St Ita's Primary School Drouin
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50 Victoria Street
Drouin VIC 3818
Subscribe: https://stitaspsdrouin.schoolzineplus.com/subscribe

Email: admin@stidrouin.catholic.edu.au
Phone: 03 5623 7222

Principal's Message

    Principal_Message.jfif

    WELCOME BACK TO 2024

    I would like to thank everyone in our school community for their collective efforts in what has been an extremely difficult week. As a school we have worked hard to ensure communication and supports have been offered. A letter was sent out to all families in our community, communicating a variety of support structures that families can access.

    WELCOME TO A NEW PARISH PRIEST

    I would like to formally welcome Fr Brendan Hogan to our Warragul, Drouin & Neerim South Parish. Fr Brendan comes to us from Our Lady Help of Christian’s in Narre Warren. He brings with him a wealth of faith, knowledge and experience that he has gathered whilst working in various parishes across the Sale Diocese.

    A MESSAGE FROM OUR NEW PARISH PRIEST – FATHER BRENDAN HOGAN

    I appreciate the welcome that I have received from our diverse and engaging communities; St Joseph’s, St Ita’s and St Ignatius. Our parish community is an important place in our lives. We come here to celebrate all the gifts that God gives us and to support each other in the extraordinary command that Jesus has given to us, ‘go and make disciples.’ Essential to making disciples is creating a place of prayer and worship that nourishes us and sends us out confident in proclaiming the gospel. To be affective disciples we need to remind ourselves that God is good all the time. The fruits of the spirit are sure indication of his presence in our community. Let us pray for each other as we continue building a vibrant community. We give thanks for all those who have walked this path before us.

    The first Catholic Church in Warragul was opened in 1880. The first Church service in Drouin was held at the Shire Offices in July 1880 and St Ignatius Church was opened in 1905. We have much to be grateful for, however we also carry the responsibility of making disciples. Along with the leadership groups in our parishes I look forward to sharing this joy and challenge with you in the years ahead.

    Fr Brendan Hogan

    WELCOME TO NEW FAMILIES

    I would like to welcome all our new students and families who have settled in so well to the routines of school. Your kids have made an amazing start and have turned up for their first few weeks excited and eager to learn.

    I would like to formerly welcome our new St Ita’s staff members for the 2024 school year. 

    • Miss. Kristy Boetcher Grade 5-6
    • Miss. Lauren Misso Grade 5-6
    • Mr. Duncan Ireland Grade 3-4
    • Mr. Jordan Wyatt Grade 3-4
    • Mrs. Jenniffer Carpenter Grade 1 part time.
    • Mrs. Jessica Woodhouse Grade 1 part time
    • Mrs. Nicole Robinson Foundation Movement 1 Day
    • Mrs. Anastasia Rossi – Grade 3-4 1 Day
    • Mrs. Thomasine Cook – Grade 2 part time
    • Miss. Madeleine Baker – Grade 2 (Returning from Maternity Leave) part time
    • Mrs. Sonia Lombardo Library Technician 2 days
    • Miss. Morgan Harris ESO
    • Miss. Hollie Smith ESO
    • Mrs. Kerrie DeCort Admin /ESO 1 day

    I’m sure all our new staff will be well-supported in their role as Teachers and ESO’s and they will be a great asset to our learning community.

    PLEASE ALWAYS DRIVE SLOWLY AND CAREFULLY WHEN ENTERING OUR SCHOOL

    Please adhere to a 10km speed limit within our school when dropping off and picking up. We will publish the correct procedures for both our carlines in this newsletter.

    The top administration carpark is for staff cars only. Parents wanting to walk their children into school will need to park in the Church carpark or out the front of the school in designated parking zones (which are limited). The disabled car parks located in the Administration car park are not to be used by parents when dropping off or visiting the school. Any parent parking their car in the disabled carpark must have a disabled sticker on display.

    IMPORTANT REMINDERS TO PARENTS RELATING TO PICK UP AND DROP OFF PROCEDURES

    • Please do not park cars in the no parking / no standing zones at the front of school crossing during the listed times
    • School gates at Drouin Rec Reserve and St Ita’s Admin are open to families for entry from 8.30 am and close at 8.50 am. Teachers are rostered on this gate and must leave for their classrooms at 8.50am to ensure duty of care is maintained. If you arrive after this parents will need to drop them through the front administation to obtain a late pass. 
    • The gates open for Walkers, Bus Travellers, and Car line pickups at 3.20pm. Please be patient for the teachers to open the gate. Teachers maintain a duty of care to supervise the exit for all students.
    • Parents parking in the bottom church park can only collect their children from the Bus/Walkers gate. Please don’t collect children via the admin gate and cross the carpark.
    • Foundation parents can enter through the Admin walker’s gate to go to their child’s classroom at 3.15pm

    BEGINNING OF THE YEAR SCHOOL ASSEMBLY

    Our first Whole School Assembly will be held this Friday 16th of Feb starting at 2.30pm in our school hall. Parents are welcome to attend. At this assembly we will present our student leaders with their badges.

