For Your Diary

JULY

Monday 24th

School Council Meeting Tuesday 25th

Parent/Teacher Interviews For Smythesdale, Snake Valley and Scarsdale Campuses 11am-6pm

Wednesday 26th

Parent/Teacher Interviews For Ross Creek Campus 11am-6pm

Thursday 27th

Snake Valley & Ross Creek Gr 5/6 Sovereign Hill Excursion

Friday 28th

Snake Valley & Ross Creek Gr 5/6 Sovereign Hill Excursion

Issue 12 21/07/17

“ACHIEVING TOGETHER”

Smythesdale Campus 5342 8565 Snake Valley Campus 5344 9274

Scarsdale Campus 5342 8514 Ross Creek Campus 5342 0478

2017 Term Dates

31st Jan - 31st Mar

18th Apr - 30th Jun

17th Jul - 22nd Sep

9th Oct - 22nd Dec

Woady Yaloak Primary School

Website: www.woadyyaloak.vic.edu.au Email: woady.yaloak.ps@edumail.vic.gov.au

Principal: Corey Pohlner

Phone: 53 42 8565

Principal Message WELCOME BACK Welcome back to the start of term 3, I hope everyone had a restful break and are ready to start semester 2. Again we have an actioned packed term for our children, starting with the Melbourne camp from day 1.

MELBOURNE CAMP I would like to congratulate all the staff and students that attended the Melbourne Camp. Overall, the behaviour and effort from all children was fantastic. School camps are far more than seeing and doing things. Our children are all different and have different needs. The challenges that children face while on camp can be very different, and can range from;

Staying away from home

Sharing a room with someone else

Overcoming the fear of heights

Managing money and budgeting

Linking real life experiences with the work done at school

Managing busy traffic

Trying new foods

Resilience in walking long distances

Managing emotions when tired

Working as a team

Making good choices and listening

Staying safe

Understanding different ethnic backgrounds

Walking in busy conditions

Being organised and managing their time

Understanding the Melbourne tram/train system

I would like to thank Mr Bell as the organising teacher for the Melbourne camp, along with Mrs Beeson-

Canty, Mr Cox, Mr Snibson, Mrs Hughes, Mr Harris, Mrs Webb and Mrs Angel that attended. The time and

effort our staff give to make these opportunities for our children go above and beyond. I’m sure our children

are physically and mentally tired after such a camp. Over the 3 days we walked about 45kms throughout

the streets of Melbourne, which is a challenge for the best of us. Well done to all children and we are very

proud of your efforts on camp!

MENTAL TOUGHNESS 4C'S- CHALLENGE

This week I wanted to share some information about the 'challenge' part of mental toughness. I believe by

emphasising ‘effort’, rather than solely results, gives us the motivation to want to challenge ourselves.

There are 2 types of challenge categories for mental toughness. Sensitive:

Dislike change, variety, surprises

Dislike new places, people

Respond poorly to competition

Risk averse

Avoid effort

Permission Note and Money Due

Fri 21st Jul: Gr 5/6 Sovereign Hill Snake Valley & Ross Creek

Wed 26th Jul: Gr 2 Sovereign Hill Mrs Hughes, Miss Wood & Mrs Weickhardt

Concert Rehearsal

Wed 2nd Aug: Gr 2 Sovereign Hill Ms Mayman, Mrs Ford/Major & Mrs Dwyer/Fitzpatrick

Wed 30 Aug: Gr 5/6 Sovereign Hill Smythesdale & Scarsdale

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Woady Feed Forward

Principal Message Continued

FLEXI BUZZ (OUR SCHOOL APP) Many of you will know and are currently using our school app, called Flexi buzz (formally Tiqbiz). This form of communication is vital to our school communicating in real time important logistical information to our school community. When I refer to ‘logistical’ information, this is reminders and updates, not student learning updates or whole school focus areas. An example of this was yesterday when there was a change to our arrival time for our grade 5 6 camp. Due to us taking buses back from Melbourne instead of the train, we were expected to arrive 20 minutes earlier. A message was sent out via Flexi buzz, so that parents were informed.

