It was a wonderful start to our year last week. There was a calm and friendly atmosphere in the school with children catching up with old friends and making new ones. Our school values of We are Learners, We are Fair, and We show Respect are clearly evident. Our new Foundation children are settling in well, along with new children at other year levels. I encourage everyone to help make new families feel welcome in our school community.
This time last year we started school in oppressive heat and under thick smoke with bushfires a very real threat. Covid 19 was beginning to make news around the world. A lot has happened in the twelve months since then and it is such a relief that the 2021 school year has begun in a relaxed and positive manner.
We are now operating under the new Covid normal. Parents are welcome on site and masks are not mandatory, but we ask that visitors be mindful of maintaining social distancing at times such as assemblies or other gatherings. Teachers are reminding students about hand cleaning and sanitising, and we are ensuring that extra cleaning and sanitising is happening during the day. We are asking that children are kept home if ill in any way.
Swimming Sports – Ages 9+
This Friday (5th Feb) is our school house swimming event for children turning 9 and older. This takes place at Yackandandah Pool. The early weather forecast is looking like rain on Friday – we will make a final decision about the swimming event going ahead later in the week and if necessary we will reschedule. Assembly will be at 3:10pm on Friday afternoon back at school – please note that if it is raining the assembly will be cancelled.
Welcome Pool Party
Normally we would have a school community pool party on the same evening as the swimming sports day. Due to the predictions for poor weather in the afternoon/evening we have decided to cancel this.
School Council
I would like to introduce our School Councillors. School Council serves a very important role in the governance of the school.
School Council elections take place in Term One each year. There are four parent representative positions that will become vacant. Current councillors may renominate and other parents are also welcome to nominate. More information regarding school council elections will be in the next newsletter. If you would like to discuss what is involved in being on School Council or what School Council is responsible for please feel free to chat with any of the current school councillors (including Michael, Carly and Robyn at school).
Foundation Students
Don’t forget that Foundation students do not attend school on Wednesdays during February. Robyn and Carly will be in touch to organise a time during one of those Wednesdays to conduct some testing with your Foundation child.
Information Evenings
Each class/level will hold information sessions for families to familiarise them with routines, expectations and other details. They will also be able to answer any general questions you may have at that time. We aim to keep the sessions no longer than 30 minutes. The dates/times are as follows:
Foundation/Yr. 1 : Tuesday 9th Feb, 6pm
Yr. 2 : Monday 8th Feb
Yrs. 3/4 : Wednesday 10th Feb, 6pm
Yrs. 5/6 : Thursday 11th Feb, 6pm
Waste wise
We are encouraging students to bring ‘nude food’ to school. This means bringing food in reusable containers rather than in disposable wrapping. If wrapping does come to school with lunches we will ask students to place it back in their lunchbox after they have finished eating and take it home again. Students will not be ‘in trouble’ if there is wrapping – we are simply trying to work toward the Plastic Free Yackandandah goals. Please ensure all containers and lids have your child’s name clearly marked on them.
Privacy
Our school collects, uses, discloses and stores student and parent personal information for standard school functions or where permitted by law, as stated in the Department of Education’s Privacy The policy can be read here: https://www.education.vic.gov.au/Pages/schoolsprivacypolicy.aspx.
A final reminder: please label everything your child brings to school. We often have a build-up of lost items that have no name.
Michael Edwards
Principal
Family Statements
Statements will be sent home this week. The charge for Student Insurance $6.05 has been added to family accounts. If you do not wish to pay the Student Insurance please let me know. The student insurance includes cover for broken bones, loss of teeth obtained during school activities and organised sporting activities where the student is a registered and/or a paid –up participant of an established sporting association. For further details please call into the office.
Voluntary Contribution
When families are paying the Voluntary Contribution please either pay it as a separate amount or send me an email with how much the contribution is. Due to Department policy I am not allowed to invoice families for the contribution before it is paid and I also cannot presume that you are paying it.
OSHC Statements
OSHC statements will be sent home tomorrow and then each fortnight. The statements will include all of the Vacation Care Program charges. It would be appreciated if families could keep their OSHC accounts up to date.
Forms
Last Thursday the eldest child in each family took home an envelope with various forms inside for each child in the family. The forms included:
All these forms need to be returned as soon as possible. Classes walk across to the Yackandandah Library and students cannot attend without the permission form.
Please check the student details forms and make any updates to contact details, emergency contacts, medical and Occupation codes.
Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund (CSEF)
The Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund helps eligible families to cover the costs of school trips, camps and sporting activities.
If you have a valid means-tested concession card, such as a Veterans Affairs Gold Card, Centrelink Health Care Card or Pensioner Concession Card, or are a temporary foster parent, you may be eligible. There is also a special consideration category for asylum seeker and refugee families.
