Term 2 - Week 3, 2024
Principal's Message
Dear Parents and Friends,
Welcome to our Week 3 Newsletter. A huge thank you to everyone who attended our Mother's Day Liturgy and Afternoon Tea on Friday. We loved being able to celebrate you and all the wonderful ways you support, care for and nurture your children. You are all amazing!
Mother's Day Liturgy
Parent-Teacher Interviews
We look forward to seeing you next week at our Parent-Teacher Interviews. This is a great opportunity to connect with your child's teacher, discover what is happening in the classroom and ask all those burning questions. If you haven't made your appointment yet - it's not too late; book a time through Compass now!
Tell Them From Me
As part of our focus on school effectiveness, Mt St John's will participate in an online survey for students—Tell Them From Me ® (TTFM®). Schools in Australia and worldwide have used the Tell Them From Me survey to help them improve. The information you provide will be used to maintain our commitment to working together in partnership to further improve student learning and wellbeing.
The survey is anonymous and will take approximately 20 minutes to complete. You can access the parent survey until WEDNESDAY 22nd MAY on your computer or mobile device by using the URL below:
http://tellthemfromme.com/x5p46
Thank you for your support with this - your feedback is incredibly valuable!
What's On - Term 2
At the end of Term 1, we published a comprehensive What's On for Term 2. Here is a LINK in case you missed it.
Please mark Monday, June 3rd, on your calendar. We are offering a Parent Webinar with the team from The Resilience Project. Some details are included later in the newsletter, and more information will follow closer to the day. Dinner and babysitting are provided to make it easier for you to attend!
As always, please call or email me with any questions or concerns.
Have a lovely weekend,
Deb
Deborah Bailey
Principal
Parent Forum Survey
Thank you to everyone who completed the survey. Your responses help us determine the future direction of our Parent Representative Group.
To learn more about the two models, you can read more in this document.
When you are ready to give your preference, you can click here to complete this short survey.
Please register your preference by MONDAY 20th MAY.
Whole School Focus
Our whole school focus this fortnight builds on our focus from the previous fortnight. This week we are learning how to make peope feel welcome in 3 easy steps. Our teachers and student leaders look for students demonstrating these skills and give out GEM Awards to celebrate.
Staff Development Days
Please be advised that our school has the following CSO-mandated MID-WEEK Staff Development Days. Students do not attend school on these days.
Thursday 30th May
The Resilience Project
You are warmly invited to our next Parent Night—Connected Parenting Webinar, which will be held on Monday, June 3rd, from 6:30 p.m. to 7:45 p.m.
What you can expect:
This Connected Parenting Webinar offers a valuable set of tools for parents and carers aiming to raise children through positive connections and communication. Tips for parents and carers will include;
- Guiding our children to become resilient adults.
- Practical strategies to build stronger connections with your children.
- Ideas to support your children when they are frustrated or going through challenging situations.
- Simple ways to create co-operation.
- Dealing with our own triggers as a parent.
- Understanding big emotions and feelings and assisting your kids in becoming emotionally resilient.
The evening will be led by Lael Stone, an author, TEDx speaker, counsellor and parenting educator who specialises in navigating trauma and disconnection in families. She has spent the last 17 years working with families, as well as running programs in Secondary schools for teens on relationships and Well-being. She is a mother of three grown up children and the co-founder of Woodline Primary School - a new innovative school focused on supporting emotional intelligence in children.
Class Awards
Congratulations to all our Award Winners for Week 2 and Week 3.
| Week 3 | ||
| Principal's Award | Larney Francis | For always making people feel welcome and included with his big smile and genuine interest in everyone. |
| Kindy | Ziggy Carter-Sims | For working hard to learn and modify the Welcome to Country. |
| Phoebe Sheridan | For always listening carefully to instructions to complete tasks well. | |
| Stage 1 | Rokko Bailey | For giving thoughtful answers during class discussion. |
| Brianna Bosshard-Guest | For making a great effort to write a description about the Aurora Australis. | |
| Stage 2 | Lakota Miller-Thompson | For sharing your ideas for our class poem on the thylacine. |
| Jules Francis | For your willingness to share your learning during Maths. | |
| Stage 3 | Xavier Beckett | For his contributions to class discussions and for asking great questions. |
| Seth Hayley | For his enthusiastic participation in art lessons. | |
GEM Awards
Congratulations to our GEM Award winners
| Week 3 | |
| Whole School | Samo Floridan |
| Kindy | Zahli Bailey |
| Stage 1 | Evie Jackson |
| Stage 2 | Tyson Talbot |
| Stage 3 | Xavier Beckett |
School Library News
Now that our library is open, students can borrow again regularly. We are splitting library times for infants and primary school students over two days after lunch to minimise disruptions to key learning times.
