Thursday October 16 Newsletter

Dear Families,

I trust that you all had a restful and enjoyable break. It is hard to believe but we are at the commencement of Term 4 in what will be an exciting end to the school year. It was fantastic to welcome our students back to school on Tuesday as their energy and enthusiasm for learning and school is inspiring. Term Four promises to be a busy but enjoyable term with many activities planned. We will have our annual Christmas Concert, Athletics Carnival and EOY Fun Days as well a range of other opportunities for our students to engage with. This newsletter is a shorter one that is focused on upcoming events, with a more detailed communication coming out next week. I do encourage all families to please have a close look at upcoming events and to contact the school if further clarification is needed. Please also ensure that you are consistently checking COMPASS for communications from the school in order to be up to date with the latest information.

As we move through Term Four, I do ask that you continue to reflect with your child/ren on the progress that they have made throughout the year. Celebrating success is vital and develops efficacy and confidence moving forward. It also promotes reflective practices that are vital for all of us to develop and use.

Thank you for your ongoing support

Nic Saltmarsh
Principal

The 2026 Schedule of Fees and Payment Arrangement forms are being sent home on Thursday, 16th October.

If you intend to pay your fees in full, there is no requirement to return the forms unless you would like to apply for the Family Discount (this is on the Schedule of Fees letter).  All fees paid in full by the 28th February 2026 will receive a 5% discount on the total cost of fees, including the Capital Levy. This discount equates to $116 for one child and is applied only after your payment has been confirmed. If you are unsure as to what your exact total will be (due to other discounts applied or credits) please email: marnie.wells@catholic.tas.edu.au prior to payment.

If you do not wish to pay in full and would like to enter into a payment arrangement or change your current arrangement, then please return the Payment Arrangement Form by Friday, 7th November. Please note that any direct debits with 2025 start dates will conclude at the end of 2025 and a new direct debit will need to be completed and returned to the front office for next year.

If your child/ren will not be returning to SBW in 2026 can you please advise the office or Mr Saltmarsh as soon as possible. We are currently in the process of finalising our staffing for 2026. Our staffing is based on current enrolment numbers and unknown changes can affect what we are able to offer. Vacancies exist in some classes for 2026. If you know of anyone who is considering enrolment, please ask them to complete the EOI form on our website (https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScm1L2cknAmnetFKRHXQX7GUbwt3yXUyrdWLSGts3nDA7FxnQ/viewform) and/or contact the school office as soon as possible.

Following inclement weather for the last two End of Year Concerts, the decision has been made in consultation with staff and the school board to hold the End of Year School Concert at Marist Regional College (MRC). As a school we have a close relationship with MRC, inparticular as we are a feeder school. The End of Year Concert will be held in the Harcombe Centre at MRC on Thursday 4/12. Thank you to MRC for their support in allowing us to host the concert on their site. More communication regarding the End of Year Concert will be communicated prior to the 4/12. 

We farewell Jarvis and Kelso and Morgan and Charlee who have finished at SBW. We thank them and their families for their time with us and wish them all the best.

Next week, we will hold an unannounced lockdown practice with staff and students to test our response to a potential scenario that may arise within the school. As for fire evacuation drills, we recognised the value of testing this process and have plans in place to make this practice as least disruptive as possible.

If you have queries, please call our WHS Safety Officer, Kaylah Keogh, on 0487 068 786.

We would like to inform you of some important changes to the school booklists for 2026. The exercise books listed for next year now come with coloured plastic covers. As a result, we ask that you do not purchase additional book covers or decorative stickers. Additionally, students will no longer require a pencil case. Instead, each student will have a small container on their desk provided by the school for everyday stationery. Any extra items will be stored in a plastic pouch which is now included on the booklists.

These changes have been introduced to:

• Simplify the back-to-school preparation process,
  
• Reduce costs for families, and
  
• Ensure consistency across all student materials.

Please contact our administration team if you have any questions.

Friendly reminders

• Attendance notes must be entered on the day that they occur. Compass no longer lets you add notes after the day.
• A Medical certificate is required for all absences  longer than five days

Please see below the Adult Behaviour Policy that has been developed by CET. A couple of key points:

- Inappropriate electronic activity, including but not limited to publishing abusive, defamatory, or offensive content with regards to the school, childcare, OSHC, TCEO, its staff or students on social networking sites or by email

- Shouting, either in person or on the telephone

- Swearing or using derogatory language, sexual jokes, innuendo, and other inappropriate language in a CET environment or around students, either in person or via electronic communications, such as email, or on the telephone

• We welcome disagreement and robust discussions, but expect it to be respectful
• Discuss the issue, not the individual
• Behind everyone in our school community is a person who has their own stories, families, successes, challenges, etc.

CET policies can be accessed here - https://catholic.tas.edu.au/policies