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Dear Parents and Carers
What an amazing community event we celebrated last Friday Night at our Annual Twilight Market. It was so wonderful to see so many smiling faces with families having fun and enjoying our community spirit.
We must say a very big thank you to the parents who volunteered their time in the weeks leading up to for the organisiation of the event and to those who volunteered on Friday. Also, thank you to our St Clare's staff who gave of their time to ensure the event was a success, particularly those who spent many hours on the BBQ.
Thank you to our supporters and sponsors also. Whilst providing a great community event, the market also forms as our schools major fundraiser. So we also thank our sponsors
- Direct Chemist Outlet Pakenham
- Ray White Pakenham
- Ray White Officer
- Sway Homes
- Ebz Consruction
- Pic & Props Photo Booth
Advent
Very soon - 1st December - the Catholic church begins the season of Advent. The time of Advent is the four week period of preparation for the season of Christmas. Advent begins the cycle of the Liturgical Year and focuses on the coming of the Lord. The first weeks offer a vision of the future, looking to the end of time when Christ will come again. The final weeks point more specifically to the birth of Christ. Christ, the promised one, is awaited with joyful expectation. The first Sunday of Advent follows the final Sunday of Ordinary Time and the season concludes on Christmas Eve.
Source: Liturgy Help
SPECIAL REPORT: Vaping & E-Cigarettes
Over recent months, there has been a growing concern about the impending epidemic affecting young people in relation to the use of e-cigarettes and the trendy pastime of vaping. As this activity grows in popularity, most teenagers are unaware of the associated risks and the potential impact vaping can have on their development and overall health.
Vaping is the act of inhaling a vapour created by an electronic cigarette, or e-cigarette. Although vaping is often marketed as being the “healthy” alternative to smoking, doctors advise that if you do not smoke, then you should not start vaping. Although vaping products are infused with enticing flavours, many contain high levels of nicotine as well as other chemicals and additives, that when inhaled, can cause severe damage to the lungs.
Australia has strict regulations in place for nicotine-containing products and despite it being illegal to use, sell or buy nicotine for use in e-cigarettes, users are purchasing these products through other avenues. A recent Australian study of chemically flavoured liquids used in e-cigarettes which are available here for purchase over the counter, has confirmed concerns about their safety and respiratory health impact. Attempts are being made to regulate vaping and ban the importation of vape products containing nicotine. Unfortunately, manufacturers are developing vaping devices that are cheaper and easier to hide than conventional cigarettes, making it more attractive and cost-effective for impressionable young people.
If this Special Report has raised some issues, please seek support from your medical practitioner or one of the following services:
- Lung Foundation Australia 1800 654
- 301 Quitline 13 78 48
- Poisons Information Line 13 11 26
- Alcohol and Drug Foundation 1300 85 85 84
If you do have any concerns about the wellbeing of your child, please contact the school for further information or seek medical or professional help.
For more information click here to download vaping fact sheets from the Lung Foundation Australia.
Here is the link to the Bullying edition of SchoolTV
https://stclaresofficer.catholic.schooltv.me/wellbeing_news/special-report-vaping-au
Liz Hunt
Mental Health in Primary Schools Leader
Twilight Market Wrap-Up
What an incredible night we had at the Twilight Market! A huge thank you to everyone who came along, supported, and made the evening such a success. To our amazing parent and staff volunteers – we couldn’t have done it without you! Your time, energy, and commitment ensured the night ran smoothly and was enjoyable for all.
We’ve received glowing feedback from our stallholders and food vendors, many of whom spoke about how wonderful and welcoming our school community is. They’re already looking forward to returning next year, which is a true testament to the vibrant and positive atmosphere of the event.
The Twilight Market was not only a great way to bring our school community together but also an important fundraiser for our school. While we’re still finalizing the financials, we’re confident it was a highly successful night.
Thank you again for helping us make this such a special event. We can’t wait to do it all again next year!
2025 School Fees
Following DOSCEL Budget and Planning Meetings for 2025 they have advised our School Fees for 2025 as follows:
School Fees: $2,450 per family per year ($612.50 per term)
Building Levy: $850 per family per year ($212.50 per term)
Education Levy: (per child per year)
Foundation $625 per child plus $85 Swimming Program
Year 1 $625 per child plus $85 Swimming Program
Year 2 $625 per child plus $85 Swimming Program
Year 3 $625 per child plus $85 Swimming Program
plus $65 Camp Fee* Day Camp
Year 4 $625 per child plus $200 Camp Fee* Camp 2 days
Year 5 $625 per child plus $300 Camp Fee* Camp 2 days
Year 6 $625 per child plus $450 Camp Fee* Camp 2 days
* Camp Fee to be confirmed once pricing confirmed early 2025
If you have a Pension or Health Care Card please ensure you have provided the school with your current card expiry. Should our records show your card is expired we will be unable to provide the discount on your fees.
