QUEEN OF APOSTLES SCHOOLqoa.wa.edu.au/pdf/newsletters/newsletter_150204.pdf · 2016. 4. 4. · Cleo Goodgame Zac Johnston Corrine McKenzie Joshua Richard Nicholas Hie Ramielle Lazar

QUEEN OF APOSTLES SCHOOL

108 Tribute Street East, RIVERTON WA 6148

Telephone Number: 9457-4913 Email address: [email protected] Facsimile Number: 9354-3911 Website: www.qoa.wa.edu.au

Dear Parents and Carers,

Tragedy hits one of our families and our School Community mourns

Our school community has been deeply shocked and saddened by the sudden passing of one of our parents, Mr Bruce Smart on the 26th December 2014 at his home. Our thoughts and prayers remain with Helen, their children Matthew, Kate, Alex and Robbie and their relatives and friends. Many of you would have known Bruce from his volunteering in the canteen at school over many years. Bruce always took an active interest in his children’s education and was always proactive in lending a hand or helping out when the need arose. He was a caring, supportive, loving father and husband, and only time will ease the sense of grief and loss that Helen and the children are currently trying to cope with. I have no doubt it would have been a great source of comfort to the family to see so many classmates of Alex and Robbie, along with their parents, other school families and staff, at the funeral service to lend their support and prayers. I know that Helen has been very appreciative and strengthened by the level of support and assistance provided and offered by everyone including many families at our school. It is sometimes only during the worst of times that we see the best of people rise to the occasion. I have no doubt that we, as a school community, will continue to rally behind and support the Smart family in the weeks and months to come. We continue to offer our prayers and support to Helen, Matthew, Alex and Robbie, in their time of need … confident in the knowledge that Bruce is at peace in the loving arms of Jesus. Vale Bruce Smart.

4th February 2015

Welcome to New Staff I would like to welcome all our new staff members who have joined “Queenies” this year; Kindy 1 Teaching Assistant Mrs. Sharolyn Kenny Kindy 2 Teaching Assistant Mrs. Catherine Rusinski Year 2.2 Teacher Miss Rebecca La Rocca Year 4.1 Teacher Miss Kalinda Knight Year 5.1 Teacher Mr. Nick Iannello Year 5.2 Teacher Miss Lateasha Watts We also welcome back Mrs. Julie Galbraith, fresh from touring all over Australia for 12 months sampling wine, cheese and other local delicacies from every single possible location across the continent, and Mrs Yvette Mistry, who has returned to work for 2 ½ days per week in first semester to hide from her twin boys … and replace Mrs. Jensen while she is on Maternity Leave.

Welcome Back! I would like to take this opportunity to welcome back all our returning families from last year. It was terrific to see all the smiling faces of parents and carers as they dropped their children off on Monday morning. Of course it was also great to see all the smiling faces of the children, eager to catch up with old friends and meet new classmates and teachers. I would especially like to welcome the following new families and children to the “Queenies” school community. I’m sure you will all help to make their settling-in period a friendly, rewarding and enjoyable experience.

DATES TO REMEMBER

Sat 7 Feb Confirmation Commitment Mass

Sun 8 Feb 9.00am Family Mass Confirmation Commitment Mass

Mon 9 Feb 7.00pm P&F Meeting

Wed 11 Feb 9.00am Whole School Mass

Fri 13 Feb 6.00pm P&F Welcome Sundowner, Disco & Pizza Night

Sat 14 Feb Reconciliation Commitment Mass

Sun 15 Feb Reconciliation Commitment Mass

Tue 17 Feb Parent Information Night 6.00pm-6.45pm Session 1 6.45pm-7.15pm Principal’s Address 7.15pm-8.00pm Session 2

