Dear Families,

Welcome back to the 2022 school year. We hope you and your family were able to enjoy a restful holiday period and trust that you are as excited about the year ahead as we are.

It has been wonderful to see all our students back onsite for the beginning of the 2022 school year. This week the classrooms have been filled with excited, happy students who have been working on team building activities and have started to engage in their Term 1 units of work.

Thank you to everyone from our parent community and to all our staff for your efforts in ensuring a great start to the 2022 school year. We are sure you’ll agree that the first week of school has been very successful and students have had a marvellous start to the 2022 school year. It is a pleasure to be greeted by so many eager and enthusiastic children each morning at the front gate. Students are settling into the school routine very well, getting to know their new teacher and classmates and have started to engage in learning new and exciting things.

We look forward to seeing all of our students take on new challenges, push themselves to try new things, set new goals for themselves and work towards achieving those goals this year. We trust that all of our students will be given the opportunity to work with a variety of people in a variety of learning areas and get excited about their learning.

We would like to extend a very warm welcome to our new Prep students who started at Galilee on Monday. We are so happy that you have joined us and we are excited to be part of your learning journey here at Galilee.

We would also like to extend a warm welcome to new families who have joined us this year. We have a number of new students in a variety of year levels that have joined our community. We are looking forward to getting to know you over the course of the year and trust that you will feel at home at Galilee very soon.

As we embark on the 2022 school year we are, once again, navigating new territory with new COVID-19 restrictions and a 'new normal' in place. We thank everyone within our community for their continued patience, flexibility, understanding and support as we work to make sure that we comply with the ever changing rules and recommendations. And that we are creating a safe environment at school, while still maintaining as many of the usual activities and events that occur at Galilee.

You will be aware that we are sending emails to families informing them of any person/people with COVID-19, who was on our school site while infectious with COVID-19. Please ensure you are checking these emails, monitoring your children for COVID-19 symptoms and regularly testing your children for COVID-19. We thank you for your support during this time.

Reporting a Student's Positive COVID-19 Test Result

If your child was at school when they were infectious you need to report the positive case to the school.

If a student receives a positive COVID-19 Test result you must report it to the Galilee Regional Catholic Primary School by clicking on the link below (it contains the information that we have been asked to collect by the Victorian Government).

GALILEE’S POSITIVE COVID-19 TEST RESULT FORM: https://forms.gle/933Fk9oso4QwiqMJ6

Once you have completed the necessary form (if required) please call the school office, Press 1 and leave a message of your child's absence and their possible return date to school.

You must also report your child’s positive test to the Department of Health via the COVID-19 Positive Rapid Antigen Test Self-Reporting Form or call centre on 1800 675 398.

If your child returns a positive result, your child has COVID-19. You must:

· quarantine your child for seven days

· advise the school about the positive result (details about how to do this are below)

· Your child must stay home until their symptoms have resolved and they are well

· Everyone in your household is a close contact and must isolate for 7 days.

Rapid Antigen Tests for COVID-19

A box of Rapid Antigen Test for COVID-19 was handed out to all students and staff on Monday 31st January. If your child has not received their box of Rapid Antigen Tests, they are labeled with student names and are available for pick-up at the school office.

The box of Rapid Antigen Test that you received on Monday 31st January are for use this week and next week.

A new box of Rapid Antigen Tests will be handed to each student and staff member on Monday 14th February. This box of Rapid Antigen Tests are for use the week starting Monday 14th February and the week starting Monday 21st February.

We recommend that Rapid Antigen Tests be used twice per school week, or if COVID-19 symptoms develop eg. Monday and Wednesday of each week.

Air Purifiers

Over the holidays the Victorian Government Air Purifiers arrived at Galilee and have been added to the 10 Air Purifiers that the school purchased last year. Air Purifiers have been placed in classrooms, learning spaces, the school hall and offices.

The combination of the purifiers we purchased and the ones we received from the Victorian Government means we are lucky enough to have more Air Purifiers than most schools, offering our students, staff and families greater comfort.

