2024, Term 1, Week 4

Weekly Assembly

Principal Message

Dear Families,

Welcome to Week 4 Term 1

It hasn't taken long for everyone to settle into the school routine. The students are very settled and are engaging into,  not only school life but importantly in their learning.
Thank you to those families who were able to meet with their class teacher in the recent "meet and greet" meetings.  This provides a valuable opportunity for school and home to develop that strong relationship that supports the children.

Recently we had our first parent forum meeting and a newly elected Parent Forum Committee has taken over the reins! Also a big thank you to our Class Parent Reps who have nominated themselves for these positions. Details about the committee and upcoming events can be found in the newsletter.

A reminder to all families that school supervision commences at 8.30a.m. If children are riding to school, please plan on them arriving at 8.30a.m. not prior to this. Noting that our Traffic Supervisor (Trevor) will be on duty to assist children crossing Charles St from 8.30a.m.  Please do not drop your child off prior to this time as they will be unsupervised and toilets are not open.

Last week we held an Apple iPad Parent workshop - this was attended by nearly 60 parents. We are hoping that this will become a regular event. A big thank you to our Apple Coaches - Mr Cutler and Miss McMahon who coordinated and presented at this event.

Finally, thank you for the way in which the children have presented themselves with their uniform this year. It is wonderful to see the students taking pride in themselves and their school.

Hope you all have a great weekend.

Regards,

Brian Laybutt
Principal

FRIDAY AFTERNOON ASSEMBLY

Our first school assembly was held this week - Thank You to Yr 6 for your presentation. This year we are making assemblies a fortnightly event. Awards have also been revamped, instead of a Student of the Week and a Most Improved Award we have moved to three awards, based on our school values of being - Respectful, Responsible and Courageous.
Can I ask that parents / carers please do not take your child from the assembly but wait until the bell is sounded and the children are dismissed from class. If children are taken from assembly, often the teacher is not informed or is bombarded by parents, resulting in them really not knowing who has been picked up or not. Worst case scenario, is that a child decides to leave the school without notifying anyone!!
Your understanding in this matter would be appreciated!

APPLE PARENT WORKSHOP

A wonderful turn out to our recently conducted Apple iPad Workshop for parents. The workshop allowed an opportunity for the school to share its current classroom practice around why we use iPads in the school and how they are managed and used in the classrooms.

This was followed by a practical workshop that looked a privacy settings and guidelines for parents in ensuring that “safe” settings are activated on the device.

One area for clarification was screen time.

The NSW Dept. of Education, our governing body states:
NATIONAL GUIDELINES ON SCREEN TIME
Across a 24hr period the following is recommended:
Children and young people aged between 5 - 17 years have less than 2 hours a day of sedentary recreational time

These time limits do not include the screen time spent on educational activities

Sedentary recreational time includes not only iPads but television, technology based games, iPhones etc

Can I remind parents that while the iPad is a compulsory aspect of your child’s education at St Ambrose, it is used to support and enhance learning. It is used, as deemed appropriate, by the teacher, guided by the syllabus content being taught.

iPads at St Ambrose are used only for educational purposes. The school provides a safe environment for appropriate use of technology.

Students are NOT allowed to use them for games, free time, at lunch/recess or travelling to and from school.

99% of the time, if we are presented with issues regarding technology, they stem from home!!

Some tips re the use of the iPad at home:

1. Set security settings on the device.
2. Have prescribed time of use of the iPad per day
3. Be aware of what your child is using the iPad for - you can check the history of the iPad if you wish.
4. Do not let children use the iPad away from a supervising adult / other.
5. iPads / phones etc should not be left or charged in the child’s bedroom -  keep them charging in a safe location.
6. If children have a chat group, you should be on it so you can access the content. If they don’t want you on it - there is probably a reason!
7. Access to Social media - NO NO NO NO NO - children should be 13+ to access any social media platforms - TikToc, Snap Chat, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter etc are not appropriate for Primary aged children.
8. Do not use the iPad as a babysitter!!
9. As adults model appropriate technology usage. It is difficult to set guidelines for children if adults are modelling something different e.g. scrolling on your phone!
10. Simply not allowing your child to use an iPad is not teaching your child how to self regulate and become digitally responsible.

