Message from the Principal
Welcome to Week 1 Term 1
Welcome to our first newsletter of the year! A Happy New Year to you all, and a special Happy New Year those who have celebrated the Lunar New Year this week.
A big welcome to the new families who have joined our school in 2020. To all our new students in Foundation (Prep)- it was wonderful to see all your smiling faces on the first day! We also have new students in Year 2- we welcome you to the St Peter's community.
Important dates
We value the partnership that we have with our families. To continue to build them, we have introduced information sessions for each level. These will be held on Wednesday 5 February at the following times: Foundation - Grade 2 5pm-5:30pm; Grade 3/4 5:30pm-6pm; Grade 5/6 6-6:30pm. Parents and students are invited as we have made these sessions part of a 'Welcome BBQ'. A sausage in bread will be available for everyone, and some fun games to be played on the basketball court. We look forward to seeing all families at this event.
There will be an opportunity for an individual 'Meet and Greet' with your child's class teacher the following week, Wednesday 12 February.
You will need to book online at https://www.schoolinterviews.com.au/ using the code t5gxe to make a time. This is a valuable time where you can talk about your child, letting the class teacher know about their strengths and areas for growth.
Coronovirus
Thank you for your ongoing support as we navigate our way through learning about Coronavirus. We are following Department of Health and Human Services guidelines to ensure we minimise any risk to the St Peter's community. The last advice, received Thursday morning, was communicated to all parents via email the same day. We ask for your support in following their recommendation. This recommendation is that parents/guardians/carers of students should ensure that any returning student is isolated at home and should not attend school for 14 days
following exposure to any confirmed novel coronavirus case or after leaving Hubei Province. The Chief Health Officer’s current advice is that staff and students do not need to be isolated at home if they have recently travelled in other parts of China or other countries and are not showing any symptoms of the virus.
Soap and hand sanitiser is in every classroom and toilet, and staff have ensured students know the importance of following good personal hygiene and are being extra vigilant in ensuring students follow these instructions.
Assembly 2020
Due to a change in the school specialist timetable, our fortnightly assembly will be on a Friday afternoon this year. All are welcome to join us at 3pm where student awards are presented and learning from class rooms is shared. The first assembly will be on Friday 14 February. Teachers will let you know when your child's class will be showcasing their learning.
Staff
A change of staff has occurred since students finished in December.
I congratulate Michael Fitzsimmons on his appointment as STEM Leader at St Simon’s Primary School in Rowville and wish him all the best in his new role.
I am very happy to announce we have appointed Ms Sarah Russell as class teacher. Sarah worked as a Relief teacher at St Peter’s in 2019 so we are fortunate that she is familiar with staff and students. Sarah is very excited to be teaching the 1/2 class at St Peter’s in 2020 and has been meeting with other staff over the holidays to ensure a smooth transition. Welcome Sarah!
We also welcome new Learning Support Officers -Ana Giorlando and Sri Punyamurtula. They will be supporting students with their learning across the school so please make them welcome.
Reminders
We ask that all families enter and leave the school through the side gate. The office is a busy place and we need to ensure that Bec and Margaret can answer queries and talk on the telephone. Of course, if you need to talk to our wonderful office staff, come in the front door.
As we start a new year it is important that all Care Monkey profiles are up to date and that any Asthma or allergy medication (Epipen/Claratyne/Zyrtec) is given to the class teacher along with a plan signed by a doctor. This should be done as soon as possible.
Uniform Reminder
All students should be wearing summer uniform in Term 1.
For girl this is:
Green checked dress or green culottes with St Peter’s short sleeve yellow polo top
St Peter’s green bomber jacket
white socks
Black school shoes
Green legionnaires cap
For boys:
Grey shorts
St Peter’s short sleeve yellow polo top
St Peter’s green bomber jacket
Grey socks
Black school shoes
Green legionnaires cap
Sports uniform, including sports shoes, should only be worn on Sports days as advised by your class teacher. We ask for your support in ensuring your child is wearing the correct uniform and representing the community of St Peter's respectfully and with pride.
I look forward to meeting everyone at our events over the next 2 weeks.
Have a good week.
Sharon Daujat
Principal