General Information

SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT - FOUR YEAR REVIEW

This week on Monday and Tuesday we welcomed Dr. Mary Lovelock onsite to complete our school’s four yearly School Improvement Review. As part of this process, Mary met with groups of staff, students and parents and observed the school in action over the two days.

I would like to thank the parents who formed the parent consultation group for the valuable part they played in allowing us to work with Mary in mapping out a strategic improvement plan for the next 4 years to come.

Whilst we are extremely proud of many elements of our school, we know that no school is perfect and that identifying areas for improvement and setting goals and plans to address these, should be a process we embrace. Recommendations from the review will be finalised in a follow up visit with Mary and the Regional Office on 11th July.

COMMUNITY MASS - SATURDAY 27TH MAY

The parish schools are now reintroducing the celebration school community masses after the interruptions caused by COVID 19. After three years and one term we will gather as a school community at St Andrew’s Church on Saturday, 27th May @ 6pm.

We are extending an invitation to all Catholic families to join us at the church for this mass which is being offered for our First Communicants who receive the Sacrament in June. 

First Communicants will be presented with the Australian Children’s Mass Book at this mass.

JAYDEN NEDESKI ANNIVERSARY MASS 

On Monday, 8th May we celebrated the first anniversary of Jayden’s passing.   I would like to acknowledge the support given to Jayden’s family who attended this ceremony. Whilst the ceremony was sad at times, it was yet another way for us to remember Jayden, pray for him and his family and continue the process of mending the grief we have experienced with his passing. 

The flowers that families placed at the school as students arrived that morning was testament to the connected and supportive community we have at St John the Apostle.

Today we also celebrated a special Memorial Mass for Jayden. The enitre school attended this mass which was the first we school mass we have been able to celebrate in 12 months. In would like to thanks the community for their support of our school during this sad time.

Please keep Jayden and his family in your prayers.

GRIEF SUPPORT MATERIAL

Psychologists say that often grief "comes in waves and we can feel it more acutely at some times than at others".  This is why often, on or around the anniversary of a loved one's death, there can be a resurgence of grief and emotions.  Below are links to three documents that may be of some support for families, they cover the following areas: 

• About Grief
• Children and Grief
• How to Help Someone who is Grieving

MOTHER'S DAY STALL

Last Friday we held a highly successful Mother’s Day Stall.  Thanks to Melissa Micallef and Melissa Drever for assisting with the staff. Next year we plan to return to a team of parents who can oversee the ordering, collation and  selling of the gifts as we did prior to the pandemic.

SUBWAY LUNCH ORDERS

The school will continue our partnership with Subway this year.  This initiative provides students with an opportunity to receive a ‘lunch order’, that families have ordered and paid for online, prior to the day.  Our next Subway Lunch Day Friday 2nd June.  

Please order via the link below:

CHILD SAFETY

Child safety involves parents and teachers being aware of the hazards that children face and ensuring precautions are in place to keep our kids safe. Child safety can encompass a range of areas and as adults we need to have a good grasp on all its forms.  

The Victorian Government’s new Child Safe Standards came into effect on 1 July 2022.  The eleven new Standards replaced the previous seven standards and principles.  Key changes included: 

• Involving families and organisations in efforts to keep children and young people safe
• Greater focus on safety for Aboriginal children and young people
• Managing the risk of child abuse in online environments
• Greater clarity on the governance, systems and processes to keep children and young people safe.

The list below is a handy prompt to help us review our practices at home and at school.

Road safety: Does your child need support to walk near to or cross a road. This typically includes teaching children how to watch out for cars and only walk onto the road when it’s completely safe to do so.

Food safety: If your child has an allergy are they suitably aware of what they are allergic to and what they need to do if they come into contact with this allergen? 

Home safety: Safety precautions around the house are very age specific. These can include staying safe around sharp knives, electrical plugs or kitchen appliances. 

Online safety: This includes making sure your child is adequately supervised when online and ensuring you have installed antivirus protection software and set parental controls.

CHILD SAFETY - Online Safety Parent Hub

After this week the school will move into the next phase of our online safety initiative. With real time alerts now active through our Linewize Monitor system, concerning online behaviour by students when at school will be immediately flagged to the leadership team. These alerts monitor students at risk of self-harm, depression, grooming, sexual content, bullying, school violence and other threats in real time.

To support parents in navigating this ever changing online space we now have access to our own Online Safety Parent Hub. At St John’s we believe parents need tools, support, and education to take an active role in their child's digital development.The Parent Area provides a wealth of online safety resources - such as digital parenting guides, app reviews and articles - developed by our team of leading digital safety and wellbeing experts. Plus, access to free parental control tools to help keep children safe while using their personal devices.

The hub empowers parents to take an active role in teaching their children about online safety.

Content on the hub is constantly updated and added to so parents should try to get into the habit of visiting this regularly especially as new online social media platforma=s and games are released.

The Parent Online Safety Hub is accessible to all our school parents using this link.

