Principal's Desk
Dear Parents,
Welcome back for Term Three!
I trust you all had a great school holiday break with a healthy mix of work, rest and play. It was wonderful to see the smiling faces on our students as they reunited with friends and teachers, sharing stories from their holiday break. Hopefully, despite the inclement weather, your children were able to enjoy some `outside time’ away from the lure of digital devices.
I must admit, it was difficult climbing out of bed on Monday morning. This was partly due to the cold weather, but also the enthralling Ashes battle between Australia and England in the cricket, for both the men's and women's teams. If cricket isn't your thing, perhaps you have endured some late nights following Wimbledon or the Tour de France. However, it is great to be back into the school routine and ready for another term of learning.
For our teachers, the school holiday break provided a well earned rest as well as time to plan and prepare for the term ahead. As Principal, school holidays are an opportune time to organise additional school maintenance and cleaning. From an OH&S perspective, there are some jobs that are much easier to organise in the absence of students.
As mentioned in our previous newsletter, Term Three promises to be `action packed’ with more learning opportunities. Our major focus will be our School Production on Thursday 17th August, with a particular emphasis on the Performing Arts Curriculum. In addition to our School Production, many of our Year 6 students will prepare to celebrate the Sacrament of Confirmation on Thursday 20th July. There are also excursions, incursions and sporting events on the calendar too!
Parents’ Association (PA)
This week we will hold our monthly Parents’ Association (PA) meeting. The role of the PA is twofold; to coordinate events to build community engagement and to raise funds for the benefit of our students. The members of the PA generously volunteer their time and talents for which we are extremely grateful. We have a designated PA page in each edition of the weekly newsletter to notify the community of upcoming events. We acknowledge that parents are extremely time poor but we strongly encourage all families to volunteer and engage in our community events where possible.
At the meetings we also discuss some items on the `wish list’ that could be purchased with funds raised. We have a mixture of larger projects, such as revamping our outdoor play spaces, as well as learning resources to further engage our students in their learning. One of these projects commenced over the school holiday break, with a new outdoor gathering space underway outside our Prep classrooms. It is still under construction but will be fantastic once complete. Please regularly check the PA page for up to date news - including `SAVE THE DATE’ (5th August) for the PA Bogan Bingo night fundraiser.
Sacrament of Confirmation
Please keep our Year 6 students in your prayers as they prepare to become fully initiated into the Catholic Church through the reception of the Sacrament of Confirmation. We thank their parents, Godparents and Sponsors for their ongoing support in their journey of faith.
The students will participate in a Reflection Day at St Jude's Church on Wednesday 19th July, followed by the celebration of the Sacrament on Thursday 20th July.
Parent / Teacher Interviews
As part of the reporting process we also invite parents to attend a Parent Teacher Interview following receipt of the school report. At Holy Trinity we encourage students to also attend this meeting to support a learning conversation that involves affirmation for student progress and `next steps’ for learning. The Parent Teacher Interviews usually occur at the end of Term Two. However, due to the shorter length of Term Two in 2023 (less than 9 weeks), these interviews will take place this week as follows:
Tuesday 11th July - 4pm - 6pm
Thursday 13th July - 1.30pm - 7.30pm
(students finish school at 1pm on this day)
We will continue to offer both onsite and online meetings to meet the needs of all families. We will allow 15 minutes for these meetings. To facilitate the 1.30pm start for interviews on Thursday 13th July, school will conclude at 1pm on this day. The school will supervise students who require supervision until 3.30pm. Details regarding bookings have been sent via Operoo. If your child requires supervision please indicate on the following link.
Supervision Required on Thursday 13th July 2023
Working Bee - Sunday 23rd July 9am-12pm
Thank you to the 25 families who completed the survey in regards to attending Working Bees. There was mixed feedback from the parent survey in regards to Working Bees, with the most attractive option being the twilight timeslot (daylight savings), with Sunday morning preferable over Saturday morning. A number of parents cited competing priorities, particularly children’s sport, while others indicated they wouldn't attend a working bee at all.
Following this feedback we will proceed with a Working Bee on Sunday 23rd July 9am-12pm. Please complete the Google Form indicating your attendance if available.
Save the Date - Grandparents Afternoon
Grandparents are warmly welcome to join their grandchildren at school on Friday the 4th of August 2.30-3.30pm.
Save the Date - Dad's afternoon at school
All HT and SMC Dad's are invited to join their children at school on Monday the 4th of September 2.30-3.30pm for some fun activitie
School Fee Statements
Statements were issued to all families on 16/6/2023. If you have not received a statement via email please contact the office immediately.
As we are nearing the end of Term 2 and the end of June, we would appreciate if a portion of your fees have been paid by the end of Term 2. A reminder to families that fees are due in full by the end of Term 3. Please disregard if you have a direct debit or prior arrangements have been made.
Any further queries please do not hesitate to contact Lorelle Clark in the office.
School Blog
Our students are responsible for a lot of the School Blog content, so please take some time to appreciate their posts. It is also a great way to find out about school events such as Camp, Production, Sports Events, the Arts …. And much more!
http://blog.htws.catholic.edu.au/
Warm Regards,
Adrian Scutt
Principal
Time to eXcel
