Principals News
Hello, Holy Family Community
This is the first time that I write to you officially as the Acting Principal of Holy Family School. It is an honour to be in this position, and I look forward to partnering with you all to ensure that we continue to provide the best opportunities for our students and our community for the remainder of the year.
Welcome to Term 4. I can't believe how fast this year is going! I'm sure you've all had some tired children coming home after our wonderful first week of swimming. It has gotten off to a great start, and we have one more week to go!
Thank you to everyone who came to make Steve's send-off such a grand celebration of his time at Holy Family. He has made it safely to New Zealand and is enjoying time at his batch doing his two favourite things - fishing and motorcycling. He will be returning briefly to Australia at the end of November and is looking forward to popping into Holy Family to say hello to everyone.
NEW PRINCIPAL APPOINTMENT PROCESS
The Melbourne Archdiocese has begun recruiting the next principal for our school. Our Principal Consultant, Tony Levett, visited the staff last week to ask them what qualities and dispositions they would like in the new principal. This was a great opportunity for the staff to have a voice in this process and contribute to the selection criteria for the role.
The position has been advertised this weekend, and applications from interested candidates close on October 24. Once applications are received, they will be reviewed by the recruitment panel, which will short list candidates for interviews.
The panel is made up of the following members:
- Tony Levett - MACS Principal Consultant
- Fr John Prince - Parish Priest
- Caroline Knight - Holy Family Parent
- Terry Gardiner - Principal of St Mary's Primary, Dandenong
We pray that by the grace of the Holy Spirit, we find the right person to lead the Holy Family in the next chapter of its journey. Should a principal not be appointed through this process, I will continue in the Acting Principal role until the process can be undertaken again early next year.
WELCOME
I want to take this opportunity to welcome our new staff member, Glenis Cheyne, to Holy Family. Glenis has taken on the role of the Community Hub Leader.
Glenis has extensive experience working in community development and will be a fantastic addition to our school. Glenis is looking forward to partnering with parents and the community to reinvigorate our Hub. She has begun familiarising herself with the Holy Family community and the initiatives currently being run, such as English Classes, Card Making and Playgroup.
If you have any queries about our Hub, you can contact Glenis at 0452 611 853 or via email at gcheyne@hfdoveton.catholic.edu.au.
2023 PLANNING
We are currently looking at the structure of classes and staffing for the 2023 school year. Therefore, if you DO NOT INTEND TO RETURN to Holy Family next year, could you please inform me via email as soon as possible:
principal@hfdoveton.catholic.edu.au
2023 PREP TRANSITION
As part of the transition for next year, we will be commencing our Prep Orientation Program in Week 3. This provides an opportunity for our prospective prep students to come to Holy Family to familiarise themselves with the new environment and school routines. It also allows families to learn more about Holy Family and staff to get to know the new Preps and their families.
Parents are asked to bring their children to school for an hour on the dates listed below, where they will interact with the other prep students and the teachers as they participate in school readiness activities. Parents are asked to stay at school during this time as we will be running some parent workshops and meet and greets with the other parents:
Wednesday 19 October: 10am - 11am
Wednesday 2 November: 10am - 11am
Wednesday 16 November: 10am - 11am
Wednesday 7 December: 10am - 11am
Bump Up Day: Wednesday 14th December: 10 am -11 am
We look forward to meeting our new and existing 2023 Prep families at these sessions and hope you find them a valuable opportunity for yourselves and your children.
Have a wonderful week, everyone!
Pauline Moran
Acting Principal