IMPORTANT DATES!
TERM 3 2020
PRINCIPAL’S MESSAGE
Welcome back to our weekly newsletter. We do have a few items today to support our remote learning program and we are keen to get your feedback about some future options for Rosanna Golf Links Primary School. As always, we continue to provide insights into wellbeing and we report on some of the activities happening in our school at the moment. Please enjoy the following content.
Webinars for Parents and Carers to Help Build Family Resilience
On Tuesday 25 August, the Department of Education and Training is presenting a free webinar for parents and carers by renowned child psychologist Dr Michael Carr-Gregg, on building family resilience during coronavirus (COVID-19).
Parents and carers play a vital role in helping children feel safe through uncertain times.
Dr Carr-Gregg’s webinar is aptly named Managing the Coronacoaster – Tips for building resilient families in the coronavirus era.
In this webinar, Dr Carr-Gregg provides tools and strategies for parents and carers to help manage the lockdown and remote learning. Topics include:
- – your supportive role
- – setting the emotional tone
- – focusing on what you can control
- – how to deal with disappointment
- – further resources and where to get help.
Dr Carr-Gregg’s presentation will run for 45 minutes. This will be followed by a 15-minute question-and-answer session in which parents and carers can ask Dr Carr-Gregg questions.
Webinar details
- When: Tuesday 25 August
- Time: 7:30pm
- Duration: 45-minute presentation followed by 15-minute questions and answers session
- Format: online via Webex
- Cost: free
How to register
To register and for more information visit the Managing the Coronacoaster – Tips for building resilient families in the coronavirus era eventbrite page.
2021 Planning our School Structures
As we continue with this very odd year we are well underway for our preparations for the 2021 school year. When I was first appointed into the principal position we were to have a school review in term 2. Each government school in Victoria takes part in a school review every 4 years. These reviews assist schools to continuously access an improvement cycle and guide the work that schools focus on to accomplish better outcomes for the students, families and staff within their community. Though we have not been able to host a review this year, the fundamental principles around improvement are very much still at the forefront of our thinking. At a school level we have had discussions around restructuring our classes to improve our practices. This discussion has been based around the arguments for a school with composite classes and the argument for a school with straight grades. Rigorous discussion has been had across our whole school with the majority aligning a straight grade possibility with the thought that this model of practice would be better for the students and our pedagogic approaches.
Whilst we seriously consider this significant alteration we strongly believe that change should only be made if it adds value and we don’t have a full picture of this at the moment. We would like to ask our community their thoughts about this matter to give us greater insights into the possibility before we move to alter our practice. We are going to host a community meeting on the 27th of August at 5:30pm. To attend the meeting simply log into Webex using the following codes.
Meeting number: 165 133 8154
Meeting password: rsMQY2Qva35
Once inside we will present the information gathered from our staff and then we will separate into groups where we will use a plus. minus, interesting thinking tool to gauge what our community thinks about this proposed change. We very much look forward to working with our community to develop a class structure that will benefit all of our students and families and do hope to see you there.
2020 Review of the Disability Standards for Education 2005
The Disability Standards for Education 2005 are currently being reviewed by the Australian Government Department of Education, Skills and Employment.
As part of the 2020 review, an extensive community consultation process is currently underway to seek feedback about whether the standards are effective or if any improvements can be made.
Current, former and prospective students with disability, their families and carers, advocates, educators, and other members of the public are invited to share their experiences, views and ideas to inform the review of the standards.
Due to coronavirus (COVID-19) restrictions, engagement activities will mostly be held online via a dedicated 2020 review Consultation Hub. The hub offers a range of different ways that participants can share their views and ideas, and will be open until 11.59pm on Friday 25 September.
A series of webinars is also available for interested participants to share their experiences and opinions.
The webinars will be fully accessible, and will include Auslan translation and captioning. The webinars are open to the public, and each will have a different theme. These are:
- Educators webinar on Wednesday 19 August, 3.30-5.30pm
- Tertiary education webinar on Thursday 20 August, 3-5pm
- Early childhood webinar on Thursday 27 August, 4.30-6pm.
