Dear Parents and Carers

New OSHC Provider for St Matthew’s School

Earlier this year the Catholic Education Office asked all ACT schools to renew their Out of School Care Contractual Arrangements by putting their services out to Tender.

Following a rigorous selection process, a new Out of Hours School Care (OSHC) provider has been selected for our school beginning Term 1, 2021. The new provider is OSHClub, an experienced OSHC Provider in the Canberra region. I am pleased to report that the Selection Committee, which was comprised of staff and parent representatives, rated OSHClub’s tender proposal as exceptional, particularly in key areas such as activities conducted, reduced fees for parents, nutrition and increased returns to the school.

During the remainder of this year the Providers will undertake a process to ensure that there is a seamless transition between the two organisations. All current users of this service will have an opportunity to enrol and receive further communications during the next few weeks. I have included an information flyer below which will enable you to re-register immediately if you so wish. Details regarding an upcoming Zoom Meeting will also be included in next week’s Newsletter. Contact details will also be included in the Information Pack for our 2021 Kindergarten children.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the current provider, Capital Region Community Services for their outstanding care of our students, their families and the broader St Matthew’s community over many years.

May God bless you and your families

Graham Pollard

At OSHClub, we pride ourselves on providing children with fun, play-based learning experiences that meet all your family’s needs. You can be confident that your child is in safe hands with our experienced and passionate educators. Whether your child attends OSHClub daily or only occasionally, each visit is an exciting new adventure with healthy, nutritious food, awesome clubs, activities and so much more.

How to enrol

Enrolling with OSHClub is easy and completely free. We don’t charge any annual registration fees.

Click here to create an account and complete our online enrolment form. Select the OSHClub service for your child’s school and enter all required information into the relevant fields. Once enrolled, you can manage your bookings and cancellations with ease online.

Your child’s enrolment must be confirmed before attending their first session with us. If at any time your family details or emergency contacts change, please update them through our website so that our records remain current.

Child Care Subsidy (CCS)

Many families are eligible for Child Care Subsidy, which can reduce the cost of Outside School Hours Care by up to 85%. All our services are CCS approved, so we encourage all families to find out whether they are eligible. To establish what level of CCS you may be entitled to please contact the Centrelink Family Line on 13 61 50.

 Join the fun at OSHClub

For more information speak to our friendly service coordinator on 0437 730 454 or via email on stmatthews@oshclub.com.au or simply visit our website:  https://www.oshclub.com.au/st-matthews-primary-school-act/

 We look forward to meeting you and your family.

It’s Time to Celebrate Our Learning!

On Wednesday of Week 7, students from Kindergarten to Year 6 will hold a school-wide exhibition, presenting their inquiry journeys to their peers and teachers and sharing their learning with one another.

Each student will have their own exhibition space, where they’ll display artefacts that reflect their conceptual understanding of the unit of inquiry. We expect to see artworks, written texts, and even digital presentations!

As exhibitors, our students will ask and respond to these questions:  

• What was most successful about your learning/ the inquiry? 
• What was challenging about this inquiry?
• What would you do differently? 
• What new skill/s did you learn?
• Now that you know what you know, how do you intend to take action to make the world a better place? 

Although we can’t hold an exhibition for our community this year, later in the week, each student will also present their inquiry learning to their family! You might be able to view a beautiful piece of art in a virtual art gallery, scan a QR code to view a spoken presentation, hear a poem recited to you after dinner, or even read a letter to the Prime Minister!  In whatever way your child’s exhibition is presented to you at home, remember to choose a few of the questions above to celebrate and find out more about your child’s learning.

Petra Cole
Assistant Principal

Congratulations to our Year Three students who made their First Holy Communion last week. We celebrated three Masses across three nights with the communicants and their families. It was a beautiful occasion where we all came together as one body in Christ. The students read beautifully and performed a liturgical movement to John Burland’s, Do this in memory of Me. It was a blessed occasion with students remarking how excited and special they felt. Thank you to Fr Simon for saying the Masses across the week.

We also congratulate Millicent Fletcher in Year Three who will be Baptised on Friday November 20. We keep her and her family in our prayers. May God’s grace rest upon them on this special day and always.

