Term 1 Week 2

In the blink of an eye, the new school year is off and running.  We welcome everyone back for the 2025 school year. Each year we have adopted a schoolwide theme to guide us and use as a building block for both academic and social emotional learning. A number of years ago we introduced, ‘Make a Difference’ as the overarching theme for each year. Coupled with this, we add the new theme for each year. This year is a Jubilee year in the Catholic church. A Jubilee or Holy Year is a special year of forgiveness and reconciliation, in which people are invited to come back into right relationship with God. In keeping with the jubilee theme of ‘Pilgrims of Hope’ our 2025 theme is:

The anchor is a symbol of stability and connection. The anchor gets firmly planted into the bottom of the ocean floor and provides the ship with the stability it needs. Just as we see Christ as our anchor and hope. All classes have been given an anchor cutout that they will decorate as a symbol of their classroom. We have an anchor for the parent community to write family names on it as a symbol of our connectedness to our families. You will see school Yr 6 leaders in the playground next week inviting you to write your name on this anchor.

This Friday evening, we have a welcome Twilight BBQ organised by the Parents Auxiliary. This event is a chance to get together as a school community, meet new families, enjoy some fun games and have a great St Augustine’s community night. I hope to see you there! Our first Parents Auxiliary meeting will be held on Friday 7th February straight after drop off at 9am. We will meet in Cooinda. We welcome new members!

Our MOSA group (Men Of St Augustine’s) have begun organising events for the year. The first event is Saturday March 1st at Keilor bowls club. It is a bbq and barefoot bowls.There was great attendance with the same event last year. If you would like to attend call Teghan on: 0418 338 354

Maintenance work continued over the Christmas holidays. We have grass growing on  the landscaped area behind the classrooms. Split systems were added into some rooms that previously had old systems in place. Next week split systems will be installed in Cooinda.  We are also well underway with two new decks: one outside the staff planning room and a covered deck on the 3/4AT portable. The vegetable garden is full of fresh vegetables: tomatoes, zucchini, potatoes. Mrs Anne and the children will harvest these and look to using them in salads, frittatas etc…

Next week we will re commence our Monday morning prayer and awards assembly. Children will gather in their lines on the basketball court on the first bell at 8.50am. A grade will facilitate morning prayer followed by the school student leaders presenting classroom awards. All parents and families are welcome to stay and gather and pray with us as a community. During inclement weather this assembly will continue over the PA system with children in their classrooms.

I am pleased to introduce you to the 2025 School Advisory Council: Monica Buttigieg, Chris Zammit, Chris Long, Sean Kitchener, Danielle Tosev and Anne-Marie Aprile. The School Advisory Council meet each term to discuss school issues and act as an advisory group to the Principal. I extend my gratitude to them for volunteering their time and expertise to support our school’s development. Last year the council worked on a communication rubric to clarify the various forms of communication at the school, what each is used for and how to use it. We continue to revise our communication systems as we research platforms that could cater for most if not all of our communication needs.

At St Augustine’s we encourage ongoing communication between home and school. Children will often come home with stories about their day that bring joy but at times may concern you.  The appropriate way to communicate with the school is to first make an appointment with the teacher to discuss the concern.  We know that stories can be misconstrued or take on a different perspective through the eyes of a child. A teacher can help clarify the issue and assist in helping the distressed child. Email is an efficient and effective tool that supports timely communication. It strengthens the goodwill and the positive partnership between parents, students and the school to enhance the well being and learning opportunities for students. Emails are an efficient way to set up a suitable time to speak to a teacher rather than become a discussion about your child’s academic progress, learning expectations or behavioral issues. Emails should be short, to the point and contain only essential facts. Teachers will take the discussion offline and call for a meeting if they feel that ongoing discussion is required. Be aware that ‘out of hours’ or ‘in class time’ emails may not be answered immediately nor will staff respond to abusive or aggressive emails. They will be responded to within 2 working days from receipt of the email. Parents should contact the office to inform a teacher of matters of immediate urgency eg. a child needing to go to after care, a change in pick-up arrangements as emails might not be read in time to act upon requirements. Teacher emails are the first letter of their name followed by their surname and @sakeilor.catholic.edu.au eg. Selena Tonzing – stonzing@sakeilor.catholic.edu.au. A list of staff is included on the ‘Noticeboard ’page in this newsletter.

The following are a few reminders:

Increasingly our children are coming to school with mobile phones and devices including Smart watches. St Augustine’s Primary School discourages students bringing these to school. It does however, acknowledge that some students may bring a personal mobile phone to school, particularly if they are traveling independently to and from school or have a medical need where a phone is essential. Mobile phones are not permitted for use at St Augustine’s Primary School during school hours. Smartwatches and other communication devices are included in this rule. Students who bring a personal mobile phone to school must switch them off and securely store them in their school bag. If students are found to be using them during class time they will be confiscated until the end of the day. If you need to contact your child you must do this by contacting the school. We will pass on any message. Rule of thumb: Do not send a smartwatch or phone to school with your child!  Please refer to the Student Mobile Phone Usage Policy on the website.

Electric scooters and bikes are not permitted to be ridden by children. The law dictates that the minimum age to ride an e-bike in Victoria is 16 years old. They are also dangerous when ridden amongst the school community.

Drop off/Pick up:

Drop off/Pick up: The area at the front of the school is for drop off and pick up only during morning and afternoons. Please stay in/near your car.

Morning drop off

Children can be dropped off between 8.30am and 8.50am when the school gates open. Children place their bags on their class line and can then have some time to play. No big balls allowed. The bell will ring at 8.50am. Children will then walk straight to their classroom where their teacher will greet them. Please stagger your morning arrival to help with the traffic flow and arrive between 8.30pm and 8.50am. Remember to stay in your car and take up the next available spot and move down so we can fit as many cars as possible. Otherwise park in the surrounding streets and walk to school.

Afternoon pick up

This time is always a bottle neck for the first 5 minutes. Be sure to remain with your car and we will get your child to you.

Starting at 3.15pm. Please stagger your afternoon arrival time to help with the traffic flow and arrive between 3.15pm and 3.30pm. Please do not leave your car as we endeavour to send children to their cars as safely as possible. A staff member will be directing traffic to ensure safety and efficiency with extra staff on duty to assist the children. I ask that you are patient!

Before and after school care continues to be available outside of school times with Big Child Care. It is always a good idea to register in the event you may need this service in an emergency. Please contact Big Child Care if you need this service. Call Tristan on 0426 203 858 or email staugustines@bigchildcare.com

Be sure to view the term calendar in the ‘Noticeboard’ page for upcoming dates and events. Our beginning of year mass is Tuesday 18th February at 9.15am in Cooinda. Our whole school closure day for staff learning is scheduled for 7th March-No children on this day. There are many more events scheduled that are detailed on the calendar. 

 

Cathy Steere