RPS Chatter February 2024 (2)

What an action packed term it’s been…and we are only 4 weeks in! We have definitely hit the ground running this year and I can’t see it slowing down anytime soon.  I cant believe it’s already that time of year again when the School Council Election process will take place from Tuesday 27th February, 2024.

Richmond Primary School Council consists of:

• 6 elected parent positions
• 3 elected DET positions
• 1 Executive Office (Principal)

We have 3 parent vacancies to be filled.

If you decide to stand for election, you can arrange for another school parent to nominate you, or you can nominate yourself. Nomination will be available from the school office and through a Compass notification that will be sent next week.

Once the nomination form is completed, return it to the office within the time stated on the notice of election which is stated below.

If there are more nominations received than there are vacancies on council, a ballot will be conducted after the call for nominations has closed.

2024 Election Timeline

• Notice of School Council elections and call for nominations – February, 2024
• Close of nominations – 12th March 2024 at 4pm
• Display list of candidates, nominator & seconder (if required) – 13th March, 2024
• Prepare ballot papers and Distribute (if required) – On or before 14th March 2024
• Count votes & declare ballot (if required) – 28th March 2024
• First Council meeting to elect office bearers (the Principal will preside) – Tuesday 16th April, 2024

 

What is a school council and what does it do?

All government schools in Victoria have a school council. They are legally formed bodies that are given powers to set the key directions of a school within centrally provided guidelines. In doing this, a school council is able to directly influence the quality of education that the school provides for its students.

 

Who is on the school council?

There are three possible categories of membership:

• A mandated elected Parent category. More than one third of the total members must be from this category. Department of Education and Training (DET) employees can be Parent members at their child’s school as long as they are not employed at the school.
• A mandated elected DET employee category. Members of this category may make up no more than one third of the total membership of school council. The principal of the school is automatically one of these members.
• An optional Community member category. Its members are appointed by a decision of the council because of their special skills, interests or experiences. DET employees are not eligible to be Community members.

The term of office for all members is two years. Half the members must retire each year, creating vacancies for the annual school council elections.

 

Why is Parent membership so important?

Parents on school councils provide important viewpoints and have valuable skills that can help shape the direction of the school.

Those parents who become active on a school council find their involvement satisfying in itself and may also find that their children feel a greater sense of belonging.

 

How can you become involved?

The most obvious way is to vote in the elections, which are held in Term 1 each year. However, ballots are only held if more people nominate as candidates than there are positions vacant.

In view of this, you might seriously consider standing for election as a member of the school council or encouraging another person to stand for election.

 

Do I need special experience to be on school council?

No. What you do need is an interest in your child’s school and the desire to work in partnership with others to help shape the school’s future.

 

What do you need to do to stand for election?

The principal will issue a notice and call for nominations following the commencement of Term 1 each year. All school council elections must be completed by the end of March.

If you decide to stand for election, you can arrange for someone to nominate you as a candidate or you can nominate yourself in the Parent category.

DET employees whose child is enrolled in a school in which they are not employed are eligible to nominate as parents for the school council where their child is enrolled

Once the nomination form is completed, return it to the principal within the time stated on the notice of election. You will receive a Nomination Form Receipt in the mail following the receipt of your completed nomination.

If there are more nominations received than there are vacancies on council, a ballot will be conducted during the two weeks after the call for nominations has closed.

 

Remember

Ask at the school for help if you would like to stand for election and are not sure what to do.

Consider standing for election to council this year.

Be sure to vote in the elections.

Please don’t hesitate to contact me on 9428 1909 or 0412431228 for further information.

That’s all from me this week

Stay safe.  Stay healthy.  Stay happy and remember to be kind to yourself and others.

Megan

 

 

Our Foundation students are settling in really well, adjusting to new routines and building their school stamina.

In Inquiry (Investigations) we are learning about “Belonging and Wellbeing” – looking at our different families and communities as well as learning from our mistakes and the power of the word “yet”.  We have also been learning to identify our emotions through The Resilience Project.

In Reading we have been enjoying sharing our opinions about texts, including our favourite characters or parts of a story.

