Dear Parents,

Every four years each Catholic School in Melbourne, both primary and secondary, participates in a School Review. The purpose of the review is twofold; to determine the school priorities for the next four years through the development of a new School Improvement Plan (SIP) and to provide evidence of compliance of regulatory standards for the state government.

Our entire staff have had the opportunity to participate in the school improvement process across the following four areas;

Religious Dimension

Learning & Teaching

Leadership & Management

Student Wellbeing

School Community

As part of the process, we have analysed survey data (students, staff and family) and identified evidence of progress across the previous four years. We have also identified opportunities for improvement which will form part of our future priorities in our SIP.

In relation to the evidence of compliance, the leadership team has been responsible for collating evidence and ensuring our school is meeting the many regulatory requirements, including child safety. This has been the most time consuming aspect of the school review process, so I am thankful that this task only occurs every 4 years!

We will be working with our designated School Reviewer, Craig Tanner, on Monday, Thursday and Friday this week. Craig will meet with various stakeholders throughout the school community, including staff, students and parents. I would like to thank the Parents’ Association (PA) and School Advisory Council (SAC) members who have volunteered to meet with Craig this Friday morning from 9am - 9.45am.

Federal Member for Aston - Mary Doyle

Recently we had a visit from our Federal Member of Parliament, Mary Doyle. I contacted Mary's office to request a new Australian Flag, as our current flag is very weathered! Mary kindly offered to come and visit HT, as she has not yet had the opportunity in her short time as the federal member. Our school captains (Taya, Brodie, Olivia and Maddie) hosted a tour for Mary and her two colleagues and proudly showcased our school and answered the many questions asked by Mary. At the conclusion of the tour, we were presented with a new flag. Mary also explained to our school captains the important protocols for handling the flag and for disposing of our previous flag. Our school captains are an absolute credit to our school and Mary and her colleagues were extremely impressed with our student leaders.

Relocation of seating and flag pole

Some of our parents may have noticed that four bench seats bordering the adventure playground have been removed. These seats have been relocated to a more appropriate space, near the artificial turf / sand pit area. In their previous location, the students were tempted to jump over the seats to access the adventure playground or return to their line up areas, occasionally causing injury.

We have also relocated the flag pole from the front of the office (HT office, not SMC) to the artificial turf / sand pit area. The flag pole was obscured by a tree and foliage at the front of the school office so many of our staff and students didn't even notice it was there. The new location will provide the option of hosting our flag raising assembly on the open asphalt space or the oval. I did mention to a number of students that I intend to use the flag pole to fly the Richmond flag, but on their recent form that's probably not the best idea! On a more serious note, we are also exploring the possibility of installing a second flag pole in the same location for our indigenous flag.

Management of illness in schools, including COVID

Despite the unseasonal mild weather, we are currently experiencing a high number of staff and student absence due to illness. In discussion with my Principal colleagues, I can assure parents that this is not limited to our school. If your child is unwell or symptomatic, they must stay at home.

The government advice continues to recommend that staff members, students or visitors who have symptoms of cold, influenza or COVID-19 undergo testing for COVID-19. Parents of symptomatic students should be asked to collect their child from school and keep them home until they are no longer symptomatic. The Department of Health recommends that staff and students who test positive for COVID-19 isolate for a minimum of 5 days and do not attend school until their symptoms resolve.

Drop Off Bay - Morning

Just another friendly reminder for drivers to move as far down the parking bay as possible before allowing students to leave the vehicle. This is for reasons of safety and efficiency. In the event that the driver needs to leave the vehicle, please ensure you are at the end of the bay before doing so. I do politely remind parents from time to time while on morning duty. It is often the case that a driver other than the parent (e.g. grandparent or family friend) is unaware of the drop bay procedures. Could you please pass this information on to family and friends. Tooting the horn is not generally required!

Parent/Teacher Interviews

Following the distribution of Semester One Reports, Parent Teacher Interviews will take place on Tuesday 25th and Thursday 27th June (last week of term). Booking details to come.

Art Show- save the date!

Each year we celebrate the Arts, with a focus on the Performing Arts (Italian) one year and the Visual Arts the next. This year we will celebrate our amazing student artists with an Art Show on Tuesday 10th September (evening). Details to come.

Emergency Contact Details - SIMON / PAM

Could I please remind parents to ensure that their emergency contact details have been added to SIMON / PAM. In only takes a couple of minutes. This information is extremely important in the event that we cannot get in contact with the parent / legal guardian. Please refer to the `HT helpful information' section of the newsletter for a simple step by step guide to providing this information.

School Fee Statements

Statements have been issued to all families on 20/5/2024 via email. If you have not received a copy please contact the office immediately to confirm your email address.

A reminder that the 2nd payment (50% of Family Fee and Levies) is due on the 28 June 2024.

If you have any queries please do not hesitate to contact the office.

Have a great week!

Warm Regards,

Adrian Scutt

Principal

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