Dear Parents,

As we celebrate the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi on October 4th, I reflect on the experience of my recent pilgrimage, retracing the footsteps of this humble saint. Walking up to the Hermitage of St. Francis, visiting La Verna where he received the stigmata, and spending time in Assisi, I was reminded of his deep connection to nature, simplicity, and unwavering faith. St. Francis' life and teachings closely mirror those of Jesus, emphasising humility, compassion, and love for all creation. Just as Jesus called us to love one another, St. Francis embraced this mission, living a life of peace, forgiveness, and selfless service. These sacred moments reminded me of the power of these teachings, which guide us toward a life of love and unity with others. His famous prayer, "Lord, make me an instrument of your peace...", remains as relevant today as ever, calling us to follow Christ’s path by bringing light where there is darkness (linking beautifully with our school theme for 2024 " Let your Light Shine"). May we, too, embrace this spirit of compassion and kindness, allowing Jesus' teachings to lead us in our daily lives.

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace:

where there is hatred, let me sow love;

where there is injury, pardon;

where there is doubt, faith;

where there is despair, hope;

where there is darkness, light;

where there is sadness, joy.

O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek

to be consoled as to console,

to be understood as to understand,

to be loved as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive,

it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,

and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

We look forward to welcoming back our students for the commencement of Term 4 on Tuesday 8 October and to a term filled with learning, reflection and celebration.  Today is our scheduled school closure; teachers will be engaging in professional learning and the sharing of evidence based practices in the area of wellbeing and reading assessments. 

2025 Preparation and Planning 

Last term I completed all Annual Review Meetings with staff and planning for 2025 is well underway. If, for some reason, your child will not be returning to St.OPPS in 2025 (apart from our Year 6 students) please send me an email or phone the school office. It is important that I am aware of any changes for future planning. 

Assembly 

A reminder that our assemblies are held fortnightly on Fridays at 2:50pm. 

Bullying- Child Safety

Conversations with children about bullying can be at times emotional. Knowing what bullying is and isn't may assist parents in navigating these conversations with their children. Not all incidents children share are necessarily bullying. Some people think that saying something they don't like or agree with is bullying. Conflict is not always bullying either: having a disagreement about the rules of a game or telling someone you don't like something are not the same as bullying.

The different types of bullying include: 

Cyberbullying: includes things like mean texts, emails, posts or images or videos over a period of time from the same group.

Physical bullying: includes things that hurt or harm a person. For example: deliberate incidents of kicking, tripping or hitting. 

Verbal bullying: includes using words that make someone feel upset, angry, embarrassed etc: I often talk to the children about teasing a person about something they can not change about themselves eg: skin colour, weight, height etc. 

Social bullying: includes things that are one to hurt someone's reputation. This can be verbal, like spreading rumours or playing mean jokes. Non verbal forms of social bullying include leaving them out. 

As a school, our young students are all learners and at times they can make good or poor choices. Education around what bullying is and isn't is imperative in supporting all students: whether your child is the victim, bully or bystander. Each incident is an opportunity to learn and educate ourselves about appropriate forms of behaviour.  

Timely communication about incidents that are bothering your child is imperative, but is also important that children access strategies if they are dealing with unkind behaviours at school. Please always remind your child to seek out assistance before the end of the school day if they feel they have been on the receiving end of perceived unkind behaviours. This allows the opportunity for communication through the sharing of both perspectives.

Here are some strategies students can use:

• Tell an adult- teachers, leaders, principal, at school can all help stop bullying.

• Avoid the bully and use the buddy system. 

• Hold the anger. 

• Act brave, walk away, and ignore the bully. 

• Talk about it.

This term our students from Year 1 - 6 will be participating in the Cyber Safety Project on ways they can keep themselves on line. We look forward to these empowering sessions for our students on Wednesday 20 November.

Classroom placement process for  2025

At this time each year, we outline the class placement process. The placement of students into classes for next year is a complex and important one. The process works as follows: 

1. Data Collection from Teachers:

Class groupings for the following year requires the teacher to have a deep knowledge of their students. We trust that our teachers’ professional judgments, observations, and record-keeping are the most accurate measures for determining the best learning and social-emotional environment for each student. The following will be taken into consideration by our teachers:

Reasons for Placing Students Together:

Positive Peer Influence: The student benefits academically, socially, or emotionally from being with a particular peer who provides a positive role model.

