Dear Parents and Carers

I am in awe of the way in which the staff, students and parent community have responded to the tragic news of Don’s passing last week. There is nothing in life that can prepare you for such news, but the manner in which everyone has been reaching out to support each other is a true reflection of the great spirit within the school community. As you have witnessed, Don has touched so many people throughout his life and I know that he was extremely proud of the work that has been going on in St Paul’s, Moss Vale.

On behalf of the whole staff, I want to thank you all for your gifts, flowers and messages of condolences during this time of grieving for the community. There are a number of tables in the school hallway outside the office, filled with memories and messages of support. It is wonderful seeing the students respectfully and reverently placing their thoughts and cards on these tables. 

The staff have also been overwhelmed with the level of support from the Catholic Education Office in Wollongong as well as fellow colleagues in other schools. It certainly highlights the value of being a connected Catholic community. 

At this point in time, we have no confirmed date for Don’s funeral but we will communicate that to you (via COMPASS)  as soon as possible as well as any plans about the functioning of the school on the day of the funeral. 

Library - Overdue Books

As part of a new system in the library, parents will be receiving a notification each Monday if students have overdue books. We hope that the new notification system will assist us to keep better track of the resources that students borrow from the library and have them returned in a timely manner.

Mr Peter Michael

Acting Principal

School Terms for 2021

ATTENDANCE

On a weekly basis you will receive an email regarding your child’s outstanding/unexplained absences. To explain the absence:

• You can go into compass to your child’s records and update the unexplained absence OR
• You can print the email and fill in the reason for the absence and return it to the office OR
• You can ring the office and the office staff will enter the reason for the absence.

If your child has been absent from school and has had to have a covid test, a copy of the negative result needs to be sent to the school prior to your child returning to class.  This is a requirement from CEODoW.

MORNING SUPERVISION

School supervision begins at 8:20am each morning. Children are not to be dropped off prior to this time as there is no supervision.  If there are circumstances that make this impossible, you must make contact with the school. If you require your child to be cared for before this time you can access care at Moss Vale OOSH. Children who attend OOSH are accompanied onto the bus from OOSH at Moss Vale Public School and arrive at St Paul’s during morning supervision.

MEDICATION

Only medication that is prescribed by a doctor is permitted to be dispensed at school upon completion of a “Consent_to_Dispense_Medication_Form” which is available to download or you can pick up from the office.  The form and the medication are to be given to the office staff in the original packaging with the student’s name and dosage.  We are not permitted to administer over the counter medication such as  Panadol unless prescribed by a doctor and the necessary form is completed.  Thank you for your cooperation with this.

Sport Uniform days for Term 2

Sport uniforms are to be worn on the following days for each class:

Kindergarten - Wednesday and Friday

Year 1 - Wednesday and Friday

Year 2 - Wednesday and Friday

Year 3 - Wednesday and Friday

Year 4 - Wednesday and Friday

Year 5 - Wednesday and Friday

Year 6 - Wednesday and Friday

DATES TO SCHOOL ATTENDANCE MANAGEMENT PROCEDURES

Regular attendance at school is a legal obligation. We have attached a link to information regarding regular school attendance here. If your child is away from school, you need to notify the school and explain why your child was absent. You currently receive a message via COMPASS informing that your child is away from school. 

Commencing this term you will be contacted directly after your child has had three (3) consecutive, unexplained absences. You will also begin to receive reminder notifications for any unexplained absences from school for your child via COMPASS. You can respond in COMPASS to provide an explanation.

COMPASS USAGE

COMPASS is our school’s communication app. Whilst this weekly newsletter remains the “source of truth”, COMPASS is one of the modes of delivery for the newsletter (website and email being the others). It is important that our COMPASS app and usage is working for us.

In COMPASS, you receive push notifications, updates, letters, school reports and attendance notices directly to your device. Staying in touch is important in maintaining good communication and the home/school partnership.

Last week you received in your COMPASS feed a troubleshooting handbook for your information. We are always happy to help if you are having trouble with COMPASS. You simply need to call the school office and we can assist.

How to get COMPASS

If you don’t have COMPASS, you can download the free COMPASS app from your app store. Search for “Compass School Manager”. It is a free to download app for both Apple iOS and Android. If you need help with the setup, feel free to contact the school office.

Your Contact Information

It is important that you keep your contact information up to date in COMPASS. This is especially true of your email contact. Please make sure that your email listed in COMPASS is the email you most frequently use. You can change your address or telephone number in COMPASS

Forgotten passwords

If you have forgotten your COMPASS password, you will need to ring the school office. We can reset the password for you. Please be aware that each COMPASS account has a unique password. The password that one parent uses is different from the other parent’s password.

CANTEEN ONLINE SERVICE ON THURSDAYS 

Our school canteen service has recommenced this week and operates on Thursdays each week. The service will be an online ordering service only. Please note that there is no canteen counter service at school. 

Orders for the canteen will need to be submitted each Wednesday before Thursday service. Our canteen supplier, Fresh Start Canteens, have moved to an online ordering system called QuickCliq. Your child’s ordered lunch will be delivered to the school in time for first break each Thursday. 

If there is a problem with your child’s order please let our canteen supplier Fresh Start Canteens know. They will be only too happy to assist. If a child misses a lunch order, the school will make sure that your child has something to eat! We don’t want any child being hungry or unhappy!

How this new system works:

1. Set up your QuickCliq account: you will need to set up a free account for your family with QuickCliq in order to place orders and pay. The instructions for how to set up this account are attached to this newsletter.
2. Order and pay for your child’s lunch on Wednesday through QuickCliq. 
3. Lunch will be delivered to your child in time for the first break on Thursday.

Sentral_QuickCliq_Family_Register_flyer_Canteen_1_.pdf