HELLO and welcome to this week’s newsletter.

EARN & LEARN- Between May 1st and June 25th you can collect Earn & Learn stickers from Woolworths , stick them on the attached sticker sheet or just send the stickers into school. The more we collect, the more equipment we receive DEBUTANTE BALL 2019– Tickets are available from the Front Office and are $40. Please purchase tickets before Wednesday the 19th of June. The students have been practicing hard and are looking forward to a great night with their peers and families.

WHOLE SCHOOL ASSEMBLY– will be held on Tuesday, June 25th commencing at 10:45 am. We will be presenting our Outstanding Achievers for Term 2 as well as Kiwanis Terrific Kids.

GIVE ME 5 FOR KIDS- Give Me 5 for Kids is Southern Cross Austereo’s national fundraiser which has been supporting and raising funds for local children’s hospital wards across regional Australia for the last 22 years.

We are holding a ‘Pyjama Day’ for ‘Give Me 5 for Kids’ on the last day of term. There will be an iPod shuffle disco for the students to enjoy; a gold coin donation would be appreciated.

AP ANNOUNCEMENT– Dear Parents and Carers, It’s my pleasure to announce the appointment of our new Assistant Principle Carolyn West. Please join with me congratulating Carolyn on her new role. Carolyn will be an asset to the VRS community.

SCHOOL COUNCIL– next meeting is on Tuesday, June 18th at 7:00pm REPORTS HOME Reports will be posted home on Wednesday, June 26th. It has been wonderful for Carolyn and I to read the progress the students have made in their first 6 months of 2019!

LAST DAY OF TERM– is on Friday, June 28th; we will finish 1 hour earlier than normal, at 2:00 pm. Buses will run earlier as well as parent pickup time.

ANGELA BUXTON

PRINCIPAL

UPCOMING EVENTS Tuesday, June 18th……………………………………………………...School Council

Tuesday, June 25th………………………………………………………Whole School Assembly 10:45 am

Thursday, June 27th……………………………………………………..Debutante Ball GV Hotel

Friday, June 28th…………………………………………………………Last Day of Term ’Pyjama Day’ 2:00pm finish

VERNEY ROAD SCHOOL

NEWSLETTER ISSUE #9 June 14th , 2019 Principal: Angela Buxton Assistant Principal: Carolyn West Website: http://verneyrd.vic.edu.au Email: verney.road.sch@edumail.vic.gov.au

PO Box 1551 Shepparton 3632 Phone 5821 8185

Fax 5822 2915

DISCUSS THIS...

You have probably all heard the saying “every dark cloud has a silver lining.” When life gets hard – as it so often does – a way of getting through can be to find the silver-lining, or humour even, in situations that can really get us down. For just a mo-ment, try to relieve an intense situation by allowing yourself to let go, encourage a bit of light and laughter. When our kids are fighting health battles on top of their diagnosis it adds to the daily challenges they face and places additional pressure on us in our dual roles as both parent and caregiver. We are already operating in overdrive with tired minds and bod-ies; add an additional layer of health worries and we will just about keel over. There have been many times when I have felt stretched to breaking point and one of two things usually happens; I bounce back from the brink, or that cord snaps and so do I! The latter is not a good look (just ask my better half!) Yet, how many of us does this happen too? I know there’s also a tendency to add further to the pressure we’re under by not want-ing to speak up and admit that things are hard. We somehow feel that by voicing how we’re feeling, we’re admitting that we’ve failed or that we’re not coping. The complications we all face in our lives are as varied as our kids and their diagno-ses, but whatever the challenges may be, the fact that they exist unites us, it’s the part of parenting a child, or children, with disabilities that we all have in common. We all want the very best for our kids and we sacrifice a lot to give it to them, includ-ing giving ourselves some very much needed (mental) slack from time to time. So the next time you are facing some adversity in your diverse situations, be kind to your-self. DO pat yourself on the back for the continual fight you put up for your child; for the enormous effort you have endured in the past, the present and for the future. DO recognise that if you didn’t have the energy last week, this week, or even next week to keep up the fight, give yourself a mental break. Watch your self-talk. Instead of should, would, could - try “I need to take care of myself so I can recoup to fight again” DO know that even if you didn’t find the silver-lining today, you can always try again tomorrow. Quite often it can be found in the reflection of the little eyes looking back at you. Take care.

Darren.

SPECIAL NEEDS AND SILVER-LININGS. HOW WE DEAL WITH ADVERSITY.

DARREN MILES

SOCIAL WORKER

with D.J. Miles

SENIOR YEARS E2

DEBUTante ball practice Excitement is building among Senior students as our Deb Ball is ap-proaching. We have been practising for a number of weeks and will have our first session with our partners on Friday. A number of our Year 10’s are coming along on the 27th to support their friends and to see what a wonderful night they can look forward to in 2021.

