WELCOME TO THE NEW SCHOOL YEAR!!

Welcome back to all our wonderful students. We look forward to our new Kindergarten students starting this Friday.

A couple of reminders.........

School Supervision

Supervision of students begins at 8.25 am. Children are encouraged not to arrive at school before that time. The Rusden Street entrance is not opened until 8:20am. Students arriving before supervision commences are requested to sit quietly until the teachers are on duty.

Access to the school is through the Rusden Street entrance. After school students not travelling by bus are supervised in the corridor outside the staffroom. Parents picking up students need to do so from the

At 3.10pm parents can use the pick up/drop off zone at the front of the school or walk to the front of the school and staff will send students out when parents park in that zone.

If children are not collected by 3.40pm, parents will be contacted and the students will need to be picked up from the office.

It is important that children are at school on time every morning as process completed in the first ten minutes in classrooms establish the learning and activities for the day. Children arriving after the commencement of school or leaving prior to 3.10 pm must be signed in or out at the school office.

School Commences : 8.50 am

First Lunch: 10.50 am – 11.30 am

Second Lunch: 1.30 pm – 2.10 pm

School Finishes: 3.10 pm

The school office is open from 8.30 am – 4.00pm each day to assist with all enquiries.

Student Absences

Students are encouraged to be at school at all times. The need to travel during term time is recognised, however families are encouraged where possible to arrange family holidays for the scheduled school breaks.

Absences of less than 10 days require a note be written to the grade facilitators of learning notifying them of an upcoming absence. Absences of 10 days or longer require an Application for Extended Leave form to be completed. These forms are available for collection from the school office. In the case of illness, an explanation of the child’s absence is required. An absence entry can be entered by the parent on the Compass portal. If the school has not been notified about an absence, a SMS will be sent out enquiring about the reason for the child's absence.

While the school appreciates our families right to privacy, a response of “AWAY” to an SMS enquiry is not sufficient, as it does not provide enough information for office staff to enter the absence. “Travelling with family”, “attending family wedding”, “sick with sore throat” are examples of acceptable responses.

Afternoon Pick ups...

All parents collecting their children after school are asked to park near the Rusden St entrance. To assist with traffic flow at this time, please use your family name signs as this makes identifying your vehicle much easier for all staff. If you require another family name sign, please ask at the school office and one will be made up for you.

Supervising staff will let your child/ren know they may exit the school building, enabling you to stay with your vehicle.

Only children catching the bus may exit via Jessie Street.

We thank all parents for their cooperation with these arrangements to make the busy before and after school times as safe and streamlined as possible.

Collection Notice For Parents

Please see the attached document regarding the Collection of Information for parents. We ask all parents who may have changed contact details or address in the last 12 months to make sure that their contact details are up to date in Compass. Thank you for your assistance.

School Uniforms for Term 1

Term 1 Sport Uniform days are as follows:

Tuesday - Year 1, Year 2 and Year 3 - yellow sports shirts

Wednesday - Year 4 - yellow sports shirts

Thursday - Kinder, Year 5 and Year 6 - yellow sports shirts

Friday - All classes - coloured house shirts

All other days students wear their summer uniform.

School Fees for 2021

School fees have risen slightly for the 2021 school year. The new school fee structure for this year is as follows:

Fees (including book & activity fee - $53/child/term) and building levy ($30/child/term)

Per Term

1 Child $430

2 Children $800

3 Children $1050

4 Children $1250

5 Children $1308 (5th child is activity fee $53 only)

Families who pay their school fees by direct debit are reminded to review their periodical payment amount and increase it if necessary. Adjustment forms can be collected from the school office.

Any families who are having financial difficulty are reminded that they can make an appointment with the Principal to make arrangements for school fee payment.

School Fee Statements for this term will be sent out this week.

Any outstanding school fees will need to be finalised ASAP, please contact Judi Hansen at the school office.

Newsletter Contributions

Contributions for the next newsletter need to be emailed to smaadmin@arm.catholic.edu.au by 5pm, Tuesday 16th February 2021.

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