Principal's Report

Kevin Gleeson

Welcome to 2018!

Dear Parents and Friends,

Welcome to the 2018 school year and a special welcome to our new families at St Fidelis’. I hope you all had an enjoyable holiday. The students had many exciting stories to share and we are very pleased to see them all safely back at school.

A special welcome to our new staff member, Mrs Claire Tennant, who will be teaching Art on Mondays and Tuesdays. Feel free to call into the art room to meet Claire. 

We have many events planned this term so please keep an eye on the 'Dates to Remember' section of the newsletter and also on the calendar on our school app. 

Next week a copy of your contact details that we have on file will be sent home to each family to check. It is imperative that the school has correct and accurate student medical information and parent contact information, including your email address. When you receive this information, please check the details and update if required and return to the school. If there are no changes, there is no need to return the form.

Road Safety

Please be very careful when dropping off and collecting your children and observe the parking restrictions around the school. Traffic police patrol this area and issue parking infringements. We have parents who need access to the disabled parking in Saunders Street and in the Church car park, so these spaces can only be used by cars displaying the appropriate permit on their windscreen.  When crossing the road, it is essential that you use the designated school crossing areas. Please do not park on or near the crossing. I also ask that parents do not bring dogs into the school grounds. Please remember to walk bikes/scooters across the crossing and in the school yard and don't forget that students have to wear a helmet  when riding to and from school.

School Hours

Please remember that school commences each day at 8.50 a.m. Students are not to arrive at school prior to 8:30 a.m. which is when teacher supervision commences. Should you need to drop your child off prior to 8:30 a.m. please make arrangements to utilise our Before School Program. All students must be at school by 8.45 am. For further information about our morning routine, please click on the link below.

Classroom Morning Teas

Commencing this week, each teacher will be hosting an informal morning tea in the staffroom from 8:45 a.m. to 9:15 a.m. This is an opportunity for you to meet and get to know your child's teacher, and also to catch up with other parents from your child's class. I strongly encourage all parents to attend these morning teas. 

Parent Teacher Conversation

Parent teacher conversations will take place on Thursday February 22. School will finish at 1:00 p.m. on this day. The purpose of these interviews is for you to meet your child's teacher and to talk about your child. Teachers won't be reporting on your child's progress at this time. This year, these interviews are not compulsory. If you know the teacher well or have caught up with them at another time, it is not essential to book a time, although you are most welcome to. Today you will receive details on how to book an interview time which can also be accessed below.

Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund

The Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund (CSEF) provides payments for eligible students to attend activities including: school camps, excursions and incursions. Please check this link to see if you are eligible and to access the application form. CSE Website 

Homework Policy

The staff have updated our homework policy and expectations. To assist parents understanding our rationale and also to be fully aware of what is required, we are offering two parent information sessions in the library on:

• Thursday February 15 at 9:00 a.m.  and 2:45 p.m.

I encourage parents to attend one of these sessions. 

Parent Information Night

Please keep Tuesday March 6 from 7:00 - 8:00 p.m. free. On this night we will be conducting an information session to share with parents information about some of our approaches to teaching literary and numeracy. This will be an informative and practical session where parents will be able to participate in three 20 minute workshops. More information will be provided closer to the event. I encourage all parents to attend. 

School Fees

School Fees were sent home today. Accounts are generally sent home twice each term and prompt payment of the term fee is required. Payment can be made by cash, cheque, credit card or eftpos and EFT. Please contact the office if you have any questions about payment options. Please refer to the link below for further information about our school fees.

Thank You

Special thank you to Harry and Liz Louca, who generously donated and installed an outdoor musical frame for the students. It has already seen plenty of action and I'm sure our neighbours are enjoying the tunes!

2019 Prep Enrolments

Already we have had a number of enquiries about Prep 2019. Applications open on Tuesday March 13, 2018. Please encourage your family, friends and neighbours with a child starting Prep next year to apply.

We are taking bookings for our school tours on the following dates:

• Wednesday  March 14 at 9:30 a.m.
• Thursday  March 15 at 9:30 a.m.

Assembly

Our whole school assemblies take place on even weeks (newsletter weeks) commencing Week Four on February 23rd. Mr Frazzetto's class will be leading this assembly. We will also be presenting our school leaders at this assembly and they will receive the special badges. 

Our school newsletter is published every second Monday and is distributed via email and is available on our school App. If you are aware of someone who doesn't receive it, please ask them to contact the office. Please make sure that you read the newsletter each week, as it is the main channel of communication between school and home. 

Thank you for ensuring that your child is wearing the correct summer uniform which includes the school hat. I encourage all students to wear sunscreen each day.

I am looking forward to another wonderful year of learning and fun. I would like to wish everyone in our community a very successful and happy year. On behalf of all the staff we are looking forward to working with your children over this coming year. If you have any concerns or queries, please do not hesitate to contact me at any stage. We ask St Fidelis to continue to bless our Parish School Community and help us to all to be ‘Always and everywhere faithful.’

Kevin Gleeson.