From the Principal
Welcome to the first newsletter of the 2021 school year!
A new year brings with it new opportunities, new friendships, new colleagues, new beginnings, enhanced with the warmth of welcome and hospitality. Each of us is called to be open in both mind and spirit to the endless possibilities ahead. I wish everyone all the best for the new school year and invite you to look for ways to support your children and our school team. Thank you to the staff of Queen of Peace for their preparation, ensuring that the start of the year has been such a smooth and a welcoming experience for the families and students.
We wish you many happy memories ahead for your children's time at Queen of Peace and we look forward to working in partnership with you in educating your children. It is our strong desire to help your children thrive, not just academically but socially, emotionally and spiritually as well.
Back from Lockdown
Another brief stint in lockdown last week has highlighted two revelations about our school. Firstly, our kids are extremely resilient and quick to adapt to sudden change. The second was that our families care about their community, as I had a number of parents reach out to see if other families were doing OK. It was heart-warming to know that level of care and support was out there. Parents were able to adapt quickly to the lockdown and children seemed to cope with support from their families.
It was also a credit to our staff that teachers were well prepared for such an event and spent the time in lockdown preparing with their learning teams for any future remote learning possibilities as well as planning for students being back on site.
Welcome New Preps and New Families
We welcomed our 74 new Prep students for their first day of school!
We also had 6 new children and families join us in other year levels within the school. Our total number of students is 475.
We wish you many happy times ahead for your children at Queen of Peace and we look forward to working in partnership with you in educating your children. It is our strong desire to help your children thrive, not just academically but socially, emotionally and spiritually as well.
We have decided to bring forward our and family STEM night to Thursday 11 March. This will allow families to utilise our new indoor and outdoor learning spaces, with activities now spread throughout the school to enhance social distancing.
Parent & Friends
A big thank you to the parents who have taken on important roles on the 2021 executive committee as well as those parents who attended the first meeting on Monday evening. I am looking forward to a productive year with the P & F.
The Parents and Friends Association (P&F) provides a network for parents to participate in activities and decision making processes at Queen of Peace Parish Primary School. It works to benefit our children, the school and our community. Some of its many functions include:
- supporting the school with social activities to help build community spirit
- helping the school financially by raising funds for specific/general purposes
- members helping to organise the school maintenance
- other roles and duties as the needs arise
New Staff 2021
We welcome back from maternity leave Natasha Manger (Junior Literacy) and two new staff members: Laura Granato (3A) and Chanel Watterson (Year 6 Support Teacher). A full list of staff and contact details can be found on our Website here.
School Communication
At Queen of Peace, we strive to build partnerships with our parents. Partnerships are built on open and clear communication. Effective communication is essential for a successful school. Although this sounds simple and obvious, it requires a commitment from both the school and home to keep informed and communicate frequently.
As we continue to live in a new COVID world, there is even a greater need to stay informed and connected.
Some of the systems that we have established to keep you informed are:
Morning Procedure and Drop Off
Car park drop off and pick up has been excellent this year, ensuring that safety of our children is our priority. The car park does get busy.
It would heavily reduce traffic if families used the skate park car park and then walked, rode or rolled the short distances into our playground. We worked with the council late last year to construct the new footpath into the school. The gate near the senior playground is open before and after school.
If utilising the drop off zone in the school car park, you may not drop off children outside the office, please drive down to the designated drop off zone in front of the Art Room and remember drivers should not get out of the car. Children should have their bags on their laps ready to disembark quickly. These measures prevent an unsafe build up of cars across entries and Everingham Road.
The first bell goes at 8:45am for the children to enter the classrooms, ready for their first learning session at 8:55am. It is vital that children are seated and ready at 8:55am. When they or others are late it can be very distractive for the class.
Last year showed us all that children as young as Preps are capable - they can enter the yard on their own, carry and unpack their own bag and prepare for their day of learning..Help them by letting them help themselves. Your child’s mission in life is to gain independence. Giving a child responsibility is good for their self-esteem (and your sanity!).
2021 School Closure Days
Listed below are our school closure days for 2021. These are student free days. Staff use these days to further develop their learning and keep informed of current practice and procedures.
- Thursday & Friday 6 & 7 May (Term 2 Wk 3) Project Thrive (Wellbeing)
- Monday 16 August ( Term 3 Wk 6) Catholic Identity
- Monday 1 November (Term 4 Wk 5) Report Writing Day
- Friday 26 November (Term 4 Wk 8 ) Planning for 2022
NOTE: These dates are subject to change due to circumstances beyond our control.
Warm regards
Darren Gibbons
Principal
