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Welcome to the 2022 new school year. We especially welcome our new Foundation students.
Beginning of the School Year Prayer
At the beginning of this school year,
We thank you God, for so many things:
Our school, our classrooms,
Our friends and our teachers.
Help us to be thankful for each day
And to use it well.
We thank you for the gift of this new day,
For the learning and the fun we will have.
Help us to appreciate everything that is done for us.
Amen.
We have put together a small working party (Trish, Cat and marketing rep from the Catholic Education Office) to implement our Marketing Plan for the school. Presently we are investigating signage on the highway and street signage for our school. We know that one of the best ways to sell schools is by word of mouth. With this in mind I’m wondering if any parents might be interested in writing a testimony promoting our school, that we could put on Facebook. It might include a photo of you and your child/ren and your experience of our school. If you would like to be a part of this project then please email either Cat (cryan@trafalgar.catholic.edu.au) or myself (pmulqueen@trafalgar.catholic.edu.au) and we will be in contact with you. Foundation parents are also welcome to be part of this project.
Remember icy poles are sold on Fridays in Term 1 & Term 4. $1 each.
Remember hats are worn everyday in Terms 1 & 4.
Birthdays: we don’t encourage food sharing (including lollies) for birthdays. We will of course, acknowledge your child’s birthday in the classroom but in these COVID times we certainly don’t encourage any kind of food sharing. We trust you understand this stance.
This year we will gather 8.55am outside at the flagpoles for Monday morning assemblies. We will sing the National Anthem, do class awards and announcements. In addition we will have two Friday afternoon assemblies each term to showcase our learning. You might like to add these dates to your diaries. Hopefully parents will be able to come to these assemblies in the Mary MacKillop Room but if not, we will conduct the assembly virtually.
Friday Assemblies 3pm+ |
|
Term 1 |
|
Wk 8 Mar 18 |
Gr 5/6 Learning Presentation |
Wk 9 Mar 25 |
Lent Liturgy in the church |
Term 2 |
|
Wk 3 May 13 |
F/1 Learning Presentation |
Wk 6 June 3rd |
Catholic Education Week (Leaders) |
Term 3 |
|
Wk 4 Aug 5 |
Gr 1/2 Learning Presentation |
Wk 9 Sept 9 |
Gr 2/3 Learning Presentation |
Term 4 |
|
Wk 5 Nov 4 |
Gr 4/5 Learning Presentation |
Wk 10 Dec 9 |
Foundation students send off Gr 6 students |
We have sent home the second lot of RATs and ask all families to please test your child twice weekly. You don’t have to give evidence of a negative test but rather if your child’s test is positive you must either ring or email us to let us know, then we will tell you what you need to do. Your response includes reporting the test result and 7 days isolation. We thank all families for following this protocol. This helps to keep us all safe and open.
POSTPONEMENT OF SEXUAL HEALTH EDUCATION
Unfortunately, The Sexual Health Education program called Talk About It has been postponed due to Covid. We are hoping to reschedule for another time. The program was to be held next Monday and Tuesday the 7th and 8th of February. This program is presented by specialist educators from Life Education Victoria and is an age-appropriate personal development program for students in Years 5-6.
The program is divided into the following modules:
Years 5 & 6
- Who Am I?
- Welcome to Puberty
- Evolving Friendships
Grade 6 only
- The Journey of Human Reproduction
The Talk About It program is facilitated by specialist sexual health educators who work in partnership with the classroom teachers. The teaching framework is student-centred, interactive and ensures all content is delivered in a sensitive, factual and age-appropriate manner.
It is a new program that is delivered separately from the rest of the Life Education Victoria programs. The specialist teachers will visit our school for the two days to work solely with the Grade 5 and 6 students and their teachers. We understand that engaging in this program at the beginning of the school year fits really well with building and maintaining respectful relationships as well as understanding and respecting themselves and others as they enter or approach puberty. It also fits really well with our School Wide Expectations (SWE).
We will keep you posted as to when this program will held at school.
