Principals Announcments

Newsletter Address ~ Term 1, Week  2, 10th February 2023

Prayer to Begin a School Year

God of wisdom and might,we praise you for the wonder of our being,for mind, body and spirit.Be with our children as they begina new school year.Bless them and their teachers and staff.Give the strength and grace as their bodies grow;wisdom and knowledge to their mindsas they search for understanding;and peace and zeal to their hearts.We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord.Amen.

Payer for StudentsLord our God,in your wisdom and loveyou surround us with the mysteries of the universe.Send your spirit upon these studentsand fill them with your wisdom and blessings.Grant that they may devote themselves to their studiesand draw ever closer to you,the source of all knowledge.We ask this through Christ our Lord.Amen.

Prayer for TeachersLord God, your spirit of wisdom fills the earthand teaches us in your ways.Look upon these teachers.Let them strive to share their knowledge with gentle patienceand endeavour always to bring the truth to eager minds.Grant that we may follow Jesus Christ, the way, the truth and the life,forever and ever.Amen

Dear Parents, Friends and Families of St Mel’s

Principal’s Message

Dear Parents and Friends of St Mel’s

On behalf of our teaching staff, I warmly welcome you all to St Mel’s for the commencement of our school year for 2023. 

I welcome our new families, in particular our new ‘foundation’ families to our school community. Having experienced this four times with my own children, I can relate to the overwhelming feeling of letting your ‘babies’ go.  It’s not easy no matter how many children you have had to say goodbye to at the school gates. Children at this age are amazingly resilient, much better than adults at times. With the love and support of our incredibly talented staff, your child’s wellbeing, education needs, and any special requirement will be well and truly catered for.  Be assured your children are in very good care. 

Welcome to all foundation students: 

Not only was it beautiful to see our new ‘preppies’ begin their educational journey on Wednesday, it was also great to see our new “non prep” families joining us and our returning students return to school refreshed, busily catching up with friends, getting to know their teachers, sharing wonderful holiday highlights and getting back into the swing of school routines. 

We also welcome several new staff members to our community and wish them every success for the year ahead.

Chris Dainton ~ Senior Leader Wellbeing & Learning Diversity

Jane Shattock ~ Grade 1/2

Nanette Micallef ~ Grade 5/6 

Anita Damianopolous ~ Foundation

Joe Worrall ~ Grade 1/2 

Staffing list 2023

Leadership Group

Chris Summers ~ Principal

Danae Napier ~ Senior Leader ~ Catholic Identity / DP

Chris Dainton ~ Senior Leader ~ Wellbeing & Learning Diversity

Staff 2023

Prep ~ Rachael Howard /Julia Barnes 

Prep ~ Elley Drummond / Anita Damianopolous

1/2 ~ Laura Emanuelli (Area Leader / Curriculum Leader)

1/2 ~ Joe Worrall / Bridie Cooke

1/2 ~ Jane Shattock

3/4 ~ Hannah Chasemore ~ Area Leader & ICT

3/4 ~ Cathy Anderson

3/4 ~ Tanya Brand

5/6 ~ Carmel Hutchison

5/6 ~ Jodi Cox

5/6 ~ Nanette Micallef (Area Leader)

5/6 ~ Cyndilee Watson

Specialist Staff

Art ~ Robyn Banfield 

Music / Sport ~ Katie Nicholson 

STEM ~ Emma McNamara

Japanese ~ Demi Wood 

Sport P-2 ~ Allison Durling

Learning Support Staff

Cindy Lombardozzi

Cassie Waack

Luisa Cassise 

Sunny Alessi 

Katie Ferrari

Lilly Keck 

Ayva Cirillo 

Tammy Alexander

MaryJo DeRose

Student Support / Response to Intervention (RTI) 

Cara Sofi

English Additional Language (EAL)

Catherine Whitford 

Wellbeing 

Elizabeth Rodrigues

Administration

Maria Makin ~ Admin / Library Technician

Jen Amadei

Karen Myers

Maintenance / Cleaning

Dean Simpson 

I look forward to each school year with a great sense of anticipation and joy and I especially look forward to working with you all to continue to make our school a happy, vibrant, welcoming and supportive place to be; attributes St Mel’s is renowned for.   

As the children settle into their class routines, each classroom is abuzz with new learning.  I would like to thank our staff for the hours of preparation spent before the commencement of the year.  Their passion and enthusiasm have ensured that fun and creative learning spaces have been created and that our students will achieve the best education possible.  The positive vibe around the school is very exciting.

