Dear Parents and Carers,

As we all continue to navigate these difficult times, I would like to thank you for your continued support and very positive feedback on the management practices that the school has needed to take. We are trying very hard to ensure that our communication is keeping the school community up to date with all that is happening in this present climate, while at the same time providing remote learning experiences that engage the students in new ways. Our teachers have been amazing in how quickly and effectively they have adapted to the new frontier of online learning and deserve to be acknowledged for their commitment and dedication. While initially, we were all in a state of rapid change, Term 2 has seen new learning taking place, as well the inclusion of the PM eCollection of Readers (K-4) and the use of Zoom conferencing for all classes. It has been wonderful to see and hear the excitement of the children when they first see their friends and teachers again in their class zoom meetings.

Last Friday, I provided information for parents and carers on our plan to return students to school. It is important to understand that it is a plan and as such, is subject to change in the light of NSW Government and Health directives. As outlined in Phase 1 (Monday 11 May) students will return one day a week in their house colour/name groups. To help the school manage student numbers we are really seeking your support. While school remains open for students of essential works as well as students who can not be supervised at home, we ask that if you can keep your children at home on their non-scheduled day of attendance, it would be extremely helpful.

As we continue to manage social distancing directives, new procedures at morning drop-off and afternoon pick-up have been successfully implemented this week. Again, thank you for your support as together we continue to adapt and modify our school procedures and practices to keep our students, staff and parents/carers safe.

New School Procedures

• Parents/carers are no longer permitted to access the school premises during morning drop-off. 
• Gates will remain locked during school hours. 
• For access during school hours, please call the office on 42614611 upon arrival.
• Designated areas have been established for afternoon pick-up and parents/carers are asked to follow the directions of staff, maintain social distancing at all times and leave the premises promptly.

For your convenience, please see below Phase 1 of our Returning to School Plan.

Yours sincerely

Andrew Heffernan
Principal

We have celebrated the Resurrection of Christ – the greatest celebration in the Church calendar – and now, as Easter people, we pray:

Lord,
The Resurrection of Your Son has given us new life and renewed hope.
Help us to live as new people in pursuit of the Christian idea.
Grant us wisdom to know what we must do, the will to want to do it,
the courage to undertake it, the perseverance to continue to do it and the strength to complete it.

New Saint Joseph People’s Prayer Book

REMOTE ONLINE LEARNING IN RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

As part of the Diocese’s support of Remote Learning in Religious Education a weekly show called Pray School has been developed. Pray School is an engaging program, appealing to the spirituality of the child through storytelling, music, singing, listening and responding to Scripture. This program is aimed at children in Kinder through to Year 2 and many teachers are sharing this in their weekly activities. Parents with pre-schoolers at home may also enjoy watching.

Episode 1: Rise to new Life! Watch it here:

https://sites.google.com/dow.catholic.edu.au/pray-school/episodes

Watch out for BEHIND THE GOOD NEWS – Coming soon for students in Years 3 to 6.

VINNIES BINS

Due to the current Covid-19 safety precautions, we are not able to collect containers for St Vincent de Paul’s Earn and Return program. Any children attending school are not to bring containers in for the Vinnies bins. You will be advised when this is able to re-start. Thank you to the families who were able to support this important initiative in Term 1.

CELEBRATION OF THE EUCHARIST

A reminder that each Sunday, the Bishop is broadcasting Mass at 9am, we will be continuing to broadcast Sunday Mass online with Bishop Brian and other clergy from Lumen Christi Catholic Parishes Wollongong:

https://www.dow.org.au/covid-19/sunday-mass-online-with-bishop-brian/

These online Masses give parishioners throughout the Illawarra, Macarthur, Shoalhaven and Southern Highlands (and everyone else watching from around the world) the opportunity to join with their bishop and make an act of spiritual Communion together as a diocese. It has long been a Catholic understanding that when circumstances prevent one from receiving Holy Communion, it is possible to make an act of spiritual Communion which is a source of grace. Spiritual Communion means uniting one’s self in prayer with Christ’s sacrifice and worshipping him in his Body and Blood. Acts of spiritual Communion increase our desire to receive sacramental Communion and help us

PRAYER INTENTIONS

We pray for all families in our school community who are in need of our prayers, as well as our country and world.

St Mary of the Cross MacKillop, pray for us.
St John the Evangelist, pray for us.

Kylie Crowe
Religious Education Coordinator

Catholic Education Diocese of Wollongong is conscious of the significant financial impact many of our families may be experiencing as a result of COVID-19. We have put a number of measures in place to support our Catholic school communities at this time.

