Principals Announcments

Newsletter Address ~ Term 2 Week 9 2022

Prayer for Winter

Blessed are you, winter, dark season of waiting,

you affirm the dark seasons of our lives,

forecasting the weather of waiting in hope.

Blessed are you, winter, you faithfully guard a life unseen,

calling those who listen deeply to discover winter rest.

Blessed are you, winter, frozen and cold on the outside,

within your silent, nurturing womb you warmly welcome

all that longs for renewal. Blessed are you, winter, your bleak,

barren trees preach wordless sermons about emptiness and solitude.

Blessed are you, winter, you teach us valuable lessons

about waiting in darkness with hope and trust.

Blessed are you, winter, season of blood red sunsets

and star-filled, long, dark nights, faithfully you pour

out your beauty. Blessed are you, winter, when your tiny

snowflakes flurry through the air, You awaken our sleeping souls.

Blessed are you, winter, with your wild and varied moods,

So intent on being yourself, you refuse to be a people-pleaser.

Blessed are you, winter, when ice storms crush our hearts and homes,

You call forth the good in us as we rush to help one another.

Blessed are you, winter, your inconsistent moods often challenge

Spring’s arrival, yet how gracefully you step aside when her time has come.

Author: Joyce Rupp from The Circle of Life

Welcome Winter!

With winter well and truly upon us, I must say how good our students look in their winter uniform. 

I am very proud of the way the students wear their uniform with pride. Cold, frosty mornings usually means a sunny day, let us turn our faces to the sun and smile knowing that spring is only three months away! 

Stay warm, happy and positive.

St Mel’s Parish Prayer

God our Father,

Bless our Parish so that we may love you more. Encircle our families with your loving care.  Help parents to be good examples to their children and our youth to grow in strength as good Christians. To the sick, grant health. To the aged, bring serenity and to those in sorrow, joy.

May we grow stronger in faith and may our love for one another become

 deeper in our daily living. 

Amen

Child Safe Commitment:

All students enrolled, and any child visiting St Mel’s, have a right to feel safe and be safe. The wellbeing of children in our care will always be our first priority and we have zero tolerance to child abuse. We aim to create a child safe and child friendly environment where children feel safe and are free to enjoy life to the full without any concern for their safety.

Principal’s Message

Dear Parents and Friends of St Mel’s,

This will be our final newsletter for the term. It’s hard to believe we have come to the end of term 2 and are halfway through the school year. Thankfully, despite high staff and student absences all term, interruptions to student learning have been kept to a minimum. Fingers crossed next term we will see fewer staff and students away because of illness.

Winter is here and we have experienced some chilly mornings. The changing seasons are like how our children learn and grow. It has been lovely to visit classrooms to see the children engaged in their learning and enquiring the world around them. Our students are developing many learning assets to assist this.

To see the development of skills and competency of all students is proof that learning, like the changing seasons, is a continuous cycle. The success of our students revolves around the commitment we all invest, staff, parents and students achieving and doing our best. Our commitment to one another will ensure outcomes are met and students feel valued for who they are. Our learners investigate and inquire to become the best they can be.

We are very lucky to have such a dedicated staff whose hard work guarantees the children of St Mel’s are receiving the best education they can. Combine this with the continued support from families and we have a real recipe for success. Our students deserve this as does our community. Thank you for your continued support. Like anything, it takes time and effort to ensure our students are feeling happy and feeling supported at school. Our hard work will be sustaining and abundant, I’m sure.

As I have been reading through reports in recent weeks, it has been wonderful to see all students have actively embraced all aspects of their learning, and in doing so have enriched our school community at St Mel’s. It’s important to support and encourage your children as you read through their reports. This helps them to achieve their goals or suggestions outlined by their teachers and helps them to continue to be the best they can be. I am very proud of our students for the progress they have made and commend our staff on the hard work and commitment they have demonstrated to help our students be successful in all areas of school life.

After a long process, we have been able to find a replacement for Bridie Cooke as she embarks on her maternity leave next term.   It’s always sad to farewell staff and we’re all going to miss Bridie dearly. 

Brooke Cimera has accepted a position in 1/2 BC for 4 days a week, Tuesday-Friday.  

Anita Damianopolous has accepted the Monday in 1-2BC and Wednesday’s covering P-2 PE for Ellie Phillips who has decided to take a step back for family and personal reasons.

We are very lucky to employ Brooke who has had 20 years of experience in Catholic Education, and 12 years at her current school at St Mary's Mooroopna.  We are also excited to have Anita join our staff team for two days a week.   Most of you would know Anita who is both a mum at school and has worked as a CRT on many occasions. Some of you will know Brooke as well. I’m sure Brooke and Anita will feel most welcome as part of our school staff and community next term. 

