General News 

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WELCOME BACK

We are so excited to welcome everyone back for Term 4, 2026.  It will be busy so please check the calendar and Compass for dates and details of events  throughout the term. 

BOOK FAIR, DISCO, PARADE AND BBQ

This year the Book Fair will be held this Thursday the 22nd of October, in the School Library and the theme is 'Symphony of Stories'.  The BBQ and Disco will be held outside the Library.   Mrs Darnell will have our EFTPOS machine in the library.  Please do not use the credit card detail section on the back of the Book Fair pamphlets as this is too confusing.  The pamphlets are simply a guide for book availability. 

If it does not rain, the book fair will begin at 5.30pm and finish by 7pm.  Meal deals will be available on the night: Sausage sandwich, popper and a Zooper Dooper for $6 and can be purchased through; Compass/Canteen.  

Students will be able to complete their wish lists in the week prior to book fair with their classes. This is a lovely opportunity to purchase beautiful books for Christmas so please support our one and only Library Fundraiser for 2026. 

KINDER READINESS

We are so excited to welcome our Kinder Readiness Class in Term 4.  Children need to wear closed in shoes, bring a hat and water bottle as well as a piece of fruit for crunch and sip and also something to eat at recess. 

Please find the dates and times below.  

Kinder Readiness Dates (9:00am - 11.30AM)

October 23rd and 30th

November 6th, 13th, 20th and 27th

December 4th 

LATE PERMISSIONS

At the end of last term we had a few issues with families wanting to sign their children up for events after the closing date and whilst we did accommodate some of those we will not be doing that anymore as it confuses our payments in and out and creates chaos in teams and for staff.  Please check Compass - often.  Check the Calendar - often. Give permission by the due dates and make it easier for everyone involved so that your children do not miss out. 

SCHOOL PROCESSES

• Late Arrivals: School begins at 8:50 AM. If arriving after this time, an adult must accompany the child to the office to sign in.

• Absences: Must be explained within 7 days (this is a legal requirement).

• Visitor Sign-In: Mandatory for all adults entering the school grounds.

• Office Hours: 8:30 AM – 3:30 PM. Please wait for the gates to open before entering.

• Finance: Tracey is available on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

• Parking: Park strictly between the lines at the front of the school to maximize space.

• Canteen:  All canteen orders and cancellations must be processed via Compass before 8:00 AM on Fridays. No late orders or changes will be accepted after this cutoff. For any other canteen inquiries, please email quicanteen@arm.catholic.edu.au (rather than contacting staff personally) so our on-duty team can assist you promptly.

• Compass Events: Please respond to all notifications by the due date, even if your child is not attending. Closed events cannot be reopened.

• PT&F Pre-orders: Place all meal deal and fundraising orders strictly within the advertised timeframes.

• Hotmail and Outlook Accounts: If you send an email to the school from a hotmail or Outlook account it will default to spam. If you haven't heard back from the school within 24 hours, please call to ensure your message has been received. 

• Front Garden Beds:  Please keep children from playing in front garden beds through drop off and pick up times.  Greg does a wonderful job keeping them looking lovely and we would very much like to keep it that way. 

End of year - Save the Dates

9-13th November:  Canberra Excursion for Y5/6

3rd December: Presentation Day Awards 9:15am - 11:00am

14th December:  Year 6 Graduation Dinner 5:30pm

15th December:  Year 6 Big Day Out - all day.

16th December:  Last Day for Students for 2026

SCHOOL FEES

Due to the school billing system being fully automated the following reminders are now occurring through the system:- Reminders are sent via SMS and are scheduled to run each week on Tuesdays.  Monthly letters will be sent to those debtors who have outstanding fees or a missed instalment which is letter 1.  Letter 2 follows up from letter 1 if there is still an outstanding amount, and no response from letter 1.  Both letters 1 and 2 are from the our school principal.  Letter 3 will be from Helen Bentham, Armidale Catholic Schools Office head of finance, facilities & ICT.  Letter 4 will be from the FAAS team, Armidale and will be about recovering the debt owing.  If you are paying regular payments outside of the monthly instalments you might find that on occasion you will receive a SMS reminder or letter 1 due to timing of payments, this will be the system picking up a balance due which hasn't been included in your payment yet, but if you are concerned about receiving a SMS/letter extra payments can be made at any time through Compass, BPay (details are on your statement) or EFTPOS through the front office.  If you have any concerns please do not hesitate to contact the school.