St Brendan's Primary School Dunnstown eNewsletter

In the spirit of Reconciliation, we acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land in which we sit, the Wadawurrung people, who have cared for this country for thousands of years. We would like to pay our respects to the Aboriginal Elders past, present and future for they hold the traditions, memories and wisdom of Mother Earth on which we place our feet upon today.

Upcoming Dates

14th December: End of year school excursion. Extreme bounce and waterpark

15th December: 5.30 BBQ All welcome P & F running

16th December: Last day of school for students. 12.30 Assembly

30th January 2023: Students first day of school

Principal's News

Graduations and Masses

What a fabulous celebration we had for each school last week. Both Graduations and End of Year Thanksgiving Masses were attended by all families and were wonderful community events. The staff did a fabulous job of having the children well prepared and everything organised so that all went smoothly. The children and many families all had a part to play and overall, they were special events that we could all be part of.

What a beautiful way to reflect and celebrate the year that was!!

This year we fare well Stella and Liam at St. Mary’s and Kade, Sienna and Bonnie from St. Brendan’s. We are all so proud of our Year 6’s that have come to the end of their primary school years. They have shown persistence, adaptability, resilience and remained positive at all times, especially over the past 3 years. Our school communities wish them all well as they continue their life journey at their respective schools and know that they will go onto achieve great things in their lives

Thanks to all

I take this opportunity to sincerely thank each and every special member of our schools – the children, staff, parents and wider community for their continued support throughout yet another challenging year. As communities, we have shown time and time again that we are strong, resilient, committed to our children education and together work to get through tough times and still remain optimistic.

When we all work together, we are better and stronger. Then children in our care need us all so that they can be the best they can be.

I wish you all a very happy, fun filled and most importantly restful break. It is well deserved for everyone. We look forward to 2022 with hope and enthusiasm for what is to come.

May God bless you all and keep you safe during the holidays.

Take care,

Inez

End of year Mass and Graduation

Excursion

A reminder that our end of year school excursion is on Wednesday the 14^th of December. We will be going to Extreme Bounce at 10 until 11, and then move on to have lunch and a play at the All-Abilities playground in Sturt st. We will return to school around 1.30 pm. We had planned to go to a water park however, it is predicted to be about 14 degrees so we have made other plans. If it is very wet, then we will return to school after Extreme Bounce.

Parents are welcome to join us at any point during the day.

Combined Schools Days next year

Next year, we will go ahead with 2 CSD a week. Thank you all for your feedback. After some thought, we have decided to have Wednesdays at St. Brendan’s and Fridays at St. Mary’s. By doing this, we will have an admin lady in the office each day we come together. Remember, we can help out with transport if needed.

These days will begin the first week back with the first Wednesday being the 1^st of February at St. Brendan’s. All days are marked in our calendar. Sports uniforms will be worn on each CSD. Our days will start at 9am and finish at 3.30pm.

We will need to be very mindful of traffic and the safety of children, especially at St. Mary’s where there is limited parking.

These days will begin the first week back with the first Wednesday being the 1^st of February at St. Brendan’s. All days are marked in our calendar. Sports uniforms will be worn on each CSD. Our days will start at 9:00am and finish at 3:30pm. Permission forms will be circulated to parents via PAM this week. Parents are asked to complete them as soon as possible in readiness for the start of Term 1.

Meeting With Tom Sexton and Jo-Anne Bond – DOBCEL

Tony and I met with Tom and Jo-Anne on Tuesday morning to share the work we have been doing this year with our communities around building enrolments.

Tom commended us all on our efforts, commitment and enthusiasm in the work done up to this point. Tony and I are now working on a time line and plan to move forward next year. Tony did a fabulous session last Wednesday on Family Engagement with the staff. We considered the things we already do and how we can engage families and the wider community more. It is about tweaking we what already do.

