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

T1 W6 2022 Newsletter

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T1 W6 2022 Newsletter

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St Ita’s Catholic Primary School acknowledges and pays respect to the past, present and future Traditional Custodians and Elders of this nation and the continuation of cultural, spiritual and educational practices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. 

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    MESSAGE FROM THE PRINCIPAL

    We are alerting everyone in the St Ita’s learning community that we have had an outbreak of Chickenpox across our school. Chickenpox can be a serious disease in adults and babies. It is very contagious. Vaccination is the best protection against chickenpox.

    Chickenpox (also called varicella) causes an itchy, blistering skin rash and mild fever. It is usually a mild disease that lasts for a short time in healthy children, but it can be more severe in adults.

    What are the symptoms of chickenpox?

    The main symptom is an itchy red rash that turns into blisters, which then burst and crust over. Chickenpox can also cause flu-like symptoms, such as fever, headache and sore throat. Symptoms usually start about two weeks after catching chickenpox. The symptoms stay from between 10 to 21 days.

    How do you get chickenpox?

    Chickenpox spreads:

    • When an infected person coughs or sneezes, and you breathe in virus particles
    • By direct contact with the fluid from someone else’s chickenpox blisters.
    • Chickenpox is very contagious. It spreads easily through families, childcare centres and schools.

    How do you prevent chickenpox?

    Vaccination is the best protection against chickenpox.

    The chickenpox vaccine prevents most, but not all, people getting chickenpox and complications caused by the disease. Immunised children who get chickenpox generally have a much milder form of the disease. They have fewer skin lesions, a lower fever and recover more quickly. Chickenpox vaccination also protects you from developing shingles later in life.

    If you have chickenpox, you can help stop the disease spreading by:

    • staying away from childcare, school, work or other places where you could spread the infection – your doctor will tell you when you are no longer infectious
    • washing your hands often
    • covering your coughs and sneezes.
    • How do you know if you have chickenpox?
    • If you think you or one of your family members has chickenpox, see your doctor. Chickenpox is usually diagnosed by looking at the rash. It is important to let the receptionist know of your concern so that you can be separated from other people in the waiting room.
    • Your doctor may ask about your symptoms and whether you’ve been in contact with someone who has chickenpox. If your doctor thinks you have chickenpox, they can test some of the fluid from the blisters to see if it has the virus in it. 
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    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.

    If a child is absent, schools may arrange for individual students to complete missed tests at another time during the school’s test schedule but not outside of it.

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    NAPLAN TIMETABLE 

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    ETIQUETTE FOR KIDS AND THE IMPORTANCE OF PATIENCE

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    We spend a lot of our time as parents teaching our kids how they are expected to behave at home, at school or a somebody’s house; but what happens when we take them out to public places, maybe to a restaurant, or an important social event. When we go to these events, we want to have a pleasant time, eat and drink while enjoying a conversation and we have a picture in our minds of having well-behaved children, right? So our first thought is to give them specific rules of behaviour that they must follow.

    This is where my mixture of psychology and etiquette go into play. It is crucial to start educating our children in good manners starting at an early age, but keep in mind that a child’s cognitive and behavioural ability is very much related to their age and development, children are not robots, while we teach them manners we must also keep in mind that they are kids, this is why it is so important to learn as much as possible about discipline techniques, emotional intelligence, what can we normally expect from their developmental age, most importantly we must work on ourselves as parents! I can’t tell you how much of their future behaviour is going to depend on our behaviour as parents, what environment are they growing in, how do we talk and behave in front of them, how do we discipline them, our level of patience, do we build or shatter their self-esteem (At times without even realising it). All these aspects go into play when we are teaching our children social skills. It is really a long-term process which requires, repetition and a lot, A LOT of patience.

    When it comes to taking my kids to public places, I want to work not only on social rules which believe me require repetition! But also, I want to work on patience.

    Patience

    OK so let’s get patience out the way first, why? Because impatience is something very typical in children. Their concept of time is different than ours; to begin with, small children don’t even understand how to tell time, and secondly, for them, the process of waiting takes forever! Teaching them to handle the frustration that comes with displaying patience is a process that takes time and will be acquired with lots of practice.

    On the other hand, it is important as parents to help them learn how to handle frustration and learn positive and appropriate ways to wait patiently, and I say this because we are raising kids in a technology era in which they have iPhone, iPads, and Nintendos. Although we might sometimes give these to them, we have to be aware that if we don’t expose them to situations in which they have to practice patience and learn to deal with the frustration that comes with waiting without giving them the iPad or Nintendo, they won’t learn how to do in a positive way, so we have to put limits.

