Welcome back to another great year of learning and community faith building.
Over the holiday period I had ample time to catch up on some important reading due to the COVID lockdown in my area. Most mornings I begin my day with reading the gospel of the day from a book gifted to me by Monsignor Ron entitled Sacred Space, The prayer book. For me it is a fulfilling way to start my day in gratitude and praise to our Lord for all that is good in the world.
A paragraph that stood out to me during this time of isolation was as follows:
I am standing at the door, knocking, says the Lord. What a wonderful privilege that the Lord of all creation desires to come to me. I welcome his presence (page 49) .
The message invites us to open the door to Jesus and welcome him into our life. This is the way we choose to live our life at St Andrew’s Primary school. Our community is given many opportunities to join in prayer, thanksgiving and praise for our Lord shown in the actions of service of love and kindness we offer to all we meet.
Last year this service of love and kindness was bestowed upon our school community by our parish friends. A committee, coordinated by Maureen, organised a drive of school resources that were given to us this year to share with our families. I sincerely wish to thank the parish team and Monsignor Ron for their service to our community. This is the work of God in action and service for others very much alive in our parish. A letter will be sent home shortly with ideas on how we will distribute the school supplies to our families who require our love and support.
St Andrew’s school goals for the year
Over many years we have been on a journey of change, making change to improve the learning opportunities for every student and sustaining change with effective teaching pedagogies designed to build the learning capabilities of our students and teachers.
This year our goal is twofold;
To continue to develop the learner so that learning is deep and transferable across all domains.
To develop positive wellbeing practices to create a faith filled, positive school culture.
Staff changes for 2021
A full staff listing for 2021 is included in the newsletter.
Due to unforeseen circumstances, Miss Villar was moved from Year 6 and appointed as the Kindergarten teacher for 2021, Mrs Klafas has accepted the role of Diversity leader in Kindergarten when she returns from leave. While Mrs Klafas is on leave, Mrs Zeitouni has accepted this role. Mrs Zeitouni is very familiar with our school processes and children and she will be an asset to the grade.
To replace Miss Villiar in Year 6, Mrs Hancock has accepted the role of Classroom teacher in a job share arrangement with Mrs Hyson. Ms Anderson will take on the role of RFF teacher .
Information evenings for Parents
In the past each grade has held an information evening for parents. Unfortunately this year, the COVID 19 guidelines restrict this gathering from taking place. In lieu of this, each grade team will provide an online video outlining the information for parents to watch. The video will be accessed from our school website. Further information will be sent home in the near future regarding how to access the information parent video.
COVID 19 restrictions
Thank you for your cooperation regarding the start of the school year processes.
It was great to see so many happy faces walking through the school gates. Kiss and goodbye at the school gates will continue to be the process until we have further notification from CEDP.
Student of the Week Awards
Next week we will be celebrating the Student Of The Week Awards on Monday mornings at 8.50am. Until further notice parents are still unable to attend this celebration.
The process for this is the same as last year. Parents are invited to enter the grounds after the 8.50 bell has rung and children have left the playground. Parents are invited to wait at the front of the office building and take a photo of your child after the Monday morning assembly.
Ash Wednesday Liturgy
On Wednesday the 17th of February, we commence the very important season of Lent with Ash Wednesday. The children will not be attending Mass in our parish church as restrictions are still in place for this to occur, instead each grade will participate in a liturgy in the classroom. Thanks to Mrs Whiticker for organising this for our school community.
Mass times for our parish
7.30am and 9.15am
5.30pm and 7pm
Whole school Assembly- St Andrew Awards celebration
Our first whole school assembly for the year will be on Friday the 12th of March. Parents will not be able to attend the event. This is a very special time for our school to celebrate the great work of the students both in living our gospel values and in academic success. Photos will be emailed to families who's child received an award following the event.
Some reminders of procedures for our school
If your child arrives at school after the bell, please walk your child to the office to collect a late pass. Parents or responsible adult must accompany the child to the office to sign a late note.
If your child is absent from school an SMS will be sent to your phone requesting a reason for the absence. We ask parents to please respond to this SMS.
Please remember to social distance while you are in the office.
Teaching team processes
Parents may request an interview with the teachers when necessary. The process for this is as follows;
* Please ring the office or send in a request letter. The teacher will then organise a meeting time before or after school. Please do not expect to speak with the teachers at the door during end of day dismissal. The teachers must be vigilant and exercise duty of care while they have children in their care. By making an appointment the teacher is able to give you their full attention. Teachers may not respond to emails sent to the class google site after 5pm. They will respond the next day.
It is encouraged for parents to please speak with the class teacher first if an issue or incident has occurred with your child. More than likely the issue has already been addressed by the class teacher or stage coordinator. If you feel that the issue has not been handled to your expectation , please make an appointment to see the Assistant Principal or the Principal.
Social media platforms can on occasions cause undue stress to families if children choose to misuse them and act inappropriately with their friends. Parents are asked to please monitor the use of these platforms at home and discuss appropriate use of social media platforms with your children. Many issues that have occurred at home, end up causing issues at school. We all need to work together to reduce these issues impacting the learning time of our students and teachers.
Sport Days
Kindergarten Wednesday
Year 1 Monday
Year 2 Wednesday
Year 3 Tuesday
Year 4 Tuesday
Year 5 Monday
Year 6 Thursday
Enrolments for 2022
We will be commencing enrolment interviews for 2022 beginning in March. If your child is school ready to start their schooling journey in Kindergarten, please lodge an enrolment application. I ask parents to please submit their applications as soon as possible as demand for attendance at our great school is very high. Late application may lead to your child being placed on our waiting list. Parents will be invited to attend an interview with your child soon after lodgment of the application.
P&F Annual General Meeting - This information is subject to change
Our first meeting of the P&F committee will be held on Monday the 22nd of February. At the moment this will be an on site face to face meeting. The first in a very long time.
All parents are welcome to attend the Annual General Meeting. At this meeting we say a big thank you to the outgoing P&F executive committee and install the team for 2021.
The meeting will begin at 6pm and conclude at 6.45pm. Due to COVID restrictions, meetings can not exceed one hour. Due to the need for adherence to the 4 metre square rule, I will need to send out a registration card for parents wishing to attend. This registration card will be kept in the school safe for 30 days in case contact tracing is required. If you are unwell please do not attend this meeting. I look forward to sharing this event with our parents.
