Newsletter 4 - 18 March 2021

Principal's Page

School Climate Survey 
By now you would have received a link to complete the online School Climate Survey via SMS. If you did not receive it, see the details below or collect a paper copy from the office. The survey will close on Wednesday 31 March. 
To complete the Parent Climate Survey for St Lawrence's Primary School in 2021: 
www.NSIPartnerships.com.au  and enter the code SLPACS in the Start Questionnaire field. 

Alternatively, use the QR code below. 

Triple Stream Principal’s Meeting 
Last Thursday and Friday I travelled to Yallingup to meet with other Catholic triple stream school Principals. As the only Catholic triple stream school outside of Perth, I find these meetings very useful, as we have the chance to share and discuss best practice when it comes to running a successful triple stream school. Whilst I was able to share some of the amazing things we do at St Lawrence's, I have also collected a range of ideas which I will be discussing with Leadership. 

St Lawrence’s School Code of Conduct 
Fortnightly in our school newsletter, we will explore an aspect of the Code of Conduct, so we can all gain a better understanding and how it applies to each of us. 
Code of Conduct - Statement 7 
You give impartial, honest and accurate information about the education, safety and well-being of students 

• Ensure accurate information is obtained and discussed 
• Data to provide information to parents 
• Use SCSA for reporting standards 
• Open honest communication with parents and colleagues 
• Use SEQTA to record 
• Consistent handover routines 
• Shared responsibility 
• Evidence based documentation 
• Moderating data 
• Timely feedback 
• Build relationships with parents and teachers 
• Professional talk 

To see a full copy of St Lawrence’s School Code of Conduct go to: 
https://www.stlps.wa.edu.au/Profiles/stlawrence/Assets/ClientData/Documents/Policies/codeofconduct.pdf 

Happy Days 
David Tunchon 
Principal 

SZapp - Schoolzine App

SZapp is a mobile app that’s free for parents to download and is a great way to keep up to date with all of our latest news and information. You will find tiles for the latest newsletter, Class Dojo, SEQTA, links to the absentee form and more.  Click the link below to find out how to set up the app.
The code to access the Szapp is 2733.

Religious Education

Father Gerard's 20th Anniversary of Ordination 
Congratulations to Father Gerard who celebrated his 20th Anniversary of Priesthood on St Patrick's Day – Wednesday 17 March, our year five students presented him with gifts at the end of their Family Mass on Saturday evening. Classes made cards for him and these were given to him after Parish Mass on Wednesday. Thank you to our year five teachers and students for organising our first Family Mass. 

Be More Fundraiser – Pot of Gold  
On Wednesday the school added "green" to their daily uniform as a means of raising funds for Project Compassion. All were encouraged to place a gold coin into the 'pot of gold', which raised an amazing amount of $646.00
Thank you everyone for your continued generosity. 

Year Three Reconciliation 
The Sacrament of First Reconciliation will be held at St Lawrence's Church on Saturday March 27th: 3:00- 5:30pm, we keep our year three students in our prayers as they prepare to make their first confession with Father Gerard. 

Mass of Oils 
Our Year Six student leaders and their families will represent our school at the Mass of Oils on Wednesday 24 March. Students are asked to wear their correct school uniform.
This Mass is held at St Francis Xavier Cathedral and begins at 5:00pm. 

Year of St Joseph – Feast Day March 19 
Pope Francis has declared 2021 the Year of St Joseph, his Feast Day is celebrated on March 19.

Prayer to St Joseph: 
St Joseph, whose protection is so great, so strong, so prompt before the throne of God, I place in you all my interests and desires. 
St Joseph, assist me by your powerful intercession and obtain for me from your divine son all spiritual blessings through Jesus Christ, our Lord; so that having engaged here below your heavenly power, I may offer my thanksgiving and homage to the most loving of Fathers. 
St Joseph, I never weary contemplating you and Jesus asleep in your arms. I dare not approach while he reposes near your heart. Press Him in my name and kiss his fine head for me, and ask him to return the kiss when I draw my dying breath. St. Joseph, patron of departing souls, pray for us.  
Amen 

Consultation for Women 
Catholic women are being invited to participate in a national consultation via Zoom on March 27. The event invites women to articulate and celebrate their contribution to and vision for the mission of the Catholic Church in Australia. The event is being organised by the Bishops Commission for Evangelisation, Laity and Ministry. Find more information on the home page of the Geraldton Diocese Website https://www.geraldtondiocese.org.au/

200 Years of Catholic Education in Australia
In 2021 we celebrate 50 years since the Bishops of Western Australia brought together Catholic schools across their four Dioceses into one State-wide system with the establishement of the Catholic Education Commission of Western Australia.  The 50th anniversay will be celebrated alonside the 200th anniversary of Catholic Eduction in Australaia, with "Faith in the Future" as the tagline for the National bi-centenary celebrations. 
The "Faith in the Future" prayer cards will be distribted to each member of staff and all students in our school.  The National Prayer maybe used throughout the year of celebrations, at school assemblies, Masses or special liturgies.

Administration News

NAPLAN Practice Test 
As a part of the preparation for NAPLAN in Term 2, Years 3 & 5 will be participating in a Practice Session next week, Thursday 25th March at 9:00am. This will enable the students to become familiar with the online format, plus test the technical capabilities for all schools.

