End of Year Events

Mrs Michelle McDonnell - Principal

Planning is underway for our end of year Presentation Events.  Due to restrictions, changes have needed to be made to the dates previously advertised in the printed school calendar.  Further information regarding specific times and parent participation in these events will be communicated in the coming weeks.

  • Wednesday 1 December - Kindergarten, Year 1 and Year 2 Presentation Event (Daytime events)
  • Thursday 2 December - Year 3 and Year 4 Presentation Event (Daytime events)
  • Friday 3 December - Year 5 and Year 6 Presentation Event (Daytime events)
  • Friday 3 December - Year 6 Graduation (Evening event)
  • Monday 6 December - Whole School Assembly (Daytime event)

Teaching & Learning - Term 4

As previously shared with families, priority in the first few weeks of face to face learning will be focused around student wellbeing. Assisting students to return to routine and connect relationally with others is paramount. Further to this, classroom teachers will provide learning experiences that enable them to observe the progress of each child in their class. 
We recognise the journey of off campus learning has been different for each child, and we are working towards ensuring we know their individual learning journey in order to collate informed data as we approach handover for 2022.

Semester 2 Reports

Families are reminded that these reports will be of a modified format. They will reflect a combination of 'off' and 'on' campus learning, acknowledging that a large portion of data will relate to off campus learning. 
Whilst summative tasks have not been utilised during this period of time, teachers will be reflecting on the myriad of learning tasks provided for students through off campus learning to provide data in relation to their engagement and achievement this semester.

ICAS Assessments

Please note the assessment dates for test administration in Week Seven:
  • Monday 15 November - English 
  • Tuesday 16 November - Mathematics
  • Wednesday 17 November - Science
  • Thursday 18 November - Digital Technologies
  • Friday 19 November - catch up assessment day

Library Returns

With the staggered return of students commencing next Monday, it would be wonderful if families could locate and return books that have been borrowed from our school library. Currently, there are restrictions as to the operation of the library, and at this point in time, borrowing new books will not be permissible. We will advise families should this be able to occur later in the term.

Band and String Ensembles

It has been wonderful to see how hard our students have worked to maintain learning an instrument during this period of time. My thanks especially to Miss Hardiman and Mrs Pollett, for their dedication in providing innovative tutorials and personalised feedback to students throughout off campus learning. 
At the moment, current restrictions inhibit the gathering of ensembles for tutorials and rehearsals. Please continue to connect with both teachers through Seesaw over the coming weeks. Further updates will be provided where applicable.

Year 6 Exhibition

Exhibition is a celebration of the PYP journey of our students, and is fast becoming a rite of passage. We are pleased to offer the school community a Virtual Exhibition in 2021. Our Year 6 students will commence planning for Exhibition next week, as part of their return to face to face learning. Students this year will be designing a collaborative website that will be shared with the school community in Week 9.
Please note this in your calendars in order to allocate time in your week to engage with the learning of our Year 6 students.

Approaches to Learning mini-series

We will continue in Week 4, with a focus on Social Skills. 

New Students

We would like to welcome the following new students to our school:

 

Option to pay 2022 Fees in Advance

Families have the option to pay the Annual Fees (Tuition, Service and Capital Works) for 2022 at current year’s rates if paid in full by Sunday, 31 October 2021.

Please click on this link: https://portal.casc.nsw.edu.au/fee-calculator/front/ to calculate an estimate of your fees payable.

To register your interest for fees in advance, please follow this link: https://portal.casc.nsw.edu.au/fobi/view/fees-in-advance-eoi/public/.
Registering your interest does not commit you to paying fees in advance.
 
If you have any questions about fees in advance, please email: casc@casc.nsw.edu.au or call 4628 0110 for assistance.

School Calendar

Term 4
Tuesday, 5 October 2021 - Tuesday, 7 December 2021  
Week 3
Monday, 18 October 2021
Pre-Kindergarten, Kindergarten, Year 1, Year 2 and Year 6 - Return to Face to Face Learning
Week 4
Monday, 25 October 2021

Years 3, Years 4 and Years 5 - Return to Face to Face Learning

 
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Balancing Risk, Anxiety and Opportunity

I don't know about you, but one thing that has caused me anxiety since the easing of lockdown earlier this week, has been the midnight lines at Kmart, and other places. I am really looking forward to catching up with friends and family, although if truth be told, I'm a little anxious about being out in the crowd. Perhaps you're feeling similarly? 

School realistically is no different. There will be some that are like the crowds waiting at midnight to be let into Kmart and others that would prefer to wait at home as long as possible, having pivoted, discovered the benefits of online shopping or in our case off campus learning. 

With our return to school, there is an element of risk. There is an element of anxiety amongst parents, staff and students. Yet this is balanced, and here at St Peter's, it is balanced well. 

Our protocols and systems will support our community to be as safe as we can. We acknowledge that we are still in the midst of a pandemic and with that comes risk, but also we approach next week with the guidelines and the advice of the health officials and experts who are advising us of how we can be as safe as possible. 

