General Notices
Stage Two Construction Begins
There is a buzz of excitement throughout the College as Stage Two construction gets under way. St Anne's College has been awarded a $3 million Federal Government grant through Catholic Capital Grants for the next building stage. As a College, we will contribute a further $3 million to undertake this next stage of our College development - a total $6 million build.
After a thorough tender process, Shepparton's Moretto Builders emerged as the winning tenders for the build and they began works on Tuesday, March 3. As such, some necessary adjustments to the way we move around the College have been put in place to ensure the safety of all. Building works will be defined by temporary fencing and a traffic management plan is being developed. Please note the following changes:
* Entry to the college is now through the middle door next to Studio 1.
* A turning circle for car park drop-offs has been created by removing access to the last three car parks on the west side of the car park, allowing space for turnarounds.
* Bike racks have been relocated just east of their current location on the existing footpath.
* The staff car park is located on the far east side of the College site.
Please note we now have just the one pedestrian crossing on the east side near the roundabout - all foot traffic must cross at the pedestrian crossing. No one should be crossing the car park. There will be no access to the west side of the College site during construction.
This is a very exciting time for our College and we look forward to watching the building grow into the next stage. If you have any questions or concerns or need further clarification, please contact the College office.
Concerns And Queries Communication Steps
Attendance Matters
There are times when we will need to contact you, including on the day if your child is absent and you haven’t informed the College as to why. Do we have your most up-to-date contact details? If not, please contact the College at office@sackialla.catholic.edu.au so we can update our records. Please include parent/carer's name, address, phone numbers, email address and emergency contact details. Please remember to contact the College if any of these details or your circumstances change.
Notify the school of your child’s absence
Protecting the safety and wellbeing of children through the reporting and monitoring of absenteeism is the responsibility of both parents/carers and schools. Please remember to call the College on
(03) 4812 2993 or log your child’s absence using the Parent Notified Absence function on PAM early in the morning if your child is going to be away or late for school, so your child’s absence can be recorded correctly.
Same-day notification of unexplained student absences
A College staff member will text you as soon as practicable on the day if a student is not at school and you haven’t notified the College as to why. If you are notified by the school that your child is away without a reason, please contact us as soon as possible by calling (03) 4812 2993 to let us know where your child is. If we cannot reach you because we don’t have your correct contact details (i.e. message notification fail, disconnected number), then we will make contact with any emergency contact/s nominated on your child’s file held by the College, where possible, on the same day of the unexplained absence. Please remember it is your responsibility to contact us to provide an explanation for your child's absence from school, and where possible, please inform us in advance of upcoming absences.
Save this number!
St Anne's College uses SMS to contact parents/carers as soon as practicable on the day of an unexplained student absence. The message will direct you to contact the college on (03) 4812 2993. Please save this number into your phone.
Attendance Requirements
If your child is sick or absent, you are required to notify the College as soon as possible on the day of absence, by phone on (03) 4812 2993 or through the PAM portal in the Parent Notified Absence section.
Notifying the College of your child’s absence either prior to, or on the day that they will be away, helps ensure the safety and wellbeing of children and will fulfill your legal responsibility. All Victorian schools are required to contact parents/carers as soon as practicable on the same day of an unexplained student absence. If your child is absent on a particular day and you have not contacted the College to explain why, the absence will be marked as unexplained. This system also promotes daily school attendance. Going to school every day is the single most important part of your child’s education; they learn new things every day – missing school puts them behind.
Please find below the St Anne’s College Attendance Policy and Non-Attendance Policy which outline the College's processes and procedures for monitoring, recording and following-up of student absences.
A Note From The Finance Team
Welcome to the 2020 College year. It's another exciting year of new opportunities for our students and staff, and for the growth of our fantastic facility as we continue our plans for the future. A few weeks ago you would have received via email your 2020 College tuition fee invoices. Your direct debit payment arrangements towards these commenced in early February. To update you on your progress we have recently issued account statements for the month of February so that you can monitor your account.
All families are expected to contribute to College tuition fees as they are a vital financial contribution that supplement the Commonwealth and State Government education grants that we receive. Collectively, these fees ensure we can provide all the fantastic curriculum resources and opportunities that our students and staff require to fulfill the delivery of the very best educational possibilities at St Anne's College. In addition and importantly for us as a growing community, tuition fees also support the capital improvements and future development of our College. We ask that you please support us with keeping to your payment arrangements and we encourage proactive contact with us if you need to discuss any changes to your circumstances.
- David Villani, Business Manager
Sandpit Pack-Up After School
If using the sandpit after school please ensure that you are doing your best and respecting everyone and everything by returning the equipment to the correct space so that it is not being left out in the weather overnight. The sandpit equipment needs to be returned to the storage box outside PG KL each afternoon. Parents are asked to please ensure that they are supporting their children with this.
