School News
Parliament and Civics Education Rebate (PACER)
Our Senior students recently undertook an education tour of the national capital. Students were given the opportunity to participate in a variety of educational programs with a focus on Australia’s history, culture, heritage and democracy.
The Australian Government recognises the importance of all young Australians being able
to visit the national capital as part of their Civics and Citizenship education. To assist
the school and families in meeting the cost of the excursion the Australian Government is contributing funding of $45 per student under the Parliament and Civics Education Rebate program towards those costs. The rebate is paid directly to the school upon completion of the excursion and was factored into the Camp levy figure paid by parents for this particular activity.
Parent/Teacher Chats - 26 March
Parent/Teacher Chats will take place later in the term on Wednesday 26 March. On this day, the children will finish school at 12.45pm and the first interviews will commence at 1.30pm, finishing at 7.30pm. If you are unable to pick your children up there will be supervision provided by staff not engaged in the Parent Teacher Chats until 3.15pm. After School Care will be provided as usual from 3.15pm onwards. More information will be communicated later in the term.
Thank you to all the keen Year 3 - 6 students who have put their names forward for roles in Frozen Jnr. Auditions for the main cast commenced on Wednesday and will run over the next two weeks. Thank you to the Production Team, Libby Mulhall, Alyssa Privitelli, Liz Olney, Nicole Burnes and Chelsea Bilney for assisting on the audition panel. Good luck everyone!
Tuckshop
The Tuckshop will open on Fridays at lunchtime. A reminder that children are asked to please only bring $2 with them to school each Friday in a labelled purse/wallet or a zip lock bag.
We also ask for your support in ensuring that your child does not order too many items e.g. 3 icy poles, as they are unable to eat everything in the given time. Please talk to your child about the suggested items to buy before Tuckshop day. Many thanks for your support and assistance with this.
To minimise lengthy lines and wait times at the Tuckshop, the various year levels can line up at the following times:
For Child Safety and OH&S compliance, children of parents assisting in the tuckshop, are not allowed to enter the kitchen area. They must line up at the window.
Garden Club
All children are invited to Garden Club on a Wednesday every fortnight from 7.50am. Please remember to drop your children around 7.50am as the Glenferrie Rd pedestrian gate will be closed by 8am. Mrs Mulhall and Miss Olney look forward to seeing everyone back in the Veggie Garden next week.
Running Club
SHK Running Club was back in action this morning. This will occur each Friday morning from 7.45am. All children from Years 3 - 6 are welcome to attend with Mr O'Shea as they develop their health and fitness each week.
Here's what you need to know......
- Children will need to bring their own water bottle and perhaps a small towel
- They will need to enter from the Glenferrie Road pedestrian gate
- All fitness levels are welcome
- Along with running, there will be some fitness circuits and health-related learning involved including: stretching, breathing, tempo running, warm up and cool down (process), making use of smart watches and fitbit's
2025 School Leaders, Semester One Class Captains & Environmental Monitors Presentation
We will acknowledge and present badges to our 2025 School Leaders and Semester One Class Captains and Environmental Monitors at a Special Assembly next Friday 21 February at 2.30pm. Hopefully, this will be held in the great outdoors, weather permitting!
Friday Afternoon School Assemblies at 2.30pm
Term 1 Assemblies:
Week 4 (21 Feb): Semester 1 and Year 6 Leader Badge Presentation
Week 5 (28 Feb): Year 5/6 Spotlight on Learning
Week 6 (7 Mar): No Assembly - School Closure Day
Week 7 (14 Mar): Assembly
Week 8 (21 Mar): No Assembly - Wellbeing Groups
Week 9 (28 Mar): Assembly
Week 10 (4 Apr): No Assembly - End of Term 1 12:45pm finish
School Photos
School photos will take place on Wednesday 2 April. All students need to wear the full Summer Uniform. Your child can bring their runners in a separate bag if they have their weekly PE lesson.
2025 Term Dates
Term 1
Fri 31 January (Students begin) – Fri 4 April
Term 2
Tues 22 April – Fri 4 July
Term 3
Mon 21 July – Fri 19 September
Term 4
Tue 7 October - Tues 16 December
2025 School Closure Days
As was communicated to families last year...
* Time in Lieu (TIL)
The new Catholic Education Multi-Enterprise Agreement 2022 (the Agreement) introduces a formal time in lieu (TIL) process for teachers. The Agreement provides that a principal may require a teacher to undertake work and attend a school activity outside the normal hours of attendance (i.e., in excess of the 38 hours or normal hours for a part-time teacher) and when this occurs, it will attract TIL.
