Dear parents, students and the wider community,

On Tuesday some of our students from Years 3-6 competed at the Division Athletics in Mornington. We achieved some fantastic results which I am sure Mrs Ary will share. Our students competed against all the top athletic students from both the Northern and Southern Zones of the Peninsula area and we received a number of Top 3 finishes. Well done to each and every student who competed, Mrs Ary for her organisation and to the parents who provided transport and support.

The Foundation 2023 Super Starters Hour will be held tomorrow, Friday 7th October, and we will warmly welcome all our Foundation students into 'their' school for the first time as a group. I know our Foundation teachers and support staff are hugely excited to have the pre-schoolers join us!

I have invited members of the Victorian Police Force Neighbourhood Policing Unit to talk to our children on Wednesday 12th October. They will be having a 'show and tell' with our Year 1 & 2's and Foundation students which I am sure they will greatly enjoy. They will also meet with our Year 5/6 classes with a focus on the perils of social media. Staff regularly spend time discussing with students issues that have arisen, usually at home, through using a variety of apps including TikTok. Some apps have age restrictions, with Tiktok being limited to 13 years and above. Currently I have been discussing with the students that, as such, they should not be on Tik Tok as it is illegal, certainly should not be putting anyone's name on TikTok whether they have permission or not and should not be using our school's name. I ask for this message to be repeated at home and our Neighbourhood Police will spend time discussing the dangers that can eventuate through inappropriate use of the internet and apps. In the end it is about keeping our young people safe.

Please read the eSafety's parent guide to popular apps below. Hope it helps.

Our wonderful teacher Jemima Holmes goes on maternity leave this Friday. Over the past nearly 6 years Jemima has been an incredibly valued teacher who is respected by her peers, parents and her students. It does not seem so long ago that we interviewed her to begin her teaching career with us. We wish her and Tom all the very best with the next few weeks as they get ready to become parents. We completed interviews at the end of last term to replace Miss Holmes for 2023 and I am pleased to announce that Mrs Kathleen Ronchi will be joining our staff. She was most recently the Deputy Principal at St Macartans, Mornington but has decided she wants to return to her passion as a classroom teacher. We are thrilled to have her join our staff and the St Anne's community.

It is the time of the year when we begin to think about establishing our 2023 classes. We look at many aspects in creating our classes including friendships, academics, behaviour, additional needs and the students themselves select 5 students they may like to be with of whom they are guaranteed that they will get at least one of them. I also invite parents if there is something you wish myself and the staff to consider in placing your child/children for 2023 to please put this in writing to me by Friday 14th October. Your request is not guaranteed to happen but will be considered.

The St Anne's Trivia Night is finally happening this Saturday with a 'Hollywood' theme. Many of the staff are looking forward to joining our parent and wider community in having a night of fun together. It has been a long time!!! Thank you in advance to the many members of our P & F and wider parent community on the work you have put into making the night happen. Funds raised will help to pay for the artificial turf that was installed earlier this year.

Regarding improvements around the school I would like to acknowledge the State Government of Victoria for the grant that has enabled us to fully fund the new shade sails over the tables in the garden area. This provides a wonderful outside learning space during the warmer months of the year and will help to support our students and staff to be sun-safe.

Some of our Year 6 students continue their preparations to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation on Sunday 23rd October. This is now coming around very quickly. On Thursday 20th October our 9 students preparing to receive Confirmation will join the students of St Joachim's and from the wider Parish in a day of retreat at John Paul College facilitated by the JPC Liturgy Team. The students will also have the opportunity to meet with our Bishop, Fr Tony Ireland, who will join them for part of the day. Please find time to keep them and their families in your prayers.

Rod Shaw

Principal

School Attendance and Unexplained Absence

Please contact the school if your child is going to be absent by leaving a message on 9786 4736 and press 1. Please give details of your child’s name and class with a reason for their absence such as: unwell, appointment, holiday or family reasons. Alternatively an email can be sent to office@saseaford.catholic.edu.au with cc to the child’s teacher.

If you are running late, (after 9:00 am) please attend the office to sign your child into school and collect a late pass.

If you are picking up your child early you will need to collect them and sign them out from the office.

As per our policy this will be our morning routine for absences:

Parents will be contacted as soon as practicable on the morning a student is absent via a text message.

If parent does not contact the school after receiving the text message, the school will contact the parent by phone. If the parent is unreachable the emergency contacts will be contacted by the school.

If there is still no response, and the school feels that the child is in danger, the police will be contacted.

Ongoing unexplained absences or lack of cooperation regarding student attendance will result in a formal conference being organized. Unresolved attendance issues will be referred to D.H.H.S.

This is a legal requirement.

Democratic Principles

The six (6) principles of Australian democracy include:

(a) elected government; and

(b) the rule of law; and

(c) equal rights for all before the law; and

(d) freedom of religion; and

(e) freedom of speech and association; and

(f) the values of openness and tolerance

Wellbeing

Principles for savvy parenting in a digital world