Term 1 Week 5 Monday 26th February 2024

Acknowledgement of Country

From the Principal

Important Dates:

TERM 1 2024        

Monday 26th February ­– STOMP Dance Class Day 1

                                                - Parent Teacher Catch ups- 3:30-5:30pm

Tuesday 27th February ­– STOMP Dance Class Day 2

Wednesday 28th February ­– STOMP Dance Class Day 3

                                                        - Foundation Rest Day

                                                       - SAC Meeting @ 6:30 in the Staffroom 

Thursday 29th February ­– Division Swimming Warrnambool

Friday 1^st – Thursday 7^th March- F-6 Swimming Program

Monday 4th March ­– STOMP Dance Class Day 4

Tuesday 5th March ­– STOMP Dance Class Day 5

                                      5:30: Open Classrooms, Family Picnic and STOMP Dance presentation

Wednesday 6^th March ­– Foundation Rest Day (FINAL ONE)

Friday 8^th March- St Colman’s and St Thomas’ Athletics Carnival @ Terang Rec Reserve

Monday 11^th March- Labor Day Public Holiday

                                            - Mortlake Market- St Colman's providing the BBQ

Wednesday March 13^th- March 25^th- NAPLAN Testing Period

Thursday March 14^th-March 15^th- Parent Support Group Meetings

Tuesday 19^th March- Lions Eye Health Program screening at St Colman’s

Wednesday 20^th March- MRC Open Day

Friday 22^nd March – Regional Swimming Horsham

                                        - MRC Taster Day- 11:30-2:30 (Year 5/6's to attend)

Tuesday 26^th March – District Aths Carnival

Wednesday 27^th March- School Photos

Thursday 28^th March- Term 1 ends at 2:15

Term 2 2024

Monday 15^th April Term 2 commences

School Closure Days for 2024

Term 2: Friday 26^th April- Wellbeing

Term 3: Monday 15^th July- Religious Education; Re-contextualising the Scriptures.

                Tuesday 16^th July- Structured Literacy

Caritas Project Compassion

During the Lenten Season, we ask all our families to raise money for the Caritas Project Compassion. Each family will bring home a money box today and they are asked to fill the box with coins. These coins are then returned to school and used in the Class Money Line competition held on the last day of this term. The class with the longest coin line will win a hot chip lunch.

All the coins are then forwarded on to the Caritas Australia team, where they will use the money raised to support their charitable works.

For over 60 years, Caritas Australia has worked hand in hand with the most marginalised and remote communities in Australia and overseas to confront the challenges of poverty. 

The theme they have set for Project Compassion this year is: For All Future Generations.

Supporting and educating our students in the work of Project Compassion helps them to understand the plight of many marginalised people in our world. This forms a major part of the Catholic Social Teaching offered at St Colman's, where we address matters of social, economic and ecological justice in the world and help our youngest citizens understand that they can make a difference in the world not just today but For All Future Generations.

Enhancing Catholic School Identity (ECSI) Survey

Every five years all Catholic primary schools in our diocese complete the Enhancing Catholic School Identity (ECSI) Survey. 

The Catholic University in Leuven was commissioned by the Catholic Education Commission of Victoria Ltd (CECV) to design a process and tools, based on sound research, to accomplish the goal of understanding our current Catholic identity and where the school community might like to see itself in the future.

The ECSI Survey is a key element of this process and I write to request your participation. The online survey gathers responses from students in Years 5 and 6, all staff and a representative sample of parents.

You are asked to complete the survey online; it may take up to an hour to do so. Attached is a letter of explanation and a set of instructions. Your child will also bring home a copy of this information today. In order to get an accurate picture of how our school community sees our school, it is essential that as many of you as possible complete the survey. Please find some time in your busy lives to sit and reflect upon our Catholic Identity and complete the survey.

Go to; http://www.ecsi.site/au/user/

Enter the password: Ghj654

Click on NEW USER

Our school Access code is: (case sensitive): mpUWYb

Many thanks in advance for taking the time to do so!