Wed 18 Feb 9.00 Ash Wednesday Mass 6.00pm School Board Meeting

Sat 21 Feb Eucharist Commitment Mass

Sun 22 Feb Eucharist Commitment Mass

Wed 25 Feb 8.50am Assembly Yr 6 leave for Camp

Fri 27 Feb Yr 6 return from Camp

Mon 2 Mar Labour Day Holiday – SCHOOL CLOSED

Tue 3 Mar Staff PD – SCHOOL CLOSED

Ella Hassan

Abby Hollow

Oli Johnston

Archie Kolomyjec

Cherise Kuria

Neve McDonald

Cassandra Minderman

Arianna Murphy

Charlie Norrish

Jansen Swinson

Mikayla Tan

Sienna Van Luinen

Bryn Wilson

Casey Wright

Nathan Yang

Reneese Lazar

Fabio Livigni

Adrian Aziz

Aiden Armstrong

Callan Barry

Zeva Chapman

Jonathon Detata

Ella Fair

Nathan Forbes

Kathleen Hie

Tegan Jodihardja

Natalie Koh

Hanhee Lee

Oscar Lee

Sophie Liu

Ashton Locke

Isabelle Matthews

Noah Myers

Nicolas Natale

Noah Potthast

Zachary Satherley

Scarlett Scriven

Sienna Seiler

Nate Stewart

Luke Sullivan

Maiya Tan

Emma Thomas

Marlah Vaz

Ethan Warnes

Annaliese Wylie

Vivienne Adragna

Isabella Albertini

Elizabeth Ang

Michael Boctor

Holly Cleland

Scarlett Day

Neve Doran

Oliver Edwards

Cleo Goodgame

Zac Johnston

Corrine McKenzie

Joshua Richard

Nicholas Hie

Ramielle Lazar

Gei Yu Yiu

Mattia Adragna

Jien McKenzie

Alyssandra Briggs

Nicholas Budijanto

Jonathan Hie

Noemi Adraga

Ryan Lazar

Kai Yin Yiu

Rheannon Lazar

Alistair Williams

Aaroh Agrawal

Jackson Parry

P&F Welcome Sundowner, Disco and Pizza Night Coming up on Friday 13th February our P&F will be hosting a “Welcome Sundowner” for all our families, particularly our new families. Grab a big, black marker pen and put this one in your diary – Friday 13 February from 6.00 – 9.00pm on the main oval and Undercover Area for the Queenies P&F Welcome Sundowner, Disco and Pizza Night! There will be a DJ in the Undercover Area pumping out all the latest hits to keep the children (and those parents young at heart) dancing and entertained. For those parents and carers who would rather chill-out at the end of the working week, there is the opportunity to BYO some drinks, nibbles, cheese platters, eskies, camp chairs and picnic rugs and enjoy a sundowner on the lawn in the shade of the trees. If you wish to purchase pizzas for dinner please see the order form in the P&F section of this newsletter. This is a wonderful opportunity for our new children to socialise with their new classmates and also for parents to meet, socialise, catch-up and most importantly, make our new parents and carers feel most welcome. I hope to see all our children and parents there for what promises to be a great social occasion for everyone!

Shared Responsibility Accompanying this newsletter you will find a copy of an article taken from this Monday’s West Australian Newspaper. The article is by Pauline Lysaght, who is the Associate Director of Early Start at the University of Wollongong. Pauline has touched on several important points that resonate with me as an educator, and I daresay many of you may recall me emphasizing similar points to you at your enrolment interview. Please take the time to read the article as it does make a very clear case for the fact that you, as parents, are the primary, number one educators of your children. As a Catholic school, we are here to assist you in the process of educating your children. It is a crucial partnership between school, home and parish – working and supporting each other – that enables your children to work and strive towards achieving their potential. Your influence and input cannot be underestimated. A crucial amount of learning and development of your children commences at home … long before they walk into our Kindy for the first time. As the staff of a Catholic school, we also realise that we have a vitally important role in supporting our parents through the various stages of educational, pastoral, spiritual, physical, social and emotional development that your children will experience through primary school. Yourselves as parents, together with Jesus, are the most important role models your children will ever have or need!

