St Ita’s Catholic Primary School acknowledges and pays respect to the past, present and future Traditional Custodians and Elders of this nation and the continuation of cultural, spiritual and educational practices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

We certainly seem to be back in the swing of things at St Ita’s and there’s a strong sense of calm and normalcy, which is testimony to the efforts of all our children and teachers as they embark on another school year. Transition into new classrooms across the school has been amazingly smooth and I was informed that our Foundation kids did a super job attending and participating in their first whole school assembly last Friday.

Tonight, we have our St Ita’s whole school family picnic, which will be held on the school’s bottom oval. This event is to welcome families both old and new for a social get together. The picnic will start around 5.00pm and finish at around 6.30pm. The Drouin Rec Reserve gate will be open for parking, as well as the lower gate on the school’s bottom oval, which will be open so that families can access the school.

Feel free to bring a blanket, grab some takeaway or bring something from home, unfold a chair, sit and relax for the evening. This is a great opportunity to open up our school with a bit of meet and greet. Look forward to seeing you there.

WALKERS, BIKE, SCOOTER, SKATEBOARD RIDERS EXITING VIA DROUIN REC RESERVE

On Tuesday I met with all students who exit the school at the end of the day via the Drouin Rec Reserve to access Civic Park. All walkers, bike, scooter and skateboard riders are expected to wait under the shelter until a teacher on duty collects them and escorts them through the gate. Students have been advised to keep left and walk behind all the parked cars to access the safety of the grass banks that lead to Civic Park.

All parent using the Drouin Rec Reserve to collect students must ensure that they are not pulling up and exiting vehicles whilst in the pick up/drop off loop. Please also ensure that you do not park on the ovals fence within the pick up/drop off loop. The speed limit within the reserve is 10km. We thank you for keeping all of our students safe during pick up/drop off times.

NO PARKING ZONES AROUND OUR NEW CROSSING

A reminder to all parents to observe the No Parking Zones in front of our school on Victoria Street, which are active both before and after school. We have been advised that fines will be imposed on parents parking in the No Parking Zones on both sides of Victoria Street. Please don’t park there, even for a few minutes during drop off. If parents are sending grandparents or carers please make sure you remind them of where they can and cannot park.

NEW SCHOOL BUILD AND UPPER PLAYGROUND REFURB

This week I will be meeting with MINX architecture to look over plans for our new Stage 2 build at St Ita’s. The project will enable us to say farewell to our current portable classrooms, and give us up to six new learning classroom spaces, an I.T./STEM room, parent meeting spaces and an open presentation space that caters to all students in the area. This is such an exciting project and it will be a great opportunity to beautify and upgrade our school.

NEW JUNIOR PLAY SPACES

We are currently in the process of sourcing a new junior (F-2) playground to replace the current junior playground. In the area outside the old library and staffroom we will be installing a Gecko Grass area, which will include some large cubby houses, water and chalk boards, mini soccer goals and mini basketball and netball hoops. A big shout out to our Teacher/Parents Nicola and Nicole for working with our foundation team to get this up and running. We appreciate the constructive feedback, and they will be a great support in getting this up and going and it will be a great addition to our junior school playground.

SCHOOL SWIMMING SPORTS

Big thank you to our amazingly talented PE teacher Miss Roberts for the outstanding job she did organising another great swimming carnival this year. It’s a great way to showcase our school, and the kids did a fantastic job of supporting their houses.

Sadly, we did have a dampener on the day, after an official protest was lodged by student Harry McCarthy with the race stewards. There were murmurs and whispers leading up to the day's showcase event the relay between Teachers and Students, and further evidence came to light that a "Fine Cotton" ring-in was subsituted into the teachers swim team. Harry protested that the so called 'ring-in' substituted into the teachers team, swimming the last leg of the relay, was controversially not an official employee of St Ita’s Primary School and evidently coaches the Warragul Warrior junior swim team, and swims a sub 30 secound 50m consistently. Thanks Riley!

