St Paul's Catholic Primary School Newsletter 2023 Term 1, Week 2
Principal's Message
A huge welcome to the 2023 school year at St Paul’s
We have had a great start to the school year, welcoming many new people into our school community including staff, students and their families. We welcome some new staff members - Ms Pascale Zufferey (1/2 classroom teacher), Ms Siobhan Taylor (AUSLAN specialist), Ms Yvette (Music specialist), Miss Lauren (ISA), Ms Raquel (ISA), Sr Joanina (ISA), Miss Ramandeep (ISA), Miss Matilda (ISA) and Miss Harpreet (ISA). Over the coming weeks, we will introduce our team on our Facebook and Class Dojo pages.
It is wonderful to see how the students have settled back into the school routine after the long Summer break. The classrooms are already a buzz with learning!
It is encouraging to see how our students are following our 3Bs - being safe, being respectful and being responsible.
Keeping our students safe is a huge priority for all working at St Paul’s. A gentle reminder that students must always cross Francis Street using the allocated children’s crossing. A teacher is allocated this duty everyday to assist those students crossing the street either on bicycle or on foot. Parents are asked to never ask their child to cross the busy street without using the crossing. The carpark collection point is a great spot for parents to collect their child/ren if they are not able to find a park or get out to collect their child. The carpark duty is monitored by a teacher everyday until 2.50pm. Thank you in advance for helping us to keep all students safe.
This year will be filled with many moments for our students to shine. This year will be our bi-annual Whole School Production which will be on October 12th at the Darwin Entertainment Centre. We are blessed to have Yvette and Siobhan working with us on this production. Please ensure you keep abreast of the school calendar via newsletter contributions.
To ensure communication is paramount we continue to streamlining our communications and our main focus will be on using Operoo and the St Paul's Schoolzine App for whole school communication whilst Class Dojo will remain the preferred form for teachers to communicate classroom learning.
I look forward to seeing many of you at our beginning of school Mass on Friday, February 10th at 8:30. During this Mass Fr Peter will bless the Year 6 student leadership badges and these will be presented to the students.
Our St Paul’s Parents and Friends (P&F) welcome disco is on Friday, February 17th from 5:30 -7:30pm.
These are both wonderful ways to connect with our St Paul’s School community.
We trust the 2023 school year will be one full of learning, laughing, playing and growing. In the words of our school vision statement “We Walk Together”.
Ms Jo Knight
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SCHOOL BOARD NOMINATIONS – CLOSING DATE WEDNESDAY 15TH FEBRUARY
It is at this time of the year when our School Board seeks new members. The School Board is an advisory body which meets on the third Wednesday of each month where all members work towards the vision of the community, striving to build a place where all people feel supported and valued.
Nominees need to submit an application which details how they can successfully contribute to the board in terms of time and skills. If successful your role on the board would be for 2 years. Please speak to the principal Jo Knight if interested and to collect the prescribed nomination form for your completion.
The School Board looks forward to supporting the school in 2023.
Important Notices
School Fee Increase 2023
Please be advised that there is an increase in school fees in 2023. This is due to the tuition fee increase as decided by Catholic Education NT (see circular from CENT below) and also the introduction of the ICT levy of $250 per child with a limit of $500 per family.
We thank you for your understanding.
OSHC IMPORTANT UPDATE
Dear St Paul's Outside Hours School Care families (After School Care and Vacation Care families),
With the easing of Covid restrictions & isolation rules, we have reviewed our OSHC booking policies, with subsequent changes to commence 1st January 2023. Please see changes outlined below.
Change as of 1st Jan 2023: Two weeks written notice must be given for any changes to both After School Care and Vacation Care bookings or charges remain. If a child is absent (regardless of the reason) the charge for that day remains, regardless of bookings being casual or not. This is accommodated by the government entitlement of 42 allowable absences before Child Care Subsidy is affected. No changes will be allowed to usual scheduled days on public holidays (unless part of a holiday block or permanent change to booking).
Change as of 1st Jan 2023: The booked care rate of $25 will be charged for all bookings with at least 2 weeks' written notice, regardless of what day/s are booked each week. $30 casual rate will be charged for any bookings with less than 2 weeks written notice. This is to assist families with irregular work rosters.
Birthday Treats
This is a friendly notice that if it is a child's birthday, we ask that you do not bring any food or treats. This is to respect the dietary needs of all children & families and also to maintain equity for all. On the day of the child’s birthday, the teacher will organise for the class to acknowledge the child’s birthday.
Parents organising a party outside of school should refrain from giving out invitations during school time, particularly if not all children are invited. It can lead to some children feeling excluded and cause unnecessary upsets. Parents should discuss options with their child’s teacher about appropriate distribution of invitations, give them directly to parents before or after school or contact them privately.
The decision was made by the school board in 2021.
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