IMPORTANT DATES!
PRINCIPALS’ REPORT
As we near the end of our first full week of learning I can inform you that our students have settled in well and are happily engaging in our current learning program. I’m sure our Preps are feeling pretty tired as are a few of our other students as they settle back into the routine of the school week, but I have loved seeing how engaged they are in the early parts of learning.
Meet the Teacher Evening
Over the last few years our meet the teacher interviews have given our students a really solid foundation to start the year. As our first official parent greeting, we start with a student focus from the parent perspective. The meet the teacher evening provides an occasion to fast track our teacher’s ability to get to know the students and provide a more personally tailored educational program for them. Bookings will open on Monday the 13th of February. These sessions are available in person or through Webex during the week beginning on the 20th of February. Please note the bulk of timeslots will be open for the 22nd of February between 3:30pm and 7:00pm. Each session will be 10 minutes in duration. Once your booking has been made, if it is on Webex, classroom teachers will send out a link to the meeting as confirmation of your time slot. Please note these are not sessions for reporting as classroom teachers have not yet had time to accurately assess each student’s point of need. They are a great opportunity for you to share information about your children and to open the lines of communication with a new classroom teacher. Please note that SSG’s will commence shortly after. SSG’s are in lieu of a meet the teacher session.
A getting to know your child form has been posted on Compass. It would be greatly beneficial if you could return a copy to your child/ren’s classroom teacher by Friday the 17th of February in preparation for the meet the teacher session.
Privacy
Annual privacy reminder for our school community
Our school collects, uses, discloses and stores student and parent personal information for standard school functions or where permitted by law, as stated in the Schools’ Privacy Policy.
Please take time to read our school’s collection notice, found on our website https://www.rosanna-golflinks-ps.vic.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/RGLPS-Privacy-Policy-28.3.18.pdf
We ask parents to also review the guidance we provide on how we use Google Workspace for Education safely at the school and what parents can do to further protect their child’s information. If after reviewing the guidance, you have any questions or concerns regarding your child using Google Workspace for Education, please contact the school. For more information about privacy, refer to: Schools’ Privacy Policy — information for parents.
School Council
An election is to be conducted for members of the school council of Rosanna Golf Links PS
Nomination forms may be collected from the office from Friday the 17th of February and must be lodged by 4pm on Friday, 24th February 2023.
The ballot will close at 4.00 pm on: Friday the 4th of March 2023.
Following the closing of nominations, a list of the nominations received will be posted at the school.
The terms of office, membership categories and number of positions in each membership category open for election are as follows:
If the number of nominations is less than the number of vacancies, a notice to that effect and calling for further nominations will be posted in a prominent position at the school.
Kirrily Lamers
Principal
STUDENT OF THE WEEK
ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL’S REPORT
Technology and BYOD
We are beginning to work with our students on some assessment and learning tasks that will require the use of technology. All classes now have discussed safe use of the internet and technologies within the school. Your child/ren should be bringing home the Acceptable Use Agreement we have in place. It would be greatly appreciated if you could have a chat at home with your child/ren about use of technology and sign this agreement to acknowledge you have seen and are aware of the schools agreement.
We are asking our Year three students who are taking part in our trial BYOD program to start bringing their devices to school starting this Monday. Whist we are not using the technology too much at the moment, it will be a great opportunity to build a routine of remembering to charge and bring this device daily.
It is not too late to opt into the program should you be wishing to. Our recommended device can be seen here: http://rglps.orderportal.com.au
Dogs within the School Grounds
At this stage we are allowing you to walk with your dog into the school grounds to pickup and drop off your children. We do, however, need to be sure that all dogs are under strict control. You should shorten your lead length to ensure the dog is immediately beside you and is unable to jump or lunge at people. Please be mindful that many people in our community have a fear of dogs and should not feel that a dog is presenting any danger to them.
The RSPCA have a good article on training you dog to walk on a lead should be needing information on training.
TEACHING AND LEARNING
Is it 'Just Right' for You? - Selecting a 'Good Fit' Book
At RGLPS, we spend time teaching students to select a ‘Good Fit’ or ‘Just Right’ book. To continue to develop their skills during home reading, children should read a text that they can independently decode and understand with a high degree of accuracy.