For those families who have a direct debit set up an email will be sent in the coming weeks advising of your 2025 direct debit amount.
Here are the secondhand uniform dates for the remainder of the year.
November
Wednesday 6th - 8:30-9:15am
Friday 8th - 2:30-3:15pm
Thursday 21st - 2:30-3:15pm
Monday 25th - 2:30-3:15pm
December
Wednesday 4th - 2:30-3:15pm
Tuesday 10th - 8:30-9:15am
How to Help Kids Stay Safe Online
Adapted from: https://www.esafety.gov.au/about-us/blog Office of the eSafety Commissioner
- Start the chat
It’s not possible to be at your child’s side every second of the day, so it’s important to talk with them about online safety issues to help develop their critical thinking and ability to make good choices. It’s also good to let them know they can come to you for help if they have any concerns. You may feel they know more about the latest technology than you do, but you have more life experience to guide them.
- With primary school aged children use online devices in the open living spaces at home to make parent supervision part of the expectation for your child.
- Take the opportunity to set some boundaries around when and where they can use devices like tablets, smart TVs and gaming consoles, to help limit potential tech tantrums — you could even fill in an Early Years Family Tech Agreement
- Screen free time before bed is important for good sleep. Consider charging devices in a central location at a regular time each night to allow an hour screen free before bed.
- While you are all at home more, it’s a great time to co-view and co-play with your kids, so you can understand what they are doing and experiencing online.
- Learn about the games, apps, social media and platforms they are using at The eSafety Guide, including how to protect their information and report inappropriate content or conduct.
- Use parental controls and safe search options
Parental controls can help block your child from accessing specific websites, apps or functions. They can also monitor your child’s use of connected devices and set time limits. But beware! You cannot always rely on them — they should be used in combination with other online safety strategies.
- Parental controls are available on most tablets, smartphones, computers, TVs and gaming consoles.
- You can also download family safety controls or buy robust filters out of the box.
- You can set up child-friendly search engines, or select safe search settings on digital devices, to help prevent your child from stumbling across inappropriate sites and content.
- Check smart toy settings
It’s surprising how many toys or devices can connect online these days, from drones and smart teddies to tablets and wearables. While they can be both entertaining and educational, they can reveal your child’s personal details and location — and allow other people to contact them without you knowing. You can help keep them stay safe by:
- setting strong passwords
- turning off location settings
- limiting the amount of personal information shared.
The eSafety Gift Guide has advice on what to check for and how to stay safe.
- Look out for unwanted contact and grooming
Unwanted contact is any communication that makes your child feel uncomfortable or unsafe, even if they initially welcomed the contact. It can come from a stranger, an online ‘friend’ or even someone they actually know. At worst, it can involve ‘grooming’ — building a relationship with the child in order to sexually abuse them.
You can help by:
- making sure their accounts are private — including chat functions on games
- encouraging them to delete requests from strangers and any contacts they don’t know in person
- checking in with your child as they use online devices in the open living spaces at home
- reporting and blocking anyone suspicious on a website or service
- remembering that if suspicious online contacts become aggressive or threatening you should contact your local police.
- Know the signs of cyberbullying
Kids who are bored by long periods at home can pick at each other, and that happens online too. So it’s important to keep an eye out for cyberbullying. It can include mean posts, comments and messages, as well as being left out of online group activities like gaming.
- Remember, when they are away from school, kids have less access to their usual support systems, including friends, teachers and counsellors.
- eSafety research shows that girls are more likely to be affected than boys and the person doing the bullying is generally someone they know from school.
- Watch out for signs such as your child appearing upset after using their mobile, tablet or computer, being unusually secretive about their online activities or becoming withdrawn.
- Cyberbullying can make social isolation worse and the longer it continues, the more stressed kids can become, impacting on their emotional and physical wellbeing.
What to do if your child is being cyberbullied
As parents, our first instinct may be to ban our children from social media, disable the wi-fi or turn off the data access. But this can actually compound the problem, making your child feel as if they’re being punished and heightening their sense of social exclusion.
There are four simple steps that can help minimise the harm:
- report the cyberbullying to the social media service where it is occurring
- collect evidence of the cyberbullying material
- if the material is still public 48 hours later, make a report to eSafety — we work with social media platforms to have the harmful content removed.
block the offending user.