Wallington P.S. Newsletter

Term 3 - Week 5 - 2022


Principal News

We Want Our Parents/Caregivers/Guardians to Tell Us What They Think!
Our school is conducting a survey to find out what parents/caregivers/guardians think of our school. The Parent/Caregiver/Guardian Opinion Survey is an annual survey offered by the Department of Education and Training that is designed to assist schools in gaining an understanding of families’ perceptions of school climate, student behavior, and student engagement. We encourage all families to participate in this survey. Our school will use the survey results to help inform and direct future school planning and improvement strategies.

This year, all families are invited to participate in the survey. The Parent/Caregiver/Guardian Opinion Survey will be conducted from Monday 15th August to Friday 16th September.  An email containing a link to the survey will be sent out on Monday.

The survey will be conducted online, only takes 20 minutes to complete, and can be accessed at any convenient time within the fieldwork period on desktop computers, laptops, tablets, or smartphones. The online survey will be available in a range of languages other than English. These include: Arabic, Vietnamese, Simplified Chinese, Chin (Hakha), Hindi, Japanese, Somali, Turkish, Punjabi and Greek.

Curriculum Day
The next Curriculum day will be held on Friday the 26th August 2022.  Our staff will be commencing the Berry Street Training Model.  Please note that this is a student free day.

Covid Update
With an increasing number of cases prevalent within our community, please keep up to date with health advice. We will give general reminders about masks, keep air purifiers on, encourage hand hygiene etc. Plenty of RATs are available via the office if required.

Staff and Student Absences
Victoria is continuing to experience staff shortages due to illness in many industries, including education. Whilst Wallington is providing an educational program for all our students, we certainly haven't escaped staffing absence due to COVID and other related illnesses.

August School Council Meeting Overview
We want to thank our school council team for their support this month.  As a group we were able to discuss the following at our most recent school council meeting:

  • The extension of the Mental Health and Wellbeing in Schools Pilot supports
  • Finance matters
  • School and community events
  • Professional Learning updates
  • Tutor Learning Initiative reflection
  • Playground Upgrade update

School Smoking and Vaping Ban
By law, smoking and vaping are banned within the grounds of, and within four metres of an entrance to, all childcare centres, kindergartens, preschools and schools.

The smoking and vaping ban applies to:

  • anyone present on school premises during and outside of school hours including students, teachers, contractors, parents or carers or the wider community, such as sporting groups
  • all activities that take place on school premises including pre-schools, kindergartens, outside school hours care, cultural, sporting or recreational activities and school fetes
  • Smoking and vaping are also banned within four metres of any part of a pedestrian access point (entrance) to the premises.

When the ban applies:

The smoking and vaping ban applies at all times, no matter whether the building or school grounds are being used for education purposes or other purposes. The ban therefore applies when other activities are taking place on the school grounds, such as fetes or sporting events, as well as during school hours.

Online bullying – signs and strategies
As your child gets older they will begin to use technology more and more – such as emails, mobile phones, the internet and social media. Unfortunately around 20 percent of young Australians aged between 8 to 17 report experiencing cyberbullying.  Here are some tips on the signs to look out for and what you can do if you think your child is being bullied online. 

What is cyberbullying?
Cyberbullying is the use of technology to bully someone or a group with the intent to cause harm – social, psychological or, in extreme cases, physical.

Cyberbullying can be abusive texts or emails, or hurtful messages, images or videos. Other forms of cyberbullying include excluding others online, imitating others online or nasty online gossip.

What to look out for
If your child is experiencing cyberbullying, you may notice they don’t want to go online or use their mobile. They may get upset when they get a text or an email. You may notice changes in their school work and friends. They may also be withdrawn or appear lonely, sad or angry or not sleep well.

What you can do
If you think your child is being cyberbullied, try not to overreact—reassure your child that you won’t block their access to the internet. There are some really useful resources for parents on the eSafety website, and here’s a few more things you can do:

  • Help your child to stay connected to supportive family and friends both online and offline.
  • Advise your child not to reply to any messages from a bully. Often if bullies don’t receive a response they will give up.
  • Help your child to collect evidence of the cyberbullying material.
  • Report the cyberbullying material to the website administrator or social media service. If the site or app does not remove the content within 48 hours, report it to the eSafety Commissioner —they will work with the service to get the content removed.
  • Encourage your child to ‘block’ the bully.
  • Talk to your child’s school if another student is involved.


