School Newsletter Term 3, Week 4, 6th August 2021

Principals Letter

Dear St Augustine's families,

Next week was to be the beginning of our Family Week celebrations so we took the opportunity to begin them a little earlier with students taking home some activities yesterday that they could share with you today.

Catholic schools across Australia will celebrate Family Week from 8 – 14 August, to recognise the significant contribution parents, carers and families have made to the foundation, growth and continuity of Catholic schools in Australia over 200 years.

Family Week coincides with the Feast Day of Australia’s First Saint, Mary MacKillop, who was a passionate educator and advocate for children and families, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Our families work in partnership with their schools in formation and learning support, volunteering, parents and friend’s groups, fundraising and a host of other activities that contribute to the growth and success of their children and their schools.

Family Week is a perfect time to come together to celebrate the power of family relationships in all their diversities, and the importance they play in our lives and community.

We all know how important our families are so in these times of lockdown it’s a great opportunity to reflect and spend time with those that matter to us the most.   

In regards to this recent lockdown, we will continue to post updates to Class Dojo. My recent update included information around onsite supervision. If there is a parent or guardian at home your child/ren must learn from home. For those parents/carers who are considered essential workers and no alternative care can be organised then children can be on site. You must register via email through admin@samaryborough.catholic.edu.au. Please indicate for how long you require children to be at school. e.g.: 2 hours, half day, full day.

All children will meet with their classroom teacher online at 9:00am each day.
From Monday children will commence a more structured online learning timetable. Please check your child's Class Story for more details.

This week we received information that Energy Breakthrough has been cancelled for 2021 due to the ongoing health risks of COVID-19 and the impact on public events. The event was due to be held from the 17th to 21st November 2021. This is disappointing news for our 5/6’s.  We will however endeavour to incorporate the fundamental teachings that Energy Breakthrough provides for our students throughout the Term 4.

Events such as the Trivia Night, Confirmation and Athletics have also been postponed until further notice.

We thank all our families for their support and patience and please contact us if you are needing any assistance. 

Many blessings,

Mrs Sonia Turner

Principal

DOBCEL

CHESS CLUB

Chess Club by Isabelle Hanley

I wanted to start a chess club because I learnt chess at a young age and I was disappointed that not many people I knew actually knew how to play chess. I remember that we once had a chess club so I thought why not have it again? I talked with some other people who were also on board with the idea and we started to hatch a plan with the help of Mr Berry. Katee and I went round to the classrooms and conducted a survey relating to who would want to have a Chess Club and the results were pretty good. We took the results to Mrs Turner and she surprised me with some great news. She said that not only could we have a chess club and that she had also signed the school up for a Chess Tournament in Castlemaine. I was ecstatic. On Tuesday we held the first Chess Club the school has run in years. Doubts kept rushing through my head. What if nobody came? What if everybody thought it was a waste of time? Nobody came at first, but more and more people started to come through the Library doors. I expected only 10 - 15 people would come, but it ended up being well over thirty! It was an absolute joy teaching the kids how to play chess, and with my friends Katee, Kayden and James things went quite smoothly. I can’t wait for the next meeting because I’m overjoyed at the prospect of teaching more and more children how to play the game that means so much to me. 

My New Gallery

Maryborough Lions Club AED Cabinet Donation

On Monday Lorraine Parker and David Cutajar from the Maryborough Lions Club delivered the Automatic External Defibrillator (AED) cabinet that they have kindly donated to the school. Our Sport, Health & Wellbeing senior students were honoured to receive the cabinet on behalf of our school. The AED cabinet will hold our portable defibrillator which will be moved from our junior corridor to outside our school entrance.  This will enable both the school and public to have access to the device in the case of an emergency. 

A number of cabinets have been generously donated by the Maryborough Lions Club around the region.  Each cabinet is fitted with a key pad.  A caller to 000 will receive the pin number and coordinates for the closest cabinet. Locations of the cabinets can be found on the Ambulance Victoria website. 

Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) continues to be one of the leading causes of death in Australia.

Defibrillators have the power to change this and save lives.

Having a defibrillator means you can step in with the tools to save a life before paramedics arrive – every minute counts. Research shows survival rates of up to 70% can be achieved if an AED is on hand.  -St Johns Ambulance Victoria

Happy Birthday to...

