SCHOOL COUNCIL MEMBERS 2024

School Principal: Greg Sampson   President: Jenny Hauselberger 

 Vice President: Chris Avery  Treasurer: Isaac Eldridge  DET Rep: Kelly Henderson  & Erin Mitchell Secretary: Duanne Corbett 

Parent Reps:  Ashlee Baker, Erin Wallace, Andrew Heatley.

Dimboola Primary School would like to acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the Wimmera Mallee area:

the Wotjobaluk, Jaadwa, Jadawadjali, Wergaia and Jupagalk peoples, and pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging.

Today the Prep students celebrated 100 days of learning at Dimboola Primary School. They came dressed in either casual clothes or something to show 100. I am encouraged by the progress that they have made in the short time they have been at school. Thanks to the parents and carers who supported this casual clothes day.

I had the pleasure of attending the principal conference at the Melbourne Convention Centre with other principals and school leaders from across the state on Monday 29th July. I listened to the key directions that the education department will be going in as presented by the Education Minister Hon. Ben Carroll and listened to the presentations from South Melbourne Primary School on the work that they have done in developing their literacy and English programs. After listening to this, I was heartened to reflect that although our school has a way to go, our school is well placed having undertaken extensive work in phonics, phonological awareness and explicit direct instruction on the key directions we need to take. Our focus on literacy through the work of Xanthi Rice, Shae Walsh, Erin Mitchell and our wonderful teachers has seen steady growth in student learning. Skills in phonics, phonological awareness, oral language, vocabulary, fluency and comprehension are foundational skills essential as they move further on in their educational journey.

School council met on Wednesday 24th July to discuss:

· Financial reports

· Principal report

· Teachers’ reports

· Parent’s Club Report

· Buildings and Grounds

· School fete preparation – to be held on Friday 13th September 3:30 – 7:00 on the big oval.

NB: We currently have a casual vacancy on school council created by one of our members moving from Dimboola, if anyone is interested in coming onto the school council, please contact the school. Meetings are held on the third Wednesday of the month and usually run for 60 to 90 minutes. Commentary from members is that being a part of the school council, gives them an idea of what is happening at Dimboola Primary School.

The parent opinion survey link was distributed yesterday to a percentage of families. It will provide parents with an opportunity to reflect on the school and provide us with feedback on what we are doing well along with suggestions on areas for improvement. I encourage all families who receive a letter for the survey to spend some time completing this.

We are excited to announce a series of Open Days where you will have the opportunity to observe our current practices and school routines. These sessions are designed to provide you with a glimpse into the environment in which our students grow and thrive.

Please find below the schedule for our Open Days:

· Literacy Session

o Date: Friday, 2nd August

o Time: 9:00 AM

o Duration: 30 minutes

· Maths Session

o Date: Wednesday, 7th August

o Time: 11:30 AM

o Duration: 30 minutes

· Social Play Session

o Date: Thursday, 8th August

o Time: 2:15 PM

o Duration: 30 minute

Each session will last approximately 30 minutes, followed by a tour of the school. This will allow you to observe our classroom activities and get a broader view of our school environment.

If you are unable to attend any of the scheduled times, please contact the school office to arrange a suitable time to visit and view our school. We are committed to ensuring every family has an opportunity to participate.

To ensure a smooth experience for everyone, we kindly ask that you arrive a few minutes early and sign in at the front office upon arrival. This will help us manage the sessions efficiently and provide the best possible experience for all attendees.

We look forward to welcoming you and sharing the wonderful opportunities we offer to our students. Should you have any questions or need further information, please do not hesitate to contact the school office.

People will have seen lots of development occurring with the new kindergarten on the little kids oval.

This new centre will provide additional kindergarten places for the local community, while making drop-off time simpler and more convenient for some families.

We are working closely with the Victorian School Building Authority (VSBA), who will oversee construction works. We expect the kinder to be completed and open Term 1, 2025. The kinder will be operated by an external organisation with experience in running kinders. Once appointed, they will manage all enrolment, staffing and program enquiries.

We’re mindful of any impact construction might have on our community, and we’re working with the VSBA to minimise this. The VSBA will create a dedicated webpage for the project so that you can track its progress and get updates.

More information If you have any questions about the works at Dimboola Primary School Kindergarten (interim name), you can contact the VSBA by phone at 1800 896 950,

email

vsba@education.vic.gov.au

or visit their website:

https://www.schoolbuildings.vic.gov.au

Dear parents and carers

You may have seen the recent announcement of the School Saving Bonus, as part of the Victorian Budget 2024/25. We are sharing more information about how families will be able to access and use this support.

This one-off support will include $400 for each eligible student to help families cover the costs of school uniforms and activities in 2025.

It will be available to parents and carers of every child enrolled in a Victorian government school in 2025.

Cash will not be paid directly to individuals or families. Instead, families will receive the bonus as credits on their school accounts that will help meet the costs of your children’s activities and uniforms.

Existing supports The School Saving Bonus support will be in addition to existing and continuing means-tested supports for camps, sports, excursions and uniforms. The application-based Affordable School Uniform program, through State Schools’ Relief, will continue to be available to families experiencing financial hardship or other forms of vulnerability and short-term crisis. This program allows schools to make multiple applications for support on parents' behalf throughout the year if needed.

