Newsletter 16th November 2022

Upcoming Dates

17th November:  Junior Stayback and Grade 2 Sleepover

18th, 25th November & 2nd, 9th December:  Combined Schools Days at St Brendan's

24th November:  Little Feet, Big Footprint Final Session at All Abilities Playground, 12:30pm-2:30pm

29th November:  Orientation Day for Year 6 students at Catholic Secondary Schools & "Going Up" Day for Foundation to Year 5 students

8th December: 6:00pm Graduation End of Year Mass

14th December:  End of Year Excursion to Xtreme Bounce & Waterpark

16th December:  Last Day of Term 4 for students; Assembly at 12:30pm

30th January 2023:  First Day of Term 1, 2023

Principal's News

Over the past few weeks, we have been made aware of a number of families in our school communities who are experiencing some challenging times due to sickness and loved ones that have passed away. Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone who is facing difficult times.

Each day I realise that so many people are going through so much. Being grateful for what we have every day, even the smallest of things, can sometimes put what is going on around us in perspective.

Community Meetings

Thank you to those that could attend our final community meeting with Tony Dalton yesterday. I realise that meetings are often difficult to attend and I am happy to hear your thoughts if you want to email, ring or have a chat. All ideas are valued and considered. I am meeting with Tom Sexton on Thursday and will have a conversation with him about the options we have come up with and discuss what support we may need moving forward.

Tony, Tom and I will come up with a plan to move forward soon and it will be shared with all families.

Dates for Next Year

It is that time of the year where we beginning planning for 2023. We have already locked some dates in, one of which is our swimming program which will begin on Friday, the 24^th of February for 5 weeks. Next year we are going to do a gymnastics lesson at the Ballarat Aquatic Centre alongside the swimming for the duration of the program.

As we plan further for 2023, the dates will go in the public calendar as soon as possible.

SAVE THE DATE: Camp for our Year 3 – 6 children is happening early on in the year. Our children will experience camp with the children from St. Michael’s Daylesford and will be at Campaspe Downs in the Macedon Ranges from Monday, the 6^th of March until Wednesday, the 8^th. More information will follow early 2023.

End of Year Masses and Graduation

These dates are in the calendar and always a wonderful celebration of the end of the year and to send forth our Year 6 students. I encourage everyone to come together to attend the Mass and Graduation ceremony. It is another opportunity to spend time as a school community.

Catherine King Award

After some consideration, I have decided not to continue presenting the Catherine King Award at the end of the year. It is not always visible to everyone how people contribute and what they do in and for our schools. Some parents are on the SAC or P and F, others quickly jump in to do a one-off job when I ask, others do lots of PR things, some make very generous contributions by donations and so on. It is my belief that all families contribute and help in the best way they can and together we work for our children to make our schools the best places we can.  

Annual General Meeting

St. Mary’s held their Annual General Meeting last night. Thank you to all that could make it.

Next Tuesday we will have the St. Brendan’s AGM at school, starting at 7pm. All are welcome.

Junior Stay Back and Year 2 Sleepover

The day is nearly here – the long anticipated Junior Stay back and Year 2 Sleepover is happening this week! The children are very excited and the teachers can’t wait. Providing the children with an experience like this promotes resilience, confidence, cooperation, tolerance and independence in a supportive and caring environment. It is also a great way to ‘pave the way’ for the camps which are held for students in Years 3 – 6.

This should be a really positive experience for the children, so please discuss the sleepover with your child and try to allay any concerns he/she may have. Please do not hesitate to contact your child’s teacher if you have any concerns or questions about the night.

Thank you to the staff who give up their family time to be with our students for the night. While many may think it is part of a teacher's job to do out of school hours tasks, it is done without extra pay and often they come in on days they do not work to be with the children for a particular special event.

No Assessment Days at the End of Year or First Day Back

In previous years we have had a day at the end of the year and one at the start of the following year to do some individual assessments with children, to find out the children’s progress. Last year, schools were informed that this was no longer allowed and that schools would work to do assessments based on a plan that worked for them. Therefore, children will not be required to come in for these individual times and that teachers will do the necessary tasks within school hours.

Asking About Your Child's Day

So often we hear that when parents ask their children about their day at school, the child may answer with ‘nothing’ or focus on a part of the day that was a bit challenging, even if most of the day went very well.

As I was scrolling through my photos, I came across this and thought it was worth sharing:

Combined Schools' Days - Change to St Brendan's

Next Friday we are will be returning to St. Brendan’s for our final 4 Combined Schools' Days.  Thank you again to parents for supporting us to make these days happen.

Supervision of Children Before & After School

While many staff members come to school early in the morning and stay for some time after school for meetings and to prepare work, official supervision of children begins at 8.45am and finishes at 15 minutes after official finish time – 3.30pm for St. Mary’s students and 3.45pm for St. Brendan’s. Staff are timetabled for these 15 minutes to do yard duty. While we understand that sometime parents get held up after school, it is appreciated that a phone call is made to let teachers know so that they can tell the children what is happening. If children arrive to school earlier than 8.45am, they will be required to sit quietly in a designated area until 8.45am when a teacher will be on duty. No children should be arriving to school before 8.30am. Please talk to me if this is an issue or needs clarifying.

End of the Year

The end of the year is fast approaching. Remember to keep consulting the calendar for school events that are happening and please keep us up to date if your child is going to be away for any reason, or if there are things happening at home that teachers may need to be aware of.

