Another warm welcome back to school to all our families. I have been really proud of our students for heading back to school with such enthusiasm and happiness, despite the ongoing coronavirus restrictions and requirements. It's been a very positive start to the school year and all our students have settled into their new classrooms and routines very quickly. Our new Prep students have done a particularly impressive job of settling into Rosewood Downs as they embark on a very exciting learning journey. A special welcome to these new prep families, and to students and families from other year levels who are new to the school community.

Although this school year sees us beginning with a COVID-safety plan and restrictions in place, we're hopeful of these restrictions easing as the term progresses.

Principal Team

Julian Growcott and Deborah Lucas

Unit A

Prep - Mary Chan and Linda Harrison

Prep/1 - Karen Woodhouse

Unit B

Grade 5 - Jo Westerman-Ford and Aren Seyran

Grade 6 - Ashleigh Shiell and Michael Richards

Unit C

Grade 3 - Kristy Telford and Tayla White

Grade 4 - Caitlyn Watkins and Terrie Palmer-Tanner

Unit D

Grade 1 - Chante Smith

Grade 2 - Natalie Semercioglu and Braden Carothers

Specialist Team

Anita Chan, Lindsay Campbell, Ashlee Rumney, Tiffany Saleh

Student Welfare

Carly Pinwill

Office Manager

Shelby Parker

Business Manager

Brenda Carothers

Education Support Team

Cheree Parsons, Sandra Stephens, Leah Gambetta

Tutors

Jeffrey Ji and Angeline Chin (pictured)

We are extraordinarily lucky to have such a passionate and committed staff of teachers and support staff teaching and caring for your children. We look forward to welcoming three new teachers - Mr Seyran, Ms White and Ms Carothers to the team this year along with our new tutors Mr Ji and Ms Chin. Please make them feel welcome if you see them around the school.

With the return to school comes the return of fairly hectic traffic on Murray Road during drop-off and pick-up times. Unsafe and impatient driving leads to frustration and inconvenience for others and affects neighbouring residents on our street. Please show courtesy and patience during peak traffic times at school, especially in the afternoons, as dangerous and illegal driving and parking poses a very significant risk to the safety of our students. There are likely to be council traffic officers on the street in coming morning and afternoons, observing traffic flow and issuing warnings.

Pedestrians crossing Murray Road must also ensure that they use the pedestrian crossing when arriving at or leaving the school. With lots of cars and pedestrians moving around the front of the school at peak times, it is very dangerous crossing Murray Rd anywhere other than at the supervised school crossing. Our crossing supervisor, Elaine, is very helpful and really appreciates seeing adults set a positive example and modelling appropriate road safety.

Another safety concern for the school is the use of the staff car park as a pedestrian thoroughfare in the morning and afternoons. I would request that parents and students don’t use the carpark (unless they are attending before and/or after school care in the dance studio) to enter and leave the school grounds. We have several other paths and gateways around the school providing safe access in and out of our grounds, but the staff car park experiences regular traffic use throughout the day and poses a serious safety risk to people walking through.

CSEF will be provided by the Victorian Government to assist eligible families to cover the costs of school trips, camps and sporting activities. If you hold a valid means-tested concession card or are a temporary foster parent, you may be eligible for CSEF. A special consideration category also exists for asylum seeker and refugee families. The allowance is paid directly to the school to use towards expenses relating to camps, excursions or sporting activities that benefit the child. The annual CSEF amount per student is $125 for primary school students. If you applied for the CSEF at your child's school in a previous year, you do not need to complete an application form in 2020 unless there has been a change in your family circumstances. Rosewood Downs will apply for the CSEF on your behalf. You will only need to submit an application form in 2022 if any of the following changes have occurred:

- new student enrolments: your child has started or changed schools in 2022 or you did not apply at the same school in a previous year

- changed family circumstances: such as a change of custody, change of name, concession card number, or new siblings commencing at the school in 2022.

Schools are able to accept and process applications up until the end of term two each year. CSEF payments are made to schools from March onwards each year. Notices are available from the front office and more information can be found at https://www.education.vic.gov.au/about/programs/Pages/csef.aspx

Personal valuables brought to school by students is not covered by the school's insurance nor is the school responsible for any loss. We strongly advise that students do not bring valuable items such as electronic games, expensive toys or jewellery etc. to school. Any personal valuables brought to school is the responsibility of the student and should be very clearly named.

So I packed up my stuff and right