No 8. Term 2 Week 3, 11th May 2022

Principal's News

Hello to my dear St. Kevin's family,

Did you know that the month of May for the Catholic Church is known as the month of Mary? It's true! I don't think that it is a coincidence that we also celebrate Mother's Day in May since Mary, mother of Jesus, demonstrates unwavering faith and love as she tries to understand her son’s life journey. Just as all mothers do in their own way. I do hope then, that all families enjoyed time together over the weekend and could reflect on the big job mothers and caregivers do to nurture their families. 

A message about routine and making every minute at school count.

As we head deeper into the middle of the year and mornings are becoming cold and dreary some families will likely find they do not make for an enthusiastic attitude when it comes to getting ready for school. I know with my own children just how un-motivated they can be to get dressed, pack their bags, have something to eat, brush their teeth and tidy their rooms before being bundled into a car and shipped off to school. It is a necessary routine that sometimes runs like clockwork, but more often than not… can be a battle.

But what happens when the battle turns out to be so drawn out that children then arrive late for school? Being 5 minutes late isn’t so bad, right? Well, consider this… if a student is late for school by even 5 minutes each day, then by the end of the year, that amount of time certainly adds up. 

There are some things all families can do though that makes the morning rush just a little easier. Check out these ideas from raisingchildren.net.au.

• Rushing can really increase everyone’s stress levels, so it helps to give yourself a bit more time in the morning. One of the best ways to do this is to get up 15-30 minutes earlier.
• Think about an alarm clock for children who find it hard to wake up or don’t like getting out of bed.
• Tackle the morning as positively and as optimistically as you can. Good moods can be infectious. One way to do this is by focusing on the positive aspects of your children's behaviour and encouraging them. For example; 'Great to see you eating some toast'.
• Give your children calm, clear instructions about what you want them to do, and follow up with encouragement as soon as they start to cooperate. You might need to remind younger children more often about what they’re meant to be doing and when. Simple ‘to do’ checklists, even with pictures, can help.
• As your children get older and more capable, encourage them to do more for themselves – for example, an eight-year-old can get dressed on his own, make his own breakfast, and tidy up after himself. A five-year-old can do things like putting his lunch box in his bag.
• Cut down on distractions like television, tablets and other devices. Many families have a rule about no screen time in the morning. Think about leaving screens off, unless they are ready early.
• Try not to give your children extra attention for arguing, whining or stalling. Even negative attention is an incentive for them to keep going with this behaviour.
• Make it fun – for example, try a ‘Beat the buzzer’ game to encourage your child to be ready on time.

Sometimes children drag out the time in the morning as a way to avoid school. If you think this might be happening with your child, it’s a good idea to check in with your child’s teacher to make sure there aren’t any problems that may lead to school refusal.

Don’t forget, we are here to help. 

God bless.

Jason Micallef,
Principal

National Assessment Program

This week NAPLAN testing has begun.  NAPLAN is the national testing that all students in Grades 3, 5, 7 and 9 complete once a year.  This is the first year St. Kevin's has completed these assessments online and so far the system has held up well with no technical issues!

Students are to be congratulated for coming to school and completing these assessments in a calm manner and trying their best.  We can't ask anymore than that! 

Thankyou to parents and teachers who have supported our Grade 3 and 5 students this week and maintained a sense of normality in the children's lives.  Assessments will continue until Thursday next week.  

Staff Absences

Due to the ongoing health crisis, our school is contending with some significant challenges to do with staff absence.  Our primary goal at this time is to ensure firstly, that we protect everyone's health and wellbeing as best we can and then do all we can to ensure the continuity of student learning. 

Naturally, some families may be concerned that their children's learning has been disadvantaged due to long absences of their teacher, which is totally understandable. Fortunately while we all may be victims of circumstance to some degree, we have a sound protocol in place that we follow each time a staff member notifies us of their absence. By following this protocol, we aim to minimise disruption to learning by replacing a teacher with someone who is the very next best available option under the circumstances.

See below:

• Our first action is to seek a replacement teacher with the current year level Support Teacher. In Prep, this is Mrs Borthwick; in 1/2 this is Mrs Cardamone; in 3/4 it is Mrs Williams and in 5/6 it is Mrs Meechan. 
• If the Support Teacher is unavailable we attempt to allocate an existing teacher from St. Kevin's who is not otherwise scheduled to be in a classroom. This may be a part time teacher who would otherwise be enjoying a day off but are willing and able to come into school to help out.
• If neither of the two options above are successful, we then look to allocate a casually employed teacher who is familiar to our school and children. This is why you may have seen Mrs Lenard at school this year, even though she retired almost a year ago.
• Our second last option is to appeal to a local teaching agency to reach out to Casual Relief Teachers (CRT) who live nearby and book them to work in our school. These CRTs are fully qualified and are fully briefed of their responsibilities at St. Kevin's before each day begins.
• In the event that we cannot find a suitable replacement teacher on any given day, we split the class up into smaller groups and the children are shared across each of the remaining classes in the same level to learn alongside their friends and are led by a classroom teacher the children already know and who know them. If ever children are split (which only rarely happens) they are always split to the same class for consistency and familiarity reasons.

We anticipate that absences of staff are going to continue for some time to come and appreciate that this may impact our streamlined processes and ways of working, so we apologise if this causes your family any frustration or confusion. As always, please reach out to a member of school leadership if you have any concerns regarding your child's learning or wellbeing.

