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.

MESSAGE FROM THE PRINCIPAL

One of the greatest challenges we face with the current Omnicon COVID-19 strain is its capacity to spread very rapidly. We have been very lucky at St Ita’s, because even though we have several case across our school the infection of others has not ballooned out of control due to good management at school.

We have children in our community who have tested negative prior to arriving at school only to display symptoms at school, be collected by parents and test positive in the afternoon once they are home.

At St Ita’s our school staff are not doctors so on the advice from the Department of Health and our employer DOSCEL, we have adopted protocols and safe practices to ensure everyone in our community is kept safe.

If a child presents at school with COVID-19 like symptoms, and these symptoms are identified by staff or if the child articulates they don’t feel well, we are obligated to;

Bring the child up to the isolation area of school admin
Admin staff will contact parents or emergency carers and ask them to collect their child as soon as possible.
Once your child has been collected from school, please administer a rapid test at home.
Return the child to school once the symptoms have cleared up and a negative test is obtained.

We understand the collection of kids at short notice can be a challenge for some parents, however the result of not collecting a child displaying COVID-19 symptoms could be catastrophic for our school community if it was to get out and infect multiple teaching staff.

Please be mindful that we are all working through the challenges of COVID-19 on a daily basis and we need to be respectful of all in our community, as we strive to beat this pandemic.

FICIFOLIA FESTIVAL

The annual Ficifolia Festival is on this weekend, and although it's not a School sanctioned event, parents/carers wishing to take their children and march in the parade can readily do so, the details are below;

START TIME & LOCATION DETAILS

Saturday 19th February 2022

3:00pm – 3:30pm Marshall outside St Ita’s Administration Building, 50 Victoria St, Drouin.

Parents must stay with their child

It would be great if students attending could all wear their summer uniform.

Girls, red and white check school dress, white socks, and black shoes
Boys, grey shorts and blue school t-shirt, grey socks, and black shoes

3:30 pm - Students will walk to the Football Oval to the allocated position in parade.

4:00pm – Parade begins, and students will walk around the football oval while spectators (parents, guardians, extended family and friends) watch from within the footy oval.

4:30pm finish time – Parents/Guardians pick their children up at the end of the parade.

Parents requiring further information, please contact Karla Start on Mob: 0407 171 010 or Email: kensley@bigpond.com

Parents, please be reminded that both sides of Victoria Street at the front of the school are No Parking Zones, active before and after school. We have been advised that fines will be imposed on parents parking in the No Parking Zones so please don’t park there even for a few minutes during drop off. If parents are sending grandparents or carers to make student drop off's we ask that you please let them know also that this area is a No Parking Zone.

KINECT 2 DANCE

Last Friday our kids started their 7-week dance program as part of their 2022 arts program through Kinect To Dance. It’s a great opportunity for all our students to participate in a highly professional program, and I look forward to the outdoor concert that we will run at the end of the term to showcase what our children have learned.

PARENT INFORMATION PACKS

Our staff are currently preparing Parent Information Packs to be sent home Friday. These packs will outline what’s happening in each year level this year, the daily routines that are set in place, ways to support your child’s learning, and sharing with parents our WSAPB (Whole School Approach to Positive Behavior). Unfortunately, the current Covid-19 restrictions don’t allow parents onsite to have a face to face information sessions or parent teacher interviews at school. These rules and regulations change from week to week and I will let our community know when parents are allowed back onsite.

PARENT TEACHER INTERVIEWS

We will be conducting Parent Teacher Interviews via a phone consultation. We had hoped to have these in person but due to the recent Covid-19 infections in staff and student we have thought it safest for all to conduct these via phone.

Interviews will take place on;

Monday 21st February from 3:30pm - 7:00pm; and
Wednesday 23rd February from 3:30pm - 5:00pm

CORONAVIRUS UPDATES

STUDENTS, PARENTS, GUARDIANS AND CARERS

If parents, guardians or carers who are feeling unwell and are undergoing testing for COVID‑19, all children of the parent, guardian or carer who attend the school should remain absent from school until the parent, guardian or carer receives a negative test result.

This advice also applies to students who are unwell and are undergoing testing for COVID‑19 and have siblings who attend a DOSCEL school. The siblings (that may not be displaying any symptoms) should also remain at home until a negative test result is provided for the student awaiting a test result.

This decision will assist with limiting the spread of COVID-19 in our school settings.

We encourage all schools to communicate with staff, students, parents, guardians and carers that if they are feeling unwell they should not attend the school until their symptoms resolve and should get tested.

HOUSEHOLD CONTACTS

A household contact is defined by the Department of Health (DH) as a person who lives with someone who has COVID-19 or has spent more than four hours with them at a private residence, accommodation or care facility.

Students, parents, guardians and carers who are identified as household contacts of a positive COVID-19 case are required to follow the isolation and testing requirements available on the Coronavirus Victoria website.

A student who is identified as a household contact of a person with a confirmed case of COVID-19 is not able to attend school until their isolation period has concluded. The DH will no longer send a text message to confirm the quarantine requirements of contacts.

EDUCATION CONTACTS

Students who are identified as an education contact will be advised by the school.

If a student is not experiencing COVID-19 symptoms, they can continue to attend school, but parents, guardians, carers and/or the student should monitor for symptoms.

Students who show symptoms of COVID-19 cannot attend school and should get tested immediately and isolate until they receive a negative result.

Students should continue with twice-a-week rapid antigen testing on school days.

Students who have recovered from COVID-19 do not need to participate in surveillance testing for 30 days after their isolation period has ended.

