Principals Announcments

Newsletter Address ~ Term 4 Week 4 , 28th October 2022

Principal’s Message

Dear Parents and Friends of St Mel’s

We continue to pray for all those impacted by the floods and for those downstream who are anxiously waiting to see what happens next.   We pray for all those helping others in this time of need, volunteers, GVCares, Foodshare, SES, Police, and the Australian Defence Force.  Their support to the Greater Shepparton community has been tremendous. 

We are aware some families in our St Mel’s community are dealing with not only financial loss but the emotional trauma of having to evacuate and leave homes and possessions.

Thankfully most of these families are receiving help from the right agencies and community supports.  We will continue to provide help and assistance where we can.  Thank you to Lis Rodriguez, our Wellbeing Team, School Leadership and Teachers for keeping a finger on the pulse and ‘checking in’ when they can.  We are also grateful to the many offers of help from people in our community.   Offers of food parcels, clothes and accommodation have been appreciated and accepted by some.    If you are aware of others in our community who may be doing it tough, please reach out.  That’s what we do well and love about St Mel’s.  Thanks.

It was nice to see the kids back at school on Monday.   Some had many exciting stories to share and for some, their stories were quite different.  Teachers have been careful not to unknowingly distress children who were impacted by the floods.   

Student Wellbeing

If you have any specific, urgent or immediate concerns with regard to the mental health or the wellbeing of your children, please provide access to the following resources:

●          Kids Helpline: 1800 55 1800

●          Beyond Blue: 1300 22 4636

●          Life Line: 13 11 14

●          Headspace: https://headspace.org.au 

Natural disasters, such as floods are stressful and often traumatic. What takes place, and the speed with which it happens, can be chaotic, confusing and overwhelming. Understandably, as a parent or carer, you may feel worried about the impact on your child.

The fact sheets attached might be useful as you look after yourself and support your child at this time.

Supporting Children in a Natural Disaster [SOURCE:www.mackillopinstitute.org.au]

A Guide self-care and wellbeing during times of uncertainty [SOURCE: BeYou]

RESOURCE LINKS:

For Schools / Staff:

A Guide self-care and wellbeing during times of uncertainty [SOURCE: BeYou]

Supporting Children in a Natural Disaster: [SOURCE:www.mackillopinstitute.org.au]

Farewell Alnasrawi Family

It’s with sadness we farewell Ali, Zahra, Narjis and Esraa who are moving back to Iraq with their parents Baqir and Kawartha next month.   We wish them every success and happiness for the future.   

It is also the last day for Harleen (yr 6) and Armann (yr 4) Sidhu who will be travelling to India to see family and friends.  We wish the Sidhu family safe travels and look forward to seeing Armann back at school next year.

Enjoy a wonderful fortnight back everyone. 

Do your best. Respect our school. Help others succeed.

Term 4 School Closure Days

Monday 31st October ~ Report Writing Day - PUPIL FREE

Tuesday 1st November ~ Melbourne Cup Day - PUPIL FREE

Friday 2nd December ~ Staff Planning Day 2023 - PUPIL FREE

Community Pizza Night

Friday 4th November ~ 5:30pm – 7:30pm

Victorian Government Support

Dear Parents and Carers

The Victorian Government is offering support to Victorian Catholic school students who are affected by the floods.

Families whose home or belongings have been damaged by the floods can access assistance for each school student in their household to replace essential school items, including:

• uniform items
• shoes
• laptop
• laptop sleeve
• internet data SIM
• stationery
• calculator
• headphones
• work boots
• workwear
• swimwear and accessories
• sunscreen.

Support of up to $1,200 is available for each student who has been impacted by:

• loss or damage to home
• loss or damage to contents or belongings.

How to apply

Please contact the Department of Education and Training hotline on 1800 338 663 to register your request for assistance. The hotline is open from 8.30 am to 6.00 pm weekdays.

As part of the request process, you will be asked to provide the following information:

• family name
• family contact details, e.g. address, phone, email
• impact, e.g. loss or damage to home, contents or belongings
• school name(s)
• number of school-aged students.

Hotline staff will forward your request details to the Catholic Education Commission of Victoria Ltd (CECV), which will arrange for us to provide you with support.

Please go to the Department of Education and Training’s website for more information on the support available for flood impacted families.

Kind Regards

Chris

Sun Smart

Time to find those hats again!! Please remember all students are required to wear their hats. 

Consequences for not wearing a hat will be: No Hat, No play.

A Message from the Sun Smart Team:

It's the start of spring and the start of October so it's time for those five SunSmart things to remember! 

1. Slip on sun protective clothing 

2. Slop on SPF 30+ or higher sunscreen 

3. Slap on a wide brimmed hat 

4. Seek shade 

5. Slide on some wrap-around sunglasses

Reminder

The front administration area is not to be used as a throughway for students or families before or after school hours.  Please use the side gates to enter and exit the school.   Thank you.

Happy Birthday to everyone who is celebrating his or her birthday during the  month of October:

Fahad Jaber, Fatima Fahad, Lara Tedesco, Sydney Almond, Alexa Mbenguele, Mantaj Bhinder, Mia Serra, Prabhleen Kaur, Kobe Campanelli, Liviah Campi, Sukaina AlRamahi, Logan Barbary, Abbey Diamantopoulos, Jasmine Muhimpundu, Claudia Campi, Armann Sidhu, Rydar Snelling, Manvi Majoka, Upkar Pannu, Vansh Patel, Aidan Jones, Alex Khan, Kaileah Winmar, Zachary Neff and Jo Sellwood. 

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

Star Focus Term 4

STAR Focus for Term 4: 

Helping Others Succeed

What does this mean?  How can you help?

Enjoy a wonderful fortnight everyone. 

Do your best. Respect our school. Help others succeed.

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NEW CALENDAR SPONSOR FEATURE

Take time to see out calendar sponsors features in the "2022 Newsletter Sponsors & Calendar" page further on in this newsletter.

School Calendar for the remainder of 2022

UPDATE - School Calendar for the remainder of 2022

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

Attendance Matters…

Attendance Requirements

If your child is sick or absent, you are required to notify the school as soon as possible on the day of absence, by phoning or emailing the school.

Notifying the school of your child’s absence either prior to, or on the day that they will be away, helps ensure the safety and wellbeing of children and will fulfil your legal responsibility.

All Victorian schools are required to contact parents/carers as soon as practicable on the same day of an unexplained student absence. If your child is absent on a particular day and you have not contacted the school to explain why, the absence will be marked as unexplained.

This system also promotes daily school attendance. Going to school every day is the single most important part of your child’s education, they learn new things every day – missing school puts them behind.

School Fees Update  October Fee Statements

October Fee statements will be emailed on Monday 31st October

Thank you to the families who have contacted the school office or who have responded positively when our office has called to discuss payment of fees or organise payment plans.  

Fee statements will continue to be sent out Monthly by email ensuring that all families are aware of the balances of outstanding school fees.  If you have not received any correspondence by email then please contact the school office to confirm we have the correct email address.

Please check your statements.   Should you be experiencing financal hardship we strongly urge you to contact the school office to discuss your situation and a possible payment plan.