Junior School news: David Kolpak

The start of the year is an exciting time for our Junior School boys. Returning to School after the summer break gives us an opportunity to reconnect with friends and to create new friendships

This year, we welcome over 100 families to Saints and the Junior School community. We also welcome:

Gemma Cross as a new ELC Teacher
Emma Killey, Seanne Tiller and Ming-Jie Cheng as ESOs
Lana Tindle as a new Year 4 Teacher for Term 1
Simon Varga as the Junior School Music Coordinator

We welcome back:
Alison Winter to the Library
Natalie Pearce to Reception
Caryn Schutz to Year 2

This week we commissioned our new Junior School Leaders for 2019. During the coming weeks we will announce our Year 2 Leaders for Term 1, our Class SRC Members for Semester 1 and our sporting and music Leaders for 2019. In all, this will involve some 100 boys in key leadership roles in the Junior School, a clear sign of our commitment to giving boys from Reception to Year 6 the experience of being a leader at Saints.

I am most grateful to Mellissa Larkin who continues in the role of Chair of the Junior School Friends of Saints. Mellissa is ably supported by enthusiastic committee members who work to friend-raise in the Junior School. Our first function is the Junior School Movie Night. This will be held on Saturday 16 March, and we hope to see lots of our families there.

Please remember to keep the lines of communication open with your boys. Ask the question for which you want to hear the answer. For example, if you ask How was school today? you could mostly expect the one word answer of Good or Ok. But if you were to ask your son Tell me five things that you enjoyed at school today, you encourage communication about what your son has experienced. It is also another way to help your child learn to focus on all of the good things that are happening in their day.

Student Leaders
Congratulations to the following boys who have been chosen to be leaders in the Junior School for 2019.

Dates to Remember
By now you would have received two notices from me, Junior School Diary Dates and a Welcome to the Junior School letter. If you have not received these, please contact either Mrs Michelon or Mrs Burgess via the Junior School Front Office.

A Call for Junior School Volunteers
The Junior School runs a very successful Learning Assistance Program (LAP), which is supported by a regular group of Volunteers who provide an hour and a half (1.5 hours) of their time from 8.45 – 10.15am, once a week. This program is of significant benefit to a number of boys in Years 2 – 6 with their literacy development, and only operates with the generous support of our Volunteers. If you are interested in becoming a Volunteer at the school and would like more information about joining our friendly and supportive team in LAP, please contact:

Geraldine Waldron LAP Coordinator
Tel: 8404 0415 or gwaldron@stpeters.sa.edu.au

Traffic Safety
St Peter’s College is situated in close proximity to the CBD of Adelaide, and adjacent to the Botanic Gardens. The School campus sits between two high-traffic roads in North Terrace and Hackney Road. The safety of our boys is of paramount importance, and caution must always be taken when walking, riding or driving in this vicinity.

Pedestrians
When boys are crossing North Terrace on their way to and from School, they must always cross at the pedestrian traffic lights situated near Trinity Street. Boys should not cross the road at any other place, even when traffic is stopped for the lights.

Boys who need to cross Hackney Road must use the traffic lights on the corner of North Terrace, or walk under the bridge (over the River Torrens) to the north of the School. Alternatively, boys should use the pedestrian island opposite the entrance to Plane Tree Drive. 

In the Junior School, parents should use either the North Terrace or Hackney Road car parks. Parents are asked to respect any designated spaces signed for Staff parking.

The Junior School Avenue is open for parking until 9:30am. It is then closed for traffic throughout the day and reopens at 2:30pm.

Drop-offs
Parents may drop boys off inside the School grounds in the Hackney Road carpark, North Terrace carpark or in the Avenue. However, there is no parking in the Avenue.

Photographs on Social Media
Out of respect to other families within our School Community, St Peter’s College asks that photographs taken at any School event or function that contain images of other students not be published, distributed to others or placed on any form of social media, without the consent of the relevant student’s family.

Outside School Hours Care
The Before School Care program at St Peter’s College will operate from 7:00 am to 8:15am each school day. The After School Care program runs from 3.00pm to 6.00pm school days.

Unlike many childcare programs, the Camp Australia program at St Peters’ College OSHC is eligible for the Child Care Benefit and the Child Care Rebate, which can reduce the cost of the program by up to 50% or more. The Child Care rebate is not income tested. It pays up to 50% of your out of pocket expenses … up to $7,500 per child a year.

Service Hours and Fee Structure:

After applying the Child Care Benefit and Child Care Rebate, the Out of Pocket expenses will be:

Before School Care       $4.47 to $7.02

After School Care          $9.89 to $14.98

To reduce your fortnightly out-of-pocket costs choose to have your rebate paid direct to Camp Australia. To find out more about how you can save contact Camp Australia’s friendly Customer Service Team on 1300 105 343 or the Family Assistance Office 13 61 50.

Car Parking

1. I would like to remind parents of the regulations regarding use of the Junior School carpark. People using the carpark need to stick to the 10km/h speed limit and follow the arrows to assist us with the safety of our boys and their families.
2. Could parents who are collecting boys in the area near the School Uniform Shop please ensure they do not park around the round-about at the end of the road and also do not park in front of cars that are parked in marked car parks, making it impossible for these cars to leave the car park.
3. Could parents please respect and take note of the fact that there are disabled carparks in the Junior School. We currently have parents parking in these bays who do not have the appropriate permits.
4. Parents have indicated that there are parents who are driving whilst on mobile phones in our school carparks, and potentially endangering the safety of our Junior School boys. Obviously we would ask that parents do not engage in this illegal practice.

Playground Supervision
Each morning teachers supervise the playground from 8:15 – 8:30am, before the boys go to class for the start of the school day. Boys who arrive at school before this time should go to Outside School Hours Care (OSHC). After school there is supervision of the exit points to 3.40pm. After this time, any boy not at a co-curricular activity or still waiting to be collected by a parent will be taken to OSHC by the teacher on duty.

Parents are responsible for the supervision of their son on any playground equipment after school, as teachers are rostered on duty at various exit points in the Junior School. We do ask that boys do not play on the equipment outside the Years 3 and 4 classrooms until after 3:15pm. 

Lost Property
For the information of parents we have 4 lost property bins in the Junior School.

1. One near the meeting room outside 1D.
2. Two in the Bickersteth Building opposite the 3I classroom (for all clothes).
3. One outside the Art Room (for all lunch boxes and bags).

We would encourage boys to check these bins for any lost property, as all left-over items are donated to charity at the end of each term.

Term Dates for 2019
Term 1             30 January – 12 April
Term 2             30 April – 28 June
Term 3             23 July – 27 September
Term 4             15 October – 6 December

We hope it is an exciting and rewarding year for all the boys and their families, and I look forward to seeing you around the School and at the various co-curricular and Junior School Friends of Saints events throughout the year. Please feel free to contact me should you ever wish to discuss any aspect of your son’s education in our Junior School.

David Kolpak
Acting Head of Junior School