St Ita's Primary School Drouin eNewsletter

Principal's Messages

MESSAGES FROM THE PRINCIPAL

Thank You for the resurrection of Your Son, Jesus. We want to celebrate Him every day of our lives. In a world that grows increasingly dark, help us hold up His light. Give us the courage to speak as boldly as Mary Magdalene did, and never be ashamed of proclaiming Your Good News. In Jesus’ Name, Amen. (Liz Curtis Higgs)

WELCOME BACK

Welcome back to everyone in the St Ita’s school community. I hope you all had a holy Easter and that you got to have a restful break with family and friends.

There was a really nice buzz around our school as the kids arrived today. It seemed they were keen to reconnect with peers and to me it was like there was a genuine sense of normality as we came back for the second term of school. Let’s hope like the last one we have minimal interruptions related to COVID-19. Please see the Corona Virus updates further in the newsletter.

This term, we are going to do our best to continue building a sense of community in our school by getting parents back involved in a variety of aspects. We will be setting up our Advisory School Board and our Parents and Friends committee, I’m just waiting on some direction from DOSCEL in relation to our Advisory School Board in terms of its role and operation. I’ve outlined below an outline of our Advisory School Board and how it will operate in the future. If there are any changes, I will keep our community up to date.

Last term, I had the opportunity to see firsthand some of the challenge’s students faced as they returned to full term of learning onsite. Adapting back to school and getting into daily routines was a tough ask for a lot of our students. Reconnecting socially, working in teams, building up respectful relationships and sharing of time were some of the challenges our children faced on a day to day basis.

PRACTICAL PREPARATIONS FOR RETURNING TO SCHOOL AFTER COVID-19

Practical preparations can help the return to school go smoothly for your child. And a smooth transition can help your child with any anxious feelings too.

Here are practical things to do:

Let your child know when they’ll be going back to school and how things will be different. It’s best to stick to the facts and use age-appropriate language. For example, ‘In the playground, you’ll need to stay in the Year 3 area. Your teacher will show you where that is’.
Get your child back into their school routines. This includes your child’s bedtime routine and morning routines. You could try doing this the week before your child returns.
Check your child understands COVID-19 precautions like RATs or how to wash hands and wear a mask if necessary.
If your child has been away from school for a while, check your child’s uniform still fits and that their lunch box, bags and stationery are ready.
If classroom doors and windows are being kept open for ventilation, check your child’s clothes are appropriate for the weather.
If your child uses an out of school hours care service, let your child know about any changes to the way the service does things.
When children are back at school after COVID-19 isolation or lockdown
Starting back at school can be tiring, especially for younger children. Adjusting to school routines takes time. And schools will probably focus on helping children reconnect with friends and teachers, follow classroom routines, and learn to work in peer groups again. In some situations, this might even be more important than learning activities.

It means your child will probably have some ups and downs. That’s OK. The main thing is for your child to feel positive about being back at school. The rest will come with time and support.

These tips can help when children first go back to school:

Make sure your child gets plenty of healthy food, physical activity and sleep.
Make time for doing something special with your child in the afternoon or evening. It could be something like going for a walk after work or a cuddle and book before bed.
Keep your family routines predictable, and make time for family activities. For example, try to make time for family meals as often as possible, or have family games or movie nights on the weekend.
If your child is ready and has enough energy, get them back into some of their usual extracurricular activities.
Try to stop what you’re doing and listen when your child wants to talk about school. Be patient if your child wants to tell you all the details.
If your child doesn’t want to talk at all, try a conversation starter like, ‘Tell me one good thing and one bad thing about your day’ or ‘I noticed that you seem very sad today. I wonder why that is?’
Help your child practise self-compassion if they’re feeling tired or finding it hard to adjust. For example, they could say, ‘I’m trying my hardest. It’s OK if I can’t remember how to do that maths problem’.
If children are struggling with returning to school after COVID-19 isolation or lockdown

Signs that children are struggling include changes in your child’s behaviour and emotions, like:

sleeping more
eating less
seeming less interested in doing things
withdrawing from you
not actively participating in conversations
being more clingy, grumpy or angry than usual
refusing to go to school.

If you notice these signs or you just feel worried about how your child is coping, it’s important to get help as soon as possible.

As a first step, talk with your child’s teacher. The teacher can let you know whether they’ve noticed anything unusual in your child’s behaviour or emotions at school. They might also have ideas for supporting your child or put you in touch with the school counsellor. You can also talk with your GP as they can help set a mental health plan.

SCHOOL BOARD ADVISORY COMMITTEE

As we slowly get back to normal I’d like to get the wheels in motions to get our school board and our Parents and Friends back up and running.

