Dear Parents & Friends of St Clare’s

I hope our second newsletter for the term finds you and your loved ones happy, safe and well.

Over the past few weeks, the school executive has made a conscious decision to re-establish some of the practises and procedures that were placed on hold when the COVID-19 pandemic was at its peak.  The timetabling of whole school assemblies, parent/teacher/student interviews, face-to-face enrolment interviews and longer term school excursions has allowed parents and teachers to spend time together, re-establish relationships and talk about the young people in their care.  The most recent parent/teacher/student interviews had a wonderful atmosphere and were a great expression of the collaborative approach to learning and teaching at the school.  My thanks to staff and the hundreds of families who attended; a special mention to St Clare’s support staff who spent many hours organising the venue, interview times and processing personal information following the event.

Parents and carers will have received information regarding a significant change to Maitland Diocesan business software.  The new software, called TechnologyOne will be rolled out at St Clare’s 27 May to 2 June.  Our support staff will undertake training in the software package over the next few weeks.  As with any change to established systems, there are likely to be some unintended glitches and hiccups as the school community adjusts to new processes and procedures.  Please be aware that our staff will be doing all they can to ensure a smooth transition to the use of the TechnologyOne package.

Next week is Catholic Schools Week.  During the week we will take time to remember and celebrate the development of our Catholic System of schools and acknowledge the wonderful achievements of parents, students and staff who have contributed to the development of our St Clare’s community.  As part of the week we will be holding school tours for small groups of people interested in enrolling their sons and daughters into Year 7 at St Clare’s in 2023.  Details of the tours can be found at the end of the Principal’s message.

If you are intending to enrol a young person at St Clare’s, please collect an enrolment package from your Catholic Primary school or from the St Clare’s office.  Enrolment interviews will commence later in the term.

In the past few days there has been reference in the media about the surge in COVID-19 infections in Australia and the impact this is having on businesses and communities.  Like most enterprises, St Clare’s is being affected by the continued spread of the virus.  Student and staff absences have impacted on parent/teacher/student interviews, the running of NAPLAN and task completion in all faculties across the school.  It is important that if your son or daughter is ill, you keep them home until they are completely well.  Please do not send them on an excursion or camp if they are not 100% fit and well – to do so is putting the health and wellbeing of students and staff at risk and will threaten the viability of much anticipated school events.

In closing, I would like to thank parents, students and staff for their commitment to providing a quality education in very difficult times.  We know that when all members of the learning team:  students, parents and staff work together, great things happen.

God Bless

Peter Nicholls
Principal