Queen of Peace

Newsletter

Issue No. 2 10th February 2017 Telephone: 9369 2581 Fax: 9369 4552

Email: office@qopaltonameadows.catholic.edu.au Website: www.qopaltonameadows.catholic.edu.au

Queen of Peace – Guiding the Way

Dear Parents / Carers,

Welcome to the second newsletter for the year. After this one, the newsletters will return to their fortnightly publishing and we will continue to update you in between times through the Skoolbag App.

As we begin the new year, you will have expectations of your children and their academic learning and behaviour at school. Sometimes our children don’t live up to our expectations. Instead of being disheartened or getting angry with your child, think about the words of this Prayer for Parents that I have offered this week. It may make life easier for all of you.

It is that time of year again when I get to remind you of some of the various procedures that we have in place for families so we can keep all of our children safe and happy. Below are a couple relating to birthday celebrations at school and our car park. Birthdays

Last year we made a change to how Birthdays are to be celebrated at Queen of Peace to help out our families and our teachers. There are a number of children here at school who have a variety of severe allergies to different foods. Therefore, if you want to celebrate your child’s birthday with the class, then you can send along a lollipop or a Freddo Frog as nearly every child can have these. Please do not stretch this to a lolly bag or anything else as the teachers will not give them out and they will be returned to you. Please do not send along Birthday cakes etc. The teachers will celebrate your child’s

birthday with the class in their own way.

Queen of Peace Primary School Issue 2 10th February 2017

Car Park

It appears that some people have forgotten the simple rules of our car park or are new and are not yet aware of them so I will remind everyone now.

Parking around the school

If you are parking in the streets surrounding the school, please be mindful of the residents who live there. No one should be blocking a driveway, parked on the nature strip of any houses or closer to corners than is legally allowed. We quite often get complaints from neighbours and if these continue we may have to ask the council to patrol the area and hand out infringement notices. The basketball stadium has plenty of parking and it is not too far to walk.

Driving into the Car Park

All cars entering the car park must enter by doing a left hand turn from Everingham Rd. There is no right turn allowed into the car park

No cars are allowed to cross the walkway and spoon drain. This is to keep everyone safe.

Drop Off Lane

If you are dropping off your children in the drop off lane please note the following:

Speed through the car park is walking pace, 5 – 10km/h.

Children can be dropped off anywhere after the crossing. You do not have to wait until the office end.

Parents should not be getting out of the car to get things from the boot etc. If you need to do this, please park.

Kowhai Close

Just a reminder to all parents, that Kowhai Close, the street near the side gate, is a no go area for cars. There should be no parents driving into this street to pick up their child. I have had to remind a number a parents that this is not acceptable. The safety of our children and families is more important that the fact that you are running late.

Communication with Parents /Carers

One of our goals at school is to engage our parents in our children’s learning as much as possible. Research shows that children who have parents engaged in the schooling do better. Being engaged doesn’t mean you have to be at school. For some of you this is impossible because of work commitments etc. Therefore, to help you know what is going on here at school we use three different smartphone Apps to inform you about what is happening at school with your child. The main reason we use three is because we have yet to find one that will do everything. During this year we will be investigating a range of Apps in the hope we can reduce the number of Apps used so as not to confuse you. At the moment the three we will use for this year are; CareMonkey, Skoolbag and Remind. Skoolbag We use Skoolbag to communicate with the whole school any information that does not need a reply and is just information. Our newsletters are pushed out via Skoolbag as are many updates of information and reminders that apply to the whole school. Remind Remind is a new App that we trialed in the Prep classes last year. It is a simple communication tool that lets the teachers in the individual classes and year levels let you know what is happening in the classroom with pictures and short explanations. It also allows the teachers to push out notices that only apply to that particular class or year level e.g changes to uniform due to change in sports days etc, reminders of particular home learning activity that needs to be returned etc. It has a multitude of uses and was very successful in Prep last year. All class teachers will soon be sending home a note with instructions on how to get connected to your child’s class. CareMonkey CareMonkey is a wonderful tool that allows us to keep all of your child’s details up to date as well as the changes you may make to your contact details etc. It has the functionality to let us send notes e.g excursion, parent meetings etc. directly to you so there is no chance of your child misplacing the note or the teacher forgetting to give it out. It allows you to reply to us and sign off on excursions or volunteer for something or say yes you are attending an event. The program then collates the replies for us and there is no loss of paper copies. The other beauty of it is that when classes go on excursions the teachers have up to date medical and emergency contact information at the fingertips. I hope this clarifies why we are using 3 Apps and that it is important that you have all three on your phone, tablet etc. If you do not have Skoolbag or Caremonkey as yet please see our website for how to get connected.