Snake Policy
Preventing and managing snake bites
In these warmer months there is an increased risk that snakes will be around.
Snakes come out of hibernation during the warmer months and in urban areas will inevitably move into, or near places where people live and work in search of food or a mate.
Snakes may have found quiet shelter at your workplace. Cool, dark protected areas such as under buildings and near sheds, around rubble and stored materials, and in long grass are typical areas that snakes may be found. As with all Australian native animals, snakes are protected under the Wildlife Act 1975 and cannot lawfully be killed or taken from the wild and held in captivity.
It can often be difficult to tell the difference between a venomous and non-venomous snake therefore people are wise to call for professional help as snake bites can easily occur if inexperienced people interfere with snakes.
Snakes are not usually aggressive and do not seek confrontation with humans but may retaliate if provoked. The important thing to remember is to never attempt to catch or kill a snake – most snake bites occur when people are trying to do this. It is not necessary to try and identify the type of snake as if a person is bitten, physicians may be able to identify the type of snake from residual venom on the skin. Also, for many Australian snakes, a polyvalent antivenom (antivenom that is effective for multiple species of snake) is often sufficient for treatment of snake bites.
All parents and carers are asked to talk about our Snake Policy below with their child/ren:
Snake policy at St Anne’s College
If a snake is seen or reported on or near any locations at St Anne’s College:
- We note the location of the snake and ensure that this area is isolated until the snake is removed.
- We remove all staff and students from the immediate area or evacuate the room until snake is removed.
- We DO NOT approach, attack or otherwise provoke the snake. WE REMEMBER - IF PROVOKED IT MAY STRIKE.
- We contact our local snake catcher or we contact through DELWP who authorise controllers for the purposes of snake removal in populated areas (136186)
Camps, Sports & Excursions Fund (CSEF)
CSEF is provided by the Victorian Government to assist eligible families to cover the costs of school trips, camps and sporting activities.
Please read the following information to see if you are eligible. Printed copies of the forms are available from the College Reception.
Information for the public - NOVEL CORONAVIRUS
'The recommendation is that parents/guardians/carers of students should ensure that any student returning from mainland China (not including Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan) who was in mainland China on or after Saturday 1 February 2020 is isolated at home and should not attend school until 14 days after they were last in mainland China.'
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Maintaining good health hygiene at school
Everyone can protect against infections by practising good hand hygiene and respiratory hygiene. Here are some tips that everyone at your school can follow:
Cover your mouth and nose when coughing and sneezing with a tissue, or cough into your elbow.
- dispose of the tissue into a bin and then wash your hands afterwards
- wash your hands regularly, after using the toilet, and before eating.
SIMON/PAM
Letters have been sent home which contain the instructions and login details for the Parent Access Module (PAM) for our learning management system (SIMON). PAM is an important source of communication between the College and families.PAM is the portal through which parents can check on learning areas, send parent notified absences, access school activity permission forms and check daily messages. It is also the portal through which you will access your child's reports. It is important that you log in to PAM daily to check any updates or notices.
If you have misplaced or forgotten your login details you can contact administration at office@sackialla.catholic.edu.au
Music Lessons
Shannon will also be offering keyboard lessons in 2020 during school hours at St Anne's College. Contact her directly to discuss her availability.
Catholic Schools Parents Victoria
To read the current issue of CSPV use the following link:
https://vcspb.schoolzineplus.com/streamnews?nid=6
School Wide Positive Behaviour Support
Schools today are facing intense scrutiny and are under tremendous pressure for improvement compounded by major issues that place significant demands on our schools. Some of the issues are:
- Increasing diversity of student demographics;
- Changing home structures and complex family relationships;
- Decline in students’ social skills, coupled with increased social media issues and cyber safety;
- Antisocial behaviour in schools is on the rise and becoming increasingly more complex;
- Increase in mental health and school attendance concerns;
- Students with special needs and/or complex backgrounds coupled with diminished behaviour management skills of staff and subsequent increased stress levels;
- Stringent academic accountability positioned against low or underperforming student academic achievement;
- Inefficient and ineffective school organisational systems and procedures for the management of student behaviour.
St Anne's Colleges expectations from all its members are quite simple:
Respect everyone and everything
Do your best
Help others succeed.
At St Anne's this looks like:
- Calm, quiet and peaceful
- Equipment and materials neatly stored
- Sharing our space
- Returning materials to their place after use
- Waiting for your turn
- Lead by example
- Offer a helping hand
- Being patient, thinking twice, acting once
At St Anne’s College, in faith, wisdom and learning, we:
are wise about what we do, we know our impact.
What does this look like in your home?