Principal News

Dear Members of the St Rap[hael’s school community,

In this newsletter:

• Farewells and thanks
• Family Calendar and Start of 2022 School Year Arrangements
• Staffing News
• Refunds/ Credits
• Vaccination for 5 - 11-Year-Old Children
• 2022 School Calendar

As we come to the end of the 2021 school year, I would like to thank a number of people for their support and assistance throughout what has been another tumultuous year interrupted by lockdowns and remote learning. This year has been a ‘team effort’.

A massive thank you and congratulations on how you have conducted yourselves throughout this year to all of the children. It has been challenging to learn remotely, but you have all shown incredible resilience to face the challenges presented to you this year.  To our departing Year 6 children - good luck for the years ahead, and don’t be a stranger to our school. We are proud of how you have conducted yourselves throughout the difficulties of the last two years, and I look forward to hearing how your educational journeys continue. 

To the parents - you too have been an incredible support to your children and the school. We appreciate how difficult it has been to juggle the pressure of work commitments and how to school your children. Together, we have managed to get through this time, and we are incredibly grateful for your assistance. To our departing families, we wish you all every success into the future, and we thank you for your ongoing support of the school during your children’s time at St Raphael’s. Finally, a big thank you to all parents who had a chance to volunteer and assist this year. Your support is invaluable, and we look forward to having you back for on and off-site experiences for the children next year. 

To the magnificent teachers and support staff at St Raphael’s. Once again this year, I saw your dedication, commitment, and professionalism rise to the occasion. You have worked tirelessly to provide an online and on-site learning experience for the children. Your willingness to support all children at home and on-site reflects your deep passion for teaching, and I am so lucky to have such wonderful colleagues to work alongside.

To Rosalba Squarci, Shane Giese, Lynette Gamble, and our school leadership team members. Big decisions require consulation, discussions and thought. Your dedication, commitment and passion for demanding the best for the children of St Raphael’s has been an incredible support. In addition, you have mentored other staff and are deeply committed to the whole school improvement.

To Fr Simon - a huge thank you for your tremendous support and spiritual guidance throughout this year for all of the staff and students in the school community. When we all needed Hope, Fr Simon has displayed this Gospel value throughout lockdowns with his unwavering support to many families and parishioners in our community. 

To our elected members of the School Advisory Board - thank you for your input and good counsel throughout the year. As the parent voice of our community, it has been great to work with you as we look at the school's strategic direction, financial management, and day-to-day operations. I look forward to continuing to work with you next year as we participate in our quadrennial school review.

The Uniform Shop volunteers have been a  great assistance to so many parents during this year. As parent volunteers, we thank you for providing this important service to our school community. These volunteers spend enormous time sourcing good quality uniforms from ethical supply chains. A special thank you to Melissa McCarthy, who has been a long-standing member and leader of the Uniform shop who has overseen the transformation of the school uniform in recent years. Melissa’s youngest son, Daniel, finishes Year 6 this year, and this ends a long association of the McCarthy family with St Raphael’s. We wish Melissa and her family all the very best for the future.

I trust that everyone has a safe, happy and Holy Christmas and new year. I hope we all have a chance to spend some time with our family and friends, celebrate, rejuvenate and reset with optimism for the upcoming 2022 school year. As our world gets on top of this virus, we look forward to many exciting initiatives planned for 2022 for the children and the broader school community.

May God bless you all, and we look forward to welcoming you all back safely at the end of January 2022.

Regards,

Damian

Family Calendar and Start of 2022 School Year

We have attached the 2022 Family Calendar. Please note the dates for the start of the school year. The children will return on Monday 31st January or Tuesday 1st February 2022. Every child will need to be booked into a session via PTO online. Lynette will forward these booking details for you to complete in the coming weeks. When your children have been assigned a time slot, they will attend school, dressed in casual clothes and undergo assessment tasks with their teachers. It is also an excellent way for the teachers and students to spend some time together before the official commencement of the school year on Wednesday 2nd February.

Staff News

We say goodbye this year to two homeroom teachers, Bella Sullivan-Barry and Emily Jamieson. Bella has bought a house and is moving down to the Mornington Penisula and has accepted a position at Banyule Fields Primary School. Emily will be taking some time off from teaching in 2022. We thank Bella and Emily for the work at our school in 2021, and we wish them all the very best for the future.

