Principal's Message
Welcome 2024 Preps!
Dear Families,
Our Blessings upon our Children for the 2024 School Year!
Heavenly Father,
As our children embark on the journey of beginning a new school year, especially for those starting fresh, we come before you with hearts full of hope and gratitude.
We thank you for the gift of their lives and the opportunity for them to learn and grow in knowledge and wisdom.
We pray for their protection, both physically and spiritually, as they navigate the challenges and joys of the school year.
Surround them with your loving presence and guide them in making wise choices.
Grant them courage to face new experiences, confidence to believe in themselves, and resilience to overcome any obstacles they may encounter.
May they be surrounded by supportive teachers, caring classmates, and positive influences that foster their growth and development.
Help them to cultivate a love for learning, a spirit of curiosity,
and a heart of compassion for others.
May they always strive for excellence, in their learning and in their relationships.
Give us, as parents and guardians, the wisdom and patience to nurture and support our children in their educational journey.
Help us to be actively involved in their lives, to listen attentively, and to provide them with the guidance and encouragement they need.
Above all, may our children always walk in your ways.
May they grow in faith, hope, and love,
becoming beacons of your light in the world.
We entrust our children into your loving care,
knowing that you are with them always.
Amen.
Welcome to the 2024 School Year!
It has been terrific to welcome our 2024 Prep class, a class of 43 very eager, confident and enthusiastic children. We also warmly welcome 4 children enrolling into classes from Year One through to Year Six. We welcome Jayden (Year 6 – 5/6D), Jonathan and Arhum (Year 3 - 3/4H) and James (Year 1 – 1/2L). We hope that our new children find great happiness, and many new friendships, as they settle into the St Andrew’s community.
Our welcome extends to all new families to the St Andrew’s community. We currently have enrolment numbers at 330 students for the 2024 school year.
We welcome 3 new staff members to St Andrew’s community in 2024.
We welcome Allison McKenzie (Learning Diversity & Wellbeing Leader), Emily Casaceli (Year 3/4 ) and Lachlan Ware (Year 3/4) to our team. We are excited to welcome our 3 new colleagues and friends. New staff bring new skills, new personalities and new insights into the classrooms and staff room. We wish each of our new staff members a most enjoyable and fulfilling time at St Andrew’s.
Full details on the roles of our new colleagues are detailed below as published in December, 2024.
A copy of the 2024 Staffing allocation can be found below.
STAFF LIST 2024
Prep C Holly Capomolla/Milena Santoro (Fri)
Prep R Rosemary Restaino/Milena Santoro (Thu)
YEAR 1/2 W Karen Williams
YEAR 1/2 Q Lauren Quintal
YEAR 1/2 L Lucy Levett/Maggie Sproul (Fri)
YEAR 1/ 2 V Gabi Vass
YEAR 1/2 A Natalie Arhontis/Maggie Sproul (Wed)
YEAR 3/4 T Tahira Tannen
YEAR 3/4 W Lachlan Ware
YEAR 3/4 C Emily Casaceli
YEAR 3/4 G Rachel Gurvich
YEAR 3/4 H Annette Howe/Milena Santoro (Wed)
YEAR 5/6 DW Sarah DeGuzman-Wettenhall
YEAR 5/6 MF Joachim Min Fa
YEAR 5/6 C Rosario Corio
YEAR 5/6 P Daniella Polites/Nella Lo Presti (Fri)
REL (Religious Education Leader) Nicole Black
TEACHING & LEARNING (Leader) Emma Strom
LITERACY Holly Capomolla
NUMERACY Lucy Levett
LEARNING DIVERSITY Allison McKenzie
STUDENT WELLBEING Allison McKenzie
DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES Emma Cooper (Thu-Fri)
STEM/CODING Emma Cooper
SUSTAINABILITY Nella Lo Presti (Thu)
MUSIC/PERFORMING ARTS Emma Cooper
ART Catherine Bartlett
ITALIAN Maria White
PHYSICAL EDUCATION/SPORT Beth Kromer
READING RECOVERY Nicole Milne
LIBRARY TECHNICIAN Sonia Turco
SOCIAL MEDIA Rosemary Restaino
COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS Rosemary Restaino
SCHOOL COUNSELLOR Anita Arslanian
SPEECH THERAPIST Evelyn Wee (Mon & Wed)
EDUCATION SUPPORT STAFF
Cathy Wise Mary Cerra
Gora Vulic Wendy Scherer
Violet Tripi Annette Prete
Jessica De Lisle Sophie Blackney
Ella Johnston Katarina Littlejohn
ADMINISTRATION Annette Fullman
BURSAR Marie Bernard
RELIGIOUS EDUCATION LEADER Nicole Black
DEPUTY PRINCIPAL/ADMIN Nicole Black
DEPUTY PRINCIPAL/LEARNING & TEACHING Emma Strom
PRINCIPAL Paul Wakeling
Beginning of Year Morning Tea - Welcome Prep Families
Tomorrow - Friday 2nd February - 8.30am - 9.30am (Under the golden elm tree)
All families are invited to our Beginning of School Year/Parent & Friends Morning Tea this Friday from 8.30am. We look forward to gathering for a coffee and a chat under the golden elm tree, adjacent to the Staffroom and Church.
