Key Dates - 2024
- Wednesday 20th November - Kinder 2025 Transition Session Three 9.15-11.30am or 12.15-2.30pm
- Monday 25th November - Wednesday 27th November - Yr 6 Canberra Excursion
- Thursday 28th November - Yr 7 Transition Day Xavier
- Friday 29th November - Bongiorno Day/Gift Giving Mass & Semester 2 House Awards Ceremony
- Wednesday 4th December - David Enever Christmas Community Concert @ 6pm (details closer to the date)
- Thursday 5th December - Kinder 2025 Transition Session Four 9.15am-12pm
- Saturday 7th December - 2024 school fees due to be paid in full
- Wednesday 11th December - Yr 6 Short n' Sweet Film Festival @ 6pm
- Monday 16th December - Yr 6 Graduation (details to follow)
- Wednesday 18th December - Last day of school year for students
Assembly Dates
- Year 3 Assembly - Friday 22nd November @ 11.45am
- Kinder Nativity Assembly - Tuesday 3rd December @ 11.45am
2025 Dates
- Friday 31st January - Staff return to school (students do not attend)
- Monday 3rd & Tuesday 4th February - MAI Testing for students Yr 1-6
- Monday 3rd - Friday 7th - Best Start Interviews for Kinder students
- Wednesday 5th February - Yr 1-6 students start school
- Monday 10th February - Kinder students start school
- Wednesday 12th, 19th & 26th February - Kinder rest days
- Wednesday 19th February - Yr 3-6 Swimming Carnival
- Friday 7th March - School Photo Day
- Friday 11th April - Last day of Term 1
School fees
A reminder that school fees are to due to be paid in full by 7th December 2024.
Families leaving in 2025
As we near the end of the school year we ask that any families who are not planning on returning to St Anne's in 2025, please notify the office as soon as possible.
Canteen
K-2 Athletics Carnival
The Infants Athletics Gala day was held last week. Our K-2 students participated in the 100m sprint followed by a number of different sporting activities. There were a lot great acts of sportsmanship on the day and it was fantastic to see the participation of all our students. Thank you to all our CSU helpers and teachers who made the day possible.
Bongiorno Day/Gift Giving
We will celebrate Bongiorno Day on Friday 29th November. We will hold a Liturgy in the hall from 9.15am, followed by our Semester 2 Awards ceremony.
Any students in Bongiorno House (Red) who have a spoken part at our Liturgy on Friday, November 29th should have received a copy of the part this week. All are welcome to attend the Liturgy at 9:15am.
After recess students K-6 will be involved in trivia. We thank the Bongiorno House staff for their organisation.
Vinnies Christmas Appeal
Christmas has come early in the school office as we prepare to receive donations for the annual Vinnies Christmas Appeal. Our school community has always responded with incredible generosity, providing gifts for identified families who are eligible for special support over the Christmas period.
If your family is able to donate any gift items, please send them in to our office before Friday 29th November, so we can present them to Vinnies at our Bongiorno Day Liturgy.
Vinnies have asked that items be unwrapped and suitable to gift to children 12 years of age and under. We thank you in advance for your generosity in supporting this cause.
Yr 6 Short n' Sweet Film Festival
🎬🌟 Exciting News: Inaugural Year 6 Short n’ Sweet Film Festival! 🌟🎬
We are delighted to announce a very special event celebrating the creativity and hard work of our talented Year 6 students – the inaugural Short n’ Sweet Film Festival!
As part of their Performing Arts lessons, the Year 6 students have collaborated in groups to create short films, showcasing their storytelling, acting and production skills. This event is a fantastic opportunity to highlight their learning and achievements in the arts.
The Short n’ Sweet Film Festival will take place on Wednesday, 11th December in the St Anne’s School Hall, commencing at 6pm. This red carpet evening promises to be an exciting showcase of imagination and talent!
Important details, including RSVP information, will be sent directly to Year 6 families via Compass.
We encourage everyone to support our budding filmmakers as they share their incredible work with us. Stay tuned for more updates, and we look forward to seeing our Year 6 families at this wonderful celebration!
Sports News
Diocesan Cricket
Congratulations to Charlie and Carcy who have gained selection in next year's MacKillop Cricket Trial.
Book Club
The final Book Club catalogue (#8) for the year was sent home last week. The catalogue can be previewed here. All orders must be returned by this Thursday, 21st November. Books make great Christmas gifts, so if you would like to place a secret order, just choose the 'gift' option when ordering online and we will keep your order here in the office for you to collect.
TheirCare Holiday Program
TheirCare Holiday program is now taking bookings for the school holidays. They will operate from Monday 13th January until Tuesday 4th February.
A flyer will be available soon but you can check out the Holiday Program important information below.
Compass School Favourites
Did you know that the Compass Parent Portal offers a 'School Favourites' tab that has quick links to things like an extended leave application and the school fee instalment calculator?
When you open the Compass App, simply select more from the bottom right of the menu and you will see the School Favourites tab on the left.
Upcoming Excursions
Year 6 Canberra Excursion
Students in Year 6 will travel to Canberra between the Monday 25th - Wednesday 27th November. Consent and payment of $420 is due by Friday 8th November. Thanks to the many families who have already committed to pay via the payment plan. We ask those families to please ensure that there are sufficient funds in your nominated account on the dates of payment. The last two payments of $84 are due on 11th October and 8th November.
Messages regarding changes to after-school plans
We are always happy to pass on messages to students from parents/carers regarding changes in after-school plans (eg. regarding catching or not catching a bus). However, please contact the office as early as possible in the day so that we can pass on such messages efficiently. In the afternoon, the office can become very busy and it can be difficult to locate specific students quickly (especially on sport days). Thankyou.
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.
Uniform Shop
Our Uniform Shop is open weekly on Friday from 2.45-3.15pm. 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.
Bus Travel in 2024
- St Anne's students who have a bus pass in 2024, and remain eligible, should automatically received a new pass for 2025 (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.
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.
Student Attendance
On occasion, your child may need to be absent from school. Justified reasons for student absences may include:
- being sick, or having an infectious disease
- having an unavoidable medical appointment
- being required to attend a recognised religious holiday
- exceptional or urgent family circumstance (e.g. attending a funeral)
Following an absence from school you must ensure that within 7 days you provide your child’s school with a verbal or written explanation for the absence. This can be via Compass or by phone, email or in written form. Parents will receive a Compass notification with a link for parents to provide this information in Compass.
Principals may decline to accept an explanation that you have provided if they do not believe the absence is in the best interest of your child. In these circumstances your child’s absence would be recorded as unjustified. When this happens the principal will discuss their decision with you and the reasons why.
Principals may request medical certificates or other documentation when frequent or long term absences are explained as being due to illness. Principals may also seek parental permission to speak with medical specialists to obtain information to collaboratively develop a health care plan to support your child. If the request is denied, the principal can record the absences as unjustified.
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. Extended leave forms are available from the school office.