St Paul's Newsletter: Thursday 18 February 2021
2021 St Paul's Newsletter - Term 1, Week 4
From the Principal
Dear Families,
Welcome back! It was wonderful to see our students back on-site this morning following our snap lockdown. We were all very relieved when our Premier announced a return to on-site schooling and I thank our families for your support and understanding over the 3 days that we were in remote and flexible learning.
Lent
Lent is the period of 40 days before Easter in the Christian calendar; it is a time of reflection as we prepare to remember and celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
For some, Lent is a 40 day period of giving up chocolate, caffeine, sugar or something else after Shrove Tuesday, or 'Pancake Day'. Traditionally, it’s seen as a time in which to reflect upon the life and death of Jesus.
Shrove Tuesday is traditionally a day of preparation before the season of Lent begins. The 40 days of Lent represent the 40 days that Jesus spent in the wilderness at the start of his ministry. Jesus fasted during his time in the wilderness, and so Christians identify with his suffering by abstaining from particular foods during this time, such as meat, fish, milk and egg products.
Earlier this week, on Shrove Tuesday, I sent out an invitation through our school app - SZapp, for families to send through photos of their pancakes as they were making them. There were lots of delicious pancakes among the St Paul's community!
Pancake Tuesday!
Shrove Tuesday gets its name from the ritual of ‘shriving’. This 1,000 year old practice involves a person confessing their mistakes, and receiving forgiveness before Lent begins.
Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, a day of penitence or cleansing of our spirit. Ash Wednesday was yesterday and many people logged in to Lent services online. Unfortunately for us this year, across Victoria, the only way we could attend Mass on Ash Wednesday was via video, and many of us logged in to Fr Cruz's Ash Wednesday Mass. Normally we would be marked with a cross of ashes on our forehead.
Lent is a time to express ourselves, forgive ourselves and others, and a reminder that Jesus brings us freedom.
Parent-Teacher Transition Interviews
Parent-Teacher Transition Interviews will be held on Thursday 25 February. Please note that on Thursday 25 February school will conclude at 1:00pm. Students that catch the bus or go to OSHClub can be supervised by school staff until 3:00pm.
Parents that require supervision for their child before they get on the bus for either home or OSHClub on Thursday 25 February please email Helen in the office - office@spmonbulk.catholic.edu.au
3:00pm School Pick up
Parents can come on site, and can come into meeting and office spaces when necessary. However, it is important to note that we do still have a limit to the number of people we can safely have in the school. Under COVID restrictions 1 person per 2 square metres can be in a classroom, meeting or office space. This limit applies to visitors, staff and students. Further to this, anyone on site more than 15 minutes must sign in. This is why we can't have people just coming and going in unlimited numbers and we need to still maintain some limits.
Parents must be mindful that, under COVID-19 Government requirements, any person that is on the St Paul's site longer than 15 minutes MUST sign in at the office. When dropping off or picking up please ensure that you are not on the school site any longer than 15 minutes.
We respectfully ask that parents follow these pick up procedures as of this afternoon:
- At 3:00pm students that walk home or to Woolworths will meet Mr Watt at the bottom of the court where we currently line all classes up. Mr Watt will safely dismiss those students.
- At 3:00pm students that catch the bus home or to OSHClub will make their way to the Church/School Foyer. Young students catching the bus can be escorted by staff to the foyer if necessary. A member of staff will be waiting to safely escort these students to the bus.
- Older siblings that are walking or catching the bus can collect younger siblings from the classroom.
- At 3:00pm, students that remain in the classroom waiting for parents will be supervised by teachers. The teachers will be at the doorways to the classrooms/buildings and when they see the parent, they will call your child out.
PARENTS: If you are picking up your child, please refrain from entering the buildings. We ask that parents wait outside in the following areas:
PREP/1B (Mrs Dietrich and Mrs Ranahan) - Please wait at the playground/oval end of the building, around the stage, maintaining social distance, and the teachers will bring your children out to you.
PREP/1A (Mrs Cook and Mrs Ranahan) & Year 2/3A (Mrs Vermeer and Mrs Curwood) - Please wait in the undercover area, maintaining social distance, and the teachers will bring your children out to you.
