From the Principal

The BISHOP Visits St Francis de Sales

On Friday Bishop Tony Ireland came to St Francis de Sales to meet and chat with our Grade 6 students who are preparing to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation on Thursday 11 August at St Kevin's Church.

This is the first time in eight years since we have had a visit from a Bishop. The last time was in 2014 for the opening and blessing of our Administration Building and Learning Space 3.

We were very pleased to welcome Bishop Tony to our school. He spent a lot of time getting to know each one of our children. Bishop Tony was very impressed walking through our school and noticed its clear Catholic identity.

Grandparents Day

We got August of to a flying start with our inaugural Grandparents Day on Monday 1st. It was sensational to have so many grandparents and special friends visit our school. The biggest gathering of adult visitors for a long time. We were delighted by the chatter and laughter as our special visitors joined in the various activities across all three Learning Spaces. Some were busy visiting children in more than one space. However, everyone managed really well and it was a great sense of community. Children who had grandparents or whose grandparents were unable to attend all loved having visitors in our Learning Spaces. Everyone felt included and had a great morning.

At the first break our visitors were treated to a special morning tea in our community room. Thanks to our P&F for organising this for us to enjoy. Grandparents were also able to see the work going on on the construction of our new multi-purpose hall. We all look forward to the extra space this building will provide for our future special days.

After the break, our special visitors joined their grandchildren in the Learning Spaces for a special prayer service all together. The feedback from our visitors was very positive. We loved our first grandparents day and look forward to being able to invite our grandparents and special visitors back to St Francis de Sales when our hall is completed.

Save the Date

PARENT INFORMATION SESSIONS

Parents play a vital role in the development of healthy, life-long behaviours in our children.

A Parent Information Session will be held on Monday 22 August 2022 at 7pm for the parents of all Year 5 and 6. This session will be held via ZOOM to make it easier for parents to participate. Please save this important date. Further details will be shared via Operoo. Session with students will commence this term after the Parent information session and conclude in early Term 4.

Views of the Roof !!

Before we could blink the steel for the roof has been positioned ready for the roof. Despite a windy day on Wednesday the work has continued to progress quickly. We can see the size of the building and the various room sizes are beginning to become evident. On Thursday the fire wall has been positioned. It just looks sensational and we are getting excited.

Portable for SALE

Next week we will begin to focus on the sale of the portable. We plan to post ads in coming weeks. If you know an organisation that would be interested in a 5 module portable, please get them to contact the school office. Ph 8773 6700. Kristy will be rather sad to see her beloved music room leave St Francis de Sales. We hope to find a good home and a new purpose for this building that has served us so well.

Planning for 2023

We are in the process of completing our enrolment interviews for our Preps for 2023. If you know someone who wishes to enrol there are still limited places available for 2023 but they need to contact the school now to book a tour.

We are commencing the process of making arrangements for 2023, which also includes budgeting and staffing. It is important that if your child is not returning in 2023 that you notify the school in writing. We encourage you to do this now or as soon as possible.

Administration of Medication to Students

We have updated our Medication Policies and these can be viewed on our website under enrolments - Policies.

Parents/Guardians are responsible for providing the school with accurate and updated medical informaition about their child via Operoo. We are asking parents to check that if their child has a medical management Plan e.g. for Asthma that this is still current and has not expired. We have a few parents who have not updated this information on Operoo. We ask that you do this before the end of August. In addition, Parents and guardians are responsible for providing medication that is within its expiry date. Please ensure you support the school to carry out its duty of care.

Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools – School Improvement Surveys (MACSSIS):

Monday 29 August – Friday 16 September 2022

Throughout each year, we pause to listen to our students, families and staff to gauge how our learning community is travelling. This feedback is invaluable to our progress as effective school communities and is backed by evidence-based research and best practices.

A significant and formal way in which we engage and gather data is through MACSSIS, the Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools – School Improvement Surveys.

MACSSIS is a set of surveys that have been built specifically for Catholic schools in Melbourne by the Learning Services team at MACS, in partnership with researchers at Learning First and in wide consultation with principals in our schools.

In 2022, students, families and staff are invited to participate in MACSSIS via our secure and purpose-built online platform. The online platform is where our school leaders will access the summary reports that visualise the results of the student, family and staff surveys.

The MACSSIS survey platform is operated by an independent supplier, ORIMA Research Pty Ltd. The platform meets with the high security and privacy standards for handling student and school data. Participating schools are in the process of updating their privacy policy to ensure school communities are fully informed and protected.

Students at our school will be provided with supervised sessions, where teachers are on hand to help and answer any questions. Families and staff can complete the survey anytime over the three-week window via an emailed link and password. Feedback has indicated that previous surveys were completed across a range of mobile devices and different web browsers. Schools will be providing more information about MACSSIS throughout Term 3, via newsletters and social media.

Our community’s opinions are critical to understanding how our school is performing – MACSSIS is a key data source for guiding the ongoing work to improve our school.

All participation is invited, welcomed and 100 per cent voluntary.

The surveys are not a test; they are an inclusive way to support the work we are already doing to improve our school. Everyone has the right to refuse to participate, or withdraw from the survey at any point before, during or after completion of the survey. Please notify the school if your child does not wish to participate.

If you would like more information, please contact the school.

COVID Update

Since the start of Term 3, we have had 8 students and 4 teachers who have tested positive.

What you need to know

If your child is not experiencing COVID-19 symptoms, they can continue to attend school, but you should monitor for symptoms.
Students who show symptoms of COVID-19 cannot attend school and should get tested immediately and isolate until they receive a negative result.
Students should continue with twice-a-week rapid antigen testing on school days.
Students who have recovered from COVID-19 do not need to participate in surveillance testing for 4 weeks after their isolation period has ended.

For information on symptoms visit: https://www.coronavirus.vic.gov.au/symptoms-and-risks.

For more information on how to get tested visit: https://www.coronavirus.vic.gov.au/taking-test-covid-19.

If your child returns a positive RAT result and has symptoms and/or has been in contact with someone with COVID-19, it is very likely that your child has COVID-19.

You must advise the school and the Department of Health about the positive result
Your child must stay home for 7 days, and then only leave home once they feel well

Household contacts

Students who are household contacts of a COVID-19 case are not required to quarantine. It is required that that household contacts undertake daily rapid antigen testing five times within the 7 days of exposure.

Students from Grade 3 and above who are household contacts are required to wear face masks when indoors at school. This does not apply to students who have a valid exemption.

If your child returns a positive RAT result during this period, they must stay home for 7 days, and then only leave home once they feel well.

Note: If your child tests positive with a RAT but does not have symptoms and you don’t believe they have been in contact with anyone with COVID-19, it is recommended getting a PCR test within the first 48 hours of testing positive and stay isolated at all times until they receive their result.

If your child’s subsequent PCR test is negative, they will be able to leave isolation and return to school. If the PCR test result is positive, they must follow the steps above.

Reporting your child’s positive test

If your child tests positive to COVID-19 you need to report the positive case by notifying the school in writing or by phone.
You must also report your child’s positive test to the Department of Health via the COVID-19 Positive Rapid Antigen Test Self-Reporting Form or call centre on 1800 675 398.

Staying Safe Online

eSafety runs free webinars for parents and carers of school-aged children. FREE webinars on Tik Tok will be held in August and I encourage parents to be informed and register for a session. Learn about TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat and YouTube and help your children stay safe online. If you would like to learn more about how we are supporting families to be safer online, visit esafety.gov.au

Have a great weekend.

Christine White

Principal