Newsletter 12 2022

Dear Parents/Caregivers, Students, Staff and Friends of St Raphael's School,

Our new school Vision and Mission has been officially launched and is displayed in all learning areas with pride of place. You may recall that our community went through a process of discernment, last year thinking deeply about who we are and who we wish to be as witnesses to a thriving community of learners, unique and deeply loved by God.  

Families are welcomed and invited in this journey of witness, and to this end, we have instigated ‘Community Prayer. This morning we held our first gathering, led by Andrea Bishop, Assistant Principal, Religious Identity and Mission and our Year 5 students. This was an opportunity for our school community to gather together and celebrate the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, whose actual feast day was Monday 15 August. This day commemorates the death of Mary and her bodily assumption into Heaven.  It was great to see a few parents/caregivers who were able to attend. We intend to hold Community Prayer each week and different classes will lead our prayer. Parents/Caregivers are also invited to join us.

Book Week Parade & Book Fair

This year’s Book Week theme is ‘Dreaming With Eyes Open’ and all students will be involved in a Book Week Parade on Friday 26 August at 9:00am. Parents/caregivers are invited to come along to the parade. This year, student costumes will be organised by teachers giving families a break in raiding the dress up box looking for inspiration.

A Book Fair has also been organised for our school community. Opening times are today after school 3:10pm - 3:50pm, tomorrow before school 8:30am - 8:50am and after school 3:10pm - 3:50pm and on Friday before school 8:30am - 8:50am. Come and have a browse as we have something for everyone!

The Living Learning Leading Survey

Thank you to parents/caregivers who have already undertaken the LLL Survey. This survey will continue to be open for parents/caregivers until Friday 26 August for you to participate in a short confidential survey about our school’s performance.  Students and staff have also been included and have had the opportunity to give feedback regarding their perceptions of our school’s performance. You will find the LLL Survey here.

Trivia Night

Our Trivia Night looks to be a fantastic night of great entertainment and an opportunity for families and friends to gather and enjoy, albeit competitively, in some fun. We thank Glenside Estate at Cedar Woods for providing us with a grant allowing us to purchase a number of high quality prizes. We also thank our Parents and Friends for facilitating the night. If you haven’t organised tickets, it is not too late. I look forward to seeing you there.

With every best wish,
Mia Harms
Principal

It has been my pleasure to meet many parents over the past few weeks and I am grateful to those who have taken the time to introduce themselves. The children at St Raphael’s School are delightful. I now feel more confident with many names and am doing my best to learn something about each child. I particularly enjoy visiting the children in their classrooms and being a small part of their day’s learning. Their welcomes are so genuine and friendly. I have included some of the recent and upcoming Religious Identity and Mission aspects of school life in this newsletter. Please know you can contact me at any time to discuss not just what I have included but any aspect of my work or the needs of your child/ren.

Class Mass, Visits from Father Denis and Church Tour 

I joined the Year 3 class for a tour of St Raphael’s Church recently. The children had wonderful questions, particularly about the depictions in the stained glass. We looked at all aspects of the church including those elements found in the Sanctuary. Last Friday we attended Mass where Father Denis kindly articulated the four key elements of a Mass, representing each part with the lighting of one of four candles. The children were able to link much of what they have been learning in class with the Mass itself and were reverent of the event. The Year 3s will be involved in a Mass in September where they will be involved in the readings and prayers of the faithful.

Also on Friday, Father Denis came to talk to students in Years 3, 4 then 5 and 6 to show them a PowerPoint slide and discuss with them Saints and particularly Saint Mary of the Cross Mackillop. Across the year levels the children listened to Father’s stories and facts and asked relevant, interesting questions about what he was discussing with them. We are very grateful for Father Denis’ time and expertise with the children.

Assumption of Mary and Community Prayer

This morning the school celebrated the Feast Day of the Assumption of Mary with a community prayer in the hall. Students from Year 5 conducted the readings for the prayer service.

From next week we will be conducting weekly Community Prayer on Thursday mornings with each class taking responsibility for the readings. You are very welcome to join us to celebrate these mornings as a community and stay for a cup of tea or coffee afterwards.

Father’s/Special VIP Day Morning Tea and Liturgy 

We will celebrate Father’s/Special VIP Day on Friday 2 September with a Liturgy and morning tea for significant male role models in the lives of the children. The Liturgy will be led by our School Ambassadors and the members of the Student Voice Committee. You are warmly invited to attend this event in the courtyard for morning tea, prior to, and then the hall for our Liturgy which will feature images of our staff as fathers (or partners with their children), and with their fathers and grandfathers.

Andrea Bishop
Acting Assistant Principal, Religious Identity and Mission

Dear Parents and Caregivers, 

Student Voice Representatives 

We congratulate the following students who will represent their class as Student Voice Leaders for this semester. We held our first meeting last week and our learners were very keen to share some of their initial ideas to the group. We look forward to actioning some of these initiatives throughout the term.  

