Dear St Clare's Community,

Welcome to the 2023 school year. It is wonderful to see so many children return with huge smiles and ready for learning. I have enjoyed hearing about all the adventures that have taken place during the break and the enthusiasm to return or start school.

Staff 2023

We have had to say goodbye to our Indigenous Liaison Officer and Student Support Officer, Rohan Nona. We thank Rohan for his contribution to St. Clare’s and wish him all the best for the future. Rhiannon Lizzio will be stepping in to help us out for a few weeks.

We welcome our staff, Melissa Leonardi, Sharon Scouller & Penny Irvine.

Melissa will be teaching Year 4. Melissa spent a term with us last year when she completed her final placement in Year 2. Melissa was then snapped up by St. Rita’s, South Johnstone, and taught Year 5/6 in Term 4, 2022. We have been lucky to secure her for the 2023 school year.

Sharon is joining St. Clare’s as our counsellor in 2023. To enable a more comprehensive counselling service for the students of St Clare’s, we are moving to three days of counselling a week.  This will allow Carmel Parisi to provide extra counselling support to Innisfail, where she currently also works. In order for a smooth transition, Carmel will be at St Clare’s Tully over this term assisting Sharon.

Penny will be working to support teachers and students in her position as Teacher Librarian. Penny also holds this position at St. John’s Silkwood. Penny will focus on the promotion of reading and also has a passion for STEM based learning in the classroom.

Please join us in welcoming Melissa, Sharon & Penny to St. Clare’s - we look forward to sharing in the gifts & talents they will add to our community.

Karran Burzacott - Principal

Sharon Chappel - APRE

Chris Edwards - Leader of Diversity / Leader of Learning and Teaching

Helen Andrews - Leader of Diversity

Rosanna O’Kane - Admin & Finance

Antonina Dal Zilio - Admin Support

Vera Borgna - Library Assistant / Admin Support / WHS Officer

Gita Sima  - Prep

Zanelle Collins - Year 1

Georgia Moloney - Year 2

Adam Stubbings - Year 3

Melissa Leonardi - Year 4

Sharon Chappel & Amanda Baston - Year 5

Kaitlyn Marsilio & Cherie Jenkins - Year 6

Kate Mason - HPE

Jo Wall - The Arts

Penny Irvine - Teacher Librarian

Jess Lang - Student Support Teacher

Pauline Colombini - Student Support Officer

Alicia Johnson - Student Support Officer

Marie Vipiana - Student Support Officer / Tuckshop

Steph Grimaz - Student Support Officer

Jenny Sollitt - Student Support Officer

Natasha Johnson - Student Support Officer

Carla Low - Student Support Officer

Temara Guiliany - Student Support Officer

Jodie Costa - Cleaner

Grounds & Maintenance - TBA

Students on buses

For families that use the bus services, if you have not already sent through the days

your children are on the bus, could you please do so as soon as possible. It is extremely important we know which days students are catching the bus home.

From time to time you may need to let us know about changes to these days - please ring the office with any changes, before 2pm if possible.

Uniforms

Sports Uniform - Tuesday & Thursday

Formal Uniform - Monday, Wednesday & Friday

The uniform requirements are attached to this newsletter as a reminder of expectations. Please take particular note of the requirements around hair and the wearing of jewellery. Hair is to be kept off the face and if it is shoulder length or longer, it must be worn tied back - this applies to boys and girls.

Drop off & Pick-Up

Supervision for students begins at 8:20 am. All students arriving before this time are to remain seated in the eating area until they are dismissed. We ask that students arrive no earlier than 8am if possible. I appreciate that earlier drop offs are required from time to time due to appointments. Please let us know if you need to drop off significantly earlier than usual.

Grounds & Maintenance Person

We are still searching for someone to fill this position to keep St. Clare’s looking great. If you, or you know anyone that may be interested, please contact me. The position is advertised as 15 hours, the days and times are quite flexible.

If you haven’t already done so, please check your email for Parent Slips.  A number of permissions to access apps were sent out last week. This applies in particular to our new students and Prep.

Finally, there seems to be quite a lot of mosquitoes around at the moment. You may wish to spray your children before school in the mornings. We ask that students do not bring sprays to school with them please.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or concerns and I look forward to catching up with you all over time. Wishing everyone good health and keep safe.

Blessings for the weeks ahead

Karran Burzacott
Principal