Principal News

Dear members of the St Raphael's school community,

After all that we have endured over the last six months, we welcome the recent news of zero cases of coronavirus in Victoria and the subsequent easing of restrictions. We ask for your continuing support of adhering to social distancing procedures at pick up and drop-off times.

We hope and pray that we continue on this course to freedom as we look forward with great anticipation to the prospect of summer and spending the upcoming Christmas season with our family and friends.

This Sunday we celebrate the first Sunday of Advent. Advent is such an important time in our liturgical calendar. It is a time of waiting and expectation; a season of quiet anticipation and preparation. We are waiting for our Lord to come into the world. 

Advent is a season for God to come and set the world right with perfect justice, truth and peace. Advent is a time for prayers of commitment, gladness and joyful expectation. It is a season of hope. Hope is one of our school’s four Gospel values.

During Advent, we await the light of Christ coming into the world. It is that hope, however faint at times, that keeps us from despair. It is hope that urges us to be kind, loving and compassionate toward one another. It is a hope that encourages our faith in a merciful God who continues to pour His grace upon us.

You give us this season of Advent as a gift of time to

prepare for the coming of Jesus Christ.

But all too often we turn this gift into a source of frenzy, stress and anxiety;

a time when we prepare for a Christmas celebration looking perfect on the outside,

but spiritually exhausting and without true meaning.

Restore in us that inherent quest for quiet expectation and hope.

Show us the way to a more peaceful, prayerful disposition that

makes us more open.

And give us the courage to let go of things that are

ultimately unimportant to the true meaning of Christmas.

Help us be good stewards of this Advent season,

so that on the Feast of the Nativity,

we will be ready with our own sacred space for the arrival of

your Son, Jesus Christ.

Amen.

Source the International Catholic Stewardship Council, Catholic Stewardship, December 2016, e-Bulletin

Children's Behaviour

As we enter the final few weeks of the 2020 school year I encourage all parents to contact your child’s homeroom teacher if your child is currently experiencing any friendship issues since our return to school. 

After such a tumultuous year, we had predicted that some of the children would struggle with the return to school routines and reestablishing friendships. This was something that the staff had planned and prepared for before the children returned to school. 

Since returning, the staff have worked with the children on ‘reconnection’ and the importance of being a good friend, playing fairly and controlling emotions.

We have recently seen some uncharacteristic behaviours from children and have been working with them and their parents to regulate and control these emotional outbursts.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if your child is in need of support.

Parent Teacher 'Chats'

Whilst we normally conduct our Parent Teacher Interviews at the conclusion of Term One and Three, we felt that after such a tumultuous year that it was important to have a chat/ catch up with parents before the end of the 2020 school year. 

In the coming days, your child’s teacher will send details of how you can book a date and time to meet and discuss your child’s progress prior to the end of year school reports being sent home. 

After all of the hard work, dedication and commitment you displayed during the lockdown remote online home learning period, this ‘chat’ will be a great opportunity for you and your child's teacher to give and receive feedback on your child’s learning.

After what has been an incredibly disruptive year, we have worked closely with you throughout the year and want to assure you that with the pending return to normality in the 2021 school year that your child’s academic and learning needs will be supported.

Headstart Week

This year Headstart Week will be held on Monday 7th - Friday 11th December. During this week, the children will complete assessment tasks and prepare for the 2021 school year with their 2021 homeroom teacher and classmates.

In the coming weeks, the children will be notified of their homerooms for 2021.

Our 2020 Year 6 children will also have an opportunity to experience the Year 7 curriculum with guest secondary school teachers from surrounding schools conducting lessons in Maths, Science and Italian. They will also have an opportunity to have a Q&A session with Year 12 guest speakers who will talk about the important transition to secondary school.

Our teachers have been discussing and carefully planning the home groupings for next year based on each child's academic, social and emotional needs.

At St Raphael's, the children work collaboratively with the teachers and students across each year level throughout the day according to their specific learning needs.  

Parents have an enormous role in how their child views the changes for 2021. As parents, you need to trust that the teachers and the school are taking into account your child's social, emotional and academic needs to ensure that they maximise their learning in the best possible environment. We encourage you to support your child by being positive about this experience and assure them that the new year will bring great opportunities for learning. 

A positive parent will reassure that any new change will be a blessing – an opportunity for new friendships to be fostered and a chance to learn from teachers who will support and care for them.  These parents will find that their child develops resilience – an essential commodity necessary for adult life.  As a parent you have a choice – do I speak glowingly of the changes that my child faces, or will I model disappointment and anguish with my child?

