Welcome to 2025.  Congratulations to the students who have enthusiastically returned to school and are excited to reconnect with their friends and welcome new class members.  As the year begins we remind students of our core values of ‘Faith, Generosity and Courage’ and our positive behaviour expectations 'Be Respectful, Be Responsible and Be Kind', so that our school remains a happy and positive learning environment. Thank you to our teachers who have spent many days at school preparing the classrooms and at home, developing the teaching and learning programs for the term. A special thank you to our Year 6 students who are wonderful buddies for our Kindergarten students and are helping them have a happy start to school life. 

School hours 8:40 am - 3:00 pm

Our staff supervision starts at 8:10 am. Children should not enter the school gate before 8:10 am unless they are going to before school care or participating in our Arrowsmith program.   Please do not drop your child before 8:10 am as they are not supervised.  

Pickup and Drop off

As we start the term, safe and efficient drop off and pick up is essential.  Mrs Macourt and our P & F President, Clare Tynan met with the local council last year and are working together to improve safety on the roads around our school.  In addition to our reminders in newsletters and Compass, our P & F have also included information in their past newsletters.  The council rangers and highway patrol monitor to ensure everyone is adhering to rules.  Please be reminded that fines apply for breaking the rules (example a fine for double parking is $410 with 2 demerit points and making an illegal U-turn is $410 and 3 demerit points). When we all do the right thing, safety for all in our community is enhanced. 

Morning Drop Off

You may have noticed the new ‘swirly’ signs on the driveway gates.  This was requested by parents last year to highlight the adjacent drop off areas, one spot after the driveway and two spots before the driveway.  Children can be dropped here in the morning and then walk up Cardinal Street to the school entrance.  Please consider using these drop off spots, especially if your child is in Year 3 or up, to assist with traffic flow in the morning. 

Afternoon Pick Up

Our wonderful teachers run the carline as a service to our families.  Car line should be really quick and completely finished by 3:15 pm.  Please note:

• You should only use carline if your child is able to get themselves into the car quickly and buckle their own seat belt
• Parents, carers, nannies, grandparents etc, can not get out of the car
• Children should enter the car from the curb side only
• Children put their school bag on the floor or seat next to them, not in the boot
• Children need to know their surname so that when the teacher calls their surname, they are ready
• If your child is not ready at the steps, you may be asked to circle the block again so that we can keep the line moving

Kameruka is always available for pick up, especially if your child is not yet ready to use the carline. We ask that you pass this information on to any person that is collecting your child so that our car line runs smoothly and safely.

Bardwell and Wudgong streets

Remember to park correctly and enter the school and be mindful of local residents by not double parking or blocking of their driveways particularly in Bardwell and Wudgong streets.

Information Evenings - held in your child's classroom - Week 3

An opportunity for all parents to meet the teacher and hear about the learning for the year.  Should you have children in multiple classes and can’t attend the allocated time, the teachers will be happy to share their slides afterwards. 

Amadeus

Our Amadeus program for students in Years 3 - 6 commences from next week.  Sydney Catholic Schools has adjusted the structure of the program.  Rather than attending tutorials and band or ensemble every Thursday, the program will now run on a tri-weekly cycle with tutorials for two weeks and then band or ensemble in the third week.  As always we encourage students to do 5-10 minutes of practice each night as a little practice each day helps develop neural pathways and build the children's stamina and skills in playing and performing.  

For students in Year 3, we are awaiting return of instruments from repair / cleaning and will distribute these according to the student preferences gained from their showcase lessons last year.  All students are also issued with a music book which they shouldbring to school each week along with their instrument. 

Allergies

Please be aware that some of our students have food allergies relating to a number of different foods.  Allergies can range from mild to severe and may involve anaphylaxis management. Whilst we work closely with their parents to raise awareness and minimise risks, we also ask all parents to be mindful of the food they pack for lunches each day, particularly around being nut aware and avoiding items with obvious nuts eg. peanut butter and nutella.  Students are reminded that sharing of food is not allowed at school and they should not bring any food, cakes, lollies, chocolate etc. to share with the class or their friends.  

Our staff will complete their annual CPR training this week which also includes training in anaphylaxis awareness and administering of ‘Epi- pens’.

If your child has an allergy and the school is unaware, please let us know  as soon as possible so that we can work together  to implement practical strategies to reduce the risk of accidental exposure to known allergic triggers.

NAPLAN - Year 3 & Year 5 

The 2025, NAPLAN will be held from Wednesday 12 March to Monday 24 March. Most of the tests are held in the first 4 days of the testing window with the rest of the dates available for ‘catch up tests’ should your child be sick. 

Just a reminder for parents of students in Year 3 and Year 5 that all students need to have the current NAP app for 2025 installed on their iPad.  Type ‘nap’ in the app store and then click on ‘nap lockdown browser’ to install.  Additionally, every student needs their own headphones to be able to complete the tests.  

You can find further information about NAPLAN on the following link: https://www.nap.edu.au/naplan/for-parents-carers

Wishing you God's blessings.

Mrs Jane Taylor