2026 Newsletter 8

Dear Parents and Families,

Welcome back to all our students, families and staff as we begin a new term together. I hope the winter holiday break provided opportunities for rest, renewal and quality time with loved ones. The colder months can often encourage us to slow down and reflect, and I trust that everyone has returned refreshed and ready for another exciting term of learning and growth.

This term promises to be a busy and rewarding one, particularly within the life of our faith community. We are honoured that our parish schools will be participating in the upcoming Religious Education Symposium, where school representatives will join Fr Jude on a panel to share with Catholic educators the strong, collaborative and faith-filled partnership that exists between our schools and parish. This is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the ways in which we work together to nurture the faith formation of our students and strengthen our Catholic identity.

We also begin our Eucharist Presentation Masses this term as our students prepare to receive the Sacrament of First Eucharist. These Masses are an important step in their sacramental journey and provide an opportunity for our parish and school communities to support and pray for these children and their families. We ask that you keep them in your prayers as they prepare to receive Jesus in the Eucharist for the first time.

As a parish community, we also extend our warmest wishes to our friends at St James as they celebrate their Feast Day this term. Feast days provide a special opportunity to reflect on the example of the saints and the ways they inspire us to live lives of faith, service and discipleship. We pray that the St James community enjoys a joyful celebration and continues to be blessed in their mission of nurturing young people in faith and learning.

Supporting the wellbeing of our students remains a priority, and we are pleased to welcome Teeth on Wheels to our school in the coming weeks. This valuable service helps promote healthy dental habits and provides families with convenient access to dental care. We encourage families to review the information provided and take advantage of this opportunity if it suits their needs.

As we embark on another term together, thank you for your continued support, partnership and commitment to our school community. May this term be filled with learning, faith, friendship and many opportunities to grow in the light of Christ.

Warm Regards,
Michelle

📅 Term 3 Important Dates

July:

July 20 - 22 (Mon - Wed): 🦷 Teeth on Wheels Dental Visit
July 21 (Tue): Year 1 Excursion - Animal Land 🚜 (Please ensure permission notes are completed on the compass app)
July 24 (Fri): Year 2 Excursion -Scienceworks 🤖 (Please ensure permission notes are completed on the compass app)
July 29 (Wed): Year 6 Excursion -Puffing Billing 🚂 (Please ensure permission notes are completed on the compass app)
August 5 (Wed): COMPULSORY First Eucharist Family Workshop (5:30 PM - 7:00 PM).
August 7 (Fri): 100 Days of Prep
August 7, 14, 21, 28 (Fri): TK Tuckshop – Order via Spriggy before 8:00 AM.
August 10 (Mon): Learning Conversations - Student Free Day
August 10 (Mon): Year 5 - Fitting and Sizing for Graduation Jerseys
August 13 (Thu): District Athletics
August 17 (Mon): Book Week Parade
August 22 (Sat): Sacrament of First Eucharist (10:30 AM - 11:30 AM)

Looking Ahead

September 4 (Fri): Father’s Day Event
September 9 (Wed): SFA ART SHOW
September 18 (Fri): 🛑 End of Term 3: Students finish early at 12:00 PM - Footy Colours Day & Hot Dog Lunch

📢 **LATE PICK UP CHARGES NOW APPLY**

Following our previous communications, please be advised that late collection fees are now being strictly enforced.
Any child who is not collected by **3:30 PM** will incur a late fee of **$10 per minute**, which is payable immediately upon collection.
**💡 How to protect yourself from unexpected fees:**
We strongly advise all families to register their children with **Extend**, our Out of Hours School Care (OSHC) program. Registration is free and ensures your child has a safe, supervised place to go in the event of traffic delays, emergencies, or unforeseen circumstances.

**🍎 Fueling Our Learners: Healthy Lunchbox Reminders**

A nutritious lunch gives our students the steady energy they need to focus, play, and learn throughout the day. We highly encourage parents to pack wholesome, healthy foods that keep young brains active and ready to learn.
To support these healthy habits and keep everyone feeling their best, please keep the following drink guidelines in mind:
**💧 Water Only, Please!**
We are a **water-only** school. Keeping hydrated with water is the best way to help kids stay focused and energized without the sugar crashes.
**What to pack:**
* A reusable drink bottle filled **only with plain water**.
**Please do not pack:**
* Juice boxes or poppers
* "Up & Go" or other liquid breakfast drinks
* Cordials, sports drinks, or soft drinks
These alternative drinks are **not permitted** at school. If they are brought in, we will kindly ask your child to save them for the trip home and drink water from our taps instead.
Thank you for your fantastic support in keeping our school community healthy, hydrated, and

**🏊 Lost Property: Swimming Items Left Behind**

We currently have a large number of items left over from our swimming program last term.
If your child is missing any of their swimming gear (such as goggles, towels, swimmers, drink bottles or bags), please encourage them to **come and check the lost property pile at the school office**.
⚠️ **Please Note:** Any items that are still unclaimed by the **end of next week** will be kindly donated to goodwill.
Thank you for your help in returning these items to their rightful homes!

