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 staff for being present for a long day and to the Parent Network and staff for cooking up a feast.

White Card Presentations

We warmly invite parents of our weekly “white cards” 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.

As of Monday 13th February, children who catch a bus will also be dismissed at 2.55pm, and walked immediately to the bus stop. This should provide plenty of time to catch local busses. Please note that we will no longer be taking bus children out of class at 2.38pm to catch early busses. We were worried about the amount of time these students and their supervising teachers were missing from class each week. 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 to help, or simply want more information, please contact our Parent Network Coordinator, Fay Holden on scaparentnetwork@outlook.com.au.

Uniform

Thank you for ensuring the children started the year dressed well. It helps develop a sense of pride in self and the school when children take the time to present themselves neatly in their uniform.

School Fees

School Fees statements will soon be emailed to families. Fees are due by Friday 3^rd 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.

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!)

Landscape Improvements Re-Start – Wednesday 15^th February

Landscaping work on the oval commenced last year to improve drainage and stop water flowing into buildings and playgrounds. Work stopped over Christmas, and will re-commence in the middle of next week (probably Wednesday 15^th February). This work will also include plantings to provide a more sustainable environment, as well as extra shade in play areas.

Some areas of the oval area will be fenced off to ensure the safety of our students while work is taking place. Any machinery movement, outside of these fenced off areas, will not take place during busy student movement times (before and after school, recess and lunch). I met today with the lead contractors, and will continue to discuss with them on ways to minimise disruptions to the school and ensure student safety.

The work is expected, weather permitting, to take about 6 weeks. 

I apologise, in advance, for any disruptions or inconvenience. I am sure, however, that once the work is complete we will all benefit from the improved external environment.

Community Council AGM Tuesday 14^th February at 6.00pm

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.

We are seeking new members in both an executive (Chair, Secretary, Treasurer) and non-executive (parent representative) capacity. If you would like to be involved in your child’s school, and you can meet twice a term (at 6pm on Tuesdays in Weeks 3 and 8 of each term) please consider nominating yourself and joining us in the staffroom on the 14^th.

Terms of office are usually set at 2 years, so no one should feel they are committing themselves for life!

Evacuation Drill

Please note that tomorrow (Thursday) we will conduct our first evacuation drill for the year. Teachers will assure the students of their safety, and that it is just a drill. To help alleviate any potential anxiety, I encourage parents to speak with children about the positive aspects of a drill before tomorrow.

Janitor / Groundsperson

Our Janitor / Groundsperson, has moved 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/en/job/501002/janitorgroundsperson-st-clare-of-assisi-parish-primary-conder-act  for further details.

It was once said…

Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body.    Elizabeth Stone

Blessings to you and your family.

Matt Egan-Richards

Principal

St Clare of Assisi Primary School Community Council

Please return form to the Front Office or email to matthewer@cg.catholic.edu.au

I wish to nominate myself as a member of the SCA Community Council.

Name: ………………………………………………….             Email: ………………………………..

Child/ren and Class: ……………………………………………………………………………………..

All nominations are for parent representative. However, I would also consider serving in an executive role such as Chair, Deputy Chair, Secretary or Treasurer. (Please circle if you would be willing to serve in one, or more, of these roles.)

Signed: ……………………………………………                    Date: ………………………………..

Year 6 Journey with Jesus Retreat: Today our Year 6 leaders participated in the Journey with Jesus Retreat, run by the Archdiocesan Youth Ministry Team. The children participated in a range of activities, challenges and reflection, with the underlying theme of being a leader like Jesus. The day was a great success and I would like to thank the Year 6 teachers, Laura Adams, Kate Warren and Nick Purcell for their support with this. 

Confirmation Enrolments: The 2023 Confirmation enrolment period is now open. Families who wish for their child to enrol their child need to do this via the Parish Qkr app before the 4^th March – note this is not via the SCA Qkr app. Please see the note on Compass for further details. If you have any questions, please feel welcome to get in touch or contact Anne Gowen, Corpus Christi Sacramental Coordinator on 6291 6688.

Opening School Mass: This year our Opening School Mass will be celebrated on Friday 17^th February at 9:30am. We will also be commissioning our Year 6 student leaders during this Mass. All families are welcome to join us in the Hall for Mass and a cuppa afterwards. We look forward to seeing you there.

Rachel Kennedy

Religious Education Coordinator

Congratulations to the children who will be awarded white cards at the 8.45am Friday Morning assembly

If you are able to assist in the canteen please contact the Front office on 6294 1860 or email michelle.wood@cg.catholic.edu.au

Gift Basket Stall

It’s already time to think about the SCA Fete to be held in November 2023!

As we get ready for back to school we request that you send in any unwanted shoe boxes you may have so we can repurpose them for our gift basket stall.

Please drop any shoe boxes you may have that are in excellent condition to the front office.

Many Thanks!