Join us to catch up with old friends or join us as families of our Prep 2024 children, or families new to our community in Years 1-6, to celebrate exciting times and new friendships!
A coffee van will be onsite providing free refreshments for adults only.
Cyber Safety Evening for Year 3 - 6 - along with an open invitation to all
Session: Raising Kids in a Digital World 2024 - School Hall
Presenters: Martin McGauran & Carley McGauran
Date: Tuesday 6th February
Time: 7.00pm - 8.30am (90min)
Parents of Year 3- 6 children are requested to attend a Cyber Safety Evening to be held on Tuesday 6th February (7.00pm - 8.30pm). We are requesting the attendance of at least one parent of each child in Year 3 - 6.
The evening is also an open invitation to all parents from Prep to Year 2. With the children accessing the use of one-to-one Chromebooks in 2024 it is essential that both parents, students and staff are aware of the responsible use of technology at home and at school.
Beginning at 7pm parents will be led through a Cyber Safety presentation by our guest presenters, Martin McGauran and Carley McGauran.
Baby sitting will be provided on the evening. Weather permitting, children will be supervised on the school oval.
All classes will be led through Cyber Safety sessions with their class teachers throughout the first weeks of term 1 and throughout the school year.
Please click on the link below to register your attendance
Beginning of Year Whole School Mass - Tuesday 6th February (9.00am)
Families are invited to join us for our Beginning of the Year School Mass celebrated next Tuesday 6th February. With Fr Joe taking a well earned holiday break we welcome Fr John Murphy to celebrate the mass with us next Tuesday.
School Assembly - Presentation of Year 6 Leadership Badges
We will be welcoming our children, along with families, to the first assembly of the school year to be held on Friday 16th February (9.00am - 9.30am). At the assembly we will be presenting our 2024 leadership badges to the year 6 children who will fulfill various leadership roles throughout the year. We warmly invite all families to join us for the presentation of badges.
Food Sharing Policy - Birthday Party Gift bags etc
We direct the attention of families to the link below to the school’s Food Sharing Policy. The policy provides details on the school’s approach to the sharing of food, inclusive of families supplying birthday items and classroom cooking events, eg. Pancakes.
Please find below a precis of the policy and the link below to the full ‘Food Sharing Policy’.
Implementation:
At the beginning of each year the school will inform parents of the ‘Food Sharing Policy’ in the school newsletter.
When children celebrate a birthday, home-cooked food items are not permitted to be provided for the whole class, e.g. a container of cupcakes. This applies to all home cooked and prepared foods. Parents can provide students with bought packaged foods (such as a lollypop or packaged chocolate), a different experience, an item or an unusual treat, i.e. party hats, drink bottle to keep, etc. Food items are required to be taken home for students to eat.
A wide variety of learning and school based activities may include the handling of food. Three day’s notification will be given to parents of children with life threatening food allergies of any foods used during these activities as part of the classroom or wider school program.
