Term 4 is off to a strong start, with it being notoriously busy. We are all looking forward to the Presentation Ball that is on tomorrow night at the Royal Theatre in Camperdown. Thank you to Tegan and Simone that have worked tirelessly to make this a memorable night for everyone. The students have been working hard on their dances and have excitedly been discussing their outfits. Thank you to Sharon Short who has made all the flowers for the night, we appreciate the many hours you have spent to beautify this night.

Both Later Years and Middle Years have camps planned for this term that everyone is looking forward to. Please send back paperwork or approve on XUNO as soon as you can.

Teachers and students will be celebrating the growth of our students this term as testing kicks off in both Literacy and Numeracy and the checking of IEP goals. Teachers are always excited to share the success of our students with their colleagues.

Next year the funding model for our students is changing from the Program for Students with Disability to the Disability Inclusion Profile, by all reports from other regions the reform has been well received and is very supportive of our students. At this time it will not change anything for our families.

We continue to focus on kindness and respect across the school, staff are looking to ‘catch’ students being kind to each other and showing signs of respect. This includes sharing, kind words, listening and working as a team.

Take care

Kylie Carter

After a lengthy recruitment process, today we welcomed Misty Goodwin to our staff at Hampden Specilaist School as our NDIS Navigator.

Our school is excited to be part of the NDIS Navigators initiative. NDIS Navigators will be in all Victorian government specialist schools by 2025 to help students and their families navigate and understand the NDIS and get the most out of the supports available.

Misty will be our NDIS Navigator for 2 days a week, primarily Tuesday and Thursday.

Misty will:

• provide information and advice on the NDIS and available supports, including guidance on where to look for services and how to make the best selection for your child
• support you to understand the:
• structure of the NDIS and how to navigate and engage with the system
• ongoing management of NDIS plans and how to raise questions or concerns with the National Disability Insurance Agency or NDIS funded organisations
• assist you to access NDIS Local Area Coordination partners for advice and support.

Those families who completed a NDIS Consent at our last SSG Day will receive a call from Misty over the next few weeks.  Misty is contactable on our main school number 5595 1995 to talk about how the NDIS Navigator service can support your family.

 The Middle Years cooking program is back into full swing. Students have enjoyed sitting down to lunch together over the last two weeks. Today, savoury pinwheels and a cinnamon tea cake were on the menu and were enjoyed by all students.

What a busy end of year we have planned.

The Cooking with Kids Cookbook is in the final stages before it goes off to the printer however we could do with some more recipes. We are after recipes that are easy to do with the children at home or that your children really love to eat. Feel free to email any recipes that you would like to Kristie.simpson@education.vic.gov.au or drop off at school by the 25^th of November. These cookbooks have been very well supported by businesses in the community and for that we are very grateful.

We are after a lovely artwork for the cover of the cookbook so lets get the kids drawing over the weekend. There will be a prize for the winner.

The soft covered, coloured cookbook will be available for sale in early December for $25.00

On the 8^th of November we will be having the Hampden Specialist School Sports Carnival at the Terang Recreational Reserve. Events start at 9.45 and the event will be finished by 2.15.  Family are invited to come and watch and even participate with a dress up dash open to an adult and child to participate and the adult event Tissue Box Ping Pong. The adult events will run in the afternoon from 1pm.

There will be a basic kiosk running throughout the day and lunch orders available. Medals and awards will be presented at around 1.30pm. We look forward to seeing you all there.

If you would like to assist for an hour or so on the day please get in touch with the school so that we can add you to the roster.

We are after the following items to run some of the events if you are able to assist

20L buckets (happy to return)

Tissue boxes

Baling twine (can be cut as it is needed to tie around adult waists)

Look out for all the fun things we have happening at the Terang Gala on the 20^th of December.

We will be BBQing at Bunnings on the 22^nd of December. Let the school know if you are available to help for an hour or so and we can put you on the roster.

We are also hoping to do Santa Photos this year so keep an eye out for those aswell

To all the students doing the Deb Ball on Friday Night congratulations and good luck we can’t wait to see all the beautiful photos.

Next Parents Association Meeting is at 4.20 at Terang Campus on November 12^th. Happy to see any new faces

Dear parents and carers,

In Term 4, 2024, families with a child enrolled in a government school from Prep to Year 12 in 2025 will receive the one-off $400 School Saving Bonus.

The $400 School Saving Bonus provides families with support for education-related costs, such as school activities and/or school uniforms and textbooks.

School Saving Bonus is not available for full-fee international students, home schooled students, TAFE students and students attending kindergarten in 2025.   

Actions for parents and carers

Before 18 October 2024, the Department of Education is asking parents and carers to:

• Complete enrolment: If your child, or children are changing government school for Term 1 2025, or starting Prep or Year 7 in 2025. For more information, read about Enrolling in School.
• Check your contact information: Ensure your email address and phone number is up to date with us. You can check this information by contacting us directly.

We need to ensure your contact information is up to date as the Department of Education will email you twice:

• in October, to verify your email address
• in November, with your $400 School Saving Bonus.

Please check your junk mail regularly to make sure you do not miss an important email.

To learn more about the School Saving Bonus, download the School Saving Bonus Information sheet for government school parents and carers [school to attach or link doc] or visit vic.gov.au/school-saving-bonus.