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We acknowledge the traditional owners of the land on which we are situated and remind you that we are gathered on Aboriginal land.
We acknowledge the Elders of this land both past and present.
Welcome back to all our St Ita’s families, I hope you have all had a restful break and feel rejuvenated, recharged and rested. Term 2 was different to say the least and I would like to thank all our families for the patience and support you afforded our teaching staff during off site remote learning. St Ita’s teaching staff did an amazing job working with our children and are prepared for the possibility of more off site learning should the need arise.
Thankfully, at this point of time, we will be operating school as normal but will be continuing with the same drop off and pick up procedures that we were using last term.
A – K Family Surnames to drop off/pick up their children up at the regular Victoria St staff carpark loop.
L – Z Family Surnames to drop off/pick up their children at the Drouin Rec Reserve car-line loop.
As you would most likely be aware, schools West of the Bunyip River will be closed for another week and then go into a 5-week remote learning phase. St Ita's is not in that zone and will be operating as normal.
I will send out any updates from DOSCEL as they come to hand. Fingers crossed all stays the same but with the current escalation rate of Covid-19 it may cause some significant changes, which we will face once they arrive.
COVID SAFE PRACTICES AT ST ITA'S
As part of our responsibility to keeping all in the St Ita’s Learning community safe during Covid-19 times we will be making sure all the previous Covid-19 routines and safety measure are still in place at our school.
We will continue to promote:
- students keeping healthy and clean
- correct hand washing and sanitizing procedures whilst at school
- practicing correct social distancing whilst at school
- safe pick up and drop off procedures at school
We will commence daily morning temperature checks of all students arriving on site.
As we have students attending St Ita's who live West of the Bunyip River and as per an updated directive from DOSCEL today, commencing this Friday we will now temperature check digitally, all students arriving on site at each entry point of the school. If any of these students display an elevated temperature (37.5c or higher) they will not be able to enter the school and will need to be taken home exiting the school site.
For the safety and well-being of all students, we would like to re-iterate that students are not to arrive at school before 8.30am. All gates are locked until supervision commences at 8.30am and students cannot enter the school site before supervision commences and the student's temperature is taken. Students are not to be left unattended without a parent outside of the school grounds prior to 8.30am. Camp Australia is available for supervision prior to 8.30am if required.
If your child is showing any signs of illness please do not send them to school. If your child is displaying any flu like symptoms our advice would be to seek medical advice and keep them at home until you receive the clearance for your child to return to school.
Each fortnight on a Friday at 2.50pm, we will conduct a whole school Google Meet assembly for our students whilst in their classrooms. At this assembly our school leaders will present the Welcome to Country, a school prayer and read out the class and Holy Spirit awards.
NEW SCHOOLZINE SZapp replaces Skoolbag
We are now using a new school notification App from Schoolzine which works inconjunction with our new school website. This new app called SZapp will replace the Skoolbag app. Please download the new SZapp to your phone or mobile device today. Skoolbag notifications will cease at the end of July.
SCHOOL FEE CONCESSION
Term 3 school fees are now due for families not on a direct debit payment plan.
For any families impacted financially by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and have concerns about your financial situation regarding school fees, please contact myself on 5623 7222 during the hours of 8.30am-3.30pm Monday to Friday, or via email: principal@stidrouin.catholic.edu.au so that we can explore confidential financial support arrangements to enable your child(ren)’s education at our school to continue.
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.
SCHOOL UNIFORM
A reminder to all parents regarding St Ita's school uniform policy and the expectation is that all students attend school in the correct school uniform. I have asked all class teachers to alert their students of the correct school uniform for the winter terms and the expectations around being at school in correct school uniform.
If you child is out of school uniform, could I please ask that you send a note to your child’s teacher explaining your situation or reason. Attached below is the winter uniform for students to be worn during Term 3.
| Boys Winter Uniform | Girls Winter Uniform |
| Dark grey trousers / or grey shorts | Blue tartan tunic (optional navy blue tailored school pants) |
| Royal blue polo shirt with school logo | Royal blue polo shirt with school logo |
| Royal blue jumper with school logo | Royal blue jumper with school logo |
| Grey socks | Navy blue tights or long socks |
| Black lace-up or buckle, leather shoes or boots (no visible/no colour logos) | Black lace-up or buckle, leather shoes (no visible/no colour logos) |
| Grade 6 only - Navy blue bomber jacket with school logo | Grade 6 only - Navy blue bomber jacket with school logo |
| Optional: Royal blue beanie with school logo | Optional: Royal blue beanie with school logo |
| Optional: Navy blue rain jacket with school logo | Optional: Navy blue rain jacket with school logo |
Please remember to clearly label all clothing and check regularly that the name can be easily read. Teachers cannot identify unmarked clothing, which is often mislaid or wrongly claimed by other children. Please check your child has their own items at the end of each week. Permanent markers wear off, so items must be relabelled regularly or we recommend iron-on labels.
