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Dear Parents and Carers
Each level in our school gathered today, Ash Wednesday for a prayer service. Students listened to a scripture reading and reflect on how they can be better people by making good choices and thinking of others. Students may receive a sign of the Cross made from the burnt ashes of the previous years’ Palm Sunday palms. The sign of the Cross is made on a the forehead to remind us that we need to turn away from sin and believe in God so that we can share in eternal life with Him.
P&F Thanks
Many thanks to the P&F members who helped make Pancake Tuesday an enjoyable feast yesterday. Over 600 pancakes were consumed in a short space of time. Events such as these rely on the generousity of our parent helpers – Thankyou.
Meet & Greet / Parent-Teacher Interviews
On Tuesday 27 February and Wednesday 28 February staff will be available after school for Meet & Greet sessions with parents or carers from 3.30pm to 6pm. These ten minute face-to-face sessions are not compulsory but provide an opportunity for you to meet your child’s teacher(s) and vice versa. You can also discuss how your child has settled into the year.
Log in to PAM to make your bookings from Monday 19 February
Road Safety
It’s timely to remind parents and students about Road Safety particularly as the the number of vehicles increases. Please ensure you travel safely through the carpark and with patience as both pedestrians and cars use the area. We also ask everyone to use the designated school crossings when they are crossing Majestic Drive. Also, please ensure you follow all directional signage in the surrounding streets.
School Grounds
We remind all parents and carers that the school gates are locked between the hours of 8.50am and 3.00pm. Any visitors to the school must repot to the school office. Likewise, after school the gates close at 3.30pm and we therefore ask familes to have vacated the internal school grounds by this time.
UPCOMING EVENTS:
Monday 19 February - School Photos
Wednesday 21 February - Foundation Rest Day #3
Thursday 22 February - P&F AGM
Friday 23 February - Year 6 Team Building Incursion
Monday 26 February - Year 5 Incursion
Tuesday 27 February - Parent Teacher Meetings
Wednesday 28 February - Foundation Rest Day #4 and Parent Teacher Meetings
PUPIL FREE DAYS FOR THE YEAR
Thursday 28 March
Friday 26 April
Friday 7 June
Monday 15 July
Friday 20 September
Friday 1 November
Monday 4 November
2024 School Term Dates
Term 1: January 31 - March 27 (Foundation)
February 1 - March 27 (Year 1 to Year 6)
Term 2: April 15 - June 28
Term 3: July 16 - September 19
Term 4: October 7 - December 18
The Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the P&F will take place on Thursday, February 22 at 7 PM in the Welcome Room located in the Administration building. All individuals are invited to attend. During this meeting, the election of the new committee will occur, allowing individuals to nominate themselves for any of the office roles for the upcoming 2024 school year. Please find the attached document specifying the available positions along with their corresponding descriptions.
The secondhand uniform shop is located in the modular. See below dates and times it will be open for Term 1.
Please note CASH ONLY sales.
February:
Friday 16th 2:30pm-3:15pm
Tuesday 20th 8:30am-9:15pm
Wednesday 21st 2:30pm-3:15pm
Monday 26th 8:30am-9:15am
Thursday 29th 2:30pm-3:15pm
March:
Tuesday 5th 2:30pm-3:15pm
Friday 8th 8:30am-9:15am
Wednesday 13th 8:30am-9:15am
Friday 15th 2:30pm-3:15pm
Monday 18th 8:30am-9:15am
Thursday 21st 2:30pm-3:15pm
Monday 25th 8:30am-9:15am
Religion
We all know we have seasons called Summer, Autumn, Winter and Spring. The Catholic Church has liturgical seasons also. This week Catholics enter a season called Lent. Lent begins on Ash Wednesday. Lent is a special time of preparation, when Catholics stop and think about how they can play a part in trying to live like Jesus did. Jesus tried to make the world around Him a world that was fair, just and peaceful.
Lent prepares Catholics for the season of Easter, the most important time in the Church’s calendar. It is a time of prayer, fasting and giving to others.
Each level in our school will gather on Ash Wednesday for a prayer service. Students will be asked to listen to a scripture reading and reflect on how they can be better people by making good choices and thinking of others. Students may receive a sign of the Cross made from the burnt ashes of the previous year’s Palm Sunday palms. The sign of the Cross is made on the forehead to remind us that we need to turn away from sin and believe in God so that we can share in eternal life with Him.
Ecah family will receive a Project Compassion money box on Ash Wednesday. Project Compassion, through the work of Caritas, raises funds to support the development of communities both in Australia and overseas. Please return the box before the end of term with any money you can spare or from jobs your children have completed to assist others.
SCHOOL FEES
Here is the 2024 Fee Schedule as provided and approved by DOSCEL
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Per Family: |
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School Fee |
$2350 |
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Building Levy |
$800 |
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Per Student: |
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Education Levy |
$600 |
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Swimming Levy (Foundation – Year 3) |
$85 |
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Camp Fee (Year 3) |
$65 |
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Camp Fee (Year 4) |
$200 |
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Camp Fee (Year 5) |
$280 |
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Camp Fee (Year 6) |
$450 |
Here is the link for the St Clare's Parent Access Module (PAM)
St Clare's PAM
You username is the email address that you have registered with the school. The first time you log in we ask that you use the forgotten password feature to set your own password.
ALL parents must access PAM to receive up to date information and grant necessary permissions. Students will miss out on events if permission is not granted.
