FEBRUARY 8 2024 NEWSLETTER

CHILD SAFETY STATEMENT

FROM THE PRINCIPAL

Dear Parents and Carers,

This week we will be celebrating our Opening School Mass on Friday at 12.30pm at St Patrick's Church.  All parents are welcome!

Next week we start the Liturgical season of Lent.  It begins with Ash Wednesday and continues for 40 days until Easter.  Just prior to Lent we observe Shrove Tuesday or more commonly known at Pancake Tuesday. The Parents and Friends will be providing a pancake for each child at 1st break.  Students will still need to bring their regular lunch. 

Traditionally, Shrove Tuesday was the last opportunity to use up eggs and fats in the home before embarking on the Catholic Tradition of a Lenten fast and pancakes were the perfect way of using up these ingredients. Today we encourage children to do something extra or give up something during Lent to practice self control but not full on fasting.  Lent is also a time of giving to those in need.   

Olga Lyons 

SCHOOL CLOSURE DAYS - 2024

Term 1  - Thursday February 22 - Structured Literacy PD 

Term 2  - Monday April 15 - ReLATE Wellbeing PD 

Term 3  - Wednesday August 21 - Structured Litercy PD

                 Thursday 19 & Friday 20 September - RE PD

Term 4  - Thursday December 19 - Camp TIL Aquital Day

BEGINNING SCHOOL PRAYER

CONGRATULATIONS

Congratulations to Abby Lee and Charles McLear on the arrival of their daughter Mimi Lee McLear. Mimi is a sister to Layla and Maya.

OPENING SCHOOL MASS & COMMISSIONING

Our Opening School Mass will be held at St Patrick's Church at 12.30pm on Friday February 9th.  Families are welcome to join us as we commission our school leaders and celebrate the beginning of the school year. 

Leaders to be commissioned...

School Leaders: Ivy Condon; Sam Porter; Billy Wagg; Ruby Connellan

House Leaders: Polding - Matthew Greene; Samaritan - Dan Kelly; MacKillop - Royce Sheehan; Winnen - Jacob Murrray

Mini Vinnies: Eadie Archbold, Claudia Williams

Sustainability Leaders: Ben Mirtschin, Kolo Sakate

Fire Carrier Leaders: Maeve Wright, Katie Keane

CLASS NEWS - YR 6BM

FOUNDATIONS - TERM 1 ATTENDANCE

Foundation students do not attend school on most Wednesdays during Term 1, the exceptions are 13th & 27th March, the students will attend these days.

THE WELLBEING BAROMETER SURVEY - 2024

JAPANESE GAME CLUB

ALLERGY ADVICE

There are a number of our students who suffer from allergies that range from mild to extreme and we are seeking the support of the wider community to assist in supporting students with these allergies.

Anaphylaxis is a severe allergic reaction that is potentially life-threatening. The most common causes of anaphylaxis in schools are allergies to food and insects (bees). To help manage allergies, our school follows the DOBCEL Anaphylaxis Management Policy which has been developed in accordance with best practice guidelines from the Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy.

ASCIA recommends an Allergy Aware approach, which means we are supporting students at risk of anaphylaxis in the following ways:

• training staff
• educating students about allergies and anaphylaxis
• teaching students that we all have different needs and to be respectful of others
• teaching students the importance of getting help immediately if their friend with allergy looks sick.

For food allergies, we are also:

• encouraging students with food allergies to wash their hands before and after eating
• encouraging students to wash their hands after eating something their classmate or friend is allergic to
• teaching students not to share food with friends who have a food allergy
• supervising students at eating times

Food allergies are common in school aged children and avoiding the food is the only way to prevent an allergic reaction, this is particularly difficult in junior classes. Banning of food or other products is not recomended due to the possibility of encouraging complacency among staff and students. 

We ask you to support the school’s Allergy Aware approach so that we can increase safety and provide an environment that meets the needs of all our students.