PARENT/TEACHER/STUDENT INTERVIEWS
In week 6 week we are running our Parent/Teacher/Student Interviews. This is part of our reporting process. It is an opportunity for teachers and families to discuss the Semester 1 Report and how teachers can best meet your child/ren’s needs. Conversations are scheduled for 10 minutes. If you would like the opportunity to book a double appointment please call Lucy in the office. Families will be given the opportunity to chose to have the interviews either at school or via Google Meet. We ask you to book your Interview online through PAM. When accessing PAM please click on the link Parent Teacher Interviews and follow the prompts. Families who have regualr SAEP Meetings will not need to book an interview time as they will have an opportunity to discuss their child/ren's reports in week 5.
This Wednesday 9th of February at 3pm is our Beginning of the Year Liturgy. Due to covid restrictions we are unable to celebrate in person but will celebrate virtually together as a community. Father Bernard will join us and lead us in our celebration. We hope you are able to attend virtually. Please click on the link below to watch our Beginning of the Year liturgy. We hope to see you there.
Video call link: https://meet.google.com/zzd-btue-jyv
St Joseph’s promotes positive relationships and so we encourage our Parent Buddy Program. This is where we partner up an existing parent with a new parent to help the new family to feel welcome at our school. Cat Ryan is in the process of organising this program for us this year and she will be in contact with the new parents and their buddies in the coming weeks. Special thanks to the families who agreed to be part of this program.
Breakfast Club starts Monday February 14th 2022
As a trial we are planning to introduce a Breakfast Club this year. It will operate on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays in the Parish Centre starting at 8.15am. Children are encouraged to meet us in the Parish Centre (no earlier than 8.15am) where they will enjoy a healthy breakfast before school. At this stage there will be no charge for breakfast, we are hoping to get some sponsorship and donations. We are wondering if there are any parents who might be able to commit to helping this Club work, it really would only be an hour. If your family is interested in participating in the Breakfast Club starting on Mon 14th Feb, could you please email me pmulqueen@trafalgar.catholic.edu.au so that we have an idea of numbers for catering purposes.
Dear Clergy, Parish and School communities
As the Diocesan Consultation period for the Synod 2021-2023 continues until the end of this month, you are invited to encourage your parishioners and staff to join in one or more virtual gatherings organised by the Diocesan Gaudium et Spes Diocesan Plenary team.
We are hosting three conversations, one for each of the Synod themes of Communion, Participation and Mission.
The details are in the attached flyer.
Join one or more conversations
Conversation on Communion
Tuesday 8th February at 7.30 pm
Conversation on Participation
Thursday 17th February at 1.30 pm
Conversation on Mission
Wednesday 23rd February at 7.30 pm
Please register at https://www.trybooking.com/BXFJB
A Zoom meeting link will be emailed upon booking. Although we prefer people to register first, if parishioners contact you about attending these online events you can give them this direct meeting link
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85476995808?pwd=VGFqYnBxdzAySFlaRGx1QkZ3TERJQT09
The first conversation is scheduled for next Tuesday.
February |
|
Mon 7th | Parent/Carer Conversations 3.50 to 5.40 |
Wed 9th | Opening School Liturgy 3pm with Fr Bernard |
Thurs 10th | Parent/Carer Conversations 3.50 to 5.40 |
Fri 11th | Whole School Assembly 3pm Gr 6s introduce their Foundation Buddy |
Fri 25th | Parish BBQ and opportunity to view the renovations in our church |
March |
|
Fri 4th |
World Day of Prayer (some of our senior students will participate in this) |
Mon 7th to Wed 9th | Proposed Gr 5/6 camp to Soverign Hill Ballarat |
Mon 14th | Labour Day Holiday |
Wed 16th | First Wed at school for the Foundation students |
Fri 18th | Whole School Assembly Gr 5/6 Learning Presentation 3pm |
Mon 21st | School Advisory Committee 5.30 |
Wed 23rd | Young Leaders Day Gr 6 |
April |
|
Fri 8th | Last day of Term 1 1pm dismissal |
Mon 25th | ANZAC DAY holiday |
Tues 26th | First day of Term 2 |
May |
|
Fri 13th |
Whole School Assembly F/1 Learning Presentation 3pm |