This next phase of living in a pandemic is a challenging one for sure but as always we know we will rise above it because we at St. Kevin's stand together.

Save the date! Eucharist Family Workshop

Wednesday 15th June @ 6:30pm-7:30pm

As the students in year 4 prepare to receive the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharst for the first time, attendance at this important family workshop is vital.

Stay tuned for further details but at this stage, we plan for this to be held online. A link will be shared with parents/students closer to the time.

Parents & Friends Association Update

A big thank you to all our parent helpers who supported the running of our annual Mother's Day stall and raffle: Nancy, Koreti, Nisha, Shanika, Iosefa, Kathryn, Anu, Caryn and Rozanne. We couldn't have done it without you!

A special shout out to Rozanne who generously donated her time and materials to make not one, but two cakes as prizes for our Mother's Day raffle. These were won by Mata in 1/2DC and Lilly in 3/4TI. A thank you to Woolworths Hampton Park for supporting us with the donation of a bouquet of flowers and a potted plant that were also prizes in the raffle. These were won by Parth in 1/2SA and Charlie in 5/6DR.

Between these two fundraisers, our PFA raised $2533.30 for the school.

Our Uniform stall will now be open regularly on a Thursday afternoon 2:45-3:20 and Friday morning 8:45-9:15. Thank you in advance to our volunteers. If you are interested in helping and are available at one of these times, please contact Rebecca Gage in the office or email rgage@skhamptonpark.catholic.edu.au. All volunteers need to show proof of full CoVid vaccination and hold a current Working With Children check.
 

Joining the St. Kevin's Family

Yes, it is that time of year again ... enrolment time! If you have a child starting school next year but haven’t yet got the paperwork together, you need to get moving now. Pop into the office and see Trish, she will be able to give you all the information you need.

Our enrolment numbers are strong but there are places still available in all year levels due to several families moving house and transferring to other schools.  I am pleased to say that our Prep numbers for 2023 are rising rapidly and look to be about half way to fill and we are only at the beginning of term 2, so if you have a friend or friends looking for a primary school for their child/ren and you love St. Kevin’s, please spread the word - families will need to get in quick to secure a place! We are hoping to have all Prep enrolments finalised by the end of term so we can begin focussing on transition to school.

We welcome students in all year levels as well as Prep. School tours are available most days by appointment or we offer pre-organised tours every Wednesday morning at 9:30am.

Playground Development

There was excitement all through the school earlier this week as we opened the bottom half of the new playground being built in the quadrangle for the first time. There is still plenty to do before the area is fully open, including completion of the top half of the space and the installation of play equipment. At least for now though, the children can enjoy and explore the beautiful landscaping and giant sandpit.

Shade Star Installation

Exciting news!  This week, we have begun the installation of an enormous Shade Star over the synthetic grass space next to the 3/4 building.  Today saw the large central post installed, then the sail will be installed after that.  This is part of the state government grant that was given to schools to encourage use of outdoor spaces.

Late Pickups

We have noticed a concerning trend lately that some children are being picked up from school at very late times. Sometimes well after 4pm. School concludes at 3:30pm and ALL children who are not booked into OHSC are expected to be collected by a parent or nominated carer promptly.

We are fortunate to have an after hours childcare service every day so that children can be adequately cared for in a safe, fun environment. Expecting staff to babysit children when they need to be tending to their ever increasing list of responsibilities is not ok.

We understand that sometimes things happen, so if you are going to be late to pick your child(ren) up please ring the office to let us know what your arrangements are so that we can both reassure your children and ensure appropriate supervision of your children until you arrive.

For information about Camp Australia Out of School Hours Care, please visit https://campaustralia.com.au/contact-us

Project Compassion

Sporting Success!

The last few weeks have seen tremendous success from students who have represented our school in sporting events.

Cross Country District Champions

For the second year in a row St. Kevin's competed against 10 other local schools in the District Cross Country event held at Casey Fields and emerged victorious.  Congratulations St. Kevin's on a well earned result. So much to be proud of in these young heroes.

Tennis Superstars

Well done to Arian (Yr6) and Samantha (Yr6) who represented our school at the Southern Regional Tennis Tournament. Arian came second in his pool and Samantha came first in hers. As a result, Samantha will now progress to competing at the state level! A huge effort by both and we are so proud!

Paul Wade Soccer Gala Day

Earlier this week, three St. Kevin's soccer teams competed against a number of other local Catholic Primary Schools at St. John's Regional College. The competition was certainly fierce and all three of our teams did remarkably well. A special congratulations though needs to be given to our A-team who made it all the way to the Grand Final! Sadly they lost to a well deserving team from St. Paul Apostle North, but our boys and girls represented our school honourably and gave it their all.

Upschool by St. Kevin's

Upschool by St. Kevin's is a video clip channel filled with useful information designed to help families understand how to help their children be successful at school and in their lives. Since returning to school this term, we have released three videos on Facebook. Here they are if you missed them.

You can catch the latest Upschool by St. Kevin's videos as they are published every Monday evening on the St. Kevin's Facebook Page.

Winter Uniform Beanies and Scarves

AVAILABLE FROM THE OFFICE NOW!

St. Kevin's Beanie $12

St. Kevin's Scarf $18