St Raphael's School Newsletter 7, 2024

At St Raphael's, we deeply value the voice of our community and appreciate your feedback regarding our communication channels. Your input is vital in helping us enhance our connection with you and ensuring that important information reaches you effectively.

You have told us what you want, and we have listened. We are excited to announce that we will be making Seesaw our main channel for communication with families.

Seesaw will be used for:

1. Whole School Events: Keep informed about upcoming school-wide events and important announcements.
2. Class-Specific Activities: Stay updated on activities and events specific to your child's class.
3. Your Child's Learning: Receive insights and updates on your child's progress and learning journey.

To simplify and streamline our communication, we will begin phasing out Audiri. We believe that consolidating our communication channels will provide a more cohesive and user-friendly experience for our families. We thank you for your ongoing support and for being active participants in our school community. Your feedback is invaluable, and we are committed to continuously improving our communication with you.

To ensure that all families can fully utilise Seesaw and take advantage of its features, we will be hosting workshops both online and face-to-face. These workshops will provide guidance on using Seesaw effectively, helping you stay connected with your child's learning and school activities.

Workshop Details:

Online Workshop: Date and time to be announced.
Face-to-Face Workshop: Date and time to be announced.

Should you have any questions or need assistance with Seesaw, please do not hesitate to contact the school.

We are delighted to announce that our front carpark is now officially open and ready for use! This new addition is a significant milestone for our school community, and we are excited about the convenience and safety it will provide for our families.

To ensure a smooth and efficient process, we kindly remind all families that pick up and drop off between 9:00 AM and 3:00 PM should take place through the front carpark. This will help us maintain a safe and organised environment for our students.

Thank you for your continued support and collaboration in making St Raphael's a safe and welcoming environment for our students. If you have any questions or need further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact the school office.

The Catholic Education SA (CESA) Live, Learn, Lead survey is an important tool used by schools and CESA to track school satisfaction data. You are invited to participate in a short (5/10minute) survey about St Raphael’s School Performance. Similar surveys are being administered to all staff and students (from Year 2 through Year 6) to enable us to capture a snapshot of the performance of our school. The information provided is used to affirm the strengths of the school, whilst also providing feedback to identify areas of opportunity to improve the school. This data can be useful to inform decision making when planning the schools Strategic Goals for the short and long term.

All responses are confidential and anonymous – and all information is used for school improvement purposes. Completion of the survey is on a voluntary basis.

We would like as many parents/caregivers of our school to complete the survey to provide feedback across the various domains of the survey. To access the survey please complete the following steps:

• Navigate to this website.
• https://www.nsipartnerships.com.au/
• Click on the “Start Questionnaire” box.
• Enter the unique school code: SRSPLLLP
• The survey closes on Friday, 23 August 2024 (end of Week 5).

As we begin to prepare for the 2025 school year, we kindly ask for your assistance in confirming your child/children’s status for the upcoming year. This information is crucial for our planning and helps us ensure a smooth transition into the new school year.

To help us with this process, if you are no longer continuing with St Raphael’s in 2025 could you please email Emma Fowler at efowler@raph.catholic.edu.au with the following details by Friday, 30 August 2024

• Student Name:
• Current Year Level:
• Intended School for 2025: Leaving
• Reason:

We understand that family circumstances can change, and students may leave our school. This is why we request this information at this time. Additionally, I would like to remind families that they are required to provide one school term’s notice of their intention to withdraw their child from our school. Failure to do so will result in incurring one term’s school fees in lieu of notice.

Thank you for your cooperation and support as we plan for another wonderful year at St Raphael's School.

Dear families and friends,

Hasn’t it been cold!  It is very timely that last week, a van from the St. Vincent De Paul Society came and collected a wheelie bin full of beautifully hand knitted beanies along with a variety of good quality, warm clothing items.  Added to these were many boxes of cans and long-life food items, which were donated on the last day of Term 2 on our ‘Wear Your Winter Woollies Day’.  Many sincere thanks on behalf of Vinnie’s, to all our families for their amazing generosity!  All of these  are probably already being put to good use, supporting those in the community who really need a helping hand.

Our senior students created and drew the design for classes to place their donated food items on. They decided on a heart shape and wrote Vinnies on the inside.  From this angle, it looks a bit like a gigantic set of Rosary beads!

St. Raphael’s Knitting Club Returns

Sue Schulz, our Parish Pastoral Associate, is once again generously sharing her time and skills with our community.  She will be joining us at Recess each Tuesday, to run the St. Raphael’s Knitting Club.  All the materials will be supplied for the students and it is open to all Year Levels.  We will keep you updated with their progress!