Parent Night Another important date coming up is our annual Parent Information Night, to be held this year on Tuesday 17th February. As in previous years the format will run as listed below: 6.00 – 6.40pm Session 1 Classroom teachers’ presentations to parents in classrooms 6.45 – 7.15pm Session 2 Principal’s Address to ALL parents in the Library 7.20 – 8.00pm Session 3 Repeat of class teachers’ presentations to parents in classrooms. This is an important opportunity to meet your children’s teachers for this year and hear firsthand what they have planned for this year and how they are planning to have their classroom operate. Even if one of your children has had that teacher before, it doesn’t mean that everything this year will run the same. Education and teaching is constantly changing and evolving and there may well be changes this year that you’re not aware of, so please do not miss this opportunity to find out for yourself what will be happening in your children’s classrooms this year. We apologise to the small number of families with 3 or 4 children, who will not be able to attend all teacher’s sessions- unless they have someone who can babysit so they can both attend, however, we are mindful of the time and we want parents to be able to get home at a reasonable hour for children’s bedtimes. We certainly do expect that at least one parent or carer from each family will attend the meetings. I look forward to seeing you all on the night.

Pick-Up Time and Traffic Rules It has certainly been a very different start to the new school year with thunderstorms, lightning, torrential rain … and even some hail one morning last week! Of course traffic congestion at home-time becomes even more problematical when the weather turns wet. While the vast majority of parents have been very good and shown great patience and tolerance at pick-up time at both the drive-thru and the Church pick-up area, there have been one or two incidents that luckily have not resulted in any harm or damage to people or vehicles. I would therefore like to remind all our parents and carers that:

1. If you are using the drive-thru you must have a dashboard surname card, so that the teachers on duty can easily identify who you are and ensure your children are ready to be picked-up. This helps to ensure the smooth flow of traffic and minimize delays. If you’ve lost your dashboard surname card, please let Mrs. Healey know in the office and we’ll print another one for you.

2. If your children are not present or ready for pick-up at the drive-thru, the teacher on duty may instruct you to “go around again”, exit the drive-thru and re-enter the queue again. This is to enable traffic to flow and not have one lane blocked while we try to locate missing children who may be chatting to friends outside their classroom.

3. Near the crosswalk area at the drive-thru, the one lane becomes two for student pick-up. Vehicles must stay in their respective lane when exiting the drive-thru – you cannot cross over from one lane to the other!

4. All vehicles must enter the drive-thru at the western end near Vahland Ave. 5. All vehicles must exit left from the drive-thru. 6. When doing pick-up from the Church area in Tudor Ave, parking is only permitted on the school/church

side of Tudor Ave. 7. Double-parking is not permitted in either Tribute Street or Tudor Ave. 8. Parking in neighbours’ driveways or front lawns is not permitted. We wish to maintain good relationships

with our neighbours and parking all over their property is not conducive to this. 9. Definitely no driving or overtaking on verges or footpaths (Sadly, I’ve seen it happen in previous years!)

With a little cooperation and patience we can work together to ensure that all children, parents and carers get home safely.

A Postive Start! It has been a very positive start to our new school year. Our enrolment numbers are up by 20 students compared to the start of last year, with 370 children currently enrolled. This definitely helps us to ensure that our budget stays on track, and most importantly, shores up our numbers to help ensure we remain a two streamed primary school. Many of our more recent new enrolments have mentioned at their interviews that one of the key reasons they chose to seek enrolment at Queenies was that they know a few families from our school, and they all spoke very highly of Queenies. I would like to thank all our parents and carers for providing such positive feedback to those new families. You have certainly played your part in helping to ensure the long-term viability of our great school. I urge you to keep up the great work – as I’ve said before word-of-mouth recommendations from current parents are the most valuable PR that no amount of money and advertising can buy!

Uniforms It has been terrific to see almost 100% of our beautiful children in correct uniform for the start of our school year. I thank all our parents and carers for your diligent efforts to ensure your children are proudly wearing our school uniform. Seeing all our children in their fresh, clean uniforms makes a statement about who we are and what we stand for that words could not convey. We are “Queenies” and we are proud of our school and what we believe in and stand for.

Please make sure you visit our Uniform Shop and say hello to Mrs. Fiona Agostino, our new Uniform Shop Manager. Fiona will be only too happy to help ensure your children remain neat and smart in their correct uniform.

