Principal's Message
Dear Parents,
Welcome everyone to week five.
Thanks to all who could attend our opening school Mass last week. Congratulations to our student leaders who received their badges at this Mass. Thanks to Sam Sheather for her work organising this mass.
A reminder that all student phones brought to school need to be handed into the office each morning and picked up when leaving. This is our school policy and aligns to current procedures at all schools. Some schools don’t allow phones at all, so we are meeting a compromise with our policy. If any child doesn’t hand up their phone and it is discovered in their belongings, then it will be taken and a parent will need to come to school and collect the phone. Smart watches, if used inappropriately, will not be allowed back to school.
We have processes in place to contact families if required and if you are contacted directly from your child using one of the above devices you should not respond and ideally let me know. We appreciate your support in this matter as it is about keeping your child safe and meeting the privacy legislation.
Next Monday night we have our first Parent Council meeting of 2014 at 5.30pm in the staffroom. This will be followed by our AGM in the Library at 6.30pm. Parents welcome to attend the AGM.
Last Thursday and Friday I attended the Diocesan Principals meeting. We were lucky enough to hear about new legislations and updates in WHS, Privacy Policy, Safeguarding Children and how to handle media in crisis situations, among other matters.
With TheirCare beginning to offer before and after school care next term at our school, now is a timely reminder to families that our school grounds are open at 8.25am and close at 3.40pm each school day. We ask that students are not on the premises before and after these times as there is no adult supervision. Staff may be on the premises outside of these times, but are not providing supervision.
Please refer to the recent Compass message regarding details of TheirCare service.
Professional Learning Update: K-6 English and Maths syllabus.
Our teachers are continuing to develop their understanding of the K - 6 English and Maths syllabus and embed this into their daily teaching.
Our whole school professional learning is focusing on the reading component of the syllabus to ensure we have a consistent approach and understanding across St Anne’s.
We have had professional learning support from the literacy team in Wagga and Year 1 teachers will continue to work with Belinda Brereton (Early Years Reading Specialist) during Semester 1 and Kindergarten teachers in Semester 2.
Keep smiling and have a great week, Bede.
Key Dates - 2024
- Wednesday 28 February - School fee Instalment Agreements due (otherwise fees due for payment in full by 29th Feb) see details below.
- Monday 4th March - School Council meeting at 5.30pm & 2023 AGM at 6.30pm
- Wednesday 6th March - RSVP for Welcome BBQ
- Friday 8th March - School Photo Day (please note change of date)
- Monday 11th March - Welcome BBQ from 5pm (details below)
- Friday 22nd March - Gold Cup Half Day Holiday (Students do not attend as staff complete PD in the morning)
- Wednesday 27th March - Stations of the Cross 6-7.30pm (details to follow)
- Friday 29th March - Good Friday Holiday
- Monday 1st April - Easter Monday Holiday
- Wednesday 3rd April - Canteen closed
- Monday 8th April - Yr 4 Reconciliation evening
- Tuesday 9th April - 'TheirCare' (before & after school care) Parent Information Session, 5pm in the Library
- Thursday 11th April - School Disco K-2: 5-6pm & Yrs 3-6: 6.15-7.15pm
- Friday 12th April - Last day of Term 1
- Friday 14th June - Yr 6 Confirmation
- Friday 26th July - Grandparents Day celebration
Canteen News
Opening School Mass 22nd February
Qkr! App
There have been some ongoing issues accessing the Qkr! App on new android phones. Qkr! are aware of the issue but have not provided a solution to date. If you are experiencing difficulties with the App, please access the Qkr! website on a browser, preferably,(eg. Google Chrome) or on a computer or on your phone via the link below.
School Fees
School fees are due to be paid in full by this Thursday, 29th February 2024, unless you elect to pay by instalments (weekly, fortnightly or monthly payments). If you choose to pay by instalment, please follow the 'Instalment Agreement' link in the fee email to select your preferred option, before 29th February. Please note that BPAY is our preferred payment method. When setting up your payments, please use your BPAY reference which can be found at the bottom of your statement.
School Photo Day
Annual school photos including sibling photos will be taken by Arthur Reed Photos on Friday 8th March 2024. Please note that we have had a change of date from Wednesday 6th March, due to many of our students attending the Diocesan Swimming carnival on that day.
There is no need to return any forms or money to school. Unique image codes will be issued to all students on/after photo day so families can register online to view images when they become available in the webshop. Registration is simple, just follow the 3 simple steps on your child’s personalised flyer once you receive it on photo day and remember to add the codes for all your children attending this school. Even if you registered last year, it’s important that you do again this year using your child’s 2024 image code to link their images for the current year with your contact details.
When images are ready to view and in the webshop, all parents who have registered will be notified by SMS and email. Once registered, please wait for notification that 2024 images are online to view before making your purchase.
Medication/Medical Conditions
Every year, we require updated medical plans for our students. Therefore if your child has Asthma, Anaphylaxis, etc, you will need to supply an updated plan, supplied by your child's doctor, to the office.
We also need all Medication Consent forms to be updated for 2024. Therefore if your child takes any medication at school (eg. for asthma, hay-fever, etc.) you will need to complete a new form. Parents need to supply any medications required for their child. Please note that any prescribed medication must be provided to the school in the original, labelled packaging supplied by the chemist. Medication Consent forms are available from the office and must be returned to the office, with the relevant medication, by the parent/carer.
