Messages
Dear Families,
What a term it has been! First and foremost, I would like to thank the entire Galilee community for your compassion, patience, understanding and support throughout what has been a very different Term 2. Your support from home during remote learning and upon returning to school, has been very much appreciated by all the staff.
Congratulations to our students for completing the term with enthusiasm and positivity. The joy on their faces when they returned to school will not be forgotten.
Lastly, I would like to thank all of the magnificent Galilee staff. The school’s response to the current and emerging challenges associated with the COVID-19 pandemic has been a team effort and I would like to thank every single member of staff for their efforts to maintain a sense of calm and consistency for our students and their families. It needs to be acknowledged that for teachers and support staff, this has been a stressful time. This stress has been eased somewhat by the strong show of appreciation and support from within our parent community. The regular emails/Dojos of support and thanks have been very well received. I hope that everyone in our community enjoys the holiday break as an opportunity to relax and focus on their own needs and wellbeing.
To all of our students and families, take care, continue to follow the COVID-19 advice and make smart choices to keep you and your loved ones as safe as possible.
A Big Thank you To
Our Staff at Galilee
Thank-you to all families who contributed to the appreciation gift for all staff at Galilee. Thursday afternoon Mr Millar was presented the gift on behalf of all families.
Surveys
During Home Learning, we sent out our own survey that provided us with invaluable feedback. This year CEM will not be supplying the usual surveys to schools, however there was an opportunity for us to capture some important information regarding Remote Learning. CEM together with Simon Breakspear, a leading educationalist, developed surveys for parents, students and teachers to understand better some of the successes and challenges of this time. Thank you to the families who were able to complete the survey this week. It will provide us with feedback on what happened during this remote learning period to help us better understand your perspective. This feedback will assist us as a school to make changes to our current practices where needed, and to better cater to your children’s learning needs.
Why are we doing this survey we have already sent one home? This survey has different questions and focus and been recommended by CEM. One change that we will continue is a shorter weekly Bulletin emailed to families each Thursday.
Building update
Over the last eight weeks we have managed to complete an internal building program where the Year 6 classrooms presided. All furniture has moved back into the new spaces and will be occupied by students on the first day of Term Three. This project is part of the larger one to build a multi-purpose hall in place of the current Prep/Year 1 building. More information has been previously explained over the past term. The students and staff from Years 5 & 6 are excited about moving into their new spaces. We will include updated photos next term. It will provide the students with a modern learning environment and allow us to adequately cater for displaced classrooms during the major building phase.
Thank-you to the students and staff for their flexibility, CHC our architects and to Nathan (Supervisor) from Lloyd Group (Building). I would like to especially thank the Building Committee, members of the SEB and our Canonical Administrators throughout the process.
Musical Update
Dear Families,
I wish to inform you on some recent changes to the 2020 whole school musical - Mary Poppins Jr.
This has not been an easy decision and I know there will be disappointment in our community, however, in light of COVID-19 and the uncertainty this has upon future planning, it is with a heavy heart that I tell you we will not be having a whole school musical in 2020. This means that all students from Prep to Year 6 will not be part of Mary Poppins Jr and will not perform their class song that was being taught in Term 1.
As we are unaware of what will happen with restrictions and unfortunately have no venue due to having to cancel our original booking, it would be unfair to continue to teach the performance without any concrete idea if/when we would perform. The remaining two terms in Performing Arts will focus on other skills and areas of drama and music. We are also unable to postpone the show to 2021 as half the main cast is in Year 6.
The main cast members (22 main roles of students from Years 5&6) will perform Mary Poppins Jr, in a concert form, in Term 4, Week 8 as rescheduled. This will be in the school hall. Audience members and the format of this concert will depend on the restrictions at the time.
I know this is disappointing for all of us, however, the students’ education as well as their health and safety is imperative.
Many thanks in advance,
Carmen Carnovale
Parent/Teacher Learning Conversations
The Parent/Teacher Learning Conversations will be taking place on Monday 20 July from 1:30pm-7:00pm and Wednesday 22 July from 1:30pm-4:00pm. It is an opportunity for parents and teachers to discuss Semester One and future student learning goals.
