Dear Duffy School Community, Parents/Carers,

Welcome back to Term 2. We hope you all enjoyed the beautiful autumn weather during the school holidays. It was great to see so many smiling faces walking through the door on Tuesday, we were all really excited to welcome our students back after a restful and relaxing break.

My name is Sarah Ramirez and I’m joining Duffy Primary as the Wellbeing Officer for our learners. I will be working collaboratively with teachers and community organisations to support the wellbeing and mental health of our learners as well as running some programs that centre around things like resilience, building social connections, self-esteem, anxiety coping strategies etc. I've been working in the mental health sector for 2 years and have made the move over to the education sector, where I'm absolutely loving it. 

Outside of Duffy, I am a bubbly, fun loving person who loves to connect through silliness, sports and games. I enjoy reading a good book outside (with a cuppa!), playing video games, rescuing plants from the Bunnings clearance section, conducting backyard science experiments, and having lightsaber battles with my beautiful toddler. 

I look forward to working with Duffy’s beautiful cohort of learners and hope that I can provide them with some lifelong skills to support them as they flourish in their learning journey! 

School Satisfaction Survey (Parents/carers)

The continuous improvement of Duffy Primary School is informed by a range of data. This includes student, staff and parent/carer perspectives. This week we have surveyed students in Year 3-6 on some of the key items from School Climate and Satisfaction Survey 2023. Families are invited to share their thoughts and experiences with us through the Term 1 School Climate and Satisfaction Pulse Check Survey. Your feedback is important to our culture of continuous improvement. The link is below and will remain open till 10th May. We thank you in advance for taking some time to share your thoughts.

School Satisfaction Survey Pulse Check Survey Term 1 2024

Regards,

Katie, Arilia, Sarah and Fiona

Letter to school communities – seasonal illness from Director-General, Katy Haire

Please click here to access a letter to parents and carers about seasonal illness from our DG

Literacy and Numeracy Inquiry Final Report available 

 The Final Report from the ACT Government’s independent inquiry into literacy and numeracy performance in ACT public schools is now available.

The report contains 8 future-focused recommendations to strengthen literacy and numeracy outcomes for all ACT public school students.

The ACT public school system is strong, and this report provides the ACT Government with practical recommendations to build on its current successes. All ACT public schools are committed to ensuring every student is provided with a great education and the foundations for a good life.

To read the Full Report visit the ACT Education website.

2025 School Year Enrolments are open

Enrolments for the 2025 school year are now open for students starting at a new school. Visit education.act.gov.au for the online application link and information about the school in your child’s Priority Enrolment Area. School information sessions for prospective students are being held throughout May. Alternately, visit school websites to find out more or contact the school directly. Apply by 7 June to receive an offer from 29 July 2024.

Mobile Phones

A new ACT Public Schools policy comes into effect this year. Our practice regarding phones already aligns with this policy. All students who bring a phone to school need to hand it in to the front office. Phones are collected from the same spot at the end of each day. This routine has worked well for our students and phones are stored securely during the day.  Please ask that any student who wears a smart watch that these are set to ‘school mode/ school time’ during the day.

ACT Public Schools policy 

Suspension, Transfer or Exclusion of a Student in ACT Public Schools Policy

The Education Directorate has released its updated Suspension, Transfer or Exclusion of a Student in ACT Public Schools Policy.

ACT public schools work hard to support every student to achieve their best and meet their individual  learning needs.

Schools use a range of prevention and early support approaches to manage student behaviours when they may impact on a student’s ability to be positively engaged at school or impacts other students.

We recognise the importance of every child’s right to a quality education. Suspension, transfer or exclusion from school is not a punitive measure and will only be used for the purpose of providing the time necessary to ensure a safe and effective learning environment at school.

When this need arises, our schools work closely with students and their families to support them through this process and to support the continuity of learning for the student.

You can read the full policy on the Education website.  

Parent Portal

Term 2 we are introducing a new Parent Portal, a secure online platform used to share student information between you and your child’s teachers. 