We are very excited about this year’s Headstart Week and what 2021 will bring for all of the children.

Staffing News

As has been mentioned in previous newsletters, we farewell Ms Tina Colosi and Mrs Annette Marcon at the end of the school year. Both Tina and Annette have been integral members of the school’s leadership team who have overseen and implemented many of the current teaching practices that are in place throughout the school. We will officially farewell Annette and Tina in our final newsletter for the year.

At the end of the year, we will also farewell Mr James Downing and Ms Rachel Pearn. James has accepted a position as a Physical Education Teacher at Swan Hill Secondary College. Rachel is moving back to be with her family in Darwin, Northern Territory.

In 2021 we welcome to our school community Ms Bella Sullivan-Barry and Ms Emily Jamieson. We are also currently advertising for a middle/ senior school teacher. 

At this stage, we are still in the planning phase for all staffing for the 2021 school year and will notify parents in the coming weeks of these positions. 

As you may be aware, the recent announcement of the Victorian Government's 2021 Tutor Learning Program funding will enable us to provide additional support for all students throughout the school. We are extremely excited by our proposed plans for 2021 and believe that the literacy and numeracy support provided to the children will be explicit, targeted and at their point of need.

In the coming weeks, we will notify you of all staffing when these plans have been finalised.

Road Safety

A couple of weeks ago I was informed of a near collision at the school crossing on Gilbert Road between a driver running a red light and members of our school community. I subsequently wrote to Ged Kearney, Robin Scott, VicRoads and Darebin Council urging them to review the crossing and warning signals on the approach to the school crossing. 

I am pleased to inform you that they have addressed our concerns and modifications will commence in the coming weeks to improve the safety and visibility of the school crossing. Personally, I believe there is more that can be done to improve the safety of the crossing and I will pursue this with the Darebin Council in the new year. 

Please encourage your children to exercise extreme caution when using this dangerous crossing.

A reminder to all parents to exercise common sense and abide by all road signs around the school. Once again I have been contacted by some concerned parents who have reported the behaviours of some parents who are blatantly ignoring road signs and rules on the surrounding streets. I will have no choice but to again have to call on the assistance of Victoria Police and the Darebin Parking Officers to enforce fines to drivers who break the law. This is becoming embarrassing to be constantly contacting these authorities to help patrol the streets around our school. 

If you are one of the drivers that ignore the road rules and signage around our school then please, for the safety of all of the children in our school, refrain from this unacceptable and selfish behaviour. 

To those parents who comply with the law, please continue to call out these parents who are potentially putting at risk the safety and wellbeing of our children.

2021 School Fees and Levies

All Victorian Catholic primary schools receive funding via two sources:

1. State and Federal Government grants (approx. 80% of total funding)

2. Fees and levy parent contributions (approx. 20% of total funding) 

The fees and levies charged to parents assist the school by covering the costs of excursions, programs, utilities, resources and equipment to support the children’s learning.

A $200 discount will apply for fees and levies paid in full by 30th April 2021.There are also a number of payment options available including periodic (weekly, fortnightly or monthly) direct debit instalments. Please contact Lynette Gamble in the school office to discuss.

All levies have been carefully considered and we would like to reaffirm our commitment to making sure that fees and levies are kept at affordable for all members of our school community.

The following is our fee and levies for 2021. Please note that there is a $200 discount available off all fees and levies if paid in full by 30th April 2021.

Family Fee and Student Levy

The Family Fee is paid per family regardless of the number of children who attend the school. The Student Levy is paid per child.

The fees and levies cover the following costs: Curriculum costs, Literacy resources, Numeracy resources, Performing Arts resources and equipment, Visual Art resources, Excursions/ Incursions, Physical Education equipment, School Camps (Year 3/4 & 5/6), Religious Education Programs, Sacramental Programs (Year 3/4 & 6), Building and Grounds Maintenance, Teacher Resources, First Aid supplies, Investigation resources (Foundation – Year 2), ICT maintenance, resources and upgrades, Interschool Sport (Year 5/6), PDPSSA Sports Carnivals - Swimming, Athletics, Cross Country, Hooptime — trials, training and participation (Year 3 – 6), St Raphael's Sports Day, Footy Day, Kitchen Garden Program, Aquatic Education and Graduation (Year 6).