ISSUE 28: 8th October 2021

Principal / Executive Leadership Team

Risen and reconciling God,

Your greeting after the grave

acknowledged the trauma and turmoil

of that time and our own.

The message of peace  

              was what your disciples needed to hear,             

                        and what the world needs now.                    

                              When we are reunited with those from whom we've been separated,                    

                             may our greetings, too, be of peace,  and may we see all division in the light                    

                           of your reconciliation and all crises in the context of your resurrection.                  

Amen.

Dear Families,

Welcome back for Term Four.  I hope you had some sort of a break over the school holidays and were lucky enough to get away for a few days. 

Obviously, it is currently difficult to plan and hold school events.  There will be specific events that we will try to hold later this term and there will be some events that will unfortunately need to be cancelled.  We will keep everyone updated on new dates and cancellations via our School Newsletter and our school & SIMON calendars. 

Camps Program

Due to the uncertainty regarding the current restrictions in place, the Year Five Camp and Year Two Sleepover will not go ahead as overnight camps. As a school we have been very lucky to be able to conduct most of our camps in 2021.  We are currently looking at alternative day excursions around the district that students can participate in. Once itineraries and costs are finalised there may be credits applied to accounts where applicable.

Student Wellbeing

The mental health and wellbeing of students remains an important consideration.  If you have any concerns in regards to your child please don’t hesitate to contact your child’s classroom teacher.

End of Year Christmas Concert

Unfortunately we cannot guarantee our concert going ahead onsite this year due to the uncertainty of the easing of restrictions and have therefore decided to put together a concert that will be recorded and made available online.  If it is possible at the end of the year to gather as a community we may provide a viewing opportunity that can occur with other members of the community.  Miss Taylor (Performing Arts Teacher) has commenced planning and preparation so this decision will give confidence with her organisation of this event.

Parents Accessing School Grounds

Parents are able to enter school grounds to pick up and collect students.   It is a requirement that visitors wear masks and socially distance themselves.  If parents enter classrooms they are asked to check in via QR coding but this is not necessary if you are outside.  The scanning is available at each classroom door.  Thank you for your cooperation.

School Hats

School hats are compulsory as of this term.  Please ensure that your child's hat is clearly labelled with their name.  We have a school uniform for a number of valid reasons and it is an expectation that your child will attend in the correct uniform.

2022 Fee Commitment Packs

As your children return to school we will be sending home the 2022 fee commitment packs. Please complete and return in the plastic pockets provided ASAP.

Return to School Arrangements

We look forward to welcoming back our Year 3/4 students on Tuesday & Wednesday and our Year 5/6 students on Thursday & Friday.  Whilst these year levels will be returning part time over the next two weeks, it will be wonderful to see them back in their respective classrooms and connecting with one another.  We are getting closer to having everyone ‘back on deck’! 

Below is an infographic which clearly outlines the staggered return-to-school arrangements.

If your child in Year 3-6 requires onsite supervision on the days that they are required to do remote learning we ask that you fill in the form below.

Congratulations

I'd like to congratulate Mr Burford and his now wife Eliza who celebrated their wedding day during the school holidays.  To add to the excitement, they are expecting a baby in March next year.  All the best Jacob & Eliza!

Condolences

Sadly over recent weeks we have had a few staff members have dear family members pass away.  Lisa Cirillo (Languages Teacher) lost her father Domenic prior to the holidays and Christine Sherry’s (Boost/Intervention Teacher) mother Maree passed away during the holidays.  Our thoughts and prayers go out to Lisa and Christine’s respective families during this difficult time.

School Advisory Council (SAC) Annual General Meeting (AGM)

On the evening of Wednesday 3rd November the SHPS School Advisory Council (SAC) Annual General Meetings (AGM) will take place at 6.00pm. We have vacancies for Parent Representatives on SAC, if you are interested in joining, please collect nomination forms from the Office and return them completed by Friday 29th October. 

It is encouraging that we are nearly at a stage where all students can return to school.  We still have many restrictions that we need to adhere to and thank you for your cooperation.  We look forward to a time in the very near future when our community can grow strong together again. We look forward to seeing the buildings and special events buzzing with visiting parents and family members, a time when we can welcome all to our opportunities for prayer, reflection and assemblies, a time when our doors are opened wide and all can come in again without restriction.

God Bless!

Mr Mark Gibson

Religious Education News

Sacramental News Update

Year Four First Eucharist - Information relating to Masses for First Eucharist.  We have included extra Masses at the end of the month to ensure that some family members will be able to attend this important moment in your family.  Up to 4 members from each family plus the child for First Eucharist will be able to attend.  Each Mass is restricted to 5 families only.  Only 20 people are able to attend each Mass.

Mass days/times are as follows:

• Thursday 21st Oct  6pm
• Friday 22nd Oct  6pm
• Friday 22nd Oct  7.30pm
• Sat  23rd Oct  9.30am
• Sat 23rd Oct  11.00am
• Sat 23rd Oct  1.00pm
• Sat 23rd Oct  6.00pm
• Sunday 24th Oct  8.30am  Irymple
• Sunday 24th Oct  9.00am
• Sunday 24th Oct  12 noon
• Sunday 24th Oct  3.00pm
• Sunday 24th Oct  5.00pm
• Tuesday 26th  Oct   6.00pm
• Wed 27th Oct  6.00pm
• Thurs 28th Oct  6.00pm
• Fri 29th Oct  6.00pm

All parents are required to contact the Parish Office by phone  5021 2872 or email: mildura@ballarat.catholic.org.au with your child’s name and the names of family members who will be attending.  Parents will be able to book a Mass day and time.

