Parents and Friends Committee:

This morning we held our first meeting for our Parents and Friends Committee. It was nice to meet so many parents keen to support our school. If anyone would like to join or support these initiatives, please get in touch with school administration and they will connect you with the group. The committee has agreed to the following fundraisers throughout the first half of the year.

Term 1:

Friday February 21 - School Athletics Day with BBQ, (sausages in bread available to be purchased) and an onsite coffee van

Tuesday March 4 - Shrove Tuesday Pancake Celebration

Monday March 17  - Hot Cross Buns Delivered

Dates to be confirmed - Easter Raffle

Term 2:

Date to be confirmed - Mother’s Day Stall

Contacting Class Teachers:

As we embark on a new year with new families, I thought it would be timely to explain the expectations for contacting teachers.

• Email – all teachers have school email accounts that they check daily. They conform to the first letter of the first name followed by their last name then @stangelawarragul.catholic.edu.au. An example might be Steve Pitt - spitt@stangelawarragul.catholic.edu.au
• Classroom visit – before the school day when rooms open at 8.40am
• Reading Diary
• Handwritten note
• Contacting the office to deliver a message to students or teachers through the internal phone system.

Meetings can be organised on the request of a parent on a needs basis on a mutually agreeable time.

It is our school’s expectation that parent concerns are responded to within 24 hours via email. It is important in a growing school community that conversations and/or concerns around students, parents or teachers are treated respectfully and the correct processes are followed. At St Angela, we need to protect the privacy of every person and be respectful in our interactions with each other which includes avoiding gossiping and venting in a public forum or on social media platforms.

I’d encourage all parents to reach out to the school before airing their opinions publicly to see if we can support or provide any clarity on the issue. Our complaints and grievances policy is available on the school website where required.

Parent Teacher Interviews:

Parent teacher interviews are scheduled for Monday 17 and Tuesday 18 February. These will be held in each teacher’s classroom. We will have two designated waiting areas for families. The grade 3-6 families will wait in the STEM room and F–2 families will wait in the communal area in the F-2 building. Teachers will collect you from these areas. It is an opportune time to meet your child’s teacher, share how your child learns, give insight into their interests, strengths and weaknesses and find out how they have settled into the year.

It is crucial that interviews stick to the allocated time frames of 15 minutes as often parents book back-to-back interviews with siblings or people may have other commitments. If an interview is running longer, the teacher will stop the meeting and reschedule an additional time that is mutually agreed.

House Athletics – Friday February 21:

We have our school athletics carnival on Friday 21^st February. This day students can come dressed in their house colours. (Students House Colours are located at the bottom of their PAM accounts)

Parent and Friends (P&F) are also planning to host a BBQ for families to purchase a sausage in bread for lunch. Students will need to bring $2 to purchase a sausage in bread and students are permitted to purchase more than one. P&F are sourcing a coffee van for parents. Can parents please be mindful of carrying hot drinks on the yard with students running around and no students will be permitted to purchase a hot drink from the coffee van.

Senior Athletics will start at the Geoff Watt track in Warragul commencing after 9am. Students in 3-6 will travel by bus to and from the venue.

The Junior Athletics will commence at 12.30pm on the school oval and these events will be supported by the senior students.

St Angela’s Feast Day – Tuesday March 4:

We will celebrate the feast day of St Angela of the Cross with some classroom activities, a mass at the St Joseph’s Catholic Church and as the day coincides with Shrove Tuesday, our P&F have committed to making everyone pancakes. The Mass will take place at 12.30pm and our children will shuttle down by bus. Parents are welcome and encouraged to attend.

Andrew Chinn & Welcome BBQ – Tuesday March 18:

Please save the date on Tuesday March 18. Our school would like to invite all parents and families to a BYO dinner at 5.00pm with the concert set to take place at 6.00pm. Andrew Chinn’s concerts and workshops are celebrations of faith and fun through singing, actions and a bit of comedy as well. Children are very much encouraged to be active participants, rather than spectators during this night. Further information will be available soon.