8 February 2021 (Term 1, Week 2)
CEO/PRINCIPAL'S MESSAGE
Dear Parents and Carers,
Welcome back to 2021 for those who have children returning from last year, and a special welcome to our new parents and carers. I am sure you share feelings of hope and anticipation for all that 2021 holds, especially given the terrible 2020 many people experienced. Our staff have been working hard to get things ready for your children and our classrooms are now filled with their happy faces and joyful spirits. A foundational Benedictine value we are committed to is hospitality and welcome, and I trust that our new families are already feeling like they belong.
Given the uncertainty of the economy and the financial challenges faced by many of our families because of COVID-19, we have decided to not increase tuition fees for 2021. Fees notices will be sent out shortly and they will reflect the same tuition fees that were charged in 2020. If any family is experiencing financial difficulties do not hesitate to contact the school to confidentially discuss the matter.
You will see from the calendar that we are optimistically planning our usual events and will continue to monitor the COVID-19 situation to ensure the safety and wellbeing of everybody in our community. If events have to be cancelled or altered you will hear through Compass and the School Newsletter. One significant change to the calendar I want to bring to your attention to, is the last day students will attend school in 2021. Term Four this year is a long term, and taking into consideration the learning and wellbeing needs of our students, I have decided to amend the final day of Term Four, 2021. The last day for students in Years K-10 will now be Friday 10 December, and for students in Years 11 and 12, their last day will now be Friday 3 December. These end-of-year dates are in line with other Good Samaritan Education Schools and Independent Catholic Schools for Students with Disability. As Term Four is often challenging and exhausting, this change aims to help reduce stress and anxiety. In light of this change, I have cancelled the Pupil Free day planned for Friday, 26 February. In addition, this change of date will impact other end-of-year events which are detailed in the School Calendar and Important Dates for 2021 document included in our School Newsletter below.
The first Parents and Friends Meeting for the year will be the Annual General Meeting which will be held on Monday evening, 1 March at 7.00pm at the School. All parents and carers are welcome to attend and more information will be provided as the evening draws closer. Our meetings in 2020 were severely impacted by COVID-19, and I am very much looking forward to a face-to-face meeting, albeit with a COVID -19 safety plan in place. Special guest for this meeting will be new staff member, Sr Geraldine Kearney. Gerry (as she likes to be called) is a Sister of the Good Samaritan and is well known to our community. She has commenced in a pastoral support role for parents and staff and will be available to support families through counselling, spiritual direction or other pastoral support services. We are currently establishing an office for her on site where parents will be free to confidentially meet with her when the need arises. More detail will come about her role and how to make contact.
My prayers and thoughts are with our entire community as we start the 2021 journey, and I look forward to meeting you at one of our future events or gatherings, health restrictions allowing!
Kind regards
Mark Raue
CEO/PRINCIPAL
NOTES AND REMINDERS
GOOD SAMARITAN EDUCATION
The theme for 2021 is the Year of Communio seen through the lens of Compassion and Stewardship.
The focus will be on compassionate communio. Communio is the web of relationships which constitutes the actual life of Good Samaritan Education. It shapes our collective identity and communal seeking of God and is incarnated in “bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace (Ep4:2b-3).”
Responding to the ongoing impact of 2020 and Covid-19, our experience of communio will call for a compassionate gaze that drives us to go out of ourselves and serve others in the spirit of Benedictine stewardship by which all things are held sacred. Compassion, a deep response to and embracing of the situation of another will encourage the building of community that honours the sacredness of all, and treats everybody, without exception, with justice, equity and respect.
Compassionate communio will take us beyond ourselves and compel us to reach out to alleviate the suffering of those who are most vulnerable.
In seeking to embody the compassion and mercy of God, in the midst of the fragility and weakness of the human condition, we become a community that vulnerably shares each other’s burdens and ensures all are truly served as Christ.
UPDATED COVID ADVICE FOR SCHOOL EVENTS
Welcome back to 2021. Everyone at Mater Dei was very excited to see our returning and new students on Monday. Everyone has settled in well to new classrooms and routines, and we are all hopeful we can continue to connect with our community in 2021. Please keep up to date via Compass and enjoy photos and regular updates posted online from your child's teacher. COVID guidelines have been given to school for Term One.
