School Newsletter Term 1, Week 6, 29th May 2025

Principals Letter

Dear St Augustine's families,

This week we recognised National Reconcilliation Week and Catholic Education Week.  

National Reconciliation Week started as the Week of Prayer for Reconciliation in 1993 (the International Year of the World’s Indigenous Peoples) and was supported by Australia’s major faith communities.

In 1996, the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation launched Australia’s first National Reconciliation Week. Reconciliation Australia was established in 2001, with the intention to provide national leadership on reconciliation. In the same year, approximately 300,000 people walked across Sydney Harbour Bridge as part of National Reconciliation Week and subsequently across bridges in cities and towns to show their support for reconciliation.

This year's theme Bridging Now to Next, reflects the ongoing connection between past, present and future. The theme Bridging Now to Next calls on all Australians to step forward together, to look ahead and continue the push forward as past lessons guide us.     

Catholic Education week is a time for Catholic schools to celebrate their ethos and mission with their school and wider communities. The theme for 2025 is "May the God of hope fill you with joy and peace". We celebrated this at our whole school Liturgy in the church on Monday led by our Year 1/2 classes.

This is also the week we hold our open mornings to welcome prospective families to have a tour of our school led by our year 6 students. We also welcomed our 2026 Foundation applicants to a 'Come & Try' hour on Monday afternoon where they had an introduction to class and school life. 

This weekend we have ten students and two children from the parish completing their sacrament of confirmation. The sacrament of Confirmation continues, strengthens, confirms and celebrates the gifts of the Holy Spirit received in Baptism. Wishing all our candidates God's blessings on this special day.

Pearl, Bridget, Patrick, Jo, Oscar, Hayden, Penelope, Reagan, Jasmine, Maci, Emma & Ava

Heavenly Father,

We pray for all our children who are preparing for the Sacrament of Confirmation.

May your Holy Spirit help them to grow in faith, hope and love and may they come to know you as the one true God who loves them without limit.

Many blessings,

Mrs Sonia Turner

Principal

My New Gallery

FORWARD DATES

Sacrament of Eucharist - Sunday 17th August

Information session - Wednesday 2nd July 5.30pm in the Hall

Happy Birthday to...

Jonah H  - Foundation      Holly C - Year 2       Chris C - Year 3      Esme M - Year 1     

Peyton W - Year 6       Mahtab B - Year 4      Javier G - Year 6        

STAR Students

At St Augustine's we are a SWPBIS school (School Wide Positive Behaviour in School) and we have a STAR culture. STAR stands for:

S  - stay safe

T  - take pride

A  - act justly

R  - respond positively

Just like children are explicitly taught academics, acceptable behaviour is also explicitly taught. STAR awards are given at Assembly each fortnight, exceptional STARs are sent a postcard which qualifies them to morning tea with the Principal at the end of the term.

STAR lessons are taught around a nominated behaviour blitz. Children are taught how to be a STAR in all places they go and what the acceptable behaviour looks like. Examples of a lessons: how to stay safe in class, in the library, the toilet, at the bus stop, on the playground or when walking to the swimming pool.

CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL OUR WEEK 5 & 6 STARS! WELL DONE!

Parents & Friends News

Next P & F Meeting - Friday 27th June at 9am in the hall

Canteen Volunteers Meeting - Tuesday 10th June 2.30pm in the Hall

Keep a look out for some upcoming P& F fundraising events:

School T-towel, Pie Drive, Trivia Night (12th August)

BOOK CLUB

Book Club Issue 4 catalogues were sent home this week with students. Orders close .

Friday 20th June 2025.

Lunch box ideas

FREE DOWNLOADABLE COOKBOOKS FROM BALLARAT COMMUNITY HEALTH

The Tight Arse and Hot Off the Press cookbooks were created to provide cooking options to people on a budget, rather than opting for take away and supermarket fast food.

Cooking boosts both confidence and self-esteem, cooking for others creates connectedness and a sense of worth. Cooking for yourself not only helps you eat more healthily, but it also sends you a message that you are important.