Our Lady of Mercy Parish News

WEEKEND MASS TIMES
ST THOMAS’ TERANG
Saturday 6.00 pm
Sunday 10.30 am
ST COLMAN’S MORTLAKE
Sunday 9.00 am

Parent Teacher Catch Ups

We will be holding Parent Teacher Interviews tonight from 3:30-5:30 . All parents and carers are encouraged to make an appointment to catch up with your child’s teacher either face to face or via a phone call. These interviews are designed to discuss how your child has settled into the new school year and for you to share with your child’s teacher any important information that may have an impact upon their education. Bookings can be made from tomorrow via the PAM app. Please select if you would prefer a face to face meeting or would like a telephone discussion to take place.

It is not too late to make a booking. If you can't attend tonight, but wish to have a conversation with your child's teacher, please contact the office to make a suitable time.

Specialist Timetable for Term 1

Below is the Specialist timetable for Term 1. All children need to wear their sports uniform and return their library books.

Please note that ther Juniors will be having Library on Tuesday for the remainder of this term, and will need to return their library books each Tuesday.

MUSIC LESSONS AVAILABLE

We’re off to a good start this year with ten students learning piano or guitar!  However, I have up to three more spots available for students who want to learn a musical instrument this year.  Students in prep-2 have 20 minute lessons while the older students have 30 minutes.  They can choose from piano, guitar, recorder, flute, violin, clarinet, trumpet, ukulele and saxophone.  If you’re interested, please text me on 0417559235 and I will get back to you as soon as possible.

Melanie Pocknall
Instrumental Music teacher

Visits to Aberlea

Each term, our students have two visits to Aberlea, where they spend some time with the residents there sharing stories, playing games and doing crafts. We commit to these visits as it is in line with the principles of Catholic Social Teaching. We aim to educate our students in the role that we as Christians play in supporting the rights of the disadvantaged and dispossessed to have more balanced support, resources and opportunities.

The benefits of these intergenerational connections for our students, however, are a positive bi-product of these visits.

The program offers children opportunities to:

• Learn about the normal aging process
• Accept people with disabilities
• Be involved with people who are two or three generations apart
• Help reduce their fear of older adults

In addition, residents and program participants benefit from:

• Interaction with children throughout their day
• Physical activity in playing with the children
• Opportunities to play, laugh, and enjoy the spirit and joy that children bring to their home environment
• A renewed sense of self-worth
• An opportunity to transfer knowledge
• The ability to serve as role models.

Senior students visit to Aberlea.

Swimming Program

Our Swimming Program commences this Friday March 1st and will run daily until Thursday March 7th.

All parents are invited to come and watch and if you are willing to help with organising our youngest students after their lesson please let Shandell know that you can help.

Lesson times are as follows:

Juniors- 12:30-1pm

Middles- 1:00-1:30

Seniors- 1:30-2pm

Athletics Carnival

Our Athletics Carnival is scheduled for Friday March 8^th at the Terang Rec Reserve. As with all major school events, they cannot run without the help and support of our wonderful parent community. If you are willing to help out in any small way, please contact the office. Thank you!!!

Some jobs that require volunteers;

Setting up for the sports from 8am Friday morning

Helping run events (setting up, running the event throughout the day, measuring, time keeping etc)

Packing up after the sports (usually around 1:30pm Friday afternoon)

BBQ at Mortlake Market

We have offered to run the BBQ at the next Mortlake Market due to be held on Monday March 11th. We are seeking volunteers to help with this venture that will promote our presence within the Mortlake community. We will need to start cooking at 8:30 and will be finished by 1pm. I am hoping to have enough volunteers for the day that we can create a roster to share the time needed to be there. The Mortlake Market have some extra kid’s activities planned for the day, so it is hoped that a lot of our families will be there to have a look!!
If you are able to help in any way, please contact the office.

Welcome Picnic and Dance

Our first school community event of the year will be held on Tuesday 5th March starting at 5:30pm.

Highly regarded Melbourne-based dance company STOMP Dance Co, will come to our school each day for a week and teach our students four- to-five dance routines. The week of dancing will culminate on Tuesday night with an outdoor concert that will showcase all they have learnt during the week.

