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Dear Parents, Guardians and Carers,
Welcome back! It’s been lovely to see families returning to the school and we especially welcome our new families. The children have settled back well and the classrooms are already settled into the routines of school.
Thank you for your patience with our new start of day arrangements. We are all getting familiar with it - for most children the chance to play on the playground is helping them to settle into the school day as they connect with their friends. If your child is experiencing anxiety about it please reach out to their class teacher so that we can support you both.
Parent Access Module (PAM)
Thank you for your patience as SIMON worked through an upgrade to the Parent Access Module (PAM) . It took longer than expected but you should have all received an email by Friday with instructions how to set it up. PAM is a key communication tool used by the school to share information and is also used to notify of absences, access school reports and book in for school events such as parent teacher interviews.
Attendance
It is really important that your child is at school every day, unless they are unwell. Frequent absences have a great impact on children's learning. It is also important that children arrive at school on time as information is discussed at the beginning of the day and not hearing this information or coming into a class that has already begun can be very unsettling if a child is frequently late. It is a requirement that you notify the school if your child is absent. Please use PAM to notify of your child’s planned absence or if they’re sick.
Current guidelines in place for all schools mean that you will be contacted by the school if your child is absent without contact from you. Written notes can also be sent as a way of informing us of planned, future absences. A text message will be issued if the school has not been informed of an absence by 9:30am.
Cybersafety
Keeping our children safe in the cyber world is a key component in our child safety strategy. There will be incursions and webinars held throughout the year to support the children to develop skills and awareness when working online. Today the grade 5/6 children had an incursion in the hall about cyber safety.
This year St Michael’s is also partnering with ‘Inform and Empower’ to deliver a series of cybersafety incursions with the grades 1 - 6 students. The first session will be about their digital footprint, their rights and their responsibilities.
The esafety commission also holds parent webinars throughout the year. The first one is about setting your child up for success online and covers:
- Age appropriate expectations and boundaries
- Online risks and strategies to keep your children safe
- Where to find support for you and your child when things go wrong.
The link to this webinar as well as the full schedule of events can be found at https://www.esafety.gov.au/parents/webinars
School Uniform
School uniform is compulsory at St Michael’s Primary. You will receive an email from your child's teacher letting you know which day your child will be wearing their sports uniform. We take pride in being a part of the St Michaels community and we ask for your help in ensuring that your child is wearing the uniform in the correct way.
Staying safe from mosquitoes
Recent wet and warm weather has increased mosquito breeding. Mosquitoes can carry diseases that may be passed on to people through mosquito bites. A range of mosquito-borne diseases have recently been detected in mosquitoes in northern Victoria. Mosquito-borne diseases can cause serious illness, including infections of the brain, with children particularly at risk.
The best way to prevent mosquito-borne diseases is to avoid mosquito bites.
In line with community health advice , families can protect against mosquito bites by:
- using insect repellent that contains picaridin or DEET on all exposed skin if outdoors when mosquitoes are observed, from October to March
- wearing long, loose-fitting clothing outdoors if possible if mosquitoes are around and covering exposed skin as much as possible. Summer school uniforms, including polos and shorts, can continue to be worn, but students should use insect repellent on exposed skin if mosquitoes are active
- limiting outdoor activity when mosquitoes are active.
Further information
- A handy guide to help protect you and your family from mosquito-borne disease
- Better Health Channel information about preventing mosquito-borne diseases.
Peaceful Kids
Peaceful Kids’ is a Mindfulness and Positive Psychology based program to lessen anxiety and stress and increase resilience in children. The program has been endorsed by Beyond Blue and is an accredited mindfulness program for children with the following key benefits for children:
- Lessen symptoms of anxiety and stress in children
- Teaches children to self-calm.
- Empowers children to manage their own anxiety.
- Develops emotional intelligence skills.
- Teaches children life-long skills to manage stress and prevent stress build up.
- Supports children so they know that they are not alone with suffering from anxiety.
The program in Traralgon will be run by Nicole Leeder through her new business ‘Harmonious Kids’. Nicole is a local primary teacher with 15 years’ experience in the classroom and a Certified Peaceful Kids Facilitator.
St Michael’s Primary School students can access the program in 2 ways, either in after school sessions at a Traralgon venue or at St Michael’s Primary School on a Friday morning during the school day. Classes are commencing in the week beginning 13th Feb and information sessions are being held all this week for parents and their children to come and find out more about the program. Additionally Peaceful Kids is fully claimable under NDIS.
Bookings or Further information by email – N.harmoniouskids@gmail.com or through facebook - https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100089621713083
Kind regards
Jodie
2023 Fee statements were issued via email yesterday. All fee payers will receive a fee statement at the beginning of each term. If you pay your school fees via direct debit no further action or payment is required, the fee statement is for your records only. Additional invoices for items such as Student Support Services are not covered by the direct debit arrangement therefore an additional payment is required if you receive an invoice for one of these services.
If you have not yet received your school fee statement please contact the office.
Direct Debit Information
Due to a processing error at The Catholic Development Fund, direct debits scheduled for payment during the period Thursday 22nd December 2022 to Thursday 19th January 2023 were not processed. This error only affected direct debits from bank accounts, direct debits from credit cards were still processed as scheduled.
Direct debits due on Thursday 26th January were processed on Friday 27th January, due to Thursday being a public holiday. These payments were processed at the previously advised payment amount for 2023. 15th monthly direct debits were also processed on 24/01/2023 and therefore will not be affected by this error.
As a result of the direct debit payments not being processed, payment amounts will need to be revised to ensure that all school fees are paid by the end of the year. Your new payment amount will be advised via email prior to being processed. There is a considerable amount of work involved in rectifying this error so please bear with us as we work through it. Direct debit payers who are affected will receive notification in relation to their new direct debit amount and the date it will apply from over the next week. Until this notification is received direct debits will continue at the previously advised amount.
If you would prefer to make a once off payment to reduce ongoing payments please contact the school office to do so.
We apologise for any inconvenience this error has caused and thank you for your understanding and patience while we work through it.
Mt 5:13 - 16
The theme of ‘light’ occurs in both the first reading and the gospel today. Without light in our world there would be no life. In some parts of the world, like Antarctica, the sun does not shine for six months of the year. Here, however, we go to bed when it is dark and wake up when the sun rises. In the gospel we read that “we are the light of the world” and that our light should be put out to shine for all to see. Can you think of someone in your life who is like ‘light for the world’? There are many situations in our daily lives where we are called to be light for others - to display kindness and goodness for those around us. Sometimes our light sputters and goes out, but, happily, it can always be re-ignited! Talk with your children about how they can be the light in someone’s day - each and every day.
SSV Team Vic Nominations
School Sport Victoria will once again be offering the opportunity for gifted and talented students from school communities to register to trial for school sport Team Vic teams in 2023.
Registrations have opened for selected sports (Australian Football, Netball, Football(Soccer) and Basketball).
These trials are for emerging athletes who have reached a certain standard or level, for example: played in a representative team. They are a process for selecting a Team Vic State Team going to School Sport Australia National Championships.
Each school is allowed a maximum of three (3) students per team mentioned above to attend these trials so it’s important that as a school, we acknowledge the capacity and ability of these nominated students to be able to participate well in these trials. It needs to be emphasised that these trials form part of School Sport Victoria’s Gifted and Talented program and are not ‘come and try’ opportunities.
Each child is trialing for a state team and as such we must attest to each child’s athleticism, skill level and school behaviour.
If you would like your child to be endorsed by the school for Australian Football, Netball, Football(Soccer)and Basketball can you please complete the form below by Monday 13th February 2023.
