Dear Parents/Caregivers, Students, Staff, and Friends of St Raphael’s School,
Welcome to the new 2022 school year. Not quite the start to school that we had anticipated yet here we are in the middle of Week 2, and it would seem that school life has continued as smoothly as possible for students. A tremendous thank you to all our families for helping us navigate our way around all the restrictions in place regarding our students returning to school. Whether you were home supervising your child’s learning or bringing your child/ren to school, it has been a team effort. An enormous thank you also to our staff for their diligence in providing learning that is both engaging and professionally delivered.
Our new Reception students have demonstrated their ‘resilient’ disposition daily as they have walked into school with confidence and enthusiasm. Next week will look different as we welcome all our students back face to face learning at school.
Welcome New Families and Staff Members
We welcome all our new families who have joined our school community. Students joining us this year are Ishivaay D, Kaiden C, Braxton C, Mikaela G, Miroslawa G, Reggie K, Vincent M, Arlo N, Leornard P, Olivia P, Amithi S, Joshua V, Max V and Lucas X.
We welcome our new staff members, Mrs Mandy Flynn, Performing Arts Teacher, Miss Vanessa Gentilcore, Year 2 Teacher, Ms Jasmine Jenkins, Education Support Officer, Curriculum Support and Mrs Hannah Reid, Physical Education Teacher/Coordinator.
Building refurbishment
We are almost ready to move our Year 5 and 6 classes upstairs. We are just waiting on a few specifications to be completed. The third room will be used as our STEM room and this will allow all students, Receptions to Year 6, to use the new learning space. Later this term we will hold an official Opening and Blessing of our new facilities, and we hope to invite all families.
Parent/Caregiver Conversations
This week class teachers have organised ‘Parent/Caregiver Conversations’ with families. This is an opportunity for parents/caregivers to share your aspirations for your child/ren and to share other information with teachers. As we cannot have an official ‘Welcome Night’ due to COVID restrictions, we thought that we would make contact and have a one to one conversation instead. If you have not already done so, please contact your child’s teacher as the online booking system has since closed.
Parents and Friends News
We held our P&F Meeting last night over Microsoft Teams. Our P&F members are Gemma Cooper, Julia Bilibio, Kate Saunders and Theresa Fletcher. Katrina Tucker, Marketing and Communications Coordinator, has written a summary of our meeting and we hope that you can keep Sunday 6 March free for our first P&F event.
Face to Face Return
Next week all students return to face to face learning at school. I ask that parents/caregivers use the Kiss N Drop for the delivery and collection of children. There are two teachers on duty each morning and students are supervised from 8:30 am. We are required to limit parents/caregivers on school grounds until the beginning of Week 5, Monday 28 February. If parents/caregivers need to come on to the school site, masks must be worn and the COVID-SAfe check in continues to apply.
With every best wish,
Mia Harms
Principal
Welcome to the new school year
A warm welcome to you all as we commence our new school year, albeit a little differently! The hybrid start to 2022 has brought some challenges as well as adaptability and creativity. We really do appreciate the support of all our families as we navigate remote learning and government directives. In addition, we commend our teachers for their diligence and commitment to providing quality learning. Our school site does feel different without all our wonderful children here and it highlights how much we truly value connecting and interacting with our young people face to face. We hope we can resume to ‘normality’ very soon. In the meantime, be kind to yourselves and each other.
We are very blessed to be part of such a beautiful school community here at St Raphael’s School. I hope 2022 is a prosperous year and we continue to connect with our Catholic faith and spirituality which is an important facet of our school life. Part of our core work as educators in Catholic schools is to work in partnership with you. We are all responsible for educating the whole person, that is, our children’s moral, intellectual, physical, social, spiritual and religious development. We look forward to doing that through our Crossways Religious Education curriculum and Made in the Image of God program and through our spiritual experiences such as prayer, meditation, gratitude journaling and the many liturgical celebrations we participate in throughout the school year. If you have any questions or ideas to further develop the spiritual dimension of our school please contact me for a chat.