So, it is with much disappointment that I need to inform the teachers relay team that the protest has been upheld and the teacher’s relay team was judged to have come second on the day. Teachers, and our imposter, will be required to present the student winners with their winners ribbons at our next assembly.

In the words of Harry McCarthy, “Swimming is the winner today Mr Osler. Justice has been served. For the sake of future swim meets, we need to keep the industry squeaky clean and then some!”

Touché Harry McCarthy, Touché

Andrew Osler

St Ita's Principal

ASH WEDNESDAY - 22^nd FEBRUARY

Grade 2-6 Ash Wednesday Mass in the Church 9:30 am 22^nd February.

All Welcome

WELCOME PICNIC 15TH FEBUARY 2023

Tonight (Wednesday, 15^th February), we will be having our Welcome Picnic. This is a chance for all established families of St Ita’s to meet the new families of St Ita’s in a relaxed atmosphere on our bottom oval. Due to Covid restrictions over the past 2 years we have been able to run such events but this year we are trying to bring a sense of community back to our school.

We invite all families to the picnic at 5 – 6.30pm on the bottom oval. Parents are encouraged to bring a picnic rug or chair, pack dinner, buy take away or just come for a play. There is no food or drinks available at school, so please bring everything you need.

Feel free to park in the bottom Church carpark or at the Drouin Recreational ground. We look forward to seeing you there.

SCHOOL FEE CONCESSIONS

2023 School Fees Concession Program Financial Hardship

Eligible Centrelink Concession Card (CCC) Holder

Information for Applicants

Aim: To assist school families experiencing financial hardship in accessing a Catholic Primary education for their child/children.

Confidentiality: At all times, the dignity and privacy of those seeking a fee concession will be respected.

Level of Concession: School office staff can advise applicants of the concessional fee to be charged. This concessional fee is fixed annually by Diocese of Sale Catholic Education Limited. Approved applicants will be charged only the concessional fee which will cover all standard school fees and levies including any charges remaining for camps, sports and excursions after the application of the Camps, Sports, Excursion Fund (CSEF) benefit.

Eligible Concession Cards: Centrelink issues a number of concession cards for a variety of reasons. Some cards have a generous or no income test and therefore holders of these cards are ineligible for a fee concession under Category One. Only CCC’s that are eligible for CSEF are eligible for the School Fees Concession Program.

The following CCC’s are the most common cards that are eligible for CSEF. The CCC type is specified as a two or three letter code printed on the concession card.

YA or YAL – Youth Allowance
PPS – Parenting Payment Single
PPP – Parenting Payment Partnered
DSP – Disability Support Pension
NSA – New Start Allowance
LI – Low Income
FA – Family Tax Benefit
SA or SKA - Sickness Allowance
CAR - Carer Allowance
ABA or ABY - Schooling Applicant
AGE - Age Pension
AUS - Austudy
HCC - Health Care Card
PTA - Partnered Allowance
SPL - Special Benefit
WID or WFD or WFA – Widow Allowance/Pension
The CCC must be issued in the name of the fee payer and list the students for which the concession is to be applied.
The expiry date of the card must be on or after 1 January of the year (2023) for which the concession is to be applied.
If an eligible concession card expires after the start of the year, the concessional fee rate will still be applied for the entire year.
If a family becomes eligible during the course of a school year, then a pro-rata concession may be granted.

Lodgement of Application: Application for 2023 close on Friday 23rd June 2023, please lodge your application immediately for your card to be checked and a pro-rata concession to be applied if applicable.

The following application forms must be completed and are available from the school office:

Complete the school’s application form & the Direct Debit Request (DDR) Service Agreement (or Centrepay application form)
Submit the completed forms and present a valid CCC for verifying and copying.
Complete and return the CSEF application form immediately after receiving it from the school.

