General News
Message Stick
We would like to send a warm congratulations to 2 of our ex-students Max Cloake and Isla Lett who have been accepted into the Gomeroi Culture Academy. The Gomeroi Culture Academy (GCA) is a culturally focused leadership experience supporting young people living in Tamworth NSW.
Didgeridoo Lessons (Years 5-6 boys)
Thank you to Uncle Mark Atkins, a proud Yamatji man, for welcoming our Years 5-6 Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander boys to have the opportunity to join his Didgeridoo Lessons. Uncle Mark has worked with our boys previously, so we are very excited to be joining him again.
Please keep an eye out for a permission note that may be sent to you through Compass.
Welcome to our Kindergarten Students
On Monday we were very excited to welcome all our new Kindergarten students and their families. There were plenty of happy smiling faces entering the school gates! Starting school is such a big milestone and we look forward to supporting our new students as they embark on their learning journey with us.
Kinder Parent Workshop - Thursday 9th Feb, 6.00pm
We invite and welcome our Kindergarten parents to join us tonight, Thursday 9th February from 6.00pm to 7.30pm in the Kinder Classrooms, for an informative evening of learning how to support your child to be successful in their first year of school.
Please RSVP to Mrs Amanda Sheridan:
Word of the Week
At St Edward's we are always working towards our community being better tomorrow than they are today so we have started a new initiative "Word of the Week". The students will be exposed to a new word each Monday at Assembly and then challenged to use the word in context in the classroom. Each time a student uses our "Word of the Week" in the classroom they will be awarded a point and the student with the most points at the end of the term will receive a book to further expand their vocabulary.
We will publish our Word of the Week in the newsletter. Please support your child to use this word at home. Week 3 - DILAPIDATED
Year 2 Infants Leaders
Congratulations to our Year 2 Leaders for Term 1. Each term new Year 2 Leaders are selected to be role models for our K-2 students, responsibly completing daily jobs for teachers and always displaying respectful behaviour in the classroom and on the playground.
Thank you!
Looking out at the playground and in our classrooms this week, it has been wonderful to see our students wearing our school uniform and hat. At St Edward's we take pride in the way that we present ourselves and are proud to be part of such a wonderful community. The wearing of correct school uniform each and every day is one way to demonstrate this.
Remember that we wear our sports uniform on Wednesdays and Fridays and our school summer uniform on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Second Hand Clothing Pool
Our second hand clothing pool is open from 8.30am to 3.30pm each school weekday at both the Primary and Infants Campus. Most second hand items are $5.00 each. Please see the office staff for further details.
Please note that both the Primary and Infants clothing pool are in short supply of good quality sports shorts, sports polos and girls summer tunics. If your child/ren have outgrown any of their uniforms, we would welcome any donations from parents, thank you.
Come and be a part of our wonderful St Ed's P & F Team!....
Please join us for our first St Ed's P & F meeting of 2023 in the PRIMARY Staffroom, 14th Feb 5.30pm
St Ed's P & F Fundraiser - Sunday 26th February
Are you ready for the first St Ed's P & F fundraiser of the year??
Come along to 'A Day Trackside' at the Tamworth Jockey Club, in conjunction with the Country Championships Race Day, on Sunday 26th February. See flyer below for full details or for further information please email the P & F team at: stedspf@gmail.com
Gather your friends and family for a wonderful, fun afternoon out at the races! To purchase your tickets, please click the link below:
St Ed's Playgroup
We wish to advise parents and carers that our St Ed's Playgroup will recommence in Term 3 & 4 as part of our Kindergarten 2024 Transition Program. More information to follow closer to the date.
Road Manners
A gentle reminder that when picking up or dropping off your child/children please be considerate and courteous to our neighbours around both the Primary and Infants Campus. Do not park across driveways as they need to access entry to their home just as you do. Please also adhere to traffic signs, especially with bus zones and no stopping areas.
2023 School Term Dates
Regular attendance at school is essential for students to achieve quality life outcomes. Parents or carers of children of compulsory school age are responsible for ensuring their child attends school every day. Here are the school terms for 2023 for our students:
Term One: Tuesday 31st January - Thursday 6th April
Term Two: Monday 24th April - Friday 30th June
Term Three: Monday 17th July - Friday 22nd September
Term Four: Monday 9th October - Friday 15th December
School Hours & Supervision
The school grounds are supervised from 8.15am until the last bus leaves in the afternoon. No child is to be at school before 8.15am and all should leave the school grounds as soon as possible after 3.00pm.