There will be more information and guidance about the School Saving Bonus in Term 3, 2024, ahead of its implementation in 2025.

Student safety at Dimboola Primary School is our highest priority and the safe and appropriate supervision of students is an important element of our duty of care to students. Part of this duty is ensuring parents and students are aware of our student supervision arrangements before and after school.

Before school: School grounds are supervised at 8:30 am

After school: School grounds are supervised 3:25 pm.

Students on school grounds outside these times will not be supervised (unless they are attending a before or after school care program or supervised extracurricular activity).

Parents/carers are requested to ensure that students do not attend school outside of these supervised times unless they are attending before or after school care, or a pre-arranged supervised activity (i.e. sports practice).

For a copy of our school’s Yard Duty and Supervision Policy through the Dimboola Primary School Website or contact the school office. This policy includes Dimboola Primary School’s student supervision arrangements across the school day, including before and after school.

A reminder about the importance of safety around students who have severe food allergies. We currently have one student who has anaphylaxis to nuts. This student is in Grade 2/3 so we ask parents to be mindful of lunches and snacks that contain nuts particularly in this classroom. Students are reminded not to share food with classmates.

Please refer to our Anaphylaxis Policy attached to this newsletter for further information.

We are asking ALL FAMILIES if possible to please bring in any favourite family recipe you have to be added into our school cook book! We'd love to have them!  Happy for you to email the school with a recipe.

dimboola.ps@education.vic.gov.au

This will be a great keepsake and hoping to have books ready to sell at the School Fete.

Ask families, friends and grandparents.

Thank you 

Please remember on lunch order days, to either use the app or place your lunch orders in the class room tub on a Tuesday morning.

Make sure your childs year level is correct on the bag so DMSC know which tub they go in .

If this helps you can also put lunch orders through the app for a fortnight as we are all busy sometimes we forget, so this can be very useful.

Thank you 

Orders must be completed before 8.40 each Tuesday morning.

Please remember to bring the lunch wallets in on the Tuesday. If YOU have ordered on line using the QKR APP - You only need to write the CHILDS NAME ON THE LUNCH BAG. (Not the order)

If you are still paying CASH please Have the order written on the lunch wallet.

Thank you 

School fees for 2024 for essential education items are to be $125. This pays for your son/daughter to have books, pencils, glue sticks, scissors, photocopying. This is a voluntary payment

A $40 cultural performance fee, per child, for 2024 is required for your child to participate in the performance. Those that do not pay up front will be asked to pay per performance of $10.00. Those who do not pay will not attend.

Payment Policy below - 

The Victorian Government has announced new Child Safe Standards to further strengthen child safety across organisations, including schools. The new standards recognise the critical importance of families and the broader school community in maintaining and promoting child safety and wellbeing.

Dimboola Primary School has reviewed and updated our child safety policies and procedures to ensure they meet the requirements of the new standards. These are available to view on the Dimboola Primary School website or available at the front office

We are committed to continuous improvement in our approach to child safety and wellbeing and welcome feedback from families and members of our school community on ways we can further strengthen our child safety policies, procedures and practices.

If you have any suggestions, comments or questions,

please contact Greg Sampson, principal.

With school returning it would be a timely reminder to all that:

o Drivers need to give way at school crossings until the pedestrians are well clear of the crossing

o Park in designated spots so as not to create ‘black spots’ for other drivers

o The ‘Kiss and Drop Zone’ at the front of the school is for a quick drop off or pick up.

o Obey the 40kmh speed limits around the school.

o There is a large ‘drop off’ zone in Wimmera Street that has a gate to allow children to walk across the big oval if it is too congested at the front or back of school.

o Bike riders will dismount from their bikes at the front gate (Hindmarsh Street) or the back gate (Church St) and wheel their bikes to the racks.

o Please assist with the education of your child by using the school crossing. Near misses have occurred due to people taking short cuts.

o Bike/scooter riders are to dismount prior to using the school crossings.

Please call into the office if you require a form to fill out

Thank you 

Wednesday 31st July - Wednesday 31st July – Grade 1 and 2/3s swimming at Horsham swimming at Horsham

Thursday 1st August – Cultural Performance The Alpha Show – “Snow Queen”

Wednesday 7th August - Grade 1and 2/3s swimming at Horsham swimming at Horsham

Wednesday 14th August – Professional Practice Day This is a student free day

Wednesday 21st August – WWSSA Athletics in Warracknabeal (letters to be send out in due course), School Council Meeting 6:30 pm start

Friday 23rd August – Book week dress up

Wednesday 28th August – Grade 1 and 2/3s swimming at Horsham swimming at Horsham

Thursday 29th August – Cultural Performance “Sussing out our Solar System”.

Wednesday 4th September – Grade 1 and 2/3s swimming at Horsham swimming at Horsham

Thursday 5th and Friday 6th September – Grade 3 and 4s camp to the Little Desert.

Thursday 12th September – Little Desert Athletics in Stawell

Friday 13th September – Dimboola Primary School Fete.

 Friday 20th September – Last day of Term 3 – 2:15 pm finish.