Playground Supervision
Please note that the school grounds are supervised before school from 8.15am through to 3.30pm. Children should not be on the grounds prior to 8.15am or after 3.30pm. Please remind children that if they have not been collected after school then they must return to the school office.
Mobile Phones
We remind all children, and their parents, that any mobile phones brought to school by children must be handed to the classroom teacher when the child enters the classroom. Children will access their phones at the end of each day. Phones are not to remain in school bags.
Student Access to Apple Watches/watches linked to phones etc
In so many ways the schooling experience of our children is greatly enriched by the advances in technology. But perhaps not always! We are aware that a number of our children have access to Apple Watches and other ‘watch technologies’ eg. Fitbits, which have the capacity to alert children to incoming messages and internet access. We advise parents that children should not be accessing messaging/phone services at any stage throughout the school day. Any children who would access devices for that purpose are at risk of losing access to these devices during school times.
We request that parents please advise any children with access to these devices about the expectations around the use of them whilst at school.
St Andrew’s Online Newsletter - iNewsletter
We advise new families to St Andrew’s in 2024 that our school newsletter is published each Thursday and uploaded to our school website, distributed on the Audiri App and emailed to parents.
The iNewsletter provides important information relating to school management, curriculum activities and class notices.
To subscribe and receive future issues of our school iNewsletter please visit
https://newsletters.naavi.com/p/pN3pjJq/subscribe
The newsletters will only be distributed in hard copy for new families for a limited period.
Different Languages - Families please note that at the bottom of the inewsletter page there is a tab that you can click on that provides access to the newsletter being translated into numerous different languages.
Prep Students Rest Days
Prep parents please be aware that Prep Rest Days are on Wednesdays during February.
Wednesday 7th, Wednesday 14th, Wednesday 21st and Wednesday 28th February.
Preps will commence full time Monday to Friday from 4th March.
Bunney Road Parking Bay - ‘Kiss & Go’ - 2 Minute Parking Restrictions to be enforced
We remind all families of the parking restrictions of the ‘Kiss and Go’ zone on Bunney Road. We advise families that the Kiss and Go zone will be actively monitored by the Kingston Council with parking fines distributed if parking restrictions are not adhered to. We advise families to inform carers, friends or grandparents etc of these parking regulations.
Bunney Road Parking Guidelines
Bunney Road Kiss & Drop - Parents/guardians cannot park and exit the vehicle in the ‘Kiss and Drop’ zone on Bunney Road.
Before School - The Kiss and Drop Zone is an area near the school gates on Bunney Road that enables you to drop your child off safely and quickly. The intention is that drivers do not wait in these zones and that they stay in the vehicle so that drop off is streamlined and traffic queues are minimised.
Children will exit their vehicle on the left side and immediately enter the school grounds by either of the 2 school gates on Bunney Road.
The Kiss and Drop Zone is supervised by school staff before and after school.
After School - Children will exit their classrooms at 3.15pm and if directed to by parents/guardians will proceed to the ‘Kiss and Drop’ zone on Bunney Road. A staff member will be at the site to ensure children safely enter cars and that there is a smooth flow of traffic.
As the parent/guardian enters the ‘Kiss and Drop’ zone their children will enter the vehicle on the left hand side. Parents/guardians then drive away from the zone.
If your child is not present parents will be asked to move on and return to collect your child, so as to prevent holding up the traffic flow. To wait for your child will mean that the parking is held up for all other families.
Year 3 & 4 Swimming Program - Commencing Monday 12th February
The Year 3 and 4 children will be the first of our year levels to access the Aquastar Swim School, Cheltenham. They will undertake an 8 day program commencing from Monday 12th February.
We are currently negotiating swimming dates for the remaining year levels, as we negotiate times in the year that are free from bookings from schools already accessing the program.
| Swim lesson start time | End time | Session | Class |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12.00pm | 12.45 | 45 mins | 3/4W & 3/4T |
| 12.45pm | 1.30 | 45 mins | 3/4G & 3/4C |
| 1.30pm | 2.15 | 45 mins | 3/4H |
2024 Program Costs - $130
The Prep - Year 6 Swimming Program will involve 8 lessons across a 2 week schedule. Each lesson will run for 45 minutes. The current program was a 40 minute lesson.