Using the Parent Portal on your mobile phone, tablet or computer, you will be able to:

• notify us if your child is sick or explain an absence

• book parent-teacher interviews

• receive academic reports

• receive our school newsletter

• receive messages from your child’s teachers

• make payments

• access the school calendar and your child’s student timetable

More information will be sent to families next week via email, however you can start the sign up and identity verification process now so you’re ready to go. Head to the Education Directorate website Parent Portal page for all the details.

Third Party Permissions

Duffy Primary School is committed to providing a technology rich environment for our students as our community believes the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is fundamental in assisting teaching and learning in all areas of the school curriculum.

The use of web-based learning resources and cloud-based storage has risen steadily over the last decade and are increasingly being used by teachers across the Directorate to improve student learning outcomes.

As our school wishes to register with a number of web-based service providers that require some personal information about a student in your care, I am obliged under the Information Privacy Act 2014 to advise you of the policies for third party applications used within our school.

The Directorate has a privacy policy that explains how we handle personal information, including how we handle privacy complaints. The policy is available on the Directorate’s website on the Publications and Policies page.

Please view the privacy policy for New Australian Council for Education Research Progressive Achievement Test (PAT) which students in Kindergarten to Year 6 access every year.

Do you know someone that would be a suitable addition to our school board or another school board in the ACT?

The Education Directorate is seeking expressions of interest from people to fill the position of “Appointed Member” on ACT public school boards. Expressions of interest will be used to fill vacant positions in schools across the ACT.

All ACT public schools have a school board. The school board is responsible for the school’s strategic direction, its budget, policy implementation and related issues. Generally, school boards consist of:

· the school’s principal;

· three parents and citizens members;

· two staff members;

· two student members (at high schools and colleges);

· one Appointed Member; and

· up to two Board Appointed Members (if any).

The appointed member is usually someone from outside the immediate school community, who is interested in and committed to public education. They bring an independent voice to board decisions. Appointments extend for periods up to two years and an appointed member may also be re-appointed after the conclusion of their term.

People interested in becoming an appointed member on a school board, should complete the expression of interest form and return it to: Governance Branch, Education Directorate Email: EDUSchoolBoards@act.gov.au

Expressions of interest for this year will be open until COB Friday 10 May 2024.

On Monday the 6th of May students will be presented awards for out school cross country. Ribbons will be presented for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place. Full results from the day are available here.

Requirements for daily sign-in/out and wearing of identification

Volunteers and visitors must sign-in/out for each visit, recording the date, start and finish times and the tasks undertaken.  

All Volunteers and Visitors at Duffy Primary School must enter and exit the school via the front office sign in on arrival prior to proceeding to their destination or activity (including accompanying students on excursions), identify themselves (present WWVP registration card or other identification if relevant) and report to front office staff to be signed out before leaving the school. You will be given a Visitors sticker each time you visit which must be displayed for the entirety or your visit.

This allows the school the opportunity to monitor compliance with the WWVP Act and Emergency Evacuation Procedures.

Duffy Preschool has a Visitors and Volunteers sign-in and sign-out register and you must report to preschool staff before proceeding to work with students. 

Dogs on School Grounds

Just a  reminder that under the Domestic Animals Act, dogs are not permitted on school grounds.

Section 42 of the Act defines places where dogs are prohibited. These include the grounds of a child care centre, preschool, primary school, high school or secondary college during school hours or when school sport including training is being conducted or a dog is taken into the grounds with the approval of the principal (e.g. service support dogs). Dogs are prohibited within 10 metres of anything designed for play by children in a public place if children are playing on it; a fireplace designed for cooking food; or a swimming area defined by a sign erected.

We understand that dogs are an important part of people's families, and for some the walk to school is a good opportunity to take the dog for a walk. However, as well as the legislation mentioned above, there are children and adults in every school that for whatever reason find it difficult to be around dogs. We ask that you keep this in mind when walking your dog, and please do not bring them onto the school grounds.  Thank you!

Assemblies

Wednesday assemblies will now commence from 2:30pm-3pm. Please check our website for an Assembly Roster for the year. 

Duffy Playgroup

Home Learning Hub

Literacy People's Literacy Learning Modules - A guide for engaging parents and carers

Mindfulness Podcast Series - ACT Education Directorate