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Dear Parents,
I hope everyone enjoyed the opportunity to get out and enjoy the long weekend. With warm weather on the way, please ensure your child has a hat each day, sunscreen and plenty of water.
Please remember to keep your child at home if they are unwell, including a runny nose, a cough, sore throat or flu like symptoms. We have students and staff who are vulnerable and I ask each of you to be vigilant in supporting the health of all members of the community.
World Teachers Day
This week we are celebrating World Teachers Day at St Paul’s.We are having a meeting free week, a special morning tea and I would like to invite our families to make a card (or two) for a special teacher in their child’s life. A great homework task for the family to share. This year all teachers and staff have shone in the lives and hearts of our families.
Leadership in Action!
It was one of those proud moments when a group of Year 5 boys, Josh, Tano, Will and Caden came to see me and asked to discuss recycling at St Paul’s. The boys came armed with posters they had made for their own classroom as they had taken on the challenge of getting their classmates to dispose of rubbish in a safe and sustainable manner. They couldn't believe what a challenging task they had set themselves.
The boys are now getting the word out on the playground, visiting classrooms and monitoring all the bins as they educate their peers on the difference between soft plastic, recyclables, green waste and landfill. The boys will contest that it is not an easy job!
Please support their efforts by sending ‘Nude Food’ in your child’s lunch box as we work together for a sustainable future. Your children’s planet. Each day we can make a difference.
Year 6 Students Connecting with the Community
Year 6 students have written cards to many parishioners that may have felt isolated during these past weeks. Students introduced themselves and shared a little of what they enjoy. They wrote a little about lockdown and were hoping to 'put a smile' on some of our parishioner’s faces.
School Photos
School Photos are being taken on Thursday 12th November. Please return envelopes if you received them with your payment or indicating you have paid online. A number of people paid earlier in the year and if so your child will not have received an envelope. If you are unsure please contact Anna. If you require a sibling photo envelope please let Anna know and she will send one home for you. Children are to wear full summer uniform. If it is your child's sport day, they can bring their runners in their bag.
Swearing
Since we have returned to school after Remote Learning, there has been a significant decline in appropriate language being used on the playground. I have spoken to all senior classes and will follow up with further consequences for those students who continue to use language that is unacceptable. Consequences will include time off the playground and a phone call to parents. Could parents please discuss this matter with their children which is mainly a problem with many of our boys in Years 3-6.
A peak inside the school gates. We miss you all.
The gardens are growing.
Students have made gratitude hearts and hung them on the fence.
Lego World has arrived.
The veggie garden is being carefully tended.
The sandpit is a popular hangout.
Bookweek - there were certainly some Strange and Curious Creatures roaming the school!
We are all working hard to stay safe and connected.
VINNIES Christmas Appeal
On Friday 4th December St Paul's will be asking all students and staff to offer a gold coin donation to go towards purchasing Woolies Vouchers. These vouchers will be given to the local St Vincent de Paul group in Bentleigh.
This year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the local Vinnies Branch decided that vouchers were the best option for the Christmas Hampers.
On this day students will be allowed to wear casual clothes and each year level, with their teacher, will be given one letter of the word “VINNIES” to fill up with their donations.
Prior to this day students will be learning a little about the works of St Vincent de Paul so that there is an educational component to the giving of donations.
A good news story of one of our amazing Dads!
Robbie Hendry - Westfield Local Heroes 2020. Making a tangible difference
TaskForce Community Agency
Driven. Encouraging. Compassionate. Robbie Hendry might start his day by helping a young person find accommodation after a family breakdown. Next, he might be helping someone with their resume and coaching them on job interview skills. After that, he might travel to the city to support a TAFE student. In-between appointments, Robbie will send all his clients their daily SMS to check that they are OK. If they aren't, he might provide grocery vouchers, myki cards and clothes for the workplace. Robbie runs a TaskForce Community Agency pilot project to support young people into employment after they have left school early or disengaged from the community. The project offers a 12-month traineeship as well as multiple layers of support to help with mental health, substance misuse, housing, antisocial behaviour and study. "The people I work with have faced a lot of struggles in life, which can be quite heartbreaking," Robbie says. "It's really about working to help them help themselves to build resilience and independence. The reward for Robbie is seeing the young people engaging with their studies and improving their lives.
"When I see what a difference I can make to a young person in need, how could I do any other job?" he asks.
Westfield Local Heroes are nominated and voted for by their communities, with the three top finalists per Westfield centre each awarded a $10,000 grant for their affiliated organisation. The TaskForce Community Agency will use its grant to support young people in various ways, including through crisis support, peer support and possibly a graffiti program.
Birthday Treats
Birthdays are a special time for all of us and even more so during this time of Covid.
We love celebrating with your child, but we ask that sugary treats are not sent into school to be shared. If you want to send in a treat, try fruit on skewers, separate bags of popcorn or sugar free icy poles.