We would love all of our families and their friends to join us for a BYO picnic dinner prior to the dance presentation.  BYO a picnic (pizza, fish and chips or whatever) to eat in our school grounds. We will have the BBQ there if you would like to use it. The dance concert will start at 6pm sharp!!

We can't wait to see you all there!

Open Classrooms

We are also extremely proud of how well our students have settled into the new school year, therefore we have decided to hold an open classroom afternoon in conjunction with the Welcome Picnic. Children will have the opportunity to show you through their classroom and to show case all that they have learned so far this year.

Classrooms will be open from 4:30 pm and we invite you all to come and share in the celebration of your child's learning!

Dance lessons have started!

School Advisory Council (SAC)

We would like to introduce you to our SAC members for 2024.   

Jo Wallis (Chair), Alison Greig, Michelle Lehmann, Zion Palmer, Sophie Allen, Rachel Baulch, Danielle Kenny, Rosie O’Connor (School rep), Janet Cain (Principal) and Fr. Gary Jones (Parish Rep)

These people are the voice of the parish and parents in the school. If you have any questions or anything that you would like raised please contact one of these people.

The SAC meets twice a term and we thank these people for agreeing to be a part of this group that provides an essential link between the school and its families. 

Our first meeting for 2024 was due to be held last Thursday, however it has been rescheduled to Wednesday February 28th at 6:30pm in the staff room at school.

School Wide Positive Behaviour Support

School Wide Positive Behaviour Support is: A multi-tiered framework for establishing the social culture and behavioural supports needed for a school to achieve behavioural and academic outcomes for all students. For the next two weeks at St Colman’s we are working with our students on developing effective learning habits that will set them up for success throughout the year ahead. During that time, all staff will be reinforcing the behaviour expectations as set out in our Behavior Matrix (below).

The 2024 AFL FOOTY SEASON IS ALMOST HERE

And that means Footy Tipping is back!! 

Please see attached letter regarding our school's community Footing tipping Competition. Please consider joining in and encourage your family and friends to play along too!!

Round 1 begins on Thursday March 7th.

Transition into Secondary School

With strong enquiries for enrolment into Year 7, 2025, families of Mercy Regional College’s Catholic feeder schools are encouraged to register their interest and attend several key dates in their transition program.

See images below for further information.

MRC Information Sessions

Playgroup at St Colman's

We look forward to welcoming back our local pre-schoolers every second Friday, with our next session being held on Friday March 1st.

PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD WITH YOUR FRIENDS WHO HAVE PRE SCHOOL AGED CHILDREN. EVERYONE IS WELCOME!!!

The ongoing commitment to this project will require support from other members of the school community. If you are willing to help out by going on a roster to help organise Little Colman’s, please contact either the school or Lily. 

WE WILL NEED TO PURCHASE SOME GAMES AND EQUIPMENT FOR OUR PLAYGROUP. HOWEVER, WE WONDERED IF YOU HAD ANY OLD TOYS AND GAMES THAT YOUR CHILDREN HAVE GROWN OUT OF AND THAT YOU NO LONGER NEED. IF SO, WE WOULD GREATLY APPRECIATE THE DONATION OF ANY PRE-SCHOOL TOYS AND GAMES, INDOOR OR OUTDOOR, THAT ARE IN EXCELLENT USED CONDITION.

SCHOOL NURSE VISIT

Each year our Foundation students have the opportunity to have a FREE health and wellbeing check conducted on them by the visiting School Nurse. If you would like your Foundation child to have this check, please complete either the online questionnaire or request a paper version from Shandell. 

Lions Eye Health Program

Each year, St Colman's is lucky to be part of the Lions Eye Health Program (LEHP). Trained volunteers from the WARRNAMBOOL LIONS CLUB will visit us on March 19th to conduct FREE vision screening tests on our Foundation, Year 3 and Year 6 students. However, they will test other children who have identified as demonstrating vision concerns.

Over 80% of what children learn is processed through their eyes. Untreated eye conditions can affect a child’s development. It is estimated 1 in 5 children in Australia have undetected vision problems. Screening can help identify children who require further examination by an optometrist.

