Term 3 Week 1 Tuesday July 12th

Acknowledgement of Country

St Colman’s acknowledges the Girai wurung people as the traditional owners of the land on which our school stands and we respectfully recognise elders both past and present.

Our Prayer this Week

From the Principal

Dear Families,

Welcome to Term 3. I hope that you all had the holiday that you needed. As you are aware, both Jane and Shandell are enjoying some Long Service Leave at the start of the term. We welcome Anna Bourke who will be in the junior room during this time. 

A big congratulations to the McKenzie family who welcomed their baby sister, Lexi, to the family over the holidays.

I hope that everyone was able to access their child's school report. If you have any issues with this please let me know. Bookings are now open, via PAM, for Parent Teacher Interviews on Thursday July 28th.

A reminder that children who are close contacts are able to be driven to school by parents who are positive with Covid. We will still be receiving RATs from the government, so if you require any additional tests please contact the school. 

Best wishes for a great term. 

Kind regards, 

Stacey 

Circuit Breaker Long Weekend Term 3

A reminder that a circuit breaker long weeked has been scheduled for half way through this term. 

Please find attached correspondence from Tom Sexton, the Executive Director of Catholic Education Ballarat. It has been decided to schedule a long weekend in Term 3 to help support student and staff health wellbeing during the winter months. 

This means that our school will close on Friday 12 August and Monday 15 August.

Enrolments now open

Enrolments for the 2023 school year our now open. New and existing families are invited to obtain an enrolment form from the school office or kindergartens to indicate your intention to send your child to St Colman's ext year.  

Tours can be made by contacting the office. 

Please consider sharing our social media posts. 

New Child Safety Standards

Child safety and wellbeing at St Colman's: information for families and the school community

The Victorian Government has announced new Child Safe Standards to further strengthen child safety across organisations, including schools. The new standards recognise the critical importance of families and the broader school community in maintaining and promoting child safety and wellbeing.

St Colman's is reviewing and updating our child safety policies and procedures to ensure they meet the requirements of the new standards. These updated policies will be available to view early Term Three. 

We are committed to continuous improvement in our approach to child safety and wellbeing and welcome feedback from families and members of our school community on ways we can further strengthen our child safety policies, procedures and practices.

Thanks from Vinnies

On behalf of Terang Mortlake St Vincent de Paul (Vinnies) Conference thank you to the families of St Colman’s for your generous donations of non-perishable food items for our Vinnies Winter Appeal.  This food will be distributed to families in the local area.  

If you need  assistance or you know of someone who is in need phone 0459 047 620.

Helen Meade, Terang Mortlake St Vincent de Paul Conference President

Personal and Social Learning

The Personal and Social Capability is an essential part of the Victorian Curriculum and is vital in enabling students to understand themselves and others, and manage their relationships, lives, work and learning more effectively.

The capability involves students learning to recognise and regulate emotions, developing empathy for others and understanding relationships, establishing and building a framework for positive relationships, working effectively in teams and developing leadership skills, and handling challenging situations constructively.

This term, Clare Jehu, our pastoral care workers, will be working with our teachers in the classroom to deliver a program that develops these skills. We are grateful to have Clare's expertise in this area. 

Out of School Care

St Colman's is currently exploring the need for and possible options for out of school care. If this is something that would benefit your family, please fill in the attached survey. 

If it is determined that there is a need, then we will explore this further. 

Uniforms

Our new uniforms are looking great. Just a couple of reminders.

* On sports days (Wednesday) any sport shorts worn need to be the school shorts. 

* If tights are worn on sports days, please make sure these are plan navy. 

* Navy socks are to be worn each day, including sports day. 

Happy Birthday

An extra special happy birthday to Miss T who celebrated a significant birthday over the holidays. 

Awards

Congratulations to the following students who received an award on the last day of term:

Kate, Zoe, Jack, Alex, Zoe, Cooper, Dakota, Mason, Ivy and Steff. 

Footy Tipping Competition

It's certainly coming down to the business end of the season. I'm starting to get a bit nervous at the top with TicketyBoo (103), SmithPies, Joshj and Jenn Finn (102) breathing down my neck.

Consistent tipping from Arlo842  (100) sees him leading the students and not far off the pace.

Only 6 rounds to go! 

New Lunch Order Menu

Please find attached an updated Lunch Order Menu. 

These new prices begin at the start of this term. 

Key Dates for the Diary

Term 3

11th July- Term 3 begins

28th July- SAC Meeting

28th July- Parent Teacher Interviews

1st August- School Closure: First Aid Training

12th-15th August-Circuit Breaker Long Weekend

18th August- Kaboom Sports at St Thomas'

19th August- Grade 3/4 Rookies Basketball

25th August- SAC Meeting

8th September- School Closure: Liturgy (Religious Education) 

Annual Report to the School Community

Each year the principal is required to complete an report to the school community. Please find the 2021 report, completed by Tim Bourke, linked here for those people that are interested. 

It is a great reminder of the many things that happened last year that are worth celebrating.

MRC Care Raffle

Our Diocesan Community

Please find linked below the latest edition of ODC with news from across the Diocese of Ballarat. 

Parish News

Love your sister family fun day

COVID Reminders

A reminder that all students who travel on buses are still required to wear masks. 

Children who are close contacts are permitted to come to school as long as they have a negative RAT result. Adults and children who are in Grade 3-6 who are close contacts are also required to wear a mask at school (indoors only). 

It is still a requirement that if your child tests positive for Covid-19 that you inform the school. 

The following updates to COVID regulations have taken place over the break:

Vaccination requirements.

There are no longer any mandatory vaccination requirements for staff or visitors working or attending mainstream schools.

Rapid Antigen Tests.

The Victorian Government is continuing to provide Rapid Antigen Tests (RATs) in Term 3 and again in Term 4 to schools. Household contacts are required to test negative using a rapid antigen test on at least 5 out of 7 if they are attending or working at a school onsite.

Schools will be able to provide these RATs to parents/carers, staff or students on request, as the previous settings that required weekly or daily testing of students and staff have ceased. 

Face Masks.

We have been asked to remind staff, students and families that the current advice from the Victorian government is that it is recommended face masks are worn in indoor settings (except for close contacts, who must wear a mask indoors unless an exception applies). Everyone including students aged 8 years and above must wear a face mask when travelling on public transport, taxis or ride share vehicles.

COVID-19 reporting to the school community.

Principals must notify staff and the school community through a daily email (where applicable) when a student(s) or staff member(s) have returned a positive COVID-19 test result and had attended the school.

The following still apply:

Managing a suspected or confirmed case of COVID-19 

As soon as a staff member or student becomes aware of being a suspected case - that is symptomatic (fever, cough, shortness of breath, sore throat, loss of smell or taste):

• The suspected case is required to leave the school site, or be isolated on-site until they are able to leave.
• The suspected case is required to be tested with a rapid antigen test (if at home). A positive test result must be reported to the Department of Health.
• Positive cases must be isolated for 7 days.

Close Contacts

A close contact (a person who has spent more than four hours with someone who has COVID 19 inside a house, accommodation or care facility) is no longer required to isolate as long as they follow the additional safety measures:

• Notify the school if returning within the 7 day period.
• Undertake RAT testing on school days within the 7 day period (unless the 12 week exemption applies)
• Wear a mask indoors if an adult or a student Yr 3-6.
• Not visit hospitals or care facilities.
• Avoid contact with people at higher risk of infection.
• If symptomatic take a RAT or PCR test.