SCHOOL COUNCIL MEMBERS 2023

School Principal: Greg Sampson   President: Jennie Hauselberger 

 Vice President: Josh Cook Treasurer: Peter Down  DET Rep: Sandra Gove   Secretary: Duanne Corbett Vice Secretary: Hannah Young

Parent Reps: Radmila Lindner, Chris Avery, Isaac Eldridge, Erin Wallace.

Dimboola Primary School would like to acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the Wimmera Mallee area:

the Wotjobaluk, Jaadwa, Jadawadjali, Wergaia and Jupagalk peoples, and pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging.

I trust families had an enjoyable holiday period and students are ready and raring to go for the start of a new school year. This year promises to be exciting with the great work in the Science of Reading continuing under the leadership of Miss Shae Walsh. This year we hope to embed our daily review approach in literacy and numeracy to assist children in moving information from their short-term memory to their long term memory.

We have a wonderful team of teachers who will work collaboratively aiming to draw the best from your children. We welcome Miss Sasha Anossovitch to our team. Sasha will work three days per week and her continue her study on the other two days. She will work very closely with Mrs Emma Bond in developing the minds of the children in the 5/6 classroom.

We also appreciate the return of Mrs Erin Crafter back from family leave. Erin will work one day per week teaching German to all grades. I recognise her ability to support our teaching program and take some time away from raising her beautiful daughter to impart her knowledge of German to our next generation.

Our teaching and administration support teams are shown below. I encourage you to make yourself known to your child’s new teacher and celebrate or address the learning journey of your son or daughter.

Congratulations to the following students who were voted in as the school leaders for 2023. I look forward to their contribution for the year and will enjoy working with them to drive our school forward.

Hinchley – Miss Morrish, Mrs French,

McCann – Miss Anossovith/Mrs Bond, Mrs Lees and Miss Walsh

Watson – Mr Down, Mrs Salmon

Yesterday signalled an exciting day for a new class of students. Our Prep students came filled with excitement and nerves. It was wonderful for the group of parents to come in for a morning tea hosted by the parent’s club, to meet a few new faces and be welcomed to our school by Kate Schorback (unfortunately due to a positive RAT COVID test I was unable to attend - my apologies). I look forward to lots of positive interactions through your child’s educational journey.

School fees for 2022 for essential education items are to be $125. This pays for your son/daughter to have books, pencils, glue sticks, scissors, photocopying. This is a voluntary payment

A $40 cultural performance fee, per child, for 2023 is required for your child to participate in the performance. Those that do not pay up front will be asked to pay per performance of $10.00. Those who do not pay will not attend.

Fees paid in full by the last day of Term One, will go into a draw with one lucky winner, to receive a $125 IGA voucher.

With school returning it would be a timely reminder to all that:

o Drivers need to give way at school crossings until the pedestrians are well clear of the crossing

o Park in designated spots so as not to create ‘black spots’ for other drivers

o The ‘Kiss and Drop Zone’ at the front of the school is for a quick drop off or pick up.

o Obey the 40kmh speed limits around the school.

o There is a large ‘drop off’ zone in Wimmera Street that has a gate to allow children to walk across the big oval if it is too congested at the front or back of school.

o Bike riders will dismount from their bikes at the front gate (Hindmarsh Street) or the back gate (Church St) and wheel their bikes to the racks.

o Please assist with the education of your child by using the school crossing. Near misses have occurred due to people taking short cuts.

o Bike/scooter riders are to dismount prior to using the school crossings.

A reminder about the importance of safety around students who have severe food allergies. We currently have one student who has anaphylaxis to nuts. This student is in Grade 2/3 so we ask parents to be mindful of lunches and snacks that contain nuts particularly in this classroom. Students are reminded not to share food with classmates.

Bus travelling students will attend a reminder meeting regarding bus travel. Following this, they will be issued with a permission notice which will need to be completed. This outlines rules of bus travel. It is my hope that all children will follow the rules outlined to keep everyone safe travelling to and from school.

Recent wet and warm weather has increased mosquito breeding. Mosquitoes can carry diseases that may be passed on to people through mosquito bites. A range of mosquito-borne diseases have recently been detected in mosquitoes in northern Victoria. Mosquito-borne diseases can cause serious illness, including infections of the brain.

The best way to prevent mosquito-borne diseases is to avoid mosquito bites. In line with community health advice, families can protect against mosquito bites by:

· using insect repellent that contains picaridin or DEET on all exposed skin if outdoors when mosquitoes are observed, from October to March

· wearing long, loose-fitting clothing outdoors if possible if mosquitoes are around and covering exposed skin as much as possible. At school, It is recommended that students wear repellent on skin not covered by school uniforms. Summer school uniforms, including polos and shorts, can continue to be worn, but students should use insect repellent on exposed skin if mosquitoes are active

· limiting outdoor activity when mosquitoes are active.

Further information  ·A handy guide to help protect you and your family from mosquito-borne disease.

  Better Health Channel information about preventing mosquito-borne diseases 

I refer you to various policies attached to this newsletter

1. Child safety responding and reporting obligations

2. Child safety and well-being policy

3. Child safety codes of conduct

4. Complaints policy

5. Privacy Collection Notice

Could lunch orders please be clearly labelled with the correct teacher/class 

 It needs to be easily read and placed in the correct lunch order tubs.

Lunch wallets are available in the office to purchase for $10, otherwise feel free to use an envelope or a brown paper bag.

Thank you.

There are a number of items in the main building near the canteen that have been found in the yard. If you have lost something please go and have a look to see if it belongs to you.

Wednesday 8th Feb at 2:30pm in the school staff room

Monday 6th February – Bus permission forms have been sent home for students travelling regularly on the bus. Please return these ASAP

Wednesday 8th February – Parent’s Club AGM all welcome 2:15 – 3:15 (TBC)

Wednesday 15th February – School Council AGM 6:30 pm

Thursday 16th February – Stawell West Primary School visiting Dimboola Primary School to watch the teaching of the Science of Reading in the Prep and 1 classrooms

Monday 20th February – Welcome barbeque for families 6:00 start

Wednesday 22nd February – Hockey clinics for students from Grade 1 to Grade 6 being held throughout the day at the Dimboola Health and Fitness Centre

Monday 27th and Tuesday 28th February – Curriculum Days Student Free

Thursday 2nd March – Little Desert Swimming in Horsham – letters will be sent to children whose times met qualification requirements.

Monday 6th March – School photos day

Tuesday 7th March – Basketball clinics all grades involved at various times during the day to be held at Dimboola Primary School

Monday 13th March – Labour Day Public Holiday

Tuesday 14th March – Stawell West Primary Staff visiting Grade 2 – 6 classes to look into the use of mentor texts

Wednesday 15th March – NAPLAN Testing commences

Wednesday 15th March – School Council 6:30 pm

Wednesday 22nd March – AFL Football clinics for some grades

Wednesday 5th April – Dimboola Primary School Athletics Carnival

Friday 7th April – End of Term 1 2:15 pm dismissal