The official date for the children to change over to the winter uniform is Monday 25 May (Term 2 Week 5). The winter uniform may be worn prior to this date if the weather becomes cooler. Children must not wear a combination of both; rather it is either one or the other (summer or winter).

A reminder that it is an expectation that all children wear the correct uniform daily, it is not optional. Please refer to the Uniform Policy if you require clarification about the school uniform. You are encouraged not to leave the ordering of any new uniform items to the last minute!

Please note that applications for Kindergarten 2021 are still being accepted. Interviews will commence in the week beginning Monday 18 May, therefore applications need to be received as soon as possible. While interviews, due to social distancing may look a little different from that of previous years, this important process will continue with arrangements detailed in the forthcoming correspondence to families. Please contact the school office for more information.

Parents and carers are reminded that the area surrounding St John’s is designated as a School Zone. Police and Council Rangers constantly patrol the area and they will have no hesitation in prosecuting drivers for driving offences.

All NSW school zones are sign-posted with regulatory signs that list the operating times of the school zones. 

For the safety of all, please ensure that you adhere to the signage and following the directions of our School Crossing Supervisor.

Full list of School Zone offences are available from the RMS website.

To the following students who celebrated their birthday in April — we wish you a very happy birthday and hope you had a great day.

Kinder	Year 1	Year 2	Year 3	Year 4	Year 5	Year 6
Elisha	Andre	Nicola	Tyler	Charlotte	Claudia	Noah
Filipe	Dimitri	Sage	Annabel	Lani	Declan	Evie
Brody	Ethan	Giorgia	Lucas	Ruby	Emily	Giaan
Lucas	Justin		Georgia	Archie	Abbey	Lily
Ethan	Annabel		Divine	Liam	Jacob	Lauren
Hayley			Lorenzo	Phoenix	Julius	Jessica
Isabel					Tiana	Rithika
Joseph					Daniella	Ellie
					Stevo	Mitchell

To the following students who are celebrating their birthday in May — we wish you a very happy birthday and hope you have a great day.

Kinder	Year 1	Year 2	Year 3	Year 4	Year 5	Year 6
Larissa	Chase	Daniel	Dylan	Evana	Aaron	Lara
Jeremy	Ally	Nayah	Anna	Samuel	Shaun	Ian
Morrison	Georgia	Andrej	James	Levi	Bella	Jenna
Veronica	Hudson	Sarah	Ben		Jessica	Meg
	Jack	Joel	Tara		Oliver	Alexia
	Zara	Harry			Sierra	Patrick
	William	Jack			Alexander
	Noah	Marco			Elijah
	Byron				Zali
					Tegan

Canteen is closed till further notice.

Peak Sports and Learning remains committed to the health and safety of all our families, educators and children and continues to support our families with care throughout the COVID-19 emergency. We have implemented and continue to make improvements to additional measures and precautions in response to the latest health advice. We will remain open for all services unless directed or advised to close by a health agency or state regulator. Peak Sports & Learning comes under the federally funded Early Childhood Education and Care Relief package. This package is to help provide families with relief during this difficult time. No families incur any charges for childcare services delivered at present and this remains in place until 28th June 2020.  Families are encouraged to check their children's bookings and ensure that any changes are communicated, as always, with our head office on 1300 467 325.  

Stay informed. Download the “Coronavirus Australia” government app in the Apple App Store or Google Play, or join our WhatsApp channel on iOS or Android.

The COVIDSafe app speeds up contacting people exposed to coronavirus (COVID-19). This helps us support and protect you, your friends and family. Please read the content on this page before downloading.

Unfortunately, scammers are taking advantage of the spread of coronavirus to exploit and play on the fears of consumers across Australia.

Scammers are doing things such as falsely selling coronavirus-related products online, and using fake emails or text messages to try and obtain personal data.

Other scams include phishing emails and phone calls impersonating the World Health Organisation, government authorities, and legitimate businesses – including travel agents and telecommunications companies.

If you think you have been scammed, you can make a report on the Scamwatch website, and find more information about where to get help.

University of Wollongong — Learning Labs

In light of the recent global health situation and the presence of COVID-19 in Australia, the University of Wollongong has reviewed its delivery of Learning Labs in the July school holidays for 2020. In order to ensure that the health and wellbeing of your child is our highest priority, we have made the decision to cancel the upcoming program. 

Learning Labs is next scheduled for the October school holidays. We will be continuing to monitor all advice from the Federal Government and the University and we will be in touch with our families and schools to advise whether this will be proceeding in the coming months.