The Government of WA have amended the Working with Children Act and the changes are now in place. These changes were implemented to better protect children. Catholic Education WA has mandated a new process for all volunteers, including parent volunteers in schools. This includes parents who wish to volunteer at sports carnivals, in classrooms and at P&F events. Could we ask that all parents fill in the Volunteer Declaration (link) even if you have no plans at this stage to volunteer at school. Your information will be stored securely in accordance with CEWA’s Information Stewardship. We highly value parent volunteers' time and contribution to our school community and thank-you for taking the time to submit the form below.

Any grandparents that wish to volunteer in the classroom or assist in the canteen will need a Working With Children Check. Please note this does not include drop off, pick up or attendance at our Grandparents Mass and Morning Tea. Grandparents that would like to volunteer at school, please contact the school office and we can assist you in the process.

The Welcome Back to School P&F Sundowner for all families will be on tomorrow evening. The P&F Sundowner is on the new grassed area beginning at 5.30pm. There will be an ice cream truck, games for the children and a sausage sizzle available for purchase. It promises to be a fantastic way for our families to get together and start the new school year. So, get your picnic rugs ready for what will be a great evening.

With a number of new families to the school this year I would like everyone to be aware of our parking and drive through arrangements at the front of the school as the safety of our children is of paramount importance.

• Vehicles will enter via the middle driveway on Tribute St East.
• If you wish to park and leave your car to come into the school, please turn to the left and park in one of the bays adjacent to the Early Learning Centre or use the marked roadside bays outside the school.
• When exiting the car park, you will do so at the exit closest to Vahland Ave.
• If you are only dropping-off or picking-up then please veer right and enter the drive-thru area. In this area you may not park or leave your vehicle unattended - it is strictly drop-off or pick- up only!
• When exiting the drive-thru section you will use the exit closest to Tudor Ave.
• Children waiting to be picked up are to wait on the verandah, under teacher supervision, and when they see their parent’s car enter the drive-thru, they may proceed down the steps at either end of the ramp and wait on the footpath adjacent to the bay where their parent has pulled up.
• Children should enter vehicles from the curbside only to avoid passing vehicles.

On Friday 23rd February the Faction Swimming Carnival for our Year 4 to 6 students will be held at Beatty Park Leisure Centre in North Perth. The students will depart from school at 9.30am and return to Queen of Apostles by 1.30pm.

It will be fantastic to see a great crowd of parents at Beatty Park cheering our students on.

The new WA Catholic Teachers Enterprise Bargaining Agreement came into effect at the end of 2023. This new agreement contains a ‘Right to Disconnect’ clause which states that teachers are not required to initiate, read or respond to electronic or other communication from school staff, parents or community members outside of working hours or when not on site.

This clause has been introduced to support our educators to achieve a healthy work-life balance by allowing them to disengage from work-related responsibilities and technology outside of their designated working hours.

This year our Kindy to Year 6 staff will conduct their Parent/Teacher interviews on Wednesday 27th March. The teachers will be available for a face to face or online meeting on this day. Later in the term you will receive instructions about booking in these meetings. Please note this is a pupil free day as is Thursday 28th March. Please keep these dates in your diary.

To ensure your child’s well-being, the school requires that parents provide up-to-date medical information in regard to any allergies or medical conditions. If your child is allergic to bee stings, nuts, shellfish, eggs etc and may suffer an allergic reaction, it is paramount that the school is informed. Your doctor will need to provide an anaphylaxis plan with instructions that the school will follow. If your child suffers from asthma, a plan is also required for staff to follow in the event of an asthma attack. Anaphylaxis plans and asthma plans are to be presented to the office with medication to ensure that in an event of a medical incident, your child can be treated effectively. Any other medical information that may be relevant must also be presented in written form to the office. This information will remain confidential within the staff-teaching environment.

Best Wishes

Mark Ryan

Principal

Queen of Apostles is dedicated to ensuring that all our students are given opportunities to flourish whether it be in sport, music or academic areas.

Inquiry learning through our Future Focussed Learning model provides all students with open ended learning, allowing students to be challenged and have a voice in their learning. For those students who are high achievers, be it in sport, music or academia, we provide more competitive opportunities through interschool sporting carnivals, music competitions and academic challenges.

In 2024, some students will be given the opportunity to compete in Academic Challenges such as TOM, APSMO Maths Challenge, Regional Spelling Bee, Regional Academic days and the Da Vinci Decathlon. Students will be invited to participate in these events using the following criteria:

1. Academic ability determined by tests such as AGAT, PAT, TOLA and SPM
2. Teacher referral (the students will not be disadvantaged from extended time out of class)
3. The students have the necessary attributes to successfully compete when invited into competitions eg. can collaborate in a group, independent learners, display maturity in learning and not require teacher intervention to maintain behaviour

Parents will have the option of enrolling students in the ICAS Assessments in 3rd Term. More information about these assessments will come out towards the end of this term. As the competitions draw near, students from Years 4-6 who fulfill the above criteria will receive a letter from the school inviting them to participate.

Jennifer Anderson

Just a reminder that your payment plan is due by next Thursday 22 February.

You can have this dropped off to reception or you can email a copy to accounts.qoa@cewa.edu.au

If you wish your repayments to continue after November to sit in credit for 2025, please circle Y (for yes) to the statement …Please keep my payments ongoing. Located on the payment plan.

Please contact Caroline Hunneybun on the above email address if you have any queries.

P&F 2024 Welcome Back Sundowner

Don’t miss all the fun at the P&F 2024 Welcome Back Sundowner tomorrow night, starting at 5.30pm.

The Year 6 Graduation Committee will be running a sausage sizzle including drinks, with all proceeds going towards the year six’s graduation.

Tims Ice Cream van will be available to purchase a delicious ice cream for dessert.

Members of the Riverton Football Club will be running some drills and mini competitions on the grassed area next to the basketball court and there will also be some mini basketball competitions run by the Queenies parents.

We look forward to seeing you all there.

P&F 2024 Calendar

The P&F are excited to provide the below calendar which includes various events that the P&F plan to host this year. Write them in your diary, so you don’t miss out!

If you are interested in volunteering at any event, please email Tracy at queeniespnf@gmail.com

OPEN DAY

Friday 1 March 2024

St Norbert College warmly invites prospective students and their parents to tour our beautiful College, its contemporary facilities and extensive grounds. Tours will be conducted at 9.00am and 1.00pm.

Bookings can be made at https://www.trybooking.com/COTBT.

Enrolments for Year 7 in 2026

We have commenced our enrolments for 2026. Application forms may be obtained by phoning the Enrolment Officer, Mrs Hughes on 9350 5433.