Technology is our friend !!

Parent Forum

PARENT FORUM EMAIL ADDRESS: stambrosepf@gmail.com
SCHOOL: sapot@lism.catholic.edu.au

PROPOSED PARENT FORUM NIGHT MEETING:
Tuesday 6.00 -7.00p.m.
Term 1 -  13th February    
Term 2 -  14 May
Term 3  - 6 August
Term 4 -  29 October

On the day prior (Monday at 2.30p.m) - a short meeting will be conducted to finalise the agenda for the upcoming meeting. This will be held in the School Meeting Room - (Office)

Other meetings regarding Social events / Class Grades will be set as required

Class Parent Rep

Religion

Sunday 10th March

STS MARY & AMBROSE CHURCH, POTTSVILLE SCHOOL/PARISH FAMILY MASS  7:30am MASS

Sacrament of Penance/Reconciliation Commitment Mass (This involves children from Year 4 who are preparing to receive this Sacrament)

At this Mass celebration staff from St Ambrose will be attending to the ministry duties and there will be children’s liturgy. 

We HOPE TO SEE MANY ST. AMBROSE FAMILIES AT THIS MASS

Sacrament of Penance/Reconciliation Program

This Monday 26th Feb. - A reminder to all students who have been enrolled in the Sacrament of Penance/Reconciliation Program to attend a Parent/Child meeting 6:00pm in the Year 4 classrooms.

Ash Wednesday

The Years 4 to 6 students attended Mass on Ash Wednesday and the students from Kinder to Year 3 attended a prayer service in the Church last week. All students received the sign of the cross on their forehead to mark the beginning of the Lenten Season. In their Religious Education lessons, students will explore the Lenten Season further and learn about the importance of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving during this special time in our Catholic calendar leading to Easter.

The small sacrifices we make during Lent make room in our hearts to welcome the risen Jesus at Easter.

Lent

Lent is the period of 40 days that comes before Easter in the Christian calendar. Beginning on Ash Wednesday, 

Lent is a season of reflection and preparation before the celebrations of Easter. It's the perfect time to reset your spiritual and sometimes emotional and physical self. 

This Lenten prayer resource is a simple way to share the traditions of Lent within your family.

Project Compassion

For all Future Generations
Project Compassion boxes will be placed on class prayer tables and there are extras in the school foyer if you would like to have one for your home.

SRC Students

Parish Newsletter

Upcoming Sports Events

Zone Swimming

A huge congratulations to our 45 students who went to the Zone Swimming carnival at Tweed Regional Pool, Murwillumbah. It was a fantastic day with plenty of racing and cheering. 

We are still eagerly waiting for the final results from the day to congratulate several students attending the Diocesan Trials in Macksville on the 1st of March. We wish the students who have qualified for this event the best of luck and we will post their results in the next newsletter.

Winter Sport Trials

Over the last few weeks, we have had many students participate in the Zone Winter Sports Trials. We would like to congratulate the following students on their selections in their chosen sports. We wish them all the best at the diocesan trials. 

Rugby League U12s
Isaac
Duke
Chase

Rugby League U11s
Sonny

Rugby Union
Henry

Soccer
Sam

Hockey
Maddie

Running Club

It has been wonderful to see so many boys and girls attending the Tuesday morning running club. We ask that students do not arrive before 8am. There is no supervision until 8:10am when running club commences. If your child is not participating in the running club we ask that they do not arrive until 8:30am when teachers are supervising all other areas.

School Clubs

St Ambrose runs a number of "clubs" throughout the day that children can join.Tuesday morning is our Running Club - this commences at 8.15a.m..Lunchtime Clubs include:

• Gardening Club
• Chess club 
• Craft Club
• Drama Club
• Library
• Boards game activities
• Choirs

If students want to join one of these activities, ask your class teacher for details. 

Year 5 Solar Buddy Fundraiser

Volunteers Required

"Volunteers needed to help cover beautiful new books for the Library. If you are available, could you please let the office know and we will get back to you"

These can be taken home to do at your leisure or at school with Miss Victoria. Thanking you in advance.

