St Agnes' Primary School Newsletter

PRINCIPAL'S REPORT

A Message from the Principal

Lachlan Foott

 

Dear Parents/Carers,

 

I hope you are staying well at this time.

 

It has been pleasing to see the COVID-19 case numbers have started to stabilise and even come down in the past few days. Wednesday of this week will mark the halfway point of remote learning for Term Three and much has been achieved in this time. Our Prep, Year One and Year Two students are now connected with teachers via a weekly Whole Class Meet, as well as multiple small group sessions each week for Literacy and Mathematics. Our Year Three to Year Six students have settled very well into the structure and routine of our revised approach. I would like to commend our teachers and support staff for their efforts to this point also. At this stage we do not know when our students will return to onsite learning, but I don’t expect it to be before the end of Term Three. We currently have an average of six students completing remote learning onsite and I would like to thank our parent community for keeping your children home and partnering with the teachers/support staff to endure the successes and challenges of remote learning 2.0.

 

As we are now reaching the midpoint of this current lockdown phase, it is vital that we actively support the mental wellbeing of our children and also take proactive steps to fostering positive mental health strategies in ourselves. Staying connected and staying active are key components in managing our wellbeing, as well as celebrating the small wins or daily success stories in your household. This Wednesday 19th August at 7.30pm, we are lucky to have Georgina Manning, Director of Wellbeing for Kids, facilitate a parent seminar focused on strategies to support your child to:

  • Reduce anxiety and stress
  • Cope with life’s ups and downs
  • Become more resilient
  • Solve problems confidently
  • Use effective and positive thinking habits
  • Build self-efficacy and independence
  • Understand and manage their feelings

Georgina has many years of experience working in schools supporting children and parents to reach effective social and emotional outcomes.

I encourage all families to get the kids fed and in bed on time on Wednesday night to attend this online seminar. If you did not register your interest on Operoo (CareMonkey) by the end of last week, please contact Shannon Shine (sshine@sahighett.catholic.edu.au) to let her know you would like to attend. We will be sending out a Zoom link to all families this afternoon. This event is open to all parents from the local Highett community, so if you have a friend who would like to ‘attend’ also, everyone is welcome.

 

If you have noticed any changes in your child recently (behaviour, mood, sleep, eating habits), the school can facilitate support through Minds That Matter Psychology. More information is available on the Wellbeing page of this newsletter.

 

Canberra Camp Cancellation

The Year Five/Six Canberra Camp has been cancelled for 2020 due to COVID-19 restrictions. You will recall that this camp has already been rescheduled twice and with border restrictions, it simply cannot go ahead. It was scheduled for the first week of Term Four.  As was the case with the Year Four Camp cancellation, the cost of this camp will be credited to school fees accounts or for those families who are finishing their time at St Agnes’ this year, you will be refunded this amount if your fees have been paid in full.

 

Term Three School Fees

Term Three school fees now due and payable over the phone, via EFT or direct debit. As mentioned above, costs of school camps which have been cancelled due to COVID-19 (Year Four and Year Five/Six) have been credited to school fee accounts. Updated statements will be sent out this week. Please contact Naomi in the office (nfield@sahighett.catholic.edu.au) if you do not receive your statement.

 

Events for Term Four

Decisions will be made on Term Four events such as Year Three Camp, the school swimming program and Year Five/Six Public Speaking, once we have a better understanding of COVID-19 restrictions for Term Four.

 

Father’s Day Stall - Click and Collect 

Thanks to our P&F, the Father’s Day Stall is running online this year, with a ‘Click and Collect’ arrangement in place. There is also a raffle to win a great prize pack. Head across to the Parents and Friends page of the newsletter for more information.

 

Wishing you all well at this time and as always, please get in touch if you have any questions or concerns.

 

Kind regards,

Lachie