P&F & School Advisory Council Meeting

Please note that the P&F meeting will be rescheduled from Wednesday the 17th of August due to a Principal Meeting being held in Moree on that day. A new date for this will be advised.

Please note the new date for the School Advisory Council meeting which is to be held on Wednesday the 31st of August at 6.00pm. Please send any agenda items through to guyadmin@arm.catholic.edu.au

Regional Australia Bank - Community Partnership Program

The Community Partnership Program allows members to support their local community by transacting with a selected savings account and nominating a local community group they are passionate about. Regional Australia Bank then calculates the average annual balance and will donate the equivalent of 0.75% to the chosen group.

St Mary of the Angels School P&F Association were lucky enough to be chosen to be a part of the partnership program with a total of $2,144.75 earned. We are so blessed to be a part of the wonderful Guyra Community.

Farrer Experience Day for Year 5 students - 23rd September 2022

To attend this day, families are encouraged to Register on the Farrer website if they would like to attend.

If you have any questions please do not hesitate in contact 6764 8607.

Skills Questionnaire

Our students were lucky enough to have Jon Welsh and Riley Carroll coach our rugby league team that recently travelled to Inverell to compete. On the back of that, we have designed this form for the school to learn about the outstanding skills and talents of our Parent and Carers. For the school to then possibly scaffold off these skills and encourage parent/carer engagement in the school. Please click on the link below & tell us more about you!

https://forms.gle/VsxdVZxodYHkrFFc7

Arriving Late or Leaving School Early

A reminder, due to child safety reasons the front gates of the school are closed as close to 9.00am as office duties allow each morning. If your child arrives after these gates have been closed and need to enter school through the front office they must be accompanied and signed in by a parent/carer as they are then considered late.

School Attendance

What if my child has to stay away from school?

If your child has to be absent from school, you must inform the school and provide a reason for your child’s absence.

A small number of absences may be accepted by the principal.

For example, if your child has to

- Attend a special religious ceremony

- Is required to attend to a serious and/or urgent family situation (e.g. a funeral)

- Is too sick to go to school or has an infectious illness.

How can you provide a reason for absence?

There are a number of options available to notify the school:

- Compass

- send an email to guyadmin@arm.catholic.edu.au

OR

- call the school on 02 67791661

Working with Children Check

As COVID restrictions start to ease we can welcome parents and carers back into our school. With that being said we need to remind you that anyone coming into the school as a volunteer for example if you are attending school excursions, helping out at sporting events (swimming carnival, athletics carnival or cross country), assisting with P&F events or anything that involves children we are required by law to have your working with children check on file. This WWCC lasts 5 years and are free to obtain under the volunteer section.

You can apply for this through the Service NSW website by clicking on this link https://www.service.nsw.gov.au/transaction/apply-working-children-checkIf you have to obtain or renew your WWCC please email this to our school admin email guyadmin@arm.catholic.edu.au along with your date of birth as we require this for the check to be verified. If we already have your current WWCC on file you do not have to resend this to the school. Please don’t hesitate to contact the school if you have any questions. Thank you

SchoolTV

SchoolTV offers parents a fresh approach to the growing issues and pressures faced by Australian youth. SchoolTV is a unique online resource delivering powerful and credible information to empower parents with the skills to address these issues and raise happy, well and resilient kids.

SPECIAL REPORT: Sextortion - what you need to know

You may not be familiar with the term, but ‘sextortion' is a form of blackmail where someone threatens to share intimate images of you unless you give in to their demands. It has been an issue for more than a decade, with many adults falling victim to this type of online crime. More recently though, it has been reported that there has been a higher rate of adolescent males falling victim, but that is not to say that young females are not also targeted.

Across the globe, organised criminal gangs are using social media, chat apps, instant messaging platforms and online games to target and connect with their victims. Recently, there has been a 400% increase in this type of crime being reported to police in Australia alone with these figures being replicated in most western countries. Any child that uses an online account to connect on social media, chat apps, instant messaging platforms or online games needs to understand the dangers associated with engaging with random people that they don’t know personally. Therefore, it is vitally important for adult carers to be aware of this serious issue and to start having an age appropriate conversation with their young person as early as possible to help protect them from online offenders making demands.

Even though your young person’s online account may be set to private, random people can still message your child. Managing devices can be difficult especially with older teens, but it is important to weigh up the risks and dangers. Sadly, even good kids who never make a poor decision elsewhere in their life, can and do make poor choices online.This Special Report explains how your young person can fall victim to such a crime and what action to take to support them. We hope you take a moment to reflect on the information offered, and as always, we welcome your feedback.

If you do have any concerns about the wellbeing of your child, please contact the school for further information or seek medical or professional help.

Here is the link to your special report https://stmarysguyra.catholic.schooltv.me/wellbeing_news/special-report-sextortion

Notice Board