Term 1 Week 2, 2021
From the Principal
Dear Families,
A very warm welcome back to the start of the school year. I trust you have had a restful holiday and a positive start to 2021. I’d particularly like to welcome those new to our school this year and I sincerely hope this is the beginning of a long and rewarding partnership. This year we have 30 new Foundation students along with 15 new children into other grades. I am confident you will find Don Bosco School community to be welcoming and friendly.
Thank you to all parents for your understanding and co-operation with the ‘COVID normal’ procedures that have been put in place for the start of the school year. We have been directed, once again, to discourage parents from entering the school grounds and to ensure our drop-off and pick-up procedures reduce the risks of possible transmissions. We encourage Foundation & Junior students to use the church carpark, where possible, Middle students to use the front gate, and Senior students to use the side gate. These arrangements are working very effectively at Pick-up time.
The Pick-Up Zone for cars will start at 3:20, the normal finish time for students. Parents using the Pick-Up Zone are reminded not to park in the Zone before 3:20 as this can cause traffic congestion on the Highway.
Displaying a large name tag on their left-hand sun visor for the staff to read enables the Pick-Up Zone to work efficiently for everyone.
PARENT/TEACHER INTERVIEWS
Parent / Teacher interviews have been organised for Tuesday 16th February. These meetings are greatly valued by the teachers in helping to establish positive relations between home and school. A child’s learning and experience at school is greatly enhanced when there is good communication and mutual understanding between parents and the child’s teacher. Lessons learnt from Remote Schooling also highlighted the importance of ongoing communication between home and school.
Interviews will be conducted on one day and will include some after hour times for our working families. The school will finish at 3:20 pm so that the interviews will start at 3:40 pm and with the last interview being held at 8:00 pm.
Details for booking online will be sent home.
As Interviews are only for 10 minutes, parents are able to attend the school and visit the classroom, entering via the external door. Face-masks and social distancing requirements will be in place during the meeting.
If you are unable to attend on Tuesday 16th February please contact your child’s teacher and arrange for another mutually convenient time.
CAPTAINS
Congratulations to the following student leadership roles for 2021:
School Captains: Daniella M, Stella G, Kayden G & James M
Community Captains: Methmi K & Senuka D
Arts Captains: Mia-Chiara D & Dylan T
Blue House Captains: Sienna D & Brandon I
Gold House Captains: Stashia M & Jude B
Green House Captains: Thalia V & William P
Red House Captains: Thalia T & Andrew M
RELIGIOUS EDUCATION NEWS
Lisa Piasente: Religious Education Leader
Sacramental Program
The Sacrament of Reconciliation
On Wednesday evening the Parish started the Sacramental program for 2021 with an Enrolment and Parent Only Workshop for parents of children wishing to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation this year. There will be another Enrolment evening next Wednesday 10th February at 6.45 for a 7.00 pm start. Parents who were unable to make it on the 3rd February can attend on the 10th February.
At the session the Parish Sacramental Coordinator, Vimi Pinto, will outline the process to ensure children are prepared and ready to take part in their First Reconciliation. Children are required to attend workshops and Masses in their preparation for the Sacrament. If you have any questions please call the parish on 9704 7935.
The Sacrament of Confirmation
Next week on the 11th, 12th, 13th and 14th of February, students from Year 6 2020 will celebrate the Sacrament of Confirmation. They prepared for the Sacrament throughout 2020 but due to COVID restrictions they were unable to celebrate the sacrament. Please pray for them as they take this important step in their faith journey.
Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love. Amen
School Prayer Services and Masses
During 2020, we were unable to celebrate Masses and Prayer services together due to COVID social distancing restrictions. This year we are hoping that we will once again be able to celebrate Mass with the parish in the church on Wednesdays at 9.15 am. However, there are still restrictions in place and it is problematic to attend Mass with the parish at the moment. For this reason, we are celebrating Ash Wednesday Mass in the Hall on Wednesday 17th February at 9.15 am. One of the priests will be in attendance while the other is celebrating the parish Mass. The school Mass can only be attended by students and staff. Parents wishing to attend will need to book in to the parish service – please go to the bookings online, on the parish website - https://olhc.org.au/
Beginning of the Year Prayer Service
This Friday we have an assembly at 2.45 pm. During this time the school students and staff will spend time thanking God for the gifts of each other and the school year ahead. We were unable to celebrate with a Mass this year so a focussed prayer service has been planned. Once again, we are unable to invite parents to this event and look forward to the time when we can once again worship as a whole school community with staff, students, parents and friends.
