Newsletter Thursday 21^st July 2022

“I would like to begin by acknowledging the traditional custodians of the lands of Cardinia Shire, the Bunurong and Wurundjeri people, and pay my respects to their Elders, both past and present.”

First Reading: Jeremiah 2: 1-3, 7-8, 12-13

1 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:

Go, and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, saying: Thus saith the Lord: I have remembered thee, pitying thy soul, pitying thy youth, and the love of thy espousals, when thou followedst me in the desert, in a land that is not sown.

3 Israel is holy to the Lord, the first fruits of his increase: all they that devour him offend: evils shall come upon them, saith the Lord.

7 And I brought you into the land of Carmel, to eat the fruit thereof, and the best things thereof: and when ye entered in, you defiled my land, and made my inheritance an abomination.

8 The priests did not say: Where is the Lord? and they that held the law knew me not, and the pastors transgressed against me: and the prophets prophesied in Baal, and followed idols.

12 Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this, and ye gates thereof, be very desolate, saith the Lord.

13 For my people have done two evils. They have forsaken me, the fountain of living water, and have digged to themselves cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.

Good afternoon Parents/carers and guardians,

Last week I had the pleasure of attending Grade 4 camp down at Phillip Island and I am so proud of our students. There was another school also at the camp and one of the teachers asked me which school we were. She then went on to say that our students were wonderful, had excellent manners and were so good at encouraging each other. Of course, this is music to any Principal’s ears. The camp staff were also very complimentary of the students. Thanks to the staff of St Pat’s who gave up their time with their own families to be with the students and to make it a wonderful experience for all.

No doubt you will have heard about the new recommendations being made by the state and Federal government around Covid restrictions and recommendations. Please see below for a full update on this. As mentioned, these are recommended only and some children have begun wearing masks again.

Our grade 3 students have begun swimming this week and thankfully the weather has been much kinder for the walk over and back than it was on Monday. Once again, I am hearing only positive things about this which is great!

Stay warm and stay safe!

Take care and God Bless

Meg

TERM 3 school closure day - Last day of term Friday the 16^th September.

On this day, the staff of St Patrick’s will be participating in a RE Professional Development day that is focused on the Inquiry approach to Religion. What this means for our students is when teachers are preparing Religious Education lessons for the students, the scripture that is used, is chosen carefully in order to ensure that the messages coming through, are relevant to the issues facing our children in this modern world. It is about discussing how Jesus approached his life and his interactions with others and how we can apply this to our own lives and learn from the situation.

Building Update

Work has begun on our E Block and our Junior school has now made the move into the portables - known as the D ROOMS where they will stay until mid term 4. The new locations are as follows. If you have any trouble finding the classrooms, please just reach out and ask.

D4- Grade 2ET

D5 – Grade 1RV

D2 – Grade 2KG

D3 – Grade 2KK

D7/Library- Grade 1DO-**In Week 3, they will be in the Japanese room whilst the room undergoes some maintenance work.

D8 - Grade 1GW

D9- Foundation AF

D10- Foundation IM

National Consistent Collection of Data collection

The Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability (NCCD) gives Australian schools, parents, guardians and carers, education authorities and the community information about the number of students with disability in schools and the adjustments they receive. 

The NCCD collects data about school students with disability who are receiving adjustments across Australia in a consistent, reliable and systematic way. It enables schools, education authorities and governments to better understand the needs of students with disability and how they can be best supported at school.

The funding the school gets from the NCCD collection allows for the employment of our Education Support Officers (ESOs) who are a most valuable source in our school community. There is a pamphlet attached to the newsletter that goes into more detail. If you have any further questions, please contact your child’s teacher/s.

No Right Turn Sign - The Avenue Carpark

For those parents using The Avenue car park for drop off and pick up, you will notice a new NO RIGHT TURN sign at the exit of the carpark. This means that traffic exiting The Avenue car park MUST TURN LEFT. Please ensure you are doing the right thing. You are role models for your children and disobeying road rules is not a message that should be relayed to them.

Notifying the School of an Absence - IMPORTANT

Due to the increase in students not being at school, the office is taking several hours each day to chase up each absent student. I ask all parents to either use PAM or to contact the office directly to let them know that your child/ren will not be at school that day. We have a legal responsibility to know where the students are every day.

Preteens Youth Group Grades 4, 5 and 6 students-DIVINE-FAITH FORMATION PROGRAMME FOR CHILDREN

St Patrick’s and St Clare’s along with the Parish is setting up the Pre-teens youth group. See the flyer below for the dates and contact numbers if you are interested. This is an excellent opportunity to get to know new people and to have time to discuss your faith whilst having fun and sharing some food and soft drinks. SEE FLYER BELOW.

St Francis Xavier year 7 enrolments 2023-TALK AND TOUR WITH HEAD OF CAMPUS

Any parents wishing to begin the process of enrolling their child/ren for Year 7 at St Francis Xavier next year, may be interested in one of their Head of Campus Talk and Tour dates. Families can register on their website. See below for details.

St Francis Xavier will also be holding specific tours (with translators for Chin speakers and people from South Sudanese languages) for our community and dates will be sent to you when they are confirmed.

Head of Campus Talk & Tour Dates 9.30 to 11.00am

26 July, 6 September, 11 October, 8 November.

COVIDSAFE MEASURES FOR SCHOOLS

Information for parents, guardians and carers

WATCH FOR SYMPTOMS

• If your child is unwell, even with mild COVID-19 symptoms, you must keep your child at home until their symptoms resolve and get your child tested with a PCR test (nose and throat swab) or complete a Rapid Antigen Test (RAT).
• If symptoms continue, your child should stay home and take another RAT or PCR test in 24 hours. If that test is also negative, your child may return to school if another diagnosis is confirmed (such as an underlying health condition or medication).

