St Paul's Catholic Primary School Newsletter 2022 Term 1, Week 2

Principal's Message

Good afternoon St Paul’s,

Welcome to 2022 and what an interesting start to the year we have had! Our biggest life-lesson in the last couple of weeks has been around flexibility. We are learning to deal with whatever comes our way – sometimes at very short notice.

I am so grateful to our staff and families who have been tremendously generous in showing support toward me and each other. Thank you for understanding that things have been a little different compared to our usual beginning of the year. Despite the restrictions on parent access to our school, I am thrilled to hear from our families, both new and familiar, that the year is off to a great start and that their children are feeling settled.

It is my hope that our current restrictions will ease (or lift) and parents can return to the school community in a face-to-face manner. At this stage, the restrictions will be assessed at the end of Week 4, February 25^th. We pray that our planned community events can go ahead for the remainder of the year. As usual we have lots of events planned for the year so please keep up-to-date with information.

Refer to the ‘Stay Informed’ information in our newsletter so that you are familiar with how to keep abreast of school news. The best way to contact your child’s teacher is either through message on Class Dojo or email: firstname.lastname@nt.catholic.edu.au e.g. megan.evans@nt.catholic.edu.au

This year we are excited to welcome a number of new staff to St Paul’s: Sharona Bishop (AIEW), Pip Cox (PE Teacher), Marely Downey (Year 5/6) and Katie Wilkinson (ISA). Over the coming weeks, we will introduce our team on our Facebook and Class Dojo pages.

Please note that our first Parents and Friends (P&F) and School Board Meeting will be help via Zoom. The link for the P&F meeting on Tuesday, March 1^st will be posted on our SZapp and our Class Dojo. We would really encourage parents to join this meeting so that we can plan community building events /ideas for the remainder of the year.

Thank you once again for your support over the last couple of weeks. Please know that we are taking many measures to keep you children safe and healthy and we are grateful to you for helping to keep our community safe by keeping children home if they are unwell. We pray for all those in our community who have been impacted by COVID and hope that recovery is swift.

May the spirit of Jesus fill your hearts,

Ms. Megan Evans

Please do not drop your children at school before 7:45am (school gates open 7:45am) as they are unsupervised until this time.

We request that families drop their children off at school as close to 8am as possible.  Should you arrive prior to this time please wait with your child until the school gates open. 

PICKING UP CHILDREN at the end of the school day:   School finishes at 2.35pm and children must be picked up from steps within the school ground or at the express carpark lane which is supervised by a teacher. Any students not picked up by 3.00pm will be sent to our Outside of School Hours Care (OSHC) located on the school grounds and families will be charged. Our OSHC operates from 2.35pm to 5.30pm every day. We ask that all parents/carers who will be picking up their child from school please wait in the area outside the office and staffroom.

CARPARK PICK-UP: In an effort to move the traffic along more quickly and freely we ask that parents safely follow the appropriate procedures.  Should you need to get out and buckle your child in—we ask that you use the car spaces available to do so and not the pick up area. 

Uniforms and School Office Hours

Green Polos, Sport Polos, Shorts and Hats are available to purchase and there are plenty in stock!

There is currently no need to make an appointment, families can come in anytime during office hours.

Unfortunately we are still waiting on a delivery date for our Culottes (skorts) and Formal Shirt orders. Thank you for your patience with this.

The school office is open Monday to Friday 8am to 3:30pm.