Sacramental Program 2022
St Paul of the Cross Parish, Glen Osmond/ Parkside invites you to consider whether your child is ready to begin the formal preparation for the Sacraments of Confirmation and First Holy Communion. Our Sacramental preparation process begins with enrolment. If you wish to enrol your child or children, then please contact the Parish Office. Enrolment forms are due by 25 February. There will be a Parent Information session held in March. Should you have any further questions about the program please contact Sue Schulz, Pastoral Associate on 83381277 or myself here at school. We look forward to the opportunity of connecting with you and your child on this wonderful journey. There are enrolment forms available at the Front Office.
School Mercy Values
As part of our school's Strategic Intent for 2022-2024 we have identified a refreshed school vision, including the naming of three mercy values that align with the school we desire to be. As a staff, we unpacked the plethora of mercy values and identified ones that resonated with our understanding of our school community. We will invite our learners to also explore these values next week, as well as our parent community. Please keep an eye out for email correspondence inviting you to be part of this discernment. Our aim is to identify three mercy values, in conjunction with our five learner dispositions, that we aspire to be as a community at St Raphael's School.
I came across the following poem that made me smile and highlighted the more positive aspects of the times we are living in…….
Imagine if Dr Seuss were alive today, he might write something like this:
The buildings were big and people would smile
And travel they would mile by mile
But sick they became, in numbers it grew
Businesses worried, and communities too.
Things stopped for a bit, the world slowed its roll
The virus had certainly taken its toll.
But what they then saw from slowing things down.
Is in fact they now had less reasons to frown.
Families now gathered, what game shall we play?
Pass me the blue crayon, please give me the grey.
Parents are home. They’ll read us a book.
Then all of us together will cook.
The lungs of the planet caught a small break.
Less travel meant less pollution to make.
People did realise they’d all be ok.
They don’t need much so much to get through the day.
Maybe this virus that caused so much stress
Showed the whole world that more can mean less.
Anonymous, Inspired by Dr Seuss.
Wishing you a wonderful week ahead.
God bless,
Kelly Manera
Assistant Principal Religious Identity and Mission
High levels of learning and belonging for all
Late last year our Board approved the St Raphael’s School Strategic Intent for 2022-2024. As a part of this forward planning process, which was based on the feedback we received from students, families and staff, we identified a refreshed school vision which encapsulates the trajectory we have been travelling to continuously improve learning. This vision and strategic plan will be shared with our community in the coming weeks but at its heart is the commitment that high levels of learning and belonging is the entitlement of every student in the St Raphael’s School community.
We know that good learning happens when learners feel connected, respected and valued. Over the past week, despite rather challenging circumstances, I have witnessed many instances where teachers have been ‘setting the scene’ for good learning. As I have moved in and out of learning spaces, I have noticed teachers facilitating online meetings where classmates, some of whom have not yet met in person, are invited to share together, pray together and connect. These opportunities, and others, are carefully constructed to help build trusting and respectful relationships, setting strong foundations for learner wellbeing and the development of learning skills such as collaboration and responsibility. For our younger learners, there have also been opportunities to engage in creative play, developing vitally important social, language and motor skills along with thinking and problem-solving skills. Again, these foundations need to be laid and strong, in order that all our students can learn and belong at high levels in 2022 and beyond.
Marianne Farrugia
Director of Learning
Hi everyone and welcome back! I hope your family had a fun filled and relaxing break together and are looking forward to an exciting year in P.E!
One of the many great things I have quickly discovered though online learning is how much value St Raphael’s School community places on our children being healthy and active. This can be seen, in part, by how many of our students participate in team or individual sports throughout the year. It's great hearing the children describe their athletic exploits and the fun they are having while playing. My hope is that by trying a variety of sports, your child will be equipped with experiences that will take them through life. The focus of the P.E. program is to provide your child with the environment, instruction and encouragement needed to engage and thrive in order to promote living a healthy and active lifestyle.
Term 1 is jam-packed as always with plenty of exciting opportunities for students to participate in a variety of sporting experiences. Thank you to those families who have registered for Term 1 cricket, I will be in touch with you over the next week. Our annual SACSSPA Swimming Carnival will be held on Thursday 24 March at the SA Aquatic Centre. Please note that we will be holding swimming trials after school on Monday 7 March, Friday 11 March and Friday 18 March at Norwood Pool. I will provide more details about this in the next few weeks.