OSH Club Our OSHC Club is now beginning its second year of operation and we are looking forward to further building on its success last year. Numbers have been low this week, so I’m hoping that attendances will pick up once again as more parents return to work, now that their children are back at school. Please remember that this service exists to meet the needs of our families. It requires your support if it is to remain viable each year. Booking can be on a casual or permanent basis and bookings can be made on-line, once you have registered with OSH Club. Our service is fully licensed and registered, and parents and carers can claim Federal Government childcare rebates, making it affordable for our families. Peace and best wishes, Shaun O’Neill Principal

I would like to send a warm welcome to all the families who are new to Queenies and send a big hello to the returning families from holidays. I hope you have all had a wonderful break and are looking forward to the year ahead. On Monday, it was the feast of the Presentation of The Lord. This is when Mary and Joseph presented Jesus to the Lord according to the Law of Moses. Simeon was one of the first people to recognise that Jesus was the most important person that ever lived. Much like Mary and Joseph, you too, as parents are presenting your children to us, here at Queen of Apostles. Your children are also the most important people that ever lived! Together, we can help each child realise their importance and the way they can change the world. Below I thought I would let you know of a few dates of celebrations we will be having this year, so you can get out your calendars and write them in! In regards to the Sacramental Program this year, it will again be Parish-based, so it is important to contact the priest from your parish to arrange for your child to receive a Sacrament if they are the correct age to do so. I have included the dates for Queen of Apostles parish to assist you.

Religious Dates for 2015 Registration and Commitment Masses If you wish your child to receive a Sacrament at the Queen of Apostles parish, you will need to register them by either seeing Fr Paul after school in the Parish Office, seeing Ashley Almeida, the Sacramental Coordinator before school this week, or attending the Registration day held this SATURDAY 7th FEBRUARY at 9:30am in the Presbytery. The Commitment Mass for those students receiving a Sacrament will be at the following Masses: Sacrament of Confirmation - Saturday 7th Feb at 6:30pm, Sunday 8th at 9:00am or 7:00pm Sacrament of Reconciliation - Saturday 14th February at 6:30pm, Sunday 15th at 9:00am or 7:00pm Sacrament of First Holy Communion - Saturday 21st Feb at 6:30pm, Sunday 22nd at 9:00am or 7:00pm.

Religious Education

Celebration of Sacraments: Confirmation - Sunday 24th May at 10:30am Reconciliation - Tuesday 8th September at 6:30pm Holy Communion - Sunday 13th September at 10:30am or Holy Communion - Sunday 20th September at 10:30am All information and forms can be found on the parish website: http://www.queenofapostleschurch.org.au/page3.html

Beginning of School Year Mass Our first Mass for the year will be held on Wednesday 11th February at 9:00am led by the Year 6 class. As well as asking us to reflect on the beginning of a new school year, there will also be a focus on leadership. We invite all families to join in this celebration with us and look forward to seeing you there.

Ash Wednesday On Wednesday 18th February, it will be the beginning of Lent, which is marked by celebrating Ash Wednesday. This is the day where palms given out at last year’s Palm Sunday Mass are burnt and made into a paste which is then marked as a cross on each person’s forehead. It helps us to remember to turn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospel. Year 4.1 will be helping us to celebrate an Ash Wednesday Mass commencing at 9:00am. We would love to see many families come and join us for this celebration. As Ash Wednesday is a day of fasting and abstinence, we will not be selling foods containing meat at the canteen, so please consider this when placing orders.

Education in Faith As we begin a new school year together, I thought I’d like to share this prayer with you asking God to bless us this year and our Queen of Apostles school community and all that we will experience and achieve together this year.

Heavenly Father, you have given us the gift of children. We welcome such a responsibility with faith and love.

For children may be likened to seeds from flowers. At first they may seem more similar than different.

As they grow and mature their differences become marked. Some remain small and delicate while others are large and brilliant.

Some bloom early and some late. One thing they have in common:

Under good conditions they all bloom and have their own beauty. Dear Lord, help us as parents and teachers to provide the best conditions for our children,

So they may blossom forth in all their glory. We ask this through Christ Our Lord.