Upcoming Events

RE NEWS

Dear families,
Welcome back and a special welcome to new families. I trust the school holidays have refreshed and renewed enthusiasm in our students.  Although the first day began with a heavy downpour, it didn’t diminish the excitement shown on students’ faces.
Religious Education
St Paul’s Catholic Primary School follows the Religious Education curriculum is Journey in Faith which is used from Transition to year 6. The RE unit that all classes are engaged in this term is ‘God, Us and Faith’.  This unit explores God’s great love for creation and humanity through His ongoing relationship with the world.
MJR – Making Jesus Real
St Paul’s has adopted MJR as an excellent resource that aims to help students maintain a positive attitude to life.  MJR’s simple, yet powerful message of living Jesus’ core values and attitudes is an inspiration for students to live out his message daily. There are more than fifty attitudes and values in MRJ including resilience, having a sense of humour, being a giver rather than a taker and being a team player at home and school.  Being a WEST person (Welcoming, Encouraging, Saying Sorry and Thanks) helps us to continually build a strong community. 
Each fortnight, the whole school focuses on an MJR value. Awards are presented to those who demonstrate that particular value in real situations. 
Sacramental Program for 2022
Father John, our parish priest, will soon be advising us with dates and times for preparation and celebrating First Eucharist and Confirmation.  Please contact me or Father John if you are considering that your child participate this year. 
School Masses/Liturgies/ Children’s Masses.
Throughout the year, we celebrate a variety of liturgical events where families are most welcome to attend.  (Currently, we have deferred our Beginning of Year Mass until we are advised that we can gather as a whole group). 
Children’s Masses are held on the last Sunday of every month.  Each class will select a Sunday when they will attend and participate in the singing and readings. Families are encouraged to support this commitment as it supports our connection to the wider parish. 
May God bless you all with His choicest blessings.
Dee Cois
 
“I am the vine, you are the branches.  Those who abide in me, and I in them, bear much fruit, for apart from Me, you can do nothing.”  (John 15:5).

OSHC & ELC NEWS

ELC WEEK 2 NEWSLETTER

Hello and welcome to St Paul’s Early Learning Centre. I am Anna-Lea Higgins the Assistant Director of the ELC and OSHC. In the Early Learning centre we have Miss Mini who is the Preschool Teacher and we have many educators who are here to assist and care for your child during the day Miss Nicola, Miss Anna and Mr Rowe.As we settle into the new year and for some families a new Centre, we understand that some families and children may require more time and support to settling in, here is some advice we can offer to assist during drop off time.

• Start with shorter days and gradually increase their time at the service (we understand that this is not always an option for families).
• Inform the educators what activities your child/ren enjoys at the previous centre or at home.
• Talk to your child, let them know what is going on and that you will be back to pick them up, when you finish work or university.
• For some children it is best to do the “drop and Go” approach. If that is your plan please inform the educators and we will assist you.
• Please, once you have left do not come back to check if they have settled, this can give your child false hope that they are going home and may prolong the transition.
• Please know you can ring us at any time to ask about your child’s day.

Further advice to support you and your child settling in,

• Talk to the educators, let us know what your child enjoys.
• Share your cultural values with us.
• Inform us if anything has happened at home that may affect your child’s behaviour. E.g. They are excited because Grandparents are visiting, moved houses, a parent has gone away for work, arrival of a new baby.
• Check ClassDojo regularly.
• Ask about the friends your child has made.
• Please inform us if you are going to be away, sick or unwell.

Please Know you are welcome to talk to the educators at any time. We are available via phone 8985 4678, email and ClassDojo.

Anna-Lea Higgins - Assistant Director of the ELC and OSHC

General Information/News

OFFICE HOURS: The school office is open 7:50am to 3:30pm Monday to Friday during term time.

LOST PROPERTY: Please check the names on your children's hats and other property as we have discovered that children are accidentally taking other children's belongings home.

SCHOOL UNIFORMS:

Green Polos, Sport Polos, Shorts and hats are available to purchase and there are plenty in stock!

There is currently no need to make an appointment, families can come in anytime during office hours.

Unfortunately we are still waiting on a delivery date for our Culottes (skorts) and Formal Shirt orders. Thank you for your patience with this.

The school office is open Monday to Friday 8am to 3:30pm.

SCHOOL FEES: Families will be invoiced for school fees via email during approximately Week 5 of Term 1. If you do not receive your invoice by Term 2 or there are any issues please email finance.stpauls@nt.catholic.edu.au

When paying fees please ensure you include a reference for what the payment is for, either 'School Fees', 'OSHC Fees' or 'ELC fees' in the name.

SIBLING DISCOUNT: If you have more than 1 child studying at a Catholic School in the NT, you will be eligible for a sibling discount. Please contact finance.stpauls@nt.catholic.edu.au to inform our finance team of which schools your other children attend.

PARENT CONTACT DETAILS: Please advise the office of any changes to your contact details. This includes phone numbers, address details and emails. Please also keep all information up to date on Operoo. It is vitally important that we have the correct contact number in view of any emergency. Thank you for your assistance in this area.   

SCHOOL START TIMES:

Please do not drop your children at school before 7:45am

(school gates open 7:45am) as they are unsupervised until this time. We request that families drop their children off at school as close to 8am as possible.  Should you arrive prior to this time please wait with your child until the school gates open. 