Mutual Support: The children share a strong, supportive friendship that enhances their confidence and engagement in learning.

Language or Cultural Support: For students who share the same language or cultural background, being together can help them adjust and feel more comfortable in the school environment.

Collaborative Learning: The students work well together and complement each other's strengths, leading to improved learning outcomes.

Academic Ability and Needs: Both students might benefit from similar educational strategies, such as working at the same academic level or having similar learning goals.

Reasons for Separating Students:

Disruptive Behaviour: The children have a history of distracting each other, leading to decreased focus or behavioural challenges in the classroom.

Conflict or Bullying: In this academic school year (2024), there has been ongoing conflict, bullying, or tension between the students, which could hinder their well-being or learning.

Over-Reliance: One student may be overly dependent on the other, preventing the development of independence or individual social skills.

Differing Academic Needs: The students have different academic abilities or learning needs that require different levels of support or instruction.

Teacher Recommendations: Educators have identified that separating the students would be in their best interest for academic, wellbeing or behavioural reasons.

These considerations help ensure that the classroom environment is conducive to each child's learning, social development, and overall well being.

2. ‘Who do you work well with?’ Form:

In the coming weeks students will be asked to nominate four other students who they ‘work well with’ in their year level. Please note the following:

• You can see we aren’t asking for a friendship circle as we don’t always necessarily work well with some of our closest friends. That doesn’t mean they won’t be in the same class together; what we’re focusing on here is prioritising strong educational relationships, more so than friendships. 

• Your child will be in a class with at least one of the four students they nominate. Due to the many moving parts in this process, we do not account for whether that child was listed first or fourth on the list, their gender, or if they were in another class this year. 

• On very rare occasions, your child may not be able to be paired with someone from their list. We will contact you and discuss this with you further if this is the case.

3. Parent Requests:

We are fortunate to have seen many advantages from our single-stream classes, such as increased engagement and confidence among students, as well as more targeted teaching and learning opportunities. Given our single-stream structure, we have limited options when it comes to regrouping students, allowing for only two possible combinations.

Therefore, parent requests for specific placements are not possible. If any parents have any relevant information that they believe is essential to the class placement process, they are invited to email me their special consideration for placement request. These requests need to be made in writing via email at principal@sopascoevale.catholic.edu.au between Tuesday 8 October- Thursday 17 October. 

Special Consideration for parent request include:

• Conflict or Bullying: In this academic school year (2024), there has been ongoing conflict or bullying between the students, which could impact their well being or learning, making separation necessary.

We will evaluate all requests and make a professional judgement on the placement of the child. The final decision rests with the school. Please keep in mind the many limitations that are already placed on the staff during this complex process. 

In conclusion, please note: Our classes for next year will be formed with the following priorities:

1. Students with at least one peer from their nominated ‘who you work well with’ list.

2. Classes with a balance of: 

• Students working above, at and towards academic level.

• Gender. 

Our classes for next year, including teachers, will be announced on the St.OPPS moving up session, on Monday 16 December.  All students will have an opportunity to spend time with their new class and teacher on this day.  Please note: No changes to classes will be made after this date. 

Dogs on School Grounds

Whilst St.OPPS understands that many families in our school community keep dogs as pets, to ensure that our school remains a safe and inclusive place for everyone, pet dogs are not permitted on MACS school grounds. Our school community is diverse and may include people that are allergic or uncomfortable around dogs. We ask that families please leave their pet dogs at home or safely tether them outside school grounds when attending our school or school events. Pets are only permitted on site with expressed permission from the Principal.

Parent/Teacher Progress Meetings 

Our Term Four Parent-Teacher Progress Meetings will be held on Monday 21 October, from 1:30 PM - 6:30PM. Students will be dismissed at 1pm.

• Each conference is allocated a 10-minute timeslot for either a face-to-face or online (via Google Meet) meeting with your child's classroom teacher.

