Dear Families and Friends of St Anthony’s School
Welcome to the 2019 School year. I am so privileged to have joined the school and look forward to working with you as Principal to see the best for every member of our community.
The last couple of weeks have brought many great moments of celebration and learning. We have celebrated and survived our first day of school, Yr. 6 Zoo Snooze, Open Year Prayer and Presentation of Welcome Certificates and Senior Jumpers, Safe Internet Day and first P&F meeting for the year. I hope these experiences have helped your child settle back into the school routine. We are looking forward to an amazing year and we look forward to working together in making this a joy-filled year of quality learning for you and your children.
On Monday at our Opening Year Prayer we gathered together with seek God's blessing on our year. We asked God's blessing on our teachers as they guide us in our Learning. We welcomed in Love our new students. We prayed for members of our community that they will always listen and guide. We blessed our students that they will always be joy-filled with laughter and gratitude. We presented our Yr 6 jumpers and badges and look forward to our senior students leading our school this year.
Over the last couple of weeks students have been engaged in a variety of learning experiences that are about helping students settle back into school, providing opportunities for students and teachers to develop connections and discover more about each other. All of these activities are about helping students feel connected, safe and settled. This sense of connection is in fact an indicator of student success in learning.
Over the next week information about your child’s class expectation, routines and term 1 learning will be sent home to provide you with information about the various curriculum areas and topics your child will be exploring this term. We hope this information helps you to engage with your child and their learning.
Apology Anniversary - On Wednesday 13th Feb we will commemorate the anniversary of the Apology for the Stolen Generation delivered by Kevin Rudd in 2008. The Australian Parliament offered an official apology on behalf of the people of Australia to all those Indigenous peoples affected by the forced removal of children from their families – this was called the Stolen Generation. As people of love and justice we seek ways of making peace and living out this apology to all indigenous peoples, their heritage, the culture and their customs.
Ensuring our school is a safe place for all - As the school year commences I want to assure all parents and carers of our absolute commitment to ensuring that St Anthony’s is a safe place for all.
• Our staff are committed and trained to protect the children and young people in our care.
• All staff and regular volunteers have current police checks.
• We teach our children age-appropriate strategies to keep themselves safe through South Australia’s Keeping Safe Child Protection Curriculum.
• Staff complete certification and undertake regular updated training in Responding to Abuse and Neglect in Education and Care Settings.
• We also promote strategies to minimise bullying and help students stay safe online.
Information about the broader protection policies of Catholic Education SA can be found on their website. http://www.cesa.catholic.edu.au/our-schools/safe-environments-for-all The website also includes links to online resources for parents and students on a range of topics including anxiety, depression, bullying and how to support your child.
Keeping Safe - Child Protection Curriculum - At St Anthony’s the Keeping Safe: Child Protection Curriculum is taught to all children as part of student learning. There are 2 main themes: We all have the right to be safe and We can help ourselves to be safe by talking to people we trust. There are 4 key areas: The right to be safe - exploring the concept of safety, reviewing the concept of warning signs, unsafe situations and acceptable risk taking, Relationships - understanding rights and responsibilities, trust and networks, developing personal identity, power in relationships, Recognising and reporting abuse - privacy and names of parts of the body, recognizing abuse, neglect and unsafe secrets, internet, telephone and media safety & Protective strategies - problem solving and keeping safe, review of networks.
Should any parents or family members wish to discuss these matters or would like to find out more about the Child Protection Curriculum or Child Protection practices please do not hesitate to make contact with Robyn Mercer or myself.
Care, Well-being and Protection of Children & Young People – The safety and wellbeing of all at St Anthony’s is a critical part of all our activities, learning experiences, polices and processes. All of us have a considerable part to play in the care, wellbeing and protection of young people and each other. As a school we see the nurturing and support of young people as a vital part of our work. We ask the same of all those associated with our community. All of us have a part to play in keeping children safe through our own interactions and dealings with students and we have an important role to play if we believe a child is in danger of harm or you have concerns about their safety and wellbeing. Our Catholic Education Policy for Care, Wellbeing and Protection of Children and Young People, outlines our vision and the actions and procedures we put in place to ensure the care and welfare of young people is at the heart of all we do. You can access the policy at - http://www.cesa.catholic.edu.au/__files/f/2626/Care_Wellbeing_and_Protection_of_Young_People.pdf
Notification of Abuse and Neglect – We all have a duty to ensure the safety, care and protection of children. Under the Children’s Protection Act 1993, certain people are obliged by law to notify Families SA via the Child Abuse Report Line if they suspect on reasonable grounds that a child/young person has been or is being, abused and/or neglected. This includes all staff employed at St Anthony’s and all our volunteers. However we all have duty to ensure we work together for the protection of all children. Reasonable grounds to report suspected abuse and/or neglect may include: when your own observations of a particular child’s behaviour and/or injuries, lead you to suspect a child is being abused or neglected, when a child tells you they have been abused, when your own observations about the behaviour of the child, or their adult caregiver/s, give you cause to suspect that a child is being, or is at risk of being, abused or neglected. The Child Abuse Report Line can be contacted on 131 478 or you can make electronic reports via the website -https://my.families.sa.gov.au/IDMProv/landing.html. School staff, who have undertaken training in this area are available to talk further about this or support you if you wish to make a report.
I am so looking forward to the journey ahead and excited and blessed to be in this amazing community, as we work together - students, staff and families to support each other to "Grow in Faith, Build Knowledge & Work for Justice."
Best wishes from Stuart
