Messages

Dear Families,

At Galilee, we believe in the power of educating the whole child. Preparing a child for life beyond education is about far more than good test results. The whole child approach is about holistic education, where learning looks beyond the classroom to support personal development and is focused on the individual. The start of the 2022 school year, is a perfect example of how we work at Galilee. Students have been immersed in rich learning opportunities that have focused on their emotional, physical, spiritual and academic skills. Students are engaged in a multidisciplinary approach that gives them the chance to apply their learning in real-life examples. Students have all started their inquiry unit based on history and civics and citizenship that is linked to other learning areas such as: Religious Education, Literacy, Numeracy and PSEL. Students draw from skills learned in one area and apply them to another. For example, students may be learning how to write a persuasive text at the same time that they are learning about famous persuasive speeches that have been presented in Australia's Federal Parliament.  Students may be learning about number-lines and applying their knowledge during a history lesson where they are creating a timeline.  

Next week, our students will all be involved in the Galilee Athletics Carnival at Lakeside Stadium in Albert Park. Students will be encouraged to try all of the events and will be challenged to do their very best.  The skills students have been focusing on in their Physical Education lessons over the past few weeks will be put into action as they aim for a personal best result. 

Our Year 5 students will be heading up to Sovereign Hill next Friday, to give their learning about democracy some context as they experience what life was like during the Gold Rush at the time of the Eureka Stockade. 

We would like to wish all the students who are representing Galilee at the Dendy Swimming Carnival on Monday all the best. 

2022 Foci

Our 2022 Annual Action Plan has been created by all of the staff and some of our key priorities in 2022 are:

• developing the teaching practice of Mathematics to increase the growth of all students;
• increasing learning opportunities in STEM;
• fine-tuning writing skills through Big Write and VCOP;
• completion of the building project.

School Fees

Statements were emailed to families yesterday. Please note, this statement will not reflect payments made after 24 January 2022. If you have made a payment after that date,  I will send you a receipt as the payments are processed over the next few days. If you nominated to pay your account in full by 25th March 2022, please deduct $250 from your amount owing and pay the balance by this date. The $250 discount will be applied to your account after this date. Any debtors who did not nominate their preferred payment timeline eg; Annual/Tri-Annual /Monthly - your account has now defaulted to monthly payments. To make monthly payments you need to divide your balance into 7 equal monthly payments. The first payment is due on February 25th  and will conclude on August 25th 2022. Late fees will apply to payments missed. If you are experiencing financial difficulties, please contact Wendy for confidential assistance in assessing your eligibility.  

CAMPS, SPORTS & EXCURSIONSFUND (CSEF)

CSEF is provided by the Victorian Government to assist eligible families to cover the costs of school trips, camps and sporting activities.

If you hold a valid means-tested concession card or are a temporary foster parent, you may be eligible for CSEF. A special consideration category also exists for asylum seekers and refugee families. The allowance is paid to the school to use towards expenses relating to camps, excursions or sporting activities for the benefit of your child.

The annual CSEF amount per student is:

• $125 for primary school students
• $225 for secondary school students

HOW TO APPLY

New applicants should contact the school office to obtain a CSEF application form or download it from the website below. 

If you applied for CSEF at your child's school last year, you do not need to complete an application form this year unless there has been a change in your family circumstances. 

You only need to complete an application form if any of the following changes have occurred:

• new student enrolments; your child has started or changed schools this year.
• changed family circumstances; such as a change of custody, change of name, concession card number, or new siblings commencing this year.

MORE INFORMATION

For more information about CSEF visit:https://www.education.vic.gov.au/about/programs/Pages/csef.aspx

Click on the link to apply:

https://www.education.vic.gov.au/PAL/csef-application-form.pdf

Prep 2023

Prep 2023 interviews for siblings of current Galilee students will be taking place from Monday 28th February. If you have submitted an enrolment form, you will receive Operoo book the time and day that suits you. 

Uniform Transition

A reminder that all students from Prep to Year 5 will need to be fully tranisitioned into the new uniform from the beginning of Term Two.

Recess and Lunch Classes at Danceworld

Rapid Antigen Tests for COVID-19

A new box of Rapid Antigen Tests have been handed to each student and staff member on Friday 11th February. 

This box of Rapid Antigen Tests are for use the weeks starting February 14 and February 21. 

We recommend that Rapid Antigen Tests be used twice per school week, or if COVID-19 symptoms develop eg. Monday and Wednesday of each week. 

If your child receives a positive RAT or PCR test result, please follow the instructions in this attachment:

School Musical

We are excited to announce that in 2022, we are planning to again hold a whole school musical in our new performing arts facility. We are in the planning phase and will communicate more information soon. STAY TUNED

Wellbeing

By turning off your device to have more face-to-face conversations, you will feel the beauty of human connections. You are hard wired to be at your best with other people in person, not glued to a screen. The human race only survived the caveman days by being in tribes to seek food, shelter and safety together. The feel of good chemicals, serotonin and oxytocin, were the rewards they felt for working together. 

Galilee School Wellbeing Programs

Here is some information about the types of Wellbeing Programs the school runs for students. Please read through the different programs andemail Jane (jferris@gsm.vic.edu.au) and Sharon (scameron@gsm.vic.edu.au) for further information about the below programs.

- Seasons for Growth

- Social Skills Groups

- Peaceful Kids

- Peaceful Classrooms

- School Counselling Services

Seeds and Sprouts Program

Thank you to those families who responded with an expression of interest for the Galilee Sprouts program. This ensures the program will run and helps us organise group times and sizes. 

Sprouts will commence at the beginning of Term 2.

Those interested in the 2022 Sprouts program will need to have accepted a place at Galilee for the 2023 school year. Once the acceptance letter has been received we will forward you the Sprouts Application Form.

Please note, it is not a requirement that students participate in the Sprouts Program prior to starting at Galilee, it is only for families who are interested.

Places are limited for the Seeds and Sprouts Program and we offer spaces in the order that we receive application forms.

Those interested in the 2022 Seeds program will need to have completed an enrolment form to start at Galilee in the 2024 school year.

We will email those on our 2024 enrolment list to seek expressions of interest.

Please email: seedsandsprouts@gsm.vic.edu.au for any queries or question.

D.O.G.S

The first D.O.G.S Social Night for the year is tomorrow, Friday, Feb 18th at the Middle Park Bowls Club from 6:30pm onwards.  

Free barefoot bowls / table tennis / snooker, live music, food trucks and drink specials.

Never been to a D.O.G.S. event, make this the first one. 

We'll be on a table near the back rink. 

Get a crew together or fly solo, either way hope to see you there.

Regards, James McGann & James Eagle

Scholastic Book Club

Scholastic Book Club Issue 1 orders will close this Monday, 21st February. All orders need to be made through the Loop App. No cash orders at school. 

Staffing

A letter has been sent directly to staff and families of Year 2F about the information below.

Unfortunately, Mrs Ferguson (Year 2F) has been diagnosed with a pregnancy-related illness and been directed to stop working until after the delivery of her baby. This means, regretfully, she will not be returning to the classroom in 2022.

This afternoon we have employed Mrs Helen Walker to teach the students full-time for the remainder of 2022. Mrs Walker has worked at Galilee as a CRT for several years and throughout remote learning. Prior to being a CRT, she has twelve years of experience as a full-time classroom teacher with her most recent experience being in Year 2/3 at St Monica’s in Term Four, 2022. Mrs Walker is thrilled to be working with the class at Galilee from Tuesday Feb 22.

We wish Julie all the best while she is on leave.

Best wishes,

Simon Millar