The cost for the program, including swim program and bus costs, will be at $130 per child.
Working Bee - Saturday 2nd March - 8.30am - 10.30am
We look forward to welcoming parents to the first Working Bee of the school year on Saturday 2nd March from 8.30am. An Operoo form will be sent out to register your attendance in the coming fortnight.
Parents are requested to sign in at the desk outside the school office on arrival and to sign out when you depart.
A job list providing outlines of the various tasks to be covered on the morning will be available.
We encourage parents with wheelbarrows, shovels, brooms, rakes etc to bring them along for the morning. We aim for a clean up of the site and a replacement of mulch that was swept away in our recent floods.
Thank you to all participants.
2024 School Calendar
The 2024 School Calendar is available on the School Website. It can be found mid-way down on the front page under the heading ‘WHAT’S ON’. We will endeavour, where possible, to remain true to the dates on the 2024 calendar. We would recommend that parents make a regular visit to the school website to see updates on all school events.
Student/Family Contact Information - Can we contact you in an emergency?
We ask all parents to advise the office of any changes to personal contact details.
Medical Issues
Please contact the school office if there are any medical issues that we should be aware of for your child. It is most important that all medical forms, asthma and anaphylaxis plans, are updated for the 2024 school year and returned promptly.
Student Medication
All student medication should be left at the front office for appropriate storage. Parents will be requested to complete a student medication plan document to ensure that medication is given at the correct time and in the correct dosage. If parents have any concerns or requests regarding first aid please contact the school office.
Save the Date -Prep to Year 6 Athletics Carnival - Friday 22nd March (1pm-3.00pm)
Parents please note in your calendars that our Twilight Athletics evening will be held on Friday 22nd March. More details to come.
‘No Hat - No Play’
With term 1 upon us we remind parents that children are required to wear their school hat to school, at all outdoor sessions and home from school. The school has a ‘No Hat – No Play’ SunSmart policy.
Please note that with the additions of the blue shade structures outside the Prep classrooms and the church we now have greater capacity for children to play in areas providing shade.
Lunch Orders - Classroom Cuisine
Parents will be required to register with the Classroom Cuisine website https://classroomcuisine.com.au to order lunches. Lunches can be ordered weekly on a Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
Meals are ordered and paid for through an online portal. Orders can be made on days prior to or up to 8.30am on the day required. No orders will be processed after 8.30am. Meals are delivered to the school each day in classroom designated containers between 11am-12.30pm.
Parents can refer to the Classroom Cuisine website - https://classroomcuisine.com.au for full details of the online ordering process and meal options available.
Taekwondo lessons commence Tuesday 13th February
Master Spiridon has advised that Taekwondo lessons will commence on the 13th February 2024. Times will be as per usual 3.30pm until 4.15 pm at the St Andrews Hall.
Child Safe Practices - Working with Children Checks
St Andrew’s School is committed to providing a child safe environment and takes active steps to ensure any person authorised to conduct ‘child connected works’ does not pose a risk to their safety or welfare. To achieve this, the school implements screening processes, including Working With Children Checks (WWCC), to assess and verify their suitability.
St Andrew’s School ensures that non-teaching staff, contractors, volunteers and visitors are of suitable character and do not have a relevant criminal record that poses an unjustifiable risk to children.
Teaching Staff & Casual Relief Teachers who are registered with the Victorian Institute of Teaching (VIT) undergo criminal record checks via their annual registration.
Volunteering to Assist with School Programs- WWCC
Parents would be aware that to assist with any of our school programs that all volunteers, parents/guardians/family members are required to have a current Working With Children Check on our school records.
Please refer to the following site for details on accessing a WWCC.
Family members are to provide a copy of the WWCC to the school office.
Audiri School App– Please ensure you download the Audiri App to get alerts for weekly newsletters, important announcements and reminders.
Paul Wakeling
Principal