No 1. Term 1 Week 1, 2nd February 2022

Principal's News

Welcome back! I hope you have enjoyed a wonderful holiday break. I also hope you are relaxed, recharged and ready to start a new school year. I am so delighted that you are part of our amazing learning community. Especially given your positive energy and dedication to excellence in education despite the ongoing challenges we all face. So with that in mind, I look forward to working with you and your children.

Each year brings positive change and will include new and innovative teaching methods for all of our students. As you know the COVID 19 Pandemic continues to threaten our normal routines so health, safety and the wellbeing of our students remain our number one priority. However, we are not letting the uncertainty that exists affect the education that our children so desperately need and deserve.

Thank you to all who have helped prepare for the new school year. Your commitment to ensuring that St. Kevin's remains a celebrated and successful school is awe-inspiring. We are so excited to have greeted students and families again and I am proud and privileged to serve our community for another year as your Principal. Please stop by and say hello, or call our office if you have any questions. Together, I know we will make this school year one of growth and achievement for all children.

God bless.

Jason Micallef,
Principal

Operoo technical issues

Unfortuantely we have been unable to rollover Operoo information from 2021 to 2022 which has delayed us from sending out forms and information requiring attention. We thank you for your patience as this was rectified. You should expect to receive all the information from Operoo in the coming days.

Covid-Safety Procedures

The measures set out in the Victorian Government’s Back-To-School plan will ensure every possible effort is made to keep staff and students safe and that schools remain open.

The plan maintains the importance of the 3Vs: Ventilation, Vaccination, and Vital COVIDSafe steps and as such has introduced some new measures for schools.

An important reminder that all visitors attending school, including for drop-off and pick-up, must adhere to physical distancing, density limits, face mask requirements, practise respiratory etiquette and good hand hygiene. For the time being, the only building parents can enter is the office building. 

Surveillance Testing

By now, all students who have attended school will have received their test kit. We are asking for all students to test twice per week before school. We recommend that this be on a Monday morning and Wednesday morning, but this can be flexible according to your unique circumstances. 

Information about how to do a test and how to read RAT results, including a how-to video translated into 33 languages, is available online.

Reporting Positive Cases

Parents and carers can report that students have tested positive for COVID-19 via normal school absentee processes.

You also need to use the Victorian Government’s VicEd COVID Portal. A user guide has been created to assist parents with logging cases via the portal. 

Introducing our newest staff members!

Miss Lauren Rullo

Hello St. Kevin's community. My name is Miss Rullo and I am a recent graduate from Australian Catholic University. For the upcoming year I'll be in grade 5/6 DR with Ms Donald. I can't wait to begin my teaching career here with such amazing and passionate staff. I'm a massive sports fan, and like to attend soccer matches when I can. I look forward to meeting you all throughout the year. 

Miss Jade Hazlett

My name is Jade Hazlett and I am so excited to be joining the St Kevin's community. 2022 marks my 6th year of teaching, a job I absolutely love! I look forward to getting to know the students, families and everyone involved in the St. Kevin's community.

Miss Sarah Burren

Hello - My name is Sarah Burren and I am very excited to be joining the team at St. Kevin’s in 2022 as a Grade 1/2 teacher. I look forward to getting to know you and your children whilst supporting them on their learning journeys. Outside of school I love to spend time outdoors being active with my dogs, and cooking delicious food for friends and family.

Miss Stephanie Mendes

Hello! My name is Miss Mendes. I’m the new LSO! Over 11 years ago I attended and graduated from St. Kevin’s and now I have been blessed with this amazing opportunity to work here and be a part of the St. Kevin's community. Working with children has always been a great passion of mine and I love to see children thrive and grow intellectually, socially and emotionally! I’m so thrilled to begin this journey of mine here at St. Kevin’s and help shape my students into the people they dream to be! 

CONGRATULATIONS!

We congratulate Miss Kharoufeh who is getting married this weekend! We wish her and her husband Luke all the joy, happiness and love for their special day as they begin their new lives together. When Miss Kharoufeh returns, we will all know her by her new married name - Mrs Nasrawi.

Drop off and Pick up Procedures

Morning Drop Off

Time: 8:30am onwards for all students.

Parking: Parents may park in the main carpark and walk their children into the school gates.

Kiss and go: Parents may drive into the round-about drive through and drop children off in front of the church.

After School Pick Up

Time: School ends for all students at 3:30pm

Parking: Parents may park in the main carpark and walk into the school to collect your child.

Drive by: At present, no drive by is available to pick children up.

Hot Tip! In an attempt to be safe and reduce congestion in the car park after school:

• Front Carpark: Parents are to park their car in the allocated parking spots and escort their child/ren to their cars, using the crossing in front of the office. 
• Parish house: It is not a drop off or collection area EXCEPT for Community buses.  Drop off and collection behind the parish house is not permitted. 
• Exiting on Edey’s Run: One of the biggest causes of traffic congestion in the carpark is when cars bank up on Edey’s Run as people wait for a chance to turn onto Hallam Road. To avoid this, we ask that all families turn right onto Edey’s Run when the supervising teacher directs you to. This will ensure traffic continues to flow and eliminate congestion.