Important Notes:

The concession is automatic for a parent/guardian responsible for the school fees, who holds an eligible CCC.
Any offer of a concession is subject to the applicant entering into a DDR Service Agreement or CentrePay arrangement for a regular payment plan of remaining fees (either weekly or fortnightly payments preferred). Any default in payment may result in the concession being withdrawn.
The Direct Debit form is available from the school office or alternatively the CentrePay application form is available online at https://www.humanservices.gov.au/customer/forms/sa325.
A CSEF application must be submitted for a concession to be granted.
A new application must be made for each school year.
Where the fee account is split, the concession applies to only that portion payable by the eligible card holder.
All families requesting, or receiving, a fee concession must notify the school should their financial circumstances change sufficiently to affect the level of concession offered or if cards are cancelled.

Please complete the below concession request forms and return to admin together with a copy of your valid concession card before Friday 23rd June 2023.

HCC Concession Application Form

HCC Concession Application Form 205.78 KB

CSEF Application Form

CSEF Application Form 223.41 KB

CONVEYANCE ALLOWANCE

Eligibility:

An application on behalf of a student may be submitted if the student is:

a Victorian resident;
school aged and enrolled (3) three or more days per week at a school; and

A student who meets the above requirements may be eligible if they:

attend their nearest appropriate non-government school/campus
reside 4.8km or more by the shortest practicable route from the school attended

Note: Eligibility is assessed when the School completes your child’s application on the Student Conveyance Allowance System

(SCAS). If approved, the allowance payable is based on the one-way distance to make the journey to and from school.

If you are eligible and wish to apply for this allowance, please click the link to the Conveyance Allowance Application Form, which must be printed and completed and returned to the school office by Friday 10^th March, 2023. Late claims cannot be accepted.

Conveyance Allowance Application Form

Conveyance Allowance Application Form 832.39 KB

STUDENTS OF THE WEEK

Our Student of the Week award for our first whole school assembly went to Grade 5/6W student Nick Garner. Nick is a student who loves to learn and is so respectful of both students and staff. He has an upbeat positive nature and always wears a smile. Congratulations Nick!

Wellbeing Team Leaders: Caitlin Noonan & Tyler Attwell

Email: cnoonan@stidrouin.catholic.edu.au tattwell@stidrouin.catholic.edu.au

MENTAL HEALTH & WELLBEING

SO YOUR CHILD REFUSES TO GO TO SCHOOL? HERE’S HOW TO RESPOND

Have you had to deal with grumbling kids who don’t want to go back to school after the summer holidays? While some school reluctance is normal, spare a thought for parents whose back-to-school struggles have reached a whole new dimension. Their child’s reluctance to go to school has escalated into a more significant psychological problem, called school refusal.

Around 1-2% of children experience school refusal: becoming severely distressed at the prospect of going to school and having prolonged absences.

Unlike truancy, young people diagnosed with school refusal don’t experience other behavioural concerns: their parents know where they are; they remain at home despite their parents’ best efforts to get them to go to school.

School refusal commonly arises after a period of school absence – due to illness or holidays – or a big change, such as starting a new school or moving from primary to high school.

No one factor or person is to blame for school refusal; it’s caused by a complex interaction of multiple risk factors involving the child (such as a fear of failure), their family (such as overprotective parenting or illness), the school (such as bullying), and social challenges (such as pressure to achieve academically).

What can you do?

Interventions to treat school refusal favour cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) to encourage relaxation, challenge anxious thoughts and support a gradual exposure to the fear. Interventions also include parent therapy to discuss optimal support strategies, and school liaisons.

The aim of intervention is to provide skills to cope with distress or discomfort while increasing school attendance. Research suggests that with professional support, school attendance can be improved, but anxiety may persist for some time.

If your child refuses to go to school, or you’re supporting another parent or child in this situation, here’s how you can respond:

Ask for help

Schools and parents often wait until the problem is deeply entrenched before acting.

Unfortunately, every day of school missed has an impact on academic achievement, and continued absence is associated with higher rates of early school drop-out, emotional and behavioural difficulties, and poor social adjustment.