For more information about the upcoming webinars visit the frequently asked questions page.
A discussion paper has been developed with guiding questions to help interested participants have their say.
For more information email engage@thesocialdeck.com
Stay safe and enjoy the little things.
Kirrily Lamers
Principal
SUSTAINABILITY
STUDENT WELFARE
Coronavirus (COVID-19) Extreme Hardship Support Program
The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) is commissioning the Red Cross to deliver an Extreme Hardship Support Program to provide financial assistance, information and referrals to people living in Victoria who are experiencing significant hardship as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and are unable to access other forms of Victorian Government and Commonwealth Government income support. The program is targeted to support the most vulnerable in our community – including temporary and provisional visa holders and undocumented migrants with little or no income, savings or community support.
In addition to the work of the Red Cross, the Brotherhood of St Laurence will support community organisations to identify and support eligible people to apply.
To be eligible for this program a person must:
- live in Victoria, and
- be unable to access Commonwealth income support (such as JobKeeper or JobSeeker) or the Victorian International Student Emergency Relief Fund, and
- have zero or very limited income, savings or community support
- be a temporary or provisional visa holder, or an undocumented migrant.
To apply for emergency financial assistance go to www.redcross.org.au/vicrelief. Applicants will need their passport and bank statements showing transactions for the last three months. From Wednesday it will also possible to call a dedicated phone line on 1800 855 240. Speak to someone at Red Cross if you do not have the right visa or bank documents.
Additional COVID-19 mental health support for people subjected to further restrictions
The Australian Government is providing 10 additional Medicare-subsidised psychological therapy sessions for Australians affected by the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
People will have to have a Mental Health Treatment Plan and a review with their GP to access the additional sessions. This will allow them to continue to receive mental health care from their psychologist, psychiatrist, GP or other eligible allied health worker.
The additional sessions are for people who have already used their 10 sessions through their Mental Health Treatment Plan, and who are:
- subject to public health orders restricting their movement within a state or territory issued at any time from 1 July 2020 to 31 March 2021
- required to isolate or quarantine under public health orders
This measure will commence on Friday 7 August and will be available until 31 March 2021.
Luke Franklin
Assistant Principal
CELEBRATING REMOTE LEARNING
DEAF FACILITY NEWS
Student Support Group (SSG) Meetings
SSG meeting bookings are now open on Compass. This were emailed to families during the week. SSG meetings will be occurring throughout the next two weeks, from Monday August 24th to Friday September 4th. If you have any problems booking or questions, please contact Thom.
Community Links
During the week, Tracey (teacher of the deaf) and Thom (Deaf Facility coordinator), with one of our Deaf Facility captains, Eadie, popped into a live Webex session with a Grade Five class at Eltham North Primary School. One of the teachers reached out saying they wanted to learn some sign language and a little bit about deafness. This was a good opportunity to spread awareness of people living with a hearing loss and Eadie shared great perspective what it was like as a Grade Six child living with a hearing loss. Well done team on a successful session, the teacher and students enjoyed the session and learnt a lot.
Thom Jackson
Deaf Facility Coordinator
TEACHING AND LEARNING
The Myth of Multi-Tasking and the Critical Role of Sleep
Last week I attended a webinar with Dr. Mark Williams, who is currently a Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience at Macquarie University. Dr. Williams has been involved in a range of cutting edge international projects over the last twenty years and is regarded as a global expert in this field.