A couple of recipes below from the books.

SchoolTV

Because parenting doesn’t come with instructions, SchoolTV is a wellbeing resource that can support you in the challenges relating to modern-day parenting.

This award-winning resource helps build relationships, foster connections, enable understanding and break down barriers to navigate a pathway towards better mental health and wellbeing for young people. It can assist in starting conversations on topics that are sometimes awkward or difficult to tackle.

2025 School Fees & Levies

2025 School Fees & Levies - below is the 2025 School Fees & Levies information.

All other fees are to be finalised by the end of November each year unless other arrangments are made with the school office. 

All credits have now been applied for valid concession card holder claimants of the government Camp Sports Excursion Fund (CSEF), School Saving Bonus & Family Fee Assistance.  If you do have a valid concession card and have not yet claimed, please contact the school office ASAP as applications close 4th July 2025.

We welcome all students and their families who share or respect our Catholic faith, values and traditions. Catholic education is supported by State and Federal funding, with families contributing the balance of the cost of educating their children. At times, some families are unable to meet their commitment to the full costs of education. As a Catholic school system, we ensure fee relief mechanisms are available to support families in time of need. We encourage these discussions on enrolment or as these needs emerge.

Ambulance Cover

Emergency medical transport services are not free and not covered by Medicare. Become a genuine Ambulance Victoria member and be protected against the cost of transport and treatment by paramedics.

If your child required an ambulance at school we would not hesitate to call for one before speaking with parents. Without ambulance membership it can be a very costly trip! If your not already covered please consider!

Bus Travel & Conveyance Allowance

Bus travel on the country buses is available for students at St Augustine’s School and arrangements are made through the bus co-ordinator, Heather Leach, at the Maryborough Education Centre on 5461 7900 or via email to Heather.Leach2@education.vic.gov.au. 

A PTV form must be completed and approved prior to any bus travel.

For one off or seasonal travel, parents of the student/s must organise a bus pass through MEC at least two days prior to travel. Students cannot travel on the country buses without a pass.

The town bus is currently full so no additional travellers are being accepted. The town bus costs 50cents a trip, payable on the day of travel.  Please advise the office if your child will be travelling on any of the buses so we can update our bus rolls.

IMPORTANT

All bus travel requires parents/guardians to complete a Public Transport Victoria (PTV) Application for Permission to Travel form prior to any bus travel. This form can be emailed direct to Heather Leach at MEC, Heather.Leach2@education.vic.gov.au. It is important that this form is completed as these details will be used in the event of an emergency.

PTV forms are required to be updated and completed yearly by all families who have bus travellers.

CONVEYANCE ALLOWANCE 

Eligibility

An application on behalf of a student may be submitted if the student is:

• a Victorian resident.
• school aged and enrolled (3) three or more days per week at a school; and
• attending a school/campus located outside the Melbourne metropolitan conveyance boundary

A student who meets the above requirements may be eligible if they:

• attend their nearest or designated neighbourhood government school/campus appropriate to their year level, at which admission is permissible, or
• attend their nearest appropriate non-government school/campus appropriate to their year level, at which admission is permissible, and
• reside 4.8km or more by the shortest practicable route from the campus attended

Medical Information

Headlice information

Student Medical Information

If your child is unwell please keep them at home.

This includes coughs, colds, sore throat, vomiting, diarrhea and any other contagious illnesses.  

Coughs & Colds

Children can return to school once symptoms have eased and they are not actively coughing or blowing their nose.  

Vomitting & Diarrhoea

Children can return to school 48 hours after the last episode.

We will send children home if they present with any of these symptoms whilst at school.

Notifying Absences

All absentee notifications should be recorded either through the Parent Access Module (PAM) or directly to the school office by phone or email to admin@samaryborough.catholic.edu.au prior to 9.30am on the day of the absence. Please do not send notes of absence through to classroom teachers on Class Dojo as they may be absent or unable to check messages prior to commencement of class.

