Translate

Newsletter Term 2 Week 7

Principal's Message

Dear Parents and Families,

This morning I farewelled a very excited group of Year 5 student as they boarded the bus for camp! They look like they are in for an action packed 3 days at UPCC camp at Upper Plenty. You can follow along with all the fun on our socials.

First Communion
Many of our Year Four students received the sacrament of Eucharist over the weekend at our parish Masses as the next step in their faith journey. They also enjoyed the party afterwards!

Reports
Our teachers are currently working hard at writing Semester 1 student reports. This is a great time of the year as we celebrate our student growth and learning and we look forward to sharing this with families when reports are mailed out during the last week of June.

NCCD - National Consistent Collection of Data
Today you will find attached information for all parents about the funding changes for children who require extra support to achieve learning outcomes at school. This is a National Government initiative and affects all schools in Australia. Please take the time to read the information provided and feel free to ring for further clarification.

Flying Start and 2024 Enrolments
The forms are starting to come in and places are filling fast, especially in the 9.30am sessions, so don’t forget to contact the school to confirm a place for your preschooler. They love the chance to experience sessions of Phonics, Music, Italian, Physical Education, Art and Technology and to meet many of our teachers along the way. Flying Start runs in Term 3 on Thursday or Friday mornings from (1) 9:00 to 10:30 and (2) 11:30 – 1:00 for all interested families. Ring the office for more information.

Year 5 & 6 Personal Development Information Evening
Parents are invited to attend an information meeting via Zoom on Monday 19th June, beginning at 7.00pm. It is suggested that parents/carers attend this information meeting, so they are clear as to what our class teachers are presenting to the children. Parents can also take this opportunity to ask any questions they have regarding the content of the program and to learn how to deal with some of these issues and questions at home. Many thanks to our Year 5 & 6 teams for their organisation of this session.

Long Weekend & Pupil Free Day
Please note that there is no school next Monday, June 12th due to the King’s Birthday Holiday. The school newsletter will be published on Tuesday.

School Uniform
All students should now be in winter uniform. Students do have the option of wearing shorts instead of winter pants on regular school days and shorts instead of track pants on PE days. Please make sure your child is in the correct uniform each day and only wearing PE uniform on the days they have PE and level sports.

Kate

"Never See a Need Without Doing Something About It"
Mary MacKillop - Sisters of St Joseph Foundress

Key Dates

Monday June 5th - Wednesday June 7th
Year 5 Camp
Tuesday June 6th
Regional Cross Country
Friday June 9th
Assembly 12.25pm - 4M
Monday June 12th
Public Holiday
Thursday June 15th & Friday June 16th
Andrew Plant (Illustrator) - incursion
Friday June 16th
Year 5 & 6 Winter Sports
Assembly 12.25pm - 3T
Monday June 19th
Year 5 & 6 Personal Development Parent Information Meeting
Wednesday June 21st
Year 6 Melbourne Excursion
Friday June 23rd
Assembly 12.25pm - 5G
End of Term 2

Wellbeing with Mr Prockter

Dolly Parton Imagination Library
In accordance with Child Safe Standard 9: Physical and online environments

The Dolly Parton Imagination Library is a non-profit organisation that aims to promote early literacy and foster a love for reading in young children. Founded by the renowned country singer Dolly Parton, the program provides free age-appropriate books to children from birth until the age of five, regardless of their family's income.

The program operates through partnerships with local communities, organisations, and sponsors. Each month, enrolled children receive a carefully selected book directly mailed to their homes. The books are chosen to match the child's age and developmental stage, ensuring that they are engaging and stimulating. The Dolly Parton Imagination Library reaches children around the world, allowing them to build their own personal libraries and develop a lifelong habit of reading.

This initiative has several significant benefits for early literacy development. By providing access to books from an early age, children are exposed to language, vocabulary, and storytelling, which are essential building blocks for literacy. Regular exposure to books and reading helps children develop pre-reading skills such as recognizing letters, understanding story structure, and expanding their vocabulary. Research shows that children who participate in the Dolly Parton Imagination Library have higher reading readiness scores and a greater likelihood of becoming proficient readers later in life.

Language development is another area that is positively influenced by the program. Reading aloud to children introduces them to new words, sentence structures, and ideas. It helps expand their vocabulary and enhances their understanding of how language works. By listening to stories, children also learn to communicate their thoughts and ideas more effectively, further supporting their language skills.

Social skills and developmental play are also fostered through the Dolly Parton Imagination Library. Reading books together provides an opportunity for children and their caregivers to bond and engage in interactive discussions. This shared reading experience helps children develop important social-emotional skills such as turn-taking, listening, and expressing their thoughts and emotions. Additionally, the stories in the books expose children to different characters, settings, and perspectives, fostering empathy and understanding of others.

Participating in the program can also boost children's confidence and self-esteem. As they receive their own books each month, children feel a sense of ownership and pride in building their personal libraries. The program instills a love for reading, making children more confident and enthusiastic about learning and exploring new ideas.

If you know of a local organisation that would be willing to support and help fund this program, please contact me and I will pass on relevant information to my wife Megan Prockter.