Jarrod B - Foundation       Alex C - Year 6      Mason V - Year 4     

Bryant U - Year 3      Manny S - Year 1      Katee T - Year 6 

Mackenzie L - Year 4    Sienna K - Year 4

CONGRATULATIONS

Congratulations to Brent & Katie on the arrival of 

Lucy Mary Hudson.

Little sister to Keegan in 5/6T & Isabella.

This is such a wonderful time for your family and we hope that babyhood is filled with lots of fun, love and cuddles.

Catholic Education Ballarat

ABOUT OUR DIOCESE

The Catholic Diocese of Ballarat is a diverse and geographically extensive Diocese of thirty-seven parishes which covers the western third of Victoria, extending from the Murray River in the North to the Southern Ocean. To the west it is bounded by the Archdiocese of Adelaide and the Diocese of Port Pirie, to the north by the Diocese of Wilcannia-Forbes and to the east by the Diocese of Sandhurst and the Archdiocese of Melbourne.

The Diocese has a number of provincial centres and large rural areas. There is a wide range and mix of primary and secondary industry and tourism and many places of natural beauty – the Great Ocean Road, the Grampians, the towns of the Murray River, the Little Desert and the goldfields.

The total population of the Diocese is 422,854 and the Catholic population is 95,696 (2016 Australian Census). There are thirty-seven parishes in the Diocese comprising one hundred and seven church communities. There are twenty six priests working in parishes.  Their work is supported by retired priests.  One priest works in pastoral care.  Tw0 priests work outside the diocese in tertiary education.  Twenty-four of the thirty-seven parishes have a parish priest who also cares for another parish.  There are two parishes who have formal lay-leadership with a Supervising Priest and a Visiting Priest(s). Many lay people have leadership roles in parishes and many parishes share resources within one of the ten Ministry Districts in the Diocese, including sharing lay personnel.  Click here to view the current diocesan map.

COVID Guidlines

PARENTS & FRIENDS

A HUGE THANK YOU TO CLAIR, HAYLEY AND NADINE FOR THE ORGANISING AND DISTRIBUTION OF THE PIES. FANTASTIC JOB! 

Cyber Safety

Each fortnight we will post helpful eSafety Information for Students and Families here. 

The attached link relates to our 'digital tattoo'.

Child Safety

St. Augustine's Primary School Maryborough demonstrates a strong commitment to the care, safety and wellbeing of all students at our school.

Each fortnight we will be sharing information around child safety and the obligations that we have as a school, staff and community.  All of our Child Safe policies and procedures are accessible on our website at samaryborough.catholic.edu.au.

Supervision of Students Information for Parents

ENROLMENT

This term we will be conducting enrolment interviews for 2022 enrolments. If your family is not returning to St. Augustine's next year please advise us via email to admin@samaryborough.catholic.edu.au.

Likewise, if you have another child or know of someone who has a school age child for 2022, please contact the school asap.

An 'Application for Enrolment' form, as per link below, needs to be completed and emailed to admin@samaryborough.catholic.edu.au.

Alternatively, forms are also available in the school office.

We will be contacting families in Term 3 when we commence the enrolment interview process. 

STAR Students

At St Augustine's we are a SWPBIS school (School Wide Positive Behaviour in School) and we have a STAR culture. STAR stands for:

S  - stay safe

T  - take pride

A  - act justly

R  - respond positively

Just like children are explicitly taught academics, acceptable behaviour is also explicitly taught. STAR awards are given at Assembly each fortnight, exceptional STARs are sent a postcard which qualifies them to morning tea with the Principal at the end of the term.

STAR lessons are taught around a nominated behaviour blitz. Children are taught how to be a STAR in all places they go and what the acceptable behaviour looks like. Examples of a lessons: how to stay safe in class, in the library, the toilet, at the bus stop, on the playground or when walking to the swimming pool.

Canteen

No Canteen due to lockdown. Any lunch orders processed for Friday 6/8 will be carried over to the next canteen day. 

Parish News

Please see link below for the latest Parish Bulletin.

Roof works are currently being conducted on the church so access between the school and church from Burke St is currently closed. 

School Fees and Payment Information

Uniform Shop

The Uniform Shop is currently closed due to lockdown. Orders will be filled once children return to school.

All orders will continue to be filled once a week and sent home with your child. If you have any uniform enquiries, please contact the school office. We do exchange uniform. Bring the uniform item to the office or send in with your child and the uniform shop will exchange it on the day they come to fill orders.

All orders to be placed through CDFPay.

