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- Principal's Message
- Covid Update
- External Providers
- Afternoon Car Lines and Dismissal
- Uniforms
- Messages from the Assistant Principal
- Aboriginal Education News
- Religious Education News
- Library News
- Kindergarten News
- Parish Bulletin
- Parish Planned Giving
- Guitar Lessons
- Back to School Nutrition Snippet
- Good For Kids Healthy Snacks
- Daughters and Dads Cricket Program
- Breakaway Dance
Dear Parents and Friends of St Kevin’s,
Yamma! Kumusta! Vanakkam! Cześć! Bula! Talofa! Ciao!
Welcome to the 2021 School Year. To everyone who calls St Kevin’s “My School!” we welcome you with open arms to this amazing community.
St Kevin’s is a school that is a Catholic community nurturing and inspiring mind, heart and spirit by making Jesus real. We are a village raising the students to be the best they can be spiritually, emotionally, and academically. Together parents, students and teachers make this village a special place where we are all one mob, working together to achieve the best possible outcomes. So, here’s to 2021 … a year of learning and fun and rising up to meet any challenges that come our way.
Enjoy the 2021 school year.
Mary-Anne Jennings
New faces!
We welcome Mackenzie in Year 5, Nate in Year 3 and Lukas in Year 2. We hope that you soar here at St Kevin’s, enjoying everything we have to offer and the special friends you will meet on your educational journey.
Kindergarten 2021
Our brand-new kindergarten students started on Tuesday. We welcomed 23 students into our class of 2021, and we wish them and their mums and dads all the very best as they begin their school life.
Staffing changes
Over the Christmas school holidays, Mrs Nikki Norley was appointed Assistant Principal at St Joseph’s Charlestown. We wish Nikki all the best at her new school. Mrs Norley’s replacement is Mrs Kim Hogan, as Assistant Principal, with Mrs Erica Keating filling the teaching part of Mrs Norley’s role until a full-time replacement is allocated.
Nothing much has changed since 2020 in relation to school. Parents are still not permitted on site unless for special meeting with staff or to pick up a sick child. Kindergarten parents are permitted to walk their child directly to the classroom each day if required, but this is strictly limited to 5 minutes.
Hand washing and sanitising are still part of our daily routines.
No sharing of food – this includes no birthday cakes/ ice blocks or lollies.
Drink bottles are strongly recommended. Bubblers are available but not encouraged.
Singing is not permitted in classroom settings.
Parents are not permitted to be on site or attend carnivals/ liturgies/assemblies.
If your child is sick and displaying symptoms of a sore throat, runny nose, cough or fever, then they must stay at home, get a COVID test and only return to school upon receipt of a negative test.
School liturgies and Masses are on hold at the present. Individual class liturgies are continuing within the classroom as required.
School assemblies are for students only and will be held every fortnight commencing Week 3. Awards will be Making Jesus Real and Academic Excellence.
We are now permitted to have external providers again on site. This includes OT’s, psychologists and speech therapists.
However there are certain protocols that must be adhered to. If you require a therapist to visit your child during school hours here at St Kevin’s in 2021 then ALL parents must apply in writing – email, to Mrs Jennings and Mrs Larke seeking permission for the various therapists to visit during school hours. The hours available for visits are from 12:45 – 3pm, remembering that recess is from 1:45 – 2:15pm. The therapist must then make an appointment to come to school for an induction and will need to provide a copy of their WWCC and 100 points of Id. This is then sent to our Office of Safeguarding for approval. This can take 3 – 5 working days. There is also a restriction as to the number of therapists at any one time visiting our school due to facilities of room space for such sessions. So, if you need to have your child seen by a therapist here at school in 2021, please apply to start the ball rolling.
Afternoon Car Lines and Dismissal
Please be aware that here at St Kevin’s we have established a very safe and efficient afternoon car pick up. However this does rely on patience and common sense so as to work. The safety of or students and staff is paramount.
So, with afternoon dismissal, if you are picking up in a car we ask that you turn into Hendrix St at the Shell service station and join the car line as you wait to come up to our Andrew St gate where you child will be waiting to get in. PLEASE DO NOT GET OUT OF YOUR CAR unless your child cannot put on their own seatbelt. PLEASE DO NOT OVERTAKE CARS IN THE LINE – sometimes it looks like a Le Mans race! This is a safety issue. Andrew St is also a thoroughfare for regular traffic, so check your mirrors before pulling out!
If you are waiting to pick up your child on the grassed area outside the old convent, please park in Main Rd. Do not park down the bottom of Andrew St as it is causing issues with parents doing car pick up.
Courtesy, patience and planning will ensure the safety of our children.
Thank you to the parents for supporting the P&F Uniform committee and the school in ensuring that your child wears the correct uniform.
One point of concern is that in some classes, students are wearing brightly coloured joggers on a Friday and not their white joggers. Please ensure that orange, red or blue joggers are not worn to school and are for weekend wear only.
Don’t forget school hats are mandatory for sun protection whilst playing.
Please label all clothing so if lost or left on the playground it can be returned to its owner.
Messages from the Assistant Principal
Well it has been a very busy start to the school year. Can you believe that we are already 1/12 of the way through the year?