Principals should prepare for the accrual and acquittal of TIL through their annual planning process. The timing of the acquittal of TIL is at the discretion of the principal, having regard to the operational needs of the school and causing the least disruption to the educational program of the school.
Principals may elect to acquit TIL through designating days during the year on which all staff and students are not required to attend school.
2025 SCHOOL DATES
Tuesday 28 January (staff return)
2025 Assessment Days
Wednesday 29 & Thursday 30 January
First day of School 2025
Friday 31 January All children (Prep - Year Six)
Prep children attend 8.45am - 12.45pm
School Closure Days 2025
Term 1
Thursday 6 March (Staff Professional Learning)
Friday 7 March (Staff Professional Learning)
Monday 10 March (Labour Day Public Holiday)
Term 2
Friday 25 April (ANZAC Day Public Holiday)
Monday 9 June (King’s Birthday Public Holiday)
Term 3
N/A
Term 4
Monday 6 October (Move back to School Hall Classrooms) TO BE CONFIRMED!
Thursday 16 October (TIL day for staff) TO BE CONFIRMED!
Monday 3 November (TIL day for staff)
Tuesday 4 November (Melbourne Cup Day Public Holiday)
Friday 5 December (Staff Planning for 2025)
Children finish on Tuesday 16 December at 12.45pm (Earliest date children can finish)
Please note that no primary school students should be dismissed from schools prior to Tuesday 16 December 2025 – this is their earliest finish date
CSEF (Camps, Sports, Excursions Fund) Application Form
The Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund (CSEF) provides payments for eligible students to attend activities like:
- school camps or trips
- swimming and school-organised sport programs
- outdoor education programs
- excursions and incursions.
Families holding a valid means-tested concession card or temporary foster parents are eligible to apply. A Special Consideration category also exists. Schools can receive applications from families over term one and two. Families can list more than one student in the one application form if they are attending the same school.
If the above applies to your family, please complete the CSEF Application Form and email it to admin@shkew.catholic.edu.au
School Saving Bonus (SSB) & MACS Concessional School Fees
Please see below for information regarding the Victorian Government's $400 School Saving Bonus that was reported late last year.
The School Saving Bonus (SSB) is only eligible for students who applied for and received Camps, Sports and Excursion Funding (CSEF) in 2024.
MACS Concessional School Fees are available for families who hold a valid Health Care Card (HCC), Dept’ of Veteran Affairs (DVA) Gold Card card or ImmiCard. Please contact the School Office for further information if this applies to your family.
MACSEYE - Outside School Hours Care
As we all know this year we have partnered with MACSEYE (Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools Early Years Education) as our OSHC provider. MACSEYE is a newly approved provider, set up by MACS to offer a range of early childhood and school aged care programs.
Please see below for further information, including the MACSEYE Booking Link.
MACSEYE OSHC Provider Update
Many thanks to those families who communicated to the school their initial experiences with our new OSHC provider MACSEYE. Today, we met with the MACSEYE Area Manager (Claire Weissenfeld) to pass on your feedback. All emails, phone conversations and face to face discussions that were shared with us, we did bring to Claire’s attention. We also passed on some of our own feedback, from a school perspective. Claire was very receptive to our feedback, and apologised for these early teething issues that families have experienced.
Claire explained that during the last week, MACSEYE have had to employ temporary staff members, as our OSHC Coordinator Di is away on placement for two weeks. This will continue next week. Di will return to our OSHC service on Monday 24 February. Claire also outlined that there have been issues regarding the online booking system and phone number provided, which MACSEYE are currently working on, behind the scenes.
Claire has assured us that she will communicate our concerns with the MACSEYE staff who will be filling in at our OSHC service next week, ensuring that these staff understand these concerns, so that they can provide an engaging and supportive environment for our children who attend, both before and after school.
We will continue to regularly liaise with our Area Manager, to ensure that our OSHC service operates at the high level we all expect, so our children are comfortable, confident and engaged when attending this service. We will also pass on any further information that we may receive from MACSEYE, regarding updated booking links or overall improvements that may be made.
As a school, we once again apologise for the early 'hiccups' that some families are experiencing, and greatly appreciate your patience, support and understanding. We also still very much welcome any feedback that you may have regarding MACSEYE, as the weeks progress.