FACE MASKS

• Wearing a face mask can help protect you and those around you. Face masks stop droplets spreading when you talk, cough, sneeze and laugh, which lowers your chance of spreading or catching COVID-19.
• It is strongly recommended that face masks are worn indoors (noting that exceptions to the recommendation apply to circumstances when clear enunciation or visibility of the mouth is essential).
• Everyone aged eight (8) years or over must wear a face mask when travelling to and from school, on public transport, taxis or ride share vehicles, unless a lawful exemption applies. This includes when travelling to and from activities, school camps and excursions on school buses or via public transport.
• All students aged eight (8) years or older who are household or household-like close contacts attending a school will be required to wear a face mask indoors while at the school and while travelling to and from the school, unless an exception applies.
• Parents, guardians or carers who are COVID-19 positive who leave self-isolation to transport their child(ren) to or from school via a private vehicle must wear a face mask at all times and must adhere to other additional safety requirements.

VACCINATIONS

• As part of the COVID-19 vaccination roll-out, all students aged five (5) and over are eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine.
• Staff and students are strongly encouraged to ensure they keep up-to-date with all recommended and available COVID-19 vaccinations as they are considered the best way to protect individuals, families and school communities from the spread of COVID-19.

TESTING

• RAT kits will continue to be provided to all staff and students at no charge. Schools will inform parents, guardians and carers on how these kits can be collected from the school.
• If a student has symptoms of COVID-19, they should undertake a PCR or RAT and must self-isolate until they receive a negative test result.

HOUSEHOLD AND HOUSEHOLD-LIKE CONTACTS

• Household and household-like contacts are no longer required to quarantine but are required to undertake the following additional safety measures in the seven (7) days that would have been their quarantine period:

            o notify the school if returning during their seven (7)-day period;

            o undertake daily rapid antigen testing five (5) times within the seven (7)
              days;

            o wear a face mask indoors (if aged eight (8) and above) unless a lawful
               exemption applies;
            o are not permitted to visit hospitals or care facilities unless an exemption
               applies.

• Household and household-like contacts are still permitted to participate in school activities, including camps and excursions, as long as they wear a mask when indoors (if aged eight (8) and above or have a valid exception) and complete five (5) rapid antigen tests within the seven (7)-day period that would have been their quarantine period.
• A household or household-like contact attending an off-site activity during this period must notify the school they are attending under these requirements.
• If a student, parent, guardian or carer cannot comply with the additional safety measures at any time, they must: o quarantine immediately for the remainder of their seven (7)-day household contact period

           o get tested on Day one (1) (or as soon as possible) and on Day six (6) of
            their household contact period
           o not attend school until a negative Day six (6) test result is received.

COVID-19 POSITIVE CASES

• If your child has no symptoms and there is a positive COVID-19 case in their household, class, year level or other grouping, your child can continue to attend school in line with Victorian Department of Health advice.
• Staff and students who receive a positive RAT result must register it on the COVID-19 Positive Rapid Antigen Test Self-Reporting Form available on the Coronavirus Victoria website https://www.coronavirus.vic.gov.au/report as soon as possible.
• Staff and students who receive a positive RAT or PCR test result must tell their school as soon as possible, and follow Victorian Department of Health advice.
• Students who test positive to COVID-19 must isolate for seven (7) days and not attend school during that period.
• Students who have recovered from COVID-19, are not required to get tested or isolate if they are re-exposed to a positive COVID-19 case within four (4) weeks of ending their isolation period.
• After the four-week exemption period, students must follow the relevant testing and isolation advice depending on the type of COVID-19 contact they are.
• Schools will regularly communicate to parents, guardians and carers about the presence and impact of COVID-19 in their school community. Parents, guardians and carers should expect to be provided with details of any impacted grade, year level or other grouping.

VENTILATION

• The Victorian Government has provided air purifiers for all schools.
• Fresh air is the most effective form of ventilation to minimise the risk of transmission.
• Schools are required to increase fresh air flow into indoor spaces (including shared spaces, staff areas and thoroughfares) whenever possible.
• Using outdoor spaces will continue to be encouraged, where practicable.

ACTIVITIES

• COVID-19 will continue to be considered in all activity risk assessments. Guidance will be provided to schools on applying appropriate safeguards across a range of activities, including school camps and excursions.
• Parents, guardians and carers will be made aware of the risk of exposure and will need to provide their permission for their child’s participation in extra-curricular, out of school hours or off-site activities.

STUDENT COHORTING

• Schools may consider using cohort arrangements, staggered drop-off and pick-ups, break times, playground and canteen access if required.
• Depending on the school, cohort size and timetables, cohorts may be based on classes, years or stages.

VISITORS

• Visitors are required to comply with COVIDSafe measures, including physical distancing requirements and practise respiratory etiquette and good hand hygiene.
• Parents, guardians, carers and other adult visitors are no longer required to show evidence of a COVID-19 vaccine, including when performing work or volunteering at the school.

KEEPING SCHOOLS OPEN

• Parents, guardians and carers are asked to respect the rules at their child’s school to help keep the community safe.
• Schools will do everything they can to maintain continuity of face-to-face learning including the increased use of casual staff.
• Schools will continue to make localised staffing decisions to ensure appropriate supervision can be maintained.
• Schools will not be able to guarantee particular staff for any cohort and students may not have their regular teacher for a class.

LEARNING FROM HOME

• We will continue to monitor the situation and where face-to-face learning is not possible, learning from home options will be supported for short periods.
• Students who are required to isolate or quarantine will be provided with learning materials to support their continued learning. Schools are not expected to provide a full remote learning program in these circumstances.