📝 NAPLAN Results Have Been Sent Home!

Please keep an eye out for your child’s NAPLAN results, which have now been sent home in their school bags.

We kindly ask that you keep this document in a safe place, as you will need to provide a copy of these results during the Year 7 enrolment process in the future.

⚠️ Please Note: If your child's results are misplaced and a replacement copy needs to be reprinted by the school, a $20 administration fee will apply.

If you have any questions or would like to discuss your child’s results, please contact Tom at tquaife@sfatarneit.catholic.edu.au

Thank you for your cooperation!

**Student Absences and Attendance**

Regular attendance is vital, as even short absences can disrupt student learning and progress. Please remember that if a student is absent due to illness for more than two consecutive days, a medical certificate must be provided to the school. We kindly ask that you submit this documentation as soon as your child returns. Thank you for your cooperation in supporting your child's education.

**Sacrament of First Eucharist** 🕊️

As our candidates prepare to receive the Sacrament of First Holy Communion, please remember that the **Eucharist Presentation Masses** are taking place over the next two weekends.
To receive the sacrament, candidates are required to attend **at least one** of these Masses at St James the Apostle Catholic Church.
***🗓️ Mass Dates & Times***
You are welcome to attend any of the following services:
**Saturday, 18th July** & **Saturday, 25th July**
6:00 PM
**Sunday, 19th July** & **Sunday, 26th July**
8:30 AM, 10:30 AM, and 5:00 PM
***📝 Important Action Item***
**Sign the Register:** Please make sure to sign the attendance record in the church foyer when you arrive. This is required to register your child’s attendance.
Thank you for your continued support as we take this beautiful next step in your child's faith journey!

Keeping Our Kids Safe Online: Important Changes to Instagram and Meta AI

You might have recently seen news headlines regarding Meta (the company that owns Facebook and Instagram) and how they use photos to train and interact with Artificial Intelligence (AI). Social media platforms are no longer just digital noticeboards; they are active AI systems.

Because many of our families use these platforms, we want to share a quick, important update on what these changes mean and the simple steps you can take to protect your family’s privacy.

1. The Big Picture: AI Training & Australian Privacy Laws

Meta automatically uses public posts, captions, and photos on Facebook and Instagram to train its generative AI models.

The Australian Context: Unlike users in the European Union (EU) or the UK, Australian social media users currently do not have a simple, legally mandated "opt-out" form to stop Meta from using public photos for general AI training. Meta’s AI has already crawled years of public data.

The Good News: Meta has explicitly stated that its AI is not trained on private posts or private messages between friends and family.

2. The Latest Feature: "Muse Image" Remixing

Meta recently rolled out (and, after global backlash, is heavily adjusting) a feature called Muse Image. When turned on by default for public accounts, this feature allowed other users to tag a public account in an AI prompt and generate entirely new images using that account's photos as a "visual reference".

For schools and parents, this raised immediate safeguarding flags. It meant public photos of children, school uniforms, or sporting events could theoretically be remixed into synthetic AI content by strangers without consent.

While Meta is currently reeling this feature back due to privacy complaints, it highlights a vital shift: consent to publish a photo is no longer the same as consent to let AI manipulate it.

Action Plan: 3 Steps to Protect Your Family Today

The absolute best way to protect your child’s likeness from AI scraping and manipulation is to tighten your account settings. We highly recommend taking these five-minute steps on your own accounts, and ensuring your children do the same if they use Instagram:

Step 1: Switch Accounts to Private

Since Meta’s AI cannot scrape private accounts for training or image-remixing, going private is your strongest shield.

Open Instagram and go to your Profile.
Tap the three lines (Menu) in the top right corner.
Scroll down to Account Privacy and toggle Private Account to ON.

Step 2: Turn Off AI Content Reuse & Sharing

Instagram has a specific setting that controls whether people (and Meta AI) can reuse your content.

Go back to the three lines (Menu) on your profile.
Scroll down and tap Sharing and reuse.
Look for the setting: “Allow people to use your content on Instagram and with AI features on Meta.”
Turn OFF the toggles for both Posts and Reels.

Step 3: Audit Past Public Posts

If you recently changed your account from public to private, keep in mind that older content might still be indexed. Consider spending a few minutes deleting older photos of your children that are no longer needed online, or changing the audience settings of old Facebook posts to "Friends Only".

What We Are Doing at School

As a school, we are actively auditing our own official communication channels and social media pages. We are ensuring all our privacy toggles are strictly managed to protect our students' images, logos, and campus identity.

We encourage you to have an open conversation with your children about digital footprints and the fast-changing world of AI. For more excellent, parent-friendly resources on navigating social media safety, you can always visit the Australian eSafety Commissioner website (esafety.gov.au).