Our staggered start to the school year worked well. Years 2-6 settled into learning as if they had never been away. Our Years 4-6 1:1 laptop program has commenced and I am very happy to report that we have been able to connect all devices and successfully download Office 365. Please remember that all students in the diocese are entitled to free Office 365 on up to 5 devices.
Welcome Kindergartens! Students have settled in well and it is great to see them engaging with their Provocations (play based learning). I dropped into Kindergarten yesterday and encountered a group of students with their hard hats and safety glasses on, with their tape measures at the ready. When asked, they told me they were building a TV. It was huge! Year 5/6 have embraced the roles as Kinder Buddies. It is great to see the younger students learning how to adapt and live the St Kevin’s way.
Some students maybe experiencing a little anxiety over their movement into a new class or stage. This is quite normal. Please reassure your child that it is okay, to talk to their teacher about any concerns they may be having (generally it will be around more complex work and / or the pacing of the work). Give lots of positive encouragement and ask them about their successes for the day. If the problem persists please make contact with the classroom teacher.
Kim Hogan
Yaama Ngindaay!
Welcome to the 2021 school year. I look forward to working with our staff, students and families again this year in my role as Aboriginal Education Teacher.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures is a cross-curriculum priority in the Australian Curriculum. The curriculum states that ‘the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures cross-curriculum priority is designed for all students to engage in reconciliation, respect and recognition of the world’s oldest continuous living cultures.’ At St Kevin’s we have a very supportive community where we respect all cultures and celebrate diversity.
You may have seen a news item on NBN last Friday night which featured St Kevin’s and our school captains Emme and Cristiano, both of whom are Aboriginal. This news item also highlighted our school’s ongoing commitment to respecting cultures and diversity.
Craig Duncan, our Aboriginal Education Officer at the Catholic Schools Office, was also interviewed for the news item. In an article in mnnews.today last year, Craig summed up the importance of Aboriginal perspectives in school learning: “It’s about having a conversation and sharing our knowledge. Providing all Australians with the opportunity to learn about Aboriginal history and culture will aid reconciliation efforts, enable us to grow as a nation and build on thousands of years of wisdom. Today's generation of students is learning this from the get-go, which gives me great confidence."
This year we have 15 Aboriginal students at St Kevin’s across all grades. This represents 12% of the school population which is a very healthy representation. I bring the students together each week to learn and yarn about Aboriginal culture, Dreaming stories and history. I also work in each classroom to help students and teachers.
May God bless us as we work together for the good of all in our community, for Reconciliation and Respect.
Phil Taylor
Aboriginal Education Teacher
Welcome
Welcome back! I hope you had a very happy and holy Christmas. As restrictions make it difficult for us to meet inside as a whole school we commenced our school year with each class having a small Liturgy of the Word in their classroom. We are holding our Opening School Liturgy and Induction of Captains next Thursday 11th February. Unfortunately, it is impossible to extend an open invitation to our parent population. As we know that witnessing our school leaders’ induction is very important to our Captains’ parents we will be video this part of our liturgy and sending a Microsoft Streams link to the parents involved.
Parish
Parish masses are currently capped at 84, this means that we are unable to take the school to the Church. This term Father Joseph is visiting each class to engage with the students each Thursday. Currently there are about 60 parishioners who attend each Sunday… so there is still room if you want to come.
Synod
This year our Diocese is undergoing a very significant renewal. The Diocesan Synod is a 3 year process of discernment (2019-2021). The dates for 2021 are 22nd May and 21 November.
A Synod - the word means “journeying together” - is a formal assembly of representatives of the whole diocesan community: clergy, religious and lay people. Through the Synod process, which involves collaboration, discernment, governance and communion, the Bishop seeks advice on matters concerning the good of the whole diocese.
The Diocese is currently calling for people who would like to be part of the discernment process. The theme is “Building the Kingdom of God together”. I have nominated as a delegate. If you have concerns or suggestions that you would like to have expressed please do not hesitate to drop me an email kim.hogan@mn.catholic.edu.au or call the school 0249540036 and I will very happily listen and take your thoughts to the Synod. It is important that we listen to all.
God Bless
Kim Hogan
The children have commenced Library lessons and I am excited to see the talent in Digital Technologies this year. I will also teach from the Geography curriculum in Library lessons.
We are still unpacking our library from the building works in 2020. We are hoping borrowing will commence in Week 4.
If you have any questions please feel free to email me
dianne.binkin@mn.catholic.edu.au
Many thanks
Mrs Binkin
Teacher Librarian
This week we warmly welcomed our 2021 Kindergarten students. The students have settled into the St. Kevin’s school community beautifully and have enjoyed engaging in their learning and hands on play. Mrs. Albury and all the teaching staff are very much looking forward to teaching and guiding these students throughout their education journey.
Calling all Rock n’ Rollers!! Learn guitar at St Kevin’s in 2021
Open to years K to 6, students will learn everything from Billy Eilish to The Weeknd, to Post Malone, to Imagine Dragons, to Guy Sebastian, to Tones and I, to AC/DC, all whilst learning acoustic and electric guitar skills, learning to perform as part of a group and enjoying the excitement and experience of being a real musician with skills that will last a lifetime. All lessons are conducted in small groups, based on age and skill level, but also with a big focus on jamming with their mates. If you are interested in your child being involved please email: ricky@rickysmusictuition.com.au or text 0407 534 944 for more information.