Dear SCA Families,

It was great to see so many families meeting the teachers and mingling with other SCA families at last night’s event. We hope this format, with a social gathering and dedicated classroom information sessions, met your needs. Please let me know via email, or feel free to speak with me in person.

Thanks to the small band of parents who fed us all and to the staff for being present for a long day.

Community Council AGM Tuesday 13^th February at 6.00pm in the Staffroom

We invite all parents to come along to our first Community Council (SCA CC) meeting for the year. The Community Council provides an important leadership role in our school by undertaking an advisory role in policy and finance matters, and a hands-on role in community building and school promotion.

This will be a meeting with a difference! In 2024, the Catholic Education Commission enacted a new framework for Archdiocesan School Councils. To help us implement the new Council framework, Sarah Meier, from the Catholic Education Office, will be present to outline the changes and answer any of our questions.

Even if you don’t wish to commit to being a regular part of the Council, please feel free to come along to find out what your school Council does.

White Card Presentations

We warmly invite parents of our weekly “white card” winners to our morning assemblies on Friday (8.45am). We hope to see you here soon.

Afternoon Dismissal

Technically, school finishes at 3.00pm. However, to ensure the safety of all at such a busy time, we allow K – 2 students (and their older siblings) to be picked up early.

This means that K - 2 children who are picked up at Donut (and their older siblings) will be released from class at 2.55pm. Children who are going to OSHC, walking, riding etc. will be dismissed at 3.00pm with the rest of the school.

All children who catch a bus will be dismissed at 2.55pm, and walked immediately to the bus stop. This should provide plenty of time to catch local busses. If you have any questions or concerns regarding these arrangements, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Parking

Please note the following arrangements for parking in the Courts area of a morning and afternoon. To ensure the safety of all, please observe the following:

• Cars must leave the courts by 9.00am (so that the school can use the area for sport and other activities).
• Cars leaving the courts area must give way to vehicles leaving Donut or the driveway.
• Children must always be accompanied by an adult while walking to and from cars.
• The courts area will be opened at 2.45pm each afternoon, and cars must leave by 3.15pm (so that OSHC can safely use the area).

Parent Network

SCA has a network of parents who liaise together to establish and strengthen relationships amongst parents, families and the school. The network is a friendly, informal group who recognise that it is not easy to find time to volunteer, so they keep the focus on sharing small tasks in an understanding ‘no pressure’ atmosphere.

If you would like to help, or simply want more information, please contact our Parent Network Coordinator, Fay Holden on scaperntnetwork@outlook.com.au.

School Fees

School Fees statements for Term 1 will soon be emailed to families. Fees are due by Friday 1^st March. Please contact me if there are going to be any difficulties in meeting this expense. We have a Fee Assistance Policy in place to help families who find themselves either in short term or long term financial difficulties. Please contact the front office to arrange a confidential conversation with the Principal or Finance Manager.

SCA 2024 School Fees no siblings in a Systemic Secondary College

SCA 2024 School Fees with siblings in a Systemic Secondary College

Voluntary Contributions to the Canberra Catholic Schools Building Fund (CCSBF) will be $210 per term for those families that opt- in to make a contribution to the CCSBF.

The preferred payment methods are Bpay , Eftpos & Mastercard  or alternatively you can pay on Compass.

Please note there was a new Biller Code & Family Reference number given with the Finance transformation last year.  The new details can be found on the top right & on the bottom left hand side of your Family Statement.

We value your partnership, and we sincerely thank you for your continued support of our school. If you have any questions about school fees or require assistance on any other matter, please do not hesitate to contact me, or our Finance Officer, Jo McCarthy, at the school.

Email Contact

Staff are always happy to receive parent emails and will endeavour to answer them as swiftly as possible. Please note though, that, as we work face-to-face with the children, staff will usually not read their emails until the afternoon or often the following morning.

My email address is matt.egan-richards@cg.catholic.edu.au. (Yep, it’s a long one!)

Janitor / Groundsperson

Our Janitor / Groundsperson, is moving on and we are advertising the position. If you know of someone who may be interested, please point them towards https://careers.cg.catholic.edu.au/cw/en/job/502738/janitorgroundsperson-st-clare-of-assisi-primary-school-conder-act  for further details.

It was once said…

Blessings to you and your family.