2021 SCHOOL THEME – TOGETHER WE CAN ACHIEVE ANYTHING

VISIT US AT - www.sfxmontmorency.catholic.edu.au

School: 9435 8474 Out of School Care: OSH Club 0401 958 962 Parish: 9435 2178 School App:

NEWSLETTER NO. 29 9th September 2021

We acknowledge the Wurundjeri people as the traditional custodians of the land upon which our school stands

Dear Parents,

We hope that all the Dad’s, Grandfathers, Step Dads

and other significant males in our lives had a nice

Fathers’ Day last Sunday. For the second year in a row

due to COVID, it was a quiet celebration of all the

wonderful things that the Dads in our community bring to

our lives. Let us hope the in 2022 neither Fathers’ or

Mothers’ day will be impacted by COVID and that we

will be able to celebrate parenthood.

Thank you to members of our SFX Parents Association

who staged our inaugural ‘Click & Collect’ Fathers’ Day

stall. Again we have had to adapt what we normally do

around this time of the year, as the students love to shop

for their Fathers’ (and Mothers’) Day gifts. This year, in a

sign of the times, it was an online shopping experience.

Well done to everyone involved. I hope the Dads

enjoyed their special, surprise gift on Sunday morning.

@SFXMontyLoves on Instagram

We know times are tough for a lot

of local small businesses and we

believe that better connections

with the local SFX community can

give these amazing people a boost.

Keen to help us show them some love?

Follow us on Instagram @sfxmontyloves

Support local: follow a new account, check out their

website & shop with purpose!

Know a local business we can support? Email

us sfxmontyloves@gmail.com or tag us #sfxmontyloves

CONGRATULATIONS….

Families who watched the SFX Staff video to students

during Remote Learning 6.0 will have noticed a huge

surprise announcement towards the end.

Ms. Morello, our Year 6VM teacher recently announced

that she will be having her third child in January 2022.

Ms. Morello has been waiting for the perfect time to tell

her students in Year 6VM, but each time has been

scuppered by her students being away at Remote

Learning. This is going to make for an ‘extra’ busy

Morello household however I am sure Siobhan, her

husband Paul and her two boys Marcus and Josh will

love the experience of welcoming a beautiful baby girl

into their home in January.

SFX Virtual Pet Afternoon: Friday 4th September

It was a most interesting and entertaining afternoon at

our inaugural Virtual Pet Zoom with the students.

At our Prep to Year 3 Zoom we peaked at 95 students

and at our Year 4 to 6 students we peaked at 55

participants. This was obviously well received on a stormy

and wet Melbourne afternoon. Apologies to the many

children and pets we could not get to interview, and

thanks to the students who spoke so beautifully about

their beloved pet. The SFX menagerie was extensive: we

had dogs, cats, rabbits, chickens, fish, birds and a

bearded dragon. We even had a pet axolotl. It was nice

to see children connecting with each other back at their

school, even if it is virtually. Never in my years in

education did I ever think I would be hosting a virtual pet

show…but that is what 2020/21 has been all about:

acting in the unknown and thinking on our feet.

A BUSY TERM FOUR AHEAD…..

Indeed Term 4 is one of the busiest terms of the year and

that is in a normal year. In planning for Term 4, our hope

is that the students will be back at school for the first day,

Monday 4th October. I would love to have a crystal ball

and be able to clearly predict what the term will look

like. So that we are able to keep sane and not dissolve,

it is important that we ‘park’ some events that were

missed in Term 3 until next year. It is important that we

2021 SCHOOL THEME – TOGETHER WE CAN ACHIEVE ANYTHING

prioritise getting students back into good learning

routines, but cannot do this if we are trying to ‘stack’

Term 4 with a missed event each day.

Having missed so many weeks of rehearsal for our School

Musical, for many of our students it will be like starting

again; learning the choreography to dances, words to

songs, remembering lines etc. And in the midst of this we

have our School Review and VRQA audit that has been

going on in the background, much of it during Remote

Learning with the staff. All we ask from the SFX parent

community is for a level of understanding and support as

has been demonstrated by so many already; that we will

do our best, however much will still be at the whim of

Government Directives and a restricted10 week Term 4.