Welcome BBQ 11th March
School families are invited to come along to our Welcome BBQ evening to meet new friends and catch up with old friends. Classrooms will be open for families to visit between 5-5.30pm, followed by a free BBQ between 5.30-6.30pm. Please RSVP here if your family can join us.
Before & after school care at St Anne's from Term 2
More information regarding this service was shared via Compass last week.
Parent Talk
Library Lovers' Day Competition Winners
Thank you to all the students who entered our competition. The lucky winners were - Molly C (K Wombat), Jude W (1 Platypus), Brady M (2 Cockatoo), Callum C (3 Possum), Ella L (4 Dingo), Ben Cl (5 Goanna) and Lily F (6 Kookaburra).
Volunteering at school
We are very grateful for the assistance that parents/grandparents provide in our school. Any helpers/volunteers (including canteen, sport, event fundraising and classroom helpers) will need to either -
- Provide the details of their Working With Children Check (if they have one). We require full name, date of birth, WWCC number and WWCC expiry date. These details may take several days to be verified before a volunteer can help in our school, so please email this information to the office (sana-info@ww.catholic.edu.au) well in advance.
- Complete a CEDWW Volunteers Declaration and show an identity document (eg. drivers licence). These forms are available from the office. This declaration needs to be completed annually, therefore anyone who completed a form last year will need to complete a new form.
It is worth noting that a WWCC for volunteers is easily obtained through Service NSW, is free for volunteers and lasts for five years. Check out further information here.
Bus Travel in 2024
- St Anne's students who had a bus pass in 2023, and remain eligible, should have automatically received a new pass for 2024 (there is no need to reapply).
- A new application will need to be submitted for any student who is applying for the first time, or if the request relates to additional travel entitlement because of new shared parental arrangement (e.g. joint custody). These applications can be made here.
- Students who have changed their home address will need to have their details updated here.
Absences for after-school-care
If your child attends after-school-care and they are absent from school, please remember to advise the care provider. We often have providers waiting/searching for children who are absent from school.
Extended Leave
A reminder to families that if your child will be away for 10 or more consecutive school days (eg. for a family holiday), then you will need to submit an 'Application for Extended Leave'. See the 'Compass Attendance' information towards the end of this newsletter for further details.
Uniform Shop
Our Uniform Shop is open each Friday from 3-3.30pm. Please email sana-info@ww.catholic.edu.au with your requirements if you can't make that time and we will pass your request on to Luisa to process.
We have lots of good quality second hand uniform items for sale as well as new hats, bags and art smocks.
Qkr! App
Our Qkr! App is the platform that we use to process transactions for our Canteen Orders and some special events, like the School Disco.
Qkr! is an efficient and accurate way of tallying our daily canteen orders and a brilliant time saver when collating and organising our students' lunch orders.
Recently we have had several students report that they have not received their lunch orders, only to find that the canteen has no record of their order. We would suggest that parents check their receipt on the Qkr! App to ensure that their order has been processed for the correct date and for the correct menu items and quantity.
Compass School Manager
Our Compass School Manager is the platform that we communicate with parents about all aspects of their child's school life. Our school attendance, calendar, news feed, student reports, parent teacher conference bookings, event consent/payments and many other services are accessible.
We strongly advise all parents to ensure that they have access to their Compass account on a mobile App or a desktop computer. All parents are issued a username and temporary password when their child is enrolled at St Anne's. If you are experiencing any difficulties accessing your account, please don't hesitate to contact Karon on grimmerk@ww.catholic.edu.au.
Compass Attendance
A reminder that all students who arrive at school after the morning bell at 8.55am, must be accompanied by an adult into our office to sign in on our Compass kiosk. This is a legal requirement and students may not sign themselves in. You will now be asked to provide a reason for the late arrival.
If you are picking up your child during the school day, for any reason eg. medical appointment or early departure, please send a written note in with your child to their teacher with all relevant details. Compass can not be used to notify teachers of early pickups. Compass is only to notify the school of full day absences. If you arrive at school to collect a child without prior notification, please allow extra time to locate your child on the school grounds, especially during break times and when at music, science or sport.
Parents/carers are required to submit an attendance note for any full day absences of their child from school. This can be done in the Compass App or in the Compass portal online. Please ensure you provide all the relevant details for why your child/children are not at school, as any notes added without a comment or details will be recorded as an unjustified absence. Please see the relevant link below for guidance on how to record an absence on the Compass App.
When families take students out of school during the school term for holidays, there are strict legal requirements that need to be met. If a student is going to be absent for up to 9 days, no formal application is required and parents may enter the absence on Compass under the 'Travel' option. If the absence is for 10 days or more, an application is required to be completed by parents prior to travel and approval will be required by the Principal or officials from CEDWW. If the leave is 21 days or more, parents are required to provide an educational plan to the school for approval. Extended leave forms are available from the school office.
Past Newsletters
- Term 1 Week 2 - https://new.express.adobe.com/webpage/xjZOLa0hKtUQF
- Term 1 Week 3 - new.express.adobe.com/webpage/p5yuHwLheVjaE
- Term 1 Week 4 - new.express.adobe.com/webpage/S6DYRayJ8LkIn