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From Gab Verstraete - DP & Religious Education Leader
Today is Ash Wednesday -
We all know we have seasons called Summer, Autumn, Winter and Spring. The Catholic Church has liturgical seasons also. This week Catholics enter a season called Lent. Lent begins on Ash Wednesday. Lent is a special time of preparation, when Catholics stop and think about how they can play a part in trying to live like Jesus did. Jesus tried to make the world around Him a world that was fair, just and peaceful.
Lent prepares Catholics for the season of Easter, the most important time in the Church’s calendar. It is a time of prayer, fasting and giving to others.
Each level in our school will gather on Ash Wednesday for a prayer service. Students will be asked to listen to a scripture reading and reflect on how they can be better people by making good choices and thinking of others. Students may receive a sign of the Cross made from the burnt ashes of the previous years’ Palm Sunday palms. The sign of the Cross is made on a the forehead to remind us that we need to turn away from sin and believe in God so that we can share in eternal life with Him.
Pupil Free Days
Please note that the following days are Pupil Free days for St Clare’s Students. Wherever possible these days lead into Public Holidays.
- Thursday 6 April - Pupil Free Day
- Friday 7 April – Good Friday Public Holiday
- Monday 24 April – School Closure
- Tuesday 25 April – ANZAC Day – Public Holiday
Meet & Greet / Parent-Teacher Interviews
On Tuesday 28 February and Wednesday 1 March staff will be available after school for Meet & Greet sessions with parents or carers. These ten minute face-to-face sessions are not compulsory but provide an opportunity for you to meet your child’s teacher(s) and vice versa. You can also discuss how your child has settled into the year.
Log in to PAM to make your bookings.
P&F Thanks
Many thanks to the P&F members who helped make Pancake Tuesday an enjoyable feast yesterday. Over 600 pancakes were consumed in a short space of time. Events such as these rely on the generousity of our parent helpers – Thankyou.
Senior Choir
Students in Yr 5/6 are invited to become part of the St Clare’s choir.
Students will be working towards performances and supporting our school at liturgical events. Each week the choir will be working and building their repertoire from a variety of genres (styles) including a strong focus on liturgical music.
This time is seen as learning time and will focus on specific choral skills needed for performances. Sessions will be running on Tuesday after lunch. Choristers will line up on the Patch after lunch and will be walked back to classes by 3pm. Choristers are asked to bring their drink bottle down to the tubs outside the mini mod before going off to play at lunch.
Choir rehearsals will begin on Tuesday 21 February.
Junior Choir
Students in years 2-4 are invited to join the Junior Choir. It will run the first half of Monday lunch time. This choir will allow students in the younger levels to experience a variety of music and build some ensemble and performance skills. There may also be opportunities for the Junior Choir to support/join with the Senior Choir.
We will begin Monday 20 February.
SHROVE TUESDAY SUCCESS
What a fantastic way to spend a Shrove Tuesday morning, back doing what the P&F love to do and that’s celebrating with the St Clare’s students! The pancakes were golden, the syrup was flowing and the smiles were from ear to ear at the yummy Tuesday morning treat. Special thanks to the wonderful Parent volunteers who came along to support us on the day and helped ensure the smooth and rapid service of over 600 pancakes. We couldn’t do these activities for the kids without your wonderful assistance!
FUN FOOD FRIDAY CONTINUES
Don’t forget to pack $1 in your child’s bag this Friday for Fun Food Friday. With the temperature due to soar in the mid 30’s again, it’s the perfect day for an icy pole.
A reminder to parents who are able to help you will need a current Working With Children check and to be available at school from 1 PM.
EASTER RAFFLE
It’s an egg-citing time of year with our Easter Raffle approaching!
There are two ways you can be involved in the Easter Raffle this year.