Specialist Lessons

In 2022, all students will be involved in four Specialist Lessons each week. Each Specialist Class will run for an hour. This is an increased time allotment from 2021. We are very excited to offer the students: Physical Education, Performing Arts, Visual Arts and L.O.T.E. - Italian on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday in 2022. Specialist Classes will commence next week beginning Monday 7th February.

P.E. Uniform

Listed below are the days of the week that students will need to wear their P.E. Uniform from next week, the week starting Monday 7th February:

Prep P (with Annmaree Pinner) - Tuesday and Friday

Prep M (with Sheridan McAuliffe) - Tuesday and Friday

Prep EF (with Holly Evans and Brighid Fahy) - Thursday and Friday

Year 1B (with Sammy Bamford) - Wednesday and Friday

Year 1T (with Sarah Terrill) - Wednesday and Friday

Year 2J (with Karen Jones) - Thursday and Friday

Year 2F (with Julie Ferguson)- Thursday and Friday

Year 3L (with Bianca Latto)- Wednesday and Friday

Year 3B (with Daniel Booth)- Wednesday and Friday

Year 3G (with Cassandra Gleeson nee Smith)- Wednesday and Friday

Year 4R (with Helen Rochecouste) - Tuesday and Friday

Year 4G (with Mikaila Greenan) - Tuesday and Friday

Year 5M (with Laura Mason) - Thursday and Friday

Year 5R (with Amanda Reardon) - Thursday and Friday

Year 6M (with Dave McLeish) - Tuesday and Friday

School Assemblies

In 2022, School Assemblies will take place on Fridays from 2.30pm - 3:15pm in the School Hall. The first School Assembly that parents will be invited to attend will be on Friday 11th February, 2022. The Assembly will be live streamed on Google Meet each week starting on Friday 11th February - the link will be published on the Parent Calendar.

Unfortunately, at this stage we are not able to invite parents to the school to view the Assembly in the hall. This practice will be reviewed when COVID-19 restrictions ease.

Parent/Teacher/Student Conferences in 2022

After much consultation with staff we have decided to revise our reporting structure in 2022.

For students in Year 1-6, we will offer two Parent/Teacher/Student Conferences. The first Parent/Teacher/Student Conference will take place at the end of Term 1 and the second will take place at the end of Term 3. A written Student Report will be sent home at the end of Term 2 and the end of Term 4.

For students in Prep, we will offer a Meet the Teacher Conference at the beginning of Term 1, a Parent/Teacher/Student Conference at the end of Term 3 and we will send home two written Student Reports per year, one at the end of Term 2 and one at the end of Term 4.

Prep Meet the Teacher Conferences

Prep Meet the Teacher Conferences will take place on Monday 7th February from 3.30-5.30pm and Wednesday 9th February from 2 - 5.30pm. Information regarding booking a time was sent out to Prep Families earlier in the week. Prep Meet the Teacher Conferences will be via Google Meet. Each family will be emailed a link to access their Goggle Meet the Teacher on the day of their Conference.

Year 1-6 Parent/Teacher/Student Conferences

Year 1-6 Parent/Teacher/Student Conferences will take place on Monday 4th April from 12.30-7pm and Wednesday 6th April from 3.45-5pm. You will be able to allocate your preferred appointment time closer to the date. Parent/Teacher/Student Conferences will be available onsite or via Google Meet depending on restrictions at the time.

Newsletter

Galilee Newsletters will be published on a fortnightly basis in 2022. The Newsletter will be published on a Thursday afternoon. We encourage you to read the Newsletter to ensure you are well informed about the wide variety of events that occur at Galilee throughout the year.

Community Dates

We encourage you to regularly check the School Calendar. The School Calendar is a Google Calendar and can be added to your mobile phone for easy access. The calendar contains upcoming events and is regularly updated.

Opening School Mass

Opening School Mass is on Monday 7th February at 9.30am.

Unfortunately, due to COVID-19 restrictions, we are only able to take our Year 5 and Year 6 students to Ss. Peter and Paul Church for the Mass.

All other students will be able to view a live stream of the Mass on Google Meet in their classrooms.

Parents/Guardians are not able to attend the Opening School Mass but can use the link on the Parent Calendar to view the live stream.

