Community Noticeboard

2021 Kindergarten

Have you enrolled your child for kindergarten next year? It is time! ALTONA MEADOWS KINDERGARTEN is a community run kindergarten in Powlett Street, Altona Meadows and we have vacancies for 2021. "If you have a current health care card/pension card you do not pay kindergarten fees due the fee Subsidy". Enrolment forms HERE. Due to COVID19 and stage 4 restrictions, we are unable to offer tours of the centre but you can:

Go to our website for 2021 Information
Call our kindergarten on Tuesday, Thursday & Fridays on 9369 3346 to speak with a staff member.

Altona Meadows is also taking expressions of interest for 3yo Kindergarten in 2021. Please call 93693346 or email altona.meadows.kin@kindergarten.vic.gov.au if you are interested.

Mount St Joseph Girls' College

MSJ would like to share community this fun and heartwarming video of our staff cheering on our hardworking and resilient Year 12 students. We hope it makes you happy too. CLICK HERE

Throughout a normal year, we warmly welcome families to our College for Open Mornings, Open Days and personal tours to view our facilities and meet our Principal and students.

This year, due to COVID-19, we are unfortunately unable to have visitors at the College and all Open Events are cancelled for the time being. We would still love to showcase our College and affirm why choosing Mount St. Joseph Girls’ College is the right choice for your child. We are therefore pleased to offer you a 360 degree virtual tour. To learn more about our vision and community, you can view the video About Us.

Our prospectus is available to download and view.

Enrolments for 2022 and beyond : online enrolment system

CLICK HERE to read the latest newsletters.

Emmanuel College

This unusual year has had implications for so many students and their landmark years at school. For example, whether it is a Foundation or a Grade 6 student, their enjoyment of their landmark year at school has been very different. Some things haven’t been able to happen, but some other good things have appeared in their place. The same is happening at our school, some of the activities or events our Year 7 students we looking forward to haven’t been able to run in their traditional format, but, others have appeared in their place, it has been the same for the Year 12s in their very important final year. We have been amazed at our school at the way our students have adapted and been flexible and, most importantly, maintained an incredibly positive attitude towards school. The very hard work by students, their parents and the creative efforts by the teachers has been key in to this.

As we move into Term 3, we can all safely say we have never experienced a school year like this. Life is all about change and growth, and at Emmanuel, we constantly look at how we can support students in their growth. One area in which we do this is through our extensive transition program. At Emmanuel, we begin transition in the March of a child’s Grade 6 year with the first of our transition events. Then there are another 4 events that occur during the year all aimed at helping students find new friends, meet some teachers and learn about their new school, and this is all before they have even started with us. Once the students have started here, they enjoy a year of transition activities through our extensive ‘Life to the Full’ program.

As we work our way through the final week of a challenging term, students, parents and school staff are to be commended on the brilliant way that they have persevered and grown through this period. The young people of our community have become more resilient and agile – skills which will be invaluable as they get older.

Last Saturday, our College hosted our first ever Virtual Information Morning for which we had over 300 registrations. It was a terrific event with many families commenting at what great ambassadors our students were during the Q & A forums. Many thanks to all of the families who came along. The photo attached shows the students and staff in their online training session prior to Saturday’s event, the students were very dedicated to the task, another example of their agility in their learning.

Please enjoy the videos in these links where some of our students talk about their transition to school at Emmanuel.

Notre Dame campus

St Paul's Campus

Even though we have been unable to run our usual events this year, we are working at finding alternate ways to connect the incoming students with each other and with the College.

Building connection to school is a key factor in growing engagement for students. Everyone knows that people have different interests, skill and attributes. At Emmanuel College, we run an array of different events during the year that caters for the broad range of things that may be of interest to people. Book Week exhibitions and competitions, Lego Masters as well as inter and intra house games and competitions just to name a few. Connection to a student’s House is an essential element of building engagement between the student and school, House Leaders are constantly conducting events that help students know and feel that they are an important part of school life.

One of the most anticipated events each year is the LipSync Battle which happens in Term 4 annually. The Year 7s battle it out in a singing / dancing extravaganza, all very keen to claim the title. The links below show the 2019 version of the LipSync Battles at each campus. This event will definitely happen again in 2020, but, like everything else, it might be a bit different. Enjoy the show!

NDC

SPC

A reminder that the closing date for enrolment applications for Year 7, 2022 has been extended by Catholic Education Melbourne until Friday 9 October, 2020.

Even though this date has been extended, we are urging families to submit their application to the College as soon as possible. Prospectus Packs including application forms can be requested from the College Website, www.ecmelb.catholic.edu.au, under the enrolment information tab or by contacting the College Registrar at enrolments@ecmelb.catholic.edu.au or on 8325 5119.

