Principal’s Report
We will have the final assembly for the term this Thursday 6th April at 9.15am. Students will be dismissed at 2.30pm. The Term 1 Awards Assembly will be held on Friday 28th April, in the first week back of Term 2.
The next Curriculum Day for our school will be held on Monday 24th April – please note that there are no students required at school that day, as staff will all be undertaking professional learning in the areas of literacy teaching, numeracy teaching and wellbeing support. Thus, the first day of Term 2 will be the day after ANZAC Day – Wednesday 26th April. There will then be another Professional Practice Day where teachers are required to complete assessment analysis, correct student work, prepare feedback and start report-writing on Friday 26th May. Students will also not be required to attend on this day.
All students are permitted to wear free dress on this Thursday – with the theme of “Holiday Destinations”, or Autumn colours – no gold coin required.
I hope all students and families have a safe and relaxing Easter break and we look forward to seeing everyone back and refreshed for the start of Term 2 on Wednesday 26th April. Everyone is welcome to join us at the Dawn ANZAC Day Service, where our School Captains will be speaking, or meet us to march at the later service.
Last week, Kerrie was presented with her award at a special celebration evening, held at the new Puffing Billy Function Centre and run by the Rotary Club of Emerald and District. She is a very worthy recipient of this award. Thank you for your professionalism and support of everyone in our school community, Kerrie – you are a STAR!
School preparedness and pre-emptive actions for the bushfire season
Schools and early childhood services undertake a range of activities each year to prepare for bushfires and grassfires.
The Department of Education conducts an annual fire risk assessment of schools and early childhood services. Those at the greatest levels of risk are published on the Bushfire At-Risk Register (BARR) and Category 4 list.
Schools at the highest levels of risk (Categories 0, 1 and 2) take pre-emptive actions on elevated fire danger days in their Local Government Area according to their fire risk category to minimise the risk of being caught in a fire in these conditions.
All schools and early childhood services listed on the BARR and Category 4 list will also close when a Catastrophic fire danger rating day is forecast in their fire weather district.
As part of preparing our school for the fire season, we have updated and completed our Emergency Management Plan and conducted maintenance works that may assist in preparing for the threat of fire and cleared our school’s grounds and gutters.
What does this mean for our school?
Our school has been identified as being at risk of bushfire or grassfire and is a Category 3 school.
Our school will close on a day forecasted as Catastrophic fire danger rating in CENTRAL fire district.
What is the department’s policy?
The department’s Bushfire and Grassfire Preparedness Policy requires all schools and early childhood services on the BARR and the Category 4 list to close when a Catastrophic fire danger rating day is forecast in their fire weather district. All school bus routes which travel in or through a district with Catastrophic fire danger must also be cancelled.
Once confirmed, the decision to close will not change, regardless of improvements in the weather forecast. This is to avoid confusion and help your family plan alternative care arrangements for your child. It is also important to be aware that:
No one will be on site on days where the school is closed due to a forecast Catastrophic day.
All bus routes that travel through the Catastrophic area will be cancelled.
School camps will be cancelled if a Catastrophic fire danger rating day is forecast for fire weather district in which the camp is located, or if the travel involves passing through areas that have Catastrophic fire danger.
Families are encouraged to enact their Bushfire Survival Plan on Catastrophic fire danger rating days. On such days, children should never be left at home alone or in the care of older children.
For those of us living in a bushfire prone area, the Country Fire Authority (CFA) advises that when Catastrophic days are forecast, the safest option is to leave the night before or early on the morning of the Catastrophic day.
What can families and the school community do to help us prepare?
Ensure we have your current contact details, including your mobile phone numbers. Keep in touch with us by reading our newsletters, checking our website www.eps.vic.edu.au , by talking to your child’s teacher or any other member of the teaching staff about our emergency management plan.
Make sure your family’s bushfire survival plan is up-to-date and includes alternative care arrangements in the event that our school is closed due to elevated fire danger or closed due to a Catastrophic fire danger. Further information can be found on the CFA’s website.
- Enact your family’s bushfire survival plan if your own triggers are met. Our school community may be spread out across many areas and some families may be at higher risk than others. Your family’s safety is critical, so please let us know if you are enacting your bushfire survival plan and if your children will be absent on these days.
If your child is old enough, talk to them about bushfires and your family’s bushfire survival plan.
You can find more information on emergencies, warnings and preparedness actions here:
VicEmergency app – that can be downloaded on your android and iOS mobile devices
VicEmergency Hotline (1800 226 226)
Website https://emergency.vic.gov.au
Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/vicemergency)
Twitter (https://twitter.com/vicemergency)
ABC local radio, Sky News and other emergency broadcasters
Emma Clark
Principal
Community News
Breaking up is hard to do!!!!!!!!
It’s time for the canteen to break up with single use straws, these will not be available in 2023
More than 8 million tonnes of plastic enters the world’s ocean every year and over 90% is single use plastic.
So let’s say bye bye to straws and hello to BYO. We highly recommend reusable options over all disposables. Students can purchase a reusable silicone straw in its own case with the school Emblem for $4 from the canteen (over the counter or via online) or uniform shop.
