Happy New Year! Welcome back to school for the new year.

I trust that you have all had a relaxing summer and are ready for a new year of learning and fun. There was a very positive atmosphere around the school on Monday and Tuesday as we welcomed everyone into their new classes. It was especially good to see our new Prep children starting their primary school education.

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We have welcomed three new teachers to the Drysdale Primary School teaching team: Alice Kuenzer, Olivia Martin and Jodie Robins. Ingrid Orvis is returning from her family leave and taking over the Indonesian program, alongside Nikki Hyndman, in place of Bridget Garbutt who is starting her family leave. Bridget and husband Josh welcomed baby Flynn on January 3rd.

Kate Dangerfield, our Acting Business Manager, has accepted an on-going position at Lara Secondary College. She is being replaced at DPS by Julie Barnes who comes to us from Geelong East Primary School. I would like to welcome Julie to DPS and thank Kate for her fantastic work here.

This will be my final term at DPS. I will be on leave in Term 2 and then retiring at the beginning of Term 3. It has been a privilege to have been Principal at this amazing school for ten years. Drysdale is a very special community where everyone works tirelessly to create an equity of opportunity for each individual. This is reflected in the academic outcomes for all children from those identified as gifted and those receiving support to help them meet their additional needs. It is also reflected in the success of the school’s well-being programs.

Our School Council will work closely with the Education Department to appoint a new Principal. Until then I will continue to work to the best of my ability to improve each and every child’s life chances.

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Our whole school assembly is held every Friday afternoon in the hall starting at 2.45. All parents are welcome to attend. At assembly we present Principal awards.

If your child is going to receive an award, your child’s class teacher will notify you. We do not notify the children in advance.

This Friday we will be presenting our new student leaders with their badges.

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During the summer holidays we have added an outdoor classroom to our quiet area near the Year 1 and Year 2 building. This has been possible with the support of the Education Department who provided the funding for this project. It has also been possible through the support and expertise of Adam Kiss.

Adam is a DPS parent who provided his expertise during the planning process and then completed the practical construction. This provides more shade during recess and lunchtime as well as a more flexible option for students’ learning.

Please see read more for photos

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All schools experience challenges for parents/carers dropping children off for school. Please can I remind everyone to find a safe and legal place to stop. At this time of year parking inspectors regularly patrol near schools to enforce restrictions.

In particular stopping in a No Standing zone will result in an infringement notice. At Drysdale Primary the area immediately outside the school hall on Stonehouse Place is a bus zone which is also No Standing.

At the front of the school, at the beginning and end of school there is No Standing on both sides of Clifton Springs Road between the car park entrance closest to the Year 1/2 building and the bus stop beyond the other staff car park entrance. These restrictions are clearly signed. Only parents/carers holding a valid blue badge who need to use a disabled access parking space can use the school car parks.

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There are a number of ways that you can help ensure the safety of pedestrians and school crossing supervisors alike.

Pedestrians
Always stand behind the yellow/white line.
Wait behind the yellow/white line until the Supervisor has clearly blown their whistle twice.
Walk safely – Do not ride bikes across the crossing, bounce balls or run.
Always cross at the crossing when it is in operation.
Follow the directions of the Supervisor.

Students On Bikes
Friendly reminder to your students to please walk their bikes over the crossing to ensure their own safety, as well as the safety of those who are crossing the road.

Motorists
Don’t park your vehicle within the ‘No Stopping’ signs whilst flags are displayed, this reduces visibility for both vehicles on the road and the Crossing Supervisor.
Slow down to 40km/h or less in designated school zones.
Obey parking restrictions.
Be alert for the operation of the school crossing.

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All asthma medication and spacers (where provided) were sent home at the end of 2022.

Please ensure that your child returns their in date medication and cleaned spacer to the office as soon as possible.

Also, if their Asthma plan has recently been updated please provide a copy to the school. This can be included with their returned medication or emailed to drysdale.ps@education.vic.gov.au

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Our Breakfast Club will be back in 2023. We are currently working with our suppliers and getting set up for the year ahead. Breakfast Club will be open on Monday and Friday mornings from the Junior School kitchen area from 8:30am til 8:55am.

The first Breakfast Club of the year will be on Friday February 10, next week. We look forward to supporting students with coming to school and starting the day right with a healthy toastie and fruit, ready to learn.

If you would like to support us through the year, Breakfast Club are always in need of brown paper bags. We also appreciate strawberry jam and vegemite donations, along with margarine. If you would like to donate items, please drop them to the school office any time and they will be passed on to use at Breakfast Club.