We are pleased to announce the appointment of Annie Dullard (Year 5/6), Michelle Slattery (Foundation) and Georgia Cavin (Year 1/2), who will be joining our staff in 2022. We look forward to working with these teachers, and I a sure you will join me in welcoming them into our friendly school community in 2022.

The following is the staffing for the 2022 school year:

Leadership Team

Rosalba Squarci ~ Deputy Principal/ Religious Education Leading Teacher

Shane Giese ~ Deputy Principal/ STEM Leading Teacher

Annie McNaughton: Student Diversity/ Student Wellbeing Leading Teacher

Melanie Pizzonia: Literacy Leading Teacher

Emma Sbizzirri: Maths Leading Teacher

Lorraine Uzunovski ~ Walker Learning Approach Leading Teacher

Homeroom Teachers

Foundation: Lorraine Uzunovski & Michelle Slattery

Year 1/2G & 1/2P: Georgia Cavin & Paige Frazer 1/2T & 1/2J: Phoebe Tune & Jackie Moloney/ Melanie Pizzonia

3/4K, 3/4L & 3/4B: Kaitlyn McMillan, Linda Pham & Belinda Hirschauer

5/6M, 5/6E, 5/6A: Max Allan, Matthew Vernal/ Emma Sbizzirri & Annie Dullard 

Specialist Teachers

Art: Alannah Sarafian

Science: Julie Garbutt

PE: Matthew Vernal

Teaching Support

Year 1/2: Rosalba Squarci ~ Intervention/ Extension

Year 3/4 & FL release for SPiCE program: Lauren Bell ~ Intervention/ Extension 

Year 5/6: Shane Giese ~ Intervention/ Extension

Annie McNaughton: Student Diversity/ Student Wellbeing

Melanie Pizzonia: Literacy

Emma Sbizzirri: Maths

Alfie Colosi ~ Reading Recovery (Year 1/2 only)

Supported Play in Childhood Education (SPiCE) Program: Lorraine Uzunovski

Education Support Officers ~ Anna Fedele, Maria De Cata, Catherine Talarico, Connie Payne, Aidan Baynes, Kate Bailey and Will Ryan.

Office/ Administration

Lynette Gamble

Christine McNiece

Refunds and Credits

Excursion, Aquatic and Camp Refunds and Credits 2021

Please find attached a form for refunds for the 2021 school levies. We thank you for your patience. All refunds will be by application only, and the attached form must be completed by  30th January 2022 to receive the refund.

These refunds and credits have been calculated on cancelled activities due to this year’s lockdowns, including camps, excursions, aquatic education and sports carnivals. 

The following amounts have been recently ratified by our school accountant, Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic School Business Manager, and our volunteer parent School Advisory Board (SAB) members.

Foundation - Year 4: $165

Year 5/6:  $550

The following form details how to apply for a refund only before the end of January. All accounts will be automatically credited with the amounts described above and deducted from the upcoming 2022 school fees and levy accounts if credit is preferred and a refund request is not received by 30th January 2022.

Form to complete for refund/credit

https://forms.gle/nsZopZX7ECVtWpR16

Vaccination for 5 -11-Year-Old Children

We have just received the following information from Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools via the Department of Health. We have been asked to share this with our school community for parent consideration.

Vaccinations for 5–11-year-old children

Children aged 5 to 11 will be eligible for COVID-19 vaccinations from 10 January 2022.

Getting vaccinated is the best way to protect our school communities from further outbreaks and the spread of COVID-19.

The vaccine is one-third of the adult dose and will be delivered over two appointments, expected to be eight weeks apart. 

The time between the two doses can be shortened in special circumstances, such as in an outbreak response or for international travel.

The Victorian Government aims to enable all children aged 5 to 11 to receive at least one vaccine dose before they return to school and a second dose before the end of Term 1, 2022.

Parents/carers are strongly encouraged to book their child in to receive their first vaccination as soon as possible after 10 January 2022. 

The attached letter is regarding an online information session hosted by the Royal Children’s Hospital via Facebook Live on Thursday 16 December at 11.00 am.

2022 School Family Calendar

Please find attached the 2022 School Family Calendar. Please be aware that some of these dates may change, and the school will notify you in advance should these changes need to be made.