Assistant Principal's Message
Congratulations to our Year 4 students on making their Sacrament of First Holy Communion on the weekend. This is a very special step in their Faith development. Thank you to our Year 4 teachers: Lauren McLeish, Jason Hollard and Cassandra Jones for making this a special and memorable time for our Year 4 students. I would also like to thank Father Martin for his continued support in guiding our students in their Faith journey.
Our Reading Night was a great success and I would like to thank Chris Lewis and our staff for the time they put into organising this event. It definitely showcased our students' love of reading and their ability to entertain a crowd. We are very grateful to Rhiannon Harris and the senior cast members for their sneak-peak performance from our upcoming whole-school production. A big thank you also to Cathie Kelly and Allyson McDonald for ensuring the demand for hot chocolate was kept up and to the Year 3 families who provided biscuits for the supper. Also to Tina for all the extra time and effort she put into making the Book Fair another success. There are big plans for next year's event so watch this space!
The excitement is building as our students continue to prepare for Matilda Jr. We will have our first full school rehearsal this Friday in front of our Albury Preschool friends. This is followed by a full dress rehearsal on Tuesday, 5th Sept with Wednesday, 6th September being the first of our four shows.
This Friday we will celebrate all the special men in our children’s lives at the Father’s Day breakfast. Please come along with your family and enjoy a bacon and egg roll. As we have props and backdrops for the production in the hall can you please assist us in ensuring children do not go up on the stage or venture to the half of the hall where these are being stored during the breakfast. We thank you in advance for your assistance with this.
Following the breakfast will be the Father’s Day stall. If you have items to donate to this, they can be dropped into the office.
As the weather begins to warm up students are encouraged to begin wearing their hats at recess and lunchtime. The UV index indicates it is time to start protecting our skin against the sun’s rays. Please ensure your child’s hat has their name on it.
We are very eager to begin lunchtime Lego Masters. If you have any Lego you would like to donate can you please drop it into the office. A big thank you to the Muntz family for their very generous donation of a very large box of Lego. We have children enjoying this already.
I am going to conclude this week’s newsletter by thanking our dedicated teacher’s aides for all the care and compassion they show to all our children. This week is Teacher’s Aide Appreciation Week and at St Anne’s we are blessed to have Tanya, Sharlene, Marg, Lisa, Erin and Tania as members of our school community. You will often hear teachers say ‘I don’t know what we would do without them’ and it is so true. They do so much for our students and staff, and from all of St Anne’s we want them to know how much they are appreciated.
Keep enjoying the sunshine and have a lovely week.
Lea
Professional Development
Edutech Conference
Last week Jess Shephard and Karon Grimmer attended the 2023 Edutech Conference in Melbourne. EduTECH is Australia's largest education event held annually, bringing together the entire education ecosystem to discuss, debate, and evaluate the future of education.
There was a big focus on Generative AI (Artificial Intelligence) at this year's conference and one of the opening speakers, Richard Culatta from ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education), spoke positively about its potential impact on education.
Jess and Karon attended many sessions with Google Educators who shared valuable insights into new functions and extensions in Google Workspace. There was a big focus on creating rather than consuming in the digital world and the ways that we can encourage this in students. They also interacted with digital technology providers and other experts to learn about emerging technologies. Both have returned from the conference with lots of information and armed with tons of technologies to explore in the classroom with students.
One of the big takeaways from the conference, which applies to educators, parents and students, is to be ‘curious, not judgemental’. There is a lot to learn about emerging technologies like generative AI but also a lot to be excited about.
Key Dates
- Wednesday 30th August - RSVP due for Father's Day Breakfast
- Friday 1st September - Father's Day Breakfast and Stall
- Wed 6th & Thurs 7th September - Matilda Jnr Matinee and night performances
- Tuesday 19th September - School Council meeting
- Friday 22nd September - Last Day of Term 3
- Monday 9th October - First Day of Term 4
- Friday 13th October - Country Fair
- Tuesday 17th - Wednesday 18th October - Yr 5 Ballarat Excursion
- Monday 13th - Wednesday 15th November - Yr 6 Canberra Excursion
- Friday 1st December - school fees to be paid in full by this date
- Monday 11th December - Yr 6 Graduation
- Friday 15th December - Last Day of 2023 School Year
Our Canteen has been extremely busy recently, with orders being up more than 25% this year. If you need to cancel a food order in our regular winter or summer menu (for example because your child is away sick), you will need to cancel your order via the Qkr! App before 9am on the day of service. Orders cannot be cancelled after 9am and will unfortunately be forfeited. In the case of special order days, the order must be cancelled before the cutoff time for orders. Cathie can no longer hold food orders over to future weeks for families, as this is very time consuming in an already busy canteen. We thank you for your understanding in this matter.
Book Fair
We are very grateful for the tremendous support for our Book Fair this year. Our school receives a commission from all sales which is used to provide additional resources for our classrooms. Books placed on back-order from the Fair are being distributed to children as soon as we receive them from the supplier.
READING NIGHT
Thank you to all the students who volunteered to read on the night!
Winners of the Book Fair/Book Club vouchers were-
- Cooper H. (K Wombat) - winner of Readers prize
- Harriet B. (1 Wallaby) - winner of the Lucky Door Prize
Matilda Jr
Just over a week until the curtain opens!
Our school production, Matilda the Musical Jnr., is well and truly coming together! This time next week we will be preparing for our opening show. All students are doing a great job with their time on stage, rehearsing songs and movements alongside those students from Stage 3 in the core cast. Tickets are available by the link to CompassTix (see below, under 'ticket information'), get in before you miss out!
Just a couple of reminders:
Student costume:
- Matilda Jnr. t-shirt ($5 payable via Compass); block colour shorts/pants (single colour and not black, if possible); sneakers & short socks.
