ELC Bulletin - Term 1, Week 4

Thank you, most families have responded to the notices sent out via Conset2Go (C2G) on Monday 19 February seeking acceptance of our St Mark’s Volunteer Parent Help Confidentiality Agreement for 2024 (this document was included as an attachment in the C2G notification and is available via the link below for your information).

If you have yet to respond, please do so as soon as possible.

Thank you.

LINK: 2024 Parent Help Confidentiality Agreement

1. KINDY Speech & Occupational Therapy Assessments by External Therapists - finish this week

SP & OT Assessments-2024

The External Therapists will communicate assessment results directly with parents via email early next term.

2. KINDY Health Assessments by Government Community Nurse – FORMS WENT HOME RECENTLY

Enveloped paper forms were sent home with Kindy children recently for parents to complete and return to teachers in the ‘confidential’ envelope provided.

In addition to the speech and occupational therapy screening mentioned above, which is a St Mark’s initiative, a Government-appointed Community Nurse will carry out a general health check on all the Kindergarten children later this year (likely during Term 2). Please return the paper forms to your class teacher as soon as possible. Thank you.

LINK to the information sheet: Health Assessment-Info for Parents-2024

Please follow the links provided below to add your name to one of the rosters if you are able to assist. Thank you.

These are shared documents that all ELC parents are able to view.

• ELC UPCYCLING ROSTER: ELC Shared Upcycling Roster
  

• ELC WATERING AND OTHER OUTDOOR TASKS: ELC Outdoor Enviro Volunteer Roster

OTHER ELC PARENT HOUR OPPORTUNITIES (NONE YET)

There are currently no other general opportunities available. Parents will be advised via the Weekly Bulletins or Class SEESAW pages when opportunities do become available. Parents will be able to access the shared roster via the link provided below to add their names for the advertised task(s).

LINK: ELC GENERAL PARENT HOUR OPPORTUNITIES

Please be aware that we need to be kept advised of the following regarding the collection of ELC students:

• The days on which your child will be collected via drive-through so that they can be waiting for you in the correct location
• The days on which your child will be collected by childcare establishments (include the name of the establishment)
• Names of other family members or friends who have permission to collect your child(ren) when necessary

Most parents have already provided this information, which has been included in the 2024 class lists of regular child collections for teachers. Regular collection arrangements are encouraged with daily changes being kept to a minimum. Should any additions or changes be necessary, please contact ELC Reception prior to 2.15pm of the relevant day (email elcreception@stmarks.wa.edu.au or phone 9403 1398). Thank you.

It has been noticed that some parents are arriving in the drive-through area well before collection time. Kindy and Pre-Primary Parents/carers are asked not to arrive before 2.50pm in order to keep the area clear for parents collecting children early for appointments and to prevent waiting cars queueing out onto Endeavour Road. Thank you. (Year 1 children are only available for collection after 3.15pm.)

A link to our ELC Drive-Through Guidelines is provided below in case you missed it in the Back to School Welcome Guide sent out at the end of the holidays.

LINK: 2024 ELC Drive Through Guidelines

The Parents Prayer Group (PPG) meet fortnightly to pray for the students, staff and school community. We will be meeting every second Friday 9am in the school chapel, starting 9 February. Please sign in at reception and perhaps stop by the coffee van on the way. All are welcome. Please share any prayer requests by emailing parentsunitedforprayer@gmail.com or call Wing Shattock on 0433 002 151.

We have been informed of a number of traffic and road safety incidents involving our St Mark's community.

Please ensure that when parking along St Marks Drive that all driveways are kept clear and you only park in designated carbays not along the kerbing. On-street parking, including the Kiss and Drive facility on St Marks Drive, is subject to the City of Joondalup's bylaws.

Please find below a general reminder about on and around campus road safety:

• Do not ‘park’ in the Kiss n Ride pick-up zones. If your child is not at the pick-up zone, then continue forward and rejoin the queue for another lap. This gives time for children to make their way to the location.
• There is no pedestrian access through Gate 3 next to the ELC. The pedestrian access from Endeavour Road is located between the ELC and the Whitford Family Centre.
• Please do not double park at any location, including (but not limited to): Kiss ‘n Drive points, St Marks Drive, School parking lots, access gates and across our neighbours’ driveways.
• Please do not overtake stationary cars on the School grounds, especially in Kiss ‘n Drive zones.
• When exiting the School grounds, please ensure you look both left and right carefully before re-entering St Marks Dr, particularly around our neighbour’s driveways.
• Please do not park in the following neighbouring businesses when dropping off/collecting children or when attending school-based events:
  
  • Endeavour Centre (cnr Endeavour and Banks Ave)
  • Whitford Business Centre (Mitre 10, Better Pets, AutoMasters, SuperCheap)
  • Endeavour Childcare and Whitford Family Centre

Our 'Back to School Guide' has some guidance around traffic management around the school. The most important aspect, though, is to be patient and mindful of the young children present, as well as be considerate of other drivers and families.

