based on current Department Guidelines. This includes staggered start and finish times to reduce congestion outside the school grounds and split recess and lunchtimes- which we will be continuing with next year.
The goals of the expanded transition program include:
- Students becoming familiar and connected with their classmates and teachers
- Establishing classroom routines, processes and expectations of students for 2021
- Equip students with the skills to make a positive start to their new year level
- Continuing to build students’ resilience
- Heading into the end of year break feeling strongly connected to school and looking forward to the year ahead
Breakfast Club
We’re excited to announce that on December 1 we will launch a breakfast club that will be coordinated out of the Science Room in our new STEM centre. Breakfast Club will be open to all students from 8:30am each morning until the end of the year. This Program will continue in 2021 and food provided includes bread, cereal and fruit.
The Victorian Government has committed $58 million over four years (2019-2023) to deliver the School Breakfast Clubs Expansion Program, in partnership with Foodbank Victoria.
Research shows that a child’s ability to concentrate in class, self-regulate and learn is negatively impacted if they are hungry. It has been reported that the rising cost of living makes it increasingly difficult particularly for low-income families and families living in poverty to provide enough healthy food for all the family each week. Approximately 20 per cent of children under 15 years old go to school without breakfast at least once a week and 15 per cent go to school without lunch.
Attitudes to School Survey
Late in Term 3 our Year 4-6 students complete the annual Attitude to School Survey. The preliminary results of this survey are very encouraging and reflect the amazing work of our teachers during remote and flexible learning. A few highlights show positive endorsement from our students on topics such as:
I am happy to be at this school -95%
I like this school -95%
I feel like I belong at this school- 88%
I feel proud about being a student at this school- 88%
School Connectedness is an important ingredient in helping students to learn, grow and develop knowledge and skills. The percentages listed above reflect an improvement on 2019- a remarkable achievement considering the disruption of 2020!
Take care and keep well
James Whitla