    Here are some strategies to help you teach your child how to be more patient:

    1. Set an example. Always! kids learn by modelling

    We always need to keep in mind the concept of modelling when raising kids. They are watching and listening to every word we say, so be aware of how you behave in times in which you need to wait patiently (In traffic, at the doctor, in a long line, when our child takes a long time to eat) How many times without even realising do we display attitudes that do not really show them how to handle frustration but on the other hand shows them anxiety? It really starts with us as parents and when we make mistakes and we lose our patience, we must apologise and use those moments as learning experiences.

    1. Be flexible

    We are dealing with kids so we must work on our patience ourselves. There will be situations which will be extremely hard for your child to practice patience (If your child is hungry, tired, sleepy, cranky) In these cases we also must be a little understanding and breathe. I also highly advise to use routines and schedules, program your day according to what you need to do in advance.

    1. Expose them to situations that require waiting

    By age 2, we can start teaching them how to wait patiently. It can be as little as two minutes and in everyday situations like waiting for a toy or waiting for a sandwich. You see kids are raised in an environment in which they get everything right away so how can we expect them to learn to wait patiently at a restaurant when they have been used to get what they want as soon as they ask for it.

    1. Teach positive behaviours.

    How to ask for things in a courteous way, and most importantly do not give your child what he/she wants in the middle of a tantrum. Remember it is with our daily interaction with them, that we teach them how the world works.

    1. Be consistent with what you say

    When you promise something, do it. If you tell your child to wait patiently and “After eating, we will play” then do it, this way your child learns that the positive outcomes are worthwhile.

    1. Prepare them in advance

    Things will be a lot easier if we tell them what we behaviour we are expecting. If you are going to an important event make sure you go over the appropriate behaviour they must have. Also, during a situation in which your child is feeling frustrated, explaining why they should wait really helps. “We have to eat first and then play because if not your food will get cold” 

    1. Get creative

    Get creative and make up games along the way. “How many blue cars can you see?”.  Also, take toys or colouring pages to teach your child how to get entertained while waiting. 

    1. Be aware of their age and developmental level.

    Small children will find waiting a lot harder than older kids. Starting at an early age we can teach them to take turns and explain the advantages of taking turns, this goes from waiting for a toy, to not interrupting a conversation. With time and repetition, they will understand it.

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    CORONAVIRUS UPDATES

    I write to inform the St Ita’s community that we have had students test positive to coronavirus (COVID-19) on Monday 7th March and Tuesday 8th March.

    The classes affected are:

    • Grade 5/6 Boettcher
    • Grade 5/6 Wallace

    This could mean that there may now be asymptomatic children in these levels and across our school. Please ensure you test your child using a RAT test and look for any Covid Symptoms no matter how minor. Any symptoms, please err on the side of caution and keep your child/ren at home until symptoms have cleared and a negative RAT test is achieved.

    WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

    The school will not be required to close as a result of the positive case attending the school.

    If your child is not experiencing COVID-19 symptoms, they can continue to attend school, but you should monitor for symptoms.

    Students who show symptoms of COVID-19 must get tested immediately using a RAT (rapid antigen test), or a PCR test if you can’t access a Rapid Antigen Test. Students with COVID-19 symptoms should isolate and return a negative result before returning to school.

    Students who have recovered from COVID-19 do not need to participate in surveillance testing for 30 days after testing positive.

    If your child/ren receives a positive COVID-19 result, you must:

    • quarantine your child/ren for seven days
    • advise the school about the positive result
    • ensure that your child stays home until their symptoms have resolved and they are well
    • ensure that everyone in your household who is a close contact isolates for seven (7) days from the date your child is tested for COVID-19.

    Advice and further resources about what to do if your child tests positive to COVID-19 or you are a contact, are available on the following Coronavirus Victoria web pages or you can call the 24/7 Coronavirus hotline on 1800 675 398:

    REPORTING YOUR CHILD’S POSITIVE TEST

    If your child was at school during their infectious period, you need to report the positive case to the school either via phone (03) 56237222 or principal@stidrouin.catholic.edu.au

    If your child tested positive using a rapid antigen test you must also report your child’s positive test to the Department of Health via the COVID-19 Positive Rapid Antigen Test Self-Reporting Form or call centre on 1800 675 398.

    GENERAL ADVICE AND SUPPORT

    Advice and further resources about coronavirus, including what to do if you test positive or if you have been told

    you are a contact, are available on the coronavirus website www.coronavirus.cgov.au or you can call the 24/7

    Coronavirus hotline on 1800 675 398.

    Other resources on the Coronavirus Victoria website include:

    FURTHER INFORMATION FOR LANGUAGES OTHER THAN ENGLISH

    For school information in languages other than English, call TIS National on 131 450.

    For translated written information about COVID-19 and health advice in languages other than English, visit www.coronavirus.vic.gov.au/translated-information-about-coronavirus-covid-19

    Parents, guardians, carers and/or students can also call the Department of Education and Training COVID- 19 hotline on 1800 338 663 and they will help interpret.