School starts: 8.45am
Recess: 11.00am – 11.40am
Lunch: 1.20pm – 1.50pm
School finishes: 3.00pm
OFFICE HOURS
Primary & Infants Office: 8.30am - 3.30pm daily
Compass
Compass is our School Parent Portal. It will allow you to access up-to-date and meaningful information about our school and your child's progress. Compass includes many different features, including the ability to:
- Approve past absences for your child.
- Enter upcoming absences for your child.
- Access your child's Academic Reports.
- Access information regarding upcoming events and newsletters.
- Book your Parent/Student/Teacher conferences.
- View up-to-date class and school attendance information.
- Download, print and approve upcoming excursions.
- Update your registered email and mobile number (used for SMS alerts).
Attendance
Children are required to attend school from 8.45am to 3.00pm. It is essential that children are always present at school, except in the case of sickness.
Whenever a child is absent, parents are required to explain this absence through the Compass App. An SMS message is sent to parents on the morning of the absence if no notification of absence has been received before 10.00am. It is a legal requirement that you log in to Compass to explain all absences within 7 days of your child being away from school, however it is so much easier if you attend to this on the day as soon as you receive the reminder.
You will NOT be able to complete this task after the 7 days has passed which means they will be recorded as Absent Unexplained.
If you are having trouble accessing all of the Compass features, there should be a drop down menu on your home page which looks like 3 horizontal lines. Open this menu and choose 'open in browser'. This will help you access the school portal features.
INFANTS Canteen - Lunch time only
This year at the Infants Campus we will again be offering snack items and sips for Infants students to purchase on set days (see below). Spending limits are $3 per child. The Infants Canteen operates at lunch times only from 1.30 - 1.50pm.
St Edward’s School Tamworth - 2023 Schedule of Fees & Levies
School fees PER TERM (Terms 1, 2 & 3 only) for 2023 are:
· 1 child $482.00
· 2 children $867.60 (20% discount child 2)
· 3 or more children $1108.60 (50% discount child 3)
School fees ANNUAL for 2023 are:
· 1 child $1446.00
· 2 children $2602.80 (20% discount child 2)
· 3 or more children $3325.80 (50% discount child 3)
2023 Sport & School Activity Levy per child is:
Primary Students $70.00 per student
Infants Students $50.00 per student
St Edward’s Sport & School Activity Levy (SASA Levy) covers the cost of sport activities and extracurricular activities that students participate in and is in addition to School Fees.
New Finance System and School Fees
We have recently transitioned to a new finance system. This means that school fees can now be paid via BPay, CompassPay, Cash and Eftpos and soon our school's bank account will not be available to direct credit.
Term 1 school fees will be issued via email by our Catholic Schools Office, Armidale in the week beginning 13th February with your new BPay details. Regular payments can be set up directly from your bank account via Bpay.
2024 Kindergarten Enrolments - ENROL NOW
Applications for Kindergarten 2024 are NOW OPEN. Please contact the Infants Campus for an enrolment pack. Enrolment Forms will not be processed until all supporting documents are received: Birth Certificate; Immunisation Certificate; Baptismal Certificate (only required if your child is 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 2024.
2023 Travel Passes
Esteem Kids
Before school care is available in the Infants Hall for both Primary and Infants students. It operates from 7:00am to 8:30am, Monday through Friday during term and breakfast is provided.
After school care is available in the Infants Hall for Infants students only from 3:00pm to 6:00pm Monday through Friday. PLEASE NOTE this year that after school care is now operating from the Primary Art Room for primary students only from 3:00pm to 6:00pm Monday through Friday. Afternoon tea is provided.
Families are encouraged to make enquiries or express interest by contacting William Wong on 0410 841 628 or email: info@esteemkidsgroup.com.au or visit the website at www.esteemkidsgroup.com.au
Please remember to contact (telephone or text) Esteem Kids St Edward's directly if your child is going to be absent on 0481 373 883. Thank you.
Parent Workshops.....
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St Edward's Primary Tamworth
