2019 _ No01 | Newsletter |

School Wide Positive Behaviour Program

At the school’s first assembly last Wednesday we launched the School Wide Positive Behaviour Strategy (SWPBS). In comparison to other schools, the behaviour of children at Drysdale Primary School has always been a significant strength of the school. In common with other schools, the children are learning as much about how to manage their behaviour as they are about reading, writing and counting. The intention of the SWPBS is to make the expectations, rewards and consequences clearer to all members of the school community. As a result there are some important changes that we would like all members of the community to know and understand.

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School Rules

Our expectations of good behaviour have not changed. However we have simplified the wording of the rules. There are now three rules that all students are expected to follow;

Follow instructions
Use appropriate school language
Keep hands, feet and objects to myself

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Positive Behaviour Matrix

There is now a positive behaviour matrix which shows what we aspire to when upholding the school’s five values (Resilience, Acceptance, Integrity, Success and Enjoyment – RAISE). Please take a moment to read the matrix so that you are clear about these aspirations. This matrix identifies behaviours in the three main environments within which the children operate – Inside, Outside and OnLine.

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Positive Behaviour Tokens

Each member of staff has been given a collection of coloured tokens that match the five school values e.g. there are yellow tokens printed with the letter R to match Resilience. Whenever a member of staff notices that a child is demonstrating the school values, they will be given a token and an explanation of what they were doing correctly. These tokens are then collected by the child’s class teacher. Each class has agreed to a reward system so that students can ‘bank’ their tokens for a reward. Children who are given a token will also bring a sticker home in their diary so that parents know that their child has been rewarded for making a strong choice.

The SWPBS approach has been used widely across many Victorian schools with the research showing significant improvements to behaviour. This is an opportunity for us to make behaviour even better at DPS! We look forward to providing more information on this new approach at the upcoming parent information nights in Week 4.

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Debbie Lee School of Dance

This week’s Business of the Week is the very well known Debbie Lee School of Dancing. Drysdale PS students have a long association with Debbie Lee and the start of the term is a great opportunity to promote enrolment availability for the upcoming year.

CSEF 2019 Applications

Every Victorian child should have access to the world of learning opportunities that exist beyond the classroom. The Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund helps ensure that no student will miss out on the opportunity to join their classmates for important, educational and fun activities. It is part of making Victoria the Education State and the Government’s commitment to breaking the link between a student’s background and their outcomes.

If you hold a valid means-tested concession card or are a temporary foster parent, you may be eligible for CSEF. A special consideration category also exists for asylum seeker and refugee families. The allowance is paid to the school to use towards expenses relating to camps, excursions or sporting activities for the benefit of your child.

The annual CSEF amount per student is:

• $125 for primary school students
• $225 for secondary school students

Please see the DET website for more information:

http://www.education.vic.gov.au/about/programs/health/Pages/csef.aspx

Please note that if your child was enrolled at Drysdale Primary School and was a recipient of the 2018 CSEF, you do not need to complete another application. When you signed the 2018 application form, you agreed to the clause:

this consent, once signed, remains valid while my child is enrolled at a registered Victorian school unless I withdraw it by contacting the school.

You will need to submit a new application form in 2019 if any of the following changes have occurred:

new student enrolments: your child has started or changed schools in 2019 or you did not apply at the same school in 2018 or
changed family circumstances: such as a change of custody, change of name, concession card number, or new siblings commencing at the school in 2019.

If you did not receive the CSEF in 2018 and meet the eligibility criteria, please complete an application form and return it to the Administration Team as soon as possible.

If you have any questions regarding the Camps, Sports & Excursion Fund please contact us on 03 5251 2272 or via email drysdale.ps@edumail.vic.gov.au.

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Camp Australia

Welcome back to OSHC this week. We hope that the entire Drysdale Primary School Community had a happy, safe and relaxing summer holiday. At our school holiday program we had lots of fun exploring our theme of STEAM, with the children enjoying making Solar powered cars, slime, a trip to the movies, getting lost (and then finding themselves) in mazes, and making beach themed jars.

We offer a special welcome to the prep students and their families, as well as new families to the school. We hope they enjoy their time at Drysdale Primary School. We hope to see them at OSHC at some point soon.

Community

Please see below for Community notice’s.