16/10/2022

Term 4 SWPBS Focus

Kindness

‘Kindness is free, sprinkle it everywhere.’ – unknown.

Respect, Responsibility, Resilience.

School Vision:

Our school’s vision is to prepare young people to become active, engaged and responsible citizens of the local and global community. 

• We will provide a safe, calm and welcoming learning environment where every child is treated as an individual.

• We will develop children who have a strong relationship to school and their community. The children will have a sense of self & understand how they learn.

• We will build and support an open, healthy and welcoming community that is visible in its practical support for the learning and wellbeing of each child. Children will be encouraged to embrace and celebrate difference and they will experience positive interactions with adults.

• We aim to foster a love of and for our natural environment and nurture a strong sense of stewardship within our students.  Eppalock PS prioritises environmental sustainability.

What an unusual, and at times worrying, end of the week we had.  The rain that came down on Thursday was predicted but I am not sure the impact was.  A huge thanks to all of our families for being proactive and either keeping students home or coming out to pick them up early from school.  The waters across roads on Thursday were quickly rising and remaining staff were able to get out, just in time.  At the time of leaving Axe Creek was just flowing over Strathfieldsaye Road, the corner of Axe Creek Road and Strathfieldsaye Road was flooded and there was some fast rising water flowing over the middle of Axe Creek Road on the exit out.  Some staff had to leave cars on-site and hitch a ride with staff with larger cars.  The amount of water around the area was unbelievable.  The decision to close the school was made late Thursday night while rain was still falling and impact not looking to get any better Friday.  Safety is always the first priority.  As is always the way – a closure then results in better weather.  Apologies for any further inconvenience this may have caused families on Friday.  School is back to normal Monday.

We understand there may be some families heavily impacted by the weather and flooding, please let us know if there is anything school can do to assist.  For some, this may have been a traumatic event and if you need any guidance about someone to speak with, please also contact the school.

We had our first day of our school review last Monday the 10^th October. It was a positive day with some good feedback about student learning, staff, school environment and the improvements the school has made over the past four years.  The panel will be back at school this Wednesday the 19^th October to complete their work and develop the next Strategic Plan.  There is still an opportunity for parents to have a conversation with the panel from 8:30am.  If you are interested please contact the school so this can be arranged.  So far we have two parents coming in, but there is room for more if you let me know.

Students are busily participating in some athletics training at the moment across the school (when weather allows)  It is easy to forget that our Prep-Two group have not yet participated in a combined athletics day at the Flora Hill Athletics Track.  This year it is our turn to organise the day, if you have some spare time on that day and you would be able to help out in some way, please contact the school.  We would love to have as many parents attend the day as possible.  Helping out would just involve, either walking around with a group to help supervise and manage some of the larger groups, or helping at a specific event with measuring or timing.  Thanks in advance.

Thanks to those families who were able to provide some feedback about food items and eating at school.  The link is still open with the results being further discussed at school council on the 20^th October.  The policy sub-committee is also reviewing the school healthy eating policy with this planned to be discussed further and possibly ratified at the meeting.  I will put a summary of the survey results in the newsletter next week so that everyone can see the feedback.

It was great to see we had a couple of students at breakfast club last Tuesday morning.  I will run this again Tuesday morning this week for students who would like some breakfast.  It is open from 8:15am-8:45am.  If you would prefer your child not be part of breakfast club, please let me know.  At this stage, all who enter are welcome to have some breakfast. 

Reminders

• Please ensure longer hair is tied back each day when coming to school – this has been going well thank you!
• Any changes to regular pick up routines are best communicated via phone and speaking directly to a staff member so that it can be recorded in the after school pick up folder. We cannot always guarantee an email will be seen in time during the day.
• Staff duty of care begins at 8:45am in the morning.
• Broad-brimmed hats are required for term 4.

New Australia-wide Fire Danger Ratings

The information below comes from the Axe Creek CFA and is important information for all families in our school community to know.