CANTEEN

Our first canteen day for Term 1 will be on Friday February 16. Canteen is held only on Fridays. The students receive their lunch order at 11.30am. Orders are placed using the CDFpay App. Orders close at 8.30am on the day of canteen.

The lunch orders are placed in decompostable lunch bags. You do not need to send a container to school. The orders are supplied by the Village Bakery.

WANTED PLEASE

Our Year 3 students are studying the book Matilda by Roald Dahl this term.  We have several copies but to enable the students to have a book each or one between two we are wondering if any families have this book and would be happy to donate it to the school.  The cover may look different to the one displayed but the text will be the same. 

TERM 1 PE EVENTS

Moyne School Tennis - Tuesday February 27 (some Year 5/6 only)

School Athletics at the Port Fairy Showground - Wednesday February 21

Division Swimming - Thursday February 29

Division Tennis - Thursday March 7

Regional Swimming - Friday March 8

Foundation Athletics - Tuesday March 12 at 12:40pm

FROM THE OFFICE - JANINE & BEC

Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund

CSEF is provided by the Victorian Government to assist eligible families to cover the costs of school trips, camps and sporting activities. If you hold a valid means-tested concession card or are a temporary foster parent, you may be eligible for CSEF. The allowance is paid to the school to use towards expenses relating to camps, excursions or sporting activities for the benefit of your child. The annual CSEF amount per student is $125 for primary school students. Families that have applied for CSEF funding last year do not need to reapply. New families will need to fill in the application form and provide a copy of their current Health Care Card. Forms can be collected from the school office or downloaded from the link below.

DOBCEL Family Fee Assistance Scheme

The Family Fee Assistance Scheme operates across all DOBCEL Catholic Primary Schools. Families who qualify for the scheme will pay $520 ($10 per week) for Primary School Tuition Fees.  Tuition fee discounts are available to holders of a means tested Health Care Card, Pension Card or Veterans Card and must be eligible for the education maintenance allowance.  Eligible families can present their cards to the office and complete an application form.  Forms and information can be downloaded from the link below. If circumstances change at any time the office need to be informed. 

Conveyance Allowance

To be eligible for conveyance allowance you must be travelling more than 4.8km to school or a bus. If you would like more information or a Conveyance Form, please contact the office.

Absences from school

In line with Catholic Education Office requirements, parents will now be contacted on the day if their child is absent from school and we have not received any communication regarding this. We would ask that parents notify us of their child’s absence as early as possible on the day (or earlier if the absence is planned). Our preferred method of notification is through PAM (Parent Access Module) or by ringing the office after 8.30am. Text message are sent to parents if notification of absence has not been received by 10am.

Canteen

The P & F's first canteen day for Term 1 is Friday February 16. All orders are to be done with CDFpay.

All canteen helpers must complete a Food Handling Module. Details have been sent to these parents.

PARENT INFORMATION

Our Parent Handbook and Communication Guidelines have been updated for 2024. To access the documents, click on the links below.

SCHOOLZINE

Schoolzine is the platform that St Patrick's uses for our Newsletter, Sporting Schools Form and lots more. There are links on the Home Page to PAM, Latest Newsletter, School Calendar, eForms, Call Us, Website, Policies and Procedures, CDfpay, Newsletter Archive, Facebook Link, Child Safety and Canteen Menu.

To download Schoolzine click on the link below. The passcode to get access to this App is 8137

SPORTING SCHOOLS

Sporting Schools will commence next week, Tuesday February 6th. The program will run for 7 weeks, with the final session being on Wednesday March 20. The program days for Term 1 are Tuesday and Wednesday 3.20pm-4.30pm for February. In March the days will be Wednesday & Thrusday, March 6th, 7th, 13th, 14th, 20th & 21st.  You must register your child via the Schoolzine App. See details earlier in the newsletter regarding the App. Millie Kenna and Radush Mohan will be running the program.

Please only register your child/children the day of or the night before the session they will be attending. Cut off is 12pm.

PARENTS & FRIENDS NEWS

COMMUNITY NEWS