School Closure Day - Friday 8th March - Staff Professional Development - Continued focus on Feedback strategies - Consultant - Chris Daicos

Public Holiday - Monday 11th March, 2024

Dear Families,

2024 Prep Family Welcome Mass - Thank you!

Thank you to all families who joined us last Sunday morning for our Prep Welcome Mass. It was wonderful to see our Prep families being welcomed by members of the St Andrew’s community. Our Prep children certainly stole the show by sharing their song with the community at the conclusion of Mass!

Thank you Preps and thank you Prep families for your support of your children and the school.

We also thank our 2024 Prep team and members of leadership for their support of the mass

Bentleigh District Swimming Carnival - Congratulations

(Refer to Physical Education tab)

Congratulations to all members of the Swimming Squad who were outstanding representatives of St Andrew’s School at the District Swimming Carnival on Tuesday.

Our thanks to Beth Kromer and Joachim Min Fa for preparing and supporting the children throughout the past weeks. Thank you to all parents who were present to support their children at the event.

We thank our staff volunteers for their support of our children.

Year 6 School Jacket Presentation on Friday 1st March (3.00pm - 3.15pm)

Each year in term 1 our Year 6 students are presented their Year 6 level jackets which they take great pride in wearing throughout their final year of primary school. We welcome all family members to join the school community tomorrow at 3.00pm, Friday 1st March, for the handing over of the Year 6 jackets.

We are pleased to advise families that our 2023 School Captains, Eva and Cooper, have accepted our invitation to be onsite to hand over the Year 6 jumpers to our Year 6 leaders.

This event will take place in front of the school administration area. Join us for a bit of fun and what will hopefully be a special moment for our senior students.

Should wet weather intervene we will invite our Year 6 students to gather in the hall for the presentation of jumpers with their parents/carers welcome to attend this event. We will advise families of this arrangement closer to the date.

We thank Nerida Sibilia for her role in coordinating the purchase and distribution of the Year 6 jackets.

Parent-Child-Teacher Interviews - Monday 25th March

We invite all families to attend the Term 1 Parent/Child/Teacher Interviews on the afternoon/evening of Monday 25th March. Parents can book for this event by clicking on the link below. The interviews will be 10 minutes and conducted in the School Hall.

Please note that the booking site is Now Open

Bookings close on Saturday 23rd March.

We remind parents that students are encouraged to be active participants in the interviews. Should it be necessary to have a private conversation with your child’s class teacher, we recommend that parents simply advise the teacher that they would like their child to remove themselves from the interview for a short period of time.

Interviews will run from 2.30pm through to 7.20pm.

Optional Child School Attendance – Monday 25th March - 1.35pm-3.15pm

Teaching staff will be released on the afternoon of Monday 25th March to commence ‘Three Way Interviews’. Children remaining at school for the afternoon block will be grouped in levels and supervised by staff not required at the Interviews. Parents attending interviews may collect their children from these level gatherings.

Parents do have the option of collecting their children for a shortened school day from 1.35pm. Collection of children assists staff by reducing the number of children being present in the afternoon block. Please inform your child’s class teacher in writing if you plan to collect your child from school at this early time.

Parents do not need to sign out from the school office on this day. Your written notification will be a record of student early exits.

Term 2 interviews will take place on Monday 24th June. These interviews will involve the presentation of each child’s Semester 1 Report.

Managing Big Feelings Webinar

Date: Thursday 7 March

Time: 7.30pm (75 min)

Invitation for all junior school families to attend an online presentation by Carley McGauran

We invite all families of Prep to Year 3 families to an online forum hosted by Psychologist Carley McGauran. Carley is well known to our community through her involvement in Prep presentations previously held on the topic of - Starting School, how you can thrive, not just survive.

Carley and Marty McGuran were on site earlier in the term leading a Cyber Safety presentation to families of Year 3 - 6 children.

Big feelings are a part of being human. This session is designed to support you to show up in the most helpful way when your children experience big feelings. The goal is for parents and carers to feel more informed and more empowered.

Topics to be included on the webinar include:

How to be an emotional coach, The brain and emotional development, Understanding meltdowns and how to manage them, Let’s talk anger, anxiety and sadness, Tips for encouraging your child’s self regulation and Recognising when big feelings may be a concern

Registration Details for the webinar -

Managing Big Feelings - Presenter: Carley McGauran

Date: Wednesday 8 March -Time: 7.30pm (75 min)

Here is the link for your parents to register for the webinar :

Once parents register (with an email address and name), you will be emailed a link to the webinar. You will also receive reminder emails. The following day, you will receive a link to access the replay. Therefore we recommend that even if parents are unable to attend the live webinar, they register to ensure they can access the replay which will be available for 30 days.

Raising Kids in a Digital World - Parent Resource

Earlier in the year parents were invited to the ‘Raising Kids in a Digital World' presentation as hosted by Carley and Marty. Please find below the link to this presentation.

This may be beneficial to families who could not attend on the evening.

The webinar replay is now available for parents at the following link- https://www.informandempower.com.au/parents

To access the replay, simply use the password - feb2024

Running Club has started!

