Welcome to our College Community News

Our College is a hive of activity, every single day. This is exactly what a school should look like! We want to hear students chatting, laughing, parents dropping off their children, sport happening, ensembles rehearsing, students borrowing books, trolleys carrying food to the café – all indicating a buzz of activity focussed on learning and progressing. In this Community news section of our newsletter, you will see announcements and items of interest to help you connect with our College community. We hope that everyone can find an area where they can connect, meet people, find valuable information, and feel that they know what is going on in our wonderful college.

We have started the year with a very much needed new traffic flow initiative, and this has been a successful operational and logistical effort. Our goal is to make the afternoon collection of your child at the end of a long day, the most stress-free so that you can get home and either start your afternoon activities (our students are busy people) or relax. A big thank you goes to our parent/carer community for their willingness to embrace something new. We will continue with this arrangement from now on in the afternoons and welcome any feedback, however this arrangement is now part of the daily life of our College.

We have many events that operate on a weekly basis in our College, and I would ask that all volunteers continue to sign in at our new reception Admin area and parents please refrain from entering classroom or building areas without first signing in. It is also important to note that parents are to only use the outside toilets that have signage ‘STAFF/VISITOR.’ Please do not use the student toilets at any time.

A reminder that Term 1 and Term 4 require all students to own and wear a College hat and if they are not wearing this throughout recess and lunchtime, they will be asked to stay under verandas. Students are required to wear their hat always when playing outside and this applies from Prep to Year 12. Hats should be worn under the DOME, under the café and walking to the MPH for recess and lunchtime.

Thank you to families who are vigilant with ensuring that the students wear correct academic and sport uniforms. Please refer to the College Uniform guide listed on the website here for further information, and could I please ask that students be mindful that jewellery should adhere to the uniform guidelines and that hair is tied back.

As we ‘run the race with perseverance’ I pray that this year will be a wonderful year for all students and families and continue to thank you for your support and attention to all hub posts for updated news items. All communication will be through the hub and if you are still not sure of how to access this, please contact the reception for help.

Weekly Prayer Meetings for the College

Parents & staff are welcome to join our weekly prayer meetings for the College. These meeting are held twice weekly as

• Tuesday Evenings 8:00 - 8:30pm online via Teams. To join please use the link found in the hub news.
• Thursday Mornings 9:00 - 9:30am in person within the meeting room adjacent to the College Reception (Please sign in first at Reception).

These are led by various staff: Rev. Warwick Grant, Suzy Song, Sonia Sires or Natalie Nheu. There is no obligation to pray aloud but of course you are welcome to. More information is available from our College Chaplain, Rev. Warwick Grant at wgrant@standrews.vic.edu.au or from Suzy Song at the College office.

Keeping our Community Safer

The College along with many parents have made a number of requests for Knox Council to provide a Crossing Supervisor at Burwood Highway and Tyner Road in the interests of student safety. We have recently received news that the Department of Transport and Planning met with Knox Council last week and confirmed the placement of a supervisor on Burwood Highway at the start of Term 2, 2024. This may be earlier pending resource availability of a supervisor.

Thank you to those who have maintained regular contact with Knox Council highlighting the safety need for a crossing supervisor.

St Andrews' ASD Parent Support Group

Our first ASD Parent Support Group meeting will be held on Wednesday 6th March from 9:15am at the Taste & See Cafe. Our primary aim is to provide an opportunity for parents to connect with other parents who are faced with the challenges of a child who has autism. Everyone is welcome to attend. We look forward to seeing you.

If you'd like further information please contact Shirley Gillie – Head of Learning Support on sgillie@standrews.vic.edu.au