No 1. Term 1 Week 1, 1st February 2023

News from the Principal

Dear Families,

We are thrilled to welcome you to the 2023 school year! We are excited to work together to provide your child with an excellent education and a positive learning experience. With every school year, there come new challenges to overcome and opportunities to pursue, but rest assured whatever is to come, we are committed to making sure that your child feels safe, engaged, and supported every step of the way.

To our new families and students, we extend a special welcome. We understand that starting or moving schools can be daunting, but we are confident it won't take long for you to feel at home and know you belong. We are here to make the transition as smooth as possible and our dedicated staff is eager to get to know you and your child and to support them in their learning journey.

As a Catholic school community, parents already know that we place a strong emphasis on faith development and spiritual growth. Your child will have the opportunity to participate in daily prayer, Mass, and other religious activities that will help them grow in their relationship with God. We also strive to instill the values of compassion, kindness, and service in our students, and we encourage you to participate in our many service opportunities.

We would like to take this opportunity to remind you of the resources available to you and your child throughout the school year. Our teachers and staff are dedicated to providing support and guidance to help your child succeed, and we encourage you to reach out to us with any questions or concerns you may have. 

We also want to remind you of the importance of regular communication between home and school. We will be using various platforms such as email, phone, and online portals to keep you informed about your child's progress and upcoming events. Please make sure we have your current contact information so that you can be sure you are fully informed.

We can't wait to see what the 2023 school year brings and look forward to working with you in partnership to ensure that your child reaches their full potential both academically and spiritually.

God bless.

Jason Micallef,

Principal

Welcome to our new staff

We are excited to welcome our new team members to the school community. They bring a wealth of knowledge and experience that will enrich the educational experience for our students. Please join us in giving them a warm and supportive introduction as they start their new journey with us.

We also welcome back two familiar faces. Both Liz and Sarah took time off in 2022 to look after their families, but we are excited to see them return to their St. Kevin's family.

Our amazing Preps!

What a week our new Preps have had. It has been amazing to see them enjoying their first days at school.

The preps hanging out with their grade 6 buddies

School Advisory Committee

Introducing the 2023 St. Kevin's School Advisory Committee

The School Advisory Committee (SAC) is an important group made up of representatives from the school, parish and parent community. The SAC meets up to 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. 

As you may have noticed from the photos, we have an opening for another parent to join this important team. If you are interested or would like to know more, please contact Mr. Micallef principal@skhamptonpark.catholic.edu.au. 

What type of food to pack in your child's lunchbox

In this short video, Mrs de Reus shares with us how to pack a lunch box to ensure children have all the nourishment they need for a full day of learning and play.

A reminder about birthday celebrations

At St. Kevin’s we like to celebrate many special occasions, such as birthdays.

If you choose to bring in a treat, we ask that you only provide 1 small treat per child. These treats will be taken home for your child to enjoy.

Please do not provide BIRTHDAY CAKES that need to be cut OR lolly bags filled with treats! Please advise your classroom teacher a few days before the special occasion. 

Party Invites: if you are hosting a birthday party and are inviting students from school, please give the teacher the invites to hand out.

Remember: A treat is NOT an expectation! 

Dropping off and pickup procedures

Morning Drop Off

Time: 8:40 am onwards for all students.

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

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

After School Pick Up

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

Parking: Parents may park in the main car park and walk into the school to collect their 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 cars 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 or parking behind the parish house are not permitted. 
• Exiting on Edey’s Run: One of the biggest causes of traffic congestion in the car park 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 them to. This will ensure traffic continues to flow and eliminate congestion.

To get back to Hallam Road after exiting the car park – Turn right onto Edey’s Run. Continue to the roundabout 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)

Our School's Mobile Phone App - SZAPP

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

St. Kevin's 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 interesting 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 comments or ask questions. Like or follow our page at...

https://www.facebook.com/StKevinsPS

Student Absences

When a child is absent, parents may either call the school before 9:15 am on the day of absence, complete an absent form on our SZ app, email the classroom teacher, or provide a note to the classroom teacher when the child returns to school.  A reason for the child’s absence is required. 

School Fees

School Fee statements are currently being issued to families. Please check your email inbox to ensure you have received yours. If you haven't received your statement by mid-next week, please give us a call in the office.

Please note that we have a variety of ways to support families to meet their financial obligations to the school. Please don't hesitate to make contact Mr. Micallef to discuss your circumstances if you are in any way concerned. Rest assured, we treat you with confidentiality and respect.

Covid Safety Update

COVIDSafe measures have changed, but we remain committed to implementing important practices to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission.

Some of these strategies include:

• using air purifiers in all classroom and indoor shared spaces
• maximising external ventilation,
• encouraging good personal hygiene 
• providing face masks for staff, students and visitors who wish to wear them.

RATs are available for all Victorians from council sites. Individuals can obtain two free packs (10 tests) for themselves and two free packs (10 tests) for each of their household members. People with disability and their carers can get up to four free packs (20 tests) in line with existing RAT distribution for people with disability.

Further information can be found on the Coronavirus Victoria website.

Out of School Hours Care

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 has 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

Canteen News

The canteen is back for 2023 and operates every Thursday and Friday. Lunches can only be purchased by pre-ordering through the Qkr! App.

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

When you place the order, please make sure you enter your child's correct 2023 class or they may need to get their order. 

See below for instructions on how to order.

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 has two main jobs - Fundraising and Friend raising! 

If you are interested in helping us establish this amazing team for 2023, please contact Rebecca Gage or join our Facebook Group.

Whether you can contribute a little or a lot is no problem and all are welcome!

rgage@skhamptonpark.catholic.edu.au