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Dear Parents and Carers
We remind everyone that there is NO SCHOOL on Thursday 25 April for ANZAC Day and also on Friday 26 April as it is a school closure day. Camp Australia is operating on the Friday for those who need care, please book in now.
St Clare's Primary School will be in attendance and laying a wreath at the Officer Dawn Service. Students attending are encourage to wear their school red jacket and look for our staff member with the red and white school umbrella.
Uniform Update
From next week, Monday 29 April, we ask all students to be in complete WINTER uniform. Boys may continue to wear shorts but must wear the remainder of the school winter uniform which include the tie for boys. Girls have the red crossover tie which is to be worm with the girls winter uniform.
Upcoming Dates
Thursday 25 April
- ANZAC Day NO SCHOOL
Friday 26 April
- NO SCHOOL - closure day
Monday 29 April
- Year 2 Incursion
- Colour Fun Run
Friday 3 May
- Year 6 Scienceworks Excursion
Friday 10 May
- Mother's Day Assembly
- SSV District Cross Country
Monday 13 May
- Foundation Incursion
L-Z Kiss and Drop Construction
The first school Colour Run is nearly here and we’re excited to share it with our students.
Here’s some important information you need to know for Monday:
- Students can wear free dress on Monday 29th April for the fun run. It must be appropriate for running (including sneakers) and also ok to get dirty. It’s recommended for the best results to wear a white t-shirt and older bottoms. Kmart and Best & Less have some great cheap options or even try your local Op Shop. Don't forget a towel for the car ride home too!
- Any child in school uniform (including school sports uniform) will sadly NOT be able to participate (we just can’t risk good clothes!!)
- The colour powder is non-toxic and safe for students to run through.
- Parent spectators are welcome. The event will run from 1.50pm until 3pm. Please sign in at the St Clare’s main office and follow the directions to the Event Oval.
- We still need Parent volunteers to help on the day so if you’re available, please sign up today (remember to need a valid WWC) - https://forms.gle/PNd5zVTbhK8Jbwkg8
- Fundraising is still open and kids can win some awesome prizes. Please spread the world because if we get to $15k – three of our favourite Teachers are going to get slimed!!!!!!!
Thanks for your help. It’s going to be epic!
From your friends at the P&F
A big congratulations to Olivia.B from Year 4 who competed in the Regional Swimming Championships in breaststroke and finished in 8th place. Olivia made it through to this level by winning both the District and Division Championships. This result placed her in the top 64 in Victoria and we are very proud of her achievements.
Assemblies will be held on the following dates as detailed below. Parents are welcome to attend these assemblies.
- Monday 6 May at 2.30pm - Year 3 to Year 6
- Friday 10 May at 8.50am - Whole School Mother's Day
- Monday 13 May at 2.30pm - Year 3 to Year 6
- Monday 20 May at 2.30pm - Foundation and Year 6
- Monday 27 May at 2.30pm - Year 1 and Year 5
- Monday 3 June at 2.30pm - Foundation to Year 2
- Monday 17 June at 2.30pm - Year 3 to Year 6
- Monday 24 June at 2.30pm - Year 2, Year 3 and Year 4
Reconciliation Day Monday 27 May - CAN YOU HELP?
This year we are focussing on the theme of Reconciliation Week - Now More Than Ever and incorporating the themes from Harmony Day (living in harmony and understanding each other) in one event which will occur on Monday May 27.
We will begin the day with a Welcome to Country at 9:00 followed by a Smoking Ceremony and Prayer Service.
After the prayer service, we would love for volunteers from across the community to join us and share something about their cultural background.
Please set this morning aside and come and join us.
This day is about understanding each other better - hence we would like your help..
Do you know someone (with a Working with Children Check) who could come in and share any of the following with a Learning Group or a level:
- Meaning behind Diwali and what happens during this festival
- Meaning behind Ramadan and what happens during Ramadan
- Meaning behind the Sikh religion and some of the traditions
- Meaning behind mandalas and traditions and beliefs of Buddhism
- A dance linked to your culture
- A game linked to your culture
Students are invited to dress in traditional clothing or orange clothing (the colour of Harmony Day) or to wear their school uniform and add a touch of colour or a token symbolic of their cultural background.
Please contact your child’s teacher if you are able to help out or alternatively, email Gab Verstraete: gverstraete@stclaresofficer.catholic.edu.au
REPORTING AN ABSENCE
To report your child's absence please do so via PAM, email absent@stclaresofficer.catholic.edu.au or call 5940 6777
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.
In this edition of SchoolTV - ONLINE PORNOGRAPHY
Experts say that the internet is sexualising kids too soon. It is making it easier for children to engage with pornography, both by choice and inadvertently. Regrettably, this is forcing parents to have the ‘birds and bees’ chat with their children at a very young age.
With the rise of social media and online porn, many parents are alarmed about protecting the innocence of their children. Unfortunately, what kids are seeing is distorting their idea of sexuality and intimacy. Parents are encouraged to educate their kids on sex and sexuality with age appropriate information.
However, when it comes to having conversations with their kids around pornography, many parents feel ill-equipped. A young person’s brain is highly impressionable and vulnerable to forming addictive patterns of behaviour which can affect their development and even impact their academic performance.
In this edition of SchoolTV, parents will learn strategies on how to have those difficult conversations and what they can do to minimise the negative effects of online pornography.
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 seek medical or professional help.
Here is the link to the Online Pornography edition of SchoolTV
https://stclaresofficer.catholic.schooltv.me/newsletter/pornography
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.