Week 1 Term 1

St Fidelis' School Prayer

Dear Lord,

Please help us to make St Fidelis a friendly place,

where everyone will feel

that because we love and care about you,

we love and care about them as well.

Help us to smile back when people smile at us,

to give help when people need it and most of all,

help us to accept each other as we are.

AMEN

Dear Parents and Carers,

Welcome back to the 2025 school year! We hope you had a restful break and enjoyed some quality time reconnecting with family.

This is the first of our official newsletters for the year, and we're excited to share important updates and news with you.

Over the break, the Junior Playground received some fantastic upgrades! These upgrades wouldn’t have been possible without the dedicated fundraising efforts of our community and the support of the P&F, who organized these events. This year’s fundraising will continue to contribute to further improvements in our playground.

We’re especially excited to introduce a brand-new compliant playground for our junior students, from Foundation to Year 3. Of course, we’ll ensure that all students have the opportunity to enjoy the space as well.

The sandpit has also received a makeover, with boulders now surrounding it to create a deeper pit for the children to enjoy, perfect for building sandcastles and other imaginative play.

Additionally, under the shelter, we’ve lined the ceiling, painted the walls, and created play bays where children can explore and get creative.

We anticipate that this newly updated playground will be filled with plenty of cooperation, collaboration, and most importantly, fun!

Here's to an exciting and successful year ahead!

Welcome Foundation Class of 2025

A huge welcome to our Foundation students and their families who will join the St Fidelis' Community for the first time this Friday January 31st, along with all the other students.The first day of school is such an important milestone, one to cherish and hold on forever. My hope and dream is that all the children and families that have joined our community for the first time, enjoy and cherish the next seven years and beyond in our parish and school community. I wish them well as they begin this part of their learning journey.

Beginning of School Year 2025

Tuesday 28th, Wednesday 29th, and Thursday 30th are designated as staff professional learning days. During this time, all staff will participate in professional learning focused on spelling and explicit phonics instruction, as part of our plan to implement a sequential, whole-school approach. Some of the time will be dedicated to compliance training, team planning, and other professional development activities.

All students will begin on Friday, January 31st. Parents of Foundation students are encouraged to walk their child to the classroom, help them settle in, and say goodbye in a positive and reassuring manner. Parents of students in other year levels are also welcome to enter the classroom, assist their child in settling, and leave with a positive farewell.

Foundation Rest Days:

The Foundation students have the following as rest days: Wednesday 8th, 15th, 22nd & 29th February. Mrs Wenckowski, Ms Marsico & Ms Sargent will contact you when your child is required to come to school for a Learning Assessment on one of these Wednesdays. This assessment is a general assessment to assist in determining starting points for Literacy and Numeracy for each child.

All Foundation students are Full Time from Monday March 3rd.

School Day Routine:

8:30am - our school day begins and ends at 3:30pm. In the morning, two staff members will be on yard duty to supervise the students. The students can play passive games in the morning. They are NOT permitted on the playground equipment before or after school for safety reasons.

8:45am - the students enter the learning space, unpack their bag and prepare for the class morning routine.

3:30pm - School dismissal - to avoid congestion over in the SLA area, the Year 3/4 students will be escorted to Hawthorn yard with their teacher and dismissed from Hawthorn yard each evening.

The teachers will remain with their class until all their students have been picked up. Please note that by 3:45pm if your child has not been picked up, they will be sent to aftercare and will be charged to the families.

The Year 5/6 students will be dismissed from the SLA building and escorted downstairs by their teachers.

Welcome New Staff to St Fidelis and wishing them all the best as they join our wonderful St Fidelis' Learning Community

A very warm welcome to our new staff to St Fidelis:

Mr Nicholas Tresize (Year 5/6 Teacher)

Ms Chloe Wang (Year 1/2 Teacher)

Ms Nadia Ascenzo (Year 1/2 Teacher)

Ms Christopher Message (Education Support Officer)

Important Update: School Uniform Transition

As we approach the final year of our two-year uniform transition, we want to remind parents and students of the upcoming changes. This year will be the last in which students are permitted to wear the old school uniform.

Uniform Guidelines for 2025:

Terms 1 & 2: Students will continue wearing the summer uniform.
Terms 2 & 3: Students will transition to wearing the winter uniform.

Sport Uniform: Students may only wear their sport uniform on days when they have physical education or sporting activities. Please ensure your child is dressed in the appropriate uniform for each term. We appreciate your cooperation during this transition period.

Thank you to all staff

Thank you to all the staff who came in over the holidays to prepare their learning spaces for the students. We are very fortunate to have staff that use their personal time to ensure the Learning Environment is ready for the return of all the students. I wish to thank them for their dedication and commitment to all the students at St Fidelis.

VIDEO LINK- EXPECTATIONS & PROCEDURES AND IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR CHILD'S YEAR LEVEL

On Friday January 31st, you will receive a message via the AUDIRI app which will inform you of all the important things you need to know about your child's class and their routines. There will be four year level links that you may open and view.

The link will provide information about your child's year level expectation and procedures and any other relevant information for that year level for this year.

This link does not have Curriculum Information. Curriculum Overviews are made available in Week 2 or 3 of each term.

Weekly Curriculum information about WHAT'S HAPPENING IN YOUR CHILD'S LEARNING SPACE, is communicated each week by your child's teacher in the weekly newsletter.

If you have any questions about the information that you hear from your child's teacher, you will have the opportunity on Thursday February 6th at the parent and teacher meet and greet conversation to seek clarification.

Students will be dismissed at the normal time on Thursday Feb 6th.

Anaphylaxis

A small number of students in our school suffer from allergies. A small number are anaphylactic. Ingesting foods such as nuts, eggs, milk (any dairy), wheat, or chickpeas, can cause a life threatening reaction.

We ask that sandwich spreads such as Peanut Butter and Nutella are not sent in lunches, as these can be very sticky and remain on furniture and door handles. You are also asked to remind and explain to your children that food is not to be shared at school.

In particular, families with children in Foundation to Year 2 are asked to remind their children of the importance of not sharing food and washing their hands after they have been to the toilet with the soap. Staff will be revisiting this safety practice and hygiene practice this week.

Medical Conditions

It is important that we are aware of the students who have particular medical conditions. If your child does have a medical condition, please notify the school immediately if you have not done so already. Medical Action Plans are required to ensure the correct care can be administered in the case of a reaction or emergency. This includes Anaphylaxis and Asthma Action plans.

SunSmart

St Fidelis is a SunSmart School and our policy reflects the recommendations of the SunSmart organisation. The Bureau of Meteorology provides information about the times of day UV levels are forecast to reach 3 or higher, meaning that sun protection is recommended for all skin types. In Victoria UV levels regularly reach 3 or higher from mid August to the end of April. As part of general SunSmart strategies, our school:

Requires all students and staff to wear hats that protect the face, neck and ears (legionnaire, broad-brimmed or bucket style) and suitable clothing whenever they are outside (e.g. recess, lunch, sport, excursions)
Requires students outdoors without hats to sit in a designated shaded area during play times from the beginning of September to the end of April or whenever UV levels reach three or more. NO HAT - NO PLAY.

All staff and parents are encouraged to access the daily local sun protection times via the free Sun smart app, or at sunsmart.com.au or the widget on our website.

Looking forward to seeing everyone next Friday,

Manuela

Dates To Remember

DATES WILL BE REVISED & YOU WILL BE NOTIFIED THROUGH THE AUDIRI APP

TERM ONE 2025

SACRAMENTAL DATES: