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Principal News

Dear Parents, Caregivers, Staff and Students

Welcome to all our new and old families to the 2020 School Year. We have 82 new students enrolled at the school giving us a total enrolment of 401 students. What a pleasure it has been to witness both the teachers, school officers and children go about their learning and socialising over the past few days. Everywhere I went I experienced the well-known happy and inclusive community of St Saviour’s Primary. I look forward to a productive year of working in partnership with you as we continue to challenge ourselves to make our community a place of educational excellence for the students.

Special thanks to the staff who worked tirelessly in tidying the school grounds, cleaning the school, preparing student records and of course the setting up of classrooms. The enthusiasm and pride they have taken is greatly appreciated by all and ensured a smooth start to the year.

Thank you to all those who have helped support the Sullivan and Adams family through this very difficult time. Your hospitality and care is greatly appreciated.

School Maintenance:

Over the school holidays period a great deal of scheduled maintenance has taken place. Our new Prep room and the refurbishment to the other rooms has been completed and both staff and students have settled in well to their fresh new rooms. The Mercy Centre also had to have some extensive work completed at the entrance and grounds maintenance to ensure everyone is safe and happy at the school.

School uniform:

Out with the old and in with the new! From January 2020, all students are to be wearing the new school uniform. The two-year transition period has passed ending in 2019. No longer will the old uniform be worn.

Your assistance in ensuring that the school uniform is worn correctly each day is appreciated. If for any reason your child is out of uniform, please send a note along to your child’s teacher to explain the reason for not being in correct school uniform. Please clearly name all items of clothing and property with your child’s name – this will enable us to return lost items to the owners. Remember that long hair must be tied back each day, hair ties to be school colours only, one set of studs/sleepers and a wrist watch is the only jewellery to be worn and please ensure that sports shoes are predominately white (as per our school policy). Please note that coloured sandshoes are not part of the uniform policy – do not allow your child to wear these coloured shoes as part of their uniform.

Professional Development and Planning Days:

Prior to the children commencing school, the teachers and school officers at St Saviour’s Primary have engaged in five excellent professional development days. The focus for these days was on the following:

Enhancing Catholic Identity and Knowing the Mercy Way
STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) integration across all Key Learning Areas
Expectations of the Teaching and Learning Programs at SSPS.
Resourcing to support the Religious Education curriculum
Administrative Information and Training –Workplace Health and Safety Training, and Mandatory Student Protection training and Code of Conduct. The 2020 Student Protection Contacts here at SSPS are: Mr Sam Hannant, Mrs Rachel Harlen, Mrs Anne Woodcroft-Brown. These contacts receive further professional development to support them in their role and the students in our care.

Newsletter

The newsletter will be published fortnightly on the odd weeks of term. It is available through the schoolzine app.

PROCEDURES AT ST SAVIOUR’S PRIMARY SCHOOL

The beginning of the school year is a time to revisit our important procedures that we have in place here at St Saviour’s Primary: -

Communication is an important vehicle between the family and the school and I cannot stress enough the importance of you reading the newsletter, accessing schoolzine app, school Facebook page and the correspondence sent home from your child’s teacher. These forms of communication are our main means of keeping you informed with what is happening around the school. Teachers can be contacted via email or by calling the office to make an appointment. If you need to contact your class teacher urgently, please phone the school reception. As you would be aware, teachers are unable to meet with you once the bell has gone as they are responsible for the students in their class.

If you have an issue or a concern, please know that we will try and deal with this together. If you need to discuss a concern with the teacher, please take the time to make an appointment as the mornings and afternoons can be busy for teachers. It is also important to know that the teacher is the first point of contact in dealing with your concerns. You are always welcome to speak with a member of the leadership team after speaking with your child’s teacher. It is important that all parties speak calmly and respectfully in these situations.
We encourage commendations as well.
Parent Teacher Night (Prep – Yr. 6) is scheduled for Wednesday 5^th February. There will be two sessions offered to parents in your child’s year level classroom. All Year level teachers present together to all parents. The first session will begin at 5:10p.m. – 5:30p.m. Then all Parents are invited to Mercy Centre to hear from the Leadership Team between 5:40 – 6:00p.m. The second session will be a repeat of the first session and will begin at 6:10p.m. in your child’s classroom. Parents will have the opportunity to visit classrooms, meet teachers and receive a brief outline of plans for the year. It is hoped the evening will conclude by 6.30 - 6:45pm. All year levels (including Prep) will make presentations on the night. Please note that this night is intended for adults only.
Our Opening School Year Mass will be held on Tuesday 18^th February, commencing at 9:30am at St Patrick’s Cathedral. All are most welcome to attend.
School commences at 8.30am each day. Please do your best to ensure your children arrive at school prior to this time. Supervision commences on the playground at 8.10am. for all children. Children arriving prior to 8.10am should be enrolled into Outside School Hours Care which commences at 7am. Children arriving after the 8.30am bell need to report to the office to sign in late and collect a ‘late slip’ before going to class. Class roll marking is completed by 8:45am Any students arriving after this time will be marked as late to school. The roll is taken again at 2:00pm each afternoon. Remember that every minute counts for your child’s learning. If your child is absent from school, please make contact to the office before 9.00am. Messages can be left on the school answering machine, or via the SZAPP. Please do not email the class teacher directly as often teachers are unable to check emails until break time. You can however email the school office directly ssps@twb.catholic.edu.au
Bell times are as follows:
Session 1 8:30am – 10:45am
Morning Tea 10:45am-11:15am
Session 2 11:15am-12:45pm
Lunch 12:45pm - 1:30pm
Session 3 1:30pm-3:00pm

If you are needing to schedule appointments for your children, please refer to the morning tea and lunch time break times.

Please refer to our school website for important information about our school.
Have you downloaded the Care Monkey app and Schoolzine app to your smart phone? If you are needing assistance, please don’t hesitate to contact the school office. The office staff are only too happy to assist you. Please ensure you have selected your child's classes in the MANAGE tab on the SZAPP as this will ensure you receive notifcations directly associated with their classes only.
The first few weeks of school often bring very hot weather. While air conditioning makes a huge difference, children are encouraged to bring water bottles to school to keep hydrated. Please ensure bottles are clearly marked with your child’s name.
The application of sunscreen before coming to school is strongly recommended. Please ensure all uniform items are clearly marked with your child’s name.
Assemblies take place on a Monday afternoon from 2:30-3:00pm All parents are most welcome to join us at this time in Mercy Centre. The purpose of assembly is to set the scene for the week. We pray together, affirm children with awards, focus on our weekly behaviour and share important news and information.
Tuck Shop operates on Monday, Wednesday and Friday of each week. Orders are placed through flexischools.
All are encouraged to come along to P&F meetings. Keep an eye out in the newsletter for the dates. The P & F AGM will be held on Monday 17^th February at 6:30pm
School Fees will be issued by Week 3.

Enjoy the start of the new school year. It is a special time as children settle into new routines, make new friends and get to know their teacher. If you ever have any concerns or feedback, please do not hesitate to contact me. I am looking forward to the year ahead.

Our Year 6 Leaders for 2020 pictured in their new Leadership Shirts

Yours sincerely,

Madonna Sleba

Principal
St Saviour’s Primary School

Toowoomba