www.sedandenongnth.catholic.edu.au 111 Bakers Road, Dandenong North VIC 3175 9795 5258

15th November 2019

Newsletter St. Elizabeth’s

School

Dear Parent/Guardians

Two weeks ago our Year 5/6 students attended our Senior school camp at

Sovereign Hill in Ballarat. The two day camp was jam packed with activities

ranging from panning for gold, investigating mines, to experiencing life in the

gold fields to learning about our indigenous ancestors and their role in the

gold rush. All of these experiences consolidated and complimented the

learning the students have been doing in relation to the Gold Rush era.

It was a pleasure to be a part of this experience, where as staff we get to see

another side to our students and them us. It is a great bonding time, where

many laughs and good times are had.

A BIG thank you to the Senior school team and Mrs Jenny Fenton for all their

organisation and preparation and to the other staff members who made

themselves available to attend to enable this experience for our children.

I am looking forward to next year when we embark on our three day

adventure camp at Mount Evelyn.

Carols Night

Our annual Carols evening will be held on Tuesday 10th December, where

we will come together as a community to celebrate the special season of

Advent. As this is a school event, ALL children are expected to attend. As

a Catholic school, this is an important time in the liturgical calendar and

therefore, attendance and participation by all our students and their families

is required.

On the evening, each level will be singing two songs to celebrate the Advent

season. We are hoping (weather permitting) to have it outside, where families

are invited to bring along a picnic basket and blanket to enjoy and participate

in the festivities. On the night we will have a sausage sizzle for families to

purchase something for dinner.

The students and teachers are looking forward to coming together as a

community to celebrate this special season in the liturgical calendar.

COLOUR FUN RUN Our last major fundraiser for this year will be our Colour Fun Run, which will

be held on Monday 9th December @ 2.15pm.

All children have received a fundraising pack explaining how to go about

raising money for the fun run. All monies raised will go towards creating a

beautiful and interactive play area in our back playground for our children.

We would encourage all families to support this fundraiser, as not only will it

be a great event for our children to be a part of, but will also raise funds that

goes straight back to the school for our children to benefit.

Term 4 Dates

Friday 15th November 2020 Foundation Students Transition

Session 9:30-10.30am

Tuesday 19th November Year 3 Reconciliation Mass 10am

Friday 22nd November Year 5/ 6 Community Mass and

Benediction @ 9.15am

Monday 25th – Wednesday 27 November

Foundation, 1/2 and 5/6 swimming Tuesday 26th November

Parish Education Board Meeting @ 7pm

Thursday 28th – Friday 29th Foundation and 1/2 Swimming

Friday 29th 2020 Foundation Transition session

@ 11.45am

Tuesday 3rd December 2020 Foundation Uniform fitting

8am-1pm (appointment only) Wednesday 4th December 5/6 Parliament excursion Thursday 5th December

Advent Gift Giving Mass @ 9.15am 2020 Foundation Uniform fitting

2-6pm (appointment only) Step Up Lunch

Friday 6th December PMI Keyboard concert @ 9am

Monday 9th December Colour Fun Run 2:30pm Tuesday 10th December

Carols Night @ 6pm Thursday 12th December End of Year Mass 9:15am

Monday 16th December

Year 6 last day Wellbeing Activity Day

Reports sent home Tuesday 17th December

School assembly @ 2.15pm Year 6 Mass @ 6.30pm followed by

Year 6 disco Wednesday 18th December

F-Year 5 last day

This week at assembly I announced to the children that I will be participating in the COLOUR FUN RUN and

raising money too. I invited all children on the day to bring a gold coin so they could be one of the lucky people

to spray me with the colour powder and water.

If each child raised $20, we would easily reach a target of $5,000, which would go a long way to helping our

dream of an interactive play space coming to life. Let’s get fundraising!

Professional Promotional Photos On Tuesday next week we will have a professional photographer taking promotional photos of our school,

children and programs for our new school brochures, postcards and website, which we are currently in the

process of designing.

School Reports

Our Semester Two school reports will be sent home on Monday 16th December, which will outline the progress

your child has made in the second half of the year. There are no scheduled Parent Meetings to discuss these

reports, but if parents have any concerns or require clarification, they are more than welcome to make a time

to speak to their child’s teacher about this.

School Fees and Levies

Thank you to all our families who have settled their 2019 accounts. This helps ensure that we can provide all

of our children with the resources they require to be successful learners. All families who have not made regular

payments or are not on a direct debit with an outstanding balance have been notified and are now required to

settle their accounts ASAP.