To minimise these outcomes, you need to act early, mobilise your support network and, if needed, seek professional help.

Consider possible triggers

At a time when you’re both calm (and not on school mornings), ask your child to describe the key challenges of going to school. Together, you may be able to solve these problems or develop a plan to manage them.

For younger children or those who struggle to express their feelings, you may need to use the observe-validate-redirect model:

Observe: “I have noticed that you appear upset and worried in the morning and you often ask to stay home.”

Validate: “We all feel upset and worried sometimes and it can feel uncomfortable.”

Redirect: “Going to school is very important. What are some things that we can do to help you to get there?”

Take a kind but firm approach

It’s important to convey kindness, as your child is experiencing something distressing. Kindness can be conveyed by listening when they talk about their worries, offering a moment of physical affection, or remaining calm in the face of frustration.

There is also a kindness in encouraging children to face their fears; this promotes confidence and autonomy.

Conversely, avoiding the triggers of anxiety increases anxiety in the long term.

Be kind but firm in your resolve to work with your child to address the school refusal. This stance can be reflected in comments like:

I understand that going to school feels difficult. We can work through your concerns together. But you do need to attend, because every day at school counts.

Give clear and consistent messages

Research and our own clinical experience suggests there are subtle yet critical differences in how parents communicate about school attendance. Consider this scenario:

You wake your child for school at 8:15am and need to leave the house at 8:45am, concerned that they need to get more sleep. You sit on the bed and ask, “how are you feeling today?” Your child becomes distressed and says they are not attending school. Concerned, you note “it would be really good if you could”. Your child refuses. You start to feel anxious and upset, and tell them “you can’t keep doing this” before walking out.

The child has had only a short time to get ready and while the parent is clearly supportive and concerned, the verbal messages around school attendance are ambiguous and the parent leaves the room in distress.

A more helpful approach would include:

waking the child at the same time each day with enough time to get ready for school

giving clear messages about school attendance such as “it’s time to get up for school” and “I know you don’t want to go but we cannot allow you to remain at home”

encouraging a graded approach to the morning if the child becomes distressed: “let’s focus on breakfast first”, “let’s get your school bag sorted”, and so on.

Set clear routines on days off school

Well-meaning parents will often find that efforts to encourage their child’s school attendance are hampered by positive reinforcements for staying at home: the ability to sleep in and spend the day relaxing, watching TV and playing video games, or having more individual attention from a parent.

If you find your child at home on school days, set up a home routine similar to school:

get up and dressed by school time
limit access to TV and the internet during school hours
encourage the child to complete their school work
limit one-on-one time with the parent until after school hours
reduce activities out of the home, such as shopping.

Engage the system

Clearly communicate and set clear expectations to all involved: parents, the school, the young person, and any other professionals involved, such as your child’s GP.

At school, these children often present to teachers or sick bay staff with a myriad of physical complaints such as headaches and stomach aches. If you’re concerned, take the child to a GP to check for physical causes. In the absence of a physical illness, these complaints are likely to be anxiety related.

Speak to your child’s classroom teacher and/or year level coordinator about the challenges your child is having. They may help develop a plan for school drop-offs, as well as helping to address any other social or learning issues.

While these feelings are unpleasant for you and your child, with the right support and intervention, your child can stay in the school environment and gradually increase their participation. Patience, persistence and an openness to problem-solving are central.

By Prof Jade Sheen, Senior Lecturer, School of Psychology, Deakin University

Teacher: Mrs Catherine McKenna

Email: cmckenna@stidrouin.catholic.edu.au

LIBRARY NEWS

Library Lovers Day

Yesterday was Library Lovers Day. The day honours libraries and the amazing life-changing books they hold within them.

Library Lovers Day is dedicated to book lovers across the globe and celebrates the important work of libraries everywhere. As hubs for discovery, learning, reading and a place for kids to explore a world of stories, libraries everywhere keep communities and families connected.