DENTAL VAN ONSITE 

The Semper Dental Van arrived onsite last Friday and is completing check ups on all students whose families requested to access the service.  We expect that the check ups will run over Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. The Dental Van visits the school each year, providing eligible families with access to free dental care.  

NATIONAL SORRY DAY 2023

When is National Sorry Day 2023?

National Sorry Day 2023 falls on 26th May. In fact, it has been held on this date since 1998. It happens on this date as it marks the anniversary of the Bringing Them Home report.

What is National Sorry Day?

National Sorry Day for Australia is a special day that occurs in Australia every year. It is a day of remembrance and commemoration to highlight the impact of past policies.  This day is of particular significance to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples in Australia.  The day is an opportunity for all Australians to remember past mistakes and build bridges for a richer, stronger future together.

Quantin Binnah Vacation Care Bookings

Please be advised that Vacation Care bookings at Quantin Binnah for 26th June to 7th July are NOW OPEN to book on the OWNA app – see program brochure below.

However, if you prefer to book at Corpus Christi, bookings will open on the app on Monday 5th June.

Please note all bookings will close at 9am Monday 19th June and additional fees will apply to any bookings requested after this date.

If you require a Vacation Care Booking after that you will need to contact admin@qbcc.org.au to request the booking and an additional $50 admin fee will apply per family. This additional admin fee will also apply if you have already made a vacation care booking and are requesting extra days in addition to that booking.

Please note vacation care bookings are subject to availability.

The vacation care activities brochure for the guide to planned activities is attached for your information and can also be found on our website https://www.qbcc.org.au/vacation-care. Please choose the correct brochure for your service.

Important Vacation Care Reminders - please read ALL carefully:

1. Once you have booked Vacation Care on the parent app, there are NO CANCELLATIONS, NO TRANSFER OF DAYS and NO REFUNDS
2. Before making your bookings, please ensure you have chosen the correct venue on the app as we cannot transfer days to another venue once booked
3. Please carefully check the app for confirmation of your bookings as children arriving at any venue without a booking will not be permitted to attend
4. If you are booking for more than one child, please ensure that you have received confirmations from each booking made.
5. A reminder that the person dropping off and picking up your child MUST be present at the service for drop off and pick up and must sign children in and out for compliance and the safety of your child
6. On excursion days, all children need to arrive at their vacation care venue BY 9am
7. If you are booking an excursion day, you will need to go on to the OWNA app and sign the Excursion Consent Form for EVERY excursion that you book
8. If your child needs medication during vacation care, please ensure the venue has valid/ in date medication and that you have completed the medication form via the parent app for the duration of the vacation care program
9. Please ensure that you DO NOT pack ANY NUT PRODUCTS in your child’s snack or lunch
10. Make sure you know how many hours your childcare subsidy covers you for as Vacation Care sessions are 11.5 hours per day (For example: if you are covered for 100 hours and book all 10 days (115 hrs) you will not be covered by CCS for the extra 15 hours)
11. Please ensure that you are aware of the Childcare Subsidy rules regarding First and Last Day Absences that may affect your childcare subsidy payments -  especially if using vacation care at a venue that is not your child’s regular before and after school care venue – Services Australia Absences
12. All Vacation Care programs close at 6pm
13. Vacation Care bookings are subject to availability
14. If you require Vacation Care bookings after the due date Monday 19th June, an additional $50 administration fee will be applied.

To find the service address and for detailed instructions for locating and accessing the out of school hours/Vacation care services at each site, including all of the onsite service contact phone numbers - Please use this link (and scroll to the bottom of the page)

 https://www.qbcc.org.au/school-age-care

Vacation Care Enrolment Process:

1. If you are currently enrolled AT Quantin Binnah for Vacation Care – You will need to use the app to make your bookings for each of the dates you require by booking them as a casual day.

Please see instructions for booking a casual booking attached and also @ https://www.qbcc.org.au/enrolments - please click the heading Enrolment Key Information (OWNA) and follow instructions for how to make a casual booking via your app.

1. If you are not currently enrolled at Quantin Binnah for Vacation Care, you will need to advise admin in writing admin @qbcc.org.au that your enrolment details need to be transferred over to Quantin Binnah School Age Care. Once we have transferred your details over we will email you your login information for Quantin Binnah on the app and you can make the bookings as per instructions attached. Please make sure to include your child’s name and their school when requesting enrolment at Quantin Binnah for Vac Care.

Payment:

• As per our enrolment agreement terms and conditions, fees for vacation care are paid a week in advance of care by direct debit. Direct Debit Request Form must be completed before the enrolment can be approved:
• For week 1 - You will receive the invoice to your app on 20th June with direct debit on 22nd June 2023
• For week 2 - You will receive the invoice to your app on 27th June  with direct debit on 29th June  2023

For more information and the location of the out of school hours care please see our website - https://www.qbcc.org.au/school-age-care

We hope your children have an enjoyable time with us.