We understand that most people own a smartphone these days and that people are very busy managing work/life. For this reason it’s important for schools to have processes in place to communicate in real time. Currently we have Flexi Buzz for logistical updates. We are currently working on developing a school managed Facebook closed group to provide real time updates and promotional updates to our school community, in regards to student learning, events and school wide focus areas. By having 2 very separate purposes and not mixing the 2, hopefully this will make it easy for parents.

PARENT SURVEYS This year the Parent Opinion Survey has been updated by the department. The refreshed survey seeks parent opinion on measures of school climate, student engagement and effective teaching practice known to influence student engagement and student outcomes; and will provide schools with actionable insights in key elements for school improvement.

The survey needs to be completed by parents between the following dates; 7th – 27th August

COMPLETING THE SURVEY

This year (like the student surveys), the parent survey will be completed online via the secure survey portal and can be completed by parents on any device connected to the internet. There will be no paper survey option for schools. If you don’t have a device that can be connected to the internet, please contact your campus and we will arrange a device for you to compete at school. We have included some frequently asked questions for parents in the newsletter this week. Please note: Parents are randomly selected by a computer generated system, not all families are required to complete the survey.

Selected parents will receive information from each campus with instructions on how to access the survey link.

MENTAL TOUGHNESS 4C'S- CHALLENGE CONTINUED Tough:

Like challenge and problem solving

Easily bored- will seek change

Work hard and smart

Risk orientated

Readily volunteer

The sky is the limit

Like hearing “it can’t be done” Questions to develop challenge: 1. Does the process and the challenge that goes with it interest and excite you? Or does it already feel overwhelming? 2. How do you feel about the prospect of change? 3. Is there anything that concerns you about the process and the goals you are setting? 4. How good is your planning? Have you set milestones for the bigger goals? 5. Are you prepared for problems and setbacks? How will you respond?

Again these points give you as a parent a chance to discuss with your child from around 3 upwards. Having a growth mindset is a

skill that is developed over time, without the prompts like the ones I have discussed over the past few newsletters, it’s hard to think

and reflect on what we think and do as individuals. In the next Woady newsletter I will discuss the last ‘C’, being confident.

Corey Pohlner Principal

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Woady Feed Forward

Sovereign Hill A reminder that our senior classes will be involved in our Sovereign Hill excursion next week. Permission forms and general information around travel arrangements were sent home last term. Final reminders will be sent home to relevant students prior to next Thursday. Any questions please ask your classroom teacher.

Parent Teacher Interviews A reminder that our scheduled parent/teacher interviews are next Tuesday, July 25th from 11.00am for Smythesdale, Snake Valley and Scarsdale and Wednesday July 26th from 11.00am for Ross Creek.

Instructions were sent home last term in regards to allocating a time via our online portal, any questions please contact your campus office.

At the moment we have only 53% of parents that have made an interview time on the portal. Although this is a disappointing figure, given the time and effort gone into the interview process by office and teaching staff, it gives us a benchmark with things we have planned with our whole reporting process in the future.

School Swimming Program Last term the upcoming swimming program details were communicated to our parents. For those who have misplaced this information, we have included it again this week. We can confirm that the costs for our 2017 swimming program are;

Junior and Middle classes: $96 per child ( 8 x 45 min sessions) Senior classes: $67 per session ( 5 x 1 hour sessions)

If parents wish to start a payment plan during term 3, please make arrangements at your child’s campus office. Notes regarding swimming will

be sent home early term 3.

COMMUNITY NEWS

Page 4

2017 Parent Survey FAQ

When does the 2017 Parent Opinion Survey take place?

The 2017 Parent Opinion Survey will be conducted online between Monday 7 August 2017 and Sunday 27 August 2017.

What is new in the 2017 Parent Opinion Survey?

The refreshed survey is aligned with the new Student Attitudes to School Survey and three of the key priority areas outlined in the FISO:

excellence in teaching and learning

positive climate for learning

community engagement in learning

In addition to the FISO priority areas, a key focus for the Parent Opinion Survey is the Education State ambition: Pride and confidence in our

schools.

Like the Attitudes to School Survey, the Parent Opinion Survey is now online for faster turn-around time on results and improved data quality.

What are the benefits of the refreshed survey?

