School Newsletter Term 3, Week 2, 31st July 2025

Principals Letter

Dear St Augustine's families,

A warm, welcome back to Term 3. I hope you all had the opportunity to spend time with family, friends and loved ones over the holidays as well as some downtime from the routine of school life.  We have another busy term ahead so stay connected to Class Dojo for updates and reminders.

This term we kick off our Energy Breakthrough fundraising with our 5/6 families helping with the local phone book deliveries. We will also run a cadbury fundraiser that the whole school can get involved in. Details to follow shortly. We also welcome anyone who would like to sponsor our program as either an individual, family, group or business. More details to follow.

The Highland Society will be hosting their annual EBT Sponsorship night on Friday 8th August from 5.30pm. Along with their generous cheque donations to local schools for their EBT programs, there will be free finger food and live entertainment, raffles and members happy hour. All families are welcome to attend and support The Highland Society who supports our community. 

At our recent Grade 1/2 parent information session, we shared how our school is implementing Structured Literacy—an approach to reading instruction that is systematic, cumulative, explicit, and guided by ongoing diagnostic assessment. This evidence-based model supports all learners by focusing on foundational skills through direct instruction and regular review. During our Literacy Block, we use a combination of programs and strategies including the Heggerty Phonemic Awareness program, UFLI phonics lessons, paired reading for fluency, and structured writing tasks to support reading and writing development. 

We have 18 children completing the Sacrament of Eucharist. All candidates attended the commitment masses last weekend to show they are ready to reflect on their Catholic faith. The sacramental mass will take place on Sunday August 17th. We wish all the candidates the best in their spiritual journey.    

P&F updates - meeting tomorrow, Friday 1st August 9am in the hall. All welcome! Pie Drive orders will be ready to collect on Tuesday 5th August, time to be advised tomorrow after the P&F meeting. 

Tiny Bites Dentist - We will be hosting the Tiny Bites dental team from Wednesday August 20th. If you are interested in your child/ren visiting the team, please click on the link below and complete the required information.
https://tinybitesdental.com.au/primary-school-dental-checkups/

Lord Jesus, Bread of Life,
as these precious children receive You in Holy Communion, may their hearts bloom with the joy of Your presence. Fill them with faith, hope, and pure love as they journey deeper into their faith. 

Amen.

Many blessings,

Mrs Sonia Turner

Principal

TINY BITES DENTAL VISIT - FROM WEDNESDAY 20TH AUGUST

To register your child/ren for a visit go to https://tinybitesdental.com.au/primary-school-dental-checkups/

Information for parents to prepare before the visit:
-Dental care is at no cost if your child is eligible for the CDBS
(Medicare).
-For non-eligible children, the costs are as follows:
-$55 for the exam/check-up
-$10 for fluoride treatment
-$15 for x-rays
-$30 for a teeth clean
-If you have private health insurance, you can claim the costs back. A
receipt will be emailed to you upon request.
-You will receive an SMS notification from us if your child is not
eligible for CDBS.
-After the visit, your child will receive a goodie bag, and a hard copy
of the dental report will be provided. If further treatment is required,
we will call you to discuss the next steps.

Any questions, please contact Tiny Bites directly on 0474 117 225 or email
info@tinybitesdental.com.au.

Happy Birthday to...

Leni T - Year 4     Liam H - Year 1     Blake H - Year 4     Sophie L - Year 5     Phoebe H - Year 1

Lilah R - Year 1     Thomas S - Year 2     Jarrod B - Year 4     Thoe G - Year 3     Sienna H - Year 5

Lewis D - Year 2     Dusty S - Year 1     Manny S - Year 5  

Wellbeing

Term Overviews

BOOK CLUB

Hard copies of the Book Club Issue 5 catalogues have not arrived as yet but you can view online via the link below .

Orders are due in by Friday 8th August 2025.

ART Class

This Term we are beginning to learn all about Aboriginal Art. The 3/4 units have began to complete their own paintings using bright colours, dots and symbols. 

Art Class Term 3 Week 1 & 2

NCCD Information

Our Diocesan Community Magazine Issue 2 July 2025

Parents & Friends News

Next meeting will be held Friday 1st August at 9am in the hall

Tea towel fundraiser - underway, proofs have been received & confirmed from Expressions Tea Towels with mock up of our design for us to confirm.

Pie Drive - 

CANTEEN

ALL CANTEEN ORDERS MUST BE PLACED THROUGH CDFPAY BY 3PM WEDNESDAYS. LUNCHES WILL BE DELIVERED TO THE CLASSROOMS FROM 1PM. 

We can always do with more volunteers to help in our canteen. If you are interested and can spare some time on a Friday it would be greatly appreciated! You can choose to help for 2 hours or 4 hours in the Canteen.  Please consider if you could spare one or two Friday mornings a term.

It is a requirement of our school and DOBCEL that everyone complete this food handling course. It takes about 15 mins.
https://dofoodsafely.health.vic.gov.au/index.php/en/
Certificates to be sent to the school office or emailed to admin@samaryborough.catholic.edu.au. 

You will also need to hold a current Working With Children card.  It is free for a volunteer card. Go to;

https://www.vic.gov.au/working-with-children-check

Lunch box ideas

SchoolTV

Because parenting doesn’t come with instructions, SchoolTV is a wellbeing resource that can support you in the challenges relating to modern-day parenting.

This award-winning resource helps build relationships, foster connections, enable understanding and break down barriers to navigate a pathway towards better mental health and wellbeing for young people. It can assist in starting conversations on topics that are sometimes awkward or difficult to tackle.

