Rainbow Flag Raising Ceremony

We had a fantastic celebration of diversity, inclusion and community on Tuesday when we raised the Rainbow Flag at school. Lauren Matthews from Raising Rainbows, and Matt Clark from ChillOut presented us with the flag. Lots of students and parents were involved in raising the flag, and Lily provided some great dance music for us all to bop to after the flag was raised. Thanks to everyone who was able to be a part of the ceremony.

Here is Matt's speech:

ChillOut acknowledges the Dja Dja Wurrung people of the greater Kulin Nation as the traditional custodians of the land on which we work and create. We acknowledge that sovereignty was never ceded and pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging.

Thank you for having us here in Chewton, particularly to Bernadette for inviting us and to all of the students and families who are here.

I am Matt Clarke, President of ChillOut. Today’s flag raising kicks off an exciting week of events for us as part of the ChillOut Festival, so make sure that you visit us in Daylesford this long weekend! Raising Rainbows is an initiative of the ChillOut Festival Daylesford and aims to empower LGBTIQA+ youth in regional Victoria and across Australia to be proud of who they are and feel safe.

Chewton Primary School is our 11^th flag raising ceremony and we are thrilled to continue the work of Raising Rainbows, particularly here in Central Victoria and so close to the very first flag that was raised at Castlemaine Secondary School.

Raising Rainbows began when some students from Castlemaine Secondary College were heckled and abused for raising the Rainbow flag at their school. The ChillOut Festival Committee saw an opportunity to support them, and then Raising Rainbows was born.

By funding the installation of flagpoles and rainbow flags, Raising Rainbows works to raise awareness, educate communities and ultimately reduce instances of LGBTIQA+ related bullying in schools and communities.

Since its debut in 1978, the Rainbow flag has become an international symbol of pride and representation of the diversity of the LGBTIQA+ communities. The Rainbow flag, also known as the Pride flag, draws many responses. It invites inclusion, helps make difference visible, and recognises the rights of every individual to be acknowledged and to be kept safe from persecution. It says, ‘this is a safe place.’

By flying the Pride Flag you are saying to your students, staff, families and the broader community that Chewton Primary School is a safe place for everyone and on behalf of Raising Rainbows and ChillOut we thank you for your commitment to flying the Pride Flag. When you look up at the flag know that you are safe, you are loved, you are you.

We are proud to be able to fly the Rainbow Flag at Chewton: when it was announced at last week's assembly that the flag raising would take place this week, students cheered. What a fantastic inclusive community we are!

Chromebooks for sale

The school has a number of Chromebooks for sale for $50. If you have elected to purchase a computer and already contacted the school, please pay via your Bpay account and then email the school with the reference number. If you would like to purchase one and have not yet contacted the school, please ring or email to see if there are any still available. Once payment has been made Chromebooks will be sent home with the student.

School photos tomorrow from 9am

Please make sure your child is in full school uniform: plain black or maroon shorts/trousers and school shirt. If you would like a family photo, please let the school know.

We understand that we are impacted by COVID at the moment and will be discussing what options we have with the company tomorrow for students who are unable to be at school.

School Council AGM

There are two positions vacant on school council this year. Nomination forms are available in the office and at the sign in table if you are interested. Please note that if more than two people nominate then elections will be called. The AGM is on Thursday 24th March

Nomination forms may be obtained from the school and must be lodged by 4pm on Monday 14/3/2021.

The ballot will close at 4pm on Monday 21/3/2021

School Review

On Monday the School Review panel met to validate the work we have done towards the last Strategic Plan. Members of the panel went into all the classrooms to look at the teaching and learning. Reflections of things observed throughout the school include

• Calm, well organised classrooms

• Positive and respectful relationships between teachers/ students and Education Support Staff/ students and students/ students

• Support charts on the walls for wellbeing, expected behaviours, Kimochis

• Learning Intentions (What we are learning) and Success Criteria (What we need to do to be successful in this lesson)

• The Instructional Model is visible in each room

• Students engaged in their learning

• Lots of evidence of Inclusion, acceptance and diversity

• Flexible seating arrangements

Later this month the panel will meet again to look at the teaching and learning in more depth to ascertain where our strengths are and what our next steps will be in our school improvement. We will be asking parents to take part in focus groups on this day: 23rd March. Please let Bernadette know if you are interested in being part of this.

Vaccination survey

This Wed 9^th March,, Castlemaine Health commenced dose 2 vaccinations for the 5-11 year old kids that received their first dose 8 weeks ago.

If families are seeking vaccination for children in this age group, they can call the clinic at Castlemaine Health on 5471 3555 (option 5) and leave a message. Calls are returned M-F business hours, alternatively email covidvaccinations@castlemainehealth.org.au.

The aim of this survey is to identify attitudes and perceptions toward Covid 19 vaccination for children aged 5-11 in Vic.

The target audience for this survey is parents and guardians of 5–11-year-old children across Victoria.

We encourage all parents or guardians with 5–11-year-old children to complete the survey, regardless of whether their children have or have not been vaccinated.

The link to complete the survey is available here or via https://dhhschange.syd1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_d4ncDp5KSx8GnlA.

The survey will be open until 5pm AEDT on 17 March 2022.

Completion of the survey is voluntary. The survey is entirely confidential, and all data will be handled in accordance with the Department of Health Privacy Statement