Queen of Peace Primary School Issue 2 10th February 2017

A number of our new Prep students have unfortunately misplaced their brand new sunglasses and hats.

We are asking all students and parents to please check school bags and at home for these items.

They were all clearly labelled with the children’s names.

Please hand in to the front office.

2nd Hand Uniform Facebook Page

The Queen of Peace uniform shop does not sell 2nd hand uniform items as there are very few pieces of uniform that are given to the school for this to happen. There is however an unofficial Queen of Peace 2nd Hand Uniform Facebook page that is operating that you may or may not know about. It is run completely separate from our school and we have no links with this page. If you would like to see what is on offer the Facebook address is listed below.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/782560681841178/

I need to be very clear here that I am not promoting this site as an official school site and that the purpose of this page is for selling and swapping of uniform pieces and should not be used as a place for discussing what happens at QoP. If it becomes something that it was not intended to be I have assurance from the organiser that it will be closed down.

Uniform Requirements

Queen of Peace has a strict uniform policy that I trust all parents who enrol their child here will follow. It is very clear what is expected and where to purchase certain items. The current Uniform Policy is on our website for you to follow. Very soon this will be reviewed to make sure all is correct for 2017 and any new items that are sold at the uniform shop will be added etc. When this is complete I will send a copy of the revised Uniform Policy home to everyone on Skoolbag and replace the current policy on the website with the new one.

3-Way Learning Conferences Next Monday and Wednesday we have our 3-Way Learning Conferences where you have an opportunity to meet with the teacher and discuss your child. You should have received a letter from us with all of the details about how to make an appointment. If you did not receive this please call the office. The children all have a Home Learning Activity to complete with you to bring along on the day. Please take the time to complete this with your child. Please note, students will finish school at 1pm on Monday 13th February.

Assembly

Monday 20th February will be our next Assembly for the year. Assembly begins promptly at 2.30pm in our Hall. Parents are welcome to attend and are invited for a social chat and a cup of tea or coffee in the hall foyer from 2pm every Monday, prior to Assembly.

Have a great fortnight.

Anthony Drill Principal

Queen of Peace Primary School Issue 2 10th February 2017

Prep A Emilia F For her great effort during class activities

Prep B Romeo R For following school rules and listening carefully to instructions

Prep C

Giacomo S For fantastic listening in class and for following instructions

Year 1A

Luca C For his enthusiastic learning towards THRASS

Year 1B

Ayden M For his helpfulness, great attitude and wonderful manners

Year 1C

Damen Z For making a great start to Year One!

Year 2A

Jake K For showing bravery in settling in to a new school

Year 2B

Lily-Rose H For being a responsible and caring class member

Year 2C

Sanvi A Settling well into Year 2

Year 3A

Blake C For settling into the classroom so beautifully and making good

Year 3B

Thomas K For participating well during our whole school mass

Year 3C

Kai A For settling in nicely to our school

Year 4A

Natalia C For settling in beautifully in her new classroom

Year 4B

Joshua F For starting the year with an enthusiastic attitude

Year 4C

Tegan H For showing kindness to others through her words and actions

Year 5A

Elly G For applying a number of strategies to successfully solve maths questions

Year 5B

Lachlan S For always being a responsible and respectful student towards his classmates and teachers

Year 5C

Emilia K For being a helpful member of year 5

Year 6A

Daniel R For being a supportive and helpful class member

Year 6B

Keely C For sharing her knowledge of THRASS chart

Year 6C

Henry H For his hard work and effort when completing set tasks

PARENTS & FRIENDS Dear Parents and Carers Welcome back to the school year and a special welcome to families new to our school. The first General Meeting of the QoP Parents and Friends for 2017 is on Tuesday 28th February from 7pm-8:30pm in the Staff Room. Please note that all parents and carers at QoP are automatically members of the P&F, and your ideas, thoughts and opinions are valued. P&F meetings are a great forum to have an open, honest and considerate discussion between parents, carers and the leadership of the School. If you would like to raise any issues for discussion at the meeting, please send an email to pandf@qopaltonameadows.catholic.edu.au by Friday

