Newsletter Address ~ Term 4 Week 9, 2nd December 2022

Advent Message:

Last Sunday marked the start of Advent. Advent is a time of waiting, a time of preparing for the coming of Jesus at Christmas time. For those in ancient times the promise of a Messiah or the Christ was going to bring peace, hope and freedom from oppression. The birth of Jesus viewed through the perspective of his life, death and resurrection does offer peace, hope and freedom. It also challenges those who live in our times to continue to work towards peace, hope and freedom. It challenges us to make the presence of Jesus, the Christ, a reality through the way in which we live our lives today.

The ancient text or stories of the bible invite us to consider a future thinking of the world in which we live. As a Catholic school through the season of Advent we will take the time and opportunity to consider what the message of Jesus’ birth means today - how do we bring about peace, hope and freedom? Our learning certainly captures the Christmas story but goes beyond the literal presentation of cattle and the baby in the manger. In preparing for Christmas, Christians often put up a Christmas tree, a nativity scene, begin to consider gifts for others, buy food for Christmas day, and join in the singing of carols. For young children the preparation of lists of what Santa may bring is also a key feature. There is an incredible busyness and excitement. The season can in many ways be hijacked by consumerism, which shifts the focus elsewhere.

This in a sense can blur our perspective and notion of the real message of Christmas. The message of Jesus and his hope for peace and freedom should be considered as the way to view Christmas.

Also to ask ourselves: how can I be a message of hope and peace this Christmas?

St Mel's Giving Tree

Our St Mel's Giving Tree ~ is an annual tradition in our school community, if you are able we are asking families if they could purchase a gift to place under our Christmas Giving Tree in our school foyer. These gifts will be given to St. Vincent de Paul to distribute in our local community this Christmas.

Principal’s Message

Dear Parents and Friends of St Mel’s

Can you believe this will be our second last newsletter for the year? And in less than a month, it’ll be Christmas. Every year we ask ourselves “Where has the year gone?” Maybe we should ask ourselves, “What have I done this year to make a difference?” It’s not too late to make that difference.

The season of Advent commenced last Sunday. Reflecting on the Advent message in this week’s newsletter, now is the perfect opportunity to think of others and to give generously to those we love and to charity. St Vincent de Paul society has a wonderful Christmas appeal each year as do many other charities in the form of ‘giving trees’, ‘toy drives’ or ‘Secret Santa’s’.

With rising costs, this year, more than ever, families will be doing it tough at Christmas and by doing something special for others will go a long way to helping families in need. Christmas is also a great opportunity to give your time in the service to others.

I know of families who go out of their way for a few hours on Christmas Day to serve at the various Christmas lunches across greater Shepparton for the homeless or visiting the elderly or those saddened at this time of the year. Maybe this year just being more ‘present’ for our families and friends will be the best ‘present’ we can give.

What a wonderful gift it would be to brighten the lives of others this Christmas season.

Staffing Updates:

We will have a few staff leaving us at the end of the year and we sincerely thank the following staff for their dedication and service at St Mel’s.

Wendy Baldwin: Wendy will be taking twelve months leave next year to travel and spend time with her husband. Wendy is our longest serving staff member and has been an integral member of staff for the past 18years. Wendy ensures me she will be back in 2024! We wish her and husband David safe travels and a well-deserved break.

Natalie Witchen: Nat is expecting baby number two early in the new year. This is exciting news for Natalie, her son Naite and her husband Karl. Nat will be sadly missed by all in our community.

Nathan Secchi: Nathan has accepted a teaching position at St Brendan’s for 2023. Like all our outgoing staff, Nathan has been an integral member of our staff team and will be sadly missed.

Brooke Cimera: Brooke has been a valued member of staff for the past 6 months and has accepted a position at Sacred Heart in Tatura, her hometown. We thank Brooke for accepting her position at St Mel’s and for all she has contributed to the early years learning suite.

Chelsea Renato: Chelsea has recently gone on maternity leave; we wish Chelsea and her husband Andrew all the best for the safe arrival of baby number two.

Chris Quinn: Quinny has decided it’s time to hang up the teaching boots and is retiring at the end of the year. After 30 years in the profession this is well deserved. Chris and his wife Dawn are looking forward to hitting the beaten track and seeing the sights Australia has to offer in their new camper and 4WD setup. We thank Quinny for all he has contributed to St Mel’s over the past 4 years and for being an outstanding wellbeing leader. Chris will be sadly missed by all in our community.

New staff for 2023:

With change comes new opportunities and we welcome the following staff to St Mel’s.

Nanette Micallef: Nanette will be joining our school as a fulltime member of staff. Nanette is currently working at St Joseph’s in Corryong and will be moving to the Shepparton area with her family in the new year. Nanette is an experienced teacher with over 25years in the profession.

Jane Shattock: Jane is currently working at Bourchier St PS and has been a member of staff for the past 22 years. Jane has a wealth of knowledge and will be a valued member of our teaching staff.

