Dear St Clare's Community,

Welcome to Week 6 - we are now already halfway through Term 2 and it has been wonderful to see the sun shining, allowing us to use our beautiful grounds again during play time.

A huge congratulations to all Year 3 & 5 students and staff for participating and completing NAPLAN over the previous 2 weeks. We will see the results of this national testing in August. I would also like to highlight the excellent behaviour, patience and resilience shown by all students during photo day last week. This can be a very disruptive day to learning and the waiting time while the photographers organise the perfect photo can be long. The wonderful students of St. Clare’s really showed their best and the photography team commented on how well the students listened throughout the day. We look forward to seeing the results later in the year when photo packages are delivered.

Term 2 Fees

Fees for Term 2 were emailed out last week. As we have changed over to a new finance system, the statements are coming from a different source. If you do not see your fee statement in your INBOX, please check your JUNK/SPAM folders. Please contact the office if you have any questions or cannot find your fee statement.

Staffing Update

This week we welcome Stephen Cotter, who is joining us as our grounds/ maintenance person. Stephen will work with Paul this week as he finds his feet and we say goodbye to Paul at the end of the week. I acknowledge and thank Paul for his work, the grounds look fantastic and many of our 2023 Prep families commented on this during interviews last term. Paul stepped in to help us out last year, while we looked for a new groundsperson and we have been very fortunate to have kept him until now.

We also welcome Rohan Nona this week. Rohan will join us as our Indigenous Liaison Officer/ School Learning Officer. Rohan has previously worked with children in an after school facility and his experience and enthusiasm will be an asset as he joins our wonderful team of School Learning Officers.

Mosquitoes

We are still experiencing large amounts of mosquitoes around the school. While we do spray in the mornings, it does not eradicate the mozzies. It may be a good idea to spray your children each morning.

Vaccination for Volunteers update

The vaccination direction is still in place, and staff, service providers, contractors and volunteers are still required to be fully vaccinated. This also applies to parents who are volunteering for the school (all volunteers should complete the Volunteer Induction training, which includes information on vaccination requirements). These vaccination requirements also apply to volunteers on camps and excursions.

We are, however, pleased to announce that contrary to previous advice, people volunteering their time at school events such as fetes, are not required to be vaccinated, to help on the night, as the school will not be operating as an educational setting at the time.

Ending Isolation

A reminder that staff or students who have had COVID are able to return to school after 7 days of isolation, providing that they are symptom free on Day 7. A mask must be worn for the 7 days after the isolation period ends. If people have a fever, sore throat, runny nose, or a cough that is bad or getting worse, on day 7, they will need to remain in isolation until those symptoms have gone away. A mild dry cough, mild fatigue or a loss of taste or smell is normal, and students or staff with these lingering symptoms are able to return to school after they complete their isolation period, providing they wear a mask for the following 7 days. Staff and students do not need another COVID-19 test to end their isolation period.

QLD Day June 6th

Everyone is invited to wear maroon on June 6th to celebrate Queensland Day. Students may wear a maroon top with their sports uniform shorts, or come dressed completely in maroon if they choose. Sunsmart clothing must still be worn and closed in shoes. Students that do nor wish to wear the colour of Queensland can come to school in the Academic Uniform as usual for a Monday.

Principal’s Conference

This week I will be in Cairns for a principals conference on Wednesday, Thursday & Friday. Chris Edwards (W,Th & F)  and Sharon Chappel (F) will be available for any school matters during this time.

Blessings and warm wishes for the weeks ahead.

Karran Burzacott
Principal