School Vision
St Matthew’s School empowers children to embrace life-long learning, and grow and develop as God intends.
This week’s prayer is to Saints Anne and Joachim, patron saints of grandparents:
Most Holy Saints Anne and Joachim
come close to us and guide our hand and our hearts in the way of virtue.
Help us to parent our children and grandchildren with a gentle heart as you did.
Show us how to raise our children in faith and bring our families into the Light of Jesus.
Amen
‘Dear Parents & Carers,
Welcome to Term 3! I am very pleased to say that we have had a wonderful first week. I am genuinely very glad to be back after my extended break and I can’t wait to see what this term has in store for us all.
COVID-19 Updates
As we are all very aware, COVID-19 is still having an impact on our community. Last week, via the school app, parents were asked in a cross-sectoral letter to encourage their children to wear a mask to school to keep our schools as safe as possible. Staff have also been strongly encouraged to wear a mask while at school. We ask for your support to please explain to your child the importance of wearing a mask to reduce the risk of transmission in schools and the community. If you would like a copy of this letter emailed, please contact the Office.
School App
Please be advised that the school app is being updated and therefore, will not be available for approximately one week. I will send a follow-up sms when it is back online. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.
Important Dates
Once the app is back online, the ‘Important Dates’ Tab contains the most up-to-date information regarding the school calendar. Staying in line with the school’s commitment to reducing our Waste Footprint, no paper copies of the calendar will be produced. In the meantime, please note:
- P&F Meeting 26 July 7pm
- School Photos 3 August
- P&F Disco 5 August (TBC)
- Yr 2 Assembly 12 August
- Pupil Free Days 15 & 16 August
- NAIDOC Celebrations 17 August
- Book Week Parade 23 August
- Yr 4 Assembly 26 August
- Faction Jumps and Throws 30 August
- Kindy Fathers’ Day 31 August (TBC)
- Faction Athletics Carnival
- First Holy Communion Workshop 8 September
- Yr 1 Assembly 9 September
- Interschool Jumps and Throws 13 September
- Yr 4 and Yr 5 attending STEM Showcase 14 September
- Interschool Athletics Carnival 15 September
- PP Assembly 16 September
- Sacrament of First Holy Communion 18 September
- St Matthew’s Feast Day 23 September
- Last Day Term 3
Parent letter and Term Overview
This Friday, parents will be emailed a Parent letter and a Term Overview for each of their children’s classes. This will contain information about subject areas and class-specific information.
Winter Uniforms
I would like to thank parents for the support of the introduction of the skorts and the dresses to the girls’ formal winter uniform. It has been lovely to see everyone wearing the uniform items that best suit their play styles and comfort levels.
In order to support our Years 4 to 6 students to demonstrate pride in their uniform, I will loan a tie to any student who accidentally forgets to wear one on Mondays and Wednesdays. The tie will be returned to the Office before the end of the day. Parents will be informed by SMS.
Please remember that the Uniform Shop is open every day and orders can also be made over the phone or via email.
Principal Focus – Keeping Our Kids Safe
At St Matthew’s, the safety of our children is of the utmost importance. We have many procedures and policies in place to help us to do this. An important part of this is helping our students to develop an understanding of safe choices so that they are able to help protect themselves from potential harm. This includes road safety, drug education and the importance of good food and exercise. We also use the Keeping Safe: Child Protection Curriculum (KS:CPC) throughout the school. This term, all classes will be using activities from Focus Area 3: Recognising and Reporting Abuse. Children will be learning about:
- Privacy and the body
- Recognising abuse
- Secrets
- Cybersafety
The activities are structured in a sequential nature and at an age and a developmentally appropriate level. This week, parents will receive more information regarding the topics covered in their child’s specific year level in the Term Overview.
The following will explain this program in more detail:
Keeping Safe: Child Protection Curriculum (KS:CPC)
The KS:CPC teaches children and young people to recognise abuse, tell a trusted adult, understand what is appropriate and inappropriate touching and ways of keeping themselves safe. It is an evidence-based child safety and respectful relationships curriculum. It was developed collaboratively with child protection experts, teachers, educational leaders and other professionals, and has international recognition.
The KS:CPC is divided into 5 documents specific to the age and year level of students, starting from age 3 and progressing to age 17+.
The KS:CPC is predicated on two main themes which are presented through topics and activities of increasing complexity. The two KS:CPC Themes are:
- Theme 1: We all have the right to be safe
- Theme 2: We can help ourselves to be safe by talking to people we trust.
The two KS:CPC Themes are explored through four Focus Areas, which are examined in growing complexity in accordance with the age of the students. The Focus Areas are:
- Focus Area 1: The right to be safe
- Focus Area 2: Relationships
- Focus Area 3: Recognising and reporting abuse
- Focus Area 4: Protective strategies
There is a range of fact sheets, concept summaries and further information on the KS:CPC website: http://kscpc.2.vu/DE_ParentsCarers. The teachers delivering the program have received explicit training in the use of the Curriculum. Please contact your child’s Health teacher if you have any questions about the curriculum. We encourage you to seek further clarification if required, and to provide your child’s teacher with any relevant information about your child that may pertain to the teaching of this program.
Keep safe and warm,
Susan Milton
Principal
