Hello and welcome to our fortnightly newsletter.

WHOLE SCHOOL ASSEMBLY-

Term 3 Outstanding Achievers were: Being SAFE Darcey Hipwell Seth Hagen Yakup Oguz Jack Sfetcopoulos Being RESPECTFUL Felicity Ibbotson Ben Frewen Ashlee Hadden Being RESPONSIBLE Wil Sleeth Taylen Jackson Jackson Reeves Being a LEARNER Nyibol Makuac Shaun Barker Brayden Foley Kiwanis Award Olivia Owen Jason Schiemann Tash Schiemann ART– Darcy Steven MUSIC– WillyAlmond PE– Olivia Richardson Congratulations to you all.

SCHOOL REVIEW– The review process is underway at VRS with our Validation Day this coming Monday. Our Reviewer Wendy Hubbard will meet with our Leadership Team, School Council President and Vice President and our Senior Leader. The review has a broad scope. All aspects of the previous 4 years are considered including our student data and results, our annual plans, key improvement strategies and achievements. All groups in our school community will have a chance to have a say, that’s students, parents and staff. Classroom observations are a key part of the Validation Day and Field days. The Field Days also include parent, staff and student focus groups. The review sets up our actions and the Strategic Plan for our next four years. HAYLEE PARFETT VISIT– Haylee was in the school again this week and we focused on the interactive use of AAC throughout the school and how to expand responses from our students.

UPCOMING EVENTS Monday, October 22nd School Review Validation Day Thursday 25th & Friday October 26th Dan Petro consulting in the school Tuesday, October 30th School Council Thursday 1st & Friday November 2nd School Review Field Days Monday, November 5th School Council Day in Lieu—No classes on this day Tuesday, November 6th Melbourne Cup Public Holiday– No classes on this day All students enrolled at VRS have a right to feel safe and be safe. The wellbeing of children in our care will always be our first priority and

we have zero tolerance to child abuse. We aim to create a child safe and child friendly environment where children feel safe and are free to enjoy life to the full without any concern for their safety.

VERNEY ROAD SCHOOL

NEWSLETTER ISSUE #16 October 19th, 2018 Principal: Janet Gill Kirkman Assistant Principal: Angela Buxton Website: http://verneyrd.vic.edu.au Email: verney.road.sch@edumail.vic.gov.au

PO Box 1551 Shepparton 3632 Phone 5821 8185

Fax 5822 2915

DAN PETRO VISIT- Dan Petro (Behavioural Analyst) will be in our school next week; he has a consulting practice dedicated to helping organisations respond to challenging behaviour situations in a way that is straight forward, effective and focused on desirable results. He has provided professional services in schools for over 30 years and presented at our Special School’s Conference in 2017.

He will be observing in our classrooms, assisting staff to establish clear expectations for how desirable behaviours look. ‘ If you don’t know how you want the correct behaviour to look...the student never will.’

DAY IN LIEU AND MELBOURNE CUP HOLIDAY– There will be no school on Monday & Tuesday, November 5th & 6th, please enjoy this mid-term break!

Jan Gill Kirkman Principal

HEALTHY EATING Jewelled pumpkin and pistachio salad

Dried cranberries add a touch of sweetness to this festive pumpkin and

pistachio side salad.

Ingredients

1kg Kent pumpkin, seeded, cut into 2cm-thick wedges 1/4 cup (35g) pistachios 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced into rings 1/4 cup (35g) dried cranberries 1 lemon, juiced 200g plain yoghurt 2 tablespoons tahini 1 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves 2 tablespoons lemon juice, extra

Method

Step 1

Preheat oven to 190C. Line a large baking tray with baking paper. Place the pumpkin on the tray. Spray with olive oil spray. Step 2

Roast, turning once, for 40 mins or until light golden and tender. Set aside to cool. Step 3

Meanwhile, arrange pistachios in a single layer on a baking tray. Roast for 3 mins or until lightly toasted. Set aside to cool. Coarsely chop. Step 4

Combine the onion, cranberries and lemon juice in a bowl. Set aside, stirring occasionally, for 15 mins or until onion and cranberries soften. Drain well. Step 5

Place yoghurt, tahini, parsley and extra lemon juice in a food processor and process until the parsley is finely chopped and the mixture is well combined. Season. Step 6

Arrange the pumpkin on a large serving platter. Sprinkle with the cranberry mixture. Spoon over the yo-ghurt dressing and sprinkle with the pistachio.

News from the Heroes of Room B6 Book Day was a huge success—Whole class dressed up!

We visited the Shepparton Botanic Gardens and Telstra tower.

We learned about measure-ment. We used blocks and gluesticks to measure the room.

We investigated the relative sizes of the Sun, Earth and Moon.

DISCUSS THIS… LIFE AFTER SCHOOL: HOW TO HELP YOUR CHILD TRANSITION TO ADULTHOOD. PART 2 WHERE TO LIVE

At home- The major ity of young people with disabilities remain in the family home with a parent as their pr i-mary carer. Often because it seems like the only way to go. To make this work as a long term option, and to make sure you don’t burn out, it is important to ensure that your home is properly set up to manage the physical demands of the caring job – especially as you begin to age and the toll becomes harder on your body. It is also important to organise proper respite so that (a) you can have a break and your own life and (b) so that your child can continue to learn and develop resilience and independence because the day will eventually come where you are unable to care for and look after your child 24/7. Ensuring that your child gets out during the week to attend work, activities or pro-grams will mean that they will have a more meaningful and enjoyable life – and you will have time to yourself. There are programs and grants available to help.