The survey will be administered from a secure online survey platform to provide the following benefits to schools and parents:

the online survey provides flexibility for parents to complete the survey at any time that fits their own schedules

schools and parents are no longer required to manage and return paper data forms

schools will be able to access their own survey results from this portal after the survey has closed, shortening the turn-around time on

survey results

parent responses are confidential, and parents can be reassured that schools are unable to link responses to individuals.

How is the confidentiality of parent responses being protected?

The information that is collected from each parent will be kept confidential at all times. Confidentiality will be maintained by ensuring that:

information that could identify individuals, such as names and dates of birth, will not be asked in the survey

ORIMA Research and the Department will not know which parents have been selected to participate in the survey

survey links are distributed to parents by the school at random

all survey data that is made available to the school or Department, or for any other reports, will be for groups of parents only – no individual person will be able to be identified in the results.

How is the privacy of parents being protected?

Schools will be responsible for directly contacting parents to invite them to participate, and providing them with the survey link.

The supplier administering the Parent Opinion Survey (ORIMA Research Pty Ltd) will not have any direct contact with parents. ORIMA Research will not be provided with the contact details of parents, or be given the names or any other personal identifying information about the

parents invited to complete the survey.

Page 5

Furthermore, the Department does not release any personal identifying data to schools or the supplier administering the Parent Opinion

Survey. The survey itself also does not request that any personal identifying data is provided to protect the confidentiality of survey responses.

Do schools need to inform all parents about the 2017 Parent Opinion Survey?

The annual Parent Opinion Survey is mandatory for schools to participate in; it is an important part of parent engagement and assists with

future planning and improvement. It is important to notify parents of the survey and of the move to an online survey.

How do schools manage parents who do not have connected devices?

Parents can complete the survey using any connected device even mobile phones. Schools are requested to make a computer available at the school for the use of parents that do not have access to a connected device to complete the survey or for parents who require assistance with

translations. Schools can organise this computer access in any way that is feasible for the school and the parent community.

How do schools manage survey translations?

Language guides for survey translations to assist relevant parents in answering the survey are available from the Department. For further

assistance, email: parentopinion.survey@edumail.vic.gov.au.

What happens when parents are asked to answer questions about all their children and teachers at the school, and they have different opinions based on individual children or individual teachers?

Parents are asked to generalise and form an opinion about the school or teachers. As the data is not intended for discussion relating to

individual teacher performance, the fact that it is generalised is not a disadvantage.

What can schools do with the survey results?

Schools can use the data in a number of ways, to:

monitor levels of student engagement and wellbeing

compare school level data on engagement with state-wide benchmarks

stimulate discussion within the school community about how to improve parent engagement

assist in the identification of areas for improvement and professional development needs in the school.

What will the Department do with the data?

The Department will be able to aggregate all the parent data and develop a state-wide picture of perceptions of school climate, parent community relationships, student engagement and confidence in the government school system, to be used in monitoring the impact of

initiatives and programs.

No individual parents will be personally identified in any data.

Will the data be made public?

Data from the school satisfaction measure is used to report levels of parent satisfaction in the Government School Performance Summary.

The concert tickets have gone on sale and are selling quickly. Please purchase your tickets ASAP to avoid disappointment! All tickets are available from the Wendouree Performing Arts Box office or online at www.wcpa.com.au for $10 per seat. Limited ticket sales have been made available in the first week however extra tickets are now available for families requiring them.

Wednesday, 2nd August will be our whole school concert night. All children need to be signed in on arrival at the Wendouree Performing Arts Centre at 6.30pm, ready for a 7pm start. Just a reminder that ALL students need to come to the whole school performance in their black clothing. (Plain black pants / black t-shirt).

Can all children bring a single colored plain t-shirt (of any color)to school for our final item- ‘Raise you up’. Please make sure you t-shirt is named and handed to your class teachers.

Some senior students have been given extra responsibilities and need to find time at

home to practice these. E.g. soloists, masters of ceremony e.t.c.

Due to parents work commitments and distances

they are needing to travel, we have adjusted the

concert start time to 7pm. THEREFORE YOUR

CHILD WILL NOT BE REQUIRED AT THE VENUE

( WCPA) UNTIL 6.30PM. Thanks for your

continued support.

The Performing Arts Team.

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