Have a great week everyone!

Mr Prockter

Curriculum with Mrs Hall

Take Home Readers
Last week as a school, we purchased an additional 600 new take home readers for our Year 1-2 children, at a cost of $2000. With children taking home on average 5 readers per week we are also asking families to check if any take home readers might be floating on bedside tables, under beds, in cars etc that are no longer needed and could be returned back to the classroom for other students to utilize.

RE with Mrs Davies

Year 4 Eucharist - First Holy Communion Celebrations
Congratulations to a large number of our Year 4 students who celebrated their First Holy Communion over the weekend. Over the past month these students have been busily preparing for this special sacrament, undertaking their enrolment session, working through their booklets and participating in a Eucharist Retreat day with
Fr James and Mary.

Sustainability with Mrs Ward

World Environment Day #BeatPlasticPollution
Today is World Environment Day for 2023, which focuses on global solutions to combat plastic pollution. It is a timely reminder that our actions on plastic pollution matters and that we all have a role to play in reducing plastic pollution. Either share your own amazing plastic save solutions or get some inspiration on social media with #BeatPlasticPollution

PE with Miss Clark

Regional Cross Country
Following the Division Cross Country, we have 23 students who have qualified to go on to represent our school at the Regional Cross Country at St Arnaud tomorrow, Tuesday the 6th of June. We wish all competitors the best of luck and acknowledge what an amazing effort it is to reach this level!

Year 5 and 6 Division Winter Sport
The Year 5 and 6 students will have their last training session with the MacKillop students this week before the Division Winter Sport competition held on Friday the 16th of June. Students will compete in either Football, Netball, Soccer or T-Ball. Parents and guardians please refer to the permission note on PAM for details of the day.

Andrew Plant Incursion

We look forward to welcoming illustrator Andrew Plant next week. All year levels will participate in a hands on workshop. You can find out more about Andrew by visiting his website http://www.andrewplant.com/

Andrew will be bringing along his books for students to purchase. Paperbacks $10 Hardbacks $20. Cash only, all copies will be personally signed.

NCCD Data Collection

@2 Murlong Before & After School Care

The Out of School Hours Care program, @ 2 Murlong, is operating out of the gym hub and provides before and after school care for school age children in the Swan Hill area. Please express your interest via the following link;

https://prodadmin.myxplor.com/enrollment/index/dHdBOThsSW9JeHUxYTEwaHNxZlMrdz0

News from the Office

CSEF Applications close on 23rd June 2023
If you hold a valid means-tested concession card or are a temporary foster parent, you may be eligible for CSEF. The allowance is paid to the school to use towards expenses relating to camps, excursions or sporting activities for the benefit of your child. The annual CSEF amount per student is $125 for primary school students.

HOW TO APPLY:
New applicants should contact the school office to obtain a CSEF application form or download from the CSEF website www.vic.gov.au/camps-sports-and-excursions-fund

If you applied for the CSEF at your child’s school in 2022, you do not need to complete an application form in 2023 unless there has been a change in your family circumstances.

You only need to complete an application form if any of the following changes have occurred:

new student enrolments; your child has started or changed schools in 2023 or you did not apply in 2022
changed family circumstances; such as a change of custody, change of name, concession card number, or new siblings commencing at the school in 2023.

If you are unsure please contact the school office on 50332541.

If you are eligible for CSEF you are also eligible for the Family Fee Assistance Scheme. The FFAS amount for 2023 is $850.00. This amount is credited against your school fee account once your CSEF application has been validated.

School Beanies
With the weather cooling down, now is a great time to purchase a school beanie! Available on CDF Pay for $15.00.

How to add your child's absence on PAM
PAM is our preferred notification method for absences. Absences must be entered prior to 9.25am on the day your child will be absent. Absences can also be entered in advance.

On PAM, you can add an absence if:

Your child is going to be absent for the day (All Day)
Your child is going to be late to school (Arriving Late)
Your child is going to be leaving early from school (Leaving Early)
Your child will be leaving school and returning eg. for an appointment (Partial)
Your child is going to be absent for more than one day (Multi-day max of 7 days)

To add an absence:

Log in to your PAM account
Select “Parent Notified Absences” listed under “Students”. This can also be accessed by selecting the 3 line menu bar on the top right hand corner of the screen and selecting “Parent Notified Absence”.
Select “Add Absence”
Select the child who will be absent
Select the reason for your child’s absence
Select the appropriate absence period
Select the absence date
Notes can be added if required
You can edit or delete current and future absences, by clicking on your child and amending it if required

Rapid Antigen Tests
We have excess supply of Rapid Antigen Tests available for families. You can collect test kits from the office between 8.30am and 4pm.

News from the Canteen

Ordering from our canteen for recess or lunch is online via CDF Pay
https://smswanhill.cdfpay.org.au/
Orders are to be placed by 9.30am. We recommend ordering the night before.

If you are able to help in the canteen on any of the dates in yellow, please contact the office on 50332541 or email office@smswanhill.catholic.edu.au

We are after more parents/grandparents/special friends to help fill out canteen roster. All you need is your VIC WWCC.