Filter Content
- Principal's Message
- Introducing School TV
- New Chaplain/Counsellor
- RRRR (Resilience, Rights & Respectful Relationships) Program
- Interest Based Learning
- P & F (Parents and Friends)
- Mother's Day
- Conveyance Allowance Program
- Catholic Education Week 2022
- Division Athletics Sports
- School Advisory Committee
- School Improvement
- Dates
Dear Families
We started our Interest Based Learning today and it was lots of fun. Thank you to Cathleen Ryan for organising this.
This week our Gr 3 & 5 students have been participating in the NAPLAN (National Assessment Program in Literacy and Numeracy) online testing. We will be doing the Maths online test on Monday and this will be the last test. The results will provide a snapshot of your child's learning on that particular day and should be viewed together with the teacher's data and understanding of your child's learning.
Next Friday we have planned an exciting whole school excursion to Sale. We will travel by buses and visit St Mary's Cathedral where we will celebrate Mass and then have a tour of the cathedral. We will also visit Lake Guthrie park and have a guided tour of the Aboriginal track. Information and permission forms are available on PAM.
Communication
Our main platform for communication to families is through PAM. We use Class Dojo for photos, as we cannot put lots of photos on PAM. Class Dojo is really for communication with your class teacher, not for communication with me. If you would like to ask me something then please email me. pmulqueen@trafalgar.catholic.edu.au I check my emails regularly but I do not check messages in Class Dojo, as I said, this is for your class teacher only.
Newsletters are emailed to you and you can always find the newsletter on our website www.trafalgar.catholic.edu.au
School Reports
Each term we provide a formal opportunity for reporting to families:
Term 1: Parent/teacher conversations early in the term
Term 2: Written reports to go out June 22nd
Term 3: Parent/teacher/student interviews in week 6 August 17th
Term 4: Written reports
Of course if you would like to chat to your child's teacher any time, you are very welcome. Please just organise a time that suits you both.
May God continue to bless and guide us in our learning together,
Trish Mulqueen
Today parents face a multitude of modern day challenges in raising happy, well and resilient young people. Whilst there is a great deal of information available, this can often be confusing and overwhelming for parents looking for guidance.
SchoolTV addresses this as a new online resource designed to empower you as parents with credible and sound information with realistic, practical ongoing support strategies.
As parents in our school you can access this resource online using the following link: https://trafalgar.catholic.
We encourage you to spend some time navigating through the platform to become familiar with its accessibility. This week, we would recommend parents to read and watch the content surrounding the topic of Screen Time. I have listened to the videos with the experts around Screen Time and I found it especially enlightening. Certainly something to think about. We know that this hot topic is what causes so many issues in our families, so why not set yourself up for success by finding out the current, credible information on Screen Time.
Happy researching!
We welcome Mr Josh Hasan to our staff. Josh is available to support the students, teachers and families in our school. He works every Monday and Tuesday and we are very lucky to have him on staff. If you think your child would benefit from a chat with Josh then please let your child's teacher know and we will follow it up. Josh is already very popular at school.
Staff Profile of Joshua Hasan
Eye colour: Brown [how exciting]
Family: Wife (Jennifer), 2 boys (Samuel & Jaime)
How long have you been at St Josephs? 2 weeks.
What does a perfect weekend look like for you?
Family time by going out for brunch, visiting families and eating lots of food.
Doing stuff in the backyard with my 2-year-old.
What’s a great book you’ve read recently?
‘The Messenger’ Markus Zusak
Do you have a favourite movie?
I enjoy great films that have faired well at the Academy Awards. I have
a lot of favourite ones but ‘Remember The Titans’ comes to mind. This
film always hits my nerves and makes me realise how far we have
come together. It's also a great film for coaching young guys about sport
and life.
If you could visit anywhere in the world you’ve never been, where
would you go?
I don’t like travelling [I have issues at the airport] but I have done a lot over the years. I have
been blessed to work overseas in Bangladesh, Thailand, Samoa and done some local stuff
also in various states. I was a youth worker in Tom Price [WA] and that was an eye opener!
So hot consistently and so far away from nearest towns.
Samoa and Hobart were my favourite places for holiday.
What’s your secret talent that no one knows about? I can cook a very good Salmon stir
fry.
What’s your favourite season and why?
Spring. It's a psychological reason as much as anything, as we have just come out of winter
and I love seeing the changes in temperature, along with the flowers and people coming
outside. It's also entering the warmer weather. I need to stay warm!
What’s your guilty pleasure? I love food and the fatter the better. KFC and New York Cheesecakes I cannot say no to!!!
What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
I have had plenty of advice over the years and they have come from amazing leaders in
their fields all over the world. The one that keeps coming back to me is ‘to serve is to be
humble’. Putting others first and at times its painful to be humble but in the long run its
worth it. Proverbs 11:12
RRRR (Resilience, Rights & Respectful Relationships) Program
Here are some examples of work covered in the first three weeks of our RRRR program with a focus on Emotional Literacy.
Grade 4/5/6
We are learning that life can give us lots of ups and downs. We used the analogy of a rollercoaster. In everyday we can have lots of highs and lows but these highs and lows don’t last forever. We have also learnt that emotions can vary in intensity.
Emotions Intensity Cards
A Roller Coaster of events in a day.
Grade 2 and 3
We all have Positive and Negative Emotions and we can feel lots of different emotions every day.
This term, we are running our Interest Based Learning Program again. The program will continue for the next 3 weeks on a Thursday afternoon. Students are able to elect an activity to participate in for the five week program and these activities will be conducted in small multi-aged groups, supported by staff and volunteers from the Trafalgar community. There are a variety of topics on offer such as Lego, Chess, Cooking, Face Paint, Dance, Music, Sport, Tennis and Art. At the end of the 5 weeks, students will reflect on their learning and this reflection will be sent home as part of our reporting procedure.