Staffing updates…

It is with sadness that we farewell Mel Ryan and Ellie Phillips at the end of the term. Mel has accepted a fulltime wellbeing position at Wilmot Rd PS which will commence at the beginning of term 3. Whilst it is very sad to farewell Mel, this is a wonderful opportunity for her to help lead a wellbeing team in the government education sector. We thank Mel for all she has contributed to St Mel’s, and for the incredible support she has given to many students and families and colleagues.

Ellie has decided she needs to slow down, put family first and focus on her wellbeing rather than committing to the workload she is currently doing. Ellie works one day a week delivering PE to the P-2 classes on a Wednesday and works 3 days at St Anne’s in a similar role. We thank Ellie for all she has contributed to St Mel’s and I’m sure there will be other opportunities down the track. Ellie will also conclude at the end of the term. 

After 17 years of service at St Mel’s and over 30 years in Catholic Education, Kerry Amadei has decided it’s time to hang up the boots and is looking forward to a well-deserved retirement. On behalf of everyone at St Mel’s, congratulations Kerry and thank you for your support, friendship, devotion to the profession, and love you have given us all. We thank Mel, Ellie, Kerry and Bridie for all they have contributed to St Mel’s and they will be sadly missed.

The school term finishes, today Friday 24th June at 2:20pm.

School Resumes Monday 11th July.

Have a wonderful week everyone.  Do your best. Respect our school. Help others succeed.

2023 enrolments

We are currently taking enrolments for 2023. We ask anyone considering St Mel’s next year to submit an application for enrolment as soon as possible. 

Enrolment forms are available from the office or can be downloaded from the school website: https://www.smshepparton.com

Interviews will commence later next term. If you know any families who will be beginning school in 2023, please invite them to call the school office.

Canteen Update

As we are still on the lookout for a new canteen manager, unfortunately again, there will be no lunch orders for the next fortnight.  The canteen window service will be open from Wednesday to Friday.  Children can bring money to spend at the canteen Wed-Fri.   This will be the pattern of service until the end of the term or when we find another manager or until an alternative arrangement for lunch orders is sourced.   We will keep families posted.

2023 enrolments

We are currently taking enrolments for 2023.  We ask anyone considering St Mel’s next year to submit an application for enrolment as soon as possible. Enrolment forms are available from the office or can be downloaded from the school website: https://www.smshepparton.com/

Interviews will commence later next term. If you know any families who will be beginning school in 2023, please invite them to call the school office. 

NCCD ~ National Consistency Collection of Data

Staff have been busy preparing documentation and conducting parent support group meetings to ensure everything will be in place to apply for funding for students with disabilities in 2022. Thank you to Chris Quinn and Cherie Malnati who have run many meetings in person and online with parents.

For families who are new to the school or unfamiliar with the process, the NCCD Portal is a comprehensive online resource to support principals, teachers, school support staff and parents understand and complete the NCCD, with free and practical resources such as   e-learning modules, videos, case studies and templates.

The Portal also includes information for parents, guardians and carers.

For more information on the NCCD, visit www.nccd.edu.au

NCCD and St Mel’s

Every August, our school is required to complete the ‘National Consistent Collection of Data’ survey (NCCD), indicating the number of students who have a physical, social/emotional, sensory or learning disability or difficulty that impacts on their ability to access the curriculum and environment.  The Government then provides funding for schools to provide additional support, Learning Support Officers, training, resources and environmental adjustments, to meet the needs of our diverse learners in our quest to ensure that all our students can flourish.  

Please don’t hesitate to contact the school if you require further information.

June Birthday's

Happy Birthday to everyone that has celebrated his or her birthday this month:  Happy Birthday June Babies:

Armandeep Singh, Safaa Alramahi, Charlotte Rowe, Connor Young, Braylen Impey, Rory Bok, Cienna Bok, Ethan Currey, Noah Barbary, Lidija Nedelkovski, Luca Taylor, Naite Beale, Ammann Chhina, Blessing Butoyi, Dian Haque,  Kanwar Chhina, Noah Kemp, Jacob Sagoelo, Toby Hawker, Kai Henry, Prableen Kaur, Clover D’Angelo, Ananya Patel, Amby Jannenga, Emma McNamara and Jodi Cox.

Congratulations to all students who were students of the week last week. Thank you for doing your best; respecting our school and helping others succeed.

School Calendar

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