PICKING UP CHILDREN at the end of the school day:   School finishes at 2.35pm and children must be picked up from steps within the school ground or at the express carpark lane which is supervised by a teacher. Any students not picked up by 3.00pm will be sent to our Outside of School Hours Care (OSHC) located on the school grounds and families will be charged. Our OSHC operates from 2.45pm to 5.30pm every day. We ask that all parents/carers who will be picking up their child from school please wait in the area outside the office and staffroom.

CARPARK PICK-UP: In an effort to move the traffic along more quickly and freely we ask that parents safely follow the appropriate procedures.  Should you need to get out and buckle your child in—we ask that you use the car spaces available to do so and not the pick up area. 

LUNCHES:  Lunch boxes are taken to the coolroom each morning between 8.15 and 8.30am.  It is important to be at school on time for the smooth running of this program and it is important that all recess and lunch boxes are labelled with your child’s name and Room No.

CANTEEN NEWS: 

The Canteen will provide recess and lunch through quickcliq.com.au (account set up required).

It seems that some children are choosing not to eat food brought from home and are instead requesting snacks and food from the canteen. Please note that families will be invoiced for this so please ensure your child is aware of what food is packed for them each day and that all food is labelled clearly (including packets of snack foods as it is confusing when children have the same snacks).

OSHC NEWS:

Public Holidays: As per prescribed policies and procedures, if a child’s booked day falls on a Public Holiday (when the centre is closed), families will still be charged as per normal for this day. This allows businesses to pay staff whom are scheduled to work on public holidays as is required by Fair Work. 

Absences: OSHC absences require written notice to admin.stpauls@nt.catholic.edu.au by at least 8:30am on the day of absence, if this written notification is not received by 8:30am the daily fee will still be charged. This also aligns with the procedures of other schools and services in the area. If a child goes home sick from school during the day, families will still be charged their regular daily fee for that child. This is to accommodate the pressures associated with staffing, resource and catering arrangements. The government entitles each child to 42 allowable absences per year (inclusive of public holidays) before it affects the Child Care Subsidy (CCS). These days can be used as holidays, sick days or just days off.Please also note that written notification is also required at least 2 weeks in advance of the last day of care prior to a planned absence of 3 days or more. We ask this as it is required to assist with staffing, resource and catering arrangements. When no notice has been given, parents will be charged. For this reason we would also like to remind families that as per our policy, payment of all accounts should be maintained two weeks in advance.

Casual Days: From the start of 2022 we are implementing some changes to help with the strain on the OSHC team when last minute changes occur. We ask that families give the OSHC team at least 24 hours notice when booking children into OSHC for casual days. We would also like to note that families will be charged the casual rate of $30 for these days regardless if they have other regular booking days.

Late Fee: Please be reminded that a late fee of $2.50/min for each minute that a child is picked up after 5:30pm.

Fee Payment Reference: When paying fees please ensure you include a reference for what the payment is for, e.g. 'OSHC Fees' so we can promptly assign your payment to your OSHC account.Please do not hesitate to contact us should you have any questions or concerns.

INSTRUMENTAL LESSONS: Instrumental lessons will take place again this year with Andrew Arthur, Violin lessons with Kirsty McCullum and Woodwind lessons with Eliza Tobin.  Instrumental lessons will take place each Friday and Violin lessons each Wednesday during school hours.  Contact details for Andrew are – dapa@live.com.au 0428153355 and Kirsty McCullum-  kirstymac@bigpond.com and Eliza Tobin for Woodwind lessons - elizatobin@hotmail.com.

BOOK CLUB ORDERS: Book Club orders are sent out from Scholastic through the school twice per term.   We use the “LOOP” system which means online ordering only.  For more information on how to do this please see the link below www.scholastic.com.au/LOOP

Please remember to use your child’s classroom number when ordering.

SCHOOL DENTIST:  St Paul’s does not have on onsite dental clinic, however you can use the Dental Clinic at Nightcliff Primary school. Parents are asked to contact the clinic on 89226466 to arrange an appointment. Parents are to accompany their child to the appointment. There is no charge for this service and it is highly recommended that children’s teeth should be regularly checked. This also includes pre-school children.  

St Paul's Parents and Friends

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