Acting Principal's Message 

Dear Families,

Thursday was R U Ok day. This day reminds us to check in with those around us and make sure they are ok.

Prayer for R U Ok day:

Lord, You said, “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly (John 10:10).”

We are called - to love; to care for one another; to include one another and remind one another of each and everyone’s priceless value as being made in the image and likeness of our God.

We pray that you are OK.

St Andrew – Pray for us!

Only a week of Term left, and it will be a busy one! Next week we have Parent Teacher Interviews on Monday, Learning Celebrations on Thursday and then we finish the term with a colourful bang on Friday with a sausage sizzle and colour run! 

Congratulations to all of our Athletes that participated in the Bentleigh District Athletics last Thursday. You made us all so proud by doing your best and representing our school so well. An extra HUGE congratulations to the 5 students that have made it to the next round:

Oliver C  for Shotput and Discus

Darwell B for Shotput and Discus

Daniella C  for Discus

Dut N For Shotput

Chanelle P  for Triple jump

Wish we them luck in the next round! 

Thank you to Kayla Puetz, Lachlan Ware and Daniella Polites for supporting our students on the day. 

Thank you to the P&F, led by Nerida SIbilia  for organising a hugely successful Sushi day on Wednesday. There were over 270 sushi rolls ordered and delivered to school that were eaten by students and staff. This is an easy way for us to order and enjoy a different lunch and also raise some extra funds for the P&F to use to support our school. 

The colour run has been organised by the P&F and we thank them for their hard work in preparing for this fun event! I am sure it will be a day enjoyed by all. This event is to raise funds for updating our sports equipment and our amazing sports teacher, Kayla Puetz, can't wait to refresh her sports resources. Don't forget to look at the Parents and Friends page of the newsletter for further details. 

The Parish Fun Fair is coming up on October 26th. This is a Parish run event that is supported by the school. In coming days we will send an Operoo asking for parents to support different parts of the event, including helping with a sausage sizzle. If you are able to help out on the day, even for a short time, that would be wonderful! 

Right to Disconnect 

Communication between school and home comes in many different formats but one of our major forms of communication is via email.

Our wonderful and dedicated school staff are very good at communicating with parents about concerns or information about our students as needed.

As some of you may be aware, Fair Work Australia as of the 26th August will be introducing a new act that gives employees the Right to Disconnect outside of their designated work hours. This is a great step forward to ensure the wellbeing and mental health of all workers in Australia.

As a result of the Fair Work Act, St Andrew's will now be implementing email and communication policies in line with this. As a school, our policy on returning emails is that emails are responded to within a 48 hour time frame and within the hours of 8.00am-4.45pm. This will be added to the email signature of staff as a reminder. 

This will apply to our school staff as well, when communicating with each other.

We know there are many times that parents need to email school staff due to many family and work commitments, which can continue as normal, but please allow staff 48 hours to respond, between the designated hours. With this new act, as a school we will be enforcing this with our staff, so we thank parents for your continued support as we transition to this change. Policies will be added to our school website, under the Policy tab, when finalised. 

Please  do not send sick children to school

We recommend that your child stay home from school if experiencing flu or cold symptoms. We ask this to ensure all members of our community remain well and our staff   To decide whether or not to send your child to school, please consider the following guidelines:

Consider keeping your child at home for rest and observation if he or she has any of the following symptoms:

• Very stuffy or runny nose and/or cough
• Mild sore throat 
• Headache
• Stomach ache

Definitely keep your child at home for treatment and observation if he or she has any of these symptoms:

• Fever 
• Vomiting (even once)
• Diarrhea
• Chills
• General discomfort, weakness or muscle aches
• Frequent congested or croupy cough

Parent/Child/Teacher Interviews on Monday 16th September - All grades except Prep R and 3/4T

Parent/Child/Teacher interviews will be held on Monday 16th September.   Interviews will be 10 minutes and held in the School Hall between 2.30pm and 7.00pm.

We encourage all children to be active participants in the 10 minute interviews.    This provides an opportunity for children to share their learning journey and successes with their family and to also be active responsible participants in their own learning.  

If you have had a PSG or have an upcoming PSG appointment  with the classroom teacher, then there is no need to book a Parent Teacher interview.

Optional Child School Attendance – Monday 16th September  - 1.35pm-3.15pm

Teaching staff will be released on the afternoon of Monday 16th September to commence their interviews’.   Children remaining at school for the afternoon block will be grouped in levels and supervised by staff who are not required at these Interviews.  

Parents attending interviews may collect their child/ren from these level gatherings. 

Parents do have the option of collecting their child/ren from their classroom at 1.25pm.

Collection of children assists staff by reducing the number of children being present in the afternoon block.  

Prep R and Year 3/4T 

Your  interviews will be held at the start of Term 4 when Rose and Tahira return from leave.

Uniform Expectations 

One of our core school expectations is that all students will wear the correct uniform each day. The uniform signifies belonging to and pride in the school community, and is also part of ensuring a safe and secure school environment.

Parents are asked to please ensure their child/ren are wearing the correct footwear to school.

• School shoes should be black school shoeseither laces, buckles, straps or velcro to secure shoes in place.
• Runners are only allowed when students have their PE/sport lesson
• School uniform hats must be worn outside in Term 4 as part of our 'no hat, no play' policy.

St. Andrew’s Got Talent 

This year, we will hold our talent quest, “St. Andrew’s Got Talent” during Term 4. The aim of this competition is to showcase and celebrate our amazing talents! Students will perform in front of the school community.  All parents and extended family members are welcome to attend.

St Andrew’s Got Talent Performance

When: Tuesday 29th October

Where: School Hall

Junior school at 2:15 pm

Senior School at 3:30 pm

Entry Closing Date:

Monday 16th September at 9am.

Record an audition video and send to Mrs Cooper ecooper@saclaytonsth.catholic.edu.au 

Announcement Date for Successful Contestants: 

Friday 21st September at 3pm.

Performance categories include:  Singing, Dancing, Instruments or Entertainment (comedy/magic/other - be inventive!).

• Successful contestants will only perform in one category. 
• Students can have up to five people in one act. 
• Acts should not exceed 2.5 mins for juniors and 3 mins for seniors. 

Please see Mrs Cooper for more entry information. 

Good luck!

Students not returning in 2025

As we plan ahead for 2025 classes, we ask any families who know that they will not be returning to St. Andrew's in 2025 to inform the school as soon as possible by clicking on the button below and filling in the form or email me at nblack@saclaytonsth.catholic.edu.au 

2025 Prep Enrolments

HAVE YOU ENROLLED YOUR CHILD FOR PREP 2025? 

If you have a child ready for Prep 2025, we encourage you to please put in an enrolment form as soon as possible. This will help us with organisation purposes. To access an enrolment form:

• Visit the enrolment section of our school website and download an enrolment form 

• Drop into the school office to collect an enrolment pack
• Email office@saclaytonsth.catholic.edu.au 

2024 School Calendar 

The 2024 School Calendar is available on the School Website. It can be found mid-way down on the front page under the heading ‘WHAT’S ON’.   We will endeavour, where possible, to remain true to the dates on the 2024 calendar. We recommend that parents regularly visit the school website to see updates on all school events.

Mrs Nicole Black

(Acting Principal)