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Dear Parents and Guardians
Our year has begun exceptionally well and I especially welcome those of you who are new to our St Clare’s Community.
There are many new faces to see including our 88 Foundation students who form part of our overall enrolment of 626 students from 443 families.
Each of our 78 staff members has been planning throughout the break to ensure all children will optimise their learning. We are indeed fortunate to have such a high calibre staff whose dedication and professionalism ensure the best outcome for your children.
BEFORE SCHOOL ROUTINE
Now that the ‘first days’ are over and the back-to-school routines are emerging, it is timely to note the following morning routines.
- Students are not to be on the school site before 8:30am (unless seated in the car with their parents or carers)
- Any student dropped off at school by their parents or carers prior to 8:30am should be in Before School Care. If parents choose not to use this option, the students must wait on the footpath in Majestic Drive and will remain the responsibility of their parents or carers. Students will NOT by supervised by school staff before 8:30am.
- Classroom doors open at 8:40am
- Between 8:30 and 8:40, students either wait in the courtyard or attend Active Club which will operate on Mondays, Wednesday and Fridays
- Once classroom doors open at 8:40, students are able to unpack their bags and get ready for the day
AFTER SCHOOL ROUTINES
- Traffic congestion around schools is always an issue at peak times and St Clare’s is no exemption – particularly with extra traffic on Cardinia Road. Where possible, consider parking further away and walking to pick up your child or children. It saves the frustration of waiting in a carline and provides a great opportunity for exercise and a calm end to the school day.
- If you are running late or held up in traffic, please contact the school office. This would be on very rare occasions only.
- If your work hours do not allow you to pick your child up on time, then you can utilise the After School Care facilities on site or make alternative arrangements. After school, staff are involved in planning and meetings and student supervision concludes at 3:30pm sharp.
UPCOMING EVENTS:
Monday 12 February - Year 6 Leaders to Grip Student Leadership Conference
Tuesday 13 February - Shrove Tuesday, P&F will supply pancakes for all students
Wednesday 14 February - Ash Wednesday, Foundation Assessments
Monday 19 February - School Photos
Wednesday 21 February - Foundation Rest Day #3
Friday 23 February - Year 6 Team Building Incursion
Monday 26 February - Year 5 Incursion
Tuesday 27 February - Parent Teacher Meetings
Wednesday 28 February - Foundation Rest Day #4 and Parent Teacher Meetings
PUPIL FREE DAYS FOR THE YEAR
Thursday 28 March
Friday 26 April
Friday 7 June
Monday 15 July
Friday 20 September
Friday 1 November
Monday 4 November
EMAILS to STAFF:
Staff email addresses are included for your convenience.
Just as in any workplace, there are some parameters around emails and our staff will respond to emails generally within two working days. If you email is urgent (such as a change in a pick-up arrangement for that day), it is best to contact the office directly.
Please be mindful that emails should only be sent to staff between the hours of 8:30am and 4:30pm on school days.
Welcome to our new Foundation students who began school last Wednesday. The students and families were greeted by our Principal, Helen Staindl who
welcomed each with a special medal of St Clare, our school’s Patron Saint. Once inside, the students were greeted by four very excited teachers who
gathered with family and friends to begin the special day. The students are settling into school life very well and are already familiar with
some of our St Clare’s schoolwide expectations. This term, students are developing routines and positive behaviours that will
support their ongoing learning. They will understand that our core beliefs are built around the teachings of Jesus. We will work together at St Clare’s with
Respect, Optimism, Courage and Kindness always in a safe and inclusive environment where our Faith Leads us to Wisdom and Courage.
The Sacrament of Reconciliation 2024
This year the sacrament of Reconciliation will be celebrated in Term 1. This sacrament is for any Year 3 students who are baptised Catholics and wish to proceed with sacraments at St Clare’s, in conjunction with St Patrick’s Parish (which is our Parish).
A survey is being sent out to all Year 3 families - if your child is not a baptised Catholic you do not need to complete the survey. However, if your child is a baptised Catholic, it is very important that you complete the survey by this Friday 9 Feb 2024.
The commitment for families is outlined below:
- Thursday 29 February Parent/Carer Evening at St Patrick’s Parish 7-8pm (students do not attend)
- Saturday 2 March Commitment Mass at St Patrick’s Parish 6pm (all families are required to attend)
- Tuesday 5 March OR Wednesday 6 March Reconciliation at St Patrick’s Parish 7-8pm
Bookings for Tues 5 March or Wed 6 March will open via Trybooking on Monday 19 Feb via the Parish website. A link will be provided to all families who complete the above survey.
All enquiries can be sent to gverstraete@stclaresofficer.catholic.edu.au
SCHOOL FEES
Here is the 2024 Fee Schedule as provided and approved by DOSCEL
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Per Family: |
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School Fee |
$2350 |
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Building Levy |
$800 |
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Per Student: |
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Education Levy |
$600 |
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Swimming Levy (Foundation – Year 3) |
$85 |
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Camp Fee (Year 3) |
$65 |
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Camp Fee (Year 4) |
$200 |
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Camp Fee (Year 5) |
$280 |
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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
We are excited to announce a new sporting opportunity for all students! It is called Active Club and it aims to bring you a new and exciting activity each week for you to enjoy. If you and your friend would like to join in on the fun, then please see Mr. Trounson and Miss Rees every Monday, Wednesday and Friday morning on the Basketball Court and Athletic Field between 8:30am and 8:40am. This week we are starting with Basketball on the Basketball Court and Soccer on the Athletics Field. We hope to see you there!
The St Clare’s second hand uniform shop will be open on the following dates
Thursday 8 February - 8:30am - 9:15am
Wednesday 14 February - 8:30am - 9:15am
Friday 16 February - 2:30pm - 3:15pm
This is a good opportunity to buy pre loved uniform at a great price!
Please note that sales are CASH ONLY.
Edition 1 for 2024 has been sent home with students this week. Here is the link to the catalogue which you can also view online
Orders for this edition will close on 16 February
All orders are to be placed via LOOP. We cannot accept money at school for orders.
St Clare’s is able to offer a valuable resource called SchoolTV to parents/carers.
Parenting our children is a complex, challenging and rewarding experience. However, the demands on parents/carers to remain current with technology, drug and alcohol advice and safe practices in a virtual and social media world, as well as dealing with anxiety and wellbeing, add to our busy and diverse family lives.
SchoolTV is an ongoing resource that is now available to all St Clare’s parents/carers. Each online edition will address a major topic with expert interviews, fact sheets, a parent quiz, recommended apps, books and more. SchoolTV combines information from a host of reliable resources, including BeyondBlue and ReachOut. It provides a single stream of independent factual information that saves parents time and the confusion of searching across multiple online sites for information.
You can access the SchoolTV archive here : https://stclaresofficer.catholic.schooltv.me
During the School year we will publish various topics for you to access.
The topics covered may be pertinent to your immediate situation, or the resource may be useful for you at a later date.
We hope that you find SchoolTV to be informative and a useful source of current well-researched information.
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.