News from the Parish of St. Paul of the Cross

• The next Family Friendly Children’s Mass will be held on Sunday August 18, 5pm at the Monastery.  Please see the flyer included with this newsletter for more details.
• Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults - Ever thought about becoming Catholic? Want to learn more about the Catholic faith? Wish to prepare for Baptism and/or Confirmation?  St Paul of the Cross Parish, Glen Osmond/Parkside invites you to our Enquiry Meeting to start the journey. This meeting will be held on Tuesday 13th of August at 7pm in the Sebastian Centre (behind St Paul of the Cross Church).  RSVP to Sue Schulz at the Parish office on 8338 1277 or sue.schulz@themonastery.net.au for catering and resource purposes.
• Sacramental Programme – the Children’s Confirmation Ceremony will be held on Wednesday August 21, 7pm at St. Paul’s Church.  First Holy Communion is on the following Sunday August 25, 11am at St. Raphael’s Church.  All are most welcome to come along and join in the celebrations.

I will leave you with some wisdom from St. Mary of the Cross MacKillop, as it is her Feast Day on August 8th…

“Love one another, bear with one another, and let charity guide you all your life.”33

Blessings to you all,

Tanya, APRIM

We are delighted to announce our annual Mini Monets Art Exhibition at The Monastery!

Join us for an evening of creativity and celebration this Friday, August 9, starting at 4 PM.

The grand opening night will feature:

• A stunning display of our young artists' masterpieces
• Refreshing drinks and delectable canapés
• An opportunity to mingle with fellow art enthusiasts and proud parents

The exhibition will remain open throughout the weekend, allowing ample time for friends, family, and community members to admire the artworks created by our students.

This event is a wonderful occasion to:

• Celebrate the artistic talents within our school community
• Support and encourage our budding artists
• Witness the growth and development of our students' creative skills

Opening of event - Friday August 9 from 4pm till 7pm.  There will be drinks and nibbles 
Saturday - 10am till 12pm
Sunday - 10.30am till 12pm
Venue - The Monastery - in the Dollard and Crowe Rooms

Join us at The Monastery. We look forward to seeing you there!

On Wednesday, August 14, we invite all students to dress up as their favourite superhero. This fun activity serves as a powerful reminder that we all have the strength to stand up against bullying and support each other. 

Celebrating Peace and Harmony at Our School

At St Raphael's School, we are deeply committed to fostering an environment of peace, harmony, kindness, and respect. We believe in the power of being gentle and kind to one another, and we strive to create a community where everyone feels safe and valued.

This year, we are proud to mark August 14th as National Anti-Bullying Day with our superhero dress up. This day is a significant part of Bullying No Way Week, held from August 12th to 16th, 2024. The theme for this year is "Everyone Belongs," emphasising the importance of inclusivity and standing up against unkindness. When we all feel like we belong, bullying struggles to find a place .

We are also inspired by the efforts of organisations like Bully Zero, who are hosting National Bullying Prevention Week from August 12th to 18th, 2024. Their dedication to preventing bullying and promoting safe environments aligns perfectly with our school's values.

We have a zero-tolerance policy towards bullying. We are committed to taking action and empowering our students, staff, and community to be part of the solution. 

Our initiatives include:

• Promoting awareness and understanding of bullying and its impacts.
• Implementing practical and lasting solutions to prevent bullying.
• Encouraging students to speak up and support each other.
• Providing resources and support for those affected by bullying.

Join us in this important cause as we work together to create a safe and inclusive environment for everyone. Let's stand up against bullying and make our school a place where kindness and respect thrive.

For more information on how you can get involved, visit the Bullying No Way Week website and learn about Hiro's story and the impact of National Bullying Prevention Week here.

To help ensure our Community Fair Day runs smoothly we need your help.

Please take a look at the volunteer roster for the day and if you can volunteer your valuable time it would be appreciated!

Volunteer Roster can be found here. 

Parent educative session around the topic of behaviour at home.

Led by Madhavi Nawana Parker - Managing Director • Author • Coach • Speaker of: Positive Minds Australia.

16 September from 6:15pm at school.

Please RSVP

To facilitate attendance for all adults in the family, we are pleased to offer free child supervision during the event. If you would like to take advantage of this offer, please indicate this on the form when you RSVP.

Dear School Families,

We are excited to announce that our Annual School Photos Day will take place on Friday, September 20. We want all our students to look bright and smart for their photos, and we kindly ask for your support in helping them achieve this.

Dress Code Expectations

To ensure that our students present themselves in the best possible light, we ask that they adhere to the following guidelines:

Neat and Tidy Appearance:

Please ensure that students are well-groomed and presentable.
Students are to wear their full PE uniform or their New school uniform.
Year 6 are to wear their Year 6 jumpers please.

This includes avoiding non-uniform items such as:

• Crazy hair clips
• Casual weekend jumpers.
• Socks in colors other than those specified in our uniform policy

Upholding Our Standards Every Day

We believe that maintaining a neat and uniform appearance fosters a sense of pride in our school community. We encourage our students to uphold these standards not just on Photo Day, but every day. By wearing their school uniform with pride, students contribute to a positive school environment and a sense of belonging.

Support for Families

We understand that there may be circumstances where families need assistance in meeting these expectations. If you are facing challenges in ensuring your child adheres to the uniform policy, please do not hesitate to reach out to us for support. We are here to help!

Thank you for your cooperation and support in making our school a place of pride and excellence. We look forward to seeing all our students looking their best on Photo Day!