Dear St Clare's Community,

Welcome to Week 6! It is hard to believe that this week marks the halfway point of Term 1. We continue to see staff and students absent due to COVID. Again, thank you to our families for keeping us informed of positive tests and close contact details.

From Friday 4th March some restrictions will ease. Below is a summary of what changes will take place for St. Clare’s.

Mask Changes

1. Until 4 March 2022 – Mask wearing requirements in schools remain the same.
2. After 6pm 4 March 2022- Mask wearing is not required of staff or students but:

• People are encouraged to wear masks if they feel they are vulnerable.
• Unvaccinated staff who have a medical contraindication must continue to wear masks according to their risk assessment.
• There are some workplaces where masks are still required but schools are not one of these.

Vaccine Mandate - remains in place, no changes. Staff, volunteers and contractors are required to be fully vaccinated.

Assemblies, Gatherings and Site Access

From 4th March, venue density rules and gathering rules will be removed. This also means:

• No requirement to limit site visits to essential work only.
• Face to face meetings can resume.
• Normal school assemblies can resume.
• Restrictions for vaccinated service providers and contractors remains in place (QR code).

Congratulations to our students who participated in the Rugby and Netball Carnivals last Friday. It was a successful day for all and we are proud of all students for their participation and sportsmanship. We particularly thank Mrs Mason for her work in the lead up to this event, staff and other volunteers that coached and managed teams.

It was a sea of tie-dye, tu-tu’s, tiaras and ties for 2’s day last week. Thanks to everyone that added a little brightness to the day  - a wonderful way to spread some smiles!

We still have quite a number of mosquitoes hanging around. Paul has sprayed outdoor areas, however this is not very effective. It may be a good idea to apply repellent to students before school each morning.

Lent

This week we begin our Lenten journey as a school and parish community. Lent is a time to take inventory of our lives and to see where we need to get back on track.

God of life:

You sent Jesus into the world to show us how to live.

Help us to embrace the example and teachings of Jesus, by spending time with Jesus, the living Word.

Draw us deeper into unity with you and our brothers and sisters, through our efforts to live in peace and justice with one another. Inspire and encourage us to be agents of the Gospel as we strive to be an influence for good in our world.  We ask this through Jesus, the light of the world. Amen

During Lent, our Yr 6 leaders are involved in various justice and stewardship activities that support Project Compassion.  We thank them for their leadership and for Mrs Chappel in supporting them.

2023 Enrolments

It seems early to be discussing enrolments for 2023 BUT if you have a child born between 1/7/2017 and 30/6/2018, your child is eligible to start Prep in 2023. Please go to our website to complete an online enrolment - https://www.stclares.qld.edu.au/enrolling/enrolment-application/. We already have a number of students registered and places are limited. Interviews will commence in Term 2.

Volunteer training

Have you completed volunteer training?  All parents assisting with sport training, tuckshop, sport days, transport, excursions, classroom assistance etc need to complete the training, each year, found on the Catholic Education website. Go to: https://www.cns.catholic.edu.au/our-school-communities/parent-engagement/volunteer-training/  

Wishing you all well for the week ahead

Karran Burzacott
Principal