    DOGS IN THE SCHOOL YARD

    In line with current child safety standards and OHS school policy we need to inform parents that dogs cannot enter through the gates and onto school grounds. Parents can walk their dogs to the school gate but will need to ensure they are on a lead, muzzled and cannot access children or parents while tied up.

    SCHOOL CROSSING REGULATIONS

    A reminder to all parents who park at the front of school for drop off and pick up. It’s been reported that some parents are parking within the “No Parking / Standing Zone” very close to the school crossing in the mornings to drop off students this is obstructing the view of oncoming traffic. In the interest and safety for all, can I please ask all parents using the front of school to adhere to the no parking /standing zones. (fines do apply from local council who drive by and take photos)

    COMMUNICATION FROM PARENT TO STUDENT DURING SCHOOL TIMES

    Could we please ask all parents to refrain from contacting teachers via ClassDojo during the school day to change pick up arrangements. All messages required to be given to students needs to go through our school administration. Some teachers have been unable to check or pass messages on during school time as they have been teaching, duty or planning time and therefore request are being missed. This has caused distress to parents, students and staff. We thank you for your support with this issue.

    PARENT TEACHER INTERVIEWS

    We have our parent teacher interviews scheduled for Monday 26th February 3.40pm – 5.30pm and Wednesday 28th February 3.40 – 7.30pm. Interviews will be held in the school hall and it is a chance for parents to meet their child’s teacher. It also provides parents the opportunity to share any information that may be useful in supporting your child’s learning. Foundation Collocott interviews will begin next week - please ensure any parents from this class choose the correct booking platfrom. To make a booking please log into the Parent Access Module (PAM) and select the class and time.

    BUILDING PROJECT UPDATE

    Our building project is coming along nicely and is on schedule. Over the holidays the site was cut and they are preparing to pour the footings and the concrete slab by the end of this month. Two dates have been booked for the delivery of concrete, Wednesday 28th February and Tuesday 5th March. They are also completing the construction of a 3-bay shed so that we can gain storage capacity which is currently at a minimum. This will come with some disruptions, but we will try and mitigate this as best as possible. We thank everyone for their patience in this space. 

    PARENTS AND FRIENDS

    Our newly formed P&F are busily planning a Trivia Night for our school community. More information will come in the next few weeks. Save the date – Saturday 23rd March!

    A big thank you to Maree Admiraal for coordinating the St Ita’s Bunnings BBQ and all the school families that supported this event. It was a wonderful event to promote the school and raise money for our playground and library. Thanks to Tiff Clarke, Peter Deguara, Michelle Hateley, Cathy Pedersen and Sam James for all your work on the day!

    P&F have also been working on designing a whole school approach display for children to use on the top yard. Ben James has kindly been working weekends to build, paint and install the boards for our kids to use. A photo will be posted once this project is complete!

    IMPORTANT DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

    1. Monday 26th February - Parent Teacher Interviews 3.40 - 5.30pm
    2. Wednesday 28th February - Parent Teacher Interviews 3.40 - 7.30pm
    3. Monday 11th March - Labour Day
    4. Tuesday 12th March - pupil free day
    5. Wednesday 27th March - last day Term 1
    6. Thursday 28th March - pupil free day
    7. Friday 29th March - Good Friday
    8. Monday 15th April - pupil free day
    9. Tuesday 16th April - Term 2 starts all students
    10. Thursday 25th April - Anzac Day
    11. Friday 26th April - pupil free day
    12. Monday 10th June - Kings Birthday
    13. Tuesday 11th June - Pupil Free day
    14. Thursday 27th June - last day Term 2
    15. Friday 28th June - pupil free day
    16. Monday 15th July - pupil free day
    17. Tuesday 16th July - Term 3 starts all students
    18. Friday 20th Sept - last day Term 3
    19. Monday 7th Oct - Term 4 starts all students
    20. Monday 4th Nov - pupil free day
    21. Tuesday 5th Nov - Melbourne Cup
    22. Tuesday 17th Dec - last day term 4
    23. Wednesday 18th Dec - pupil free day
    24. Thursday 19th Dec - pupil free day
    25. Friday 20th Dec - pupil free day
    Andrew Osler
    Principal