- Donate an Easter treat – we kindly ask that you pop an extra Easter egg or Easter treat in your shopping during March and donate it to the prize pool. Donations can be made at the Main Office. All donations will be collated and made into prize hampers. Winners will be drawn amongst much excitement at the final Term 1 assembly on Wednesday 5th
- Sell raffle tickets - We will also be sending home raffle tickets to each family in the coming week. Tickets are $1 each and all proceeds raised will be going towards the overall funding goal of updating the Technology Suite for all students.
Donations, tickets and money raised must be returned to school by Friday 31st March (remember to include your childs’ full name and learning group on the raffle ticket stubs).
Thanks so much for your egg-cellent support and good luck!
SECOND HAND UNIFORM SHOP
The second hand uniform shop will be open the following dates and times throughout March:
- Tuesday 28th February 8:30-9:15am
- Friday 3rd March 2:30-3:10pm
- Wednesday 8th March 2:30-3:10pm
- Thursday 16th March 2:30-3:10pm
- Wednesday 22nd March 8:30-9.15am
- Tuesday 28th March 8:30-9.15am
- Thursday 30th March 2:30-3:10pm
If you have any uniform you’d like to sell please make sure;
- it’s been washed and saleable (no rips/major stains).
- Place it in a bag with your name and phone number.
- You can add prices you’d like to sell for or we can do this for you.
- Bring it into the uniform shop when we’re open or drop it to the office.
At the end of each term if you have sold items you will be sent a text message and money can be either ent home with your child or collected from the office.
*Please note that $1 from the sale of each item is donated to the P&F
JOB VACANCY: PASTORAL WORKER / SACRAMENT CO-ORDINATOR: The position of Sacrament Coordinator and Pastoral worker has become available based at St Patrick’s Parish Office, Pakenham. We are looking to employ a person for three days a week (20 hours - which will include some evening and weekend work). The successful applicant will be responsible for the preparation and management of the parish sacrament programs including Baptisms, First Reconciliation, First Eucharist, and Confirmation. This position forms part of the parish pastoral team and will be a support role to the other pastoral works in the parish. General hours of work: 20 hours per week, 9.00 am to 3.00 pm Wednesday to Friday. Applications are to be addressed to the Parish Priest and emailed to parishoffice@
SCHOOL FEES
Here is the 2023 Fee Schedule as provided and approved by DOSCEL
Per Family: |
|
School Fee |
$2240 |
Building Levy |
$760 |
|
|
Per Student: |
|
Education Levy |
$550 |
|
|
Swimming Levy (Foundation – Year 3) |
$85 |
Camp Fee (Year 3) |
$65 |
Camp Fee (Year 4) |
$200 |
Camp Fee (Year 5) |
$280 |
Camp Fee (Year 6) |
$450 |
Here is the link for the St Clare's Parent Access Module (PAM)
St Clare's PAM
You username is the email address that you have registered with the school. The first time you log in we ask that you use the forgotten password feature to set your own password.
ALL parents must access PAM to receive up to date information and grant necessary permissions. Students will miss out on events if permission is not granted.
REPORTING AN ABSENCE
To report your child's absence please do so via PAM, email absent@stclaresofficer.catholic.edu.au or call 5940 6777
In this edition of SchoolTV - SCHOOL TRANSITIONS
Whether it is starting school for the first time, moving up to a higher grade or embarking on a journey through secondary school, there is no doubt that any school transition is a very exciting time for children and parents. It means your children are growing up!
However, transitioning is an ongoing process. It can continue long after students have entered their new environment and may encounter difficulties at a number of different stages. These stressors may appear as anxiety and frustration and result in negative or disruptive behaviours. Such behaviours can become problematic making the transitioning process even more difficult for children and parents.
In this edition of SchoolTV, parents will learn practical strategies to assist your child during the transition process and reduce stress and anxiety levels.
We hope you take time to reflect on the information offered in this edition of SchoolTV and we always welcome your feedback. If you have any concerns about your child, please contact the school counsellor for further information or seek medical or professional help.
Here is the link to the School Transitions edition of SchoolTV
https://stclaresofficer.catholic.schooltv.me/newsletter/school-transitions
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.