Thank you for your support.
School Fees 2021
Please see the letter in this edition of the newsletter.
Swimming Program 2020
Due to the current restrictions and the focus on our three priorities for the remainder of the Term, the Swimming Program for this year has been cancelled. Rebate information for the Swimming Levy is attached in the Fees letter. We look forward to another great swimming program next year.
2021
As we begin to work on class lists and teaching staff for next year, could you please email me if your child is not returning to school next year.
Fun Fridays
This Friday the Year 6 Leaders will be out supervising lunchtime games for the Junior students. It is also coloured sock day. Just for fun!
New Governance Arrangements for Catholic Schools
The new governance arrangements will see schools owned by the Archdiocese, its parishes or associations of parishes in the Archdiocese of Melbourne transferred to a new company called Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools Ltd (MACS), which will be responsible for the governance and operation of the schools.
All 293 schools owned by the Archdiocese, its parishes or associations of parishes as of 31 December 2020 will be directly affected by these arrangements. This includes 262 parish primary schools, 26 secondary colleges that belong to associations of parishes and five schools that belong to the Archdiocese.
The changes follow the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference (ACBC) acceptance of Recommendation 16.6 from the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse that: ‘The bishop of each Catholic Church diocese in Australia should ensure that parish priests are not the employers of principals and teachers in Catholic schools.’
The changes also align with the Victorian government requirement for organisations providing services to children to be appropriately insured and incorporated. This requirement is scheduled to take effect in funding agreements for Catholic schools from 1 January 2021.
The governance arrangements seek to:
- build a foundation for the future that ensures archdiocesan schools offer the best education possible and are places to encounter the living God who in Jesus Christ reveals his transforming love and truth
- ensure all 293 schools owned by parishes or the Archdiocese are operated from a consistent and system-wide approach to the educational and operational compliance aspects of schooling
- lessen the increasingly onerous compliance burden for an individual who is asked to be responsible for the growing breadth and complexity of legislation and regulation associated with school governance
- provide a real opportunity to revitalise current partnerships, review and update a variety of system policies and procedures, embrace efficiencies, and strengthen reporting and accountability measures
- respond to contemporary community expectations regarding transparency, accountability, consultation and participation in the governance of entities which provide services to children
- give further opportunities to maintain and strengthen ties between parish and school, as the parish priest and the parish continue to play a pivotal role in providing the environment and faith community in which the school’s Catholic mission and identity can be expressed as ‘a summons to revive our hope’.
Schools are currently preparing for this change to take place, by liaising with Catholic Education Melbourne. In addition to the change to a new Governance structure, we are beginning preparations for a new administration system ICON. This new system will provide schools with more streamlined functionality, shared services and support of a Business Manager. All Catholic Schools in Melbourne will be using the new platform by the end of 2021.
Have a great week.
Catherine
Dear Parents,
2021 School Fees and Levies
At the end of each year we consider the school’s needs for the following year and set annual fees and levies accordingly. We recognize the economic impact of the Covid pandemic on families in 2020 and the need to operate within tight financial constraints.
In consultation with the School Accountant, the School Advisory Board and the Leadership Team, fees have been approved for 2021. To support all families, it has been decided to keep fees for 2021 the same as 2020. The Swimming Levy for 2020 will be rebated as the Swimming Program for this year will not be going ahead. A form for rebates will be sent out next week. We also encourage families to take up the option of using a payment plan that spreads the costs over the year. A payment plan form is attached to this letter.
School Fees are made up of the following components.
Capital Levy (Per Family)
The Capital Levy ensures that the school is able to meet capital loan commitments.
Tuition Levy (per child)
The Tuition Levy covers the costs of the following:
- stationery,
- excursions and incursions,
- Resources, programs and materials for RE, Art, Music, Maths, Literacy, PE
- Sport expenses including buses
Technology Levy (per child)
A Technology Levy meets the increasing demands of digital technologies. Digital Technologies is a component of the Victorian Curriculum where students design, create, manage and evaluate sustainable and innovative digital solutions for the future.
Family Fee (per Family)
The Family Fee assists to meet the costs of the following:
- Cleaning, gardening
- Insurance
- CEM levies
- Utilities
- Furniture and equipment
- Professional learning programs
- Minor capital repairs
- Computer equipment
Swimming Levy (per child)
All students participate in an intensive swimming program in line with the Victorian Curriculum requirements.