STUDENT WELLBEING NEWS
Lisa Piasente – Student Wellbeing Leader
It has been wonderful to see the students back at school with an eagerness to learn new things and be with their friends. Transitioning back to the school environment has always been challenging for some students. Transitioning from Kindergarten to School or between Levels (Juniors to Middles, Middles to Seniors) also presents certain challenges to our students. The impact of 2020 and Remote Schooling will also have had an impact on these transitioning skills for some our students.
It is therefore, not unusual for some students to feel nervous or worried about going to school at the beginning of a new school year. Routines are different. Teachers are new. Friendship groups may have changed. There are many reasons a child may be anxious.
Teachers and staff are aware of the signs of anxiety in students and through their care and support they work with the child and family, if needed, to build and develop their resilience to be able to adapt to the changes a new school year brings, and particularly this one after the very tumultuous year we experienced in 2020.
Positive Start to the School Year
To start the year each classroom teacher is teaching a unit of work which focuses on the social and emotional capabilities. This unit of work is designed to build relationships within the classroom and help the students build skills needed to get along with others in the classroom and the playground. Along with the unit of work classroom teachers are encouraged to promote student voice through Circle Time sessions and Classroom Meetings. At Don Bosco, we also follow a whole school approach to student’s wellbeing based on the charism of St John Bosco – to be compassionate, to be inclusive, to be courageous and to be safe.
Anxiety in primary school-aged Children
This is taken from the Be You – Beyond Blue website. https://beyou.edu.au/fact-sheets/mental-health-issues-and-conditions/anxiety
Primary school years
As children’s thinking skills expand and become more abstract, they can develop fears of imaginary creatures and monsters. They may also worry about schoolwork, tests and their social relationships. As they grow older, they may have anxiety about family relationships or global issues such as war or famine.
The following behaviours might indicate a primary school-age child is experiencing higher levels of anxiety than average:
- Wanting things to be perfect.
- Reluctance to ask for help.
- Asking for reassurance excessively.
- Difficulty joining in.
- Requests to go to sick bay.
- Challenging behaviour.
Speak to your child’s teacher
If you are concerned about your child and feel they may be experiencing some anxiety, please contact your child’s teacher. Parent-Teacher interviews are coming up in the next couple of weeks and take this time to inform the teacher about any issues.
School Photos 2021 – Don Bosco Primary School
Annual school photos will be taken at Don Bosco Primary School by Arthur Reed Photos on Friday 26th February, 2021.
There is no need to return any forms or money to school.
Unique image codes will be issued to all students on/after photo day so families can register online to view images when they become available in the webshop.
Registration is simple, just follow the 3 simple steps on your child’s personalised flyer once you receive it, and remember to add the codes for all your children attending this school.
Even if you registered last year, it’s important that you do again this year using your child’s 2021 image code to link their images for the current year with your contact details.
When images are ready to view and in the webshop, all parents who have registered will be notified by SMS and email.
Once registered, please wait for notification that 2021 images are online to view before making your purchase.
OSHC
Out of Hours School Care is now operating in the Green Room next to the Hall and includes before school care and after school care. The program is being run by Youth Leadership Victoria. The Before School program runs from 6:30 am until 8:35 am. The After-School Program runs from 3:20 pm until 6:30 pm. Access to the Green Room will be through the bottom gate.
Don Bosco teacher supervision of children hours are from 8:35 am to 3:40 pm. To avoid any confusion between OHSC supervision and Don Bosco supervision the front door to the school will not be open until 8:10 am. All children arriving before this time need to enroll in the OHSC program.
STUDENT ABSENCES
Parents are required to inform the school and provide an explanation of a student's absence. Parents are able to inform the school by using the SkoolBag app or phoning the school to record a message on the Student Absence line. Notification needs to occur by 9:15 on the day of absence.