In Writing we have been recounting our weekends and Investigations, focussing on initial sounds, finger spaces and full stops.  Maths has seen us explore the attributes of shapes and different ways of representing numbers 0-9.  All in all it has been a great start to the year!

Forest Edge Camp

We had the most wonderful time at Grade 5/6 camp, participating in activities such as water sledding, bush hut building, archery, mountain boarding, zip line and the list goes on.

“My favourite part of camp was the flying fox because you go to go so high in the air and it’s scary but fun at the same time” – Elliot C

“Water sledding was exhilarating, I loved going through the rapids” – Zach W

“I loved archery, we got to use real arrows and they gave us instructions on how we could be more accurate to get a bulls-eye. It was really fun!” – Maeve 

A huge thank you to all students who took the time to prepare and present a house captain or SRC speech over the last 2 weeks.

 

For the past few weeks students have been learning more about Chinese New Year and how it is celebrated. They have especially enjoyed learning more about lion and dragon dances and the role that they play in Chinese New Year celebrations.

As we start to get our teeth into the school year, it’s always great to reestablish positive behaviours around wellbeing to ensure a great year ahead. Thinking about how devices are a significant part of every day and ensuring a healthy balance of their use is important. A few practices that are helpful include:

• Charging devices in a shared space, rather than bedrooms;
• Limiting time on devices (there are apps to turn off devices using a timer, such as ‘Downtime’)
• Using devices in a shared space, encouraging openness
• Having open conversations about how we are using our devices
• Limiting devices for everyone during a certain time, for example, dinner time.

From the Alannah and Madeline Foundation, here is a 7-minute read with some helpful resources that could be helpful.

https://www.alannahandmadeline.org.au/learning-resources/digitalk/guiding-your-childs-tech-journey-with-digitalks

 

Foundation

• Olivia S – For settling into school with a smile and for being a kind friend.
• Teddy A – For having a fantastic start to Foundation. He has settled into school with ease and has been so helpful and kind to everyone in our class.
• Harry C – For settling in well to the beginning of school and for being a kind friend to others!

 

Year 1/2

 

• Charlotte H – For your cheerfulness and positive attitude. Thank you for making the class happy with your infectious laugh, Charlotte!
• Percy S – For always coming into the classroom with a “can do” attitude and an eagerness to learn! What a wonderful start to 2024.
• Ted K – For the way you help out your teacher and classmates is an inspiration to us all. You try your hardest in everything you do, and I loved reading about the parrots in your fig tree. You have adapted beautifully to life in the class. Way to go, Ted!!!
• Zoe F – Using your growth mindset and finding new ways to solve maths problems. What a fantastic start to the year Zoe!
• Ava W – Her can do attitude towards all areas of her learning! Well done Ava!

 

Year 3/4

 

• Freddie F – For always coming to school ready to learn, with a big smile on his face, even after the rough start to the week!
• Camille R – For walking into everyday with a friendly smile and hard working attitude. It’s such a pleasure to have you in our class! Congratulations Camille.
• Harlan U – You have started the year on fire! You are making such responsible, mature learning decisions, you are going to have an AMAZING year!
• Edie S – For her fantastic contributions to class discussions and positive attitude towards learning

 

Year 5/6

 

• George B – For being a positive, kind and supportive team member in our camp group, and always looking for ways to help and support everyone. Thank you George!
• Yuvaan M – For showing such positivity and determination whilst on our 5/6 camp last week. You had a go at all the challenging activities and were a fantastic team member, always cheering on your teammates. We were all very lucky to be in your group! Well done, Yuvaan!
• Mason L – His positive and helpful attitude on camp and role model behaviour in the classroom.
• Rose C – Setting an excellent example on school camp. Congratulations, you have entered grade 6 so positively!

 

 

Please see the below list of extracurricular activities that you can enrol your child into for 2024:

Drama lessons: Thursdays, Lunch Time

Music Lessons: Individual Bookings

Tennis Lessons:  Wednesdays & Thursdays, 8:10AM – 8:50AM

Dance Lessons: Wednesday’s, Lunch Time

Chess Club: Fridays, 8:00AM – 8:50AM

If you are interested in any of the above activities for your child, please see the links below for further information.

• Drama Lessons
• Music lessons
• Tennis Lessons
• Dance Class
• Chess Club