Principal’s Message

Dear Parents and Friends of St Mel’s,

Welcome back to term 4. I trust everyone has had a happy and restful break. It’s hard to believe we are into our final term. As I usually do after a break, I like to talk to the kids and find out what they got up to for their holidays. It was great to hear of the many holiday adventures families have had. The weather put a bit of a dampener (excuse the pun) on the usual planned trips, camping, visits to the zoo, picnics in the park etc, however, spending quality time with family and friends seemed to be the common thread. Holidays are well deserved and give us all time to relax, recharge and regroup. The kids have been happy to be back at school this week catching up with friends and their teachers. School is a wonderful place to be in term 4.

It's shaping up to be busy term but there’s much to look forward to. Division sports 3-6, Prep transition days, Grade 2 Sleepover, school camps, year six graduation, and the Aquamoves Funday are all on the horizon. Please refer to our school calendar and keep an eye out for emails and notes for planned events and if you have any queries, please contact the office.

Time to find the hats and summer uniform everyone. We will be enforcing the no hat no play rule by next week. Students who don’t have a hat will be asked to play under the shade sails at recess and lunch. Speaking of hats and uniform please ensure all items of your child’s school uniform are clearly marked with a name. Each term our lost uniform box fills to the brim with many ‘new’ items of clothing being donated to the second-hand uniform shop. The same applies to food / drink containers.

Best wishes to Fr Peter who has started his annual leave this week and will be away until the end of the month.

Finally, congratulations to all loyal supporters of the Geelong Football Club. I bet you’re still grinning from ear to ear. The Cats proved way too strong and would have been hard to beat for any team. For those of us missing the footy already, only 168 days until season 2023, but who’s counting?

Enjoy a wonderful fortnight back everyone.

Do your best. Respect our school. Help others succeed.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Congratulations to our ICAS participants

Well done to the following students who participated in this years ICAS competition.

Arya Banning ~ Gr 2, Seeret Kaur ~ Gr 4, Kanishka Kumaran ~ Gr 5, Jasmin Kaur ~ Gr 5, Daffodil Gandionko ~ Gr 4 and Michael Mandoo ~ Gr 5.

ICAS is designed to target students’ higher-order thinking and problem-solving skills in English, Mathematics, Science, Writing, Spelling Bee and Digital Technologies.

Each assessment celebrates students’ accomplishments by providing opportunities for recognition and development. Our students have received certificates and recognition for their achievements.

Sun Smart

Time to find those hats again!! Please remember all students are required to wear their hats. Consequences for not wearing a hat will be: No Hat, No play.

A Message from the Sun Smart Team:

It's the start of spring and the start of October so it's time for those five SunSmart things to remember!

1. Slip on sun protective clothing

2. Slop on SPF 30+ or higher sunscreen

3. Slap on a wide brimmed hat

4. Seek shade

5. Slide on some wrap-around sunglasses

Reminder

The front administration area is not to be used as a throughway for students or families before or after school hours. Please use the side gates to enter and exit the school. Thank you

October's Birthdays

Happy Birthday to everyone who celebrates his or her birthday this week and from 1st October

Fahad Jaber, Fatima Fahad, Lara Tedesco, Sydney Almond, Alexa Mbenguele, Mantaj Bhinder, Mia Serra, Prabhleen Kaur, Kobe Campanelli, Liviah Campi, Sukaina AlRamahi, Logan Barbary, Abbey Diamantopoulos, Jasmine Muhimpundu, Claudia Campi, Armann Sidhu, Rydar Snelling, Manvi Majoka, Upkar Pannu, Vansh Patel, Aidan Jones, Alex Khan, Kaileah Winmar, Zachary Neff and Jo Sellwood

STAR FOCUS FOR TERM 4.....

Helping Others Succeed

What does that mean? How can you help?

Congratulations to all students for your enthusiastic and smooth return to Term 4. Thank you for doing your best, respecting our school and helping others succeed.

School Calendar

Please visit the 'Upcoming Dates & Events' page to keep informed about what's coming up and any date changes to events.

Attendance Matters…

Attendance Requirements

If your child is sick or absent, you are required to notify the school as soon as possible on the day of absence, by phoning or emailing the school.

Notifying the school of your child’s absence either prior to, or on the day that they will be away, helps ensure the safety and wellbeing of children and will fulfil your legal responsibility.

All Victorian schools are required to contact parents/carers as soon as practicable on the same day of an unexplained student absence. If your child is absent on a particular day and you have not contacted the school to explain why, the absence will be marked as unexplained.

This system also promotes daily school attendance. Going to school every day is the single most important part of your child’s education, they learn new things every day – missing school puts them behind.

School Fees Update September Statements were emailed this week

Thank you to the families who have contacted the school office or who have responded positively when our office has called to discuss payment of fees or organise payment plans.

Fee statements will continue to be sent out Monthly by email ensuring that all families are aware of the balances of outstanding school fees. If you have not received any correspondence by email then please contact the school office to confirm we have the correct email address.

Please check your statements. Should you be experiencing financal hardship we strongly urge you to contact the school office to discuss your situation and a possible payment plan.

Student Awards

STAR FOCUS T4 - Helping Others Succeed