Here are some photos from the cooking program...
Conveyance allowance private car travel, or Conveyance allowance multimode travel
What is a conveyance allowance?
The conveyance allowance is a form of financial assistance for parents/carers to transport children to and from school in rural and regional Victoria. In some locations, students are unable to access free school buses. In these instances, students may receive a conveyance allowance to assist with travel costs. Allowances are available for public transport, private car and private bus.
If you live more than 4.8km from your closest school you can apply for the conveyance allowance. This is a payment towards the cost of transporting your child to school by public transport, car or school bus
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
• attending a school/campus located outside the Melbourne metropolitan conveyance boundary
A student who meets the above requirements may be eligible if they:
• attend their nearest or designated neighbourhood government school/campus appropriate to their year level, at which admission is permissible, or
• attend their nearest appropriate non-government school/campus appropriate to their year level, at which admission is permissible, and
• reside 4.8km or more by the shortest practicable route from the campus 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. 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. For further information regarding the Conveyance Allowance Program see:
https://www2.education.vic.gov.au/pal/conveyance-allowance/policy
*Multi-mode conveyance allowances
Multi-mode conveyance allowance applies when a student uses more than one mode of transport (e.g. private car and public transport) for a journey between home and school.
If you fall into this criteria, please call the office on 5633 2169 or 5633 1151 to request your application form.
Parents should submit their completed application form to their child's school for processing.
‘Spread the Good News’
Catholic Schools in the Diocese of Sale will celebrate Catholic Education Week from May 27 to June 3, 2022. Catholic Education Week is an opportunity to celebrate the ethos of Catholic schools and highlight the inspiring life of Catholic schools today.
The Diocese of Sale covers 38 Catholic primary schools and seven Catholic secondary schools in south east Victoria from Narre Warren and Cranbourne in the west, Wonthaggi and Philip Island in the south, to Orbost in the east.
Ms Maria Kirkwood, Director of Catholic Education for the Diocese of Sale said Catholic Schools were flourishing as more families looked for an affordable, quality, faith-based education for their children:
“After two years of COVID disruptions punctuated by lockdowns, remote learning and social distancing, our schools are looking forward to celebrating their achievements through activities, events, and open days following COVID-safe guidelines.”
“This year’s theme for Catholic Education Week, is ‘ Go Out into the World and Spread the Good News to all Creation' ( Mark 16:15), and our schools are currently living this call in many ways.”
“The theme also reflects the core purpose of Catholic education which is to nurture the potential of each child, and develop their knowledge and skills to become compassionate and contributing members of society.”
“I hope that staff, students, families and parishes enjoy this special time and that our schools continue to be places where children are able to reach their full potential.
“Catholic Education Week is a highlight of the year for the Diocese of Sale, as the broader Catholic education community comes together to celebrate our Catholic identity and unique mission,” Ms Kirkwood said.
Last week three students represented our school at the Division Athletics Sports. Ivy Chapman competed in the discuss, Ethan Paul came first in the hurdles and Tahlia Pedemont came second in the 100m sprint. Congratulations Ivy, Ethan and Tahlia. Ethan and Tahlia will go on to the next level which is the Zone Athletics.
Our School Advisory Committee (formerly School Board) work to support the school programs and decision making in the school. Our work includes participation in policy making and we also consider school uniform issues. The 2022 Committee includes: Imelda Cathomen, Ashlee Treyvaud, Dan Towb, Marja Jamieson, Kara Pedemont, Taryn Maxwell-Garratt, Fr Bernard Buckley and myself. We meet at least 6 times in the school year. Please see below photos of our School Committee members. If you would like something discussed at these meetings you are welcome to approach anyone of us and we will follow the issue up.
Our next meeting is Tuesday July 12th at 5.30pm at school.
As part of our annual review, each year we participate in the Insight SRC school surveys for staff, students and parents/guardians. We sent home the Insight SRC parent surveys on Monday and we ask that you participate by completing the survey. We only had 50 parent surveys to give out to parents and families were randomly chosen. If you didn’t get a survey and you would really like to fill one in, please let me know and I will arrange for you to get a survey. Surveys need to be completed by Friday of next week, that is 20th May. The results help us to reflect on our performance and direct our school improvement.
It is crucial that we always seek to be our best.
August
Thurs 18th 2. Interest Based Learning
Fri 19th Storytime 9.15am
Mon 22 to 26th BOOK WEEK
Tues 23rd TALENT SHOW 2pm
School Advisory Committee 5.30pm
Fri 26th Dress up day Theme: Dreaming with Eyes Open
Thurs 25th 3. Interest Based Learning
Fri 26th Skateboarding activity Gr 4/5 & Gr 5/6
Sept
Thurs 1st 4. Interest Based Learning
Mon 5th Free Father's Day Breakfast at school 8am
Father's Day Liturgy in church 9am
Wed 7th JAPANESE DAY
Thurs 8th 5. Interest Based Learning
Fri 9th Sports Dress-up day
Hot Dog Lunch
Whole School Assembly 3pm Gr 2/3 presenting
Mon 12 to Fri 16 SWIMMING program at Warragul Leisure Centre
October
Mon 3rd First day of term for teachers (RE professional learning day for teachers. Pupil Free day.)
Tues 4th First day of term for students.
Fri 7th P & F Trivia Night Bowls Club 7.30pm
Fri 14th Grandparents Liturgy 2.30 in church
Thurs 20th LEARNING EXPO from 2pm
November
Fri 11th Color and Slime Run