Running Club - School Oval - every Thursday at 8am

The running club will be held every Thursday morning between 8 am and 8:30 am and will continue only throughout Term 1. Mrs. Kromer will be present to supervise the children on the oval, creating a supportive and enjoyable atmosphere. Parents are welcome to drop off their children at the school oval through the hall gate or may choose to actively participate in the running! As we prepare for our upcoming Cross Country and Athletics day, this running club offers an excellent opportunity for children of all year levels to stay active and prepare for these events in the morning.

Children at the end of the sports session will be provided with a fruit selection courtesy of Woolworths, Clarinda. We thank ‘Woollies’ for their generous support. We also acknowledged members of the Parents and Friends team who collect the fruit from Woollies on a weekly basis.

Working Bee - Saturday 2nd March - 8.30am - 10.30am

We look forward to welcoming parents to the first Working Bee of the school year this Saturday 2nd March from 8.30am.

Parents are requested to sign in at the desk outside the school office on arrival and to sign out when you depart.

Job lists will be provided providing outlines of the various tasks to be covered on the morning.

We encourage parents with wheelbarrows, shovels, brooms, rakes etc to bring them along for the morning. We aim for a clean up of the site and a replacement of mulch that was swept away in our recent floods.

Thank you to all participants.

Curriculum Day - Friday 8th March

YLV will be operating on this day. Please remember to book your place and come dressed as your favourite character.

PSG appointments

Some families will soon receive and email requesting they make an appointment for a PSG (Parent Support Group) meeting.

If your child is in Year 3 or Year 5, we request that you do not book on the dates designated for their NAPLAN testing. You will need to organise your appointment during a non-NAPLAN testing time.

NAPLAN 2024

NAPLAN will take place between 13 - 25 March 2024.

The timeframe is as follows:

All tests are completed online using a school device except for the Year 3 writing test which is completed on paper.

All students require a set of over-ear headphones.

Please send a pair into school with your child before Week 7, if you haven't already done so.

Any student who is absent on any of the scheduled test days can still sit the test within the catch-up window (14 - 25 March).

Please read the parent information sheet below.

The following information is available as a downloadable NAPLAN information for parents and carers brochure (PDF 108 KB) and a Simple English NAPLAN information brochure for parents and carers (PDF 1 MB)

Feel free to contact Emma Strom or Nicole Black if you have any queries.

St. Andrew’s Open Days for 2024

Prep/Foundation Children and new Enrolments from Year 1 to Year 6

Let your neighbours, friends and relatives know St. Andrew’s School Open Days are set for February & March.

School Open Days will be held on:

Friday 1st March, Wednesday 13th March & Tuesday 26th March

Tours will run on the hour at 9am, 10am, 4pm & 5pm.

Saturday 23rd March

Tours at 9am, 9.45am & 10.30am

Tours are also available on any school day throughout the year by appointment.

We request that parents already with children in the school enrol as early as possible.

Icy Pole Sales - Friday Zooper Dooper Sales - 50 cents

Children can bring 50 cents to school to purchase a Zooper Dooper on a Friday - a maximum of 2 zooper doopers can be purchased.

All profits raised from the sales will go to our Kadasig Social Justice fundraising efforts.

School Photos – Tuesday 19th March

(No Sports Uniform)

School Photos will be taken on Tuesday 19th March. Please ensure that children are present at school for an 8.45am start so as to avoid your child missing their class photo. Please note that the ordering and payment process will be made available to parents in the coming weeks.

All children are required to wear the normal school uniform on the day, not the sports uniform.

‘No Hat - No Play’

Our school has a ‘No Hat – No Play’ SunSmart policy, therefore all children are required to wear their school hat to school, at all outdoor sessions and home from school.

Please note that with the additions of the blue shade structures outside the Prep classrooms and the church we now have greater capacity for children to play in areas providing shade.

Child Safe Practices - Working with Children Checks

St Andrew’s School is committed to providing a child safe environment and takes active steps to ensure any person authorised to conduct ‘child connected works’ does not pose a risk to their safety or welfare. To achieve this, the school implements screening processes, including Working With Children Checks (WWCC), to assess and verify their suitability.

St Andrew’s School ensures that non-teaching staff, contractors, volunteers and visitors are of suitable character and do not have a relevant criminal record that poses an unjustifiable risk to children.

Teaching Staff & Casual Relief Teachers who are registered with the Victorian Institute of Teaching (VIT) undergo criminal record checks via their annual registration.

Volunteering to Assist with School Programs- WWCC

Parents would be aware that to assist with any of our school programs that all volunteers, parents/guardians/family members are required to have a current Working With Children Check on our school records.

Please refer to the following site for details on accessing a WWCC.

Family members are to provide a copy of the WWCC to the school office.

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 would recommend that parents make a regular visit to the school website to see updates on all school events.

Audiri School App– Please ensure you download the Audiri App to get alerts for weekly newsletters, important announcements and reminders.

Paul Wakeling

Principal

Whole School Specialist Timetable - Term 1