SOCIAL OR WORKPLACE CONTACT

If a student has spent time with a person who has COVID-19, and they are not a household contact, then they may be considered as a social or workplace contact depending on the setting they have has contact with a confirmed case.

STUDENTS WHO ARE IDENTIFIED AS SOCIAL OR WORKPLACE CONTACTS MUST:

if symptomatic, use a RAT or get a PCR test if a RAT cannot be accessed, and self-isolate until a negative test result is received

if there are no symptoms, it is recommended that social and workplace contacts use a daily RAT for five (5) days

if there are no symptoms and no access to a RAT, monitor for symptoms and get tested if symptoms emerge

a student who is identified as a social or workplace contact can continue to attend the school provided they do not have symptoms of COVID-19

POSITIVE CASES

Parents, guardians, carers and students who test positive to COVID-19 must quarantine at home for seven (7) days after their test date.

No further testing requirements apply to people once they are diagnosed with COVID-19.

Parents, guardians, carers and students who test positive to COVID-19 are not able to attend a school until their isolation period as advised by DH has concluded.
We thank you for your continued support during these challenging Covid-19 times.

CONVEYANCE ALLOWANCE

The Conveyance Allowance application is now open for Term 1 for any families that qualify for the travel allowance as per the criteria below. You must lodge a new application each year.

Eligibility is assessed when the School completes your child’s application on the Government 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. No private car allowance is payable if the journey to and from school could be made using a public transport service or contract school bus.

You live more than 4.8 kilometres by the shortest practical route from our school and we are the closest Catholic school to your place of residence.

You live more than 4.8 kilometres from our school and you cannot access a bus.

You access a bus and live more than 4.8 kilometres from the bus stop.

Please complete the Conveyance Allowance Application Form and return to the school office by Friday 18th February 2022. Late claims cannot be accepted.

Conveyance_Allowance_Application_Form.pdf

Conveyance_Allowance_Application_Form _pdf 690.11 KB

SECONDHAND UNIFORM

A big thank you to all our families who have donated their good quality uniform they no longer need, we currently have a huge supply of secondhand uniform available to all of families.

If you children have had unexpected growth spurts, or have lost some of their uniform as they often do, please feel free to call the Office on (03) 5623 7222 or admin@stidrouin.catholic.edu.au we may have something to help get you through!

All items in our secondhand collection, have been washed and inspected to ensure they are of good quality. All items are for sale for $2.00 a piece, a nominal donation to the school so that we can keep this service available to families.

SCHOOL FEES & CONCESSIONS

Please contact the school office if you need to discuss your 2022 school fee payment.

If any families would like to set up a weekly, fortnightly or monthly direct debit schedule for school fees, please complete the Direct Debit Form below and return to the school office. For any assistance regarding calculations of payments, please contact us via email on: admin@stidrouin.catholic.edu.au

For any families that have recently received a Government means-tested health care concession card, please forward a copy of your card to the office to check your eligibility, as a fee concession may apply. The card must be in the name of the parent/fee payer for a fee concession to apply.

If your current Health Care card is due to expire this year and your card is re-issued, please send a copy of your new card details to the office as soon as possible for the concession to be checked and applied for next year's fees, if not already done so.

2022 Direct Debit Form

2022 Direct Debit Form 671.20 KB

2022 CSEF Concession Form

2022 CSEF Concession Form 309.21 KB

CLASS OF THE WEEK

Our students of the week for this week are our absolutely amazing Foundation students. They have come to school with such positive energy and are so keen to get involved in their learning. There are so many personalities, each one unique, and I look forward to their educational journey of growth over the years.

MORNING RUNNING CLUB

The kids had a great time this morning at Running Club. 536 laps were completed in total!!

Blue - 174 laps

Red - 129 laps

Green - 121 laps

Gold - 112 laps

Special mention to Cath & Nick for running. Also to Aidan & Makaylah for completing the first lap of Running Club.

ST ITAS STAFF PROFILES

Starting this week our Grade 6 students will be interviewing all the St Ita’s staff to fill out a profile for the school newsletter. The profile is designed to share some light-hearted information with the St Ita’s community about the members of our team. Our first staff member to share their profile is Miss Kristy Boettcher who joined us this year from St Francis Xavier College to teach in our Grade 5-6 students.

PARISH NEWS

Golden Rule plus

Most major religions have directives that superficially read a lot like those from Jesus in this week’s gospel (Luke 6:27-38).

"Do not do to others what you do not want them to do to you." "This is the sum of duty: do not do to others what would cause pain if done to you." "Hurt not others in ways that you yourself would find hurtful."

These are prudent, careful sentiments. A wise way to keep out of trouble with our neighbour. If only the world tried to follow them! Some say they are all part of a universal “Golden Rule” and the “rule” in Luke 6:31 is another version of them.

But you’ve picked the difference already haven’t you! The others are all couched in the negative. What you shouldn’t do. Nothing is required of you. Nothing about love here; no positive action, just don’t bug other people.

Sure that’s a start, but Christianity has something altogether beyond this. In this gospel from Luke, Jesus commands us to “Be merciful as the Father is merciful” to “love our enemies”, “Do good to those who hate us”. That’s a whole new level! And the alleluia verse (John 13:34) underscores that this commandment is not about any old love. This is the love beyond all measure with which Jesus has loved us.

Jesus emphasises that we can afford to be courteous if we anticipate people being courteous back; generous in anticipation of generosity, but his radical command to love makes Christianity unique. This is way beyond! This is active, sleeves rolled up, crazy Christianity and a love beyond all other love! Elsewhere in scripture we are told, “Let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action”. (1 John 3:16-18) Mere humans will struggle to love as Jesus loves, but in the attempt we’ll draw ever closer to God.

Deacon Mark Kelly