Delicious Dog Treats The Year 11 Numeracy class have been making delicious dog biscuits and birdseed bells to raise money to support the RSCPA. Dog biscuits are $1 per bag and seed bells $2 each. They are available at the office.

We have been working hard the last week and a half to prepare and research the difference be-tween where we were born and where we live

now. On Thursday, we got to stand up and pre-sent the different lives that we have lived. All

students had to ask a question at the end of their presentation.

RDA Riding Develops Abilities

This year, the students who attend RDA have had a great time

participating in activities and games to develop their skills and

confidence when riding horses. They have represented themselves and the school really well by being

learners, respectful, responsible and safe at all times.

GREATER SHEPPARTON COLLEGE – PLANNING THE NEXT STEPS Shepparton’s four secondary schools merge as of January next year to create the Greater Shepparton College (interim name). I’m the Executive Principal, and I want to keep you updated about how we are preparing for that. The merger will be staged over two years. We have created a School Council Advisory Group to assist the four existing school councils and school community with that upcom-ing transition. What is a School Council Advisory Group? This group represents the school community (school staff, students, parents and community) with 18 representatives. Who is involved?

One parent/community representative from each of the current four sec-ondary school councils

Four principals (one from each of the existing secondary schools)

One Department of Education & Training (DET) staff member from each of the current four secondary schools

Four student representatives, one from each of the four secondary schools

Executive Principal

DET Senior Education Improvement Leader

What do they do? Contribute to designing the new school uniform and branding

Propose the make-up of the interim school council which will operate in 2020.

Assist with the process of naming the new school

Help develop the new school’s vision and values

Work with existing secondary school councils to plan how to honour their schools’ histories

Communicate back to each of the four current school councils regarding the merger process

How often are their meetings?

We will meet every four to six weeks.

Who makes the final decisions?

The school council advisory group provides advice and recommendations to the

existing four school councils, who make the final decisions.

When will this group start?

Our first meeting was held in April 2019 and will continue until the end of the

year when the new interim school council starts operating.

FINANCIAL SUPPORT FOR NEW SCHOOL UNIFORM Minister for Education James Merlino visited Mooroopna Secondary College on 16 May 2019 to announce a one-off only payment for students enrolled with Greater Shepparton College (interim name) in 2020, to assist with the cost of a new school uniform. All government school students enrolled at Greater Shepparton College (interim name) will be provided with a $200 voucher to be redeemed at local uniform suppliers, so that all students can be wearing a consistent school uniform from the start of next year as we progress with our single school model. This voucher will provide each student with a uniform package consisting of two sets of sum-mer uniform and one set of summer sports uniform. Parents and students from the four current secondary schools are undertaking a joint process to design the new school uniform. Families will receive their uni-form vouchers during Term 4 this year. NEXT ROUND OF INFORMATION SESSIONS Greater Shepparton College’s (interim name) vision is to give students the knowledge and skills to thrive throughout their lives. As a school, we recognise that each student has different strengths, interests and ways of learning and to support these different styles we have developed a broad-based curriculum that will cater to all students. Our focus must be aspirational, for all of our young people and with a strong health and wellbeing focus. We held Year 7 information sessions during May 2019 at McGuire College which appeared to go very well. Our next round of information sessions will be oriented towards Year 8-9 stu-dents in 2020, and then Year 10-12 students in 2020. Come and hear about our programs for next year. Dates and locations follow.

The school leaders and I look forward to meeting you. Genevieve Simson Executive Principal, Greater Shepparton College (interim name)

DAY & DATE

2020 YEAR LEVELS TIME LOCATION

WEDNESDAY 12TH JUNE 2019

Years 8 and 9 6.30-7.30pm Shepparton High School 31-71 Hawdon Street, Shepparton

THURSDAY 13TH JUNE 2019

Years 8 and 9 6.30-7.30pm Mooroopna Secondary College Echuca Road, Mooroopna

MONDAY 24TH JUNE 2019

Years 10, 11 and 12 6.30-7.30pm Wanganui Park Secondary College Parkside Drive, Shepparton

TUESDAY 25TH JUNE 2019

Years 10, 11 and 12 6.30-7.30pm McGuire College 92-100 Wilmot Road, Shepparton

Physio Assistance Fernie Saraiva

As a part of the Allied Health program Physio Assistance is given to students. The role of the Physio Assistant is to follow up the instruc-tions of Allied Health Professionals such as Physiotherapist and Occu-pational Therapist. We develop programs for students to achieve the best outcomes. The programs involve working on improving walking efficiency, balance, strength and endurance around school and in community. The team is also looking after health and wellbeing of students in all areas such as communication (AAC, Speech, coordination motor skills, nutrition, massage).

allied healthcare team care and support for all