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OUR SCHOOL VISION: TO FOSTER

SRPS Sponsors

Issue 17 - 6/11/2020

CALENDAR

10th November

Step into Prep 12:10-1:15

11th November

Remembrance Day

12th November

Step into Prep 12:10-1:15

20th November

SRC Free Dress - Gold

coin or food donation for

MSFIN

Dear Parents/Guardians,

I hope you all enjoyed the beautiful weather earlier this week and had an opportunity to

spend time with loved ones with less restrictions in place. We were inundated with sto-

ries from happy looking children about the adventures over the long weekend.

This week there has been a very positive buzz around the school and is lovely seeing eve-

ryone progressively more settled into the “covid safe” return to school. Thanks to families

for keeping me in the loop if your child is struggling and thankyou to our staff for their

ongoing efforts and communication with families to look out for the wellbeing of all.

During our Student Free day on Monday the 2nd of November we worked on our 2021

Annual Implementation Plan. We are grateful to our community for supporting our plan-

ning day. Next year we will have three Key Improvement Strategies (KIS) that are aligned

with DET priorities and our School Strategic Plan.

KIS Learning catch up

Goals

Embed Professional Learning Team (PLT) structures to support teacher collaboration to

ensure a consistent delivery of the pedagogical models in Literacy and numeracy.

Actions

Student intervention tutoring program

High Ability Practice Leader

Data coach/peer feedback

Staff Professional Development

IEPs

Data and assessment

High impact Instructional models

KIS Happy, active and healthy kids

Goals

Establish and embed routines and prioritise time in the school day and classes to revisit

the policies, practices and philosophies of the Positive Behaviours for Learning (PBL) regu-

larly.

Actions

School wide positive behaviours for learning coordinator to work with coach towards

accreditation.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

24 Oct Alice Fisher

Kiara Hubbard

Oliver Lewis

25 Oct Braxton Mirabella

26 Oct Joel Waddington

27 Oct Taylum Robinson

28 Oct Jade Shepherd Taylah Luxmoore

30 Oct Isabella Cole

2 Nov Olivia Cartwright

3 Nov Campbell Hickford

5 Nov Taleah Thompson

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Staff Professional development

Restorative practices

Mindfulness

Respectful relationships

KIS Connected schools priority

Goal

Strengthen and embed the school-wide approach to communication with parents/carers/kin, incorporating the new ways in

which schools connected during remote and flexible learning

Actions

Prep transition coordinator

Regular care team meetings for at risk students

Opportunities for parents to attend meetings via webex

Thanks you to Andrea Huxley for forming a partnership with AWARE wildlife rescue so our school can support the water for wildlife project called ADOPT a heat stressed playground. For this project we provide wildlife in our school grounds with wa-ter stations. This is a way of providing supplemental water from November to March each year to combat the effects of glob-al warming on permanent water supply.

Well done to our Environmental Leaders for committing their time to such a worthy cause.

Have a great weekend.

Nicky Fammartino Principal

Finally I would like to share with you a message from our Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton.

As students in both mainstream and specialist settings recommence on-site learning in Term 4, I want to thank you all for

your efforts during this challenging time. I also want to reassure you that the health, wellbeing and safety of children, young

people and those involved in their education continues to be of paramount importance.

Throughout the pandemic we have closely monitored the impact of coronavirus (COVID-19) on schools; the strategies that

can be implemented in schools to reduce risk; and the health impacts of coronavirus (COVID-19) on children and young peo-

ple, including those with a disability or complex medical condition

Research by Murdoch Children’s Research Institute found that coronavirus (COVID-19) transmission in schools is uncommon

when community transmission is low. A summary report of these findings is available to read.

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The health and safety measures recommended for schools focus on the strategies we know are most effective. These include

ensuring unwell staff and students remain home, good hand hygiene, enhanced cleaning and wearing face masks (only man-

datory for those 12 years and over attending high schools). Temperature screening is not currently recommended for schools,

given low levels of community transmission. I encourage you to read the health and safety advice for schools for further infor-

mation on what schools are doing to keep students and staff safe.

The most important thing I ask of every family this term is to keep your child home from school if they have even the mildest

coronavirus (COVID-19) symptoms and to get tested as soon as possible. Staying home when unwell is one of our strongest

measures to limit the spread of the virus. For more information on what to do if your child is unwell, see this fact sheet .