If a student is absent and we have not received any form of notification by 9.30am, a text message will be sent to parents asking them to call the office or send a reply text. 

Child Safety

St. Augustine's Primary School Maryborough demonstrates a strong commitment to the care, safety and wellbeing of all students at our school.

All of our Child Safe policies and procedures are accessible on our website through the link below.

Uniform Shop

Uniforms will continue to be filled weekly and sent home with your child/ren.

We have discontined the lemon polo's due to the large delay in delivery times. We are out of stock of short sleeved lemon polo's in most sizes now. Long sleeve lemon polos are still available in some sizes while stocks last. Send a dojo to Amber if you would like to purchase.

Beanies are available in the school office for $20

Uniform orders will continue to be filled and sent home with your child(ren) weekly. If you would like to enquire about secondhand uniform, please send a message to Amber on Class Dojo with your required items and sizes and we will send home what we can supply, $5 per item. This can be paid through CDFPay under IOU uniform. 

If you have any queries or items to be exchanged, please contact the school office. 

Note: There is no designated period for summer or winter uniform. Students can choose what they would like to wear in any season. The only exception is that sports uniform must be worn on designated sports days and bucket hats are to be worn between August & April.

ALL ORDERS TO BE PLACED THROUGH THE NEW CDFPAY APP. INSTRUCTIONS FOR ACCOUNT SETUP ATTACHED.

PAM - Parent Access Module

PLEASE LOG INTO YOUR PAM ACCOUNT AND CONFIRM/COMPLETE YOUR CHILDS MEDICAL PROFILE. THIS INFORMATION IS MANDATORY FOR ALL STUDENTS. 

We require ALL families to complete and update their child/ren’s medical details and contact information for 2023 through PAM and throughout the year as changes occur. 

This information is mandatory and vital in the case of an emergency.   It is important that if you have any change to your contact numbers, including work place, mobile, home number, that these be updated through PAM and to advise the school office.

To complete your child/rens medical profile including contact information, go to PAM, click on your child/rens name, go to 'Medical Profile' and click 'Edit Details'. Complete details then click in the box at the bottom of the page to confirm the details are correct and click ‘Update Details’.

If you have any questions or require your login details, please contact the school office.

Parking & Road Safety

Parking behind the church & tennis courts is STAFF ONLY parking. Please do not use these areas to park or pickup your children. Vehicle movement in and out of these areas means you are driving over footpaths/walkways which both our students and Highview students are using. This creates a potential safety hazard.

Follow road safety regulations, keep driveways clear, check carefully before reversing and avoid letting your children exit or enter a car whilst on the road or stopped at the crossings. Please do not double park. We all want to keep our families safe so your co-operation is appreciated.

Please observe road rules around our school for the safety of all of our children.

* Schools have 40km zone.

* Parking behind the church & tennis courts is STAFF ONLY parking.

* Please use the children's crossing on Burns, Kars St and Burke St.

* For safety purposes, please avoid letting your children exit or enter a car whilst on the road or stopped at the crossings. Please do not double park. 

Thank you for your co-operation.

Bell times

5 minutes prior to classes commencing there is music played. This signals to the children it is time to start moving to class. This is the time children need to have a drink, go to the toilet etc. so they are lined up and ready to start class when the bell goes. 

8:30am - Yard Care Supervision begins

8:45am  -  Classroom teacher in classroom - meet & greet

8:55pm - School classes begin

9am-11am - 2 hour learning session

11am-11:40am -  First break

11:40am-1:40pm - 2 hour learning session

1:40pm-2:20pm - Second break

2:20pm-3:15pm - 55 minute learning session

3:10pm - Fiscalini & Flanagan dismissal

3:15pm - Arundell & Scanlan, Bus students dismissal

Parish News

Please see link below for the latest Parish Bulletin & readings.

Advanced dates for your diary

Please see the link to the school calendar below for all  important dates.

Community Notices