OSHclub

Outside of School Hours (OSH) care (Before and After School Care) is provided by OSHclub, on site at Queen of Peace Primary School. Children must be pre-registered on line to attend. More information can be found by clicking this link OSHclub . Many families are eligible for Child Care Subsidy, which reduces the out of pocket cost of outside school hours care. To establish what level of CCS you may be entitled to please contact the Centrelink Family Assistance Office on 13 61 50.

OSH at QoP Program 0421 287 254

OSH Head Office 8564 9000

Cancellations: 48 hours' notice is required for cancellation of a Before or After School booking.

Cancellations can only be made through the following means:

Online - Log into your account at oshclub.com.au
Phone - Contact the customer service and billing team on 1300 395 735
Text - SMS the Coordinator of the program on 0421 287 254 and include all details: child's name, date and session you wish to cancel.

These are extremely challenging times and we are certainly being tested in many ways. We know that you are trying to cope with uncertainty, prolonged restrictions, and may also have challenges of remote learning, working from home, employment changes, and/or the sadness of being isolated from ageing parents. We have moved all our therapy services to Telehealth until further notice. We have held over 2000 Telehealth appointments in recent months but we also know that this isn't the best solution for some of you. We are looking at other ways to help you.One main way is that we have been working hard to create some online resources for parents in our H&H community to ease the burden a little and hope that it will help in some way.We'd like to offer you access to our online Parent Membership program at a significantly discounted rate. Usually $25 a month, we are offering a $9 trial month if you sign up by Monday night.You will receive immediate access to all the online workshops and interviews that you see below plus much more in the way of recorded Q&A sessions with our Director and Psychologist Jessica Cleary and Self-care sessions with a focus on parent well-being.Each workshop is valued at $37 if purchased separately, so even if there is just one workshop you want to watch then this is worth it for you! CLICK HERE for more information.

Hobsons Bay Library - Holiday Fun!

CLICK HERE for more information.

Hobsons Bay Workshops

Council is proud to be partnering with state government as one of 15 councils across Victoria to have recently joined the Working for Victoria program, creating more than 130 jobs within Hobsons Bay through the partnership. These jobs have been designed to provide immediate and long term benefit to Hobsons Bay and will boost the local economy and support the community as it begins to recover from the pandemic.

https://www.hobsonsbay.vic.gov.au/Council/Work-Opportunities/Hobsons-Bay-Working-for-Victoria

Caring for Young People at Hobsons Bay UP

Do you know a young person that not okay? Hobsons Bay UP is continuning to offer free and confidential youth counselling for young people within the Hobsons Bay area. This is a great opportunity for young people to receive support and discuss any difficulties they are experiencing during this time.Contact a youth counsellor on 9932 4000 or youthcounselling@hobsonsbay.vic.gov.au.Single-session online counselling appointments are also available to support young people and their families through this challenging period. Click here for more information.

For more information visit : https://www.hobsonsbay.vic.gov.au/youthmindfulness

Online Indirect/Support– Encompass Community Services

This program has over 15 unique on-line interactive weekday activities that participants can choose from to get them excited.
A chance to make connections and meet new friends along the way.
Participants will be able to plan their week ahead and achieve their goals whether they choose to engage in activities they like either in a Group Online Interactive Environment or opt for One-on-One Online Sessions.
Activities include: Jewellery Making, Photography or Colouring to satisfy your creative needs; Dance, Health & Fitness or Drama to keep you active; Cooking and Baking to work on your independent living skills; and On-line Games, Men's & Women's Group, or simply join our Chat & Catch Up sessions to meet new friends and remain engaged just to name a few.
For more information contact Janelle Davey, Support Services Manager on 0419 943 955. You can also send her an email at: Janelle@encompass-cs.org.au
click here to view timetable

Financial Counselling – Salvation Army

Financial counselling is free, confidential and non- judgmental
Do you have any money worries due to debts?
Or can't pay bills and are getting harassed by lenders or debt collectors?
These sessions will provide you with knowledge to regain over your finances.
Financial Counsellor will advocate on your behalf with creditors and service providers.
Offer information and discuss other options with you.
For more information call 939817250 or email corpsofficer.hobsonsbay@salvationarmy.org.au
Please click here to view flyer

The PERSYST Project at Orygen – Parent Education for Responding to and Supporting Youth with Suicidal thoughts

Seeking parents of 12-25 year old young people, living in the North and West of Melbourne.
What is involved? Suicide alertness training, delivered by LivingWorks free-of-charge
Email at persystproject@orygen.org.au