Dear Parents

I can’t believe we are in week 10 already!

As mentioned last week, reports and portfolios are being compiled and prepared to be made live via the PAM platform. 

The year 4 students had a wonderful time at Phillip Island Adventure Camp where they spent one night. The camp  staff commented on the politeness and the behaviour of our students. It was wonderful to see the students push themselves to try new things and when they accomplished one level , they were keen to push themselves to an even higher level. Although the weather wasn’t really working with us on the first day, the students managed to get through most of the program with the sun coming out to assist on the second day.

Some of our Grade Six students took part in the Sacrament of Confirmation Ceremonies over the weekend.  We congratulate them on receiving this sacrament.

We will be having an Assembly on Thursday next week as Term 2 draws to a close. Parents are welcome to attend, please sign in at the office.  assembly will start at 2.45pm.

We are continuing to have parents raising concerns about issues which are happening online. These are happening outside of school time and on personal devices. 

We ask that parents monitor the use of devices and the platforms they are on. Many of our senior students have accounts which have age limits restrictions of 13 years and over.  We will continue to educate and engage services with expertise in these areas but ultimately parents are responsible for their child’s access and use of devices outside of school. 

I would like to remind our families of our processes in regards to raising concerns for your children. The first port of call is the classroom teacher. We ask if it is a detailed or lengthy question, of a sensitive nature or something needing a longer conversation, please make an appointment via the office so we can ensure the teacher is available to devote the appropriate attention to your concerns. 

If they deem it necessary, the classroom teacher will escalate this to the appropriate member of leadership. 

We have had a spike in comments of a defamatory nature and some about the ethnicity of our students, aswell as comments of a derogatory nature made to staff. We will not condone this is any way shape or form and as articulated in communications earlier in the year, parents will be contacted and, in some circumstances, parents will be called to pick up their children.  Re-entry meetings will be held on return to school but prior to returning to the classroom and or playground. 

Re-entry meetings are called to set up the expectations moving forward for the student, and to ensure the student has the support they need for a successful day.

All staff and students come to school to feel safe and respected. 

I wish all of our families a safe and restful break and if travelling , please travel safely.

Building:

I still have nothing more to report on the building at this stage but once we have information I will share it with the community. 

Staffing

Jisha George will be leaving towards the end of Term 3 as she welcomes her baby into the family. 

We wish Jisha and her family well at this special time .

We are currently interviewing for two part time ESO positions and for a maternity replacement for Jisha.

COVID and staff illness 

Our school community has again been hit hard by illnesses of all kinds. Our staff have also been hit. We have COVID amongst us and remind all staff and students that if they test positive we recommend that they stay home. If they are unwell or have any symptoms of any kind they should not attend school. 

Any student presenting as unwell will be sent to the sick bay and parents will be asked to pick them up. 

I assure you that splitting classes is our last resort but at times we have needed to do this to ensure the appropriate supervision and consistent learning of all children.

Over the last couple of weeks, we have had some days where our regular programs have not been able to run due to being short staffed and our casual staff also pulling out at the last minute due to illness. 

Absences

We ask all parents to enter student absences in the PAM platform or to call the office to inform us of an absence. If children are absent with no communication,  our absentee process is triggered and contact with carers will be made. If your child is arriving after 8.50 am they MUST be signed in at the office by an adult. Phone calls will be made for parents to come and sign children in if they are not escorted into the office. 

Crazy Hair Day

We are having a Crazy Hair Day next Thursday 27 June.  We are raising money for our Shade Sails.  Each child is asked to bring a Gold coin.  Your child will need to be in full school uniform.  Crazy hair can include, beads, bows, color etc. Please see the attached flyer for ideas.

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 St Francis Xavier side of driveway on the footpath and cross at the Chapel crossing behind the bollards. 

We remind parents 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. The orange arrows are areas where they need to wait for a staff member as there can be car traffic.

Crossings and Parking

We ask that all students and parents are using the crossings that are clearly marked and manned as these are safe ways to cross road. The council have also notified us that this is a concern  and have  asked  that parents and students use the designated crossings when crossing Ridgemont Drive and Meadowlands Way. 
We are aware that parking can be problematic but also ask that parents do not park in the Great Beginnings child care Centre carpark or block the entrances as there are cars coming and going from here at all times. 

Whole School Positive Behaviour Approach 

A SIMON email went out regarding our Whole School Approach to Positive Behaviour Support on Friday of last week. As a reminder: 

• At St Catherine’s we are safe.
• At St Catherine’s we show respect. 
• At St Catherine’s we are resilient.

Parent Access

We understand that, during COVID, access to the school was restricted. We are trying to provide more opportunities for families to have access to the school. Times have changed about this and we as a school have to adapt. The fact that our driveway goes through the middle of the school grounds also creates many risks in the afternoon to all of the members of our community. 

Please be assured that you can walk students into school in the morning and come onsite in the afternoon around the rebound wall.

We are endeavouring to provide special opportunities for parents to come onsite. We have our Assembly this week celebration Catholic education Week on Friday afternoon.  Please see further details below.

If  you ever have any concerns or want to chat with staff or leadership, please contact the office to make time to meet that suits everyone. 

NAPLAN

The preliminary NAPLAN scores have been released to schools but individual reports will be sent to the school around the 15 July. Once these have been received we will distribute them and notify parents that they are coming home. Please file these as some secondary schools request these on enrolment. 

The process for accessing this information has changed and is more  complex due to confidentiality. It is much easier for all parties if the original reports are retained and submitted on enrolment application. 

Student Attendance 

Our classes start at 8.50am, students are expected to be at school and ready to start instruction 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.

Any student arriving late must be signed in by a parent or carer via the office. This is a legal requirement and we have noticed many more students arriving after 8.50am.  As a part of our continual review of our processes and procedures, we will be following up with parents and carers.  Classroom doors open at 8.30am.

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. 

You may notice that emails are starting to be sent to those families of students  who regularly arrive late. 

Hats and Uniform 

All students should be wearing the winter uniform as we are well into term 2. Hats are not necessary but recommended.

We are noticing a large number of students who are not wearing correct uniform and we will be addressing this with the students and after repeated warnings , parents will be contacted.

School closure day - Friday 28 June

A reminder that there will be a school closure day on Friday 28 June, for staff Professional Learning. 

Out of School Hours Care Program

 If you’re interested in your child participating in the Holiday program offered, please click on the below link.

 2025 Enrolments

We are currently taking 2025 Enrolments. If you are an existing family please get your forms in asap to guarantee you a spot.  Our Prep numbers are increasing fast and we are conducting multiple tours a day. If you know of anyone considering St Catherine’s for their child please ask them to contact the Office for a tour.

School Fees

On Thursday 6 June, around 80 year 5 and 6 students participated in Hoop Time at Frankston basketball stadium. The students played different matches against two other schools and each other.

Our All-Star Girls team defeated Skye Primary School in the Grand Final 20-4. Congratulations to the girls on a fantastic victory! They displayed fantastic skills and teamwork under pressure. They have reached the next stage that will be played in October. Our All-Star Boys team were unlucky to lose their Grand Final to Skye Primary School. They had defeated Skye earlier in a fantastic display. They should hold their heads high for their efforts on the day.

Congratulations to our Future Stars teams who also recorded some wins on the day and enjoyed competing against the other schools and each other. A special mention to the Cannons and the Crocs who made the final on the day. A fantastic effort by those teams!

A big thankyou to all the teachers and ESO staff who coached and helped out on the day. Thanks to all the parents who came and supported their children, especially those that helped out with scoring.

Mr Kenez

Our Canteen runs from Wednesday - 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.