Newsletter February 6, 2020

Almighty God,

We give you our school.

We give you all the teachers and the staff who work here.

We give you all the children who learn here.

We pray our school will be a place of great discovery, adventure and creativity.

May it be a place where we love to learn and where we learn to love.

A place where everyone is respected and all are deeply valued.

We ask this through Jesus Christ our friend.

Amen

Dear Parents and families,

Welcome everyone to the 2020 school year. A new year inspires hope. It is a chance to set new goals, to learn more, to develop or deepen friendships, to participate more fully in school events and widen our understanding of the importance of each person to our school and parish community. I welcome today, every child from St Brigid’s School and wish them a happy and productive year of learning. In particular, I welcome new students to our school, our Year Prep children who are:

Reina Borg, Archer Clarke, Grace Conlan, Hamish Fodor, Bridie Grigg, Scarlett Hems, Jamie Jarvis, Jake Meehan, Angus Muldeary, Jaxon Mulgrew, Amelia Plageman, Charlotte Ruthen, Georgia Shanahan, Marcus Speakman, Archer Whitelaw and Iris Yearwood

Additionally I welcome Rose Turnball, Year 5 and Kaylee Stancliffe, Year 2.

On your behalf I also extend a very warm welcome to Ricky Whitcher (Year Five/Six W), Victoria Rosewarne (Miss Rose, Year One/Two), and Trish Lannen our Visual Arts Specialist. We are confident each will be made most welcome within our community and bring an energy and richness to our learning environment.

We also offer our congratulations to Samantha and Corey and Xavier Stroud (Year 2) on the recent arrival of twin girls Ava and Gracie. 

This year we are very pleased to announce we are introducing a new program to our school timetable, that being “Respectful Relationships”.  Therese Winter will facilitate this initiative and all classes will participate in lessons every Tuesday.

We all want our children to have an education that gives them the best start to a happy, healthy and prosperous life. Respectful Relationships supports students to develop the knowledge, understanding and skills to strengthen their sense of self, and build and manage safe and respectful relationships. Respectful Relationships takes a whole-school approach, recognising that schools are a place of learning, a workplace and a key part of local communities. It works to embed a culture of respect and equality across our entire school community, from our classrooms to staffrooms, school events, sporting fields and social events. 

As part of our whole school approach the staff have made a decision to declare 2020 'The Year of Respect'. This grew from both the professional learning we engaged in last week and our desire to be a community that is tolerant, open to difference and members are respectful of self, of others and our spaces including our school, community and the broader world. We spent considerable time exploring and deepening our understanding and knowledge of the Catholic Social Teachings. Over coming weeks and months we will share much about each of these principles, but the core principle is that of the human dignity of each person and so plan to focus intensively with the students on building very explicit understandings of what respect looks like, feels like and sounds like.

The principle of human dignity reminds us:

We must recognise we are all brothers and sisters which requires us to respect, value and uphold a common dignity for ourselves and each other. As human beings we are created in the image and likeness of God so therefore we have an inherent worth and distinction.

A reminder to all families that supervision for children commences at 8.30am each morning, when a teacher goes on duty in the playground. We are encouraging all children not to come to school before 8.30am, as prior to this the teachers are busy preparing for the day. If children do come to school before 8.30am they will be asked to sit at the office area until supervision time commences. We do also recognise that on occasion there will be family circumstances that mean children do need to be dropped off prior to 8.30am. If you could let us know if this will be the case it would be most appreciated.

A further reminder that it is vital that if children do arrive at school after 9.00am, they are signed in at the office by an adult and the same applies if children are leaving the school - an adult must sign the student out of the school via the digital program in the office.

We will be continuing to use both SeeSaw and PAM (Parent Access Module) as significant forms of communication between the school and home.

For SeeSaw access you will need to enrol in your child/ren’s new class.  Details of how this can be done have been sent home to you. If you have not seen this letter, please check your child’s school bag.

For PAM access, familes who had already set this up in 2019, no further action is required however, please ensure your child/ren's medical details are up to date. Our new families for 2020 should have today received an email with instructions for setting up your account. Please contact the school office if you did not receive this email or are having difficulty.

2020 School Fee statements will be sent out to families at the end of this week. 

This year we will be including all costs in our school fees right from the commencement of the school year - this will include camps, an excursion levy and a gardening levy. A letter outlining details of exactly what the fees will be for the total year is attached below. 

Payment options are via direct debit, EFTPOS at the school office, cash, cheque, credit card or internet banking.

Direct debits are available as 22 x fortnightly, 10 x monthly, or 4 x termly payments. Payments will commence on Friday, February 14. Please see the attached Fee Deduction Schedule and Direct Debit Authorisation Form for further information. Hard copies of this form are also available from the school office. Please return your form by Wednesday, February 12.

In all Ballarat Diocesan Catholic Primary Schools, a Family Fee Assistance Scheme is available to families eligible for a means tested Health Care Card, Centrelink Pensioner Concession Card or Veteran Affairs Pensioner Card. The scheme is available to both catholic and non-catholic families and reduces the cost of the Family Tuition Fee and Capital Levy to a combined maximum of $520 per year ($10 per week). The Curriculum Levy, Technology Levy and Excursion and Camp costs are then added to this to give a total fee amount for the year.

The Victorian Government offers a Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund (CSEF) providing payments to assist eligible families to cover the costs of camps, sporting events and excursions.

If you hold a valid means-tested concession card you may be eligible for CSEF. The allowance will be paid to the school to use towards expenses related to camps, excursions, or sporting activities for the benefit of your child.

The annual CSEF amount per student is currently $125 for primary school students.

Please see the attached information regarding Family Fee Assistance and the Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund (CSEF). For further information, please contact the school office.

The Conveyance Allowance assists families with the cost of transporting their children to and from school. To be eligible to receive a conveyance allowance you must:

• Be aged between five years (by 30 April in the year that the allowance is sought) and 21 years.
• Live more than 4.8km by the shortest practicable route from the nearest Catholic school attended, or, live more than 4.8 km from the nearest bus service.

Further information can be found at:

If eligible, parents are required to complete and sign the attached permission form to access the service. Hard copies are also available from the school office. Please note that a new form is required to be completed each year.

Sadly, St Brigid’s has two vacancies for positions connected to our school. As a result of their family move to Ballarat, Penny Stabek is no longer able to continue in her role as our cleaner.   Penny has done a fabulous job in this role and will be sorely missed, yet we do understand that it is no longer practical for her to continue in this role now that she is living in Ballarat.

Trish Lannen informed me last Friday that she has been offered a position at Shine in a role as an Art Therapist.  This is a role that is very close to her heart and she is keen to pursue this opportunity. With this in mind she has resigned her position as After School Care Co-ordinator.  We will all be so sorry to see her leave this role - I know the children who attend the program will be very sad at this news as Trish has provided a vibrant, interesting and fun filled program every day.  At a school level we will continue to have the expertise of Trish as she will remain as our visual arts teacher.

If you are interested, or know of anyone who may be interested in either of these positions, please contact Gabe to discuss.

We are now fully re-stocked in all sizes of our grey woollen school jumpers. Purchases can be made through the school office. Thank you for your patience.

Please be aware that there have been two reported cases of Hand, Foot and Mouth within the school this week. If your child/ren are experiencing symptoms, please keep them at home until all blisters have dried.

Hot Lunches will commence in Term 2 when our Preps are settled in and attending full time. Rosters are currently being made. If anyone would like to asssit with the lunches, please let Hayley, Mickal or the office know as soon as possible.