Principal News

Dear members of the St Raphael’s school community,

Welcome back to the last term of the 2022 school year! We trust that the school holidays were relaxing and enjoyable, and we congratulate all Geelong supporters on their resounding AFL Grand Final victory.

We look forward to the fantastic learning opportunities and activities the children will participate in over the final term of the school year.

Last Saturday, our Year 4 children received the Sacrament of First Eucharist. Under trying circumstances, without any electrical power in the Church, the celebration was respectful and a beautiful moment in the children’s faith journey. We congratulate all the children and thank all the families for your respectful participation in Saturday's ceremony. 

A special thank you to Fr Simon; our Religious Education Leader, Rosalba Squarci; the Year 3/4 teachers, Kaitlyn McMillan, Lauren Bell, Belinda Hirschauer and Linda Pham, for their thorough preparation of the children and all school staff who came along on the weekend to support the children.

We welcome a number of new children and their families to our school this term and hope they are warmly welcomed by our whole school community.

On a personal note, I was fortunate to participate in a recent immersion experience with 28 Catholic primary principals from our area who travelled to the Northern Territory for an Indigenous immersion and education experience in the last week of Term Three. We visited communities and schools in the Tiwi Islands, Darwin, Arnhem Land and Daley River. It was an incredible and reflective experience to spend time on Country with Indigenous Elders and educators and to be immersed in Indigenous culture.

Due to being away in the NT, I was unable to attend the 2022 School Concert, ‘Dancing through the Century’. From all reports, the concert was a resounding success, and we have received some fantastic feedback from parents who were so happy to see their children performing and having fun. It was also great to have the school community gather again. There was a lot of work behind the scenes, and I would like to thank Annelise Squarci for the script writing and assistance, the staff for all of their efforts in assisting the children, and Westside Dance Company for their work teaching the children the choreography. Special thanks to the parent volunteers who helped with props and costumes and Matthew Vernal, who coordinated the whole event through the Physical Education program in Term Three. 

Finally, our school playground surfaces on the basketball court and asphalt areas near the church are being renovated. Unfortunately, the works have been interrupted by the recent heavy rains, and we hope to open the next ‘Blueland’ in the coming days. We will then be fencing off the asphalt area near the Breen Street gates for more drainage and resurfacing works and ask for your continued cooperation at pick-up time to ensure the safety of all children. We will keep you updated on the progress of the work. 

SAB & CLC Nominations

This a reminder to all parents who would like to nominate for either the School Advisory Board (SAB) or the Community Liason Committee (CLC) to please email principal@sprestonwest.catholic.edu.au

Unfortunately, we have not received many nominations for these important parent roles in our school. We would appreciate all parents considering joining one of these committees. Due to a lack of volunteer numbers, we have had to postpone our scheduled SAB AGM this week.

Roles on the SAB include:

• President
• Vice President
• Secretary
• Parish representative
• Two parent representatives

To nominate for any of these positions, send a nomination via email to principal@srpestonwest.catholic.edu.au with the heading SAB Nomination. 

The body of the email should state "I would like to nominate for the position of  _________________________ (insert one of the positions listed above) on the SAB". 

Please also include a brief overview of your skills, experience or qualifications that you can bring to this role on the SAB.

Please include your phone contact number. The school will be in touch with you, and voting will take place at our upcoming AGM. 

There will be a transition period where the current SAB members will guide and work with the newly appointed members before the end of the year to ensure a smooth transition.

We encourage all parents, especially our new parents, to get involved with this essential advisory committee. 

The SAB is a fantastic way for parents to meet and actively assist the school with whole-school improvement and decision-making. 

The new Community Liason Committee (CLC), is comprised of parent volunteers (maximum 7) and staff members. The CLC will be responsible for upcoming whole-school community events and community connections. We will invite parents to nominate for the CLC by sending a nomination to me via email at principal@srpestonwest.catholic.edu.au with the heading CLC Nomination. 

The body of the email can state, "I would like to nominate for a position on the CLC". Please include your reasons for applying and a phone contact number. 

Covid-19 News

As we return to school, we remind all parents that Covid-19 is still prevalent and circulating within our school community. We thank all parents for being vigilant in testing their children and keeping them at home if they display any symptoms. This has kept everyone in our school community safe.

The Victorian Government has announced the end of the pandemic declaration and associated pandemic orders. New settings will apply from 11.59 pm on Wednesday, 12 October 2022.

Requirements for close contacts, like continually testing negative on a rapid antigen test (RAT), will become strong recommendations – joining the strong recommendation to wear a mask indoors, which will remain in place.

Changes to COVID-19 isolation requirements

It is strongly recommended that students

• who test positive for COVID-19 should stay home and isolate for five days
• should not attend school after five days if still symptomatic
• who are symptomatic but have not tested positive should not attend school.

Where students become symptomatic at school, they should:

• be collected by their parents/carers
• undergo testing for COVID-19.

Dates to Remember

A reminder that the school will be closed on Monday 31st October. Carol's night will be held from 5:30 pm onwards on Tuesday 13th December. Year 6 Graduation is at 5 pm on Thursday 15th December, and the school year for all children will conclude at 1 pm on Friday 16th December.