One of the key learnings I took out of the session was the ‘myth of multitasking’. According to the latest neuroscience research, our brain is incapable of doing two complex things at once. We can only ‘task switch,’ which requires greater effort and is more draining as our brain loses what was being held in our short term memory and needs to orient us back into each task. We also have a finite ability to ‘task switch’, which is probably the reason many of us get to the end of each day and feel so exhausted. The excessive tiredness comes from switching back and forwards between so many tasks throughout the day. We would be better off doing one thing at a time and giving this our full attention. Our brain is also better served by putting mobile devices and phones in another room and turning notifications off. Neuroscience research indicates that the noises and alerts from notifications cause our brain to engage in this ‘task switching,’ impairing our ability to concentrate and think deeply. Similarly, listening to background music with lyrics, or the TV, distracts our brain from focusing on complex tasks and forces our brain to ‘task switch’. If the task is complex, science shows that our brains functions more effectively if distracting noises from music, TV, notifications are eliminated as much as possible.
The session also stressed the importance of sleep, which is when our brains convert learning from our short term memory and store it in our long term memory network. This means that if you or your child are not getting adequate sleep, you are not achieving normal memory formulation. The ideal amount of sleep for children aged 6 – 13 years is 9 -13 hours per night. (Ideally 7 – 9 hours for an adult). If you regularly experience a lack of sleep, your brain simply isn’t getting the needed time to process the learning and experiences from the day, which has a negative impact on your thinking, knowledge retention and decision making.
I hope these tips are useful and can help you and your family re-examine habits and behaviours to optimise brain function. I will continue to share tips and learnings from recent neuroscience research over the coming weeks.
Maths Olympiad Update
Well done to the members of the Maths Olympiad team who recently completed Maths Olympiad #4. The next Olympiad is on Wednesday 16th September 2020.
ICAS 2020
A reminder that the school has opted to use the second sitting window for the 2020 ICAS tests. UNSW has made this second sitting window available to support schools, particularly those in Victoria, who are doing remote learning. RGLPS has set the dates for the ICAS tests as follows in early Term 4:
Monday 12th October ICAS Science
Monday 12th October ICAS Digitech
Tuesday 13th October ICAS Mathematics
Friday 16th October ICAS Spelling Bee
Tuesday 20th October ICAS English
Registrations for the ICAS 2020 have closed.
Victorian Challenge and Enrichment Series
Twenty three RGLPS students in Year 5/6 are registered to participate in a program as part of the Victorian Challenge and Enrichment Series. The Department of Education has liaised with external providers such as the NGV, ACMI, Royal Botanic Gardens and Mathematics Association of Victoria, to offer a range of enrichment programs for high ability students. Current programs on offer for high ability Year 5/6 students include a Creative Writing Challenge, the Victorian Coding Challenge, marine biology and environmental programs and a design program with the Royal Botanic Gardens.
Victorian Challenge and Enrichment Series programs are strictly for high achieving students working at least 12 months above level and require a nomination from the school to participate. We are very pleased to be able to offer these for our high performing students to enrich their learning and expose them to potential career pathways.
'Spot the Maths' Challenge
A reminder about the ‘Spot the Maths’ Challenge from the Australian Academy of Science. This national competition is open until September 25th, 2020 and the competition theme is ‘Spot the Maths.’ There are two school categories for primary aged students: Foundation to Year 3 and Year 4 to Year 6.
Students are asked to take a creative photograph of an aspect of maths in every-day life and write a description in 240 characters explaining the maths in their photo.
Entries will be judged on creativity, mathematic merit, and demonstration of impact through image and description.
Learn more about the challenge at the following link: https://www.science.org.au/sciencexart/spot-the-maths
Have a great week everyone!
Kerron Worsdell
Teaching and Learning Coach
SCIENCE NEWS
SPACE SCIENCE – LOOKING AT AND BEYOND OUR SOLAR SYSTEM
On Friday 21st August, our 5/6 and 3/4 students were fortunate to have to opportunity to join with Doug Bair and myself for a tour through space using the Stellarium program. Students were launched from planet Earth and into the solar system and beyond, looking at planets, moons, constellations and more. Doug also fielded a range of excellent questions from students from spacesuits to temperatures to wondering how far Voyager I and II can travel.