The good news is that evidence continues to show that children are less impacted by the virus, and are less likely to develop

severe illness. Additional advice for families has been developed for those with medical vulnerabilities to support decision

making about on-site learning at this time.

Working together to implement COVIDSafe strategies, I am confident Victoria’s students can continue to safely attend school

throughout Term 4.

Adj Clin Prof Brett Sutton

Victorian Chief Health Officer

For more information read the Victorian Chief Health Officer letter (link) or contact the Health Promotion and Pre-vention Team via email: Health.advice@education.vic.gov.au

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Lisa Durham Acting Assistant Principal World Teachers’ Day Last week we celebrated World Teachers’ Day. This year, more than ever, I’m sure you’d agree our teachers are deserving of a HUGE acknowledgement! Their dedication and commitment towards improving the lives of the children in their care this year has been nothing short of sensational. You are the school’s greatest resource! Positive Education Day Today we celebrated Positive Education Day. Students enjoyed a variety of activities to celebrate the day including cele-brating their strengths and giving service to their school. A fantastic day! Kinder to Prep Transition & Y6 Graduation Following the latest easing of COVID-related restrictions, our staff have been putting in place adjusted plans for both Kinder to Prep Transition and Year 6 Graduation. We have set aside dates to allow our 2021 Preps an initial three, fifty-minute ses-sions of on-site transition alongside nine of their future classmates. At this stage we’re still restricted in regards to the adults who are able to attend Year 6 Graduation, however it looks like it could be ‘otherwise normal’ for our Graduating Class of 2020. Thank you to the staff for their tireless work in planning and re-planning in this ever-changing landscape. Your collec-tive ongoing dedication to provide the students with the best possible experience is extremely admirable. Student Attitudes to School Survey Annually, students in Years 4 – 6 are invited to participate in the Department of Education and Training Student Attitudes to School Survey (AtoSS). The information below outlines the purpose and confidentiality measures. About the survey We value student voice as a means to improving student engagement, wellbeing and quality instruction and have conducted a survey to find out what your child thinks of our school. The AtoSS is an annual student survey offered by the Department of Education and Training to assist schools in gaining an understanding of students' perceptions and experience of school. This year, the survey also includes some questions about student health and wellbeing and student perceptions of COVID-19. Understanding health and wellbeing needs has always been important, but especially so this year, and the Department is providing this survey to allow schools to capture this information to support students. Students were asked about their thoughts and feelings in relation to their school, family, friends, health (including mental health) and wellbeing, and bullying. The health and wellbeing questions are taken from another Department survey called the Victorian Student Health and Well-being Survey (VSHAWS) that has been conducted with a sample of schools in Victoria since 2014. The questions about COVID-19 have been developed by or recommended by the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute. What are the risks? While we do not anticipate many risks of participation, some students may find the survey questions to be more personal and sensitive in nature this year. Students were free to skip questions or to withdraw at any stage if the survey made them upset or uncomfortable. What are the benefits? In our experience, the majority of young people enjoy having the chance to have their say. Our school will use the survey results to plan programs and activities to improve your child's schooling experience. How is my child’s confidentiality protected? Your child will be provided with a unique login to complete the survey from their teacher. The student login is an assigned identifier that may be used to link data for statistical and research purposes only. Personally identifiable data will not be rec-orded in the survey response file. This ensures that the confidentiality of your child’s responses is protected at all times. How will results be reported? The survey results will be reported back to the school in an aggregate form in term 4. All survey data that is made available in reports are for groups of students only so that no individual student can be identified. Data suppression rules are used for schools with low student numbers per year level. Have a lovely weekend Lisa Durham Assistant Principal

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From the office:

WE WANT OUR PARENTS TO TELL US WHAT THEY THINK!

Our school is conducting a survey to find out what parents think of our school. The Parent Opinion Survey is an annual

survey offered by the Department of Education and Training that is conducted amongst all parents. It is designed to assist

schools in gaining an understanding of parents’ perceptions of school climate, student behaviour, student engagement

and experiences of remote and flexible learning. Our school will use the survey results to help inform and direct future

school planning and improvement strategies.

All parents will be invited to participate in this year’s survey. All responses to the survey are anonymous. This year, the

Parent Opinion Survey will be conducted from Monday 12th October to Friday 13th November.

