Junior School Bulletin - Term 1, Week 3

Dear Parents and Carers

Thank you to all of the parents who managed to come in for our Information Evening. I hope that you gained a better understanding about the year ahead for your child and from the smiles and general chat, I believe it was a good time to speak to other parents too. Please also be on the lookout for upcoming communication from the P&F, the Old Scholars and the POSTMEN of St Mark's. These parent groups do a wonderful job and I thank you in advance for supporting them.

Next Monday the School will complete a lockdown drill. Each year we practice both the lockdown and evacuation procedures so that students are aware of the routines for both and to keep them safe in an emergency. Staff will explain to the students in advance what this requires and make children comfortable with the concept of emergency procedures.

Mark Douglas
Head of Primary School

Please find below links to the Primary Parent Handbooks from the Parent Information Evening last week:

• Year 2 Handbook for Parents 2024

• Year 3 Handbook for Parents 2024

• Year 4 Handbook for Parents 2024

• Year 5 Handbook for Parents 2024

• Primary Specialist Area Teachers - Handbook for Parents 2024

Smartrider cards have now arrived for all Year 3 students and NEW Year 3-5 students - these cards will be kept in the classroom to enable quick access to the school printers and photocopiers. This first card is free of charge. However, if your child loses their Smartrider card, please contact the school to pay the $5 needed for a new card; this can be done over the phone using EFTPOS, telephone 9403 1300.

The Year 5 Bike Education Program commences this week. Year 5 students are required to bring their bikes and bike helmets to school on the days their class has PE lessons from the beginning of this week for approximately six weeks. Class timetables are now available for students indicating when their class has PE. The Bike Education sessions this week will involve bike and helmet inspections to ensure they are in safe working order before bike riding commences and further information can be found in the Y5 Bike Education letter here.

St Marks Netball have opened registration for this year's winter season competition. To register please use the links below. *Please note each child must be registered in the correct competition based on their year group. *

• Y2-4 NetSetGo: https://www.playhq.com/netball-australia/register/3e1004
• Y5-7 Junior Competition and NetSetGo: https://www.trybooking.com/COSJL

Registrations close 23 February – don’t wait and register today! For further information regarding this season please head to our website: Season Details 2023 | SMNC (sm-nc.org)

If you have any questions, please email president@sm-nc.org and one of our Committee Members will be in touch.

Please see attached flyer with parent information regarding NAPLAN for later in Term 1. For infomation, NAPLAN is for all Year 3, 5, 7 and 9 students.

Please be remined when music students are bringing their instruments to school they need to be stored in the Music Department. Please see attached information on how to store instruments.

On Monday 19 February, at approximately 12.15pm, the School will hold a lockdown drill for all students and staff. The drill has been scheduled since the beginning of the year and follows the emergency drill plan of one per term.

Please note:

The purpose of evacuation and lockdown drills is to practice the required procedures and processes and to become familiar with them in case we need to put them in place at some time in the future. We all need to know what to do so we can keep safe.

There are any number of reasons why an evacuation or lockdown may be necessary for a school – a fire nearby or in some part of the campus, a severe weather event, or even a runaway animal from the local circus that strays onto our grounds!

You know best whether your child may need a discussion at home ahead of the drill to put it in perspective for them.

If you have any concerns for your child, please contact the appropriate teacher (classroom/PCG) at the School ahead of the drill to discuss it.

We have received a number of emails and notifications that our families are continuing to park in our neighbouring businesses. 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

The bays in the above areas are purely for the businesses who operate out of those premises and their customers. They are not for our school community to utilise.

Should you require additional parking, Whitford Shopping Centre has kindly allowed us to use the bays in the carpark where Muzz Buzz is located.

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.

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.

Reminder to all families to update your School App subscriptions on your mobile device for 2024. You may otherwise be missing new extra-curricular, general or appropriate year-level notices.

Please find attached a handy how-to guide. If you have not downloaded the School App - go to the App Store or Google Play and search for St Mark's ACS.

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 completing the form on the School App or 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.

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.

Lyttle Stars Tennis for students in Years 1 - 6 is back for Term 1 and running on our school courts every Monday morning.

For more info, contact Coach Jack Lyttle via email or download the flyer below.

Redhage Basketball is back for Term 1 at St Mark's! Check out the flyer attached for more information.