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Dear Parents and Carers,
International Women's Day (March 8) is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating women's equality.
Women's Day is one of the most important days of the year to celebrate women's achievements and educate and raise awareness for women's equality.
The theme this year is #EmbraceEquity. The theme encourages everyone to actively support and embrace equity within their own area of influence. The campaign highlights the difference between equality and equity.
- Equality means a person is given the same resources or opportunity.
- Equity recognises that circumstances vary from person to person and the allocation of resources and opportunities should ensure equal outcomes.
CARPARK SAFETY
With the increased movement of vehicles and people through our carpark we remind you to be alert and ensure you are travelling at a safe speed. Our carpark is one way with entry via Gate 2 and exit via Gate 5.
Council and traffic countrol will also be monitoring movement and parking on Majestic Drive. Please be mindful of our neighbours and ensure you do not block their driveways.
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
During Lent, Catholics are asked to focus on three things in order to be more like Jesus:
- Pray more – thank God for your blessings, for all that you have and ask God to help you and others
- Catholics over 14 are asked to abstain on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday (and to go without meat on these days) and those over 18 are asked to fast.
- Give – each family in our school will have been given a money box from Caritas. Your family is asked to place coins or notes in the box and bring the box back to school just before Easter. This money will go to Caritas who are a group of people who help others with housing, education, health and food and water supplies. Lent is also a time where students are asked to give in other ways – do an extra job at home, help a friend, share something you have with others, think of others more. We encourage students to do these things humbly.
Sacrament Dates 2023
First Holy Communion
Saturday 20 May |
6:00pm Mass |
Commitment Mass |
Thursday 1 June (changed from 31 May) |
7.00 pm |
Parent Workshop |
Saturday 3 June |
6:00 pm Mass |
First Holy Communion |
Saturday 17 June |
6:00 pm Mass |
First Holy Communion |
Sunday 18 June |
10:30 am Mass |
First Holy Communion |
Confirmation
Thursday 10 August |
7:00 pm |
Parent Workshop |
Saturday 12 August |
6:00pm |
Commitment Mass |
Saturday 19 August |
4:00pm |
Confirmation |
Saturday 19 August |
6:00pm |
Confirmation |
Reconciliation
Thursday 19 October |
7:00pm |
Parent Workshop |
Saturday 21 October |
6.00pm |
Commitment Mass |
Wednesday 25 October |
7:00pm |
Reconciliation |
Thursday 26 October |
7:00pm |
Reconciliation |
Here are the dates for the upcoming NAPLAN assessments for Years 3 & 5
Year 3 NAPLAN Dates |
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Writing |
Reading |
Conventions of Language |
Numeracy |
Wednesday 15 March 9.15am |
Friday 17 March 9.15am |
Tuesday 21 March 11.35am |
Thursday 23 March 9.15am |
Year 5 NAPLAN Dates |
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Writing |
Reading |
Conventions of Language |
Numeracy |
Wednesday 15 March 9.15am |
Friday 17 March 11.35am |
Monday 20 March 9.15am |
Thursday 23 March 11.35am |
Students today have extremely busy schedules, with ever increasing responsibilities at school and at home. Many kids, especially adolescents, are going to bed later and later and are at risk of sleep deprivation. This affects three areas of a child’s development: psychological, physiological and psychosocial. All three are essential to a child's growth, learning ability and overall wellbeing. Sleep is vital to a child’s overall development and is as important as diet and exercise.
Sleep also strengthens a child’s immune systems and supports their ability to function properly on a daily basis. Children who do not get enough sleep show increased levels of aggressive behaviour, are less attentive and are much less active. Trying to catch up on sleep on weekends is not the answer and can still lead to severe sleep deprivation.
In this edition of SchoolTV, parents will learn about the importance of sleep and how sleep deprivation can have adverse effects on a child’s health and wellbeing.
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 Sleep edition of SchoolTV
https://stclaresofficer.catholic.schooltv.me/newsletter/sleep
IMPORTANT DATES FOR THE CALENDAR!!!
Don’t forget to mark these dates on the calendar (and lock the babysitter in for Trivia night!)
- Thursday 30th March – P&F Meeting
- Friday 31st March – Last Day to return Raffle Tickets & Easter Donations
- Wednesday 5th April – Easter Raffle Draw
- Monday 1st May – School Fun Run
- Friday 2nd June – Trivia Night (for the parents!!!)
FUN FOOD FRIDAY CONTINUES
Remember to pack $1 in your child’s bag to buy a lemonade icy pole this Friday for Fun Food Friday.
We are always in need of parent helpers too so if you’re available from 1-2pm and have a current Working With Children check please reach out and let us know.
EASTER RAFFLE
Just over three weeks left to get your Easter Raffle tickets sold for this year’s Easter Raffle. Tickets are just $1 each and we would love for your support in selling them. Easter treat donations can also be submitted to the Main Office to contribute towards the prize hampers.
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) with the draw taking place on the last day of Term 1.
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:
- 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 sent 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
VOLUNTEER WORKING WITH CHILDREN CHECK
We are always in need of parent helpers for fundraising events and activities throughout the year. If you’ve been thinking about volunteering, you’ll need a current Working With Children check. They’re free to attain as a volunteer and it’s a super easy process.
Visit https://www.workingwithchildren.vic.gov.au/individuals/applicants/how-to-apply-1 to find out more today.
LOST PROPERTY
There are already items arriving in the office as lost property with no names on them. Please ensure all items are marke with your child's name.
After school care also have a box of lost property items,so if you child attends and has lost an item it may be worth checking there.
Working with Children Cards
We now have a new system to collate, record and monitor WWC cards for all volunteers. As we upgrade to the new system we may ask you to supply a copy of your card which you may feel you have already done. We apologise in advance if this occurs.
You are also reminded to ensure you have regsitered St Clare's Primary School as a location at which you volunteer.
For those who don't have a Working with Children Card now is probably a good time to apply. Go to https://www.workingwithchildren.vic.gov.au/individuals/applicants/how-to-apply-1
SCHOOL FEES
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
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.