Special visit

Following our meeting on Wednesday, we had a surprise visit from a some very special people. Katie and Nate came to say hello. Callum was thrilled to introduce his and Katie’s gorgeous son to us all. The smiles say it all. Callum is even more excited than most for the holidays so that he can spend all of his time with his new little family.

Pam update for 2023 information you must know before first day of Term 1

Dear Parents,

In January 2023, your PAM account will be undergoing a major upgrade to provide greater security and other improved functionality.

During the week of the 16^th of January 2023, your current PAM account will cease to function.

New PAM accounts will then be created by your school, and you will receive an email asking you to create new credentials for a new PAM account.

This will be as simple as:

clicking on the link provided in the email
following the prompts to create a new password for your new account.

Your username will be your email address.

Your PAM interface will not look any different, but you may receive an account per parent if you were previously sharing an account with your spouse.

Please refer to the below FAQs for further information:

We have a single, family email address that is used by both parents. Is that still ok?

If the parents both use the same email address, you will only receive a PAM account for one parent.

Example single email:

Parent 1 - Mother - Mrs Joanne Smith - jandcsmith@myemail.com

Parent 2 - Father - Mr Chris Smith - jandcsmith@myemail.com

A PAM ACCOUNT CAN ONLY BE ASSIGNED TO ONE PARENT, who can then share their login credentials with their spouse.

I do not have an email address OR have not provided my email address to the school.

Parents with no email address provided cannot have a PAM account

Will any historic data be lost in this process?

While no data will be lost in this process, it is possible that some information may become disconnected from the new account, such as historic letters, historic excursion permission and historic parent notified absences.
You may have to review your personal details (Medicare number etc) if you previously had split access with another parent to your child’s medical information.
You will definitely still be able to access historic student assessment reports and learning area assessment tasks. However, access to historical parent reflections may be lost if the school has chosen to not allow parents to see reflections by other parent accounts attached to that student.

What do I need to do now?
1. This letter is to simply let you know about the changes that are coming. Right now, the best thing you can do is make sure that the school has your preferred email address on file.

What do I need to do in January?
1. Be aware that your current PAM account will stop working as of the 16^th of January.
2. Look out for the email later in that week asking you to set up credentials for your new account (this may go to your junk/spam folder).

Boral Donation

Thank you to Boral for their very generous donation of sports equipment to the school. The children have enjoyed playing with the many various items. Laiken on behalf of the P and F did a fabulous getting Boral to support the school. We are very grateful to everyone that made this possible.

Authority for student's photo permission and ICT permission for 2023

Moving into 2023 the student photo and recording permission and the student ICT permission will be through the PAM account. When we rollover the PAM accounts at the end of the semster you will receive an email.

The student ICT permission form will need to be authorised by a parent before students can use computer equipment. The student photo permission will need to be authorised or delcined.

You will no longer receive these documents in paper form at the start of the school year.

Please contact the office if you have any questions.

Thanks Anita

Asthma & Anaphylaxis Plans 2023

Before your child starts school in 2023 all health details will need to be updated in PAM. Asthma plans will need to be uploaded and Anaphylaxis documents. As per the Asthma and Anaphylaxis Policies a new plan is required at the commencement of each school year.

Please only upload documents under the designated area in PAM. Anaphylaxis documents are the only documents to be uploaded under the Anaphylaxis section. This must be an Anaphylaxis plan completed by a GP.

Students with an Allergy plan are uploaded into the Allergy area of PAM not the Anaphylaxis section.

Legally your child cannot attend school without this information.

Please ensure that on the first day of school 2023 that you supply the school with pharmacist labelled asthma pumps, epipens and medications in a suitable labelled plastic container. You must also complete a medication form. Link is below.

If you have any questions please see Anita in the office.

ADMINISTRATION_OF_MEDICATION_RECORDS_2022_2_.pdf

Adminstration hours 2023

The office hours for 2023 will be

Monday 8.45 - 4.00

Tuesday 8.45 - 4.00

Wednesday 8.45 - 4.00

Thursday & Friday Closed

Newsletter 14th December 2022