Where property is marked clearly it will be returned to the owner. Should marking be indistinct or absent, property will be placed in the lost property cupboard, located in the foyer of the Administration Office.
SCHOOL NEWSLETTER
Please don't forget to subscribe to the school newsletter via our new school website to receive a copy each each week. https://stidrouin.catholic.edu.au/
Patient and Wise
Wisdom is a beautiful, somewhat neglected, little book sitting quietly in the Old Testament and offering us this week some insight into the gospel from Matthew (Matt 13:24-43) and especially into the nature of God. Written by a devoted and learned Jewish writer, probably less than a century before Jesus’ birth, the book of Wisdom is particularly directed at uplifting the confidence of people in times of struggle. Wisdom (Wis 12:13, 16-19) assures us about the love of God, who cares about everyone with righteousness and patience towards all. His strength is righteousness and not only will he will not judge anyone unjustly but will be mild, lenient and forgiving. He teaches us how virtuous people should be kindly, forgiving and full of hope.
Which leads us to Matthew who writes for Christian people struggling on the periphery, perhaps a little like ourselves, daunted amid a secular world often antagonistic and dismissive of our beliefs and values. Commissioned to proclaim God’s kingdom, making disciples of all nations, we might be overwhelmed by the injustice, abuse of power, exploitation, enslavement and killing of the innocent we see around us, wondering how we can make headway against entrenched evil.
We are tempted to put our trust in worldly riches, sinful advantage and worldly cares and then to see ourselves as superior to others. How are our little mustard seeds to grow amidst all this choking? Jesus knows all about opposition and exactly the challenges we face, teaching us in these parables about weeds and wheat, not to get bogged down doing the sorting job that belongs to God and his angels, but to rise confidently above all that is seeking to ensnare, entangle and drag us down.
And we draw confidence from Wisdom which assures us of God’s limitless, patient love and willingness to forgive repentant sinners.
Deacon Mark Kelly
LOST PROPERTY
We currently have many un-named school jumpers & personal items in the lost property cupboard located in the school admin office. Do these belong to anyone?
FAMILY MEALS REQUIRED
We are seeking the assistance of generous cooks in our school community to help provide some cooked meals or snacks for our food bank freezer. We do not require gourmet meals, just hearty family meals (ie casseroles, soups, pasta dishes, lasagna, stew, rice dishes, sausage rolls, cake) that children may also enjoy & will freeze well.
These meals are available to all families who may be experiencing temporary family stress and provide a little comfort and convenience when it may be needed. If at any time you are in need or know of someone in need, please call the school office on 5623 7222 & we will do our best to help out. All information is handled sensitively and confidentially.
SCHOOL CONCERT
This year, our annual school concert is scheduled to be performed in term 4 on Thursday 12th November at the West Gippsland Arts Centre in Warragul, with concert practise to take place at the Art Centre on Wednesday 11th November. (Please note this date will be subject to the removal of Covid-19 restrictions).
by Mrs Catherine McKenna
Check out our Annual Book Fair - it is virtual this year !
The response to our Lamont Book Fair last year was wonderful- a great success and there are many fantastic titles included this year too. Traditionally this was aligned with our Grandparents Day and it was always such a delight to see so many grandparents and parents in our school purchasing a book for their students. Unfortunately, that won't be the case this year, but we can still provide you with a great opportunity in the comfort of your home. Please click on the link below to open our annual Book Fair, virtually this year!
Our Book Fair is open now until the 27th July.
3 easy steps
- Click the link to take you to the Virtual Book Fair.
- Choose St Ita's from the drop-down list and type your student’s name.
- At the end of the transaction, put the delivery address as St Ita's and every order will be delivered to school with the students name on your own order.
Super easy!
BOOK CLUB
Thank you to all our families for supporting Book Club each term. Issue 5 is out now. Bookclub is available for ordering and payment on-line via the Scholastic BookClub Loop.