Term Three Week Seven – Commencing Monday 1st September 2025

Book Week Parade – Tuesday 2nd of September
Once again in 2025, we will mark the occasion of Literacy Week with a Book Week Parade on Tuesday morning. 

A reminder that for children between Kindy to Year Six, they are more than welcome to dress up as their favourite book characters on the day. Parents and carers are most welcome to stay for the parade. As they usually would, children in Kindy to Year Six are to head straight to their classroom with the aim that the Book Week Parade commences at 8:45am in the School Undercover Area. 
 
Parents and carers, can I please ask that you gather in the Undercover Area for the start of the parade and not wait outside your child’s classroom in the morning when you drop your child off. Tuesday morning will be busy for staff settling children into the classroom routines. Once the parade commences, we will invite you to spread out and line the parade route to cheer the children on. Further information will be given on Tuesday morning when we gather in the Undercover Area. 
 
In an evolution from last year, Kindy children will join the parade in 2025. The Kindy children will gather with their buddies outside the Undercover Area to commence, and then once the parade begins, the Kindy children, led by their buddies, will parade around the route. This means that the Kindy children will not be overwhelmed by the noise and volume of people in the Undercover Area and can just blend in to the parade with the rest of the school. 
 
Tuesday morning will be a busy morning at school. This means that the car park will be busy also. Please ensure that you give yourselves plenty of time on Tuesday morning to arrive at school with plenty of time for your child to settle into class. Please be patient and courteous in the car park. If you can walk or carpool to school in the morning, this would be recommended. 
 
Last year’s Book Week Parade at St Emilie’s was very well received, with children, staff and parents all coming together to celebrate the magic of reading. It is an exciting time for everyone involved and we look forward to partnering with parents and carers to celebrate National Literacy Week. 

Father’s Day Breakfast – Friday 5th of September 
This coming Friday, we look forward to welcoming all those families at the school who have ordered a breakfast for the Father’s Day breakfast. Orders for breakfast are now closed. Friday morning will be a great opportunity for us all to gather together to celebrate our fathers and father figures.

House Athletics Carnival Novelty Items – Friday 19th of September 
This year, we will once again be selling novelty items for the House Athletics Carnival on Friday, 19th of September. These items bring colour and vibrancy to an already action packed day, and purchases made through the school earn money that is shared back into purchasing resources for the children. So, the more you purchase, the more money we have for resources for our children. 

A flyer with information on how to make a purchase will be sent home with your child today.

We Want To Hear From You: Strategic Plan QR Code
As has been communicated previously, we are currently in the process of developing our school Strategic Plan which will act as a roadmap toward 2030 for growth at the school. Around the school, you will notice that QR codes have been placed to gather feedback from parents and carers. Essentially, we would love to hear your input around what the school is doing well currently and needs to hold on to, as well as any areas for growth for the school. If you would like to share your thoughts, please scan the QR code when you are on site here at school or click here.

Absentee Notes Before 8:30am
In order for school staff to be able to provide the best duty of care for your child, including ensuring that they have been noted as present to commence the day, we are calling for parents to please inform us of your child’s absence by 8:30am. 8:30am is the time that Class Teachers invite the children in to the class to commence their learning routines for the day. At this point, when duty of care is transferred to the Class Teachers, it is essential that we know who is in attendance and who is not. Having your absentee information by 8:30am ensures we can do this. We thank you for your cooperation. 

No Supervision Onsite Before 8:20am
Duty of care for children to be onsite and supervised at St Emilie’s commences at 8:20am. Children should not be dropped off at school before this time, and if they are, an adult must accompany them. A reminder for all children and carers who arrive before the 8:30am bell that once they have placed their school bags down at their classrooms, they should be waiting in the undercover area. A teacher is rostered on at this time to ensure the children are safe and preparing themselves so they are ‘ready to learn’ when the bell sounds to commence the day. 

P & F Volunteers Form and a Call for Donations of Prizes 
Between now and the end of the year, there are some very exciting events which will take place at St Emilie’s. These events, supported by the P & F depend on the involvement of parents and carers to ensure that the events are safe, fun and engaging for all involved. So, why not come along and join the fun by volunteering your time. It is a great way to contribute to the life of our school. 

Please visit the P & F section of the Weekly Reminders below to access the link for the volunteer Form. 

We also use this opportunity to put a call out to the community for any donations or assistance from our community (especially family businesses), who may be able to assist with donating prizes for the various events. Please contact the school Administration Office if you can assist. 

St Emilie’s Staff Right To Disconnect
The staff at St Emilie’s are a very dedicated and committed group of professionals. The staff at our school show the utmost diligence in providing for the children they care for each day. Recently, there have been some changes to the working conditions for teachers and their workloads outside of working hours.  

Below is some information that is important for you to know in relation to these new legislated changes for our teachers as part of their updated employment conditions.  

As has always been the case at St Emilie’s and as indicated in the Parent Handbook, unless a matter is urgent, it is reasonable to expect up to a 48-hour turnaround time in response to emails from school staff. In most cases, staff are unable to respond during the school day because they’re teaching for the majority of the time and have a legal duty of care over the children in their class.   

Staff also have the right to disconnect from 4.00pm each day until 8:15am the following day as per the new changes. Along with this, staff have the right to disconnect on weekends and won’t respond to any emails on Saturday or Sunday. Part-time staff are not required to respond to any form of communication on their non-working days.   

Underpinning this change is the acknowledgement that our staff at St Emilie’s have lives outside of school also. Many staff are parents, family members and friends to their loved ones and it is important that after work hours, they have the right to fulfil these roles without interruption in line with the expectation placed upon other professionals.  

At St Emilie’s, we are blessed to have such a supportive parent body and I know that you will continue to support our staff by keeping these changes in mind when communicating with them.  

Will Your Child Be Returning To St Emilie’s in 2026?
In really great news for the health of our school, most of the year levels across the school have waiting lists of children who would like to enrol, however, are unable to do so because we are at capacity. If you know that your child will be definitely moving on from St Emilie’s in 2026, can you please email the Administration Office to inform us. This means we will be able to offer an interview to potential new families so that they can commence organising their transition in to our school. 

Parent Circle with Kylie Goodes (School Social Worker)
The final gathering for Parent Circle will take place on Thursday 11th of September in the Small Hall. Please come and join Kylie Goodes our School Social Worker as she presents on wellness and wellbeing in honour of R U Ok Day. 

Vacation Swimming Lessons
Vac Swim is now calling for enrolment for all school holiday swimming lessons. For further information on enrolment, please click on the link here.