• On 1 September 2022 Fire Danger Ratings changed across Australia. 
• Fire Danger Ratings provide information so people in affected areas can take action to protect themselves and others. The higher the fire danger, the more dangerous the conditions and the greater the impact will be if a fire starts.
• The new system uses better technology and research to determine fire danger ratings and was developed using feedback from one of Australia’s largest surveys of communities. The new ratings are designed to be easier to understand and provides clear advice about actions to take.
• There are now four fire danger rating levels. When no Fire Danger Rating is issued, the arrow will point to a white ‘no rating’ level.
• From August, old fire danger signs will be covered with a sticker letting communities know that fire danger ratings are changing. Old signs will be replaced with new ones from September. The signs will be replaced according to the communities whose fire season will arrive first. As the summer approaches be sure to monitor conditions and check the VicEmergency websiteor app whilst at home and before travelling.

What do the new ratings mean for Eppalock PS?

Eppalock PS is on the Bushfire At-Risk Register (BARR).  Schools and children’s services listed on the DET Bushfire At-Risk Register (BARR) will be closed when a Catastrophic fire danger rating day is determined in their Bureau of Meteorology district.  

Where possible, we will provide parents with up to four days notice of a potential Catastrophic day closure by letter, phone tree and/or school Facebook page.  A Catastrophic day will be determined by the Emergency Management Commissioner no later than 1.00 pm the day before the potential closure.  Once we are advised of the confirmation of the Catastrophic day we will provide you with advice before the end of the school day.

Once confirmed, the decision to close will not change, regardless of improvements in the weather forecast.  This is to avoid confusion and help your family plan alternative care arrangements for your child.  It is also important to note that:

• No staff will be on site on days where the school is closed due to a forecast Catastrophic day.
• School camps will be cancelled if a Catastrophic danger rating day is determined for the Bureau of Meteorology district in which the camp is located.
• As a bus co-ordinating school all bus routes will be cancelled.

On these Catastrophic days families are encouraged to enact their Bushfire Survival Plan – on such days children should never be left at home or in the care of older children.  For those of us living in a bushfire prone area, the CFA advise that when Catastrophic days are forecast, the safest option is to leave the night before or early on the morning.  As part of preparing our school for potential hazards such as fire, we update and complete our Emergency Management Plan.

What can parents do?

• Make sure your family’s bushfire survival plan is up-to-date and includes alternative care arrangements in the event that our school is closed.  
• Ensure we have your current contact details, including your mobile phone numbers.  Keep in touch with us by reading our newsletters and checking our Facebook page.
• Most importantly at this time of year, if you’re planning a holiday or short stay in the bush or in a coastal area, you should check warnings in advance of travel and remain vigilant during your stay.
• If your child is old enough, talk to them about bushfires and your family’s bushfire survival plan.
• You can access more information about children’s services closures on the Department of Education and Training website – see http://www.education.vic.gov.au/about/programs/health/pages/closures.aspx

This information will be included regularly in our Term 4 and Term 1 newsletters.

School Items for removal

We have some awnings at the back of the school which can be claimed at any stage.

Transition and enrolments for 2023

At this stage we have 8 Foundation students enrolled for 2023 which is fantastic for the school, as well as a couple of other students moving into the area and joining the school.  A transition letter outlining our end of term arrangements has been sent out to families via email.  It is not too late to enrol at Eppalock PS.  If you know of anyone thinking about enrolling in the school, please encourage them to make contact as soon as possible to ensure staff and classroom planning can take place.

If you are planning on leaving Eppalock PS next year, please let us know as this also helps with future staff and class planning.

Let’s have an active fun summer of cricket…   

Strathfieldsaye Jets Cricket Club welcomes new and existing players to register for the 2022/23 season.  Registrations are now open for Junior Blaster (ages 5 to 7), Master Blaster (ages 8 to 10), U11, U12, U14, U16, and Junior Girls teams via the link below:

https://play.cricket.com.au/club/strathfieldsaye-cricket-club/1a3bd37b-87d8-eb11-a7ad-2818780da0cc

We look forward to a fun filled summer of cricketing action for all ages. 

If requiring further information, or any queries in general please feel free to contact us via email strathfieldsayejets@gmail.com or the phone numbers below.

“Live local, Play local”

Brent Yates | Junior President | 0434 730 711

Marc Sherwell | Junior Secretary | 0418 365 461 

Strathfieldsaye Jets CC