Amen.

Russell Wylie Assistant Principal

Student Information Coming home this week with each child will be the current information we hold on each student in our school. It is important that this information is carefully checked and amended if necessary. In particular, please check contact details (address, phone number), e-mail address, medical details and Emergency Contact details. Please also attach any Medical Action Plans from your doctor if required.

School Uniform Please ensure children are dressed in the correct school uniform each day. Details about this can be found in the Parent Information Handbook. Students should not wear nail-polish or jewellery other than a watch, a pair of earrings and a simple chain with a religious charm on it. Sports shoes should be predominately white. Please also ensure all removable items of clothing are clearly labelled with your child’s name.

Drive Through Banners To assist with an easier Drive Through experience, we can provide easy to read surname banners for you to display on your windscreen to facilitate the collection process. If you are new to the school or need a replacement banner, please complete the attached slip and return to the office by Friday 13th February.

School Fees Welcome Back! I hope everybody had an enjoyable break and are ready to embrace another enlightening year. Knowing you will be eager to receive your school fee accounts, I will endeavour to have completed processing them by Week Two. To ensure that this is achievable, I need all families who hold Health Care Cards or Pension Cards to check the expiry dates and come into the office and update their details. Also, if your circumstances have changed regarding split billing and address/email and contact details please come into the office or call and speak to myself or Terri to update those changes. This year the school has elected to issue one annual account, which will be emailed to all who have supplied their email address. We will also post a copy to all families which will include the annual account, direct debit form and a letter from the Principal which has a reply slip on the bottom to be completed and returned to the office by 20th February. Please ensure that you complete and return the reply slip. Many thanks for your cooperation, any queries regarding your account please don’t hesitate to contact me. Kind regards Mrs Janice Della Bosca - Finance Officer

School News

DRIVE THROUGH PICK UP REPLY SLIP Family Name: _______________________________________

Eldest Child in the Family: _____________________________ Class: _______________

Please return to school office by 13th February 2015

Shelves to a Good Home There are two bookcases outside the Year 6 classroom that require new homes. If you can make use of them make a donation to the office and they are yours.

RAPPERS HELP NEEDED!!

We are still in need of parents who can assist with our RAPPERS program. We would love to have as many volunteers as possible working with our children to help them read. A RAPPER is a constant adult who hears the same child/children read each week and encourages them with their reading. The program places volunteers in Years 1-5 at least once a week. If you can assist, please fill in the form attached to this newsletter and return it to the school office -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

RAPPERS HELPERS

Please tick or highlight your availability I would love to volunteer as a RAPPER in 2015. I would be available on the following morning/s:

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Please print name: Signed: _______________________ Eldest Child’s name and class: _______________________________________

Hello from the School Social Worker Welcome everyone! For those in our school community that may be unaware of my presence or role here at Queen of Apostles, I am the Social Worker here. I will be available from 8am to 4pm on Mondays and Tuesdays. I feel that an integral part of a school’s pastoral care policy is to have a Social Worker that can focus on a student within a school environment in order to facilitate learning outcomes through the relief of distress or barriers. Catholic School Social Workers are trained professionals that work in partnership with Principals, Teachers, government and community workers. We work in adherence to the Catholic ethos and a professional code of ethics. We have the opportunity and ability to work with individuals, groups and communities. We can use knowledge and theory to help identify the psycho social needs of the school community, offer support to students and families, facilitate group work, be available for whole class presentations, assist in policy and planning, participate in ongoing professional development and complete required administrative tasks such as confidential record keeping or ordering appropriate Social Work resources. I am very happy to be here as a part of our school community and look forward to another year of service to you all. Kind regards, Tracy Small

Scholastic Book Club Issue 1 for 2015 will be coming home with your child today. Orders are due back at school no later than Friday 13th February (week 2). Please take note of this due date as late orders cannot be accepted. If we process our orders late it can mean that popular items ordered are not available. Please see below for a new online ordering and payment platform for parents. This new system enables parents to order and pay for their child’s selections without the need to return orders to the school. Your order will still be distributed through your child’s classroom as per usual.

