This week we begin the Lenten season with Shrove Tuesday and the traditional serving of pancakes to students by Year 6 students and parent volunteers. Thank you for the donations of pancakes which the children truly enjoyed. A special thank you to Mrs Neeson our family educator for organising the event.

As a school community, we marked the beginning of Lent today by attending the Ash Wednesday Mass with the wider parish community. The season of Lent is traditionally one of prayer, penance and almsgiving.

As a school community, we congratulate Amy and Daniel Watterson on the birth of their baby, Billy! We rejoice with them and praise God for his safe arrival. We look forward to our visit really soon!

PTS Conferences

Thank you for your participation in the Parent/Teacher/Student conferences last week. We are grateful that so many of our parent community worked with us on this opportunity to engage in P/T/S conferences.

My appreciation and thanks to you as parents for your valuable role as the primary educators of your child and to the teachers, a dedicated team of professionals who give so generously of their self, skills and time. Improving the learning outcomes for all children at STA is our core business. The children are our first priority. This is a great Catholic school that has helped produce not just well educated young adults, but compassionate people who, because of their faith, confidently embrace a future with hope and joy. I hope that you are as proud to be a part of this community as I am. We look forward to a fun and exciting year full of lots of amazing learning opportunities and chances to grow and extend ourselves.

Please see the "Important Dates" page for lots of term dates.

School Hours and Child Safety

Please remember that the school gates will be supervised from 8.30 am - 8.55 am each morning. At the end of the day the gates are supervised from 3.10 pm - 3.30 pm. If you are not able to pick up your children, please book them into after school care (GOSH), where they will get a nutritious snack and have lots of fun. We need to ensure the safety of our children is at the forefront of our thinking in all situations so please help us to do that by following the guidelines.

Communication

Compass Parent Portal - St Anthony's parents are requested to download the Compass Parent Portal app once your child is enrolled at our school. It is our primary communication tool that will facilitate effective communication between parents and school. All school notes, notices and newsletters will be sent through Compass. To access the Compass Parent Portal app, simply download the ‘Compass School Manager’ app, available through Apple Store or Google Play. It is suitable for both iPhone and Android Smartphones.

We encourage on-going communication with the school. A reminder that the first point of contact for you is your child’s teacher. They have the most contact with you and your child and are in the best position to respond to any questions or concerns you may have. Please email info@staclovelly.catholic.edu.au and the email will be forwarded to the teacher.

Update contact details

Sometimes we need to contact parents if a child is sick. It is of the utmost importance that the phone numbers we have are current and updated. If these have changed can you please update the current information in Compass.

Medication

If your child needs to take medication while at school it needs to be sent to the office with a note from a parent with instructions and time that it needs to be taken. The office staff will administer the medication. If your child’s medical/ health plan (asthma or anaphylaxis) has been updated, we require a copy in the office. Thank you to all who have returned the medical notes sent out earlier. If you have not yet returned it, could you please return it ASAP.

Student Acceptable Use of Technology Agreement

Please ensure you have read through the Student Acceptable Use of Technology Agreement sent home with your child last week. It is important that both you and your child are aware of the school’s expectations with regard to technology. Remember if your child is 10 or younger you must sign on their behalf. If teachers have not received a signed agreement from your child they will miss out on using technology until it is returned. If you require another agreement please see your child’s class teacher.

NAPLAN

Literacy & Mathematics

This year, The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) - tests for students in Years 3 and Year 5 will be administered earlier than in previous years. It will be held in March during the period between March 15 and March 24. NAPLAN will be conducted online this year (except for Year 3 Writing) using the school’s devices. Students will have the opportunity to practice using the online testing platform during class time. We use NAPLAN in combination with the school’s assessment data and, as such, encourage students to ‘try their best.’

Facebook & Instagram

Our school Facebook and Instagram page is used to promote all the wonderful work and events happening at our school. Its purpose is to engage in a meaningful two way conversation with our school community and beyond. Thank you to those of you who comment, like and follow us!

ENROLMENTS FOR 2024

We are please to advise that Open Days are being held on 10 March from 9-10:30am & 23 March 9.00-10.30 am & 3.30 - 5:00pm. All parents are encourage to attend and see learning in action. Please also let your family and friends know and encourage them to attend and submit their applications.

For families with young siblings to commence next year, please submit your applications now so we are aware how many positions are required. As existing families, please complete your application through Compass using the Family & Enrolments tab as shown below. To access the Family & Enrolments tab, please open Compass in browser, click on the cog icon on the top right hand side of your screen, then onto the Family & Enrolments tab as shown.

Please call into the office if you require any assistance. We look forward to receiving your applications soon.

OPEN DAYS! ALL WELCOME!

Yours in Partnership

Anna Novak

Principal

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