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Week 8 Term 4
Dear Parents,
It has been a busy and productive couple of weeks at St Catherine’s. We have been interviewing for staff and will continue to do so. We are moving in to the final weeks and have the Grade 6 team working hard on Graduation activities and final farewell. The Grade 5 team have been working with their students to assist with their preparation for Student Leadership Roles.
The Prep Team have started orientation sessions for the 2024 prep student's and our enrolments are continuing to flourish for all levels across the school.
Work is being planned for the Christmas break to ensure maintenance and upkeep for the school facilities.
It is our intention to keep working up until the last days of the school year and ask that all Christmas headbands and decorations etc are worn for the last week of term only. This allows for students to focus on the learning that will continue to as close to the last day of school as possible.
The last day of school for students will be Friday 15 December.
The staff will meet for planning on Monday 18 December, First Aid and refresher training courses will be held on Tuesday 19 December with Wednesday 20 December being a Time in Lieu day for all staff. As I have mentioned previously, it is quite normal for students to feel a little anxious about what the next year will bring. Our children often take their lead from the adults around them, so it is important to reassure your children and talk to them about the positives that come with the next year and the next step of their schooling life.
Staffing News
We have a number of new staff members joining and returning to St Catherine’s in 2024 and also some leaving.
We extend a warm welcome to the St Catherine’s Community:
Mrs Samantha Johnstone
Mr Patrick Pawlukowski
Mrs Stephanie Yates
Mrs Kristie Copestake
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
At the end of the year we will also say farewell to:
Ms Kat Dullabh
Meg Ichikawa
Mrs Nicola Finch
Mrs Stephanie Jansz
Miss Kathleen O’Leary
Mrs Chee Wan Yuen
Mrs Melissa Junkeer
Mrs Sigrun Hurren
Miss Jessica Ornsby
We wish to thank them for all their contributions to St Catherine’s and wish them well with their future endeavours.
New specialist subject for 2024
Mrs Yveie Tonks will be taking up our new specialist teaching role. This role has been created to address the requirements of the 2022 DOSCEL Enterprise Bargaining Agreement. The new specialist class will be Science. We are working through the logistics of this but it will be a 40-minute lessons for all students every week.
Christmas Concert
Mrs Culpitt and the students are rehearsing items for the Christmas Picnic Concert. The concert will take place on our oval which allows us to eliminate restrictions to numbers. That being said obviously with over 400 families we need to be mindful of allowing enough space for others to have immediate family members to come and join the event. We ask that all older siblings remain with their families during that time and students are to be seated with families until called up to the stage just prior to their performance. All families are welcome to bring a picnic dinner, along and enjoy the carols. As this event takes place on the school grounds this is an ALCOHOL-FREE event.
Learning Buddies for 2024 classes
Students have been working through the process of choosing their five learning buddies to assist teachers with the 2024 class selections. These have now been entered in to a program called Class Creator as the first part of the process. There are many more details and hours put into this before the program provides staff with drafts of class lists for review. Your child will be guaranteed 1 of the people on their learning buddies list.
Grandparents Morning 10 November 2023
On Friday 10 November our Grandparents morning dedicated to Grandparents and special others who play a similar role to our students was a huge success and we loved having these special people in the school. Please make these special people aware so they can save the date for next year - Friday 8 November 2024!
Remembrance Day Service
A Remembrance Day Service, honouring those who fought for us and our country was held on Monday 13 November in the afternoon at 2.50pm in the courtyard. This was led by our student leaders.
Student attendance
We have a number of students coming after the bell most mornings. This impacts the specialist subjects and also leads to missing vital instruction as our teaching starts at 8.50am. Students on scheduled out of classroom intervention programs may miss their sessions which will also impact student learning. Regular late arrivals 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.
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.
Hats and Uniform
Hats need to be worn at all break times and must be worn properly by our students to ensure that we are remaining a Sunsmart school. Summer uniform is to be worn for the remainder of the school year with sports uniform being worn on PE lesson days and SPECIAL sports days as notified by the office.
Athletics carnival will be held on Friday
This event is a monumental task to organise ensuring buses and tight schedules are adhered to. This is different to previous years and we know there will be teething problems, which we will work to address at the time and for future Athletics carnivals. Many of St Catherine’s traditions need to be altered and tweaked somewhat to incorporate the number of students we now have enrolled.
2024 Planning
Thank you to all those parents who have put in separation requests for students in preparation for our 2024 class planning. We are blessed at St Catherine’s to have a very professional and committed staff that plan together to ensure that the same learning opportunities are afforded to the students regardless of what class they are in, so please do not request individual teachers.
Students leaving St Catherine’s for the 2024 school year.
If there are any students leaving St Catherine’s at the end of the 2023 year we ask that you notify the office as soon as possible by emailing enrolments@stcberwick.catholic.edu.au
This assists the school with planning and ensuring that all students are sent home with relevant documentation and belongings.
School Fees
Please see the School Fee schedule 2024 attached to this newsletter.
Out of School Hours Care Program
Please see the brochures attached to this newsletter regarding our new OSHC Program - Bookings are now open!
