I would like to extend a warm welcome to all students and families to an exciting school year ahead! In particular those families who are new to our school in 2019 we hope you have settled in well and are enjoying our community. Our staff have been working tirelessly over the past few weeks making sure classrooms and our school environment were ready for a fantastic start. Week 1 and 2 have begun smoothly with students engaged in learning and developing new friendships in classrooms.

Our recent “Meet the Teacher” afternoon was a big success with many families visiting classrooms and being involved in learning tasks with their children. All families should have received classroom brochures now outlining class structures and routines. If you have not received this brochure please contact class teachers for a copy.

We are excited to release our Positive Behaviour support Policy this week which outlines whole school structures to promote positive behaviour. Please make time to discuss this policy with your children to ensure a shared understanding of structures being implemented across our school. Keep an eye out for post cards being sent home and values vouchers being talked about.

I would also like to take this opportunity to welcome new staff members to our school this year, we are very lucky to have some exceptional operators join our team in 2019 who have varied backgrounds and come to us with outstanding skills;

Rhonda Turner - School Business Manager

Leah-Anne Wiseman – Social Worker (Mon/Tues)

Anne Green – Office staff (Mon/Tues)

Anita Button – 3/4C class teacher (Mon-Thurs/Fri)

Lauren Sackley - 3/4A class teacher

Sandra Ley – 4/5B class teacher

Abby Dillon – P/1A class teacher

Emily Faulkner – Teacher Intern (working with Kinder Westerhof) 

This year our school is aiming to increase communication with families and endeavour to involve parents with children’s learning at every step. We would like to build whole school structures and a common language across the school to keep all community members up to date. Our new values document is a great example of this. In keeping with this students are doing a fantastic job wearing hats in Term One with very few students sitting in the courtyard under shaded areas because of forgetting to wear a hat. We have also noticed a shift in the use of bikes and scooters around the school since making this a focus. Students are aware they are not to ride these on school property otherwise they may face confiscation and collection of the item by parents.

 Could I please remind parents that the school day finishes at 2.50pm and students are engaged in learning up until this time. If you need to collect children before this time parents are required to contact the office and sign students out, office staff will then have students sent to office for collection. This is vital for us to protect the safety of all students under our care.

 Once again I would like to thank all of our community for a fantastic start to the year and I look forward to the exciting achievements we will celebrate moving forward as a school community. My final observation is to request an increase in the number of family members that engage with our school association, we are looking for new members to support decision making in our school in order to gain a broad understanding of the needs and goals of our community.

The first meeting for 2019 will be held on Wednesday 6^th March, 3.15pm – School Office

 Regards

Tim Nicholas

Principal

Garden Vegetable Nachos - $4.00 - this Thursday.  Just order as normal Thursday morning.

If you have applied for STAS (Student Assistance Scheme) and have received an invoice/statement for levies, please do not pay until you have been notified by the Department that you have been approved or not.  If you have already been approved our records will be updated as soon as possible.  Please contact the School Office if you have any concerns.

All students from Prep to Grade 6 have been given ICT user agreements to be signed. These agreements show that students are aware of their  responsibilities when using our equipment and their phones. Please return these to school as soon as possible. If you have any questions in regard to these agreements please contact Chris Raspin.

In 2018 the catering groups raised $400. They decided to buy cricket bats for classrooms with this money.

The Claremont Girl Guides are holding their CAR BOOT SALE at their hall and car park from 10.00am - 2.00pm on Sunday 24th February opposite Claremont Village, Boxhill Road, Claremont.  Lots of bargains available on the day.  Sites are $10 inside (includes table) or $5 outside.  Please come and support guiding in Claremont.  We have vacancies for girls aged 5-18.