St Timothy's School Vermont

Parent Question: What is CECV's plan as we move toweards the November election. 

What is the Catholic Education Commission of Victoria?

The Catholic Education Commission of Victoria Ltd (CECV) is the governing body for Catholic education in this state. It their  role to promote and advocate for Catholic education to the Victorian Government and Australian Government, and ensure that we receive adequate funding to continue providing high-quality learning outcomes.

CECV proudly represent almost 500 schools and kindergartens, and more than 32,000 teachers and support staff who provide high-quality education to more than 211,000 students across the state.

Why do Catholic schools need additional funding?

We estimate that demand for Catholic education is set to grow over the next five years, with 25,000 more places needed by 2025. While Catholic families already provide 70–75 cents of every dollar invested on capital projects in Catholic schools, we cannot expect them to be able to afford to pay more – especially at a time when cost of living pressures are weighing heavily on all families.

What will this additional funding be used for?

Additional funding will allow us to meet school land and infrastructure needs of communities in Melbourne’s booming outer-metropolitan and growing rural and regional areas. It will also ensure that infrastructure in existing Catholic schools is fit for purpose, suited to the evolving curriculum and a contemporary education.

The funding will bring our kindergartens into line with other government-funded kindergartens and ensure that the Smile Squad dental program is expanded to Catholic schools. This will provide preventative health care for families who may not otherwise be able to afford or easily access it.

Extending teacher recruitment incentive programs to include Catholic schools would help more teachers find work and ensure our Catholic schools are adequately staffed. This allows teachers to increase the focus and care given to each individual child.

For more information see the attached letter (PDF) and visit  https://www.cecv.catholic.edu.au/funding 

1. Ask if You Are Ok?

• Be relaxed, friendly and concerned in your approach. 
• Help them open up by asking questions like "How are you going?" or "What’s been happening?"  
• Mention specific things that have made you concerned for them, like "You seem less chatty than usual. How are you going?" 

IF

• If they don’t want to talk, don’t criticise them. 
• Tell them you’re still concerned about changes in their behaviour and you care about them. 
• Avoid a confrontation. 
• You could say: “Please call me if you ever want to chat” or “Is there someone else you’d rather talk to?” 

2.Listen With An Open Mind!

• Take what they say seriously and don't interrupt or rush the conversation.
• Don’t judge their experiences or reactions but acknowledge that things seem tough for them.
• If they need time to think, sit patiently with the silence.
• Encourage them to explain: "How are you feeling about that?" or "How long have you felt that way?"
• Show that you've listened by repeating back what you’ve heard (in your own words) and ask if you have understood them properly. 

3. Encourage Action

• Ask: “What have you done in the past to manage similar situations?”
• Ask: “How would you like me to support you?"
• Ask: “What’s something you can do for yourself right now? Something that’s enjoyable or relaxing?”
• You could say: "When I was going through a difficult time, I tried this... You might find it useful too."
• If they've been feeling really down for more than 2 weeks, encourage them to see a health professional. You could say, "It might be useful to link in with someone who can support you. I'm happy to assist you to find the right person to talk to.”
• Be positive about the role of professionals in getting through tough times. 

IF THEY NEED EXPERT HELP

Some conversations are too big for family and friends to take on alone. If someone’s been really low for more than 2 weeks - or is at risk - please contact a professional as soon as you can.

4. Check In

• Pop a reminder in your diary to call them in a couple of weeks. If they're really struggling, follow up with them sooner.
• You could say: "I've been thinking of you and wanted to know how you've been going since we last chatted."
• Ask if they've found a better way to manage the situation. If they haven't done anything, don't judge them. They might just need someone to listen to them for the moment.
• Stay in touch and be there for them. Genuine care and concern can make a real difference. 

We invite families and special guests to attend Celebrate the Learning on Tuesday  8th November (after school hours). Please add the date to your diary. It is expectated that all children attend as they will be showcasing samples of  their work from throughout the year as well as short performances. Parents, siblings, grandparents and special guests are all welcome. Times and details to follow early next term.

We are very excited to book an excursion for our whole school to Scienceworks during Term 4  on 25th November. The focus will be in the  Inquiry/Science/Earth & Space Learning areas. The P-3 and 4-6 will have  a different Learning Focus and will attend different exhibits at Scienceworks. It will be lovely to be able to go as a whole school to experience this very special learning opportunity.

Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools – School Improvement Surveys (MACSSIS) are conducted annually for schools in the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne.