Payment amounts this year are $125 for eligible primary school students Payments are made direct to the school to use towards expenses relating to camps, excursions and sporting activities for the benefit of your child.
If you applied for CSEF through our school last year, you do not need to complete an application form this year, unless there has been a change in your family circumstances.
If you would like to apply for the first time, please call into the school office and ask for an application form.
You can also download the form, and find out more about the program and eligibility, on the Department of Education and Training’s Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund web page https://www.education.vic.gov.au/about/programs/Pages/csef.aspx
Check with the school office if you are unsure, and please return completed forms to the school office as soon as possible.
Absences
If your child is absent from school the office as well as the classroom teacher needs to be informed. Absences can be reported by emailing the school on yackandandah.ps@education.vic.gov.au, phoning the school on 60271 729 or on the school website at https://www.yackaps.vic.edu.au/ and click register an absence. It is Department regulations that all absences and a reason are recorded.
Late Arrivals/Early Departures
If your child arrives at school after 9am or is being picked up prior to 3.30 they must be signed in or out by a parent or guardian.
Calendar
A lot of dates have been added to the Calendar on the school website. Please check the Calendar on the School Website for school events happening during the year.
Scholastic Book Club
Scholastic has been proudly bringing adventure and the unrivalled enjoyment of reading to multiple generations of Australian families via Book Club. Each Issue of Book Club contains specially curated, age-appropriate titles that have been carefully selected and levelled by a team of professional booklovers.
With numerous studies finding that reading at home is a key factor in a child’s lifelong success, Book Club provides a fun and easy way of bringing books into a child’s home. It provides families with an affordable and convenient way to access the best in Australian and international children’s literature.
Brochures are sent home twice a term.
This year orders can only be done through the Book Club LOOP for Parents.
Students have today taken home a Scholastic Book Club Brochure and order form. Orders need to be submitted through the Book Club Loop by Thursday 18th February.
Music Lessons at YPS
We are very fortunate at Yack Primary to be able to offer private music tuition from experienced teachers in Piano, Guitar, Voice, Ukelele and Violin for those wanting to extend their child’s musical education beyond the classroom music program. Lessons take place weekly and scheduled at times within the normal school day. Teachers are now taking enrolments for 2021 with limited places and interested parents wishing to inquire about lessons are asked to contact Sandra in the office or Jenny Cope-Williams (Music Teacher) for further details.
School Swimming
The school swimming carnival is taking place this Friday (weather permitting). Any decision to post-pone the carnival may not be made until Friday morning.
The carnival is for students in Years 3-6 and the first race will begin at approximately 9.45am at the Yackandandah Swimming Pool. All races should be finished by 11.30am and there may be time for a short ‘free swim’ at the end. We are looking for approximately 6 helpers to assist with timing lanes. If you are able to help out, please email Brendan at brendan.hogan@education.vic.gov.au
Children have already nominated what events they would like to participate in. All events are 50m (up and back in the Yack pool). All races will be timed, with the three fastest times in each stroke and age group receiving ribbons for 1st, 2nd and 3rd. Age groups are based on the age a child will be by December 31, 2021. All students who participate will also earn points for their House, with the ‘House Cup’ being awarded at assembly.
Students will not have access to the canteen and should bring their bathers, a top to wear when not racing, their school hat, food and plenty of water. Students are encouraged to dress in their House colours. Permission forms were sent home last week and need to be returned by this Thursday.
IMPORTANT CHANGE: This year, there will be no ‘district’ event at Chiltern. Instead, children will qualify directly for the ‘division’ event at Waves, Wodonga, taking place on Friday, February 19. The qualifying times children when need to meet are as follows:
| 9/10 Yrs | 11 Yrs | 12/13 Yrs |
Freestyle 50m | 50 sec | 45 sec | 45 sec |
Backstroke 50m | 60 sec | 55 sec | 55 sec |
Breaststroke 50m | 65 sec | 60 sec | 60 sec |
Butterfly 50m | 60 sec | 55 sec | 55 sec |
The Library is bursting with new books ready for a fabulous year of reading ahead! I hope you all had a terrific break, enjoyed some travel, reading, audio books and maybe even got some new books for Christmas?
I was away for the last week of Term 4, 2020, and was so thrilled to recently discover that the Gum Tree Pie Drive, and money form $20 boss, had been donated to the School Library. A massive thank you and shout out to Mel, Seb and all the team at Gum Tree Pies, Junior School Council, Brendan and Lauren. This money is already being spent on some great new books for the students to enjoy and borrow this week during our first Library sessions.
