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

REMINDER - No School on Friday 7 March due to a School Closure and Monday 10 March due to the Labour Day Public Holiday.  Camp Australia is providing care on Friday 7 March should it be required.

2025 Sacrament Information

First Holy Communion

For students who have received Baptism and Reconciliation and are in Year 4 or above

Key Dates

Bookings for your preferred time and link will be shared in the coming weeks.

Confirmation

For students in Grade 6 and have received the sacrament of First Holy Communion

 Bookings for your preferred time and link will be shared in the coming weeks.

Over the past few weeks, our Year 3 students have been developing their skills in writing engaging narratives. They have explored how to create characters, settings and structure their stories with a clear beginning, middle, and end. Whilst also learning how to edit their work and expand their vocabulary by including descriptive language. To conclude our narrative writing unit, the students worked in small groups to collaboratively create their own unique stories using a picture prompt as inspiration.

In Mathematics, students have been showcasing their number skills by pulling apart, building and comparing the arrangement of numbers. They have been engaging in new and challenging activities that encourage critical thinking, deepen their understanding of number relationships and strengthen their problem-solving abilities. Through hands-on experiences, students have been expanding their understanding and confidence in numbers.

In Religious Education, students have been exploring the concept of hope and how it is demonstrated in our daily lives. They have reflected and made personal connections to The Parable of The Lost Coin. Students have reflected on how Jesus showed hope throughout his journey on earth, inspiring them to recognise and share hope in their lives.

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.

MEDICAL PROFILE

Please ensure your child's medical profile is upto date in PAM.  This information is used regulary to ensure we are keeping our students safe and ready to provide the required first aid therefore it is vital that this information is correct.

  

Please see dates for remainder of Term 1 for the Secondhand Uniform Shop.  The shop is located on the corner of the Modular Building

Reminder that sales are CASH only

February
Thursday 27th 2:30-3:15

March
Monday 3rd 2:30-3:15
Thursday 6th 8:30-9:15
Wednesday 12th 8:30-9:15
Friday 14th 2:30-3:15
Monday 17th 2:30-3:15
Thursday 20th 8:30-9:15
Tuesday 25th 8:30-9:15
Thursday 27th 2:30-3:15
Monday 31st 2:30-3:15

April
Wednesday 2nd 8:30-9:15

How to Help Kids Stay Safe Online

Adapted from:  https://www.esafety.gov.au/about-us/blog    Office of the eSafety Commissioner

1. 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.

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. 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.

5. 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.