IS- YEAR VOL-

Principal’s Welcome Welcome to 2012 Welcome back to a new year at

St Anthony’s. The College has

got off to a great start with the

teachers spending two days at

Moonah Links Resort preparing

for the 2012 school year. This

will be a busy year preparing

for the start of the Australian

National Curriculum in 2013.

Through the year I will be

running parent meetings to

involve you in the changes this

will create. I know there have

been some problems getting

textbooks from Landmark, but I

am sure this will only be a short

delay. I look forward to

meeting you all shortly and

outlining our plans for the year.

P l e a s e c o n t a c t t h e

office or me directly at any

time.

Coptic Orthodox College

Volume No.27

10th February 2012

15 Alpina Street Frankston North, Vic 3200 Australia

Ph: (03) 9786 3145

Fax: (03) 9786 3988

Email: mail@stanthonys.vic.edu.au

St Anthony’s

New Buses: increased safety and comfort

The College purchased 3 brand

new 20 seater air-conditioned

coaches for the start of the

school year. This will not just

provide a nicer, more

comfortable ride for our

students. They are in much

safer buses. Every seat has a

seatbelt. ALL students must

wear these every time. Reports

coming back to me are that the

students find them a much

more relaxing and enjoyable

trip. Our new Bus and

Maintenance Manager, Mr

Geoff Bell, has had a very busy

start getting the new buses

approved, and then organising

new routes. He can be

contacted on Peter’s old

mobile number.

Call

Mr. Geoffrey Bell 0423 712 695

Information Nights The nights are compulsory for

students and parents because we

need to outline what is happening

with your child’s education in 2012

and the reporting and assessment

tools we will use this year. There

are also changes from government

which need to be explained to you,

as well as a new National

Curriculum .

To make it easier for most

parents, these will be held at St

Mina and St Marina Coptic

Orthodox Church. A bus will help

local Frankston parents get there if

required and bring them home.

WEDNESDAY 15 Feb.

Middle School Information Night

7.00pm – 8.00pm

THURSDAY 16 Feb.

Years 9-12 Information Night

7.30pm – 8.30pm

At St Mina and St Marina Coptic

Orthodox Church

41-59 Saffron Drive,

HALLAM, VIC 3803

Teen Drinking Laws On November 1 2011 a new

law came into effect in Victoria.

This law makes it an offence

under the Liquor Control

Reform Act 1998 to supply

alcohol to anyone under the

age of 18 years in a private

residence without parental

consent.

Anyone breaking this law could

face a fine of up to $7,000. This

new law is part of the

Government's efforts to reduce

the harm that drinking creates

to young people and their

families and friends.

As part of the education

campaign an interactive

website

(www.v ichealth.v ic .gov.au/

teendrinkinglaw) has been

created for both parents and

teenagers. The website features

a question and answer service,

and an online discussion forum.

College Census In Term 1 we will need to contact parents

to obtain information to substantiate our

funding for the year. The more parents we

have the more funds we receive. Likewise,

the more students we have from needy

families, students with special learning

needs, newly arrived students, parents

education level, or those from families

where there are unemployed parents, the

more funds we receive from government.

So it is very important that we check your

information to get the maximum funds for

your child and to provide the best educa-

tional support we can. This information is

strictly confidential and used according to

the Privacy Act 1988. All schools have to

do this at the start of 2012 due to

changes in how schools are funded. If you

have any questions at all please contact

me at the College or on my mobile

School absences The College has a policy for student

absences which has been ignored a little

in 2011. I would ask ALL parents to ring

the school before 9am if your child is

unwell and not attending school. Staff are

now using their iPads to mark attendance

at the start of every day and each period.

The office will call you if your child is not

here and recorded as absent in period 1.

Parents should write a note in the diary or

include a written note to the classroom or

homeroom teacher.

School diaries All students have purchased a College

Diary in 2012. If your child does not have

one, send them to the office or to me and

I will get them one. This is an important

communication tool between you and the

class teacher. It must be checked each

night and signed. All Middle School and

Senior students have Home Room at the

start of the day where these diaries can

be checked by the teacher, notes

recorded and replies written to you.

Please check these every night.

Teachers calling you! If you receive a call from our teachers it

is all GOOD news. They will be ringing

you twice this first term to make sure

that your child is settled into school

and working well. We are also doing

nationally-normed tests in the first two

weeks so that we can keep you

informed about the progress of your

child compared to others across

Australia. They will also talk about plans

to improve your child’s performance

even more! If you have any worries,

concerns, or even good ideas, please

talk about these with your child’s

teacher when they ring.

School fees and bus fees

Fees for term 1 and bus fees are

due now if you wish to travel by

bus. Our school is aiming to have a

balanced budget this year. We

need all students’ fees and bus

fees to be paid, otherwise we have

to borrow money and this leads to

larger fee increases each year. Our

fees are exceptionally low for a

private school and many

government schools charge our

fee level. To enable us to keep

these fees low we need you to pay

your fees as soon as you are able.

If you have financial problems then

please see me or Mariam Matta for

a relief form. Our community will

help you in this situation, but you

MUST reapply each year because

people’s circumstances change

each year. Bus fees are subsidised

heavily by the school (about 50%).

Please pay these at the start of

each term, otherwise we may not

be able to have the bus pick up

your children.

Facebook and cyberbullying I know this is an on-going problem for

parents as well as teachers. Sometimes

I wonder if the negatives outweigh the

social benefits. Like all computer use I

strongly recommend that this be

supervised by parents. Computers

should be centralised in a home, not

locked away in bedrooms. You can

then supervise your child’s use. If

accessed by mobile phone, where you

most likely pay the phone bill, ask to

see where and how your child is

spending your money on their phone.

You and I both have a

responsibility to protect our children.

Uniform College uniform is compulsory. Details

are listed in the front of every diary.

Teachers will be checking every student

in Homeroom. Please ensure your child

is in full school uniform, including hair

tied back, no jewellery, nail polish etc

before they leave home. I would hate

to ring you to collect your child over a

simple issue like uniform.

The St Anthony’s COC Middle

School team I would like to welcome back our

students to the 2012 academic year.

We would like to especially wish our

new students a warm welcome to the

St Anthony’s family and welcome back

to our midst some returning families.

This year I would like to introduce our

newest Middle School team

member, Mr Tony White,

who many will know from

our Primary School and who

will be teaching Year 6 in

2012. Mr White is a dedicated and

devoted member of our St Anthony’s

staff, bringing with him not only years

of experience into our Middle School,

but an incredible enthusiasm for

teaching his students and fostering

their learning.

The year has commenced with some

mixed weather, but this has not

dampened eagerness for a positive

start to the year. With this in mind, we

would like to remind parents and

guardians of our upcoming Middle

School Parent Information Evening to

be held on Wednesday 15th February

at St Mina and St Marina’s Coptic

Orthodox College, Hallam at 7.00pm.

Parents will receive a letter which will be

sent home with their Middle Schooler

detailing the event. Parents and

students are encouraged to come

along, find out what’s in store for the

coming year, meet with their child’s

teachers and have any questions

answered on the evening.

Merete Entwistle

Middle School Co-ordinator

WANTED: EXERCISE BIKE Our Volunteer Coordinator

requires the use of an Exercise

bike for Health reasons. To

have one would speed up her

ability to receive Surgery.

Would anyone have one for

her to borrow or lease /

purchase for a small sum?

Thank you