MACSSIS is a low impact, high return set of tools for creating, collecting, analysing, interpreting and using data to inform Catholic school improvement. MACSSIS produces perception data. This data tells us about what different people in a school community think and feel about their learning environment.

The surveys are designed for:

• students in Years 4–6
• families
• teachers and non-teaching staff.

This year’s MACSSIS are open from Monday 29 August to Friday 16 September 2022. We  encourage parents to respond to the survey.

 All surveys are confidential.

We extend a warm welcome to a new Year 5 student, his brother Luca ( Emmaus) and parents Lidia and John to St Timothy's School and Community. We look forward to getting to know you and your extended family.

This week with the excellent assistance of Angie and Harold, we were able to blast out the dirt and debri from the holes for the netball goal posts. Given the current poularity of our children with the new basketballs, these extra rings ( though netball) will allow more children to improve their goal shooting. It is also great for our after school training sessions and in school netball games.

A big THANK YOU to our visiting fireman who have worked with both our P/1 class and Year 4/5 and Year 6 . We appreciate this support and important connections with our local community and assisting with the implemetation of the Victorian Curriculum.

Our Swimming Program is FINALLY back after missing 2 years due to COVID. All children Year Prep -6 will be involved in the Swimming Program in 2022. We believe this is vital due to the children missing two years of instruction and safety practices.  Our Prep,1's and 2's have never been involved in our school swimming program. The program begins in the first 2 weeks (10 days) of Term 4 for the P-4 and the Year 5&6 will both have a 5 day program on alternate weeks. More details and permission forms were sent home today as well as a PDF file attached to this Newsletter.. 

Are you interested or have friends who may be interested in joining a Playgroup at St Timothy's?   It would be great to be able to re-establish this fun gathering. Please spread the word and contact Gail or Anne Maree if interested in becoming a part of this group.

WE ARE HOPING TO START AFTER SWIMMING IN TERM 4

Early term 4 we require volunteers to drop promotional material to 25 Child Care and Kindergartens. Please speak to Anne Maree or Gail if you can assist. Thank you in advance 

Please COMPLETE the online survey if you are able to volunteer for our Working Bee, so we can choose the best date for the greatest number of volunteers available. Thank you

Survey link

Just a reminder that we have a School Closure Day on Monday 31st October and a Melbourne Cup Public Holiday on Tuesday 1st November. This is a lovely opportunity for families to take advantage of a Long Weekend. Please put these days in your calendar.

Term 3 dates:   Friday 16th September.  

Term 4 dates: Friday 28th October, Friday 4 th November, Friday 11th November, Friday 18th November, Friday 25th November Friday 2nd December.

Saturday 10th and Sunday 11th August‘

The gospel passage begins with an accusation that Jesus welcomes sinners and eats with them. This is the gravest social accusation one could level at another because who you ate with was a reflection of your own status. To welcome sinners and to eat with them was to effectively become one of them yourself. In response to this accusation, rather than mounting an argument, the gospel writer has Jesus tell three parables about the lost being found. The answer to the accusation is that those dismissed as ‘sinners’ are the ‘lost’ who will be celebrated with extravagant rejoicing when they have been ‘found’ again through their acceptance of the message of Jesus.

The parable of the lost son is usually taken in isolation and rarely is heard in the full context of the three parables of the lost being found. We need all three to recognise the ridiculous nature of the celebration of the forgiving father’s actions. All three parables display great folly. What shepherd would leave 99 ofhis sheep in the wilderness to go in search of just one? Similarly what woman is going to reveal to her friends how poverty-stricken she really is by inviting them to rejoice with her at the finding of one lost drachma – the least valuable of coins. When we come to the father rejoicing at his son’s return, this too would have seemed a ridiculous folly. Because of his actions, the son completely shamed himself and his father. The father’s expected and justified response would have been to turn his back on his son and banish him forever. To welcome him back would have been unthinkable to Jesus’ audience. In an echo of God’s ridiculous and unbounded loving forgiveness, the father welcomes his son with open arms andreclaims him as his own.

Beat school holiday boredom with fun activities from Whitehorse’s Spring School Holiday Program. There’s plenty of entertaining and affordable experiences for the kids to discover. Whether their passion is sport, arts, environmental, history or something the whole family can enjoy together!  Whitehorse School Holiday Programs

Term 3

Friday 22nd July. Friday 29th July, 5th August, 12th August & 19th August  26th August and 2nd September  Basket Ball Clinic 

Friday  26th, August, 2nd, 9th & 16th September - Prep 2023 Orientation

Thursday 15th September:  Footy Colours Day!

Friday 16th September - Last day of  Term 3