Tara Uniforms is changing the opening days/times of our uniform shop to provide the St Mark’s community with a greater choice of opening days and in response to the changing needs of customers due to the increase in online ordering.

With effect from Monday 12^th February the uniform shop will be open on Thursday afternoons, and the trading hours for Term 1 2024 will be:

• Mondays : 7.45am -11.15am and 1pm – 5pm
• Wednesdays : 7.45am – 11.15am
• Thursdays : 1.00pm – 4.30pm
  

For Term 2 2024 onwards, the trading hours will be:

• Mondays : 7.45am -11.15am
• Wednesdays : 7.45am – 11.15am
• Thursdays : 1.00pm – 4.30pm
  

Our HaSS department is looking for members of our community who are business owners and would like to share their insight into starting/owning/running their own business with our current Year 11 and 12 General Business, Marketing and Enterprise students.

We would especially love to hear from our trades, small businesses and start-ups.

If you are comfortable speaking to groups of students and willing to share your experiences, we'd love to hear from you.

Please contact Amanda Kemp via email for further information or if you'd like to join the register to share your experiences.

PAYMENT NOMINATIONS must be submitted by Tuesday 6 February 2024. Download the Payment Form here.

There is no need to submit a payment nomination if you have paid your 2024 fees in full. Thank you.

• Annual Fee Due 13 Feb 2024
• Quarterly Fee Due 13 Feb, 30 April, 30 July, 22 Oct 2024
• Monthly Fee Due 25^th of each month Feb to Nov 2024, or the next business day if the 25^th is not a business day
• Fortnightly Fee Due Friday fortnightly commencing 16 Feb and ending on 8 Nov 2024

Subject and music adjustments will be amended later in February once payment nominations and queries are effectuated.

Please contact Kaye at familyaccounts@stmarks.wa.edu.au if you have any queries.

Thank you for your patience during this busy start to the 2024 school year.

Did you know that our Old Scholars' Association Little Lions Playgroup is run on-site every Friday during term time? We'd love to see your little cub there this Friday!

Join us from 8.45 a.m. to 10.30 a.m. for lots of fun and games. Little Lions Playgroup is a community-based group run in conjunction with Playgroup WA and caters for children up to school age. Families attending our Kindy and not in session on Fridays are more than welcome to join as well.

For more information and to book your spot, please email us, osa@stmarks.wa.edu.au or join our Facebook group HERE.

Everyone is welcome - you do not need to be an Old Scholar (former student) of St Mark's to attend.

If your child will be absent, late to class, or if they will need to leave early to attend a medical appointment please notify the School by emailing absentee@stmarks.wa.edu.au. Please include your child’s name (first name and surname) and class/year level in the subject line of the email. Please do not send absentee/appointments/late information to any other email address - it must go to absentee@stmarks.wa.edu.au no matter what year group your child is in. Thank you.

To ensure emails to the Student Services team are dealt with promptly, please address future emails to each sub-school reception, as follows:

Early Learning Centre – elcreception@stmarks.wa.edu.au
Junior School Reception – jnrschool@stmarks.wa.edu.au
Middle School Reception - midschool@stmarks.wa.edu.au
Senior School Reception – snrschool@stmarks.wa.edu.au
Parent Reception – parentreception@stmarks.wa.edu.au

Tickets are selling fast, for our Old Scholars' Milestone Reunion on Saturday 24 February 24.

All Old Scholars who graduated from St Mark’s in 1994, 2004 and 2014 are invited, and we can't wait to see you all and hear what you've been up to since leaving the land of maroon and blue!

Ticket details are available here.

If you have not received an email regarding the reunion, it means we do not have your current email - please update your details here.

The P&F is excited to be hosting Paul Dillon from DARTA for a Parent Session on Monday 26 February 2024.

Paul Dillon Parent Seminar: Teens, parties, alcohol and vapes: What do parents need to know?During adolescence, teens develop a biological need to be around friends, and it is important to provide them with opportunities to socialise with their peers whenever possible. Using the most current data available, this presentation will examine the use of alcohol and other drugs by school-based young people. Simple strategies will be provided to help ensure teens are able to interact with friends on a Saturday night and, at the same time, reduce the risk of underage drinking and the potential dangers associated with such behaviour. In addition, up-to-date information will be provided on vaping, particularly in relation to young people. It aims to empower parents with a positive message and assist them in having open and honest family discussions in this complex area.

When: Monday 26 February 2024

Time: 7:00pm - 9.00pm

Where: St Marks Anglican Community School, St Marks Drive, Hillarys WA 6025

Cost: FREE | Secure your free tickets here.

To check out more about Paul and his work with DARTA head here.