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.

2025 School Fees & Levies

2025 School Fees & Levies - below is the 2025 School Fees & Levies information.

All fees are to be finalised by the end of November each year unless other arrangments are made with the school office. 

All credits have now been applied for valid concession card holder claimants of the government Camp Sports Excursion Fund (CSEF), School Saving Bonus & Family Fee Assistance.  

We welcome all students and their families who share or respect our Catholic faith, values and traditions. Catholic education is supported by State and Federal funding, with families contributing the balance of the cost of educating their children. At times, some families are unable to meet their commitment to the full costs of education. As a Catholic school system, we ensure fee relief mechanisms are available to support families in time of need. We encourage these discussions on enrolment or as these needs emerge.

Ambulance Cover

Emergency medical transport services are not free and not covered by Medicare. Become a genuine Ambulance Victoria member and be protected against the cost of transport and treatment by paramedics.

If your child required an ambulance at school we would not hesitate to call for one before speaking with parents. Without ambulance membership it can be a very costly trip! If your not already covered please consider!

Bus Travel & Conveyance Allowance

Bus travel on the country buses is available for students at St Augustine’s School and arrangements are made through the bus co-ordinator, Heather Leach, at the Maryborough Education Centre on 5461 7900 or via email to Heather.Leach2@education.vic.gov.au. 

A PTV form must be completed and approved prior to any bus travel.

For one off or seasonal travel, parents of the student/s must organise a bus pass through MEC at least two days prior to travel. Students cannot travel on the country buses without a pass.

The town bus is currently full so no additional travellers are being accepted. The town bus 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 Heather Leach at MEC, Heather.Leach2@education.vic.gov.au. It is important that this form is completed as these details will be used in the event of an emergency.

PTV forms are required to be updated and completed yearly by all families who have bus travellers.

CONVEYANCE ALLOWANCE 

Eligibility

An application on behalf of a student may be submitted if the student is:

• a Victorian resident.
• school aged and enrolled (3) three or more days per week at a school; and
• attending a school/campus located outside the Melbourne metropolitan conveyance boundary

A student who meets the above requirements may be eligible if they:

• attend their nearest or designated neighbourhood government school/campus appropriate to their year level, at which admission is permissible, or
• attend their nearest appropriate non-government school/campus appropriate to their year level, at which admission is permissible, and
• reside 4.8km or more by the shortest practicable route from the campus attended

Medical Information

Headlice information

Student Medical Information

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 & Diarrhoea

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. 

Child Safety

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

All of our Child Safe policies and procedures are accessible on our website through the link below.

Uniform Shop

Uniforms will continue to be filled weekly and sent home with your child/ren.

We have discontined the lemon polo's due to the large delay in delivery times. We are out of stock of short sleeved lemon polo's in most sizes now. Long sleeve lemon polos are still available in some sizes while stocks last. Send a dojo to Amber if you would like to purchase.

Beanies are available in the school office for $20

Uniform orders will continue to be filled and sent home with your child(ren) weekly. If you would like to enquire about secondhand uniform, please send a message to Amber on Class Dojo with your required items and sizes and we will send home what we can supply, $5 per item. This can be paid through CDFPay under IOU uniform. 

If you have any queries or items to be exchanged, please contact the school office. 

Note: There is no designated period for summer or winter uniform. Students can choose what they would like to wear in any season. The only exception is that sports uniform must be worn on designated sports days and bucket hats are to be worn between August & April.

ALL ORDERS TO BE PLACED THROUGH THE NEW CDFPAY APP. INSTRUCTIONS FOR ACCOUNT SETUP ATTACHED.

PAM - Parent Access Module

PLEASE LOG INTO YOUR PAM ACCOUNT AND CONFIRM/COMPLETE YOUR CHILDS MEDICAL PROFILE. THIS INFORMATION IS MANDATORY FOR ALL STUDENTS. 

We require ALL families to complete and update their child/ren’s medical details and contact information for 2023 through PAM and throughout the year 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 and to advise the school office.

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

Parking behind the church & tennis courts is STAFF ONLY parking. Please do not use these areas to park or pickup your children. Vehicle movement in and out of these areas means you are driving over footpaths/walkways which both our students and Highview students are using. This creates a potential safety hazard.

Follow road safety regulations, keep driveways clear, check carefully before reversing and avoid letting your children exit or enter a car whilst on the road or stopped at the crossings. Please do not double park. We all want to keep our families safe so your co-operation is appreciated.

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.

Bell times

5 minutes prior to classes commencing there is music played. This signals to the children it is time to start moving to class. This is the time children need to have a drink, go to the toilet etc. so they are lined up and ready to start class when the bell goes. 

8:30am - Yard Care Supervision begins

8:45am  -  Classroom teacher in classroom - meet & greet

8:55pm - School classes begin

9am-11am - 2 hour learning session

11am-11:40am -  First break

11:40am-1:40pm - 2 hour learning session

1:40pm-2:20pm - Second break

2:20pm-3:15pm - 55 minute learning session

3:10pm - Fiscalini & Flanagan dismissal

3:15pm - Arundell & Scanlan, Bus students dismissal

Parish News

Please see link below for the latest Parish Bulletin & readings.

Advanced dates for your diary

Up and coming whole school closure days and important dates

Term 3 - Friday Sept 19th - Literacy closure day 
Term 4 - Monday October 6th - RE closure day 
Whole school transition day - Tuesday 9th December

Graduation Mass - Wednesday 3rd December

Last day for students - Wednesday 17th December

Please see the link to the school calendar below for all  important dates.

Community Notices