For further exploration at home, use the same program https://stellarium-web.org/ or also, as Doug has suggested, try some augmented reality apps. You might like to investigate downloading Star Walk 2, Night Sky or SkyView to enhance your stargazing times.
Many thanks to Doug for volunteering his time today to present to our RGLPS community and to those students and families who participated. Your online behaviour and participation was fantastic.
Best regards, Ms Wheeler
NATIONAL SCIENCE WEEK
As mentioned on Compass last Friday, this week is National Science Week.
National Science Week is Australia’s annual celebration of science and technology.
Running from 15th-23rd August, there are a multitude of resources and activities to do remotely this year.
The 2020 theme is Deep Blue: Innovations for the Future of our Oceans.
Students who entered the annual Science Talent Search explored this theme and their projects are currently being judged.
For some activities you can do, check out the main website here:
https://www.scienceweek.net.au/
but perhaps you might like to mix art, science and engineering and enter this competition this weekend: https://www.scienceweek.net.au/event/deep-blue-marine-steam-competition-for-3-10-year-olds/
Whatever investigating you do, from studying an ant right through to studying space, I hope you have always have sense of wonder and stay curious!
Ms Wheeler
RGLPS ART GALLERY
The Preps, 1 &2’s have been artistic with nature this week.
SPORT NEWS
Hi Parents and Students,
I’d like to say congratulations to Freya Wilson, Niamh and Marshall Henry and Tyler Howard for entering their results into the School Sport Victoria Virtual Track and Field this week! Rosanna Golf Links is currently 4th in Victoria out of the 54 schools that have entered so far; so well done to our students who have joined in the fun!
I’ve also had a few parents asking similar questions, so here’s a quick Q&A about the Virtual Track and Field:
Does my child have to do it? No. This is an optional activity. However, I would encourage your child to participate as a bit of fun and as a break from sitting at the screen; this competition is not about the fastest time, but about who can enter the most.
Does my child have to do all of the activities? No. They can do as many as they like. They will score 1 point for RGLPS for every activity they complete.
Can my child enter more than once? Yes. In fact the more times they enter the better, as the child with the most entries will win the $45 prize pack!
How can I measure the distance? I would suggest downloading the free app ‘Runkeeper’. Walk 100m (or 800m, 1500m etc) using the GPS on the app and then you will know your child will be running the correct distance. Some families are also within 5km of Willinda Park and have used the athletic track markings, so that could also be an option.
I can see some children have entered 6 seconds as their time for the 100m, will those times be deleted? SSV will definitely remove those times which are clearly incorrect – unless it was the son/daughter of Usain Bolt, then perhaps not.
The links for the Virtual Track and Field are as follows:
The main website page is https://www.ssv.vic.edu.au/Pages/SSVVirtualTrackandField.aspx
The submission page for your child’s results is https://form.jotform.com/201958028380053
The real-time standings page is https://sites.google.com/view/virtualtrackandfieldresults/school-points-and-ranking (We are in Northern Metropolitan Primary Region)
Kind Regards,
Darren Peters
PE and Sports Coordinat
BOOK CLUB NEWS
Scholastic Book Club, Issue 5 can be ordered on-line now!!
Due to the current restrictions we are unable to send out Book Club order forms. The good news is you can order on line at: scholastic.com.au before the 4th September.
STATE RELIEF
CANTEEN
Recipe Share
Hi RGLPS families,
Have you had time to cook up some amazing recipes during iso? We would love it if you would share your favourites with our community. If you have a great recipe, please send it, with a photo of your masterpiece, to Deb at Deborah.Howard@eduation.vic.gov.au and we will get it into the newletter for everyone to try out.
This week’s culinary delight is from Eliza Bennett in Grade 6. Thanks Eliza!!!!!
Due to current circumstances the canteen will be closed until further notice.
ENTERTAINMENT BOOKS
OSHC NEWS
LUNCH TIME CLUBS
Unfortunately, we are unable to run lunch time clubs at this time.
COMMUNITY NEWS
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
