Dear SCA families,

I cannot thank you all enough for your continued support with maintaining social distancing and the limits currently on accessing the school site. Now is not the time, however, to become complacent. Though the ACT is presently free of confirmed COVID cases, we unapologetically are taking a risk-adverse approach to ensure the safety of our children and staff.

As such, parents and other adults are not allowed inside the school grounds until such time that physical restrictions have eased. Please note that we are not enjoying the requirement for physical distancing, either from each other, or from parents.

Catholic Education has advised us to not allow entry to adults, other than staff, except if it is essential for the running of the school. Unfortunately, this means that parents cannot attend morning assemblies, even if your child is receiving an award.

If a parent or carer wishes to meet face-to-face with a teacher, this can be arranged. Please contact your teacher as usual to arrange a time, and when visiting the school, you must sign in (accepting the conditions of entry) at the front office.

If you have any concerns or questions regarding these safety restrictions, please contact the Front Office letting them know you would like to speak with me.

Traffic

Our Front Office staff continue to receive calls in which they are personally abused for the traffic blockages on Heidelberg Street.

Please, do not sit in a queue blocking traffic. Doing so selfishly blocks other road users from legitimately using the road as a thoroughfare. There are alternatives to consider:

• Drive around the block, park and chill for 5 minutes before coming back,
• Park elsewhere (eg Vikings Club, Lanyon Shops) and walk to collect your child,
• Delay your arrival until after 3.00pm, especially for Year 3-6 children,
• Support your children to walk or ride home,
• Carpool with a friend (to minimise the cars on our busy street).

Please remind all carers (eg grandparents) of students in Years 3 – 6 that they should not arrive until after 3.00pm. Unless they have a sibling in K-2, the older students are not dismissed until 3.00pm

Support Staff

Yesterday at school we celebrated the contributions made by our Front Office and Classroom Support Assistant staff. We have wonderfully committed, skilful and caring individuals in both of these teams, who collectively do so much to support every child in our school. Our CSAs and Front Office staff are the best I have ever worked with. I thank them for their efforts and dedication, helping to make SCA the special place it is.

Outside School Hours Care (OSHC)

Our excellent OSHC program is fully operational and ready to take more bookings, either on a permanent or casual basis.

The staff at OSHC work hard to provide a program for the children that is enjoyable and rewarding. For more details please contact the Front Office.

Uniform

A reminder that black leather school shoes are an essential item of uniform. Several parents comment that their Year 6 child only has one term left at school. However, students also need black school shoes in high school.

Summer Uniform commences in Term 4, so please check the wardrobe and visit the Clothing Pool and Savvy if any items are needed. We will have the usual transition period early in Term 4 to cater for the unpredictable weather.

Book Week

Thank you to Mrs Katherine Austin for planning a wonderful Book Week last week. Thanks also to Mrs Robyn Jolly, Mrs Emma Currey, Mr Andrew Aifantis and to the many staff volunteers for making the annual Book Fair a great success. We managed to sell approximately $10,000 worth of books and accessories to the students. The commission will help the school purchase new resources for the library. Thank you to parents and carers for their financial support of the Book Fair.

Science Week

Thank you to Mrs Belinda Breen for planning Science Week last week. It was great to highlight Science and its role in our society. We look forward to seeing our Space Selfie when it comes on line. Congratulations also to all the students who entered the Science Homework Competition. I was impressed with the effort and creativity that went into the submissions.

It was once said…

“Smile. It is the key that fits the lock of everybody’s heart.” – Anthony J. D’Angelo

Blessings to you and your family. Take care and go gently.

Matt Egan-Richards

Principal