Collaboration

As promised in last weeks bulletin edition, there will be a bit more information about Collaboration and why it is important. As a person who is relatively new to IEPS one of the biggest first impressions that is unmissable is the way that collaboration is embedded in our school.

Our students are absolutely outstanding at working together, helping each other and providing feedback. The way that our teaching teams are organised are based on collaborative structures. It is evident that our parents are keen to support the learning and well-being outcomes of our students as well.

So why is collaboration important?

There are a number of reasons - firstly the School-based reason comes from the Great Teaching Toolkit which rates “Promoting a positive climate of student-student relationships, characterised by respect, trust, cooperation and care” as one of its key high leverage actions. The second reason why,  is its importance to the future world of work. The Phoenix Institute(mentioned last week) has social intelligence, transdisciplinary teams and virtual collaboration listed amongst its ten top skills for the future work force. This is also backed up by the OECD studies around this same topic (Google Andreas Schleicher OECD for more of this information).

One small step

We have had a look at the most recent DET Operations Guide which gives schools direction as to what we have to do to be COVID safe. The most recent relaxation of the rules means that we can have whole school assemblies that involves staff and students from the same school. See the section below from the guide.

If an event is held exclusively with students and staff from a single school during or outside of school hours, density limits do not apply to the venue or dancefloor, regardless of whether the event is held at school or at a hospitality venue, entertainment facility or community facilities.

Unfortunately though if we invite parents to attend, then the following limits have to apply (once again taken direct from the Guide) and this means that we can't all fit into the gym.

If an event is held with external guests (parents/carers/visitors) then the overall attendee limit (inclusive of guests, staff and students) must be based on available floor space of the venue; with the density limit of one person per two square metres applied.

Our whole school assemblies for staff and students only will recommence on May 17^th.

Our leadership team however will be exploring ways in which we can have events that our parents can attend. Perhaps we can run events in sub -schools, perhaps we can have outdoor events , perhaps there are options we haven’t thought of.

If you have any questions about this or anything else feel free to contact me

brett.millott@education.vic.gov.au

Congratulations and an invitation

I would like to take the opportunity to acknowledge the way that our Grade 6 students are representing our school. Over the last couple of weeks I have visited our interschool sports games and have come away with the following observations-

• Our students are extraordinarily positive and supportive of each other
• Our students are respectful of the umpires and of the team they are playing against
• Our students behaviour is in the spirit of the game always
• Our teacher and parent coaches do a great job in developing the skills and attitudes of individuals and the group as a whole.

At times junior sport has received a bit of negative publicity but this is certainly not the case at IEPS in 2021.

Library Club

Last Tuesday saw the relaunch of the Lunchtime Library Club. There were over seventy students who turned up to read, draw, play chess, play jenga and engage in any number of fun activities. Library Club is an initiative that has restarted due to the efforts of our Principal Advisory Group .

A very special thank you to Hanka our Library Tech who will help me to run Lunchtime Library on a regular basis.

Brett Millott.

WORKING WITH CHILDREN CHECKS

• valid for 5 years
• transferable between volunteer organisations
• free of charge for volunteers, but cannot be used for paid employment. 

You can apply online using this link:

http://www.workingwithchildren.vic.gov.au/home/applications/ 

When you have received your card, please bring it to the office so that we can make a copy and inform the class teacher.

We have a wonderful Canteen at Ivanhoe East PS, which many schools now do not have. The menu is a healthy one that meets the Department guidelines for school canteens and changes in line with the seasons. Sonia our canteen manager has commercial cookery qualifications and makes a lot of the food herself, e.g. the sausage rolls, all the hot food specials and of course the sandwiches, rolls and wraps.

Sonia does an amazing job however she cannot run the Canteen on her own. We need enough volunteers to help Sonia make the lunches (Tuesdays – Fridays) and to help with counter sales at recess and lunch times every week day.

You don’t need to volunteer every day or for the whole morning. You can do once a week, once a month or even once a term. In the Canteen section of the bulletin, there is a link to a Google doc where you can chose times and days to help out. Please consider doing this whenever you can as we want to continue to offer this service to our families.

Adrienne Dudley

Assistant Principal

Convenor of the Canteen Sub-committee

Planting of ‘The Banks’

Following the successful Landcare grant application and the amazing working bee that saw the site cleared, we are finally ready to plant. There are approximately 2200 plants in small tubes that need to go into the ground as soon as possible. They are arriving on Wednesday 12^th May. In addition to planting them, there is also mulch that needs to be spread around them. We are going to pair up older and younger students so everyone can be involved in some way.

Thursday May 13^th

1.50-2.40              Year 4 and Year 2

2.40-3.20              Year 6 and Prep

Friday 14^th May

1.50-2.40              Year 5 and Year 1

2.40-3.20              Year 3

We may need to continue the following week if we don’t finish. If your child already has a pair of gumboots, it would be helpful for them to bring them along to change into on their planting day.

Parents and carers are invited to attend our upcoming information session on Smiling Minds. Smiling Minds is an evidence-based approach to support student mental health and has quickly become an integral part of our everyday routine.

This information session is a chance for you to learn how Smiling Minds supports your child, the role it is playing in the school and learn about resources that you can utilize at home.

Date: 17^th of May

Time: 6:30pm – 7:30pm

Location: Performing Arts room

Spaces are limited, so booking a spot is required using the following link:

Mothers’ Day and Special Persons’ Day stall for Grades Prep - 5 students – Friday 7 May

We will be holding a special gift stall for Mothers’ and Special Persons’ day for Prep – Grade 5 students this Friday 7 May. Classes will be collected at the appropriate times to access the stall that will be held in the Bendigo Bank Room.

If you would like your child to purchase from the gift stall, please provide them with up to $10 cash to bring with them.

Thank you to all the parent volunteers who have agreed to help out on the day.

Helen McBain

PTFA President

It is with much sadness that we advise the school community that former Lollypop Lady Joan Howe passed away last Sunday. Her sons wish to inform the school community that all will be welcome to attend her celebration of life service if they wish. The details are:

Heritage Funerals

733 Boronia Rd, Wantirna

on Tuesday 11th of May at 1pm.