    Please be aware that we are unable to provide any information about students, family members or staff who may test positive to COVID-19. I would ask that all in our community continue to pray for those who are unwell with COVID-19 and respect their privacy.

    The health, safety and wellbeing of the school community remains our highest priority. We are committed to continuing to communicate with you as promptly as possible and supporting you and your children during these challenging times.

    If you have any questions about the arrangements, please contact the school on (03) 5623 7222

    SCHOOL SPORTS CARNIVAL

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    Next Thursday (March 17th) the grade 3-6 students will have their school house athletics day. We are asking for some parent volunteers to assist with the scoring and supervision of age groups throughout the day.

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    f you are willing to volunteer, please make sure that you can provide administration with a copy of your current and active working with children check (WWCC), along with evidence of your COVID-19 vaccination status.

    To express your interest in volunteering please contact either your childs classroom teacher, school administration or Joe Black via email (jblack@stidrouin.catholic.edu.au)

    We appreciate any support parents can offer and are looking forward to a great day for our grade 3-6 students!

    SCHOOL PHOTOS

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    EFTPOS FACILITIES

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    We are pleased to announce that St Ita's have recently installed an EFTPOS Machine. We encourage families who would like to make payments over the counter to come in and do so, being mindful to observe the COVID safe procuedures, i.e. masks and social distancing. 

    SCHOOL COMMUNICATION PLATFORMS

    St Ita’s Primary School currently uses three platforms for communication with our families;

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    1. SCHOOLZINE – is our whole school communication method. Schoolzine is used to communicate important up to date whole school messages to our families. This is also the platform we use to distribute our weekly newsletter to families. This can be accessed as a smart phone App, or you can subscribe using the link below;

    https://stidrouin.catholic.edu.au/subscribe

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    1. CLASSDOJO – is a classroom-based communication App which families can use to communicate directly with your child/ren’s classroom teachers. Parents will need to download the App, and classroom teachers will invite parents to join the classroom and provide a unique code for secure access.

    The principal has a whole school account that is used to communicate with all families. If more specific messages are required they will come directly from the class teacher. Please note that messages and comments are public to all families from the principal account. 

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    1. Simon – Parent Access Module (PAM) – is our whole school student access portal, St Ita’s use this platform to communicate School Reports, NAPLAN Results, Permission Forms for Camps/Excursions, Medical/Medication Information and Family & Emergency Contact details for all students. Please use the link below to login;

    https://pam.stidrouin.catholic.edu.au/Login/Default.aspx?ReturnUrl=%2f

    Platforms that are no longer used at St Ita’s are:

    1. Operoo which was formally, CareMonkey
    2. Skoolbag

    LOST AND FOUND UNIFORM

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    Our lost property cupborad at the Admin Office is filling very quickly with unlabelled lost uniform.  If your child has lost a jumper or hat please ask them to come and check the lost property cupboard.
    It is also a timely reminder for parents to ensure that ALL of your child/rens uniform is clearly marked with your family name so that lost items can be return to you.

    SECONDHAND UNIFORM

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    A big thank you to all our families who have donated their good quality uniform they no longer need, we currently have a huge supply of secondhand uniform available to all of families.

    If you children have had unexpected growth spurts, or have lost some of their uniform as they often do, please feel free to call the Office on (03) 5623 7222 or email us at admin@stidrouin.catholic.edu.au we may have something to help get you through!

    All items in our secondhand collection, have been washed and inspected to ensure they are of good quality.  All items are for sale for $2.00 a piece, a nominal donation to the school so that we can keep this service available to families.

    CONVEYANCE ALLOWANCE

    The Conveyance Allowance application is now open for Term 1 for any families that qualify for the travel allowance as per the criteria below. You must lodge a new application each year.

    Eligibility is assessed when the School completes your child’s application on the Government Student Conveyance Allowance System (SCAS). If approved, the allowance payable is based on the one way distance to make the journey to and from school. No private car allowance is payable if the journey to and from school could be made using a public transport service or contract school bus.

    • You live more than 4.8 kilometres by the shortest practical route from our school and we are the closest Catholic school to your place of residence.
    • You live more than 4.8 kilometres from our school and you cannot access a bus.
    • You access a bus and live more than 4.8 kilometres from the bus stop.

    Please complete the Conveyance Allowance Application Form and return to the school office by Friday 11th March 2022. Late claims cannot be accepted.

    SCHOOL FEES & CONCESSIONS

    Please contact the school office if you need to discuss your 2022 school fee payment.