1th February outlining the issue, and send through any supporting information/documentation if necessary. The Agenda will be posted on the P&F section of the school website by Thursday 23rd February at:

http://www.qopaltonameadows.catholic.edu.au/page/204/Parents-and-Friends Come along and meet some friends you haven’t met yet! You will also get the chance to have a chat to the Principal (Anthony) and the Executive Committee. Refreshments will be available from shortly before and throughout the meeting and we will do our best to be finished by 8:30pm. PARENT & SOCIAL FUNCTION – BAREFOOT BOWLS Saturday 4th March All parents of Queen of Peace are invited to the first parent social function of the year. This will be held at the Altona Bowling Club from 6:30pm on Saturday 4th March. Come for dinner at 6:30pm (a la carte) with bowling commencing from 7:30pm. This will be a great way to have some fun, meet new parents and catch up with familiar faces in a casual atmosphere. More information with RSVP will come home early next week via CareMonkey Yours sincerely Brendan Halloran P&F President 2016 & 2017

Queen of Peace Primary School Issue 2 10th February 2017

Photo Day is

TUESDAY 14th FEBRUARY 2017 All Photo Envelopes must be returned to school BEFORE THIS DAY. FAMILY (more than 1 student at QoP) photo envelopes are available from the office foyer.

Full Summer School Uniform must be worn.

PARISH OF LAVERTON

PREP 2018

PARENT INFORMATION MEETING

Considering enrolling your child in a Catholic Primary school in Laverton, Altona Meadows or Point Cook?

We invite you to come along and join us at the Parish of Laverton Enrolment Meeting

which will be held on

TUESDAY 14th

March at 7pm

at

QUEEN OF PEACE PRIMARY SCHOOL (HALL)

Information about school and Parish boundaries and the enrolment process will be shared.

Enrolment packs will be available for collection after the meeting

SCHOOL AGED BAPTISMS

If you would like your school aged children Baptised,

they will need to attend classes on Wednesday 1st / 8th March in Queen of Peace Church.

TIME: 4-5pm One parent must be a baptised Catholic.

Further inquiries please call the Parish Office on 9369 6877

Pre school Story Time

Starts again this Thursday 16th February

Every Thursday at 9am in the School Library with Mrs Favato.

Come along for some stories, singing, activities and lots of fun!

Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund (CSEF)

The Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund (CSEF) commenced in 2015 and provides payments for eligible students to attend camps, sports and excursions. CSEF applications for 2017 open from term one 2017. Parents or legal guardians are required to submit a CSEF application form to their child's school. Families holding a valid means-tested concession card or temporary foster parents are eligible to apply. $125 per year is paid for eligible primary school students, with $225 per year paid for eligible secondary school students. A special consideration eligibility category also exists. Payments are made directly to the school and are tied to the student. Forms (pink) are available in the office foyer. For more information, go to http://www.education.vic.gov.au/about/programs/health/Pages/csef.aspx?Redirect=1

Queen of Peace Primary School Issue 2 10th February 2017

Newsletter

The QoP Newsletter is published fortnightly.

It is available on t.he Skoolbag App and uploaded to our

website. An email with the newsletter attached is also sent to

all ‘newsletter subscribers’. To subscribe and receive the

fortnightly newsletter you must click on the grey

‘SUBSCRIBE’ button on the right hand side of the home page

of the QoP website and complete the details.

QoP UNIFORM SHOP

OPEN MONDAYS 8:30am – 9:30am

Orders can be left with the school office

if you are unable to attend at this time. Returns will only be accepted

with receipt.

To avoid disruption to classrooms

please note, if children need to be collected

early they should be picked up at the lunch break

(at 1:30pm Monday or 1:40pm Tuesday to Friday).

It is also very disruptive for classes and the office to be

passing on messages to children in the afternoons.