Thank you, we look forward to starting the Club next week.

Kate, Kendra and Kylie.

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We have access to the world of learning opportunities that exist beyond the classroom. The Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund (CSEF) 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 have a valid means-tested concession card, such as a Veterans Affairs Gold Card, Centrelink Health Care Card or Pensioner Concession Card, or are a temporary foster parent, you may be eligible. There is also a special consideration category for asylum seeker and refugee families.

Payment amounts this year are $125 for eligible primary school students. Payments are made direct to the school to use towards expenses relating to camps, excursions and sporting activities for the benefit of your child.

If you applied for CSEF through our school last year, you do not need to complete an application form this year, unless there has been a change in your family circumstances or new student start.

If you would like to apply for the first time, the application form can be accessed on the Parent Portal in the resources tab and return it to the Administration Team as soon as possible.

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Welcome back to the new school year. It has been a really positive start across the school and we are excited for the year ahead.

Our Social Worker, Anthony Martino, is continuing in this role for our school and we have lots of ideas on how we can offer proactive support to students in engaging with and attending school. If you have any concerns about your child and their attendance or engagement with school, or would like to arrange a meeting with Anthony, please email the Wellbeing Team at ap.support@drysdaleps.vic.edu.au

The team (Kate and Anthony) monitor this daily and will get back to you as soon as we can. We look forward to supporting our school throughout the year.

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Drysdale Primary School has partnered with TheirCare to provide this service to your school which includes quality care, booking flexibility, amazing programming for your children and
commitment to deliver on our promise to your school community.

TheirCare provides adventurous and stimulating Before, After, and School Holiday Care Programs in a safe environment for all children. During sessions children develop life skills, friendships, confidence and creativity through play.

Operation Times

Monday-Friday
Before School Care – 6:30am – 8:45am
After School Care – 3:30pm – 6:30pm
Pupil Free Day – 6:30am – 6:30pm
Holiday Program – 6:30am – 6:30pm

Service Phone Number: 0407 100 119

Your service coordinator will be available during session times. TheirCare support is available during office hours if required on 1300 072 410

How to Enrol
Visit TheirCare website: www.theircare.com.au and click on ‘Book Now’ in the top right hand corner to register your child’s details.

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A couple of changes for you to note for our canteen in 2023.

The canteen will be CLOSED EVERY MONDAY in 2023. Open as usual for snacks and lunches Tuesday-Friday.

A reminder that we are no longer using Quickcliq for online orders. If you have money remaining on your account, please contact QuickCliq on 1300 116 637 and they will be able to assist you with a refund.
Flexischools is the new platform for online orders.

Flexi schools app is the only online ordering system we will be using in 2023. Please follow these instructions to create your account – flexischools register

If you need assistance Flexischools can be contracted on 1300 361 769

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Students are working with their teachers and support staff around the school to START RIGHT in 2023. This approach to starting our school year means we take the time to work with students to set up classes and learning for a positive year ahead. The work we do within our Start Right sessions allows teachers to get to know their students, for students to understand their own learning and get to know their class and teachers and other staff they may have supporting them.

Classes can collaboratively set expectations and high standards, rules, boundaries, create a sense of team and community and a learning environment that suits the students and the class. Teaching these expected values and behaviours allows everyone to start the year right and have a positive time while at school. 

Teachers will be recognising students that demonstrate our school values and the statements of expected behaviours within our School Matrix and handing out Tokens. Throughout the year students will be able to ‘cash in’ their tokens for different rewards. We are working with classes to determine what the rewards may be for 2023.

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As we have a shortage of spare clothes available at the office and limited sizes, can we please ask parents/carers with children in early years to make sure their children always have a spare set of school clothes in their bags. Sometimes accidents can happen or it can be wet and muddy outside, so a change of underwear, pants/shorts/dress and socks can be a good idea to have in schools bags all the time.

Make sure that all items your child brings to school are labelled with their name.

If your child comes home in any of the spare clothes provided by the school, please wash the articles and return them as soon as possible.

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Sonic Boom Rock School will continue this year with teachers Will O’Connor and the return of Tim Hulsman to the classroom. The lovely Leticia Bayliss has moved on toward exciting career prospects so we wish her well.

New music teachers will be starting during the year to cover the huge amount of student who want to learn instrumental music…what fun!

As usual, available at every lesson are a variety of instruments for the children to explore and cross reference back to their main chosen instrument.

Enquiries:

Tim – 0422 690 097

sonicboomrockschool@gmail.com

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Please see more for community information

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