Enrolment for 2024

Enrolments for Kindergarten 2024 are now open. If you have a child attending KIndergarten next year or you know of anyone who is thinking of enrolling their child, please encourage them to attend our Open School Twilight event on Tuesday 21 February, 4pm-6pm. This is an opportunity for families to visit the school, meet the staff and enjoy some hospitality (aka sausage).

Enrolment forms may be collected from the school office or via the school Website 

https://www.hchdow.catholic.edu.au/

Term Dates and Allocated Pupil Free Days 2023

All schools in 2023 will have seven Staff Development Days (Pupil Free Days). These days are provided to assist staff in the implementation of their school improvement priorities.Please find below these dates along with the first and last dates of each term. (Please note: we have one Pupil Free Day remaining that we have not yet allocated)

Term 1, 2023

• Pupil Free Days - 27 & 30 January 2023
• 6 April - Last day of Term 1 (Thursday) 

Term 2, 2023

• Pupil Free Day- 24 April (Monday)
• 26 April - First day of Term 2 (Wednesday) 
• 30 June - Last day of Term 2 (Friday) 

Term 3, 2023

• 17 July - First day of Term 3 (Monday) 
• Pupil Free Day -  18 August (Friday)
• 22 September - Last day of Term 3 (Friday)

Term 4, 2023

• 9 October - First day of Term 4 (Monday) 
• 15 December - Last day of Term 4 (Friday)
• 18 December - Pupil Free Day (Monday)
• 19 December - Pupil Free Day (Tuesday)

Assemblies, Term 1

Tuesday 14 February at 8.50am 

Tuesday 28 February at 8.50am - Stage 1 Sharing Learning & Principal awards

Tuesday 28 March at 8.50am - Stage 3 Sharing Learning & Principal awards

Whole School Sport Carnival Dates 2023

Please find below a reminder of these dates, they are on the Parent Calendar.

Cross Country - Tuesday 14 March @ Rex Jackson Oval, K-6

Athletics Carnival - Thursday 4 May at Beaton Park, Wollongong, K-6

Swimming Carnival - in Term 4 Date to be confirmed

Excursion Dates 2023

Years 3, 4 & 5 - Monday 14 August (Mary MacKillop Place, North Sydney & Art Gallery of NSW)

Year 1 - Wednesday 17 May (Science Center & Illawarra Museum)

Year 2 - Thursday 8 June (Wollongong Botanic Gardens) 

Kindergarten - Thursday 10 August (Calmsley Hill Farm, Rooty Hill)

All dates can be found on the Parent Calendar -

https://www.hchdow.catholic.edu.au/news-and-events/events/

Meet and Greets

Please make an appointment to meet with your child’s teacher to provide any information, concerns or dreams you may have for your child this year. This information is important for teachers and helps to build a partnership between parent and teacher. Meet and Greet meetings will be held next week. Appointments can be made via the Compass Parent Portal.

Punctuality and Attendance

School attendance is an important indicator of academic and social achievement. Just one day a fortnight away from school equates to 4 weeks of school missed a year. The impact of consistent late arrivals or early departures has similar effects. Every minute counts, every minute lost can lead to gaps in students’ learning, confidence and socialisation.

Please note that the law requires us to inform you of our concerns around attendance. If a student has a number of unexplained absences or falls below appropriate levels of attendance, you will be informed. This will allow us to work together to improve attendance levels. 

Entering Student Absences on Compass

If your child is absent due to sick leave or a medical appointment, please inform the school by phoning, emailing or logging the absence onto the Compass via the Parent Portal. For any other leave, including Travel, permission must be sought from the Principal prior to the leave. Permission is sought by filling out the Student Leave forms available from the school office. Once this leave has been approved, the school will place the leave on Compass - therefore parents should not use the ‘Travel’ option on the Compass Parent Portal. Thank you for your cooperation with this.

Traffic Reminders

We appreciate your vigilance when driving and parking on MacMillan Street during student ‘drop off’ and ‘pick up’. A free reminders:

• No Parking Zone - each school morning between
            8.30am and 9.30am
• Bus Zone - each morning 8.00am - 9.30am and            each afternoon 2.30pm - 4.00pm

The attached resources are worth reading. They are simple reminders to ensure our community remains safe.

Travel Pass for Students

Premier Charters has advised the following important information regarding students travelling to and from school using an Opal Card: 

• School students are required to have a valid School Opal Card or travel pass for the commencement of school in January 2023.
• As of Monday 13th February all students without a valid School Opal card or Child/Youth Opal card, will be referred back to the school by the bus driver 
• Parents and students are reminded to plan ahead and make sure their child knows which service/s to use and has a valid travel pass to travel.

Apply for a school travel pass or opal card: https://transportnsw.info/school-travel-apply

Students using School Opal cards are also reminded that they must tap on and tap off in line with the Student code of conduct https://transportnsw.info/student-code-conduct and Opal terms of use https://transportnsw.info/tickets-opal/opal/opal-terms-of-use

NCCD

The Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability (NCCD) takes place every year. All schools in Australia must collect information about students with disability. The NCCD is a collection that counts: 

• the number of school students receiving an adjustment or ‘help’ due to disability 
• the level of adjustment they are receiving to access education on the same basis as other students.

The 2023 NCCD process has commenced. Further information is attached for your information.

Fact Sheet PDF is attached below

Website link is here

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