General News
MSP School Photos
Our School Photos have now arrived and have been included in your child's Home Learning Support Pack. Parents and Carers were asked to collect these important packs on Wednesday 29th or Thursday 30th April from the relevant Campus. Please note children of essential worker’s who were at school on Wednesday 29th were given their pack to take home. If you have not collected your child's Home Learning Support Pack we ask you to do so ASAP from either the Primary or Infants Office in the coming days.
Parent Compass Portal - Important Reminder
It has been pleasing to see so many parents have now logged on to our St Ed's Parent Compass Portal. However there still remains a small number of parents/carers who haven't logged in to the Portal. A follow up email was sent earlier this week to those parents. Please take the time to access the Parent Portal as this is our primary means of communication to our St Ed's families. It is especially important during these uncertain times that you keep informed with the latest updates regarding COVID-19 and home learning.
2021 Kindergarten Enrolments - DUE NOW
A reminder to our St Ed's families that applications for Kindergarten 2021 are DUE NOW. Special thanks to our families who have already returned your child's application. For parents who have not, we ask that you please complete and return your application to the Infants Campus ASAP or make contact with either school office and an enrolment pack can be mailed out. Enrolment Forms will not be processed until all supporting documents are received: Birth Certificate; Immunisation Certificate; Baptismal Certificate (only required if your child is a baptised Catholic) and proof of student’s residential address. Please spread the word if you know of anyone with a child wishing to start at St Edward's School in Kindergarten in 2021.
Winter Uniform
We wish to advise parents that the official date for changeover from summer to winter uniform is after the June long weekend (Tuesday 9th June). As the weather is turning chilly we are now allowing students to wear either full winter or full summer uniform during this transition period. The following new school winter items are available for purchase: jumper ($35), jacket ($70), tie ($25), girls navy knee high socks ($10), girls winter navy tights ($10), scarf ($10). To help minimise parent contact, our preferred method of purchasing uniform items is via the Qkr! App and your clothing order will be then sent home with your child.
Clothing Pool
During this COVID-19 period we are attempting to limit parent contact as much as possible through our school office. If you wish to access the clothing pool, please telephone our office staff and they will be more than happy to access the clothing pool on your behalf for uniform items and have them ready for collection in the office.
School Canteen
Due to COVID-19 the Canteen will remain closed until further notice and Mrs Dubois and Mrs Bridge look forward to seeing everyone again when they are given the clearance to reopen.
Peaceful Kids
Would you like to support your child or children in their social and emotional learning? At St Edward’s School, we take wellbeing of students, families & staff very seriously. We are implementing a Home Learning Peaceful Kids Pack which contains a variety of activities over 10 weeks that we are sharing with you to support your child’s social and emotional learning at home. Each week there will be a new Meditation for children to listen to, and some cool wellbeing activities for kids that will help them feel calm and happy as well as building their emotional intelligence. These will also correlate with wellbeing activities in the Google Classroom Home Learning Platform to help reinforce fundamental social and emotional learning skills. Please take time to look at this pack, through the Link attached each week.
Peaceful Kids - Week 1 - Mindfulness
In the joy of Peaceful Kids, we can have peaceful, happy families.
PEACEFUL FAMILIES
At this time, we consider it very important for parents too to really consider their Well Being. With this in mind, we encourage you to take time for yourselves. Simply click on this link Well Being Board for Adults ……… and get started.
Take time for yourself! We all know that taking a little time for yourself refreshes and re-energizes you. It allows you to think more clearly and make better decisions. Taking “me” time helps you to realise that you are important and deserve to have a little time to yourself. Simply enjoy the time out.
Wellbeing at St Edward’s School for All - Students, Families & Staff
In these times of uncertainty, and the daily teetering we have all experienced & continue to do so, as times are changing, quite possibly several times a day at least, we all have found ourselves on a series of ups and downs. In our collective years of teaching, we have never seen anything like this before.
The one thing we have been able to take from this, is the overwhelming support we have received from the Armidale CSO, St Ed’s Leadership Team, our work colleagues, both here & other schools, our St Ed’s Families (students, parents & wider families, past & present) and our own families. For this, we are very grateful and realise just how lucky we are.
We wish to extend this to you. As schools have scrambled in quickly changing circumstances to move, sustain and continually enhance teaching and learning online, parents are trying to figure out how to support their children’s academic work while keeping everyone in the household sane. In addition to sharing space with their parents, the kids are battling isolation from peers, a frustration with being cooped up, and an ever changing ‘what will be’.
At St Edward's, we are very proud of the quality of the Home Learning Program we have provided and are confident that the learning for the students will be very valuable. Parents, we know that it is no easy street for you. You have had a lot of changes & uncertainty too and very little initiation into the transition from parent to home teacher. We know you are working to support all of your colleagues if still at work, your students AKA your kids, and members of your family. We are here for you. Our community has never been more important. 💗
As St Ed’s Wellbeing Team, we are there for you and with absolute confidentiality, you can email us, and we will be in touch. We are very excited to have available to all members of St Edward’s School Community, the Armidale CSO Initiative - SchoolTV. This program addresses the modern day realities faced by schools and parents who increasingly need clear, relevant and fact-based information around raising safe, happy and resilient young people. Each week we will, through SchoolTV, provide you with realistic, practical ongoing support strategies.
Your child's teacher is the first point of call for all clarification around teaching and learning. If there are issues or concerns beyond this, we encourage you to make contact with us.
Lisa McSweeney setprincipal@arm.catholic.edu.au
Alison Hatton setprincipal@arm.catholic.edu.au
Andy Lockwood AKA Mrs L alockwood@arm.catholic.edu.au
We are here for you & your child. Perhaps the biggest thing we can all take from all of this, is the absolute importance of kindness, respect and caring for others. We are all in this together and the more we support & build each other up, the stronger we can all be at the other end.
Take care,
Lisa, Alison & Andy