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Dear Parents and Carers
No school on Friday 28 October and Monday 31 October
Some further reminders for us all:
- Supervision of students at school begins at 8:30am. Parent are asked NOT to allow students to arrive at school before this time unless enrolled in the Before School Care Program. (This includes cyclists, walkers and those who are driven to school).
- On Monday morning we will be having a Practice Fire Drill. You may hear the sirens that morning – even from a distance. This is a good opportunity to have a discussion with your child about safety – especially if they are likely to be anxious.
- A blue form went home today with each child indicating your intentions for next year. This is a crucial part of our planning and staffing for 2023 and a prompt response is always appreciated.
The New Award for our Staff:
As part of the new award, staff will be granted Time in Lieu for activities that happen outside of the usual school day including camps. This means that when a camp occurs, students will remain at home the following day.
This has prompted a review of all of our camps and I am keen to have your opinion also. A survey will be sent to you later this week for your feedback.
Many thanks
Congratulations:
Okitha Bandara
Okitha has been named in the School Sport Victoria 10-12 Years Track and Field Team. He will travel with the team to Brisbane to complete in the annual School Sport Australia Track and Field Champrionships in November.
Please continue to pray for some of our Year 3 students who will receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation in the next few weeks.
PARENT WORKSHOP (ONLY PARENTS)
When: 19th October 2022
Time: 7:00 pm
Where: St Patrick’s Parish Hall
Speaker: Fr Elio Capra SDB
THE SACRAMENT OF FIRST RECONCILIATION
- Wednesday 26th October at 7:00 pm
or
- Thursday 27th October at 5:00 pm
Any queries can be directed to Gab Verstraete gverstraete@stclaresofficer.catholic.edu.au
Class Masses
The following Masses are planned for this term and you are all warmly welcome to attend.
Year 4 Wednesday 26 October 9.30am at St Patrick’s Church Pakenham
Year 1 and 2 Wednesday 16 November 9.30am on site at St Clare’s
Foundation and Year 5 Wednesday 23 November 9.30am on site at St Clare’s
Year 6 Thursday 8 December Prayer service 6pm as part of Year 6 Graduation
Whole School End of Year Mass Friday 16 December 9.30am on site at St Clare’s
Year 5 Excursion to Scienceworks
On Wednesday 12 October, the Year 5 students, teachers and ESO’s went on an excursion to Scienceworks to support their inquiry learning about the Solar System.
Despite weather apps not predicting rain until later in the afternoon, the rain had settled in much before our departure from school at 9am. This caused delays on the Monash Freeway which resulted in a rather long bus ride there.
On arrival, we quickly hurried to the Planetarium to watch the Solar System Odyssey show, an adventure set in the future, in a time when humans had depleted the natural resources of their home planet. The journey took the students on an exciting exploration, visiting interesting places such as the icy rings of Saturn, Jupiter’s volcano-ridden moon Io, and the sub-zero methane lakes of Saturn’s moon, Titan.
By this point, the students were hungry, so we headed out to the amphitheatre area to enjoy our recess.
We then had an hour to explore the general viewing areas in small groups including both the Thinking Ahead and Sportsworks exhibitions. The students created future cars, tested their balance skills as snowboarders and even raced Cathy Freeman.
Afterwards, we headed to a 30-minute interactive demonstration to explore how the Earth’s rotation on its axis affects the day and night cycle and why we have seasons on Earth. Lawson, Manreet and Gloria did a great job at volunteering to be the Earth, Moon and Sun during this demonstration.
We then headed back to the amphitheatre to eat our lunch where we were joined by friendly seagulls waiting for our crumbs.
We finished with some additional time exploring the general viewing areas before departing Scienceworks for another long bus ride home.
We all thoroughly enjoyed our time at Scienceworks and our new learnt knowledge will greatly contribute to our further explorations this Term.
Fun Food Friday
We have a new option for the kids!!!
Lemonade Zooper Doopers will be on sale this Friday, 21st October, so don’t forget to send in that all important $1 with your child/ren if they want one.
If you are available to help on a Friday from 1pm until 2.15 and have a current Working With Children then please follow the Google link to add your name to the roster: https://forms.gle/rob2q9MuKsveuqcTA
Mystery Jars & Free Dress Day
St Clare’s will be holding a free dress day on Thursday October 27. Students are invited to wear free dress in exchange for the donation of a jar containing a child’s prize for the Twilight Market.
The Market is being held on November 18th, 5 pm -8 pm. The Mystery Jars will become the prizes at one of the Parents and Friends stalls.
Jars can be any size and must contain items appropriate for children. It would be preferable if the jars could have a screw top lid as they are safer for the children to carry.
Prize items must be new, reasonably priced ($10 or under is more than acceptable) and may include things such as:
- Small toys (cars, bubbles, cards, figets etc)
- Stationery items (easers, crayons etc)
- Hair accessories or kids toiletries
- Christmas decorations
- Non-perishable food items (eg wrapped lollies, small biscuits, chip packets etc) .
All food items must be wrapped in their original packaging for safety reasons.
A small sample jars if you would like some ideas are below.
Thank you for your support,
St Clare’s Parents and Friends Committee
In this edition of SchoolTV - SCHOOL REFUSAL
School refusal, sometimes called school avoidance or school phobia, is not uncommon. It is different to ‘wagging’ or truancy and is often related to worry or anxiety-related issues about going to school. School refusal may start gradually or happen suddenly. Although it is normal for a child to occasionally miss a day of school, parents should only be concerned if a child regularly complains about feeling sick or often asks to stay home due to minor physical complaints.
School refusal is a complex issue as there is rarely a single cause. It affects children of all ages across primary and secondary levels. It can often occur during times of transition at school. More recently, the Coronavirus pandemic has disrupted the educational experience of all students, affecting some more than others. Dealing with a school refusal child can affect the whole family, adding pressure to an already challenging time. School refusal is not considered a formal psychiatric diagnosis. It’s a name given to an emotional and/or behavioural problem.
In this edition of SchoolTV, adult carers will learn how best to approach this issue and work towards a solution.
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 Refusal edition of SchoolTV
https://stclaresofficer.catholic.schooltv.me/newsletter/school-refusal
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
Edition 7 Brochure has gone home with students this week. Orders are to be placed by Monday 24 October
All Orders are to be placed via LOOP. Please do not send cash to school.
CDFpay is a secure, safe and efficient method for ordering and paying for items through school.
Below you will find instructions for setting up your CDFpay account both if you are an existing parent "already have a CDF pay account" or a new parent.
Here is the link to head to our school CDFpay shop St Clare's CDFpay Shop