Best Wishes for the coming week and best wishes for the year ahead,

Some of our First Day Photos

St Mels Feast Day  6th March

What a beautiful day celebrating with our School Community. The smiles on the children's faces showed the joy that was had throughout the day.  See some photos of our day or celebtrating in our Catholic Identity page.

Come & Join us; St Mels Open Night

2023 Important Dates for St Mels

2023 Term Dates 

Term 1:  27 January to 6 April 

Term 2:  24 April to 23 June

Term 3:  10 July to 15 September

Term 4:  2 October to 20 December

Before School Drop Off ~ Students are not to be dropped off no earlier than 8:20am in the morning.  Supervision starts at 8:20am.   

School Uniform and Hats:  Students will be required to wear their Summer Uniform and hats are compulsory for the first term. It is important that particularly during these warmer months, that the students stay well hydrated so please ensure each student has a water bottle with them each day.  Please ensure all clothing and drink bottles are clearly named. 

URGENT REMINDER!!!  Medical Update ~ Asthma Plans & Anaphylaxis Plans

If your child suffers from Asthma or Anaphylaxis, please remember to send in an updated Asthma Plan or Anaphylaxis Plan.  These MUST BE arranged through your family GP.   Without an updated plan your children will not be able to participate in school funtions.

Kiss and Go Reminder… 

Our new families may not be aware that our ‘kiss and go’ zone simply means you: don’t stop and wait for a space to become free.  You must always allow traffic to move freely and not congest Hamilton Street. Some people are not obeying the road laws and as a consequence are making it unsafe for all, including morning drop off.  Last year, for some people the lack of consideration for fellow drivers, by stopping when they should not, has resulted in fines being issued.   Hopefully this doesn’t become a major issue this year. From what I am witnessing it’s about being patient with another and being safe.

A detailed explanation of the ‘Kiss and Go’ zone in operation has been included in this weeks newsletter.

Kiss and Go dashboard and visor sign  ~ For those all who pick their children up from Hamilton St. 

I have noticed some people have already adopted this as a way for us to quickly identify families and children.  Let me say this is a brilliant idea ~ thank you. 

To help staff (especially our new staff) quickly identify families picking up children in the Kiss and Go zone could you please fill in the attached form so we can create your very own, personalised Dashboard & Visor sign. Once created, please place these on the left-hand side of your vehicle.  Completed signs will be sent home with your child.  Your assistance with this is greatly appreciated.

Meetings with Staff…some reminders to help you

Staff generally attend meetings at school on Tuesdays 3:45-5:00pm and Wednesday from 3:45-5:00pm. We certainly encourage parents to catch up casually with staff as the need arises, but please be aware that we will need to excuse ourselves for these compulsory meetings. Parents are encouraged to make a meeting time with us to hold longer discussions, as this will also ensure we can give you our full attention.   Please be aware meetings with staff are encouraged to be online or vis phone calls.

St Mel’s OSHC is accepting enrolments & bookings for 2023

Welcome to St Mel’s OSHC. We understand that placing your child in childcare is an important decision and as such, we feel privileged to play an integral role in your child’s learning and development.

Our aim is to function as an extended family in order to provide your child with the security, warmth and love which are essential to their development and growth.

Our professional and dedicated educators provide a program that enables children to learn through exploration and stimulating experiences. We aspire to create an environment that provides enjoyable and creative learning. This is achieved through activities designed to support your child in all areas of growth. Please call us on 0438213163 or visit our section of the schools web site for further information.

School Uniforms

Thank you to the way families have ensured your child has returned to school wearing the correct uniform. Wearing the correct uniform expresses pride and value in our school and of our expectations. 

TERM 1 ~ Summer Uniform

TERM 2 ~ Winter Uniform

TERM 3 ~ Winter Uniform

TERM 4 ~ Summer Uniform

Student Absences 

Please ensure you inform the office if your child is away or will be away from school.  Resulting changes to the attendance guidelines implemented last year now state… 

‘Schools must advise parents/guardians of unexplained absences, on the same day, as soon as practicable, including for post-compulsory aged students’. 

If your child has been away through illness, holidays or for any reason please contact the school / child’s teacher via a phone call, note or personal visit.  Thank you in your anticipated adherence to this important information.  St Mel’s endeavours to keep all children safe at all times. 

A few house keeping items…Lost Property

~ Please name all school items.  Hats, jumpers, drink bottles are the usual things that go missing.  A lost property box is located out the front of the main building if you’re on the hunt for lost items.

Happy Birthday to everyone that has celebrated their birthdays this week and during the holidays:

Sunny Walker, Alessio Natalizio,  Annelyse Johnson, Charlie Campbell, Stella Campi, Audrey Gacus, Livinia Lay, Dilpreet Pannu, Kristen Feata, Aami Patel, Jen Amadei, Maria Makin and Anita Damianopolous.