Our Student Representatives for Semester 2 are: 

Reception: Violet and Hendrick
Year 1: Luca and Isla
Year 2: Daniel and Julian
Year 3: Reggie and Annabella
Year 4: Amy and Caroline
Year 5: Nicholas and Ivy
Year 6: School Ambassadors: Sidney and Georgia 

Phonics Screening Check 

Next week our Year 1 students will undertake a phonics screening check (PSC) which is mandatory in all CESA Diocesan Schools. The screen is an additional tool that helps inform our teachers and system on how our learners are progressing in phonics. It is undertaken with children 1:1 by the class teacher. This assessment, in addition to our Dibels (Dynamic Indicators of Basic Literacy Skills) assessments undertaken three times per year continue to support the teaching, learning and intervention of literacy at our school.   

Book Week 

Next week we celebrate Book Week. The theme this year is “Dreaming with eyes open....”. Our annual Book Week parade will occur on Friday 26 August at 9:00am in the Hall. All are welcome to attend. This year our class teachers will co-ordinate costumes based on a class text or this year’s theme. In addition to the parade, our Drama Club students will present their pantomime performance of Goldilocks and the Three Bears.  

New Receptions first impressions of school 

Our newest learners in Reception, who have now been at school for nearly four weeks, have willingly shared how they are feeling about school life thus far. I share some of their thoughts below: 

“I like school because I get to play with my friends.” Jake
“I like everything about school.” Charlie
“I like to study. I like learning my ABC’s.” Ethan
“I like writing and drawing.” Aaniah
“I like making friends.” Charlie
“I like sport. I like running.” Juro 

Kelly Manera 
Assistant Principal – Director of Learning 

Book Week commences next Monday 22 August

In the lead up to Book Week our Book Fair commences today Wednesday 17 August and runs until Friday 19 August in the Loft. This year parents are invited to come on site with their child to purchase from the fair.  Times are listed below:

Wednesday      After school 3:10pm - 3:50pm
Thursday         Before school 8:30am - 8:50am and after school 3:10pm - 3:50pm
Friday              Before school 8:30am - 8:50am

Book Week Parade

Our Book Week Parade will be held on Friday 26 August at 9:00am in the hall. Costumes will be coordinated by your child's teacher. Families are invited to come along to this year's parade.

Wearing of masks is strongly recommended when visiting the school.

Kelly Sports

Kelly Sports is up and running on Wednesdays after school for Reception – Year 2 students.  It has been fantastic to see a large number of students take up this opportunity to develop their fundamental movement skills in a variety of sports. So far, they have participated in AFL football and netball.

Cross Country

On Thursday 11 August, 31 students from Years 3-6 participated in the annual SACPSSA Cross Country Carnival in the East Parklands. Students had to run 2km with up to 120 people in each race. Overall we have a great day, with some fantastic results. A special thank you to parents Bridget and Nayomi and Mr Sicari for assisting on the day.

Hannah Reid
P.E. Teacher and Sport Coordinator

For those attending please remember:

• We start at 6:30pm so please have your ticket with you.
• There is limited parking available at the front car park with more parking at the back of the school and both gates will be open for entry.
• Raffle tickets are $2 for 1, $5 for 3 and $10 for 10, and are cash only, so please bring change.
• Please social distance as much as possible on the night.
• This event is BYO food and drink.

We look forward to having FUN this Saturday night.

This term we welcomed 9 new Reception learners into our classroom, they have settled well into big school.

In Reception the learners use a variety of learner dispositions when engaging in learning across all curriculum areas.

Parenting and supporting tweens and teens can be tricky. A lot of parents find it hard to manage relationships at this age. As a children's counsellor, I have noticed one of the recent and significant issues tweens (8-12 years) are facing is understanding social and emotional aspects of friendships. I highly recommend checking out the work of Michelle Mitchell. She has fantastic webinars where parents and children sit together and learn together. Some more information about Michelle is below, as well as a link to her website.

Michelle Mitchell began her career as a classroom teacher but soon discovered a special interest in wellbeing. In 2000 she left teaching and established a harm prevention charity, called Youth Excel. Over the next 20 years, Youth Excel continued to grow and expand. The Youth Excel Centre was established – a multi-disciplinary clinic offering psychology, counselling, and mentoring for children and teenagers. Today Michelle uses her experience to write and speak in schools, community events and through media. Her best-selling parenting and children’s resources, including the highly popular Everyday Resilience Journal, have sold over 100,000 copies worldwide and have been translated into several languages.

Join her community and check out her resources at https://michellemitchell.org

Sarah Byrnes
School Counsellor

Reminder school fees

Fee statements are being sent home this week with your child to all families with an outstanding balance.

Instalment Term 3 - Due Date 16 September

Instalment Term 4 - Due Date 4 November

Please assist us by keeping fee payments up to date.

If you have having difficulties paying school fees, it is important that you contact the school finance office to discuss and make alternate payment arrangements.

2023 school fees

A reminder that our 2023 school fees will remain unchanged at the reduced 2021 fee. This includes fee free for 2023 mid-year Reception.

We are mindful of the financial pressures being faced by many families and our fee structure does include additional fee relief for families on lower incomes.  

A full schedule of our fees is available on our website. 

The fee reduction will not impact the quality of education at our school. We will continue our commitment to the care, wellbeing and academic development of our students. 

Damian Emery
Finance Officer

Our school disco was held on Friday 5 August.  Please enjoy the photo gallery below from the event.