Welcome back for our final term of 2023. I hope all our families, students and staff had a relaxing break and enjoyed the spring weather that we were starting to get. The sunshine certainly made it an enjoyable break.

Thank you to all that attended our school concert at the end of Term 3, it was a fabulous night and we are very proud of all our students for putting on a marvellous show! A special thank you to Trent Stephens for his efforts in putting it all together!! It was a great end to the term.

This term is a long one and a jam-packed one. We have school camps, incursions, excursions, transition sessions and many other wonderful events happening each week. Please check your child’s weekly bulletin updates from teachers on Sentral and the school newsletter for updates through the term.

Glen Lauder is on leave this week and I am Acting Principal for that time. Please call the office 5251 2272 or email the school drysdale.ps@education.vic.gov.au should you need to talk with me through the week and we can make time to meet if needed.

Kate Wojcik.

Young People live in an amazing world, they seamlessly move between their ‘online world’ & ‘living directly world’. As a community this can create questions as they baffle us with their speed & connectivity, take risks & sometimes make mistakes. BATForce acknowledges the pandemic has changed how we use technology, this is a great opportunity to explore how we reset & move forward in our online worlds. TOPICS INCLUDE: -healthy online relationships -gaming -consent -social media -gambling -importance of role modelling -screens & your body -staying safe -looking out for your mates and what to do when things go wrong. Parent Carer sessions are interactive & focus on how Families can best support their Young Person when they are online.

Digital Tattoo Parent Information session tomorrow night Wednesday November 1 in the School Library from 6:30pm – 8pm.

All families are welcome to attend.

Please respond to Drysdale.ps@education.vic.gov.au if you are joining us for this session.

Drysdale PS – Digital Tattoo Parent session Flyer

The area around the school is very busy before and after schools with traffic and pedestrians. This is always a challenging and potentially unsafe mix. To ensure everyone arrives in school safely, please can we remind all members of our community that adults and children should use the Supervised Crossings.

As a community we can make this dangerous time so much safer by following the road safety rules about parking. There are No Standing zones outside each of the entrances. In Stonehouse Place this is the bus area immediately outside the hall. On Clifton Springs Road this is the area outside the school where cars are not allowed to stop when the Crossing Patrol flags are displayed. These No Standing zones are necessary to give everyone a clear view of the children arriving at school.

The staff car parks are for staff only. Please do not enter the school through either of the staff car parks on Clifton Springs Road. We had a near miss this morning with a car and a staff member in the staff car park.

There are parking bays outside the gate at Stonehouse Place that are reserved for drivers displaying a valid Disabled Parking Permit. We do have more parents and children in our community with additional needs who must be able to use these spaces.

Please can I ask all members of our community to respect everyone’s safety and well-being by parking safely and legally in and around the school at the beginning and end of the day. Thank you.

It is complete!!!!! After a lot of fundraising and support from a lot of people over a number of years, we finally have our outdoor stage done! It was so lovely to see classes using it on the first day back for outside learning and for shade during break times. We look forward to many amazing assemblies and events that can now be further supported outside.

Many thanks to all involved in the fundraising, planning and preparation! There are so many….too many to name. It has certainly taken a village!

Thanks to AJK Builders for their amazing work and co-ordination of other trades!

Read more…

The P&F Group will be holding a cake stall and BBQ on the Referendum Day on Saturday 14 October. 

We would love some help from our school community by baking some yummy treats to be sold. Cake stall donation packs (plate, label, bag, tie and drop off instructions) will be sent home with students on Friday. Please remember to use the label enclosed to write the name of the product and list the ingredients – anything without an ingredient label unfortunately cannot be sold.

Baked goods can be dropped off on Friday 13 October after school or Saturday 14 October at the BBQ (which will be held outside the school hall), noting we do not have access to a fridge to keep things cold. Therefore please avoid using fresh cream or anything which can spoil without refrigeration. More details regarding drop off times and location will be provided in the cake pack.

We would love some help from our school community to assist with the BBQ and are seeking volunteers from all year levels to fill in a spot on the day, all help is greatly appreciated.

Click the link to sign up for any 1 hour time slot https://signup.com/go/hemUUZo

Our 2023 So You Think You Can Happily Ever After School Concert was filmed and is available in digital format for all families to purchase at a cost of $25.

Please use the link below if you wish to purchase the digital download.

https://www.scproductions.store/p/drysdale-ps-concert-2023/

For the last 4 weeks of Term 3, 15 students from across the school voluntarily took part in the ICAS Assessments. Students were challenged to analyse, evaluate, interpret and solve complex academic problems across six literacy and STEM subjects, all within a formal exam environment.

Results are still coming in and families have been sent details on how to access these. ICAS are also sending through certificates to the school and these will be presented when all of them have arrived in the coming weeks!

All of these students can be extremely proud of their efforts! Thanks so much to families for supporting their child/ren in undertaking these and to Nicole Alonso for her efforts in facilitating all of the assessments and her organisation to make ICAS happen in 2023.

Thank you to all the families who pre-purchased a school magazine via WINC earlier in the year. Any families that haven’t pre-purchased a magazine and now wish to do so, or want to confirm you have ordered one, please contact the school office by email drysdale.ps@education.vic.gov.au before Tuesday 31st October.

Families of students who are attending the Senior years camp to Waratah Beach, final camp payments are due by THIS Friday 20th October.

Thank you for supporting this years Superman stall, a total of 338 gifts were purchased this year and went to some amazing people who support our students.

Thank you to our Parents and Friends group members Alycia, Caroline, Caitrin and Carissa for ordering and organising all the gifts to be sold.

Also a massive thank you to our volunteer helpers on the day – Jess and Jen.

Read more…

Festive Casual Day, Festive Night Market and Opening of Outdoor Stage – Friday 1st December 4.00pm-8.00pm

Canteen – Whole School Special Lunch Order Day – Wednesday 6th December (please note no normal canteen orders will be available)

2024 Transition Dates and Times – Tuesday 5th December 9.30 – 10.30 and a longer session on Tuesday 12th December 9.30- 12pm. Further details about transition will be shared closer to the dates listed.

Kids Matter Assembly – Friday 8th December

Curriculum dates for Term 4 – Monday 11th December. This is a Pupil Free Day.

Year 6 Graduation – Tuesday 19th December 6-7pm

Final Assembly – Wednesday 20th December 9.15am

End of Term – Wednesday 20th December, 1.30pm dismissal

Please find our new Term 4 Summer canteen menu, it can be accessed on the school website under the ‘About us’ tab and in the resources section on the Sentral parent portal/app.

Please see read more for a copy.

Read more…

We hope that the entire Drysdale Primary School community had an enjoyable, relaxing and safe break over the holidays. Our Holiday Program at Drysdale Primary School was held in the BER these holidays, and the children enjoyed using the different space. We spent lots of time outside enjoying the amazing weather, and we had fun on our excursions.

With the commencement of Term 4, children will need to start bringing their hats to OSHC again. We understand that some of the teachers don’t let the students take their hats home at the end of the day, so we suggest the families put a spare, sun smart hat (not a cap) in bags for use at OSHC. This hat does not need to be school uniform (although naturally still needs to be sun smart and school appropriate).

It looks like its going to be an amazing Term 4 as Drysdale Primary School TheirCare OSHC. We look forward to seeing your family soon.

It is that time of year again, we are working away on creating our school magazine which celebrates our students, community and the year we have had at Drysdale Primary School.

We are running a competition again this year to select two photos which will be used as the front and back covers of the magazine.

Students can submit their entries via the school email: drysdale.ps@education.vic.gov.au

Entries are due by 13th November 2023