There is no change from 2020 to 2021
|
2020 Fees |
1Child |
2 Children |
3 Children + |
|
Family Fee (per family) |
$2340 |
$2340 |
$2340 |
|
Capital Levy (per family) |
$366 |
$366 |
$366 |
|
Tuition Levy (per student) |
$370 |
$740 |
$1110 |
|
Technology Levy (per student) |
$55 |
$110 |
$165 |
|
Swimming Levy |
$65 |
$130 |
$195 |
|
Total Cost to Families |
$3196 |
$3686 |
$4176 |
|
2021 Fees |
1 child |
2 children |
3 + children |
|
Family Fee |
$2340 |
$2340 |
$2340 |
|
Capital Levy – per family |
$366 |
$366 |
$366 |
|
Tuition Levy – per child |
$370 |
$740 |
$1110 |
|
Technology Levy - per child |
$55 |
$110 |
$165 |
|
Swimming Levy - per child |
$65 |
$130 |
$195 |
|
Total Fees and Levies for 2021 |
$3196 |
$3686 |
$4176 |
2021 Camp Fees
Year 5 Camp: $270 Year 6 Camp: $360
Total charges are billed in Term 1 and are payable over 3 terms or as per your payment plan.
Please note for those paying that full payment for Years 5 & 6 camps must be made prior to the camps in Term 1, when the costs are incurred by the school.
|
1 Child |
2 Children |
3 Children + |
|
|
Term 1 due 15 March (with camp fees please) |
$1066 + $270/$360 |
$1229 + $270/$360 |
$1392 + $270/$360 |
|
Term 2 due 10 May |
$1065 |
$1229 |
$1392 |
|
Term 3 due 26 July |
$1065 |
$1228 |
$1392 |
Payment Options
There are payment plans available should you wish to spread the payment over 10 (monthly) or 20 (fortnightly) instalments. Payments can be deducted from either a credit card or bank account. Each year a new plan should be completed. Health Care Card holders may be eligible for a concession under the State Government’s Camps, Sport and Excursions Fund. An application form is available from the Office.
Financial Hardship
As always, parents experiencing difficulties in meeting their commitments to the school are urged to contact us as soon as possible so that we can discuss the situation with you.
Thank you for your co-operation in the timely payment of fees this year. Please do not hesitate to contact me or if you have any queries in relation to the 2021 fees.
Yours sincerely,
Catherine Tammesild
Principal
THE TEACHER WHO INSPIRED ME
I was late, as so often had been the case in our long relationship, and I expected to be greeted by the same generous, forgiving smile, writes Fergal Keane. I was no longer a schoolboy but a hostage of the grown-up life with all its complications and competing timetables.
Now approaching his room at the Bon Secours hospital in Cork I could tell that I was too late. Br Jerome had passed away.
In the far-off days of the 1970s when he was my headmaster, Br Jerome Kelly would sanction repeated lack of punctuality by directing many of those who the offender towards some socially useful labour. I remember winter afternoons picking up rubbish on the Mardyke Walk next to Presentation Brothers College. "Don't return, boy, until it’s all clean as your conscience”, he would declare.
Brothers College was until it is as clean as your drifting peaceably but conscience," he would aimlessly, a haven for the declare. He never used violence to impose his will. His force of personality was quite enough to achieve any necessary end.
Br Jerome came from a small farming community in West Cork, living on an impoverished peninsula where hard work, thrift and a sense of community were primary virtues.
He joined the Presentation Brothers in the 1960s and became a missionary in the West Indies. As a teacher in Trinidad, he taught many of those who would go on to become government ministers, judges ad prominent civil servants.
He was a force by nature. By the time he came to Cork in 1969, Presentation College was drifting peaceably but aimlessly, a haven for the children of the city’s merchant classes, a noted rugby nursery but of limited academic prowess.
It was a private school with a reputation among other schools for a degree of snobbery.
Br Jerome arrived like a whirlwind, brimming with energy and ideas. Exam grades improved but that was only one part of his revolution.
He built a television and radio studio, correctly anticipating the media revolution to come. I had my first experience of broadcasting at Pres.
I was the child of a broken home, often in trouble for attention seeking in the classroom. Br Jerome was patient with me when many others might have kicked me out of school. Years later when I asked him why, he replied: “That Fergal was a troubled boy." It was his duty, he said, to keep faith with my possibility as a person.
Within a year of arriving, Br Jerome set up the Share organisation - Schoolboys Harness Aid for the Relief of the Elderly-which would go on to build 200 homes for the elderly poor of Cork City.
His pupils raised some of the money through an annual Christmas fast, while Br Jerome used his immense powers of persuasion to push the city council to provide the rest of the funding.
Just as important were the visits we made after school, often accompanied by
Br Jerome, to sit with those elderly people living in poverty and loneliness.
In the Ireland of the 1970s - still in thrall to more reactionary voices - his example provided me with an inspiring model of Christian witness. All of this was done with a boisterous sense of humour and an acute understanding of the psychology of teenaged boys.
Br Jerome was my teacher, my role model, and my friend. I am a lucky person to have known him.
By Fergal Keane
THE TABLET 17 October 2020
