Newsletter February 14th, 2023

Jayne Bosworth

'Inspire us to act justly and to reverence all God has made.'

Excerpt from St Brigid's Prayer

This Friday we will be hosting our first fortnightly Assembly at 2:30pm in the Multipurpose Room - all welcome! From Week 6, each fortnight a class will present a small item at assembly (timetable will be circulated in our next newsletter).

We look forward to seeing you this Friday for our first Assembly!

Parents and families will be provided with the opportunity to touch base with their child’s classroom teacher through our Parent/Teacher conversations that will take place in Week 6 – Tuesday 28th February and Wednesday 1st March.

Our Parent/Teacher Conversations provide valuable opportunities for the teacher and parents/carers to share and learn more about a student socially, emotionally and academically.

They are an effective way to establish and maintain collaborative relationships between parents/carers and teachers with the purpose of getting to know each student as a person and learner.

The conversations will take place onsite at St Brigid’s. Bookings are open, all families can book a suitable time through PAM/SIMON Everywhere.

To help us really get to know your child as a person and a learner, and to assist with guiding our conversation, please answer the questions on the sheet below and bring the sheet along with you to your child's Parent/Teacher Conversation in Week 6. A hard copy will be sent home today.

This year, the National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) will take place in March from Wednesday 15th March - Tuesday 21st March for students in Years 3 and 5.

This year, students will complete NAPLAN online. NAPLAN online brings many new opportunities for students and teachers that are limited or not possible with paper-based tests. The year three Writing test is the only test that will continue as a pen and paper assessment this year. It is through the Online National Assessment Platform that we will administer the tests. Children will complete the tests via a secure locked down browser on a suitable device.

On Sunday 19th March, the Ballan Autumn Festival will take place! As a school, we are very excited to again be a part of this wonderful community event. We would love for families and staff members to join us for the parade. The theme this year is all about Superheroes! In preparation for this event, if attending, we are asking children, families and staff to ‘dress up’ keeping the theme in mind.

Just a reminder that there will be no hot lunches in Term 1! Hot lunches will resume again in Term 2. If you are able to assist with hot lunches on a Friday, please contact the school office.

Thank you in advance.

All of the timetabled events (to date) for the school year can be found on our school calendar which can be accessed through PAM and via this newsletter.

Book Club Essentials catalogues are back! Issue 2 will be sent home with your child in the coming weeks. All orders are now via Loop - no cash to be received.  How to register - details below for ordering via the Book Club Loop platform.

Please ensure that your child is wearing the correct uniform to school each day. The St Brigid’s uniform consists of the following:

A reminder to please label clothing, lunchboxes, containers, bags and water bottles!

Performing Arts will take place on Tuesday’s with Visual Arts and Physical Education taking place on Wednesday’s.  All children will need to wear their sports uniform on a Wednesday. Please ensure your child has an art smock (or old shirt etc) for Visual Arts.

At St Brigid’s this year, we have a number of students with severe food allergies and therefore, in alignment with our anaphylaxis policy, we encourage parents to avoid sending foods that contain nuts to school. This includes peanut paste, nut spreads such as Nutella and fruit and nut bars.

We acknowledge that due to food processing practices it is impractical to eliminate nuts or nut products entirely from an environment where there is food.  Many food packaging labels include the phrase ‘may contain traces of nuts’.  These foods are acceptable.  Thank you for your understanding and support of our school policies.

All children are expected to be at school ready to begin by 9:00am. Arriving on time for school is important. The first 10 minutes of school is a vital time of the day when the day's routine and structure is established. It is a time for ‘tuning in’ and focusing on the learning intentions for the day. It is very difficult for children arriving late to ‘catch up on this missed information. Parents are expected to phone through to the office the child’s absence on the day, or through our school Parent Access Module (PAM). If there has been no contact from the family in the morning of the absence, a sms from the office confirming the child’s absence from school will be sent.

2023 School Fee statements were sent out to families at the end of last year, are being sent home again today with your child and attached for your reference.

Payment options are via direct debit, EFTPOS at the school office, cash, cheque, credit card or internet banking. An early payment discount of $100 is offered where the family fee account is paid in full by 17th February.

Direct debits are available as 22 x fortnightly, 10 x monthly, or 4 x termly payments. Payments will commence on the 16th February. Please see the attached Fee Deduction Schedule and Direct Debit Authorisation Form for further information. Hard copies of this form are also available from the school office. Please return your form by Friday 3rd February.

In all Ballarat Diocesan Catholic Primary Schools, a Family Fee Assistance Scheme is available to families eligible for a means tested Health Care Card, Centrelink Pensioner Concession Card or Veteran Affairs Pensioner Card. The scheme is available to both catholic and non-Catholic families and reduces the cost of the Family Tuition Fee and Capital Levy to a combined maximum of $520 per year ($10 per week). The Curriculum Levy, Technology Levy and Excursion and Camp costs are then added to this to give a total fee amount for the year.

The Victorian Government offers a Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund (CSEF) providing payments to assist eligible families to cover the costs of camps, sporting events and excursions.

If you hold a valid means-tested concession card you may be eligible for CSEF. The allowance will be paid to the school to use towards expenses related to camps, excursions, or sporting activities for the benefit of your child.

The annual CSEF amount per student is currently $125 for primary school students.

Please see the school office for further information regarding Family Fee Assistance and the Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund (CSEF).

Currently, two school buses operate to and from St Brigid's School Ballan

Bus 1 serves Greendale

Bus 2 serves the Mt. Wallace and Bunding areas

To be eligible to use the bus service, students must live at least 4.8 km from the school on the bus route. If eligible, parents are required to complete and sign a permission form to access the service. Hard copies are available from the school office. Students who already travel on these services and will have previously completed the form, do not need to complete a new application. Due to insurance issues, non-bus travellers who need to use the bus occasionally must complete an adhoc travel form at least two days before the date of intended travel.  The bus service is organised via Ballan Primary School bus co-ordinator Kelly Leehane 53681072.

Please note the following recent changes to the Department of Education and Training’s Code Red Day policy and procedures.

Any school bus routes that are within, or pass-through, weather districts where the fire danger is determined to be Code Red will be cancelled. Based on the experience of the 2019 Code Red day in Mallee and Northern Country weather districts, the Department has decided that all school bus routes will be cancelled on future Code Red determined days in impacted weather districts. The Department’s primary rationale for making this policy change is to protect and preserve the lives of students, staff and education communities by taking the most prudent approach to the risk posed by the most catastrophic bushfire conditions.

The Conveyance Allowance assists families with the cost of transporting their children to and from school. To be eligible to receive a conveyance allowance you must:

Be aged between five years (by 30 April in the year that the allowance is sought) and 21 years.

Live more than 4.8km by the shortest practicable route from the nearest Catholic school attended, or, live more than 4.8 km from the nearest bus service.

Further information regarding the Conveyance Allowance can be found in the link below. If you believe you are eligible, please contact the school office.

 https://www2.education.vic.gov.au/pal/conveyance-allowance/policy

Enrolments are now open for the 2024 year. Onsite tours will commence in Term 1. Please spread the word!

Preschool Storytime at St Brigid’s commenced last week - all welcome!

Mass Times:

Korobeit Sat 6.30pm ~ Creswick 8.45am ~ Daylesford 10.30am