Year 4/5A (Mrs McIntosh & Mrs Peels) & Year 5/6A (Carolynne Boyd) - Please wait outside the senior classrooms, maintaining social distance, and the teachers will let your children out of the room when they can see you.
Unfortunately, due to safety and duty of care, the school playground is out of bounds to families at pick up time. We respectfully ask that parents not allow children to play on the playground while waiting, thanks for your understanding.
Prayer Gathering Assembly - Tuesday: Parents Welcome
This Tuesday 23 February we will hold our next Prayer Gathering Assembly at 2:10pm. In order to allow parents to attend on Tuesday, weather permitting, we will hold our Prayer Gathering Assembly outside. We have attempted live streaming for our parents, but due to a number of issues, this has not been successful.
This Tuesday we will present School Leader Badges, Mini Monbulker Badges, SRC Certificates, Class Awards, and Birthday Certificates for January and February. We will record the Prayer Gathering Assembly and we will email the recording out to parents for those that can not attend.
Our thoughts and prayers are with Jacqui and Chris Perks at this time (Maddie - Prep B). Chris's aunt Gloria, passed away recently after a short battle with illness. Gloria was very close with Maddie and we are thinking of the family at this difficult time.
Schoolzine App - SZapp
We are now sending notifications via our new school app - SZapp. Some information we send through the app, including emergency management information, will not be emailed therefore it is vital that our families have the app on their device. Please download our app at your earliest convenience. Instructions are below.
Schoolzine Newsletter
We are now producing our eNewsletter with Schoolzine. The move to this new format has enabled us to communicate with the school community across both our newsltter and our app. It is intended that this will enhance our engagement with parents, students and the wider community.
There is a LOT of information in the St Paul's newsletter. We intend for it to be a 'one stop shop' where you can find the information you need, at any given time, in the one place.
We believe you’ll find the eNewsletter highly engaging, as it will provide us with a more efficient and effective means of connecting with you. The new format will allow the inclusion of video, photo galleries, online bookings, mobile app, feedback forms, calendars and so much more.
The newsletter also has a sponsorship section which provides a great opportunity for local businesses to engage with our parent community. If you would like to be a part of this, please contact Schoolzine.
Phone Jude 07 5414 2363
jude.dawson@schoolzine.com.au
Kind regards,
Michael Watt
2022 Prep Transition
Spread the word! St Paul's is inviting 3yo, 4yo and 5yo pre-school children to join our "Ready, Set, Prep!" program. Fortnightly, on a Friday, we will run sessions that give children a "taste" of school life. If you know any families with pre-school children, please encourage them to contact us and register for the program.
School Closure Days:
Please note the following days in your diary. There is NO SCHOOL for students on the following dates:
- TERM 1 - Friday 19 March 2021
- TERM 2 - Thursday 20 May 2021
- TERM 2 - Friday 21 May 2021
- TERM 3 - TBC
- TERM 4 - TBC
From the School Office
If you have a Health Care Card please ensure you have provided the school office with a copy to ensure you receive any fee discounts to which you may be entitled.
Fee statements have been emailed to families. If you have not received your statement, or have any queries relating to school fees, please contact the school office. Please note, no Health Care Care discounts or CSEF funding has been applied to accounts at this stage.
If you believe you may be eligible for Conveyance Allowance please contact the school office. (See 'Information for Families' below for details).
OSHClub
Out of School Hours Care: OSH Club
Newsletter
Enrolments, Bookings and Enquiries
Parents will need to enrol with OSHClub. Please visit https://www.oshclub.com.au/ and click on "REGISTER". You will need to enrol with the Monbulk Primary School service.
Uniform Shop
School Uniform Shop
Ross Haywood Sports - Update:
St Paul's Online Uniform Shop
https://www.rhsports.com.au/product/school_wear/st_pauls_monbulk_ps
With lockdown restrictions easing we are happy to announce that the Uniform Shop at 12/100 New St, Ringwood is open for in person purchases with some restrictions.
For the health and safety of both our Customers and Employees, the shop will be open to one family group at a time. Should there already be customers in the store we ask that you wait outside.