• Face-to-face conferences are preferred however, teachers can accommodate an online conference for any extreme circumstances.

• The conference provides teachers and parents the opportunity to engage in discussion about their child's progress. 

• The Conference Portal will open via Compass at 4 pm Tuesday 8 October and will close Friday 18 October. 

• Building on the success and positive parent feedback of our previous Specialist Teacher Conferences, we are pleased to offer booking opportunities with Specialist teachers once again. Please note that parents are not required to schedule these appointments.

• An upcoming News Alert has a guide attached for parents to support booking a conference via Compass. 

If you have any further questions do not hesitate to contact Sara at sbelante@sopascoevale.catholic.edu.au

Summer Uniform - Transition

As Melbourne's weather can be quite unpredictable, we ask parents to use their discretion regarding the transition between winter and summer uniforms. We aim for a full switch to the summer uniform by Wednesday, 6 November (fingers crossed).

Please note the following guidelines regarding socks:

Girls: White, unbranded socks should be worn with both the academic dress and the sports uniform. If wearing navy pants or shorts as part of the academic uniform, girls should wear navy socks.

Boys: Navy, unbranded socks are required with the academic uniform, and white, unbranded socks are to be worn with the sports uniform.

We appreciate your support in ensuring all students adhere to our uniform standards.

Key enrolment dates for Year 5 students in 2025 starting Year 7 in 2027- Current Year 4 Families

The timeline of events and dates is as follows:

− applications for students starting Year 7 in 2027 will open on Tuesday 28 January 2025 and close on Friday 15 August 2025

− offers will be posted to prospective Year 7 applicants on Friday 17 October 2025

− parents/carers will be required to accept an offer from a school by Friday 7 November 2025.

What's on this week:

Tue 8 Oct:  Students start school - Term 4

Tue 8 Oct:  Elite Swimming Program - Year Prep  & 4

Wed 9 Oct:  Elite Swimming Program - Year  2 & 3

Thur 10 Oct:  Elite Swimming Program - Year 1 & 5L

Thur 10 Oct:  Class Mass - Prep A - parents welcome

Fri 11 Oct:  Elite Swimming Program - Year 6 & 5G

Have a great week.

Delfina Pieri

Principal 

principal@sopascoevale.catholic.edu.au 

Term 4

Monday 21 October 1pm dismissal for students (Parent Teacher Conferences) 

Tuesday 17 December 1pm dismissal for students

2024 School Closures and Public Holidays 

Monday 7 October: Professional Learning Day- Staff- No school for students

Monday 4 November: School Closure- No school for students

*Tuesday 5 November: Melbourne Cup- Public Holiday

Monday 2 December: Professional Learning Day- Staff- No school for students

2024 Parent/Teacher Progress Meetings

Monday 21 October: Yr Prep - Six Parent/Teacher Progress Meeting- 1pm finish for students

Our School Community Notice Board acknowledges special Staff or School Family News. It allows us to be connected through prayer while we are apart and it is something I would really like to continue when we are back together again. If you have a particular event happening in your life e.g. birth or death and would like us to acknowledge this event please email me. We as a school community would love to offer prayers and thoughts to you during times of great joy or sadness.

principal@sopascoevale.catholic.edu.au

PA Planning Workshop

We invite you to join our planning workshop as we gear up for an exciting 2025!

The session will take place in the St OPPs staff room on Wednesday, 16 October 2024, from 6pm to 7pm.

Our aim is to finalise the 2025 event calendar and outline how the PA will function. 

Everyone is welcome to attend and contribute ideas for a fun-filled 2025!

Term four events 

• 2025 Planning Workshop - Wednesday 16 October 6-7pm.

• Subway Lunch - 20 November

Hello Everyone

Classroom Cuisine is our online lunch order system. It is a convenient and user friendly service and provides high quality healthy school lunches at an affordable price. 

Classroom Cuisine delivers lunches on THURSDAY and FRIDAY at 1pm. 

The menu is available online. Please visit the website below and register your child and order lunches beginning this week. 

Classroom Cuisine- Ordering Site