Please be aware that there has been a change in dates for our Sports Day, it will now be held on Thursday of Week 10, 7 April. When all students are back on site, we will be starting our preparation for this. I look forward to working with all year levels to ensure that they are best prepared for this fun filled day.
Yours in sport,
Hannah Reid
P.E.Teacher and Sports Coordinator
School fees
Fee statements will be sent out in the coming weeks to all families once school is back to a normal routine for families.
Please assist us by keeping fee payments up to date.
If you have having difficulties paying school fees, it is important that you contact the school Finance Office to discuss and make alternate payment arrangements. 2022 School Card applications are also available online or in paper form. We ask that in both instances that you continue to contribute towards fees prior to any approval or assistance.
Thank you.
​Damian Emery
Finance Officer
Ph: 8272 2368 accounts@raph.catholic.edu.au
Last night the Parents and Friends Committee held their first meeting for 2022 with committee members Gemma Cooper, Julia Bilibio, Kate Saunders and Theresa Fletcher. At the meeting it was confirmed that monies raised through last years Fathers Day Stall were spent on purchasing decodable readers for our learners and we want to thank all the volunteers and our community for taking part in this annual event. The P&F committee is also excited to announce its first event for the year – a school playdate at Marshmallow Park on 6 March from 2 – 4pm, please keep an eye out for the Facebook event, coming soon. The committee also started its busy work on scheduling events and activities for 2022, including our Trivia Night on 14 May. To ensure an active and prosperous year the P&F will be sending out an invitation for volunteers in the next few weeks. If you would like to be a part of the P&F please email Katrina at k.tucker@raph.catholic.edu.au
Katrina Tucker
Marketing and Communitcations Coordinator
My name is Sarah Byrnes and I have been a school counsellor for four years. I am originally from Sydney and moved to Adelaide at the end of 2020 due to family reasons surrounding the dreaded COVID. I have two school age children of my own and a new cavoodle puppy. I love working with children and helping them navigate struggles that they may be experiencing and implementing strategies to support their needs. Essentially, my role is to listen without judgement, and make a child feel safe and heard. I will be at St Raphael's School on Wednesdays and look forward to supporting your child should they need it. The process for accessing school counselling is to complete a referral form which may be done by you, or together with your child's teacher. From there, I will contact you to get further information. Year 5 and 6 students have permission to self-refer. I look forward to getting to know the students and families of St Raphael's School.
Children are to enter and alight from the left side of the car only.
Children must be able to get into the car and put on their own seatbelt while the driver remains in the car.
If your child cannot alight from the car by themselves you will need to park in the surrounding streets and walk to the school gate.
Staff are on duty until 3:30pm. If you are unable to collect your child by this time please contact the school and your child will be looked after in Out of School Hours Care (OSHC) until you arrive. A minimal cost will occur for this service.
A reminder to all parent and carers that the KISS ‘N’ DROP is a NO PARKING ZONE. Please do not leave your car unattended.
Important Dates
Year 6 Leadership Retreat
Shrove Tuesday
Ash Wednesday
Swimming Trials Commence
Adelaide Cup Public Holiday
Pupil Free Day
Annual General Meeting
Swimming Carnival (Year 3 - 6)
Year 6 Aquatics
Parent/Teacher Learning Conversations commence
Sports Day 2022
Pupil Free Days 2022
Term 1 Tuesday 15 March
Term 2 Friday 8 July
Term 3 Monday 25 July
Term 4 Monday 17 October and Friday 16 December
We Need You!
Have you thought about becoming part of our School Board? We are looking to recruit new members and if you are interested please contact Mia Harms mharms@raph.catholic.edu.au
St Raphael's School Uniform
Our students are expected to wear the school uniform at all times.
It is the responsibility of all parents/caregivers to ensure that students comply with the School Uniform Policy which is available here for you to read.
Ice Blocks
Students can purchase ice blocks from the school Canteen at lunch time on Thursdays and Fridays. All ice blocks cost $1. Cash only sales.
Eat on Glen Osmond Lunch Orders
From next week, Thursday 17 February, Eat on Glen Osmond will again be providing lunch orders for our students on Thursdays and Fridays.
Please remember to place your child’s lunch order using the Qkr App before 9:00am when orders close.
Scholastic Book Club orders are due by Friday 18 February 2022. We are unable to process late orders.
Social