 

Remembrance Day

On Wednesday last week our school commemorated Remembrance Day with a thoughtful liturgy led by our Year 6 leaders. Students came together in their classrooms to remember in faith, all who have served and continue serving in our armed forces, especially those who have died and those wounded in battle. We prayed for healing and peace; that one day, all peoples will lay down their arms and embrace one another as brothers and sisters in one human family with peace.

Numeracy News

In order to support your child's learning, it is important to give them opportunities to discuss and engage in maths. Your child will begin to connect the importance of maths with everyday activities. Including navigating public transport, choosing the best item to buy, budgeting, and cooking.

Talk positively about maths so your child also values it. If your experiences in maths at school were less than ideal, avoid making comments like “I was bad at maths at school”. Comments like these can lower your child’s expectations of themselves. They can also perpetuate myths about people being good or bad at maths. If you did well at maths in school, avoid jumping in with answers or solutions. Encourage your child to talk about how they might work out maths problems. This helps boost their confidence and deepens their understanding.

Maths today is not about learning by repetition. Today, the focus is on recognising that there are many ways to get an answer. Rather, it is important to be able to explain how and why you chose the approach you did. At St Matthew’s, we also focus on being able to represent our thinking visually. Being able to add, subtract, multiply and divide a multitude of mathematical algorithms does not necessarily make a numerate learner. Expecting your child to work through algorithms or “busy work” will not forester a love of mathematics. In fact, you may find that you child begins to resent it. All maths activities conducted in primary school or at home should incorporate some element of the use of manipulatives.

"Children must hold maths in their hands before they can hold maths in their heads"

Anonymous

There are many activities you can do at home to help explore maths with your child. When participating in these activities, avoid associating them with speed. Expecting your child to work quickly on maths can cause maths anxiety. Try to focus on the process and not the outcome.

Rachel Powell
Curriculum Coordinator
Rachel.powell@cg.catholic.edu.au

To assist with your financial planning for next year, notification of 2021 School fees have been distributed to families this week.

A worksheet was included to help you calculate instalment repayments between February and November 2021. If you have a student in Year Five or Six, please also factor in the fees for your child’s camp. These will be invoiced in full in Term 1.

Your family may choose to set up a recurring weekly, fortnightly or monthly BPAY payment. Other Payment options include: Qkr, Cash, EFTPOS, Credit Card or Cheque.

Please complete the 2021 Family School Fees (Systemic Letter) showing where all school age children in your family will be attending school in 2021 and return this form to the front office by Friday December 4, 2020.

This form must be completed each year as the information affects the amount invoiced for the CEO Tuition Fee and the Building Fund Levy. Discounts on CEO Tuition fees are available for siblings attending Systemic Primary and Secondary Schools. Failure to return this form may result in no family discount, therefore full CEO Tuition Fees and Building Fund Levy will be invoiced to your account in 2021.

Please note. The five CEO Systemic Secondary Schools are St Francis Xavier College, Merici College, St Clare’s College, John Paul College and St Mary MacKillop College. (St Edmund’s, Marist and Daramalan are not systemic schools).

Please return the 2021 Family School Fees (Systemic letter) by Friday December 14, 2020.

Christine Answerth
Finance Manager

Happy birthday wishes to Jemma H, Logan G, Noah S, Tyler C, Claudia L, Georgia M, Lucas C, Logan M, Daiwik S, Priskshit P, Bernard G, Thomas W, Ariana L, Jackson O, Rory N, who recently celebrated birthdays.

School Working Bee

We will be having a Working Bee on Sunday 29 November at 10:00am, with a focus on the gardens.

 Please check your diary and be a part of the team on the day - lunch, drinks and good company all provided.

 Kids most welcome, please register your interest by emailing: council.stmatts@cg.catholic.edu.au

St Matthew’s Clothing Pool

 

To assist our new families the clothing pool will be open from

2.15pm—3.00pm on  Friday 27 November and Friday 11 December 2020

Dear Parents,

Canberra Health Services would like to remind the parents of Kindergarten students that Canberra Health Services is offering a targeted kindergarten health check concentrating on vision and hearing.

These health checks are performed in clinics at the City Health Centre Mondays and Fridays until Monday the 14^th of December.

An appointment can be made by phoning the Central Intake Line on 51249977.

Children's Christmas Eve Mass (5).pdf

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