Joe Worrall: We all know Joe and know how wonderfully gifted and diverse his skills are. Joe is currently studying his bachelor’s degree in teaching and has been granted an early commencement position with us next year. We are super excited for this news to come through. Joe will be a wonderful addition to our teaching staff.

Elley Drummond: We look forward to Elley returning next year as a part-time teacher. Elley has currently been on maternity leave.

Other staffing announcements will be made in our final newsletter at the end of the year.

Prep Information Night.

We had a good turnout of parents and carers at our Prep information night last Wednesday night. Our teaching staff gave a wonderful presentation about everything a new family needs to know about St Mel’s. We look forward to all new families and children starting with us in 2023.

Transition Day Tuesday 13th December. Students will be informed of their new class placements and teachers for 2023 on December 13th.

Transition time will be between 12:15am – 1:45pm for all grades. Grade six students will attend their new school / colleges for the entire day. Our new Preppies will join us at 12:55pm – 2:00pm.

Congratulations Lily Keck and Ayva Cirillo

Ayva and Lily were presented with their graduation certificate for completing their Early Childhood Learning Support Cert. 4 course from the Apprenticeship Factory. We are delighted to announce Lily and Ayva will continue as part of our support staff team next year. Congratulations Lily and Ayva!!

Outstanding fees

As we approach the end of the school year, we kindly ask families to finalise any outstanding accounts. If you are not on a payment plan, we kindly request that all school fees are paid up by the end of term 15th December. Please don’t hesitate to contact the school if you have any questions regarding your fees or myself if you need to discuss payment options. The successful running of school programs for your child’s education relies on fees being paid. Thank you for your cooperation.

Enrolments are still open to families or those you might know who haven’t decided on a primary school.

Aquamoves Funday (TBC)

Due to the recent flooding of Aquamoves, we were advised this week that our fun day can no longer take place at the pool. Details of alternative events will be forwarded soon.

~ Last Day for Students ~ School Finishes ~

Thursday 15th December 2:30pm

Class and teacher allocations for 2023

The process for placing students to their classes is exhaustive and takes many hours of consideration. This is something we do not take lightly and is fully consultative between all staff. Students are placed considering friendship groups, social & emotional wellbeing, academic ability and siblings. Teacher / student relationships are also carefully considered.

** Please understand that requests for class placements will only be considered for exceptional circumstances. Please contact the school if you have any concerns.

To all in our community who currently have loved ones unwell our thoughts are with you. Thanks everyone for all you do in support of one another. It’s what make St Mel’s such an amazing place to be.

Everyone is invited to our Whole School End of Year Mass, with the focus being on our Grade 6 graduates. Please see the flyer below.

Mass will be on Tuesday 13th Dec at 6 pm at St. Mel's Christ our King Church followed by a picnic dinner back at school. Our Social club will organise a bbq, drinks etc and families will also have the option to bring their own dinner. More details to follow.

This is always a great night of celebration for our school community.

Term 4 School Closure Days

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

Important Dates on the horizon…Term 4

Dec 13th ~ School Wide Transition Day 12:15pm-2:00pm

Dec 13th ~ Year 6 Graduation ~ 6pm Christ the King Church

Dec 15th ~ Last Day for Students ~ 2:30pm finish

Dec 16th ~ Last Day for Staff

School Commences Wednesday 1st February 2022

Calendar Advertising 2023

It’s that time of year again… We are preparing for the publication of our Parent School Calendar for the 2022 school year.

We are looking for new and existing advertisers.

Please contact the school if you are interested in advertising your business for 2023.

Kind regards

Parent Social Club: socialclub@smshepparton.catholic.edu.au

Thank you for your continual support of our school.

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.

Uniform: Thank you for ensuring your child/ren is wearing their correct summer uniform. Hats are compulsory for term 4 and students not wearing a hat will be required to sit in the shade. Please make sure all belongings, especially clothing, is clearly marked.

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 December.

Happy Birthday December Babies:

Sunny Alessi, Jack Anthony, Lance Agustin, Eli Nfundiko, Tully Young, Iesha Harrowfield, Savreen Kaur, Ava Hamilton, James Alwer, Aryan Patel, Morgan Brand, Anaahat Kaur, Aviraj Singh, Charlie McMurtrie,Raizel Animay, Jenish Patel, Evie Ciancio, Ashmeet Panesar, Seeret Dhaliwal & Joshua Sparkes

Star Focus Term 4 STAR Focus for Term 4:

Helping Others Succeed

What does this mean? How can you help?

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

Enjoy a wonderful fortnight everyone.

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

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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 - November Statements

Statements will be sent out on Monday 5th December.

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.

Canteen News

Update -

Unfortunately the Canteen will not be offering lunches this term.

The Canteen window will be open and run by the Grade 6s together with a teacher during the afternoon recesss.