The meetings will be held via video conference (Google Meet) and will run for 10 minutes with some extra time to log in. Teachers will email home invitations to the Google Meet in week one once the scheduling has been completed. Please contact the school office if you think that connecting via technology will be an issue for you. Please note that students do not need to be present for the Learning Conversation.
On Monday 20 July, all students will finish early.
Dismissal will be:
Monday 20 July
1:00pm - Siblings
1:10pm - Prep/Yr 1
1:15pm - Yr 2/3
1:20pm - Yr 4-6
On Wednesday 22 July, all students will finish at the normal time as followed:
3:00pm - Siblings
3:10pm - Prep/Yr 1
3:15pm - Yr 2/3
3:20pm - Yr 4-6
PTO bookings are currently open until the first week of next term. Please ensure you log in and book a time.
Beginning of Term 3
Term 3 commences on Monday 13 July for all students at the staggered morning drop off times listed below.
Term 3 Drop off and Dismissals
Staggered alternate morning drop off and afternoon dismissal times will continue in Term 3 and reassessed at the end of July.
MORNING DROP OFF TIMES
- 8:35am Siblings (family groups) arrive
Prep siblings are to enter via Learning St gate and go straight to their classroom
Years 1-6 siblings enter via main gate and line up on the basketball court with their teacher - 8:40am - 8:50am All non siblings arrive. Preps entervia Learning St gate and go straight to their classroom Year 1-6 enter via main gate and line up on the basketball court with their teacher
AFTERNOON DISMISSAL TIMES
- 3:00pm - All family groups (siblings) from Prep-Year 6 (including twins, triplets etc)
- 3:10pm - Non-siblings Prep/Year 1
- 3:15pm - Non-siblings Year 2 and 3
- 3:20pm - Non-siblings Year 4-6
Once again, thank you for your support in adhering to these times.
Term 3 Staggered Breaks
Staggered Breaks will also continue and be reassessed at the end of July. Please remember that if your child has recess/lunch at the staggered time, it is recommended that you do not order a lunch order.
STAGGERED BREAK TIMES
(Recess 10:20am/Lunch 1:00pm)
Monday - Prep-Year 2
Tuesday/Wednesday - Year 3/4
Thursday/Friday - Year 5/6
Reports
Semester One Reports were accessed yesterday with some significant changes which were communicated to you on May 18 and in some Bulletins. If you are unsure of why the reporting format has been modified, please access this information before asking your child's classroom teacher.
2021 Attendance
Thankyou to families who responded to the request about intentions for staying or leaving at Galilee in 2021. As a Catholic school we rely on a combination of school fees and funding from the State and Federal Governments. Each year in August and February we complete a census and submit the total amount of students enrolled. All government funding is based on the number of students. There can sometimes be large gaps in funding even with a change in one student to the total. As a consequence, we monitor the student numbers closely to budget for the following year. Staffing and programs are often planned six months prior. This is why we need to be able to accurately assume student numbers for the following year. For those leaving Galilee, our policy asks for a minimum of 10 weeks notice as we often turn away students in year levels that are full. A student that leaves without sufficient notice can sometimes impact upon the school finances. We understand that people have valid reasons for leaving but providing as much notice as possible is crucial. We are very grateful to the families who leave and communicate clearly and promptly with us. Please see our Enrolment & Exit Policy on the website for more information.
Currently we have smaller classes in Years 5 & 6 which can make funding a challenge across the whole school as we are funded per student from Prep-Year 6.
Why do we have smaller class sizes in Years 5 & 6?
- Over the last few years we have seen a large increase in demand to attend Galilee, meaning that we have more students in Prep-Year 3 than ever before (well over 100 applications to attend Prep in 2021);
- Some private schools encourage/pressure students to attend from Year 5 or risk a future placement in Year 7.
What does this mean?
We always respect each family's right to send their children to the school of choice. However, the impact of students leaving in Year 5 means that we (and all other Catholic primary schools) need to cater for more students in Prep-Year Four in order to finance smaller class sizes in Years 5 & 6. It is an issue that is regularly discussed among Catholic Primary School Principals as it impacts all of the schools in our network.