The School Advisory Committee operates as the principal consultative and advisory body in the school. The School Advisory Committee is advisory to the principal. This body acts as an adviser on strategic planning, support to the principal, school improvement and development, policy and general leadership, the sole purpose ultimately being to serve and work toward the mission and vision of the school

The purposes of the School Advisory Committee are to:

act as an advisory body to the principal on matters concerning education in the school
act as a forum for discussion on matters concerning education in the school
provide a link between the parish priest, principal, teachers and parishioners in relation to the provision of Catholic education in the parish community
promote community development by fostering a strong inter-relationship between the parish, the primary school and Catholic secondary colleges.

School Advisory Committee Responsibilities

The responsibilities of the School Advisory Committee are to:

promote the Catholic ethos of the school
provide feedback on and review of school policies
plan for the future of the school and its ability to accommodate future enrolments
provide advice on budget planning and finance-related matters
contribute to the selection process for the school principal
provide advice on the appropriate provision of faith development and Religious Education programs
promote child safety in the school

Membership

The School Advisory Committee shall be composed of at least eight (8) members who appreciate, value and share the educational mission and ethos of the Catholic Church. It shall consist of:

a) the school principal (acts as chair, unless the Principal nominates a chair)
b) the parish priest/priests (if they wish to be on this committee)
c) four (4) parents of children attending the school elected by the parents of the school, including a nominee of the parent and friend’s association
d) up to three (3) parishioner representatives nominated by the parish priest
e) other persons co-opted by the principal for a period of time to serve a particular need on the School Advisory Committee

Membership Requirement

All members of the School Advisory Committee must hold a current Working with Children Check or current Victorian Institute of Teaching registration.

Ordinary Meeting

The School Advisory Committee should meet at least five times per year and at least once in every two months.

A quorum comprises a majority plus one of School Advisory Committee members at the time of the meeting and members must be present at all times during a meeting.

Annual General Meeting

The Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the School Advisory Committee shall be held once a year.

A school annual report is to be presented at the AGM and communicated to DOSCEL.

Office Bearers

The chair of the School Advisory Committee is the principal, unless nominated otherwise by the Principal.

School Advisory Committee Executive Committee

The School Advisory Committee shall form an Executive Committee which may comprise:

a) Principal
b) chair (if this is not the principal)
c) deputy chair
d) parish priest (if on the committee)
e) non-ex-officio member of the Committee

The School Advisory Executive Committee provides support to the principal and the School Advisory Committee.

If you or someone you know would like to nominate to be a part of the St Ita’s school board we would love to hear from you. Please contact me via principal@stidrouin.catholic.edu.au or via admin on 5623 7222.

WHAT A FANTASTIC EASTER RAFFLE

A super effort by all our students and families supporting our end of term Easter Raffle. A big thank you to Mrs. Brown and Mrs. Garner for the time and effort that they put into preparing and wrapping of the hampers. It was very much appreciated by all the staff, students and families of St Ita’s. The money raised will go to our landscaping and planting out the new boarder at the front of the school.

CHURCH CAR PARK ON MASS TIMES TUESDAY AND THURSDAYS

A reminder to parents and teachers to limit parking in the top tier of the Church car park on Tuesdays and Thursdays when Mass is on between 9.30am and 10.30am. Please park on the bottom tier car park on these days.

NAPLAN ONLINE

The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) will take place on line this year between Tuesday 11th May and Friday 21st May 2021.

Students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 participate in the annual NAPLAN tests in reading, writing, conventions of language (spelling, grammar and punctuation) and numeracy.

The assessment provides parents and schools with an understanding of how individual students are performing at the time of the tests.

NAPLAN is just one aspect of a school’s assessment and reporting process – it does not replace ongoing assessments made by teachers about student performance.

NAPLAN also provides schools, education authorities and governments with information about how education programs are working and whether young Australians are achieving important educational outcomes in literacy and numeracy.

NAPLAN assesses literacy and numeracy skills that students are learning through their regular school curriculum. All government and non-government education authorities have contributed to the development of NAPLAN materials. Students are assessed on the same literacy and numeracy curriculum content, regardless of whether they complete the tests online or on paper. Results for both formats can be reported on the same NAPLAN assessment scale.

All students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 are expected to participate in the annual NAPLAN assessment. Students with disability may qualify for adjustments that reflect the support normally provided for classroom assessments. You should discuss the use of any adjustments for your child with your child’s teacher.

A student with a disability that severely limits their capacity to participate in the assessment, or a student who has recently arrived in Australia and has a non-English speaking background, may be granted a formal exemption. Your school principal and your local test administration authority can give you more information on special provisions or the process required to gain a formal exemption.