OUR SFX STAFF VIDEO MESSAGE TO THE STUDENTS

Thanks to Mr. Park our Specialist Digital Technology

teacher and the rest of the SFX staff for their work in

putting together this inspiring video message to their

students. The song title “I get knocked down and I get

up again” truly summarises the SFX resilient spirit: the staff,

the parents and the students who through Remote

Learning 1.0 to Remote Learning 6.0 have shown true

fortitude, strength and character. We hope all the

children enjoy our latest venture and know that their

teachers think about them each day and cannot wait

for them to return to onsite learning. Here’s the link.

https://youtu.be/wPe2ND6hKDc

We are now up to 550 views so it has obviously been well

received by the Montmorency community.

BOOKING FORM FOR REMOTE @ SCHOOL

Here’s the link for Monday 13th September to Friday 17th

September 2021.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1lz7Cuy-

ITlU4TaMtolKU6nPXPigLQFnRJX2ZhI5vWjo/edit

Please only apply for Remote @ School if you are an

authorised worker or fulfil the other conditions of

enrolment for this program.

This form will close on Saturday 11th September @

midday. Late applications cannot be accepted.

The school will now require work permits showing

dates authorised workers are working onsite at the

address of their work place for the days that you

enrol your child for supervision for Remote @ School.

If you are working from your home your

child/children must also stay home.

Fines ($21,808 for individuals) now apply during this

latest Lockdown extension ($109,044 for a business)

for those who falsify and/or misuse this document.

Please do the right thing for the health and safety

of our teachers and students in our school

community. 2022 – PLANNING FOR NEXT YEAR

We are in the early stages of beginning to plan for next

year. If you know at this stage of the year that your

family will not be/may not be returning to SFX in 2022

can you please email

principal@sfxmontmorency.catholic.edu.au

This does not mean that you will be ‘sent away never to

return’, but is simply an indicator for the school and

would help greatly in our planning and projected

numbers of students. Especially for those class levels at

our school that are at capacity Eg. Year 5’s this year

where we have a waiting list.

TERM 3 & 4 2021 SCHOOL CALENDAR

17th September – Term 3 concludes

Term 3 will conclude at 1pm for all classes on this day.

Students who are onsite for Remote @ School will need to

be picked up at this time or separate arrangements

need to be made with SFX OshClub (Ph: 0401 958 962)

4th October – Term 4 begins at 8.55am

7th October – MACSSIS School survey opens to parents

11th October –School tour for prospective families @ 11.30am

12th October – 2022 Prep Information Night

14th October – 2022 Prep Transition session #1

15th October – School Closure Day – Maths PD for staff

19th October – School Advisory Committee Meeting @ 7pm

20th October – SFX Book Fair begins (until the 26th)

21st October- 2022 Prep Transition session #2

22nd October – SFX Book Week Dress Up Day

22nd October – Book Week Guest Author visits - Mark

Carthew – Prep to Year 2

24th October – Sacrament of Confirmation - TBC

26th October – Parents Association Meeting @ 7pm

28th October - 2022 Prep Transition session #3

29th October - School tour for prospective families @ 11.30am

1st November – School Closure – Semester 2 Report

Writing Day

2nd November – Melbourne Cup Day Public Holiday

5th November – SFX Book Week author – Felice Arena-

Year 3 to 6

12th November – SFX Twilight Athletics – 5pm to 8pm

15th November- School tour for prospective families @

11.30am

17th/18th/19th November – Year 5/6 School Camp – ‘The

Island’ Phillip Island

23rd November – School Advisory Committee @ 7pm

29th Nov– 2022 School Planning Day – School closed

30th Nov –School tour for prospective families @ 11.30am

30th November- Parents Association Meeting @ 7pm

30th November- Swimming Program #1

1st December- Swimming Program #2

2nd December – Swimming Program #3

3rd December- SFX Feast Day & Mass @ 9.30pm

6th December – Swimming Program #4

7th December – Swimming Program #5

7th December- School Advisory Committee @ 7pm

8th December- Swimming Program #6

8th December – Parents Association Meeting @ 7pm

9th December – Swimming Program #7

9th December -School tour for prospective families @ 11.30am

10th December – Swimming Program #8

10th December – Year 6 Graduation & Celebration

10th December – Semester 2 School Reports distributed

13th December – Semester 2 Parent Teacher Interviews

14th December – 2022 Step Up Morning @ 10am

15th December – 2021 End of Year Assembly

15th December – Term Four concludes @ 1pm