REPORTING AN ABSENCE
To report your child's absence please do so via PAM, email absent@stclaresofficer.catholic.edu.au or call 5940 6777
In this edition of SchoolTV - RESILIENCE
Resilience is one of those skills that all kids need and should have. It refers to their ability to cope and adapt in situations when confronted with challenges such as adversity, trauma, tragedy, or even stress. It is essential to their mental health and wellbeing as part of their journey to adulthood. It is a skill that can be learned from an early age through the support of an adult role model.
However, being resilient does not mean your child won't experience any difficulties, but it will better equip them to manage those situations. Over-protective parenting can be viewed as being unhelpful towards the building of resilience. Although this may be a natural instinct, potentially experiencing failure is all part of the process. Encouraging children to take healthy risks will help them trust their capacity to deal with uncomfortable situations and increase their capacity for courage.
In this edition of SchoolTV, parents will gain an understanding of how to support their child’s brave behaviour to help them adapt and build resilience.
We hope you take time to reflect on the information offered in this edition of SchoolTV and we always welcome your feedback. If you have any concerns about your child, please seek medical or professional help.
Here is the link to the Resilience edition of SchoolTV
https://stclaresofficer.catholic.schooltv.me/newsletter/resilience
Edition 1 for 2024 has been sent home with students this week. Here is the link to the catalogue which you can also view online
Orders for this edition will close on 16 February
All orders are to be placed via LOOP. We cannot accept money at school for orders.
We are excited to announce a new sporting opportunity for all students! It is called Active Club and it aims to bring you a new and exciting activity each week for you to enjoy. If you and your friend would like to join in on the fun, then please see Mr. Trounson and Miss Rees every Monday, Wednesday and Friday morning on the Basketball Court and Athletic Field between 8:30am and 8:40am. This week we are starting with Basketball on the Basketball Court and Soccer on the Athletics Field. We hope to see you there!
How to Help Kids Stay Safe Online
Adapted from: https://www.esafety.gov.au/about-us/blog Office of the eSafety Commissioner
- Start the chat
It’s not possible to be at your child’s side every second of the day, so it’s important to talk with them about online safety issues to help develop their critical thinking and ability to make good choices. It’s also good to let them know they can come to you for help if they have any concerns. You may feel they know more about the latest technology than you do, but you have more life experience to guide them.
- With primary school aged children use online devices in the open living spaces at home to make parent supervision part of the expectation for your child.
- Take the opportunity to set some boundaries around when and where they can use devices like tablets, smart TVs and gaming consoles, to help limit potential tech tantrums — you could even fill in an Early Years Family Tech Agreement
- Screen free time before bed is important for good sleep. Consider charging devices in a central location at a regular time each night to allow an hour screen free before bed.
- While you are all at home more, it’s a great time to co-view and co-play with your kids, so you can understand what they are doing and experiencing online.
- Learn about the games, apps, social media and platforms they are using at The eSafety Guide, including how to protect their information and report inappropriate content or conduct.
- Use parental controls and safe search options
Parental controls can help block your child from accessing specific websites, apps or functions. They can also monitor your child’s use of connected devices and set time limits. But beware! You cannot always rely on them — they should be used in combination with other online safety strategies.
- Parental controls are available on most tablets, smartphones, computers, TVs and gaming consoles.
- You can also download family safety controls or buy robust filters out of the box.
- You can set up child-friendly search engines, or select safe search settings on digital devices, to help prevent your child from stumbling across inappropriate sites and content.
- Check smart toy settings
It’s surprising how many toys or devices can connect online these days, from drones and smart teddies to tablets and wearables. While they can be both entertaining and educational, they can reveal your child’s personal details and location — and allow other people to contact them without you knowing. You can help keep them stay safe by:
- setting strong passwords
- turning off location settings
- limiting the amount of personal information shared.
The eSafety Gift Guide has advice on what to check for and how to stay safe.
- Look out for unwanted contact and grooming
Unwanted contact is any communication that makes your child feel uncomfortable or unsafe, even if they initially welcomed the contact. It can come from a stranger, an online ‘friend’ or even someone they actually know. At worst, it can involve ‘grooming’ — building a relationship with the child in order to sexually abuse them.
You can help by:
- making sure their accounts are private — including chat functions on games
- encouraging them to delete requests from strangers and any contacts they don’t know in person
- checking in with your child as they use online devices in the open living spaces at home
- reporting and blocking anyone suspicious on a website or service
- remembering that if suspicious online contacts become aggressive or threatening you should contact your local police.
- Know the signs of cyberbullying
Kids who are bored by long periods at home can pick at each other, and that happens online too. So it’s important to keep an eye out for cyberbullying. It can include mean posts, comments and messages, as well as being left out of online group activities like gaming.
- Remember, when they are away from school, kids have less access to their usual support systems, including friends, teachers and counsellors.
- eSafety research shows that girls are more likely to be affected than boys and the person doing the bullying is generally someone they know from school.
- Watch out for signs such as your child appearing upset after using their mobile, tablet or computer, being unusually secretive about their online activities or becoming withdrawn.
- Cyberbullying can make social isolation worse and the longer it continues, the more stressed kids can become, impacting on their emotional and physical wellbeing.
What to do if your child is being cyberbullied
As parents, our first instinct may be to ban our children from social media, disable the wi-fi or turn off the data access. But this can actually compound the problem, making your child feel as if they’re being punished and heightening their sense of social exclusion.
There are four simple steps that can help minimise the harm:
- report the cyberbullying to the social media service where it is occurring
- collect evidence of the cyberbullying material
- if the material is still public 48 hours later, make a report to eSafety — we work with social media platforms to have the harmful content removed.
block the offending user.