As we are not able to have Parents at our Opening School Mass, we have decided to postpone the Parent Morning Tea that was to happen after Mass. We are sorry for any inconvenience caused.

Construction

As you will be aware, the new building is being finalised and at this stage is still a construction zone. At its conclusion, we will have:

Significantly-increased play space for students
Competition-size basketball court
Performing Arts stage and facilities
Visual Arts learning space
Additional classrooms, STEM area and facilities
Modernised learning spaces and a rooftop play space

The new building is due to be completed in May with students being able to access the new learning spaces in Term 2. We thank our community for their continued patience and flexibility during the construction period. We trust that the inconvenience that we have faced over the past 12 months will be worth it.

Meeting with Staff

If you need to speak to a member of staff, we encourage you to call the office or contact the staff member via Dojo or email directly so an appointment time can be arranged.

Preps will not attend school on Wednesday in February

As has been the practice at Galilee for a number of years, Preps in 2022 will not come to school on Wednesday 2nd, 9th, 16th and Friday 25th in February. Each 2022 Prep student will be allocated an appointment time on one of the Wednesdays or Friday to meet with their teacher and complete some assessment tasks in English and Mathematics. The assessments give teachers an understanding of student learning needs and help teachers to teach each student at their point of need. Students do not need to prepare or be worried about these assessments.

Assessments in Early Term 1

All students will spend one-on-one one time with their teacher over the next few weeks. This is invaluable time for teachers to assess each student's reading, writing and numeracy skills. Student assessment results give teachers an understanding of individual student learning needs and gives them the ability to start teaching students at their point of need, as soon as possible. You will notice that each classroom teacher will be given a day out of the classroom in the first few weeks to conduct these assessments.

Information Session for New Families to Galilee

We understand that there are many procedures and forms of communication for new families.

We are going to run an Information Session for New Families to Galilee on Thursday 10th February at 4pm. The session will be on Zoom.

To join Zoom Meeting please use the link below:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85074693438?pwd=RVFvdGNLai94YlY1eTh6QkEzVDIxdz09

Meeting ID: 850 7469 3438

Passcode: t2Ck4b

*Please note that existing families are able to join if you would like to.

The session will include:

The different forms of communication that we use at Galilee, what we use them for and how you can access them.
What you can expect to find on each format that we use.
How to access Dojo, PTO, the Parent Calendar, Operoo and the Newsletter.
A brief introduction to the staff at Galilee and their role so that you are aware of who you might need to contact for different issues that may arise.
An explanation of the best way to contact staff.
An explanation of our Parent Representative system that helps you to link up with parents in your child's year level.
Different ways to become involved in the Galilee community:
- Parent Helpers in the classroom
- Volunteering/Assisting on excursions
- Parent Groups that you can join

2022 Staffing

Prep

Prep EF- Holly Evans (Monday - Wednesday) /Brighid Fahy (Thursday and Friday)

Prep P - Annmaree Pinner

Prep M - Sheridan McAuliffe (Linda Florenca-Grillo will teach Prep M on a Friday)

Year 1

Year 1B - Sammy Bamford (Brighid Fahy will teach 1B on a Tuesday)

Year 1T - Sarah Terrill

Year 2

Year 2J - Karen Jones

Year 2F - Julie Ferguson

Year 3

Year 3G - Cassandra Gleeson (nee Smith) (Julianne Price will teach 3G on a Tuesday)

Year 3L - Bianca Latto (Colleen Giles will teach 3L on a Friday)

Year 3B - Daniel Booth

Year 4

Year 4R - Helen Rochecouste (Colleen Giles will teach 4R on a Wednesday)

Year 4G - Mikaila Greenan

Year 5

Year 5R - Amanda Reardon

Year 5M - Laura Mason (Amy Burns will teach 5M on a Wednesday afternoon)

Year 6

Year 6M - Dave McLeish (Colleen Giles will teach 6M on a Thursday)