PAM - Parent Access Module

We require families to complete and update their child/ren’s medical details and contact information through PAM as changes occur.  This information is mandatory and vital in the case of an emergency.   It is important that if you have any change to your contact numbers, including work place, mobile, home number, that these be updated through PAM.

To complete your child/rens medical profile including contact information, go to PAM, click on your child/rens name, go to 'Medical Profile' and click 'Edit Details'. Complete details then click in the box at the bottom of the page to confirm the details are correct and click ‘Update Details’.

If you have any questions or require your login details, please contact the school office.

Parking & Road Safety

REMINDER

Parking behind the church & tennis courts is STAFF ONLY parking. PLEASE DO NOT USE THIS AREA TO PICK UP OR DROP OFF YOUR CHILD/REN.

There are three minute parking bays in Burke Street outside the school entrance.  Your co-operation in only parking in this area for the specified time would be appreciated.  These parking bays are for quick pick up and drop off for students leaving early due to appointments and illness.

Likewise we also ask parents to respect the parking restriction on the disabled parking area. 

Please observe road rules around our school for the safety of all of our children.

* Schools have 40km zone.

* Parking behind the church & tennis courts is STAFF ONLY parking.

* Please use the children's crossing on Burns, Kars St and Burke St.

* For safety purposes, please avoid letting your children exit or enter a car whilst on the road or stopped at the crossings. Please do not double park. 

 Thank you for your co-operation.

Student Illness & Absence

If your child is unwell please keep them at home.

This includes coughs, colds, sore throat, vomiting, diarrhea and any other contagious illnesses.  

Coughs & Colds

Children can return to school once symptoms have eased and they are not actively coughing or blowing their nose.  

Vomitting & Diarrhea

Children can return to school 48 hours after the last episode.

We will send children home if they present with any of these symptoms whilst at school.

Notifying Absences

All absentee notifications should be recorded either through the Parent Access Module (PAM) or directly to the school office by phone or email to admin@samaryborough.catholic.edu.au prior to 9.30am on the day of the absence. Please do not send notes of absence through to classroom teachers on Class Dojo as they may be absent or unable to check messages prior to commencement of class.

If a student is absent and we have not received any form of notification by 9.30am, a text message will be sent to parents asking them to call the office or send a reply text. 

Bus Travel

Bus travel on the country buses is available for students at St Augustine’s School and arrangements are made through the bus co-ordinator, Stephen Broad, at the Maryborough Education Centre on 5461 7900.  Parents of the student/s must organise the pass through MEC at least two days prior to travel. Students cannot travel on the country buses without a pass. The town bus does not require a pass but costs 50cents a trip, payable on the day of travel.  Please advise the office if your child will be travelling on any of the buses so we can update our bus rolls.

IMPORTANT

All bus travel requires parents/guardians to complete a Public Transport Victoria (PTV) Application for Permission to Travel form prior to any bus travel. This form can be emailed direct to Stephen Broad at MEC, Stephen.Broad@education.vic.edu.au. It is important that this form is completed as these details will be used in the event of an emergency.

Advanced dates for your diary

2021 School Closure Days

Monday 4th October - Visible Learning, Staff Curriculum Day

Wednesday  17th November - Literacy, Staff Personal Development Day 2

Children do not attend school on the above days.

2022  Dates - Term 1 

Friday Jan 28th – Staff Day. STUDENTS DO NOT COME TO SCHOOL.

Mon Jan 31st - School Closure Day – Staff PD, Visible Learning. STUDENTS DO NOT COME TO SCHOOL.

Tuesday Feb 1st - Classes commence for all students 

Wednesday Feb 2nd - Foundation rest day

Wednesday Feb 9th - Foundation rest day

Wednesday Feb 16th - Foundation rest day

Wednesday Feb 23rd - Foundation rest day

Wednesday March 2nd - Foundation rest day

Wednesday March 9th - Foundation rest day

Monday  March 14th - Labour Day Public Holiday. STUDENTS DO NOT COME TO SCHOOL.

WEDNESDAY 16^TH MARCH - NO REST DAY DUE TO THE HOLIDAY FOR LABOUR DAY. All students attend school.

Wednesday March 23rd - Foundation rest day

Wednesday March 30th - Foundation rest day

Wednesday April 6th - Foundation rest day

Friday 8^th April – Last day of Term 1, 2.30pm finish

Community Notices