School Photos
A reminder that school photos will take place on Wednesday 24 March and Thursday 25 March. Children will need to wear full school uniform, Greys for boys and school dress for girls.  Please see the schedule below: 
Wednesday 24 March 
7:45am-8:45am       Family Photos with Surname (A-L) 
9:00am-10:40am   PPB, Kindy 1 (Mrs Casey) , Kindy 2 (Miss Ellis),                                                Kindy 3 (Mrs Crudeli), PPO 
11:10am-12:45pm   PPZ, 5M, 5B, 5C, 3D, 3K 
1:30pm-2:30pm       3T, 4A, 4B, 4W 

Thursday 25 March 
7:45am-8:45am       Family Photos with Surname (M-Z) 
9:00am-10:45am     1I, 1B, 1D, 2J, 2SM, 2ST, 6M 
11:10am-12:45pm   6W, 6R, Year 6 Grad Photo, Ministry Leaders, Class Leaders, Head Boy & Girl 

Shop for Schools 
Kyme and Stuart from Rigters Supermarkets Geraldton would like to congratulate STLPS for our efforts towards the Shop for Schools total $6357.84. 
We have received a cheque for St Lawrence’s Primary School of $163.04.
Thank you to Rigters for such a wonderful initiative. You can support Shop for Schools by simply letting the check-out operator at any Rigters Supermarket know that you would like your points to go to STLPS. 

Parking Issues 
Parents, please be mindful when parking around the school. If you are not a Kindy or Pre-primary parent, could I please encourage you not to use the Davis Street car park and Fitzgerald Hall block. This becomes very busy especially on a Wednesday when we have all 3 Kindy classes attending school. Could I please encourage parents of Yr 1-6 children to use the Mary and Railway Street Kiss and Drop zones as an alternative. 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to the following children who have recently celebrated birthdays: Joby H, Lucas S, Lahni E, Mostyn W, Odin B, Diezel B, Malayah B, Saige T, Darcy L, Blake G, Evelyn S, Isaac P, Kai S, Jake R, Logan K, Dusty M, Joshua P, Izabella H, Eden S, Leo J, Kenli F, Charli I, Kye C, Noah W, Dominic P, Lily G, Vittani J, Garry R, Taya G,           Cruz MacD, Matilda T, Maveric H.

Merit Certificate Recipients

News from Year 5

P&F News

I would like to start by saying thank you to the group who took time to support the P&F and came to our meeting on Monday afternoon. It was a great feeling to have to gather more chairs and squeeze in to make more room for the new faces at the table. Remember everyone is always welcome and we are looking for new ideas for fundraising and what our school community would like to fundraise for.  

Easter Raffle is next week!
It’s here -  the 2021 Easter Raffle. To help everyone with your planning here is another reminder of our timeline.

Monday 22 March - raffle ticket books will be sent home with your eldest child. Tickets are priced at $1 each. Ticket sales will need to be finalised by Tuesday 30 March with all books and monies returned to the front office. When selling tickets please ensure your child’s class is written clearly in that section on the ticket butt so we can ensure that the winners claim their prize.

Wednesday 24 March - bring your Easter egg donations to school! Crates will be in every classroom and remain until Tuesday 30th March.

Wednesday 31 March - Raffles will be drawn at 12pm. Mr Tunchon will draw each raffle. Winners will be notified and prizes delivered to the classroom indicated on the ticket. All winners will be published in our school newsletter and via social media.

A big thankyou to Stacey Williamson who has coordinated the Easter Raffle this year.

Bogan Bingo
The first subcommittee meeting for the much anticipated Bogan Bingo Night was held on Monday directly after the P&F Meeting. We have a very talented group of parents who have come together to coordinate various aspects of the evening and would like to put the call out to our school community for some assistance in those areas.

Dee Watts and Sally Mills-Marshall are the Theme and Decorations Coordinators. They will be putting a call out for some special items to transform the Undercover Area into a Bogan’s Haven. If you can assist these ladies in any way, please get in contact with them.

Amanda Sattary and Clare Bickers are coordinating prizes for winners of the bingo and other games as well as donations for a Silent Auction to be held during the night. If you would like to make a donation of cash or vouchers to purchase prizes or contribute an item for the auction, please contact either of these ladies. Already we have had such positive support for the auction.

Hopefully you have saved the date for this event. It will be held on the 29 May, in the UCA at St Lawrence’s with Anne Williams and Jody Quadrio the Bogan Bingo Masters for the evening. The night will be BYO snacks and drinks. Tickets will be capped for 200 bogans with tables of 10 available. More information of when and how to purchase tickets will be released early next term. So start planning your outfits and make yourself eligible for a chance at being crowned King or Queen Bogan. There are some really great prizes (and some dodgy ones too) up for grabs throughout the night.

Upcoming Events - Term 2 & 3
At Monday’s meeting the possibilities of holding a Disco for each group of children and a Movie Night was discussed. To make these events happen we will need to gather a subcommittee of Disco Ducks and Movie Directors to coordinate and supervise. If you are interested in helping out, please contact me. Discussing possibilities of dates and how these events might look will be on the agenda for a meeting next term.

Minutes of P&F Meetings
You can keep up to date with the items discussed at our meetings. Minutes for each meeting are promptly uploaded to our social platforms and the website by our Secretary Melissa Smith.

Requests for Funding ideas
As communicated previously we have developed a funding request application. If you have an idea that would benefit our children at school, please contact Melissa Smith our Secretary and she will make one available to you for collection. If you are seeking funding requests we do ask that the request is submitted as an agenda item and you be present at the meeting to make your pitch for approval. We are really keen to assist where we can and encourage you to put your ideas to us.

All the best everyone for the remainder of the term.

Kind regards

Julie O’Malley
President

Community Notices

BLUFF POINT DENTAL
The Bluff Point DTC had an internal water leak during the Christmas break and consequently the clinic is closed until cupboards/bench tops can be replaced. 
The Bluff Point DTC is closed until further notice. If you have an appointment, we will contact you to reschedule. In the case of emergency only, please contact the Allendale DTC 99214218 or the Rangeway DTC on 99214373.