The schedule will be:
Wednesday - Primary (Stage 2 and Stage 3)
Thursday - Infants (Kindy and Stage 1)
Students may borrow 4 books each week, and they should bring a cloth library bag to school on their library day to help protect their books.
We are enjoying sharing our beautiful, reimagined library space with the students and encouraging them to develop a lifelong love of reading!
Cathy
School Librarian
Term 2 School Fees
Term 2 school fees have been billed to each family. Term 2 fees are due by Friday 14th June, unless you are paying by regular direct debit amounts.
1 student - $318
2 students - $556.50
Payment options are:
- using the Compass app - You can check your school fee balance and pay fees through the Compass app. Select more - school fees - next - and enter your credit card details. You have the option to pay in full or pay a portion of your fees.
- cash or cheque at school
- direct deposit to the school's bank account (see instructions below)
When using Internet banking, please use your child’s surname as a reference.
Banancoast Community Credit Union
BSB no. 533-000
Account no. 3282 0430
Name: Mt St John’s Primary School
Remember, if you feel you will be unable to finalise your Term 2 school fees by this date, some financial assistance may be available from St Vincent de Paul - to make an appointment with them, call 0472 718862. You will need to take your school fee statement with you to your appointment.
Thank you!
School Facebook Page
Check out our school Facebook page! It is wonderful to be able to share the good news of our school with our families and community.
How to Cancel a Canteen Order
If you need to, you can cancel canteen orders before 9am on canteen day. If you know your child is going to be away you can go into Compass Canteen and select "cancel order".
The refunded money goes back into your Compass "wallet" so you can use it next time you order - when you get to the Confirm & pay screen, click on the down arrow and select Compass Credit.
Community Notices
GLUE
GLUE God Loves Us Eternally KidsClub is held each Wednesday during school term time from 3-5pm at the Anglican Church Hall. Afternoon tea, games, fun worship and craft. All primary kids in Years 1-6 are welcome, as are newcomers. For more info, ring Gwenneth on 6657 2135.
Dorrigo Rangers Rugby
Bellingen Dorrigo Junior Rugby League
Felicitee Method Consultations
NSWCPS Girls 7s Rugby
Bellingen Bulldogs AFL
Bellingen Bulldog's Junior AFL offers programs for boys and girls aged from 5 years old to 17 years of age, starting with an Auskick program for younger children and competitive teams for boys and girls starting from under 10's up to under 17's.
Information on how to register for the club along with contact information for parents is below.
School Bus Travel
Students who need a School Opal card or travel pass for 2024 can apply here. A new application will need to be submitted if they are applying for the first time, or if they are requesting additional travel entitlement because of new shared parental arrangement (e.g. joint custody).
If a student’s distance eligibility has changed based on their grade (i.e. grade two to grade three), the system will automatically update their entitlement if they meet the new criteria. If they do not meet the new eligibility criteria, an expiry notification will be sent via email.
Students who have an entitlement approved under a medical condition that is due to expire will receive a notification advising them to re-apply.
Term Bus Pass holders will receive a notification to re-apply.
Students living in rural and regional (R&R) areas should receive their travel pass at the start of the new school year from their nominated transport operator. It may come via the school or be sent directly to them at home. Note: some R&R operators do not issue travel passes. Students/parents should confirm with their nominated operator if they do not receive a pass.
School Drive Subsidy
The School Drive Subsidy is available for eligible school students where there is no public transport available for all or part of the journey. If you have to drive your child more than 1.6km to a school bus stop, you may be eligible for this subsidy – go to the link below to apply.
Healthy Lunchbox Website
Cancer Council’s Healthy Lunch Box website is your one-stop shop for everything you need to know about packing a healthy lunch box. For recipes, information and health tips please visit the website below.
