From the Principal
From the Principal...
Welcome back! It has been wonderful to see everyone back and to have a school yard and classrooms filled with joyful children. Thank you for all you did to prepare your children for the beginning of the year, it has been a very smooth start. The children have settled in well and are getting to know their new teachers, classmates and are learning new routines that will allow them to engage fully in their learning for what looks to be a promising year ahead!
Our Kindergarten children officially commenced their schooling journey on Wednesday! After a long lead up and lots of preparation, their first day was filled with smiles and many happy moments. We are so happy to have our newest students with us and look forward to growing and learning together.
Our staff members have returned from their well-earned summer holidays and spent the first two days of the school year engaging in prayer and professional learning. Our big focus this year is Mathematics. We look forward to sharing more about what we are doing in the weeks ahead. We are excited about the strategic direction of the school, and look forward to working in partnership with you to provide the best possible experience for all students.
This Week’s Gospel - Mark 1: 40- 45
In Mark’s Gospel this Sunday, Jesus heals a man with leprosy. The healing of the man with leprosy is a reminder of the coming of God's kingdom. In God's kingdom, there is healing, restoration, love and compassion. This passage invites us to join together in bringing about God's kingdom on earth by showing love, compassion, and justice in our interactions and relationships with others. I believe it is an important reminder as we begin our school year and as we embark on the season of Lent next week.
Parish Welcome Mass and Morning Tea
Father Henry has invited us to attend a special Welcome Mass and morning tea on Sunday, February 18th at 9am in our church. It would be wonderful to see many of our families at Mass on this day and I look forward to having a cuppa with many of you after Mass. If you can bring a plate to share, that would be wonderful!
Feedback
Many of you know that we appreciate and value parent feedback and seek it out at various times throughout the year. We can achieve great things when we work together. You may remember in the last newsletter of 2023, based on feedback from you in an end of year survey, we have made the following changes:
- From 2024, parents will be advised on Mondays of Assembly Week if their child is to receive a class award or special award.
- From 2024, P&F Meetings will rotate between morning meetings and evening meetings.
Unfortunately, due to the Parish Reconciliation program our first meeting scheduled for this year has had to be changed to Friday 1st March beginning at 8:45am in the School Hall. Subsequent meetings will be rotated between morning and evening meetings.
Homework
As a staff, we are reviewing our current homework procedures across the school. As part of this review, we seek your valuable feedback. If you could please take a few moments to complete this brief survey, it would be greatly appreciated. Homework will not commence until we complete this review which should take until approximately Week 5. Here is the survey link.
Beginning of the Year Parent Information Sessions
We invite all parents and carers to your child’s classroom for a 30 minute session where you can meet your child’s new teacher. This session will give you an overview of the teaching and learning expectations and other important information for the new school year. There will be two repeated sessions for each grade:
Session One: 3:15 - 3:45pm
Session Two: 5:00 - 5:30pm
Sessions will take place in the classrooms on Monday 26th February.
COMPASS Absences / Attendance
If your child has been absent and you have not entered an attendance note in Compass, this absence will be changed to an 'unjustified absence' after 7 days. This process is carried out by the Compass administrator at CEO. As a parent/guardian you only have these 7 days to add the attendance note - if it becomes 'unjustified' and you wish for it to be amended, you must contact the school office, either by phone or email, with the reason your child was absent and we can make the necessary amendments. All unjustified absences will be shown on your child's semester report.
When entering your child's reason for absence, we ask that you try and be specific e.g. coughing, flu, vomiting etc.
Leave During Term
When taking your child/children out of school, during the term for a holiday or extended leave (10 school days or over) you are required to complete and submit an Application for Student Leave form. This is available at the school office and will be given to our Principal Mrs Smith for approval. This is required for absences of 10 or more school days, an itinerary needs to be supplied, with the form.
Parent Contact Details
At all times, we ask that parents keep their contact details up to date. Phone numbers and email addresses can be amended, by you, through the Compass portal. Please advise the office, in writing/email, of any other change in details e.g. place of employment, emergency contact details.
Change of Routine
Please remember to inform the office by email if there is going to be a change in routine. If a parent is running late, please contact the school office. If you have organised for someone else to collect your child, please inform the office of this as soon as possible or write a note for your child's class teacher.
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COLLECTING CHILDREN EARLY If you need to pick up your children throughout the day, please keep in mind that it is very hard to locate your children during break times. If you need to collect your child during these times, it would be appreciated if you email the school in the morning and we can organise to have your child in the office. First Break - 10:45 a.m. to 11:25 a.m. Second Break - 1:25 p.m. to 1:55 p.m. |
Car Park
Student safety is a huge priority at our school and any carpark can be a dangerous place. We all need to remember, when driving through the carpark, to follow all arrows and drive slowly. Please remember that we have a ‘kiss and drop’ zone in operation every morning in the spaces outside the hall. Please do not park there in the afternoons as it is unsafe due to the high volume of cars going in and out of the parking spots. Thank you once again, for your support in keeping our beautiful children safe.
Have a wonderful week and see you at the school gate!
Mrs Amy Smith
Principal