Please see the below updates:
- NSW health advice is temperature checking is not recommended for schools. We will therefore not be checking student temperatures on entry, however we will continue to check all approved external visitors. As always, students who appear unwell may have their temperature checked.
- If your child is unwell they should be kept home from school. If they have even the mildest of flu-like symptoms, they should be tested and provide the school with a COVID clearance prior to/upon their return. If you do not wish to have a COVID test, then NSW Health advise that the student must not attend school for 10 days and must not have had any symptoms for 3 days before returning to school.
The following school events will commence or continue:
- Assemblies (students only)
- School canteen (please see School Calendar for dates)
- Magdalene Sport (Years 7 & 8)
- Years 3-12 Swimming Carnival (students only)
- Structured Work Placement (Year 11 & 12) modified placements
- Community Access. Students may choose to wear a mask provided by home and if so please advise your class teacher. If more than half the class opt to not attend community access, then community access may be cancelled
- P & F Meetings will recommence outside school hours
The above are subject to change without notice based on NSW Health and government recommendations, however we will provide as much notice as possible via Compass if changes occur.
PBIS FORTNIGHTLY FOCUS
This year we are launching a new school rule! Be A Learner! To celebrate, the Positive Behavioural Interventions and Supports (PBIS) committee, made up of teachers and support staff, had been working on getting some new signs for our school rules for the school. They are now hanging in the school playground, the infant’s playground and at the entrance to the school. Students are currently learning our new rule and how they can follow it. Each fortnight the students will have a new PBIS focus and for week two and three it is ‘how to be a learner’. We encourage parents and carers to talk about the PBIS focus each fortnight.
YERONGA - BLAZER AND OPTIONAL GIRLS TROUSERS DEADLINES
Families of Year 7 and Secondary Students
Mater Dei School’s Winter Uniform requirements as per the Parent Handbook are that all students in Years 7-12 wear a school blazer. Orders for these blazers and optional girls trousers are done via fitting and payment at Yeronga Uniforms in Camden. All families should contact Yeronga to book an appointment for a fitting between 22 February and orders must be placed and paid for by 13 March 2021. If your student is in Years 8-12, please check your blazer still fits and if not organise a fitting for a new one.
Please check out our https://www.facebook.com/groups/uniformsmaterdei/ for Second Hand uniforms or if you have a used Blazer you would like to sell.
PARENT HANDBOOK
Our Parent Handbook has a range of information which is extremely helpful for new parents. Please use this to answer any questions you may have about Mater Dei and speak to your class teacher or stage leader if you have further questions.
SCHOOL FORMS
Compass now has a range of forms and compass support documents for parents to access. These are accessible through the Community Icon (2 heads) then clicking on School Documentation. This will be updated will additional information over time. Forms currently include:
- Update of Personal Details
- Consent to Release information
- Application for Leave/Exemption
- 2021 Changes to Afternoon Arrangements
- Health and Medication forms and procedures
STUDENTS ON TRANSPORT
Families with students who travel to and from school via Assisted School Travel (or Taxi) are asked to not soley communicate important information you would like to share with your child’s teacher or the school. Taxi Drivers are not always employed by Mater Dei and sometimes messages given to them don’t always make it to the classroom in a timely manner. If you have any important information you would like to share with the school please use either diary, email or contact school reception.
PSYCHOMETRIC ASSESSMENTS
Families of students currently in Years 1, 4, 7 & 10 received a consent note last year regarding Psychometric Assessments. Our School Psychologist undertakes these assessments at a highly subsidised cost to parents. If you have already completed an external assessment or would prefer to organise your own assessment, this must be provided no later than one month prior to the due date. If this is the case please advise Kylee Laugesen via email or phone.
The Nationally Consistent Collection of Data for Students with Disabilities (NCCD) requires students to have an updated assessment:
- during significant transition periods
- when the students’ needs considerably change outside of transition timelines
to continue to frequently monitor students who fall within the mild classification.
PERMISSION FOR PHOTOGRAPH AND MEDIA
We hope things will change soon, but current COVID guidelines limit families' access to the school. Class Teachers will be posting photos and videos online to your child’s class newsfeed to keep families up to date with what’s happening. In addition, photos and videos of group or whole school events will be published on our school website and Facebook page. We aim to post these in a timely manner for our families.