Supported Accommodation- Living as independently as possible is a goal for many fam-ilies. What this looks like can vary considerably depending on your child’s abilities and care requirements. While there has been a lot of coverage on the shortage of housing for young people with dis-abilities in Australia, there are organisations such as the Endeavour Foundation, Yooralla, Able Australia, Young Care and others which have been doing incredible work to ensure that there are real housing options that cater for care needs but also provide an attractive living environment. Hopefully this trend will continue. Check with your local Disability organisa-tion to see what’s available near you. MEDICAL Your GP is your friend. By now, I’m sure you’ve got their mobile in your favourites but your rela-tionship is about to get a whole lot closer. Your GP will be the one medical constant, who will have known your child as a child and will be able to assist in the transition to adult services. They are still the person to get your refer-rals from – (No paediatrician after 18 years of age). Start planning your transition well in advance. Ideally you have a health care coordinator at your hospital, but if not, your paediatrician should be able to help you with this process. You will need to be referred to the adult service of each of the faculties you see. Meet with the adult health care professionals in advance of the change, preferably with the paediatric health care professional who currently attends to your child, to ensure a smooth hand-over and transi-tion. All of your child’s medical paperwork must be transferred from the paediatric health care professionals to the adult health care professionals. Your child will be encouraged to take more of an active role in their own medical care, to the best of their ability. LEGAL Wills, trusts and guardianship; this is a good time to get some

legal advice and make some plans for the future if you haven’t done so already.

Working out who will take legal responsibility for your child and how they will

be supported financially into the future is imperative.

When your child turns 18, they become an adult and legally entitled to make their own decisions. If your child is incapable of making decisions in their own best interest you may want to apply for legal guardianship. Guardianship may not be necessary in the case of informal decisions or when all interested parties agree. A special disability trust can be set up for a child with a severe disability, to pro-vide for your child in the event of your death. FUNDING You will need to chat to Centrelink before your child turns 16, as

funding allowances change. Your child may be eligible for the following funding

once they turn 16:

Disability Support Pension Pensioner Education Supplement ABSTUDY Mobility Allowance Youth Allowance Companion Card

Hope that you have found these helpful and informative. Darren

DARREN MILES

SOCIAL WORKER

WHOLE SCHOOL ASSEMBLY

NDIS UPDATE With the NDIS rollout for our area creeping closer there has been a steady increase in the number of families contacting the school seeking direc-tion and assistance. At this stage I would like to be able to say that I can provide a standard set of responses to each query but this isn’t possible; the circumstances of each family are unique and need to be taken into account so that the best possible outcome can be reached.

Many of our school families have commenced the access procedure for the NDIS for their chil-dren and are now receiving letters requesting further information to complete the process. Some have also had correspondence containing Access Portal instructions. If you have re-ceived any of these communications, it is important to take note of any dates for action that are included. Unfortunately some families have also received letters containing incorrect or invalid details, resulting in confusion and frustration. If you have received correspondence that has the wrong details it is essential that the NDIS is contacted and these are corrected. Please, if you have any concerns or queries regarding the NDIS, require any assistance in filling out Access Request Forms or need copies of assessments, you are most welcome to contact the school and make an appointment. I am also available to make home visits if that is more convenient for families.

At the moment Intereach, the organisation co-ordinating the NDIS in our region, is setting up its office in the former CVGT building which is situated on the corner of Sobroan and Welsford Streets. This office is due to open shortly and we will let families know through the newslet-ter and Flexibuzz when a date is confirmed. In the meantime Intereach can be contacted by visiting www.intereach.com.au or calling 1300 968 140. On Monday November 12, Carmel Topp from AMAZE – Autism Victoria will be visiting our school to conduct NDIS information sessions with individual families. Carmel has previously present-ed NDIS workshops in Shepparton and other regional centres and is particularly skilled in as-sisting participants and their families in identifying and developing NDIS goals. Carmel will schedule 40 minute appointments beginning from 9.00 am and these can be booked through Stephen Kealy by contacting the school.

STEPHEN KEALY (FAMILY ENGAGEMENT OFFICER)

During Term Three on Wednesday the 29th of August, students and their parents & carers participated in the annual school Fun Run. I am pleased to announce that the total amount of money raised in the CUA Fun Run this year was $5,146.76. The class who raised the most money was Francesca, Linda & Maddy (A23) who all together raised $919.53, while the highest fundraising student in the school was Lincoln Harris from Georgia & Glenn (A27) who raised a massive $542.84. I would like to thank all of the families and friends who donated money towards the whole school fundraiser. The money raised will be going towards improving the school yards and play areas. The prizes for the students who raised money will be arriving within the next 2 to 3 weeks. Matt Gill – PE Teacher

Music with TJ Parker

State Schools' Relief are now selling great priced, quality 'Student's Choice' leather shoes from as little as $45.00. Available online now and in store at 16 outlets across Victoria, including our Dandenong South site. These shoes are perfect for both Primary and Secondary students and come in a huge range of sizes. Please let ALL your parents know for the upcoming 2019 school year that State Schools' Relief have great quality school shoes at a fraction of the price you'd pay elsewhere. PLUS, with every pair of 'Student’s Choice' shoes sold, they're helping SSR provide assistance to tens of thousands