From the Principal's Desk
Camp
Our Year 5/6 children headed off to City Camp this morning and there was a buzz of excitement from children and parents alike. Let's hope they all have a wonderful and safe time.
Graduation
Our Year 6 children celebrated their Graduation on Monday evening in style!
Thank you to Miss Khanh Ly and Miss Stefanie Poropat for their organisation of the evening, to our wonderful parents who set up, packed up and served the children, and to all families for providing the smorgasbord of food for our shared meal.
Timetable Changes
Please see below our Week 11 timetable detailing all the events of our last week of school.
Whole School Transition Session
Yesterday we held our second Transition session for our Year Prep-5 children in preparation for 2024 which was most successful.
Next Wednesday will be our final session; our Step-Up Day where children will meet their teacher and classmates for 2024.
Fees and Levies 2023
Thank you to all families who are up-to-date with Fee and Levy payments for 2023. Unless you have organised a payment plan, all fees and levies should have been settled by the end of Term 3.
As of today, we still have $26,600 owing.
Families still in arrears will be sent an up-to-date Fee and Levy Statement today and, in fairness to all, we would appreciate accounts to be settled immediately.
2024 Start Dates
A reminder that next year our governing body MACS (Melbourne Archdiocese of Catholic Schools) requires all Catholic schools to administer a series of Literacy and Numeracy assessments across the school at the beginning of the year.
Children in the middle/senior years will be capable of completing these assessments independently during regular classes however our junior children will need to do them with their teacher.
To facilitate this testing we have arranged for a staggered start to the 2024 school year as follows:
Monday 29th January:
Staff commence - NO children
Tuesday 30th January:
Staff only. NO children
Wednesday 31st January:
Years 3-6 Commence School
Testing Day for Years P-2
Thursday 1st February:
Normal classes for Years 3-6
Testing Day for Years P-2
Friday 2nd February:
Normal classes for Years 3-6
Testing Day for Years P-2
Monday 5th February:
All children at school
On Testing Days children in Years P-2 will be required to be booked in for a one-on-one assessment with their teacher. These children only come to school for their testing time which should take 45-60 minutes. Bookings will be made through our School Interviews portal and will be open once classes for 2024 are determined.
Adjustments to Friday Finish Time in 2024
Workload agreements in the newly introduced Catholic Education Multi-Enterprise Agreement (CEMEA) stipulate that full-time (primary school) teachers may be allocated a maximum of
- 21.5 hours per week in 2023; and
- 20 hours per week in the 2024 school year and subsequent years.
The implementation of these limits has proven to be a headache for schools as they navigate themselves through the CEMEA. We have been able to accommodate this year's reduction through additional programming but next year and beyond proves a little trickier.
So to become compliant with the new Award, in 2024 school will finish at 3:15 pm on Fridays. All other days will remain as a 3:30 pm finish. Judging by the number of early pick-ups requested on Fridays, the adjustment should prove favourable to families.
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!
I hope you have all marked in your diary our Christmas concert, scheduled for Tuesday 12th December (with a back-up date of Thursday 14th December).
Gates will open at 5:00 pm for families to set up
their picnic rug, join in some Christmas cheer and enjoy some time together before the formalities begin. Feel free to BYO a picnic dinner, or bring your own 'take-away'.
Alternatively, our PFA will be running a sausage sizzle for you to enjoy.
In consideration to all, we ask that families sitting on deck chairs and the like set up toward the back or around the perimeter.
Formalities will commence around 6:00 pm with our Christmas concert: It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas! A fitting title for this time of the year.
And you never know... there might even be a visit from a man in red!
Christmas Raffle
Make sure you purchase your raffle tickets for our end-of-year Christmas Raffle.
There are some fantastic prizes to be won including:
- Razor Power Core E90 Electric Scooter valued at around $200
- Endota Spa Surrender Spa valued at $185
- Rebel Sports Vouchers
- Hoyts Cinema Pack
Tickets are only $1.00 each!
Tickets (and money) are to be returned to the school office by next Friday 8th December (don't forget to write your name on them) and more tickets can also be purchased from the school office. Good luck!
We hope this proves a wonderful opportunity to finish off the year on a high.
God Bless
Anthony Hyde
(Principal)