SCHOOL INFORMATION

Reminder - Signing out students ~ Class Interruptions

We have noticed there have been more and more parents picking children up early from school. Each time a message is put over the PA system it interrupts student learning. Please only pick up your child/ren early if they have an appointment.

PA announcements will no longer be made for early collection of students, instead, parents will be given a ‘pass’ from the office and will need to collect children themselves from classrooms. Parents will also need to sign students out using the student register which is now automated through an iPad in the office.

Thank you for your attention to this.

Before School Drop Off - Students are not to be dropped off any earlier than 8:20am in the morning. Supervision starts at 8:20am.

End of day pick up: Our end of day pick up will remain the same as per last year’s procedures for Kiss and Go / Hamilton St gates.

Changes to students end of day routine - If there are changes to students end of day routine, we ask families to notify the office prior to 2.45pm where possible. As we are limiting announcements and phone call interruptions to the classroom this will allow the office to send messages to the classrooms before the end of the day.

Reminder - School Fees

Thank you to families who have nominated their fee payment option with the office and have commenced paying your 2022 school fees. Fees for 2022 should now have started to come out of your nominated accounts unless you have elected to pay annually. If you have not yet taken the option to pay with direct debit or your own payment plan, can you please contact the office and notify them as to which method you will use to pay the fees.

If for any reason you are finding it difficult to pay school fees on time or your financial circumstances have changed, please contact the school. Catholic Schools rely on school fees to help fund the educational needs of our students. A quality education can only be realized when the right resourcing and programs are in place, and these come at a cost. Please consider your child’s education as an opportunity for a life of happiness and content.

REMINDER - Student Illnesses

If your child is feeling unwell or displaying covid symptoms, we ask for you to keep them at home. If students present to the office unwell you may be contacted to pick them up. Other illnesses apart form covid are still present in the community and there is a variety of reasons why your child may be feeling unwell.

New - Lost Property and wearing the proper Winter Uniform

As we begin the term please ensure your child/ren are in the correct uniform and all items of clothing are clearly marked. Our lost property tub fills up quickly during the winter months. Clearly marked items of clothing can be easily returned.

GIRLS' WINTER UNIFORM

Winter Tartan Skirt (Grey/Green pin stripe) with bottle green tights.

Tartan slacks (Grey/Green pin stripe) with plain white socks or

Gold skivvy or Green/gold polo shirt, long or short sleeved, with embroidered school logo.

School jumper or bomber jacket

GIRLS' SPORTS UNIFORM

Black sports skirt or black shorts/black tracksuit pants (Winter)

Green and Gold polo top [with the embroidered logo]

Plain white socks (micro socks not permitted)

BOYS' WINTER UNIFORM

Grey trousers or cords

Gold skivvy or green/gold long sleeved polo top [with the embroidered logo]

School jumper or bomber jackets with embroidered school logo.

Plain grey socks (micro short socks are not permitted).

BOYS' SPORTS UNIFORM

Plain black shorts/black tracksuit pants (Winter)

Green and Gold polo top [with the embroidered logo]

Plain white socks (micro socks are not permitted)

SCHOOL SHOES

Both boys and girls to wear plain black shoes only

While plain, black leather runners are acceptable; ALL other sports shoes are acceptable only for sporting activities. Socks must be worn with shoes. "Blundstone" type work boots are not permitted.

WEARING OF HATS

During Terms 1 and 4 all children must wear a school hat. Children without a school hat will be asked to play in shade areas only, for their own protection.

Newsletters and Assemblies 2022

Our newsletter will be emailed / circulated each fortnight on odd weeks (eg: weeks 1, 3, 5 etc).

School assemblies will be held on alternative odd weeks and will be online while we cannot have gatherings onsite. Our school assemblies will be held Friday afternoons at 2:45pm.

Meetings with Staff…some reminders to help you

Staff generally attend meetings at school on Tuesdays 3:45-5:00pm and Wednesday from 3:45-5:15pm. We certainly encourage parents to contact teachers if needs arise, 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.

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 all those 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 click on the link below, fill in the attached form and return to the school so we can create your very own, personalised Dashboard & Visor sign.

Once created, completed signs will be sent home with your child, please place these on the left hand side of your vehicle. Your assistance with this is greatly appreciated.

St Mel’s OSHC

St Mel’s provides a wonderful and easily accessible service through its Outside School Hours Care program.

Please contact the school for enrolment forms or further information.

Alternatively please call us direct on 0438213163 or visit our section of the schools web site for further information.

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.

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.

If you don't as yet have a Working With Children Check you can apply online by visiting : 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:

2 minute parking between 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Move forward so that other cars can park
Stay in the car to let your child out or collect your child
Always let your child in form the passenger side – never the drivers side
If there are no places to park go around the block until a park is available
Use other long term parking that is within a short walking distance to the school
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
Be patient
Observe and follow the rules
Safety before convenience

We ask parents and drivers to consider the following:

Do’s	Don’ts
1. Plan your travel time to school at the start and end of the day, especially where it is going to take time to assist your children.	1. Do not rely upon the ‘Kiss and Go’ zone if you are running late in the morning. Travel safely and use the designated parking in neighbouring roads, regardless if you are late.
2. Choose to park at the St Mel’s Parish car parks and/or along the neighbouring roads. Walk to collect your children. The distance at any car park around the school area is no more than 250m (a slow 2-3 minute walk).	2. Do not rely upon a car park being available at the school, along Hamilton Street, if you arrive at the school drop off 8.45- 8.55am and pick up time between 3.20-3.30pm. Use alternative parking available or travel around again, safely.
3. Let your children know if you will be late for school pick up. Remember, the children are happy and safe within the school grounds. There is teacher supervision.	3. Do not stop at or across the school crossing at any time to wait for a park in the ‘Kiss and Go’ zone.
4. Plan your direction of travel along Hamilton Street prior to approaching the school. Avoid travelling along the length of Hamilton Street if it looks busy and congested. Go around the block, or turn off into St Andrew’s road before the “Kiss and Go” zone is preferable.	4. Do not park at or along yellow marked zones. Areas of roadside marked with yellow lines means NO STOPPING ANYTIME!!!!

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

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.
Ensure your children enter the vehicle from the footpath. Do not have children entering/leaving the car from driver’s side of the vehicle.
Move along the zone whilst waiting, when safe to do so, looking in all blind spots.
Respect and adhere to the directions of the teachers supervising the “Kiss and Go” system.

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