For some children, a change of routine can be challenging and we will do our best to keep things as ‘normal’ and calm as possible.  We are also noticing that a number of children are unwell with colds, hay fever and gastro. Please keep sick children home or let the teachers know if they require medication or just a bit of extra TLC. Parents need to fill out a medical permission form if medicines need to administered at school.

Stay well everyone.  Go gently during this busy time,

Inez

Remembrance Day - Junior Room

On Remembrance Day, St. Mary's and St Brendan's students went to the Ballarat Art Gallery.  First we looked at the "Under the Black Flag" exhibition. We saw a pirate ship collage made with denim jeans and other scraps.  Then we made our own pirate pet collages and had a walk through the Art Gallery.  We had a great time at the Ballarat Art Gallery. 

Kaezia, Year One:  On Remembrance Day the students went to the Ballarat Art Gallery.  When we got there we went up the stairs to look at a picture, it was called "Under the Black Flag". Then we drew a Pirate Pet and went for a walk around the Gallery.  The bus came and we went back to school. I enjoyed going with St Brendan's too.

We wore our poppy badges that we made to commemorate Remembrance Day as well.

Patrick, Year One:  Remembrance Day is a time to commemorate with a service, we stop for one minute, it is not a celebration or party. 

Senior Room News

Students have been busy in the Senior Room.  Here's what they have been doing:

Sull, Evie, Jack and Leo:   We emailed Turia Pitt for our Friday project about people with a disability. We were excited to see that she had kindly responded with a short video giving us information about herself.

Maeve:  We have been writing letters to our teenage self about things that we should do when we're in a friendship that has been a bit shaky.

Tara:  We have been writing a letter to our teenself about how to deal with arguments or hard times in our life and have also watched a video that showed people sharing some strategies. Some strategies include saying stop and walking away.

Pat:  These past days we have been writing letters to our teenage self about what to do if you get in the middle of an argument or if you hear someone putting someone down. It is best not to go and tell the person, because that could ruin their self confidence.

Chloe:  With Sue, we have been learning about what is good and bad for our body.  We have started to learn about the traffic lights -  GREEN is our fruit and vegetables so what is very healthy for us, AMBER is still good for us but not as healthy as GREEN.  Food that come under the RED banner are very, very unhealthy and are sometimes food.     

Big Summer Read

Starting on the 1 December 2022 and ending on the 31 January 2023, Moorabool Libraries is taking part in a state-wide Big Summer Read program. This program is available to anyone under the age of 18 in Victoria.

The aim of this program is to slow ‘the summer slide’ of literacy levels by getting kids to read at least 10 books and completing a series of challenges. They can record their progress using an app called Beanstack, which rewards them with digital ‘badges’ as they reach their reading milestones or paper version can be provided from one of the Moorabool Libraries.

Prizes:

Moorabool Prize:

All Moorabool based Big Summer Read participants who read 10 books will go into the draw to win:

• 4 x $40 Book Vouchers 
• 2 x $50 Movie Vouchers 
• $200 Eftpos Gift Card 

State-wide Prizes:

All Victorian participants will also go into the draw for the following State-wide prizes: 

• 0-8 years - $200 Reading Vouchers 
• 9-12 years - $250 Reading Vouchers 
• 13-18 years - $500 Reading Vouchers  

Prizes will be drawn Friday 10 February 2023 

NGV On Tour

Moorabool Libraries has once again joined the National Gallery of Victoria’s fantastic Kids on Tour program for 2023.

This program offers opportunities for children and families to engage with art and creativity through a range of free hands-on activities and workshops.

 Get creative this summer and drop by your local Moorabool Libraries during 14-22 January 2023 to take part in the NGV Kids on Tour. There will be free craft sessions and packs that you can take home as well.

Drop in craft sessions:

Ballan Library Wed 18 Jan 2023 – 9am-12pm

Lerderderg Library Thurs 19 Jan 2023 – 9am-8pm

If you have any other questions about these programs please feel free to email me or contact the Moorabool Libraries at 5366 7100.

Election Day Fundraiser

It has been decided not to proceed with the Election Day Fundraiser on Saturday, 26th November.  The School will still be operating as a Polling Centre for the local community.

Our Diocesan Community

The latest edition of "Our Diocesan Community" is now available.  Please use the link below to access this publication.

Authority for Student's Photo Permission and ICT Permission for 2023

Moving into 2023, the Student Photo and Recording Permission and the Student ICT Permission will distributed and approved through the PAM accounts.  When we rollover the PAM accounts at the end of the semster you will receive an email.  Before your child starts school in 2023 all health details will need to be completed.  Asthma plans will need to be uploaded and any anaphylaxis documents attached. 

The Student ICT Permission form will need to be authorised by a parent before students can use computer equipment.  Also, the Student Photo Permission will need to be authorised or delcined.

You will no longer receive these documents in paper form at the start of the school year. 

Please don't hesitate to contact the office if you have any questions regarding these forms.

Many thanks, Claire 

School Fees

Just a reminder regarding school fees.  As per our School Fees Policy, all school fees must be finalised by the 30th November of the current school year.  If you are experiencing difficulty in managing your school fees, please make an appointment to discuss this with Inez. 

Help Required!

We have some larger items that need to go to the tip/recycling centre.  If any of the parents are able to assist with the transfer of these, please see Claire in the office.  Thank you!

Gardening & Tidying Roster 2022