Mission Month

The Mission Month committee have decided upon a revised plan for this year’s Mission Month activities to fit around students returning to school.  We have extended our timeline into the first week of November and will hold the major events when all students are back at school.  Mission Month will officially begin this week with the selling of icy poles and notes for the Pie Drive will be distributed to all families.  A Mission Month Activities timeline is attached below.

‘Duct Tape a Teacher to the Wall’ will now be held on Friday, 29th October.  Students will be able to buy a 1 metre strip of duct tape for $2 to tape a teacher to the wall as our first major Mission Month activity.  We invite those connected to the school community to vote for the teacher they would most like this to happen to.

Ryan O’Callaghan (Religious Education Leader)

Learning Diversity & Wellbeing News

Nothing to report this week.

Learning & Teaching News

Nothing to report this week.

General News

All 2021 School Fees are now overdue.  Prompt payment is now required.  

You may receive a reminder phone call next week. If you are having difficulty paying your account, please call the office to make time to discuss your options with the Principal. 

2022 School Fee Commitment forms are currently being sent home (as children return to school)

Please read these carefully, complete and return to school in the plastic pocket.  These are used to calculate your fees for 2022.  Once returned to school a Fee Calculation sheet will be sent to you (again, in a plastic pocket)  please immediately return to school once signed. If you are a holder of a health care card, you are eligible for Family Fee Assistance and CSEF (Camps, Sports and Excursion) Assistance.  The card must be current as at the beginning of the 2022 school year and must be in the name of a parent.  A child's Health Care Card is not acceptable, as these are usually just for medical assistance.  

Please ensure that your details as well as your child or children are also correct on PAM.  It is a good time to revise their medical information.

If you have any queries regarding your school fee account, please contact Mary Avery in the office.

Prep Unit News

Welcome back to term 4! Our students have returned full of energy and lots of enthusiasm to tackle all the learning this term.

A reminder about the ‘School Nurse Forms’ that now are overdue… please return yours to school Monday if you have not done so. If you require a new one please see your classroom teacher.

Remember that all students need to be reading every night at home and practising their tricky words in the back of their reading diary.

This term we have exciting topics the students will be covering in their different subject areas. During Religion we will be discussing Joy and the gift of giving joy to others. Integrated Studies will see us investigating what materials different objects are made of. Then through Social and Emotional Learning we are learning about fair and friendly play and how it makes others feel. These are some of the things you could talk to your child about at home.

Junior Unit Social

Our Junior Unit Social video that was completed at the end of Term 3 can be seen below, we hope you enjoy!

Junior Unit News

We warmly welcome back our students to our first week at school and have thoroughly enjoyed our time together. 

Thank you for all the shoeboxes that have come in already. If you do happen to have extra boxes at home that are unwanted, we would greatly appreciate these at school. We hope to give all our students the opportunity to create their own experiments.  These will be required next week, please. 

Year 1:

Next week we begin our 'expert' show and tell. (As mentioned in Tuesday's SIMON update). Students will need to have 2-4 photos either brought in by Monday or emailed prior to Monday to wcollins@shmildura.catholic.edu.au (Barramunga/Bundaleer students) or ccarmichael@shmildura.catholic.edu.au (Karinya students).

Year 2: 

If you still have your writing book at home, (Sent home during our last Lockdown), please have these returned ASAP.

Junior Unit Social

Our Junior Unit Social video that was completed at the end of Term 3 can be seen below, we hope you enjoy!

Middle Unit News

Welcome back to Term 4 to students in the Middle Unit! We are very excited to see everyone back at school on Tuesday 12th of October! Could all students please remember to bring their library bag and all books to be returned on both these days, as well as any pencil cases or other materials that were taken home during the period of Remote Learning. We are also reminding students they must charge their laptops every night, regardless of how much battery they have left. Students are also expected to bring their laptop to school every day. 

Mrs Beer’s mum, Mollie Kelly, turned 100 in the holidays!  The year 3s and 4s thoughtfully sent cards and letters to wish her a special day despite being locked down in Ballarat.  They were very excited to see all their cards and letters displayed around her and the card from the queen.

Senior Unit News

Nothing to report this week.

Library News

Scholastic Book Club Issue #7 has been sent home to the children who are onsite. Middle and Senior students will receive their booklets next week, in the meantime please view the online booklet at Scholastic Book Club Issue #7 Issue #7 will close on Friday October 22nd (online orders only). 

Please note: this will be the final order for this year. If you wish to order as a GIFT please tick the “gift’ box on LOOP and when the order arrives at school you will be contacted to collect it from the office.  All book club orders help our school earn Scholastic dollars to spend on books and resources. 

Week 2 Library timetable: (please note, some days are different due to the staggered start of Middle and Senior students)

Monday - Bundaleer

Tuesday- Year 2 & 3

Wednesday - Year 4

Thursday - Prep, Dourim, Karinya

Friday - Barramunga

Weekly Awards

No awards this week.

Student awards will occur next week.