Farewell for Mr Gary McSweeney

Seesaw

It is with sadness & a lot of regret, we inform you that at the end of 2019, Seesaw will ‘teeter’ out & not be used at St Edward’s School in the future.

Fear not, you will not be left in the dark. Compass will be taking the place of Seesaw, as we consider Parent Communication & Involvement a very important part of our School Culture.

To everyone, students, staff & families, who have been on the Seesaw Journey, we say thank you.

When we first initiated Seesaw in 2017, we spoke about the father deployed to Afghanistan, in the week that his son started his first school year, who was able to keep in the loop of all the school based adventures of his Kindergarten child. We think now of our new students from many different countries & other parts of Australia, big moves, huge changes, and with Seesaw, we were able to cross the oceans & land well and truly.

Family from far away are important in every child’s life. Whether it be grandparents from Bourke, parents separated, uncles & aunts from Paraburdoo, those from out Woop Woop, and even up Ship Creek, ( thanks AAMI for poetic licence), busy working parents here in Tamworth who couldn’t make it to school, with Seesaw, they were all able to connect.

I so wish this had been available when my kids were at school. Perhaps then I may have had more contact with my kid’s schooling, hands on, and able to really communicate quickly and easily between child, school & home.

Through Seesaw, students had a platform, upon which they could share their successes & experiences from optimal learning environments. We are confident that every amount of energy that could be given, was, to continue developing a community that valued the involvement of parents. By providing Seesaw, a digital portfolio, we endeavoured to assist parents to have real-time glimpses into their child’s school day. Seesaw helped parents stay in the loop and gave them an excellent opportunity to support their child's learning at home. We are sure many conversations occurred from postings.

We hope that you have thoroughly enjoyed the chance to join us to see & discover all about the amazing daily happening things in School & the way you could share in these, using Seesaw. You had the best sneak peek into your child’s learning, growing & amazing development at St Edward’s School.

After 3 years of hard work, countless posts, thousands of comments, hundreds & hundreds of Seesaw Shared Activities created, skills database set up, it is time to end it all.

And with just a bit of trivia & facts about our great Seesaw Journey.

All time Stats:

92,062 Total Items

48,471 Total Comments

150,180 Total Likes

154,686 Total Parent/Family Visits

98% All Students have Connected Family

We must have been doing something right!

New year, new chapter in 2020, as we develop ways to keep families connected & lines of communication open through Compass. Stay tuned!

Andy Lockwood,

Seesaw Ambassador & St Edward’s School Seesaw Admin

New Aussie Citizen

Special congratulations to James He in 5K for becoming an Australian Citizen on Thursday 28th November 2019.

Lost & Found

Missing at the Infants Campus is a school hat clearly labelled and belonging to Bella Shiels in 2B.

Parents and carers are asked to check your child's belongings and if found please return to Mrs Ryan or the Infants Office.

Leaving or Relocating??

Planning for the 2020 school year is well underway. Over the coming week we will be placing students in classes for 2020. If your child is currently in K – Year 5 and you will NOT be returning to St Edward’s in 2020, please let the school know in writing as soon as possible. Thank you to the families who have already notified the school regarding changes for 2020.

2020 School Travel Applications Now Open

Applications for student travel in 2020 opened on Friday 11th October 2019.

Students progressing to year 3 and year 7 no longer need to re-apply if they:

· are continuing at the same school;

· are residing at the same address;

· have not been sent an expiry notification from Transport for NSW.

Where a student meets the new distance eligibility, the system will automatically update their entitlement. If they do not meet the new eligibility, they will receive an expiry notification via email.

Students who have an entitlement approved under a medical condition which is due to expire will receive a notification advising them to re-apply.

Term Bus Pass holders will receive a notification to re-apply.

If students need to update their information or re-apply, they should go online to https://apps.transport.nsw.gov.au/ssts/updateDetails

Applications need to be submitted before 31st December 2019 to ensure student entitlements are updated and their current entitlement/card is not cancelled. If their application is submitted after 31st December 2019, the system will automatically cancel an entitlement/card and a new one will need to be issued.

Students residing in Rural and Regional (R&R) areas should receive their travel pass at the commencement of the new school year from their nominated operator, this may be distributed via the school or sent direct to their address. Note: some R&R operators do not issue travel passes. Students/Parents should confirm with their nominated operator if they do not receive a pass.

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