The Grade 2s, 3s ad 4s thought of many reasons why they love their school library and they were invited to create a book cover of a favourite books to display.

SCHOLASTIC BOOK CLUB

Book Club Issue 1 closes on Monday 20^th February.

Book Club was distributed to students in the first week of school. Thanks to the families who have already placed school orders for Issue 1.

If you haven’t seen the latest issue, please click here Book Club Issue 1.

All ordering is online via the Scholastic Australia LOOP website or app and we’ll take care of the rest.

5% of every purchase on Book Club goes back to our school in Scholastic Rewards to buy valuable educational resources that benefit your child.

Place your Book Club order
Your school earns Scholastic Rewards
Your school redeems Scholastic Rewards for additional school or classroom resources!

Your child will bring home their Book Club Newspaper from school.
Browse the pages with your child and help them choose books that suit their age and interests.
Order online via Book Club LOOP.
The books are delivered back to your child's classroom where the teacher will hand them out to very excited students.

SPORTS NEWS

Sports Teacher/Co-Ordinator: Hayley Roberts

Email: hroberts@stidrouin.catholic.edu.au

RUNNING CLUB

This weeks superstar runners were Marley Nooy and Indi Joiner. Well done to everyone who participated in the beautiful sunshine.

SWIMMING CARNIVAL

IMPORTANT DATES 2023

Grade 3-6 athletics carnival - Friday 10th March

Grade 1 and 2 will have an AFL incursion on Friday 17th March. It will run for 40 mins per class on the bottom oval.

Whole school cross country - Friday 31st March

CAMP AUSTRALIA

Camp Australia Co-Ordinator: Carmelina De Cesari

Contact Number: 1300 105 343

Website: www.campaustralia.com.au

Welcome_Back_to_Your_OSHC.pdf

Welcome_Back_to_Your_OSHC _pdf 752.55 KB

Newsletter_1402.pdf

Newsletter_1402 _pdf 619.74 KB

PARISH NEWS

Really Holy

We all know what “Holy” looks like don’t we? That saintly person with callused knees who is not quite of this world and always praying very publically, doing recognised holy things that set her apart from others less holy than her. That’s Holy isn’t it?

Not according to Jesus in Matthew’s gospel this week (Matt 5:38-48)! That is piety, not necessarily holiness. Holiness is determined, apparently, not by our piety, but our love for one another. As ever, Jesus urges us to be counter-instinctive. To move beyond the feel-good love of those who love us, to the awkward love of those who don’t. Doesn’t that go against the grain! It is all very well to love someone who kisses you on the cheek. But what about someone who hits you on the cheek or steals from you, or is different to us or even hates us? Jesus tells us clearly we must love them especially.

And we pray too, not simply for our loved ones and those in tune with us, but for those who are different and those who seem to hate and persecute us. We love as Jesus loves when we roll up our sleeves doing practical, difficult things for and with those in need. When we do un-glamourous but necessary work for and with those in poverty, those of other faiths and of no faith, those fleeing war and genocide. South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission revealed an astounding story of a grieving mother forgiving and eventually adopting her son’s killer. That mother exemplified the perfectly loving “holy” people Jesus calls us to be in this gospel.

When we find common ground with, sometimes those who even hate us, we are progressing on the path of love for God and all His creation, seeking to be “perfect as (our) heavenly Father is perfect”. Then we do truly become ‘holy people’.

Deacon Mark Kelly

2023 SACRAMENT DATES - RECONCILIATION

Parent/Child Workshop 1: Drouin: Wednesday 1st March 7pm Warragul: Thursday 2nd March 4pm & 7pm	Parent/Child Workshop 2: Drouin: Wednesday 15th March 7pm Warragul: Thursday 16th March 4pm & 7pm
SACRAMENT OF RECONCILIATION: Drouin: Wednesday 29th March, 7pm Warragul: Thursday 30th March, 7pm	Commitment Masses: Drouin: 19th & 26th February 10.30am Warragul:18th & 19th February 7pm & 9am