The store is now a CASHLESS STORE, EFTPOS transactions will be the only acceptable method of purchase. We have also closed the changerooms and sample sizes will not be able to be tried on by students in the short term.
We have also made some changes in the shop including perspex screens at the registers and hand sanitisers supplied. We ask that parents please apply this as you enter the store.
Online ordering continues as normal with all delivery options available including contactless pick up as previously mentioned.
Please phone the store on 9870 1377 if you have any further queries.
Secondhand Uniform Shop - Now Open
Our secondhand uniform shop is managed by Kylie Storer with items being purchased by gold coin donation. If you are looking for items of secondhand uniform please feel free to text Kylie on 0430 546 611 with your wish list. Kylie will be at school on Friday mornings to fill orders. Items can be sent home via class tubs or collected from the school office.
The secondhand uniform shop welcomes donations of St Paul's current school uniform items which are still in good condition. We do not accept the old St Paul's round neck jumpers, yellow shirts or non-St Paul's items. If you have any current uniform items you no longer need please feel free to leave your donations at the school office.
Community Notices
A Message from Council
Recently Yarra Ranges Council held a Have Your Say regarding the Skate and Scooter Park at Monbulk Recreation Reserve. We received positive and constructive feedback from yourself and the community and what we heard is that the Monbulk Recreation Reserve is commonly used for playing, meeting with friends and walking and watching sport. Based on this consultation our consultants have developed proposed concept designs for the playspace and car park areas.
We are currently holding another Have Your Say Consultation regarding the Car Park Extension and Playspace at Monbulk Recreation reserve and we’d like your feedback to ensure the proposed design meets the community needs.
The concept plans and opportunity to provide feedback can be found via the following link: https://www.yarraranges.vic.gov.au/Council/Engage-Yarra-Ranges/Monbulk-Recreation-Reserve-Playspace-and-Car-Park-Extension
Please submit any feedback by the 10th of March 2021 at 5:00 PM.
Information for Families
Below you can find various information including the following:
- Fee Support for Families
- Operoo (formerly Care Monkey)
- Conveyance Allowance
- PTV - School Bus Management System
- CDF Pay - Online School Shop
- NCCD - Nationally Consistent Collection of Data
- Ministerial Order No. 870 - Child Safe Standards
Fee Support for Families
Do you have a valid Concession Card or Health Care Card (HCC)?
If so, you could be entitled to financial support in the form of:
1. Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund (CSEF)
The CSEF is a state government funded scheme to assist eligible families with payments for their child’s camps, sports, and excursion activities run by their school. To be eligible, parents must hold a valid means-tested concession card, see further information on the flyer below.
- Families who received CSEF support in 2020 do not need to re-apply as the application will remain active for 2021. However, if you have an additional student who has commenced school this year, you will need to contact the office to add them to your application.
- If you have not received CSEF support in the past and are unsure as to whether you qualify please contact the school office to discuss eligibility and/or to request an Application form.
2. Health Care Card Holder Discounts
Please note holders of valid and current Australian Government Health Care/Concession Cards may also be eligible for fee relief of $500 towards school fees/levies for the current year. If you have any queries or feel you may be eligible, please contact the school office.
The Catholic System also provides additional funding to the school, per eligible child. The funds for this additional support are provided by Catholic Education Melbourne and can be used to provide a portion of additional fee relief for eligible families.
Operoo (formerly Care Monkey)
Please ensure you login to Operoo to update the Student Profiles for your children—it is essential that we have current medical, contact and family details for all students to ensure our information is always up to date.
Conveyance Allowance
- If you are currently receiving Conveyance Allowance there is no need to re-apply unless you have an additional student who has commenced school this year.
- If you are not sure whether you qualify for Conveyance Allowance but believe you may be eligible please contact the school office to discuss eligibility or to request an Application form.
School Bus Management System (SBMS)
The school bus is managed by Public Transport Victoria (PTV) via the School Bus Management System (SBMS). If you have any questions or wish to apply for a place on the school bus, please contact PTV on 1800 800 007 or visit the PTV website: schoolbusapplication.ptv.vic.gov.au
CDF Pay - School Payment System
NCCD - Nationally Consistent Collection of Data