It would be appreciated if these interruptions could be

kept to a minimum.

COMMBANK SCHOOL BANKING School banking day is every TUESDAY, beginning next Tuesday, 14th February. Any new students to the program will receive your student number with your first deposit at school. The process for school banking is as follows: Students bring in their deposit books with their money on a Tuesdaymorning, give them to their classroom teacher, where it is then sent to the office in the note tub to be banked. Students receive a dollarmites token each time they bank. Once they have 10 tokens, they can then send them in with their next deposit to redeem the tokens for a reward. There will be a banking representative at school next Monday, 13th February from 12.45 pm ‘til about 1.45pm in the art room to open any new accounts. More information about the rewards and competitions for this year can be found at the

end of the newsletter.

Queen of Peace Primary School Issue 2 10th February 2017

Before School / After School Care Program Dear Queen of Peace Parents Welcome back to term 1. Hope you all had a lovely break. OSH Club Head Office has emailed registered parents regarding the early finish on Monday 13th February and the extra charge for extended care on this day. They have also emailed parents regarding the upcoming Pupil Free Day on 24th February. If we have enough interest, we will be offering an all day program from 7am – 6pm, please ensure you respond. Can you please ensure you book your children online www.oshclub.com.au This enables us to have adequate staffing, you avoid the late booking fee and we are aware which children should attend the program. Please update your Child’s medical condition online if any. Further, any children who have Allergy/Asthma/Anaphylaxis MUST have their Action Plan duly signed by the Doctor. Please submit the document when your child first attends the Program. Just a reminder, be SUNSMART as you know that weather is warming up and If you have booked your children for after school care he/she must have a hat. No hat - no play.

Upcoming Activities

Monday

13th Feb

Tuesday

14th Feb

Wednesday

15th Feb

Thursday

16th Feb

Friday

17th Feb

Before Care Activities

Valentine’s heart mobiles

One touch

Heart Pop-Up Valentine

Running race

Kindness Word Searches

Downball

Pairs of Kindness

Children’s Choice game

Children's Choice Construction

Board games

After Care Activities

123 Basketball,

Valentine’s Cards,

Research St Valentine

Free Play,

Valentine’s Rosie Red Flower,

Friendship Bracelets

Poison ball,

Hama Beads,

Colouring Barbie

Playground fun, Coloured Sand

Paintings,

Ben 10 Colourings

Line Tiggy, Tissue paper

flowers,

Puzzle Competition

Monday

20th Feb

Tuesday

21st Feb

Wednesday

22nd Feb

Thursday

23rd Feb

Friday

24th Feb

Before Care Activities Colourful paper

masks, Downball

Ball and Cup Challenges,

Free Play

Styrofoam Cup Penguin,

Children s choice activity/game

Hama Beads, Skipping Rhyme

Game

*See above notes

After Care Activities

Basketball, Paper Plate

Jellyfish, Twister

Dodgeball, Group

Construction, Summer

Wordsearch

Simpsons, Colouring, Board

Games

Free play, Finger Painting, Lego

Challenges

OSHC program phone: 0421 287 254

Coordinator: Geeta Ankhi Assistants: Antoinette Kelly, Jenny Evans

OSHClub Head Office: Ph 8564 9000

All families must be enrolled to attend the program, remember it is Free to enrol! Please create an account online at www.oshclub.com.au

All bookings and cancellations can also be managed via your online account. For on the day bookings, please contact the Coordinator direct at the program.

Queen of Peace Primary School Issue 2 10th February 2017

Queen of Peace Primary School Issue 2 10th February 2017

Emmanuel College warmly welcomes all families of students to our Information Morning on

Saturday 11 February 2017. The College is very excited to talk to families about the opportunities that exist within the school.

This event is open to all families, however, contains important information for students commencing Year 7 in 2018.

Please confirm attendance with the College Registrar on 8325 5119.

Notre Dame

2-40 Foxwood Drive

Point Cook

St. Paul’s

423 Blackshaws Rd

Altona North Time 9.00 am Time 10.30 am

Enrolment applications;

Year 7, 2018: close on February 17, 2017

Year 7, 2019: close on August 25, 2017

Queen of Peace Primary School Issue 2 10th February 2017