Book Sale
The book sale at the end of last year raised $57! Thank you to everyone who bought or took away free books. We’ll probably hold another one at the end of first term, as I continue to cull duplicates and unborrowed titles form our collection.
In The Library
This year I have offered to continue to volunteer to teach the Library sessions with Foundation, Year 1 & 2 students at YPS. Library for these classes will take place each fortnight on even weeks, starting this week with the Year 2’s Wednesday 3 Feb; and the F/1’s on Thursday 4 Feb. Please remember to ensure your child has a library bag in order to protect the books on their journey home.
In week 2 we will be introducing the Library to Foundation, whilst Year 1 & 2 will be refamiliarising themselves with Library processes. There will be lots of fun to be had this year, and I’m really looking forward to teaching the students again!
Returning Books
Thank you to those families who ensured books were returned at the end of last year. I will be chasing up a few that are still outstanding from 2020 this week.
Sarah McAlister
Hot lunches are commencing on Friday 12th February. Cost per lunch is $5.
An order form for the whole term will be emailed out to families today and we are requesting that the order forms are back at school by this Friday to enable collating over the weekend and payment for the term in full is made by Wednesday 10th February. Please check the Calendar on the website to check if there are any dates which your child won’t be at school.
We are still looking for volunteers who could commit to coordinating the ordering and volunteers as a Hot Lunch Co-ordinator and other volunteers who could commit to collecting FoodShare food from Wodonga on a regular basis. We also need volunteers to help on a Friday each week. If you can assist please indicate on the Order form.
We also would like some helpers this Friday to give the kitchen a deep clean. If you can assist please let me know.
There is a Facebook Group for Parents called 'Yackandandah Hot Lunches' where I provide updates on the meals and callouts for volunteers when there are unforeseen changes. Please feel free to join this page so you are kept up to date.
Many Thanks,
Clare Kellaway
Welcome back to OSHC!
We hope you have all had a wonderful break and are glad to be back at school, we are!
2021 Bookings
Just a reminder to families that bookings can be created and deleted for our care sessions via the iParent Portal. We also ask that if you require care and haven’t done so already to create a portal account and enrol your children into our service. If you have any questions regarding this please email Siobhan.Moore2@education.vic.gov.au. The link for the portal is below.
https://app.kidsoft.com.au/p/YackandandahPrimaryOSHC/find-a-place
There is a step-by-step guide link below for creating a portal account and enrolling a child.
https://www.yackaps.vic.edu.au/source/iParent%20Portal%20Guide.pdf
Emergency contacts
Once you have completed your child’s enrolment please make sure information regarding emergency contacts is up to date in your portal. It is important that we have this information so that we have a person to contact if we cannot reach you directly.
Toy Callout
As part of our sustainability practices this year we are looking at giving unwanted and used toys a new loving home at OSHC. We would love to give your unused toys, sports equipment, books and art supplies and new lease on life! If you have anything you believe is suitable please feel free to leave them in our OSHC space for our children to use.
Healthy Lunchbox Week
Healthy Lunchbox Week is an initiative of Nutrition Australia that aims to inspire Australian families to create healthy and enjoyable lunchboxes.
Did you know children consume around 30% of their daily food intake at school? Most of this comes from the contents of their lunchbox. What children eat during their day at school plays a crucial role in their learning and development.
Healthy Lunchbox Week helps families prepare healthy lunchboxes by:
Why 7 - 13 February?
Occurring at the start of Term 1, when school is back and the daily preparation of lunchbox making has set in, Healthy Lunchbox Week supports schools in sharing relevant lunchbox messaging across the whole school community.
Calling anyone keen to try TENNIS!
There will be a ‘come & try’ hit of tennis (Hot Shots
https://hotshots.tennis.com.au/find-a-venue/?type=venues&postcode=3749&location=Yackandandah%2C+VIC+3749&distance=5 ) happening at Yack Tennis Courts open to anybody no matter their skill level (encouraging 5-10 yr. olds) for 4 Wednesdays in Term 1 2021.
The first Wednesday will be the 10th February, and thereafter the 17/2, 24/2 and 3/3 (if there is any inclement weather, we can have Wed 10/3 as a back-up session).
The idea is to inspire/expose/nurture kids and tennis to see if they like it and if so continue offering options for kids to help develop enough skills to go on and play junior competition etc.
THIS IS NOT COACHING and PARENTS NEED TO STAY, support their child/ren, even have a hit to their child or another’s. There is a mandatory cost of $10/child (insurance under Yack Tennis Club) but that covers them for as many/as few of the sessions that they might attend.
I will be attending all sessions so please let me know your interest or just show up :) my contact is 0425 707 346 if you have any questions.
I look forward to seeing you on these dates for lots of fun and something new and exciting.
Louise Thornton