There has been further information separately for families on the return to school. We do expect students to return and look forward to returning to face to face learning. If you are feeling anxious about this, know you are not alone. Know we are doing all we can to be safe and follow guidelines and advice. We balance the risk, the anxiety and the benefits, always with the best interests of our students in mind. 

May our good God continue to guide and support you and your family at this time. 

Mr Brendan Gorman
Headmaster

Staffing Updates - The Preparatory School

Over the past few months there have been some significant staffing updates, partly as we prepare for the commencement of secondary and St Peter's Heart. I am incredibly thankful for the provision of outstanding staff for our school community. 

Mr Andrew Raft has been appointed as the (Acting) Head of the Preparatory School. Andrew is well known in our community as a capable leader of people. Having worked tirelessly in his 4 years at St Peter’s, Andrew has overseen our students and family services, taking the opportunity of teaching Year 3 this year, to gain further insight into the benefits of the PYP as a classroom teacher. Andrew will oversee all of Pre Kindergarten to Year 6 under my oversight. 

Mrs Danielle Willis has been appointed to teach Pre Kindergarten in 2022. Danielle has previously taught in our school and is looking forward to the opportunities of teaching in Pre Kindergarten again. 

Mrs Lauren Trotter has been appointed as a Pre Kindergarten teacher also. Lauren is an experienced and talented early years educator and is excited about the opportunities at St Peter's. 

Mr Tim Vernon has been appointed permanently as our PE Teacher and Sport Coordinator. Tim has done a wonderful job throughout the challenges of lockdown and is looking forward to having students return. 

Mrs Justine Holmes will be taking a year of study leave in 2022 to sharpen her approach to language teaching. Mrs Tamsin Weir will be teaching German in 2022. 

Miss Georgina Garrett has been appointed as a Teacher to cover Mrs Jenn Thomas' maternity leave position in 2022.

Mrs Alison Smith returns as our EAL/D specialist from maternity leave at the commencement of Term 4. 

Mrs Danielle Sultana  has returned as the School Nurses (2 days per week) from maternity leave at the commencement of Term 4. 

Mrs Katie Rowley has been appointed as our new Admin Assistant/ Clinic Supervisor. Katie has done a tremendous job filling in with our clinic and with the expansion of the School and the addition of St Peter’s Heart, will be a great addition to the team.

Staffing Updates - The Middle School

Mr Anthony Kelshaw has been appointed as our Head of the Middle School. Tony is a talented PE teacher and joins us from Mamre Anglican School. Tony has already commenced working, focusing on commencement of the year activities, staffing, resourcing, timetables and calendar of events.

Mr Phillip Gentile has been appointed as our Dean of CAPA. Phillip will be teaching Maths, Music and Biblical Studies and will be overseeing our Music and Creative Arts Co-Curricular programmes from Pre - Kindergarten - Year 7. A talented Maths and Music Teacher, Phillip joins us from Penrith Christian School. 

Mr Jon Seccombe has been appointed as our English teacher and will oversee our Collab Time initiative. Jon joins us from Shellharbour Anglican College where he is currently the Head of Humanities. Jon has previously been the Head of English at Thomas Hassall Anglican College.

Staffing Update - St Peter's Heart

Mrs Kelly Peters joins us from the Department of Education as the Director of St Peter's Heart. Kelly will oversee this school under my leadership and is excited about the unique opportunities of Heart. 

 Mrs Cherry Lapid has been appointed as Teacher Assistant, St Peter's Heart transferring from our OSHC and Learning Enhancement Teams. A fantastic addition to the team at Heart. 

Mrs Marcela Ball has been appointed as a Teacher Assistant, St Peter's Heart, joining us from the Department of Education. A talented assistant, Marcela will be invaluable to the team at Heart. 

Miss Kym Busutel and Mrs Heather Gillespie have been appointed as the teachers at St Peter's Heart for 2022. We are very excited about what these staff will bring to the team.

Enrolment Vacancies

There are limited vacancies at St Peter's Heart. Please encourage anyone you know that may be interested to apply sooner rather than later.

Year 7 2022 and 2023 interviews are ongoing and being conducted now.

Pre Kindergarten interviews and limited Kindergarten – Year 6 positions are available for 2022.   Please refer to the website for details on how to apply.
www.stpeters.nsw.edu.au/admissions

Squid Game

Some may be aware of the conversations around the Netflix series, Squid Game. Whilst I don't wish to highlight an individual series as there are numerous dangerous programmes and content, I did feel it necessary to highlight this particular series. 

Squid Games is a violent and aggressive show which many students across the globe are replicating in playgrounds and homes. Whilst this hasn't been the case at St Peter's, and staff are vigilant in their supervision, it is important that as parents, we are aware of the content our children are consuming.
 
It is always helpful to check your settings in relation to the content children can access. Providers are now always clear and as updates occur, settings can at times reset. Protecting our children from dangerous content is so important in this day and age.

As a Preparatory School, I recommend that our students are not watching such programmes.

A great resource to assist parents' decisions is common sense media. A non profit organisation that seeks to assist parents in making informed decisions on the content their children consume, this has been a staple in my own household. 
 
Please do not hesitate to reach out to wellbeing@stpeters.nsw.edu.au if you'd like further advice.