Rapid Antigen Tests (RAT)

Thank you to all our school families who are following the guidelines of testing students twice a week. As outlined on Operoo, the testing will continue until the end of the term. Additional RAT kits will be available for families to collect from outside the school office on Tuesday 22 and Wednesday 23 February. If you are unable to collect your child's kit, they will be sent home with students on Thursday 24 February.

If your child is unwell, please keep them at home and ensure you conduct a Rapid Antigen Test.

School Uniform

It has been great to see so many students wearing the new uniform items. All reports indicate that the new items are fantastic to wear and wash up well. Just a reminder that students are not to wear jewellery ( this includes friendship bracelets) to school. Hats and sunglasses are to be worn in term one.

School Photos

School photos will take place on Thursday 24 February. Students are required to wear the Summer Uniform. This means students may wear the new navy and blue panel top, navy jumper or navy zip jacket. As some classes have physical education on this day, students may bring their runners to change into.

Year 6 Student Leaders

All year 6 students submitted a leadership application, explaining to teachers why they would be suitable for their preferred leadership role. All applications were thoughtful and indicated how they may like to support others in our school. The opportunity to be a leader in year 6 at our school, provides a chance to learn skills, explore ideas and model doing the right thing. Our student leader groups meet formally twice a term supported by a staff member to discuss and plan for initiatives/changes that they would like to see take place at a local school level. They take on responsibility, and build skills to work with and influence others. Congratulations to our year 6 leaders. Students will formally be presented to the school community and receive a leadership badge at our whole school mass on Ash Wednesday 2 March. Families are welcome to join us at the parish mass at 10:00am. 

Pancake Tuesday

It has been a tradition at St Catherine’s for students and families to join us for a Pancake Breakfast on Shrove Tuesday. This year the staff will be cooking pancakes on Tuesday 1 March. Students may arrive at school from 8:15am for a pancake in the courtyard. Hope to see you there.

Student Assessments

All students have been undergoing school based assessments. It is important for teachers to gather data on student learning, as this supports planning for targeted learning. Students will be working on setting a literacy and numeracy goal for learning, which they will share  at the parent/teacher/student meetings in week 8 of this term. Information on booking these meetings will be available in our next newsletter in week 6.

HOLT Swimming 

Congratulations to Lex Lovegrove and Alexander Arnoutis for representing our school at the HOLT swimming event. 

School Advisory Council (SAC)

Thank you to Peter Brook and Carlo Piccolo who have come forward to join our School Advisory Council. Our first meeting will take place on Monday 7 March. SAC provides a crucial point of connection between the wider school community and school leaders. While the School Advisory Council does  not have governance responsibility or decision-making authority, it supports the principal and school leadership and provides an important connection to the parish. 

Student Residential Address and Other Information Collection

As requested by the Australian Government, schools are required to provide parents/carers/ guardians with a copy of the 2022 Student Residential Address and Other Information Collection Notice.

The Student Residential Address and Other Information Collection (the Collection) informs Australian

Government school education policy and helps ensure funding for non-government schools is based on need

Basis.

The information collected will be used to inform school funding calculations. It is combined with data held by

the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) to calculate a non-government school community’s anticipated

capacity to contribute to the costs of schooling.

From 2020, a new measure of capacity to contribute, the Direct Measure of Income (DMI), was introduced.

The DMI is based on the median income of parents or guardians of students at a non-government school using data collected through the Collection.

Please see PDF for further information-Student Residential Address and Other Information Collection