RGLPS teachers teach students to use the 5-finger rule when selecting reading material. Here is how it works:
5-finger rule
- Choose a book that you think you will enjoy.
- Read a page (or a lengthy paragraph in a chapter book).
- Hold up a finger for each word you can’t decode or don’t understand the meaning of.
- If there four or more words you did not know, choose an easier book.
To help students become fluent and confident readers, they should spend most of their time reading books with high levels of accuracy and understanding. Meaning is significantly impaired when readers struggle to decode or understand more than 4-5 words in every one hundred. If a text is too difficult, parents are encouraged to support their child to search for a book they can read with higher levels of accuracy. We do understand however that this can be a challenge if your child has their heart set on a particular text. In this scenario, parents have two options:
- Make reading this text a future goal.
- Ask your child to read the book with support from a stronger reader, such as a parent, grandparent, or sibling. The more experienced reader can then support the child to decode any difficult words or concepts.
It is important to remember that aside from sourcing books they can independently decode and understand, your child needs to find books that appeal to them. Help your child ask themselves if a text interests them when selecting a book at the library or a shop. The ultimate end goal is for all children to become motivated, capable readers who can select suitable material for themselves to further their own learning.
Please speak to your child’s teacher if you need further advice around this.
'Meet the Teacher' Meetings
Next Wednesday February 22nd, teachers will be holding our ‘Meet the Teacher’ meetings between 3:30pm – 7pm. These are designed as an opportunity for parents and teachers to touch-base and share any relevant information that might help teachers across the school year. We will discuss topics such as your child’s interests and hobbies, attitudes to learning and homework and any wellbeing or other concerns you might have. Meetings will run for around ten minutes and will largely be conducted onsite at school.
We strongly encourage all parents to use this opportunity to meet with and discuss your child’s needs with their teacher/s to establish a working partnership for the 2023 school year.
Term One 2023 Team Newsletters
Our teachers are spending the first few weeks getting organised for term one and the year ahead. Aside from getting to know students and parents, setting up classrooms and conducting start up assessments, teams are developing their curriculum scope and sequences and planning instruction. Teams aim to have Term One 2023 Team Newsletters available to parents and carers by the end of next week (around February 17th). Please keep an eye on Compass for an alert indicating when these become available.
Team Newsletters include useful dates for the term as well as an overview of the instructional foci in English, Maths, Inquiry and other curriculum areas. The specialist team will also produce a summary newsletter of their programs across the term. We hope that parents find this information useful and encourage you to take the time to read the relevant document for your child’s year level to stay aware of what is happening at school.
Team Newsletters are also permanently stored on Compass under School Documentation. Please use the following pathway to access these: Compass Community Icon (heads symbol) -> School Documentation -> Year level Newsletters -> 2023 -> Term One 2023
I hope everyone has a great week!
Kerron Worsdell
Learning Specialist
GARDENING NEWS
CANTEEN
Summer Specials
We are going to try different ‘Summer Specials’ this term. Please check Flexischools when you are ordering. We will also offer different muffins each week.
We are trial fruit over the counter sales again – the fruit for the following week will be advertised in the Newsletter.
Next Week:
Muffin – Mixed Berry
Fruit – Watermelon: $1
Canteen Helpers
If you are are interested in helping at the canteen please fill in the form below and return to the school office.
Volunteering at the canteen is a good way to see your child at school and to meet other parents, especially if you are new to the school. The kids love to see you in the canteen. It is easy work, just the same as at home, preparing food, dishing up and cleaning up, only on an a larger scale.
Any profit we make goes back into the school.
Looking forward to meeting some of you.
Regards
Margaret Groves Peta Rose
Canteen Manager Canteen Assistant
COMMUNITY NOTICES
Disclaimer: Rosanna Golf Links Primary School (RGLPS) does not endorse any product or service advertised in this newsletter. RGLPS takes no responsibility for the content of advertisements or the quality and reliability of products or services offered in the advertisements