To get back to Hallam Road after exiting the carpark – Turn right onto Edey’s Run. Continue to the round-about at the end of the road and turn left onto Coral Drive. Continue on Coral Drive until you reach the traffic light intersection at Hallam Road.

You can collect your children from the following locations:

• Outside the hall - Prep, One and Two children WITHOUT brothers and sisters at the school 
• Undercover outside the library - Three, Four, Five and Six children WITHOUT brothers and sisters
• Outside the 3/4 area - Children with siblings (all grades)

Out of Hours School Care (OHSC)

Camp Australia provides care for St. Kevin’s Children before school and after school in our hall.

If your family requires this kind of care for your children, Camp Australia have a very simple booking structure that ensures the best family experience, whilst also providing flexibility to suit most schedules.

You have access to two different booking options, each at the same enrolment fee that is currently in place:  

• Recurring – families with a regular schedule.
• Casual – for families who have changing schedules, or only need care every so often.

Details of all fees, terms and conditions are available at www.campaustralia.com.au

SZ App is our primary means of communicating with families for those day to day reminders and other pieces of information that need to communicated quickly and efficiently. 

It is crucial that all families have the app installed on all of their mobile devices.

If you do not have the app installed on your mobile devices and need help to do so, please contact the office on 9709 8600 for support.

A couple of handy tips:

- After downloading the App to search for our school, type in Hampton Park instead of our school name.

- When asked to enter the four digit passcode, type in 4248.

Canteen

The canteen is back for 2022 and operates every Thursday and Friday. Lunches can only be purchased by pre-ordering through the Qkr! App.

Orders need to be placed by 8.50am to ensure your order is in beofre the cut off time.

When you place the order, please make sure you enter your child's correct 2022 class or they may need get their order. 

See below for instructions on how to order.

St. Kevins' Facebook Page  

The St. Kevin's Facebook Page is just another way we can all keep in touch. We'll share important news, fun and intersting articles and links to important community services. As well, we can share photos and videos that will hopefully make you smile. You can even post comment or ask questions. 

Like or follow our page at https://www.facebook.com/StKevinsPS

Playground Update

Over the school holidays work commenced on the new playground in the quadrangle. It was hoped that the playground would be ready for the children to enjoy upon their return to school, but sadly, like most things lately, work has been delayed by supply and labour shortages.

On a positive note though, the children will be able to enjoy watching the development grow and evolve as it comes together over the next few weeks.

It won't be too long before we see some very excited children exploring, climbing, crawling, bouncing, dancing, digging and sliding their way through this exciting new addition to our school. 

Year 5/6 Sexuality Education

At St. Kevin's, teachers take positive measures to help students understand all aspects of their health including their relationships, sexual health and sexuality. We are very mindful though that sexuality education begins at home and supports schools as part of a broader health curriculum aimed at maximising children’s wellbeing.

This year we are support the learning of our Year 5/6 students in this very important area by engaging them in the 'About Real Life' program. The 'About Real Life' program is sensitive to parents’/carers’ values and beliefs, and provides an excellent starting point for family discussion about human sexuality and respectful relationships.

To provide our Year 5/6 parents and carers with more information about this program, we invite them to attend an information evening, taking place at 7pm on March 1st. This adults only presentation will detail the content for the classroom sessions that will take place later this term  and provide an opportunity to ask any questions you may have before they commence.

Online information session for parents of Year 5/6 students - 7:00pm, March 1st.

Parents & Friends Association

The Parents and Friends Association is an essential group of parents working together to make our school a better place. The PFA have two main jobs - Fund raising and Friend raising! If you are interested in being a part of this group, it doesn't matter how much or how little please contact Mrs Gage for more information.

We are also looking for anyone who may want to take on the role of PFA President! This is an exciting opportunity for anyone who has some skills in organising and coordinating a team of people to make a really positive difference in our school community. Again if you are interested or would like to learn more about this, please speak with Mrs Gage. rgage@skhamptonpark.catholic.edu.au

THANK YOU!

Some of our mums came to run our second hand uniform shop this week. I know that many families who came along, appreciate your effort to ensure the store was functional and that stock was available. 

With more mums coming in this week to process more items, we hope to be able to announce more opening times for the shop in the coming days.

School Advisory Committee

The School Advisory Committee (SAC) is an important group made up of representatives from key stakeholder groups within our school community. The SAC meets twice per term in the evening to discuss key aspects of school life and provide advice to the Principal. Being a SAC member is also a great way for parents to learn more about how our school operates and how decisions are made. We are currently looking for parents / carers who might enjoy being a part of this more formal / structured way engaging in school life and can commit to attending these meetings. With the ability to include members via video link, you may even be able to take part from home! Please contact Mr. Micallef if you would like more information principal@skhamptonpark.catholic.edu.au .