Dear Parents,

Welcome back to 2024 academic year. 

I hope your holidays were restful and the Christmas and New year were full of joy.

We have had many changes between staff, students and even changes in learning spaces to accommodate the new Science Specialist subject. 

The staff have worked really hard to ensure the students had what they needed to start the year. This is always a crazy time but the first day back started very calmly. The staff are always very excited to see our students and look forward to meeting their new students and establish routines for the year.

Our grade 6 students headed off to Urban camp this week. This is a camp that is jam packed with lots of different activities and is a lot of fun. I thank Mr Rian Prestwich for all the work behind the scenes to ensure all aspects  were thoroughly thought through and documentation was completed. This is a monumental task and as always was completed thoroughly. 

I also thank all the staff attending leaving their loved ones and families behind to ensure our students attend camp. This is a big ask but always done without a grumble. We are very lucky to have such dedicated staff. 

Staffing News

We have a number of new staff members joining and returning to St Catherine’s in 2024. 

We extend a warm welcome to the St Catherine’s Community 

Mrs Samantha Johnstone 

Mrs Kristie Coe

Mr Patrick Pawlowski

Miss Stephanie Mendes ( who I believe has just got married and is now Mrs Yates)

Mrs Dearrne Mellor 

Mrs Rhylee Webber

Mrs. Mihaela Horvat

Ms Milica Dragic

Ms Dora Vrakatselis

Mrs Dilanthinie De Silva 

Mr Steve Smit 

Ms Madison Nuttall

Miss Chloe Venville- From ESO to teaching staff

Michelle Vincent

We will welcome back to St Catherine’s 

Ms Laura Thorne 

Mrs. Mandy Collingwood

Mrs. Rachel Long in term 2 

Mrs Kirsten Andrews in term 2 

Ms Gabby Mifsud in Term 3

We also have a number of part time staff increasing their hours for 2024, and you may see them in a different capacity. 

2024 Leadership  Team 

Principal – Anna Viney

Deputy Principal - Mr Rian Prestwich 

Learning Adjustment Leaders     P-2 – Mrs Rebecca Cox  Grades 3 – 6 -  Mrs Victoria Donlan 

Curriculum Leaders – Mrs Rebecca Cox and Mrs Victoria Donlan

Early Years ( P-2) Curriculum support – Mrs Debbie Carpentier

Grade P-2 Level Leader – Mrs Debbie Carpentier

Grade 3-4 Level Leader – Mr Gavin Balzary

Grade 5-6 Level Leader – Miss Alexandra Bland

Language specialist subjects

We have decided to introduce AUSLAN as a language for the Grades prep – 3 classes. Japanese will still run and be taught by Marie Takahashi for Grades 4 -6. This is a new and exciting space for our languages program. This language will be run as  the Teacher as a Co-Learner program meaning that the teachers run the program learning alongside the students. 

Our staff will be receiving Professional learning to assist with the implementation of Auslan.

Auslan will start at the beginning of week 4 giving the staff enough time to feel comfortable with its introduction and to acquire Professional Learning and equip the students with the basic information they require prior to starting. 

Inform and Empower

As part of a ongoing review our planning and curriculum, we have decided to engage the “Inform and Empower” program. This program offers a wide range of educational resources about safe and responsible use of ICT and devices. There is a parent webinar - details were sent out late last week. This is a great opportunity to see what the children are learning about in this space. More information is attached to this newsletter

Student attendance 

Just a reminder that our classes start at 8.50am 

Any students coming after the bell are impacted as they can miss vital instruction and the beginning of Specialist subjects. Students on scheduled out of classroom intervention programs may also miss their session, as many of these start as soon as the bell goes in the morning.

Regular late arrivals will trigger our attendance/absence processes which means parents and carers will be contacted by classroom teachers at first but may be escalated to other governing bodies. 

Car Parking 

Due to the restricted car parks, we have had to close off the very end of the driveway to all cars except our contractors, admin and DOSCEL staff. We have regular visits from these people and need to be able to give access to them, and if necessary emergency services. 

To allow this to happen and to keep our children safe, we have put bollards out to restrict access to allow the crossing near the chapel to be a safe zone for children to cross the driveway. 

These Bollards will be moved each morning at 8.30am and each afternoon at 3.00pm to allow traffic through when the chapel gates are open. 

Beginning and end of the day parent communication.

Parents are welcome to come into classrooms at the beginning of the day to settle their children. We ask that if you wish to meet to discuss matters regarding your children that you schedule a time through the office. Teachers have scheduled staff meetings and planning sessions and after school duties which require their attendance. 

Before school, staff are required to be supervising students and use this time to assist students with getting organised for the day, If you have a concern, please send an email to your child’s classroom teacher to schedule a time to meet or request a phone call to ensure they can give all matters their full attention. 

Preferred communication with staff is via email throughout the school day, however, URGENT communication and communication about end of day arrangements need to go through the office to ensure the message is passed on. Our staff do not generally access emails during teaching time unless they are on a break or planning time. 

Student access and child safety 

We request all students accessing the administration Office and who may be coming in late do so  via the SFX driveway. Students are to walk down the SFX side of driveway on the footpath and cross at the Chapel crossing behind the bollards . 

We remind parents that the driveways are limited to 5 kilometres an hour for the safety of our students. Staff are on hand to assist until just after the bell. All students who are late should be walked into the office by an adult and be signed in for legal reasons. 

We also ask that parents and students use the designated crossings when crossing Ridgemont Drive and Meadowlands Way. 

Parking

We have had complaints from people living in surrounding streets that parents are parking in front of their driveways, please be mindful of this as it is unfair to block peoples driveways preventing them  from leaving their home.

Hats and Uniform 

Hats are needing to be worn at all break times in term 1 and must be worn properly by our students to ensure that we are remaining safe smart school. 

Summer uniform is to worn for Term 1 with sports uniform being worn on PE lesson days and SPECIAL sports days as notified by the office. 

School fees

Fee statements will be emailed to families on Monday 19 February. If any families have an eligible Health Care Card please contact the Office if you have not already. If any families require a discussion regarding fees please contact Margaret Lonergan at the School Office.

The Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund provides payments for eligible students to attend school camps, excursions, and sports and outdoor education programs.

Please follow the link to get more information and download the application form.

Out of School Hours Care Program

CAMP AUSTRALIA

Please follow the link to find out about our before and after school care program!  Bookings are now Open!

We have loved having the students back on site and are looking forward to a very productive 2024 which is full of learning and fun. 

Warm regards 

Anna