- T-shirts will be distributed to students for the dress rehearsal and will remain at school until after the final performance.
- NOTE: NO MAKE UP REQUIRED
Show timings:
- Wednesday 6th September: Matinee 11am & Evening 7pm (students at school by 6:50pm)
- Thursday 7th September: Matinee 11am & Evening 7pm (students at school by 6:50pm)
Show length:
- the show should run for about 70 mins, with no intermission.
- Students will be in their classroom when not on stage, then all participate in a whole school Finale.
Copyright:
- Due to copyright, absolutely NO VIDEO FOOTAGE OR PHOTOGRAPHS are to be taken during the performance. You will be asked to put your device away. We appreciate your cooperation with this.
We are all getting very excited and have worked our hardest to make sure each student has had the opportunity to participate in this experience.
Thank you for all your support,
Mrs Harris
PHOTOS
Ticket Information
Wednesday 6th September 11am and 7pm
&
Thursday 7th September 11am and 7pm
Tickets are on sale now!! Don't miss out!!
ONLY available via CompassTix (click on box above), no cash sales are available.
PRICES: All tickets $10 each. Infants no charge provided that they are seated on an adult's lap. All seats must be ticketed.
Please note the following important information regarding the performances-
- Tickets are not allocated to a seat therefore seating will be based on a ‘first in, first seated’ basis.
- The hall can only seat a certain number of people (due to its size and safety regulations), therefore seats are strictly limited.
- Strollers/prams are NOT permitted in the hall during the performances.
- An area for wheelchairs will be set aside near the restrooms on the left side of the hall. If you require space for a wheelchair, please contact the office prior to the performance.
- Groups of students from local schools will attend the matinee performances.
- Due to copyright, audience members are NOT PERMITTED TO PHOTOGRAPH, VIDEO or in ANYWAY RECORD ANY PART of the performance.
- The duration of the performance is approximately 70 minutes with no intermission.
Father's Day Breakfast
Father’s Day breakfast will be held on Friday 1st September from 6.30am - 8.30am in the St Anne’s hall – please RSVP for catering purposes. Students can share a bacon and egg roll with their father, grandfather or other special person free of charge. We will also have a coffee van in attendance if the adults wish to purchase a hot drink. If you have the capacity to assist, the FUNdraising committee are seeking donations of eggs, bacon and juice to the office by Tuesday 29th August plus volunteers to assist on the day – further details in the RSVP form below.
Father's Day Pop Up Stall
Spoil Dad this Father's Day with our fundraising pop up stall. Children will be given the opportunity to purchase a gift for dads, grandfathers and special people in their lives.
Friday 1st September
Each class will be given an allocated time to come and purchase their items and classes will be bought to stall by teachers in the morning.
Gifts will all be under $10 so it is recommended not to bring more than $10.
We are also looking for donations for our Fathers Day stall. Items will be sold at max $10. Ideas include plants/succulents, seeds, pots, herbs, mind puzzles, mugs/cups, fishing lures or golf items.
Please contact Cassandra on 0407 268 575 if you are able to help.
RE News
First Holy Communion
We congratulate students in Year 4 on receiving Jesus for the first time over the past weekend as they received the Sacrament of First Holy Communion. We would especially like to thank Fr Martin for his teaching, guidance and time in preparing the students over this past month.
Let us reflect on the words of Pope Francis in the following quotes:
“The Eucharist is essential for us: it is Christ who wishes to enter our lives and fill us with grace.”
“Just as the bread and wine are turned into the real body and blood of Christ, so too are those who receive the gifts, transformed into a living Eucharist, becoming the Body of Christ for others.”
“The Lord is clear - the sick, the elderly, the young, old, ugly, beautiful, food and bad. Everyone is welcome.”
“It is important that children be prepared well for their First Communion and that every child receive it, because it is the first step of this intense belonging to Jesus Christ, after Baptism.”
Sacred Heart Parish - Children’s Liturgies
The final Sacred Heart Children’s Liturgy for this term will be held on Sunday 10th September. These are held in the Sacred Heart Church Hall and children are invited to come forward at the beginning of Mass if they are interested in being a part of this.
Sacred Heart Parish - Annual General Meeting
The AGM of our Sacred Heart Parish is this Thursday 31t August at 6pm in the Parish Hall. The guest speaker is Michelle Hensel who will offer a reflection on ‘Finding Purpose and Gratitude through grief’. Finger food and refreshments provided. For catering purposes please contact the Parish office on 6025 1516 if you would like to attend.
Year 5 & 6 Camps
Next term, our Year 5 students will be travelling to Ballarat and our Year 6 students will be going to Canberra. Initial information regarding these camps including costs (and payment plan details) have been shared with parents of these children. Consent and payment are to be made via Compass.
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.
Volunteering at school
We are very grateful for the assistance that parents/grandparents provide in our school. Any helpers/volunteers (including canteen, sport, 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 need 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.
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.
Bus Pass applications
Bus Pass applications for travel between home and school, can be made via this link
Past Newsletters
- Term 1 Week 2
- Term 1 Week 3
- Term 1 Week 4
- Term 1 Week 5
- Term 1 Week 6
- Term 1 Week 7
- Term 1 Week 8
- Term 1 Week 9
- Term 1 Week 10
- Term 1 Week 11
- Term 2 Week 1
- Term 2 Week 2
- Term 2 Week 3
- Term 2 Week 4
- Term 2 Week 5
- Term 2 Week 6
- Term 2 Week 7
- Term 2 Week 8
- Term 2 Week 9
- Term 2 Week 10
- Term 3 Week 1
- Term 3 Week 2
- Term 3 Week 3
- Term 3 Week 4
- Term 3 Week 5
- Term 3 Week 6