School Fee Agreement Form Upon enrolment at St Elizabeth’s, all families have agreed to pay the annual school fees as a condition of their enrolment. Therefore, all families are required to complete a Fee Agreement form that must be filled in and adhered to each year so that families are in compliance with their enrolment. Even families who are already on a Direct Debit are required to fill this in, as we need authorisation every year to deduct the nominated amount each year. School Fee Agreement forms were sent home on Thursday last week which need to be signed by the parent and/or guardian responsible for paying the fees and levies, along with how they will be paid.

We strongly recommend families to engage in a direct debit or credit card deduction (options 1 or 2), as this helps families manage their financial commitment and ensures that the account is settled within the required time.

This Fee Agreement form is required to be signed and returned to school by Friday 13th December 2019.

Please choose ONE option and only return that page.

All 2020 school fees and student levies will be required to be paid in full by 30th September, 2020. Tax invoices will be sent out in February stating the amount owing for the year.

If you did not receive a Fee Agreement form, please contact the office for one to be sent home.

Wishing everyone a great week.

Mrs Christina Ferguson

Principal

Teaching & Learning

At Monday’s assembly, our school captains guided us in a reflection to remember and commemorate the men and women who fought in World War 1. We reflected on the selflessness of these past veterans that has enabled us as Australians to be blessed with the freedom we have. Our understanding of the significance of this day was continued in learning activities during the week, where the children discovered more about Australia’s involvement in World War 1 and the important role our soldiers played in this.

Some classes engaged in artwork to portray how our soldiers may have felt.

‘The tears are because they are hurt and they miss their family. They want to go home and really missed the friends who died in the war.’ Brielle, 1/2HZ

A Prayer for Remembrance Day

For the service men and women who have died in the violence of war, Each one remembered and known to God God, give us peace

For all family and friends of members of the armed forces. We pray for their safe return. God, give us peace

O God of truth and justice, As we honour the past, nay we put our faith in your future For you are the source of life and hope, now and forever God give us peace

Religious Education

Gift Giving Mass

We invite all our parents and grandparents to come and join in and celebrate with us at our Gift Giving Mass on Thursday 5th December at 9:15am.

It is at this Mass, where donated goods from our school families are brought before the altar, as a sign of that the season of Advent is about giving; of ourselves and to those in need.

All of the donations will be given to the St. Vincent de Paul Society to be distributed to families in our community who are in need. St Vincent de Paul are in desperate need for the following items:

Foundation, Year 1 and Year 2: new towels of any size

Year 3/4: personal hygiene products (e.g. soap, shampoo, toothbrushes and toothpaste)

Year 5/6: new socks and underwear (any size – children or adults)

We thank you for your support. Classroom teachers will collect items and bring them to the Gift Giving Mass.

Regards Mrs Walker

On Monday, our Girls’ softball team travelled to Cheltenham Baseball Club to compete in the South Metro Regional Finals. 6 teams came, representing parts of South East Melbourne with the hope of making it to the Victorian State Finals. The competition was very tough and we lost to Sorrento Primary School 4 - 9. We then lost to Oakleigh South Primary School 6 - 10. Our girls were very competitive against very good teams. We managed to score runs and also kept the team from scoring 7 runs in an innings (that's good as 7 runs is the max a team can score in a single innings). We came fifth out of the six teams competing. A great achievement! Mrs Hatley-Smith and Miss O coached the girls to such a great standard, that I think the girls were surprised at how good they have become! A special mention to the parents who were able to get there and support the girls. Marisa, Pina and Cheryl offered great support to not just to their own daughters but to the entire team. The kids loved having you there and your presence made them a better team. Yours in sport, Dean Andrew Sports Coordinator

P.E.

The Nook - Library

Year 5/6 Camp

Library Books

Please be aware that The Nook will be closed for borrowing from Monday 25th

November for stocktake for the remainder of the school year.

All library books need to be returned to The Nook before this date.

The Library will be open early next year for parents and children to borrow.

Thank you for your help in returning all library books.

Trixie Martin

Crossing the road It has come to our attention that there a few parents and children who are not using the supervised pedestrian crossing to cross Bakers Road. We have witnessed children and parents crossing the road in between cars, which has nearly ended in serious injury or fatality.

It is extremely important that ALL children and parents cross at the crossing to ensure everyone’s safety.

