From Mrs David's Desk

ANZAC Day

We come together to celebrate Anzac Day.

We remember all those who have died in wars and conflicts around the world, and have made the ultimate sacrifice.

With grateful hearts, we thank all those who gave their lives so that we may live in peace and freedom.

We pray, also, for all those who have served in wars and conflicts, and thank them for their commitment.

We pray that we work together in our own lives to build a peaceful community.

Dear Families,

Welcome to Term 2! I hope everyone was as excited as me to return to school after the holidays.

There are so many things to look forward to and be grateful for.

We have an inclusive community of lifelong learners. Not only are our students learning but also our amazing Teachers, Learning Support Officers and Leaders.

We are continuing on our journey of discovery -

Cognitive Load Theory
Building Meaningful Connections
Explicit Direct Instruction
Science of Learning
Science of Reading
Quality Tier One Teaching Practices
Behaviour Routines
Knowledge Based Curriculum
UFLI (explicit and systematic phonics program)
PhOrMeS is primarily about sound, letter, morpheme and word-level knowledge and the skills requires to use this knowledge and read, spell and understand words:

PhOrMeS teaches:

decoding

spelling

word meanings

phonemic awareness

handwriting

I am pleased to announce that we have two opportunities in the coming weeks for families to find out more about the learning growth at Holy Family.

Meet the Staff Leadership Team Morning Tea (Tuesday 30th April) 9-10am
Family Curriculum Evening - Explicit Direct Instruction/Mathematics/Spelling (Tuesday 7th May) 6-7:30pm

Running the Room (Tom Bennett) Professional Learning

Tom Bennett will be hosting his only Melbourne Professional Learning for Leaders in Melbourne Catholic Primary schools at Holy Family on Wednesday 15th May. He is the School Behaviour Curriculum Advisor to the UK Government.

Our school has already embarked on this learning so we are looking forward to learning more on this day to improve the learning environment for staff and students.

ANZAC Day Ceremony

Thank you to Mrs Pejic (Religious Education Leader) and our school choir for leading our ANZAC Day service.

This was a pryerful and reflective time for our community to express gratitiude and hope for those people impacted by war.

Becoming a Fire Carrier School

Holy Family is embarking on becoming a Fire Carrier School.

The first part of this process is to involve students, staff and some parents in the development of our Fire Carrier Covenant. FIRE - Friends Igniting Reconciliation through Education -

is an initiative of the Catholic Aborignal Ministry of Victoria.

Six of our Senior Student Leaders have been meeting with me to develop the draft of this document. This document will now got to staff and parents (SAC) for input before it is published.

A School Covenant declares the school’s commitment to stand in solidarity with First Nations peoples on the path to meaningful reconciliation. They recognise the special contributions that First Nations people and their culture make and acknowledge the rightful position that they should hold within Australian society. Covenants emphasise the ethos and faith belief of Catholic schools and the social justice responses they are committed to make as part of their Christian identity. It is broken up into the three core values of Spirituality; Practical Reconciliation and Justice; and Cultural Recognition and Awareness. Completing a Covenant is an important first step taken by FIRE Carrier schools as part of their commitment to the program and is reflected in practical goals and actions which they strive to achieve in the year ahead.

Holy Family Colour Explosion Wrap Up

Thank you to our families - we now have $7,125 to go towards the next stage of our Adventure Playground!

Total monies raised after costs $7,125
Class that recorded the highest fundraising total with $795 was 3/4 C Champions
Class that fundraised the most based class numbers (just!) was Prep I -Outstanding Preps – they will have a movie afternoon with popcorn to celebrate.
Highest individual Fundraiser: Thalia Mangazva
Highest Fundraising family: the Younane family
Both families will get the car park for a term and $10 credits at kids café.
We had 55 Volunteers on the day and 29 families donated items for the event.
The student lead stalls created a great atmosphere and the students really enjoyed them.

The event was a very successful community event to start the year – the runners had a great time doing the colour run and the families then stayed on to catch up and enjoy a meal together. The good weather certainly helped.

I would like to thank the committee that made it all possible and the wider parent community for their donations of items and time. A shout out the teachers who attended on their Friday night.

Parents and Friends Committee

Don't forget to fill out the Operoo form to assist with Friend and Fundraising at our school. Your volunteering of an hour or two during the school term would be greatly appreciated.

Our next meeting is on Wednesday 1st May at 7pm in the staffroom at school.

Friday Morning Coffee

Thank you to those parents who helped out at our Friday Morning Coffee last week.

Hopefully we will get a roster going so a few barista's can be a part of this community initiative.

A note has been sent out on Operoo for you to fill in if you would like to assist between 8:45am-9:30am on a Friday morning in Kid's Cafe.

Altar Serving Training

It is wonderful that we have nine students who will be training with Father Justel, Mrs David and Mrs Pejic to become altar servers at our Friday morning Masses and some other school Masses on a weekend.

Thank you to our families for supporting your child to carry out this special role.

2025 Enrolments Open

A reminder to our existing families that enrolments are now open for the 2025 school year.

Please come into the office to receive an enrolment form from Tracey or Rana.

Open Days

Our Open Days are continuing throughout this term.

Walk to School Day

On Friday 10th May we will be encouraging all families to walk to school as part of National Road Safety Week. Upon arrival at school all walkers will be provided with a fresh piece of fruit. We look forward to seeing many walkers on this day.

Mother's Day Afternoon Tea

You are warmly invited to our special Mother's Day afternoon tea on Monday 13th May from 1:30-3pm in the hall. A note regarding this has been published on Operoo. Please respond ASAP so we can ensure we have catered adequately.

Looking forward to seeing many of you!

Medication at School

A reminder to all parents that if your child requires any form of medication whilst they are present at school, then the correct documentation needs to completed and delivered to the office with the medication by an adult. NO student should be self administering any form of medication at school. Please see the office for an administration of medication form if required. This form can also be found on our website.

This does not apply to students who have a current Anaphylaxis, Asthma or Allergy medical plan and medication already supplied to the school for 2024.

Soft Plastics Recycling

Thank you to those families who have volunteered to pick up our soft plastics and drop them to Monash Waste Transfer Station. Please find the roster for this term below.

House Cross Country

Last Friday students in Years 3-6 participated in House Cross Country with the support of our staff, parents and students from Avila College.

It was heart warming to witness the encouragement our students and spectators provided to each of the runners from the starting signal to the finish line.

We wish all the runners who have made it through to the next level every success and look forward to following each runner's journey.

The fastest runners for each age level were -