Warm Regards
Anna
Wednesday 22 November | Board dinner |
Friday 24 November | SPORT - St Catherine's Athletics Day - Casey Fields |
Wednesday 29 November | Prep Orientation session 2 |
Tuesday 5 December | Christmas Carols |
Thursday 7 December | Prep Orientation session 3 |
Monday 11 December | 2024 new families orientation and meet the teacher |
Wednesday 13 December | Graduation activities |
Thursday 14 December | Graduation |
Friday 15 December | Students Last Day - End of Term 4 |
Monday 18 December | School Closure Day 2024 Planning |
Tuesday 19 December | School Closure Day 2024 Planning |
Wednesday 31 January | First day back for all students |
Wednesday 31 January | Year 6 Camp Parent Briefing - 4.00pm |
Monday 5 February - Thursday 8 February | Year 6 Urban Camp |
Wednesday 7 February | Prep Day off |
Wednesday 14 February | Prep Day off |
Wednesday 21 Febraury | Prep Day off |
Monday 11 March | Labour Day Public Holiday |
Friday 22 March | School pix photos |
Thursday 28 March | Last day of Term 1 |
Tuesday 16 April | Beginning of Term 2 |
Thursday 25 April | ANZAC day - Public holiday |
Friday 26 April | Student Free Day |
Monday 29 April | St Catherine of Siena Feast day |
Thursday 9 May | Mother's day and special person stall |
Friday 10 May | Mother's day and special person afternoon |
May 17-24 | Catholic Education Week - "I am making all things new"- REV 21:5 |
Monday 10 June | Kings Birthday Public holiday |
Tuesday 11-12 June | Year 4 PIAR Camp |
Thursday 27 June | Last day of Term 2 |
Monday 15 July | Beginning of Term 3 |
Monday 19 August | School closure Day |
Thursday 29 August | Father's day and special person stall |
Friday 30 August | Father's day and special person afternoon |
Friday 20 September | Last day of term 3 |
Monday 7 October | Student Free Day |
Monday 4 November | Student Free Day |
Tuesday 5 November | Cup day public holiday |
Monday 16 December | 2025 Grades and new families- meet the teacher for grades |
In Term 4, students will be looking at the Life and Mission of Jesus through different lenses. They will use the scripture from Mark 1: 1-8 where John the Baptist prepares the way for Jesus.
Our whole school inquiry question is “Preparing and Waiting”. Students will engage with this question through dialogue and incorporate their experiences, perspectives, cultures and backgrounds. By relating this to their life, and the life within our community and world, they will be able to engage in rich and meaningful discourse.
The month of October is devoted to the Holy Rosary in honour of the Blessed Virgin Mary. We are reminded to pay graditude for the protection she give's the Church in answering our prayers through the Rosary. We also recognise the important work of the lay people and missionaries who dedicate their lives to the calling of Jesus, much like Mary. We are called on the last Sunday of the Liturigical year to honour and recognise Jesus and respond to the world by emulating his total gift of self by serving others. Advent is the first week in the new Catholic Liturgical calendar and the four weeks before Christmas where we celebrate the birth of our infant Saviour, Jesus Christ. Its name comes from the Latin word adventus, which means "coming." Whilst it is easy to be distracted by the gifts and glamour at the shops, we are reminded to prepare and wait for the second coming of Christ and look inward on ourselves to be the best versions of ourselves.
The school community will integrate the following important days into lessons:
November
- Sunday 26 - Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ
December
- Sunday 3 - First Sunday of Advent
- Friday 8 - The Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary
- Monday 11 - Friday 15 - Christmas
Have a great final term for 2023.
Rian Prestwich
Acting Deputy Principal: Religious Education Leader and School Operations
Our Canteen runs from Tuesday - Friday. To register please follow the following link Quickcliq registration, then once registered you can login to Quickcliq. When registering if your child is in Prep you will need to click foundation. Your UID (student ID) number can be found on the home page of your Simon App. For further information please see the attached flyer. Ordering cut off times will be the day before at 8pm, to receive your child's order the very Our next day, any orders placed after 8pm will automatically be placed with orders placed the following day, this allows for time to purchase any extra items needed on the day. For those children with dietary requirements there will be a folder placed in the school office outlining ingredients of certain items. Please see the attached Menu, which will also be available when ordering through Quickcliq.
This year our annual St Catherine’s Sports Day will be held on Friday November 24 at Casey Fields Athletics Athletics Stadium - 160 Berwick-Cranbourne Road Cranbourne East.
Children will begin school at the usual time and depart by bus at approximately 9:00am and return to school by approximately 2:30pm.
This year every year level will compete at the same time with the carnival beginning at approximately 9:30am and concluding with the year 6 championship races at approximately 2:00pm.
Parents and spectators will be allocated a section of the grandstand on the far left toward the 100m starting line. We ask that parents stay in their allocated section and stay behind the fence at all times.
What to wear:
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A t-shirt representative of their house color, sports uniform shorts and appropriate footwear.
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A small safety pin needs to be pinned to your child’s t-shirt to place ribbons before leaving home
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Plain white socks - no logos or stripes permitted
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School hat
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Sunscreen
NO FACE PAINT OR HAIRSPRAY IS PERMITTED
Other requirements for the day
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All children are required to bring their snack, lunch and water bottle clearly labeled with their name
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If your child suffers from hay fever, it may be wise to administer before school an antihistamine where appropriate
Please see the timetable below.