We are very proud of our school community and the progress of our students. Our students achieve outstanding testing results and we consistently rate well above the State Mean. While most of students elect to stay at Galilee till the end of Year 6, we will continue to work towards keeping a higher percentage for the benefit of all.
Parents Onsite
At this stage, with restrictions still in place, we ask that parents/guardians continue to only enter the school at Afternoon Dismissal times when Term 3 commences.
Parents/Guardians are asked to please follow the directions of staff:
- Parent/Guardian will enter the school grounds through the school gate when directed by a staff member.
- Parent/Guardian will maintain social distancing along the brick pathway.
- When Parent/Guardian get to the front of the line on the brick pathway, they will make their way to child and collect.
- Parent/Guardian and child/ren will exit through the big gate.
A reminder of protocols to follow for Late comers and Early pickups below.
Late comers
- If your child is not at school by 8.50am and therefore will be late, there will be no admittance to the school grounds after 9:15 am until 11.45am. This is due to unavailability of staff to supervise late arrivals.
- We ask that you only use the Bank Street Entrance and you ring the doorbell once when you arrive.
- A staff member will meet you at the school gate and students will be escorted to the office.
Early pickups
- We strongly advise against students leaving school early.
- We ask that if at all possible you schedule medical appointments outside school hours; however, if this is unavoidable you must pick up your children at the following times: 11.45am or 1.40pm.
- We ask that only use the Bank Street Entrance and you ring the doorbell once when you arrive.
- A staff member will meet you at the school gate with the student.
Term 3 Assemblies
Assemblies will commence on Wednesday 29 July via Google Meet. The assembly will follow a similar format to our usual weekly presentations. Different year levels will present their learning, our Year 6 leaders and school staff will provide school updates, and award winners will be read out and students will receive their award. The assemblies will be recorded and posted on Dojo for families to watch.
Uniform
We have received some great news that the new Galilee uniform has arrived in Australia.
We will be able to confirm a release date in Week 1 next term, expected to be available for purchase by the middle of Term 3 TBC.
The current school uniform (except navy shorts and navy pants as they remain the same) will continued to be sold at PSW for a discounted price of 25% off.
History
With the news that the new uniform will be available from next term, the transition timeline has also been updated in line with this. We have consistently said that two years from availability would be the deadline on top of our communication about a future change over the previous 18+ months.
Our previous correspondence extended to 2023 (please note that all other correspondence stated 2022 as a deadline) as a final transition into the new uniform as we had recently been told that our uniform was not likely to be available this year due to delays from COVID-19. However, with the recent news of the surprising and exciting availability of the new uniform, the date has been revised again in line with our policy of two additional years.
Deadline for Transition
To avoid a uniform change in the middle of a season, the new timeline for students from Prep-Year 5 will be the beginning of Term Two 2022 (change from Summer to Winter uniform). This mandatory change will not be for Year 6 in 2022.
On July 25 & August 22, 2019, we communicated that students going into Year 6 in 2022 would have an extension of the timeline.
A reminder that:
- the woollen jumper, rugby top and school bag can be worn/used for the duration of its lifetime as it is similar to the new item,
- during the transition period, blending of the current and new uniform IS allowed as we are keeping the same colour scheme,
- modifications were made after consultation with the community,
- no further discussions will be held about design, production and transitioon due to completion,
- we are still awaiting the arrival of the new school bag, tunic and reader bag.
- we will continue to assist families financially with uniforms who are experiencing difficulty,
The Uniform Policy will be updated next term to reflect the new uniform. Below is a storyboard displaying the new Galilee uniform.
Thank-you to the Uniform Committee for their tireless work over the last 18+ months.
Grievances and Complaints
For all school related complaints, please adhere to the Grievances and Complaints policy found on our website. In the interests of safety and respect for all within the school community, parents must bring their concerns or complaints to the relevant Staff Member, Deputy or the Principal to ensure that an appropriate resolution can be achieved. It is important to note that, as per our policy, Galilee will not tolerate parents who approach children or parents from other families with a school related complaint.
Joke of the week
Q. What do you call a snowman's temper tantrum?
A. A meltdown