At Mater Dei the permission you give to photograph or video your child is ongoing, meaning it does not need to be provided each year. Parents can choose to remove their permission but must do so in writing by emailing admin@materdei.org.au. If you are unsure if you have given permission, please check with your child’s teacher at PT Conferences or via the diary.
Any students who do not currently have photo/video permission for the school can update this by completing the photo/video permission form located on Compass in School Documentation section. This will ensure your child can be videoed for our online-only events such as Stations of the Cross or for our Performing Arts Night video at the end of each year.
STAGE LEADERS
This year Mater Dei is implementing a new model of support for parents and teachers from an executive level. As always, the class teacher will be your first point of contact for any concerns or questions. However, if you require further information, advice or support please contact your child’s Stage Leader.
2021 STUDENT LEADERS
At the end of last year, the School elected some new student leaders.
Congratulations to the following students.
- Captain: Patrick Abalos
- Captain: Sommer McClelland
- Green House Captain: Breanna Durrant
- Yellow House Captain: Emma Dowdy-Pitt
- Red house Captain: Sarah Vassallo
- Blue house Captain: Liam Barnett
Primary Councillors: Riley Garvey, Cooper Cottle, Lucas Marten and Ailish McNamara
Students will have a range of responsibilities throughout the year including assisting in masses and assemblies and representing the school at various community functions.
FUTURE EVENTS
CANTEEN
With uncertainty around COVID-19, please see below proposed Canteen Dates for 2021:
- March – 5, 12
- April – 23, 30
- May – 28
- June – 4, 11
- July – 16, 23
- August – 6, 27
- September – 3, 17
- October – 8, 22,
- November – 19 (Christmas Special Order Day)
P & F MEETING DATES
As per current COVID guidelines our P & F Meetings will recommence onsite at Mater Dei. Meetings run from 7pm to 8pm, please see below for dates from our School Calendar
- Monday 3rd March – Annual General Meeting
- Monday 3rd May
- Monday 7th June
- Monday 2nd August
- Monday 6th September
- Monday 1st November
- Monday 6th December – Christmas Dinner
PARENT TEACHER CONFERENCES
This year Mater Dei School have decided to provide additional flexibility for families with Parent Teacher Conferences now occurring across four days from Monday 22ndFebruary to Thursday 25th February from 3:30-6:30pm. This year, however the following COVID-19 requirements will be in place:
- Only one parent/carer can be in attendance with multiple bookings available for separated families
- No students or dependents will be able to attend for K-6
- Students in Year 7-12 are strongly encouraged to also attend where possible
- All visitors must sign in using the QR code with Service NSW
- All visitors will have their temperature checked and use hand sanitiser on entry
- Anyone who is unwell or has visited a hot spot is asked to remain at home
- Masks are optional
Bookings must be made online via Compass and will open on Monday 8th February 2021. A Compass notification will be posted once open. Instructions on how to book will be posted on Compass.
The above is all subject to change based on current COVID guidelines from NSW Government and any changes will be posted on Compass.
If you have any questions or concerns please contact school between 8:30am and 4pm.
SCHOOL OPENING MASS
Our Opening Mass will be held on Friday, February 19 at 9:30am, in the Carmela Ritchie Hall. Unfortunately, due to COVID-19 restrictions, parents and carers are not able to attend the Mass. We will be uploading footage from the Mass to our Mater Dei website and Facebook page.
POST SCHOOL INFORMATION EVENING
Mater Dei’s Post School evening will be held in the Carmela Ritchie Hall on Wednesday March 19, 6-7 pm. Year 12 students and parents are required to attend. Families from Years 10 and 11 are also strongly encouraged to attend. Chris Drimal from the National Disability Insurance Agency will be present to answer questions. More information to follow.
SWIMMING CARNIVAL
We are pleased to advise under current COVID restrictions we have begun planning for our Swimming Carnival on Friday 26th March. There are very specific restrictions in place for us to be allowed to hold the swimming carnival which includes no spectators. This will therefore be a STUDENT only event and while we know this may be disappointing for families, we are excited we can hold this event as last year this was the first event cancelled due to COVID. More specific information will come out regarding this event closer to the date as this will also be a modified event to ensure it can proceed.
COMMUNITY NEWS
YMCA MT ANNAN - DANCE AND SWIMABILITY PROGRAMS
Please see link below for more information regarding the above programs.