    If any families would like to set up a weekly, fortnightly or monthly direct debit schedule for school fees, please complete the Direct Debit Form below and return to the school office.  For any assistance regarding calculations of payments, please contact us via email on: admin@stidrouin.catholic.edu.au

    For any families that have recently received a Government means-tested health care concession card, please forward a copy of your card to the office to check your eligibility, as a fee concession may apply. The card must be in the name of the parent/fee payer for a fee concession to apply. 

    If your current Health Care card is due to expire this year and your card is re-issued, please send a copy of your new card details to the office as soon as possible for the concession to be checked and applied for next year's fees, if not already done so.

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    SCHOOL ASSEMBLY

    Students were very excited that we could have our very first whole school assembly recently.

    School badges were presented to our Grade 6 students who were awarded leadership roles for 2022.

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    TARAGO SWIMMING CARNIVAL

    Congratulations to the St Ita's students who represented our school at the 2022 Tarago Swimming Carnival. We had a few students qualify for Division, but unfortunately they were unable to attend due to Grade 5/6 Camp.

    Thank you to the following students who tried their hardest and represented St Ita's to the best of their abilities.

    11 Girls

    Free - Indi Joiner, Chloe Gargan

    Breast - Chloe Gargan

    Back - Indi Joiner, Chloe Gargan

    Butterfly - Indi Joiner

    12/13 Girls

    Free - Ava Upston, Keelie Carbonneau

    Breast - Ava Upston, Evie Piner

    Back - Ava Upston, Evie Piner

    Butterfly - Evie Piner

    11 Boys

    Free - Lucas Jinks, Zephyr Ledger

    Breast - Zephyr Ledger, Greg Reidy

    Back - Zephyr Ledger, Jack Stoll

    12/13 Boys

    Free - Harry Sheehan, Jack Carbonneau

    Breast - Jack Carbonneau, Riley Davidson

    Back - Jack Carbonneau, Jake Jolly

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    MISS GABBY HOPGOOD

    This week’s Teacher profile is Miss Gabby Hopgood. Miss Hopgood is in her third year of teaching and joined the Foundation Team this year. She is super protective of all her little Foundation cubs and is all about building children to have a love of learning, and be the best they can be.

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    LIBRARY NEWS

    Teacher: Mrs Catherine McKenna

    Email: cmckenna@stidrouin.catholic.edu.au

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    Book Club Issue 2 - CLICK HERE

    Orders close Friday 25th March for free delivery back to school. 

    You also have the home delivery option with an addition fee of $7.50

    PARISH NEWS

    Son of God became Human - We become God.*

    Peter’s, often blundering, steps strike a chord with me. I know Peter. And as a pretty ordinary photographer and painter and an average wordsmith, I understand Peter’s impulse to somehow capture the astounding event he and James and John are witnessing (Luke 9:28-36). Often, I try to capture sunsets, beach scenes, landscapes and even grandchildren. I want to record them at their peak moments, but I rarely succeed to my satisfaction. Peter probably thinks this is Jesus’ peak moment, but his somewhat silly suggestion to build dwellings or tents or memorials signifying the great prophets, Moses and Elijah and Jesus is quickly shut down. Moses and Elijah disappear and Peter’s creative moment is gone. Confirmation of Jesus greatness is the beginning not the end. Immediately, Jesus is identified as the Chosen One and they are instructed to listen to him so that they (and we) may learn to truly follow Christ on his continuing journey.

    What Peter has failed to realize, as many of us often do, is that what is important is not so much that Jesus is transfigured, but that we be transfigured – that’s what Jesus came to do: to transform us more and more into his image and likeness, that we might become, as C.S. Lewis said, “Little Christs.” This glorious “Transfiguration” event might seem a little left field in the context of Luke’s narrative, sandwiched as it is between Jesus forecasts of his imminent death. But it points us forward to along this Lenten journey, emphasising the glory in prospect for each of us, but recognising too that we need to pass through harsh times before the glory. Peter, James and John (and we) need to come down from the mountain, joining Jesus in his journey of love and service and walking together towards whatever future God plans for us. 

    *Catechism 4601

    Deacon Mark Kelly                                                                                                   

    St Joseph’s and St Ita’s Junior Youth Group

    We’ve had a couple of fun times already

    and our next will be:

    5.30pm on Saturday 19th March at

    Marian Room, St Joseph’s Church, Warragul.

    Info: Olivia 0459790542// Dcn Mark 0427748646

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    Check out our Catholic Parishes of Warragul & Drouin Facebook presence.

    PUBLIC NOTICES

    CAMP AUSTRALIA

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    ANGLICARE - MARCH NEWSLETTER

    DROUIN BADMINTON

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    GIPPSLAND WOMENS FOOTY ROADSHOW

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    WARRAGUL SWIMMING CLUB

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    DROUIN GIRL GUIDES

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    PIANO & SINGING LESSONS

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    DRUM AND GUITAR LESSONS

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