Dear All

Can I extend a warm welcome everyone to our new school year, especially to our new students, families and staff.  Next week we will publish our first full newsletter but I wanted to reach out this week to the school community and pass on a few key messages.

On Wednesday we had our first day of classes after the assessment days earlier in the week.  These important assessment days contribute heavily to our teaching and learning programs so we thank families for organising for their children to attend.  Already I have been impressed with the way the teachers have started to act on the assessment data that they collected across this first week.

Our first day was highly successful with the rookies coping well with the demands of starting primary school while it was so pleasing to see students across all levels adjust to the social and emotional demands of school.  I was especially proud of a few anxious souls who resiliently powered through a few nervous minutes at the start of the day.  Just as pleasing was to witness young friends reaching out to each other after a few weeks apart.  Yes, we do have beautiful facilities and resources but it is the human resources we have that are our real treasures.

If you are reading this bulletin in means you know how to access our communications via the Schoolzine platform.  Apart from newsletters etc., this on-line platform is very important as it is the primary communication tool and will be the way we communicate with families in an emergency...... hopefully though we manage to not have any fires, floods or pandemics for a few years.  If you interact with a new family can you please check in with them to make sure they know to register via our schoolzine website for newsletters and alerts. (Did you know that Schoolzine has a feature that allows our newsletter to be translated into a growing number of languages?)

https://stvmorwell.schoolzineplus.com/subscribe

Wishing you and your family a successful and positive year with us at St.Vincent's.  I personally look forward to sharing the year with all our wonderful students.

Yours,

Dave

PS. Thanks to all those children who remembered their hats on the first day.  Please remember as a Sun-Smart school all students and staff must wear a hat when outside.

8.30am OUTSIDE SUPERVISION STARTS

Students enter the school yard via the Student Access Electric Doors

8.45am CLASSROOMS OPEN

9.00am SCHOOL DAY STARTS

SCHOOL LEADERSHIP

PRINCIPAL: Dave Cooper

DEPUTY PRINCIPAL: Rosie Van Den Broek

LEARNER DIVERSITY: Vanessa COULING

LEARNING ADJUSTMENT: Kathy MONACELLA

RELIGIOUS EDUCATION: Cameron GREENSLADE

ADMIN TEAM

Alison ANSWER

Sonia MARINO

Nicole SALMELA

JUNIOR TEAM

MIDDLE TEAM

SENIOR TEAM

SPECIALIST TEAM

The safety of everyone, especially our children, remains our highest priority.  The school community was excellent last year as we adjusted to the changes new to the building program.  As the project is almost complete we have regained access to all areas of the site which gives parents more flexibility with pickup routines at the end of the day.  

A few reminders.....

- At the start of the year the junior staff will be escorting the children, especially the Preps, to the area around the bottom of the ramp.

- Students are able to exit the yard via the main student entry as well as pedestrian gates on both Rowell and Barry Street.  I would encourage parents to consider using those other gates at the end of the day.  I am also considering the pros and cons of having the Rowell Street gate open to parents earlier than 3.15pm which would allow parents to gather in the yard and give preschoolers a place to roam.  I would be interested in parent feedback as we consider our management of students exiting the site safely.

- Safe crossing points: Please model and rehearse good habits with your children.  We know primary school children have poor peripheral vision so we would hate to have anyone harmed due to avoidable, risky behaviours.

- Parking By-laws: Can drivers please abide with the local parking laws around the school neighbourhood.  This ensures pedestrian safety, keeps the neighbours happy and probably saves you a fine from a local by-laws officer from Latrobe City.

The important 2023 Sacrament Meeting for ALL sacraments will take place next week for parents with children intending on celebrating Reconciliation (Year 3), Eucharist (Year 4) & Confirmation (Year 6)

Sacred Heart Church

Thursday 9th February 5pm

If you have questions please reach out to Mr.Cooper or Mr.Greenslade (Religious Education Leader)

These newsletter were distributed in hard copy across this week and are repeated here as a reference:

Over the break we have had some yard improvements which included the delivery of some Sand, Playground Chips and Garden Mulch.  As you drive past you will noticed that we have a few mounds that need to be spread about.  Although the students have enthusiastically started to help, we would appreciate some adult help to get the job completed.

If you have a some spare time feel free to drop in to volunteer.  We have rakes, pitchforks and shovels available for you to use - or feel free to bring your favourite garden tool.

This might be a perfect job for parents to do while waiting for their children at the end of the day.  We probably could even to promise to keep a grandparent busy for a morning if they are bored and looking for something to do!

We also have some areas of the yard that have been reclaimed from the builders that require some nurturing to get the grass regrown.  If you are the person who is up to the challenge of showing these areas some TLC please let us know.

Today parents face a multitude of modern day challenges in raising happy, well and resilient young people. Whilst there is a great deal of information available, this can often be confusing and overwhelming for parents looking for guidance.

SchoolTV addresses this as an online resource designed to empower you as parents with credible and sound information with realistic, practical ongoing support strategies.

St.Vincent's is proud to partner with SchoolTV to offer our school families a range of resources.  We urge you to check out these wonderful resources.

SchoolTV is available via our school website under the Wellbeing menu.

https://stvmorwell.catholic.schooltv.me/

PAM is our online platform for Medical Profiles, Permission Notes and our School Calendar.  Each family needs to have account created so that they can provide permission for school activities and provide instant updates on their child's Medical Profile and Emergency Contacts.

If you need assistance please speak to the team in the Office.