Maths Assessment Interviews ~ Friday March 3rd and Friday March 10th (Pupil Free Days)

Math’s Assessment Interview ~ Summary

Background (the Early Numeracy Research Project)

The Mathematics Assessment Interview (MAI) was developed as part of the Early Numeracy Research Project (1999-2001). The interview consists of hands-on assessment tasks where students demonstrate Mathematical understanding and preferred strategies for solving increasingly complex tasks.

What

• It is a one to one interview held with each child, with the aim of finding out where their Maths learning is at, in the form of ‘growth points’.
• Growth points are the key stages of a child’s mathematical understanding. 
• MAI is based on sound research.

Why

• MAI gives growth points under different areas. At our school we complete the four areas of number -counting, place value, addition and subtraction, multiplication and division.
• In contrast to the traditional pen and paper test, a carefully-constructed one to one interview can provide greater insights into what children know and can do. Children’s strategies are recorded in detail on the interview record sheet. 
• Provides our school with excellent summative data which helps track student progress. 
• As teachers, we value the MAI as it helps us get to know our learners and where to move to next in their learning

Volunteering at St Mel’s 

A school volunteer is anyone who helps at school supervise, assist student learning or attends camps / excursions.  As part of our commitment to keeping all students safe, all volunteers MUST have a current Working with Children’s Check (WWC), have signed a parent code of conduct and volunteer’s application form.  These documents can be downloaded from our school website or collected from the school office ~ as attached to this week’s newsletter.

If you are interested in becoming a volunteer at St Mel’s please take the time to read our Volunteer’s Policy and complete the required documentation. 

To apply for an online WWC please visit:

www.workingwithchildren.vic.gov.au

Kiss and go ~ A detailed explanation… 

Kiss and Go.  What is that you may ask?  Simply it is a quick, efficient and safe way to drop off and pick up your children. The zone from the school library to the hall in Hamilton Street has been zoned as the ‘kiss and go’. There are few steps we need to follow to make this work:

1. 2 minute parking between 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. 
2. Move forward so that other cars can park
3. Stay in the car to let your child out or collect your child

1. Always let your child in form the passenger side – never the drivers side
2. If there are no places to park go around the block until a park is available
3. Use other long term parking that is within a short walking distance to the school
4. When picking up your child – get the duty teachers attention and let them know who you are picking up e.g. the Smith Family or Johnny Smith 
5. Be patient
6. Observe and follow the rules
7.  Safety before convenience 

We ask parents and drivers to consider the following:

When in the ‘Kiss and Go’ drop off zone DO:

1. Travel to the further most car park available to enable a flow of traffic, even if you are the only vehicle there and do not leave your vehicle to go into the school.
2. Ensure your children enter the vehicle from the footpath.  Do not have children entering/leaving the car from driver’s side of the vehicle.
3. Move along the zone whilst waiting, when safe to do so, looking in all blind spots.
4. Respect and adhere to the directions of the teachers supervising the “Kiss and Go” system.

STAR Focus for Term 1 

Helping Others Succeed

What does this mean?  How can you help?

Congratulations to all of our students who for a great start to Term 1.  It has been so good to see you settling in to new routines and eager to learn.  Thank you for doing your best, respecting our school and helping others succeed.

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School Calendar for 2023

UPDATE - Please visit the 'Upcoming Dates & Events' page to keep informed about what's coming up and any date changes to events.

School Fees Updates -  February Statement

School Fee Statements will be sent out to families from next week beginning Monday 13th Feb 2023. 

All families have or will be emailed their 2023 school fees and individual payment plans .  The majority of these have already been sent, but there are a few to go.  If you have not received an email by 10/2/2023 please get in touch with Karen or Jen at our office.

It is important that you respond to our fees email so that we are aware of your payment plans for this year. Thankyou so much to all those who have already done so.

It is important to establish and set up your payment plans early, to allow you to stretch payments over the year and avoid the financial pressure of late commencement.  At a minimum, we expect fees to be paid on a term by term basis.  We also have a wide range of regular payment options available. Please feel free to call us if you want to discuss this further.

Thank you to the families who have contacted the school office or who have responded positively when our office has called to discuss payment of fees or organise payment plans.  

Fee statements will continue to be sent out Monthly by email ensuring that all families are aware of the balances of outstanding school fees.  If you have not received any correspondence by email then please contact the school office to confirm we have the correct email address.

Please check your statements next week.   Should you be experiencing financal hardship we strongly urge you to contact the school office to discuss your situation and a possible payment plan.