The individual screening takes just a few minutes to perform. There is no physical contact made with the child and no eye drops are administered. Individual reports will be sent to parent/guardians. If a vision problem is detected, this will be written on the child’s result sheet and you will be encouraged to seek a further eye assessment with an eye health professional. 

If you would like your child to participate in this vision screening program, please complete the attached permission slip and return to the office by March 12th 2024.

SchoolTV Wellbeing Platform

Some of you may have had a chance to hop on and have a look at this incredible source of information and support for parents and their families. However, as it is so extensive it can be somewhat overwhelming. Therefore, each week we will put links up to articles and resources that we consider relevant for our current context.

A great place to start is by completing The Wellbeing Barometer survey for each of your children (link to student survey below- you can also complete a survey for any secondary students you have in your family)

The Wellbeing Barometer survey has become a crucial tool for schools, offering insights into youth mental health and wellbeing. By understanding community concerns and the nature of these issues, schools are better equipped to support families and foster meaningful conversations, thereby building stronger relationships. This survey is part of an ongoing, longitudinal study, with the results being instrumental in tailoring support for students and their families.

Participation is strongly encouraged, as it provides a comprehensive view of students' experiences, challenges and achievements over the past year. Participating in this year's survey, will assist our school in identifying areas of strength and concern, as well as pinpointing opportunities for early intervention. The survey aims to capture a comprehensive picture of young people's lives, allowing for a tailored approach to enhance mental and emotional wellbeing.

Please complete one survey for each child you have at St Colman’s. There is no limit to how many times you can complete the survey. This will allow you to provide more accurate responses based on individual children.

Remember, all responses remain anonymous and should reflect observations made over the last 12 months. Survey results are only reported on an aggregated basis.

St. Colman's School is a Child Safe Community

Child Safety Officers

Janet Cain and Rosie O'Connor are our Child Safety Officers.

Contact them on:

Phone: 55992285 or 0490539167

Email: jcain@scmortlake.catholic.edu.au or roconnor@scmortlake.catholic.edu.au

This week in each of our classrooms, the children will be presented with a child friendly version of the 11 Child Safe Standards. Children learn about how our school is working hard to ensure that we create a culture, adopt strategies and act to put the interests of our students first in order to keep them safe from harm.

The standards are explained to the children in a simple way and they are provided with support to help them understand their right to feel safe at all times and what they should do if they do not feel safe.

Junior Student Representative Council (SRC)

Our Student Representative Council will be co ordinating our partnership with Cooinda Terang to become a collection point for Victoria’s Container Deposit Scheme (CDS Vic).

We will be collecting all eligible empty drink containers and then returning them to the CDS collection point at Cooinda. The 10c raised from each return will go back to the SRC. They will nominate various charities to support as well as using 50% of the funds to upgrade school resources.

So please start collecting and sending in your empties. The easiest way to know if your drink container can be returned is to look for the 10c mark on the label, often located near the barcode.

Most aluminium, glass, plastic and liquid paperboard (carton) drink containers between 150mL and 3 litres are eligible. You can keep the lids on, we recycle them too.

COMMUNITY NEWS

Mortlake Community Market

Toastie Tuesday

Lunch Orders

LUNCH ORDERS are only available twice a week on Monday and Friday.

Menu and price list below

Birthday Wishes

No birthdays in our school community this week. however, if you or someone you know is celebrating one, we send you many blessings on your special day and throughout the year. 

Out of School Care

A reminder that during 2023 we have access to Out of School Care, supplied by TheirCare, at Mortlake College. Registration is made via the TheirCare website. https://theircare.com.au/

Search for Mortlake College P-12

AngliCare Energy Assistance

As part of Anglicare Victoria’s FREE Energy Assistance Program, they provide assistance with energy bills to support Victorians to:

• Talk to their energy retailer and get help with debt
• Access extra financial support
• Check they are receiving eligible concessions on their bill
• Find and move to an affordable energy plan
• Understand bills and fix any possible errors
• Support your child's education with free internet at home

They can provide immediate assistance for clients who are struggling to pay for their gas or electricity bills to prevent disconnection to their property!

The follower two flyers provide further details.

NCCD

Please read the attached information sheet for parents regarding NCCD.