Parents and Friends

28th July – 12th August      P&F Rolling Pin Pie Drive
Monday 29th August           Fathers Day Stall
Friday 2nd September         2nd Chance Fathers Day Stall 3.20pm
Friday 9th September          P&F Meeting 9am School Hall
Thursday 15th September   Footy Colours Day/Special Footy Lunch


Rolling Pin Pie Drive
Reminder about our Pie Drive.
$4 from every family pie or pie pack sold will be raised for P&F to spend on upcoming events and activities at the school.  The family who raises the most money will be awarded a $50 rolling pin gift voucher!
Forms (CLICK HERE for information/order form) must be returned by TOMORROW to the drawer opposite the office.  Full payment for your total order must be made on QKR.  Orders will be available for collection at the school from 3.00 – 3.30pm on Thursday 25th August.


Breadbag Recycling - 1 month to go!

We have filled 3 boxes of breadbags to date.  We have
2 more boxes to fill by Friday 9th September (last day for collection).  Please drop off your bread bags, roll bags, etc by this date.



Next Meeting
Will be on Friday 9th September 9am in the hall.  Please note this weeks meeting scheduled for Friday has been cancelled.
All welcome to come along for a coffee and chat and see how you can get involved with P&F in 2022. We aim to keep meetings no longer than 1hr in duration.  You can keep up to date with our news and information by following us on facebook “WALLINGTON PS PARENTS AND FRIENDS”





Positive Behaviour Awards



Prep/1 T

Taylor

MADELYN H

For always trying your best  at school.  You have shown you are resilient and never get upset when asked to try again.  Keep up the good work Maddie!


Prep/1 M

Moore

ARCHER B

For listening carefully to feedback about your behaviour and actively trying to improve. Great work!

Prep/1 F

Firns


PEYTON M

For trying your best to learn from any mistakes you make in the classroom and out in the yard. You take feedback on board and do your best to improve your future efforts. You’re doing a great job!

 


2 T

Trezise

MACKENZIE W

For always owning up to your mistakes, and thinking about what you can do next time. You move on and try again without making a big deal, and that is a great attitude to have towards mistakes. Well done Mack!!


2 O

O'Brien

CHARLI P

For always trying your best  with your learning. You always work hard, you learn from your mistakes and take on all feedback with a smile and a positive attitude. Well done Charli!


3/4 V

Vaught

OSCAR V

For demonstrating your resilience and having a go when sharing your ideas to the class about similes. It was a perfect example and you should be really proud of your work. Well done Oscar.


3/4 BR

Belsar/
Ractliffe

KIYOMI B

For getting up the front of the class in Maths and showing us how to make an array with our magnets. You were a little unsure, so you got a friend to help you. Well done on showing great resilience and finding help when needed.


3/4 M

Macys (Farley)

 

OLIVIA M

For great problem solving skills for trying again in numeracy when faced with a challenge.  Well done Olivia.

5/6 S

Stevens

ABBEY B

For being willing to have another go when encountering challenging tasks in the classroom. Well done Abbey and keep up all of your fantastic work!


5/6 B

Bennett

 

LOLA S

For showing great resilience when confronted with challenges. Even if you are a bit unsure at the start you always give everything a go. Well done Spurls!


Notice Board

Story Dogs  

On Tuesday 16th August we will be having a ‘wear something orange’ day as a fundraiser for the 'Story Dogs' program. Students are invited to wear something orange on the day – a hair-tie, T-shirt, socks etc, and bring a gold coin donation which will go towards supporting the wonderful ‘Story Dogs’ program in schools.

On behalf of Sally (our Story Dog pictured here),

 Thank you for your support!! 



Year 5/6's Collecting Jars

The Grade 5/6 learning community is collecting some glass jars for their chemistry unit of work next term. Could families please keep the following type of jars, wash them and place them in the tub at the front office:

120ml, for example, baby food jars
250ml, for example, tartare sauce jars
330ml, for example, salsa jars
500ml, for example, pasta sauce jars

Thank you.
Year 5/6 Team