Wellbeing

Attending school regularly helps children feel better about school and themselves. Help your child to learn that going to school on time, every day is important.

Reinforcing the idea that attending school regularly is crucial for a positive school experience. Foster a love for learning by encouraging your child's natural curiosity. 

Help your child to see school as a place to explore new ideas, discover interests, and develop a lifelong passion for learning. Foster positive social connections at school by encouraging friendships. Knowing that they have friends to look forward to can motivate children to attend school regularly.

Safe on Socials

Parent presentation- Monday 4 March 6:15pm at St Joseph's College Banora Point

Dear Parents/carers,

I hope this finds you well.

Monday 4 March, Safe on Social will be coming to present a parent presentation at Joseph's College Banora Point. This evening has been opened up to parents of our school as well. The evening starts at 6:15 pm NSW Times at St Josephs's College in their COLA, the evening will consist of a parent presentation and a Q&A session. 

Some information about the evening:

If you are concerned about your children’s safety on social media and looking for the answers but not sure where to turn, this session delivers real-life case studies and strategies to help parents support their children.

Topics in the evening session for parents are not limited too, but cover the following:

• Online safety and using social media with awareness.
• What you signed up for – we explain terms and conditions of use and what they mean.
• Keeping your personal information private.
• Sexting and image-based abuse and the law. (Age-appropriate).
• Online stranger danger and what grooming might look like and what to do.
• Cyber-bullying, online harassment, and how to report it.
• Known scams, hoaxes, deepfake, fake news, and misinformation.
• Group Chats and strategies to manage them better.
• Identity theft.
• Legal responsibilities.
• Privacy settings.
• Online gaming safety.
• Strategies to build resilience
• Posting and sharing photos and the law.
• Respectful online relationships and consent.
• How to create a positive digital footprint.

The presenter will also cover the most popular social media apps and trends what they are, how they work, security, and privacy tips for safe use as we know “don’t” doesn’t work.

If you would like to attend the evening, we ask you to complete the simple RSVP via this link. 

Please note due to content this is an 18+ only session for parents and as a result children under this age are unable to attend. 

Any questions regarding the parent presentations please feel free to contact Mathew Lynch at St Joseph's College Banora Point. 

School Swimming Carnivals: Cryptosporidium Alert - Additional Precautions Recommended

NSW Health has advised of very high rates of cryptosporidiosis, a diarrhoeal disease, in the community.

Please distribute the following information to students and parents, via your school newsletter or social media.

To prevent cryptosporidiosis transmission among swimmers at upcoming school swimming carnivals, NSW Health recommends all schools implement the following precautions:

• Communicate with parents and carers on the risk of cryptosporidiosis, consider sharing the social media post from NSW Health on your school Facebook page (see Facebook).
• Advise students to refrain from swimming if they are experiencing, or have experienced in two weeks prior to the carnival, gastrointestinal symptoms such as diarrhoea.
• Emphasise the importance of regular handwashing with soap and water.
• Remind students to avoid swallowing pool water.

Cryptosporidium is present in the faeces of infected people. Outbreaks have been linked to water sources contaminated by infectious people, including swimming pools.

Schools should liaise with their local public health unit (1300 066 055) if they require any guidance and support.

For more information on cryptosporidiosis, see the attached media release or visit: https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/Infectious/factsheets/Pages/cryptosporidiosis.aspx 

Compass online family & enrolments

Dear Parents,

Our school is moving to online enrolments using Compass.  As an existing user of Compass, you will find a new tile in the Compass app called Family and Enrolments, found under the “More” icon in the Compass app or under the Cog icon in your preferred browser.  When the family and enrollments module goes live 4 March 2024, as a parent, you can update your contact details at any time. We strongly encourage you to log in after this date to confirm your details. If you update your details, they will update across all schools where you have a child enrolled.

Applications for 2025 can be completed from 4 March 2024. If you have already applied via our old system, we kindly request you please reapply after this date.

See our website for more details on how to enrol and where to get assistance if you need it.

School Tours

Music Tutors

Tweed Enduro Saturday 24 February 2024