Drop off and Pick Up In the morning, there is a staff member on yard duty at 8:35am. On arrival, students are free to mingle with their friends or stay with their parents or grandparents. The 15 minutes before school provides a wonderful opportunity for students to socially connect with others. At 8:45am the first bell rings and students make their way to the classroom. If you wish to drop your child off before 8:30am, please use the Before School Care service provided by Youth Leadership Victoria - we would hate for your child to arrive at school and no-one be here to care for them. Whilst there is usually someone here around 8:00am, it’s important to remember that staff are busy preparing for the day ahead or involved in meetings. After school, a teacher is on duty until 3:30pm. After this time students who are yet to be picked up will be taken to the office. We will attempt to ring their parents to make sure everything is ok. If, for any reason, you are running late, just give the office a ring and let us know. Parking It is still unfortunate to hear and see that parents/guardians/carers/grandparents are not observing the parking outside our school, making it quite unsafe for all. The 2 minute parking bays outside our school are clearly signed by the council and need to be adhered to. It would be devastating if an accident or injury were to occur to one of our community members because the law was not followed. Important and timely reminders:

Child Safety

The Nook - Library

If waiting in the 2 minute bays for your child/ren to arrive, drivers cannot leave their car. If waiting for a parking space in the 2 minute bays, please do not pull up along the outside of a car

already in these bays and call your child to the middle of the road to hop in the car. It would be safer to drive around the block and wait for a parking space rather than cause an accident or injury.

Never park in the bus stops, driveways, or on the nature strips of our neighbours – this can restrict the view of pedestrians and other road users. It’s also very disrespectful.

If you need to cross the road ALWAYS use the pedestrian crossing that is supervised. Walking that extra few metres ensures that there is no injuries, or worse fatalities. Walking out from behind parked cars is asking for trouble.

It is imperative that we stay calm and be patient. We are role models for our children on what is appropriate behaviour on our roads, even though they are years off from being road users themselves. Thank you for your support on this matter.

If parents keep putting the lives of our community at risk, we will have to be forced to call the bi laws officers from the Greater City of Dandenoenong to come and observe and fine those not adhering to the road rules and putting the community in danger.

Upcoming events:

As mentioned earlier in this newsletter our Colour Fun Run is in the afternoon of Monday 9th

December. We encourage all families to come along and watching this fun event.

We also wish to encourage you to sponsor your child/ren. You would have received an envelope last week

containing an informative letter and booklet. The letter explains the Colour Fun Run and the booklet has a

step by step how to create your profile, set a prize goal, organise your sponsorship and order prizes.

As the prizes need to be ordered by you before Tuesday 26th November, you will need to act now rather than

later. This ensures that all eligible prizes are received before the end of the school year. Should you need

another letter/booklet, please come and see Trixie.

Carols Night – Tuesday 10th December @ 6pm

This is where as a community we all come together and listen

(and join in) to our children sing.

On this night the Parents & Friends will be running a sausage

sizzle, as well as selling items drinks and ice creams.

We would love some parent volunteers to help on the night with

the selling of food. Please let either Filomena Sepe or Trixie

know if you are able to help.

The Parish Nativity Scene in the church foyer will also be open

for families to view 6pm onwards on our Carols night.

School Community

Fortnightly Activities … Monday 18th to Friday 29th November

Monday Create Crafty Creatures, Colouring Designs, Glue Painting

Tuesday Science Using Invisible Ink, Stencil Patterns, Colour Dying Paper

Wednesday Create an Erupting Volcano, Cornflour Slime

Thursday Make Paper Leadlight Windows, Straw Wind Chimes, Bouncing Spiders

Friday Make Photo Frames, Treasure or Ladybird Boxes

Before School Care Permanent: $13.50 /Casual $16.00 ~ 7am to 8:55am Monday to Friday during school term, excluding all Victorian Public Holidays. After School Care Permanent: $14.50 /Casual $17.00 ~ 3:15pm to 6:15pm Monday to Friday during school term, excluding all Victorian Public Holidays. Vacation Care / Pupil Free Days Per Day: $50.00 7am to 6:00pm Monday to Friday (The School Holiday Program in January will be held at St Anthony’s and St. Mary’s) Monday before Melbourne Cup and Public Holidays ~ OSHC is closed Late Pick Up Fees: Per minute: $1.00 For enquires or further information, please contact Elarine on 0422 803 709 during session times.

Out of School Hours Care

Nazareth is turning 35 …