The survey will be conducted online, only takes 20 minutes to complete, and can be accessed at any convenient time

within the fieldwork period on desktop computers, laptops, tablets or smartphones. The online survey will be available in

a range of languages other than English. These include: Arabic, Vietnamese, Mandarin, Chin (Hakha), Hindi, Japanese,

Somali, Turkish, Punjabi and Greek.

Please contact the school if you would like more information.

2020 Parent Opinion Survey

If you have a student transferring at the end of the year please complete the form below.

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Junior School

DID YOU KNOW…….Australians are one of the highest producers of waste per person in the world. Australians throw out about 14 million tonnes of rubbish each year – that’s about 800kg each! The Junior School students have been learning how we can make a difference to our environment.

Braxton has been our local envi-

ronmental superhero. He has

been picking up rubbish in our

school yard and around his home

to make sure our wetlands are

kept rubbish free for the animals

that live there.

Oscar and Jack brought the turtle that

was found on the road to show the Jun-

ior School students before releasing it

at the wetlands.

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Middle School Here in the Middle School we look for opportunities in the face of Covid-19 restrictions. Since we could

not go to camp at the Briars, we decided to adapt the Camp to Somerville Rise. This week the students

have been challenged with a variety of activities you would expect to find on camp… Bush cooking (on

the BBQ), an obstacle course, a scavenger hunt and environmental art just to name a few. Many smiles

were worn on the faces as they embraced the idea “school camp”.

There have been many happy conversations about the daily activities around dinner tables each evening,

that the parents have kindly let us know so that we can say school camp was a big hit this week!

We hope you enjoy the photos of our week’s fun and cooperative learning.

Linda Kallinikos

Middle School Teacher

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Senior

School Digital Technologies

Senior School students have been busy learning about how binary represents numbers using 1s and 0s.

Students have created an image pattern using ‘pixels’ and have written the binary code. A computer

represents this by using two numbers: 1s and 0s. Here are some examples for you to see.

Learning Intention: I am learning to understand how computers store and send digital images and we

are going to be able to represent images in a digital format.

Success Criteria: I can understand how computers store and send digital images and we are going to

be able to represent images in a digital format.

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OCTOBER

Leaders on the rise award

Awarded to

JSP Ruby Barre MSKW Kalani Love

JSH Tonton Regondola SSJ Jack Knights

JSDS Abby Kelly SSK Pippa Love

MSD Bailey Fletcher SSPR Darcey McFarlin

MSG Benjy Fellows

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STEAM

Science Technology Engineering Arts Maths

Somerville Rise Citizen Scientists have been out and about collecting valuable data on Australian bird

populations. Our focused attention enabled us to see that there are a number of bird species that call

Somerville Rise Primary School home, in addition to a number of FIFO friends who Fly in and Fly out col-

lecting food and resources. Among the sightings, we recorded Galahs, Sulphur-crested Cockatoos, Kooka-

burra, Magpies, Australian Ravens, Ibis (affectionately referred to as Bin Chickens) Magpie larks, Yellow-

tailed Black Cockatoos and Rainbow Lorikeets nesting in a tree hollow near the 5/6 playground!

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Visual Arts. There just may be a Llama in the classroom, since returning to school. The Middle School students have been learning

about textiles and fabric art. The students have made turtles, using icy pole sticks and wool. Next, Llamas entered the

building! Using the skills from the turtles the students began to weave and to create a Llama loom and began talking about

weft and warp as the wool moved under and over our Llamas. Peace and calm overcame the class as the students helped

each other to create delightful artwork. I am so proud of the Middle School students, how they worked together with the

sometimes-tricky task of weaving.

Wonderful weaving as you can see.

I am so looking for to our next sewing adventure . Linda Kallinikos

Visual Arts Teacher

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Finger Painting. It’s time to get your fingers creating!

Make and create with Scented Playdough

Create your very own Stone

Shadow Drawing – there are hidden pictures everywhere!

Land Art. What can you make from nature?

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THESE ADVERTISERS SUPPORT US, SO PLEASE SUPPORT THEM

Somerville Rise Primary School acknowledges the traditional owners of country throughout Australia and their continuing connection to the land and communi-

ty. We pay our respects to them and their cultures, and to the elders past And future.