Specialist Teachers

Visual Arts - Linda Florenca-Grillo

Physical Education - Kingsley Hill

Italian - Anna Petrarca

Performing Arts - Sandy Baptist

Learning Support Officers

Bianca Trewhella

Jack Sandow

Paul Mapley

Connie Gargano

Rosa Serratore

Sharon Cameron

School Administration

Wendy Dalton

Tegan Stuart

School Leaders

Simon Millar - Principal

Carlo Martello - Deputy Principal/Leader for Wellbeing and Digital Technologies

Amy Burns - Deputy Principal/Leader of Teaching and Learning

Helen Rochecouste - Religious Education Leader

Jane Ferris - NCCD/Learning Diversity/Wellbeing Leader

Sheridan McAuliffe - NCCD/Learning Diversity Leader

Laura Cox - Literacy Leader

Sammy Bamford - Mathematics Leader

Dave McLeish - STEM Leader

Cassandra Gleeson - Level Leader

Laura Mason - Digital Communication Leader

Paul Mapley - Community Partnerships Leader

Therapy Dog

In the next few weeks, we will welcome a new staff member to the school community: Artemis (Arte), a beautiful, gentle labrador retriever dog. Arte belongs to Sharon Cameron, our School Counselor.

Sharon and Arte have spent much time training for the Therapy Dog and Handler Certification. Arte needed to master high expectations and training requirements before she could become certified to be within the school environment. In December, after intensive training with Sharon, Arte underwent three days of assessments in varied settings. She graduated as a Therapy Dog after displaying a high level of competence and now will accompany Sharon to school.

Therapy dogs can help students by offering comfort and non-judgmental support. While Arte will mostly stay with Sharon in the Counseling room, she won’t stay there all of the time and is expected to make appearances throughout the school.

Due to her certification, Arte is exempt from the school policy that ‘dogs are not allowed beyond the school gates’.

If you would like your child to work on overcoming a fear of dogs or if you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact Sharon.

If you would NOT like your child to have physical contact with Arte, please send an email to Sharon.

scameron@gsm.vic.edu.au

Second Hand Uniform

Wednesday 16th Feb 09.00-09.30am - Shop open.

Older style uniform available only at this time which can be worn for the remainder of this term.

*There is no access to the uniform shop out of hours listed above. Also no pram access.

*If you are not double vaccinated, please email Tegan and Wendy your mobile number and Carla will contact you to arrange a collection time.

Parent Representatives

Hi Parents and Carers,

We hope you have had an amazing break and are looking forward to an exciting new year at Galilee.

As you will respect, your role is pivotal in the way our school operates and what we can achieve. Reps ensure our school families are kept up to date with what is happening, create long lasting connections for our families and support the class teachers

For this reason we are reaching out for our Parent Representatives of 2022 and the integral role you can play in supporting the parent community group and providing an integral interface with your year levels.

It would be great to hit the ground running and gain your early commitment so we can have a positive impact from the get go.

If you would like to be a Parent Rep for 2022, please contact your child's Classroom Teacher, so we can begin to connect you further with the parents of your year level. Amongst many things this will enable you to liaise at year level, as to what great events are coming up in the school calendar and be involved, as what we can all do to make 2022 a success.

If you have previously been a class rep in 2021 or prior, it would be great to have you back again and be part of the team at Galilee.

Kind regards

Paul Mapley

Community Partnerships

D.O.G.S

Hi D.O.G.S - (Dads of Galilee School),

Welcome back for 2022.

The first D.O.G.S Social Night for the year is Friday, Feb 18th at the Middle Park Bowls Club from 6:30pm onwards.

Free barefoot bowls / table tennis / snooker, live music, food trucks and drink specials.

Prep Dads or new Dads to the school, these social events are the best way to meet dads across all year levels. I encourage you to come along and meet the wider school community.

I would also like to especially encourage Grade 1 & 2 Dads to come along.

All other Dads and regulars, looking forward to seeing you as always.

We have had two years with minimal social events, and this is the year the school community comes back together.

Never been to a D.O.G.S. event, make this the first one.

We'll be on a table near the back rink.

Get a crew together or fly solo, either way hope to see you there.

I will also be handing over leadership of the D.O.G.S to James Eagle on the night.

Regards James McGann

Best wishes,

Simon Millar

Community Links

TheirCare - G.O.S.H

South Melbourne Districts