Welcome back for 2015! I hope you have had an enjoyable holiday. This year is another busy, exciting time in the Music Department. Here are a few items for consideration.

Choir A note was sent home last year inviting students from Years 2-6 to join our school choirs. (Years 2 and 3 Junior Choir and Years 4 to 6 Senior Choir). If your child would like to join our School Choir and require a note, please ask them to come and see me. Choir numbers will be finalised by the end of Week 3.

Music News

Instrumental Program If your child is interested in learning a musical instrument, an Instrumental Agreement can be obtained from me. Next week, a few of the tutors will be giving a short presentation about the instruments being offered this year at our Gathering Assembly at 8.45am on Monday in the Undercover Area. Parents are also welcome to attend. The numbers for our program will be finalised by Week 3, so your child still has time to enrol. This year we will be offering the following instruments for Year 3 to 6:

Piano (Mrs Margaret de san Miguel; Mr Connor Bryant)

Guitar (Mr David Gee)

Electric Guitar (Mr David Gee)

Drums (Mr Liam Hickey)

Recorder (Miss Jennifer Currenti)

Flute (Miss Jennifer Currenti)

Saxophone (Mr Craig McClaren)

Clarinet (Mr Craig McClaren)

Vocal (TBA)

Violin (TBA) For those students who are already enrolled, lessons will commence in Week 2 and your child’s tutor will be in contact with you with regards to payment and commencement of lesson.

Music Rocks Australia Once again, the school will be offering the students the opportunity to participate in the Music Rocks Australia Program. It will continue to run on Wednesday afternoons in the Undercover Area. Lessons will commence in Week 2. See the flyer below and come along next week and check it out. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me. Regards Sheryl Perry

P&F

DATES TO REMEMBER Mon 9 Feb 7.00pm P&F Meeting

Fri 13 Feb 6.00pm P&F Welcome Sundowner, Disco & Pizza Night

Lynwood United Football Club Season 2015 Players Wanted All age groups, boys and girls from u6 right through to our youth u16, seniors u18 and masters 35yrs+. Registration day @ Hossack Pavilion Parkwood Sunday 15/2/15 1pm – 4pm and Thursday 19/2/15 6pm – 8pm www.lynwoodunitedfc.com www.facebook.com/lynwoodunited.juniorsfootballclub [email protected] 0408095173 or 0417941548

For information about the Queen of Apostles Parish check out the parish newsletter by clicking on the link below: http://www.queenofapostleschurch.org.au/News%20Letter.pdf

QUEEN OF APOSTLES FAMILY MASS PERMISSION SLIP Please complete the reply slip below giving permission for your son / daughter to read at the 9am Family Mass Sunday 8th February. Practice will be at 1.15pm on Friday 6th February. Kelly Gostt Melissa Edmonds – [email protected] Family Mass Co-ordinators -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

QUEEN OF APOSTLES PARISH REPLY SLIP I give permission for my child_______________________________of class___________to read at the 9am Mass on Sunday 8th February and to practice on Friday 6th February at 1.15pm in the Church.

Parent’s signature Date ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Queen of Apostles Parish

Community News

Maranatha Centre for Adult Faith Formation: Looking for some soul-food now the kids are back at school? Married to a Catholic, but not one yourself? Just want to explore something new? Why not take a course at the Maranatha Centre for Adult Faith Formation. Many courses are during school time, there are no exams or assignments, and you don’t have to be a “good” Catholic (or a Catholic at all!). Topics for Term One include “Exploring Faith: Theology for Beginners,” and “Ways of Praying”. For more information or to register for a course, visit www.maranathacentre.org.au or call 9241 5221.

Rossmoyne Netball Club 2015 Registration Registration for the 2015 netball season now open online via www.rossmoynenc.com.au for players born 2007 and earlier. Registration closes on Monday 16th February. New and existing players welcome! Teams in grades to suit all skill levels of players! Subscribe to our website to receive mail alerts re Registration, Grading dates and uniform information. Visit our website and hit the subscribe button. Any queries email [email protected]