From the Principal
It is hard to believe that today is the last day of Term 1. What a term it has been, thank you to the staff who have worked incredibly hard to help create a successful start to the year. We are excited to announce that we have a large number of new students joining us to start Term 2, our school population has grown from 85 at the start of the year and we will begin Term 2 at 97, a truly wonderful recognition of the work that has been happening at our wonderful school in the past 3 to 4 years.
As a Catholic community, many of us would be aware that we are in the middle of Holy Week, perhaps that most important week in our Liturgical Calendar. The week started on Sunday, with Palm Sunday and will conclude on this coming Sunday as we will celebrate Easter Sunday. Our students have helped celebrate this special week with our Easter Liturgies, thanks to the classroom teachers, LSO staff and Mrs Marcia Janky for helping prepare the students for these special occasions. For those in our community who would like to know more about Holy Week, I have added some helpful videos in the RE Information tab.
Congratulations to Sarah Jelenich, who is the lucky winner of the $50 gift card for answering some trivia in the newsletter! Your voucher can be collected early next term from the office. A big thank you to those families who are reading the newsletter on a regular basis.
I wish all members of our school community a wonderful Easter break. We will see you all at the commencement of Term 2 on Monday, April 15th.
Expressions on Interest - Inform and Empower:
I sent out an Operoo to gauge interest levels from our community for the below event. If we have a large number of families interested the school will register and pay for the event.
ART Therapy:
Please reach out to our very own parent Rose Hermans if there is interest in Art Therapy.
5/6 Class - Jess Jones:
As mentioned several weeks ago, Mrs Jess Jones will be taking over the 5/6 class from Ms Jessie Prince for the remainder of the year. Jess spent most the week in the 5/6 class this week getting to know the students and some of the families through our PSG conversations. Jess comes with a wealth of experience and has a Masters Degree in Wellbeing. We are very lucky to have Jess for at least the rest of 2024! Welcome Jess.
I will keep all members of the school community updated when Jessie and Adam share the news of the expectant bundle of joy.
A huge thank you!
Many of you may have seen Richard around the school. He has come on board this year with his business Roma Cleaning. I just want to pass on a huge thank you to Richard for the wonderful work he has been doing at our school. His work does not go unnoticed.
Term 2 - Important Dates and Assembly Dates:
Please make sure you view the Important Dates tab and also the Assembly tab for the all of the Term 2 dates. Please note, there is no assembly on April 15th (first day back), however the Prep/1 class will be sharing the Easter Sunday Story with the school community from 2:30 pm in the school Library.
Teachers - First point of contact:
Just a reminder to all parents that your child's classroom teacher should always be your first point of call. This is for all incidents that occur at school. You are always welcome to cc myself or another school leader in on the email, but please ensure you converse with the classroom teacher first. If teachers require support from leadership with any situation then we are more than happy to support in any way we can.
School Photo Day:
School Photos are scheduled for the first day of Term 2, April 15th. It is expected that ALL students are in full winter uniform.
Boys: School polo, navy blue pants (or shorts), Navy blue socks and black shoes, maroon school jumper or zip up fleece.
Girls: As per boys uniform if that is more comfortable or;
School polo, navy blue tunic, navy blue tights, black shoes, maroon school jumper or zip up fleece.
Please follow the instructions below to order your photos.
Treasuring our Trees:
On Monday we had our amazing hand crafted Yarning Circle benches delivered by Dave from Treasuring our Trees. It has been a journey since I was first informed about Dave by Carol Blewitt and Marci Janky, but together we have managed to come up with a spectacular piece for our school. The wood comes from trees from our local community that fell during the horrible storms a few years back.
Harmony Day Artwork:
Check out some of this awesome Harmony Day themed artwork from our classes last week. Thanks to Mrs A for creating these displays.
New Chromebooks and Ipads:
I am currently gathering with quotes from several companies to upgrade a large chunk of our existing Ipads and Chromebooks. Hopefully in the first few weeks of Term 2 we will have 25 new Chromebooks (Year 5/6 room) and 20 new Ipads (2/3 room). This process can take sometime as we need our in-house tech expert Steve to get all of these devices up and running. But I can assure all members that the new devices will be in our classrooms shortly. Very exciting!!
Enchanted Garden - Day Camp:
On Wednesday 24th of April, our Year 3 and 4 students are heading to the Enchanted Garden near Arthurs Seat. This is a longer than normal school day. Students are expected to arrive at school no later than 8:25 am and will return to school around 7:00 pm. There was an Operoo sent out earlier today with more information. If you have any questions related to this Day Camp please speak to Belinda Saville, Marcia Janky or Katherine McLoughlin.
Parents and Friends Morning Tea:
There will be a morning tea on the first day of Term 2 (15th of April) at 9:00am in the staffroom. All families are welcome, including our new families. It is a wonderful opportunity to connect with other families within our school. Please see the Parents and Friends tab for more information.
Parent Support Group Meetings:
Thank you to all the families who supported us in our slight change to how we operate PSG meetings with families. It has taken a little bit of adjusting, but I think we have found a nice formula to move forward with. Thanks to Mrs Anderton and Mrs Eekelschot for helping set and run the meetings with classroom teachers.
Please remember, if you ever want to discuss anything related to your child, their wellbeing or their education please do not hesitate to contact the teacher.
Australia's Best Teachers:
Do you have a favourite teacher? Nominate them today!
For the second year, News Corp is running its Australia’s Best Teachers campaign, recognising inspirational and innovative educators across the country.
The campaign will launch on Sunday 28 April, calling on the community to nominate teachers who have had an incredible impact on our students and all our lives.
A panel of expert judges will then select and announce the top 50 teachers on Sunday 30 June.
Nominate your favourite teacher today by visiting www.heraldsun.com.au/news/national/australias-best-teachers-campaign-is-back-nominate-now/news-story/f7ded458c472bc3ab10862e6735415df.
School Fees:
School fees are now payable. Fee payments can be set up flexibly with Tarnia in the office. We kindly ask for regular payments or if you intend to make a one off payment please just let us know when you plan to do so. All fees are due by the end of Term 3 (unless on a payment plan, these plans can run all year). If anyone has any questions about fees please speak to Tarnia or myself.
2024 School Closure Days:
Thursday 25th of April - ANZAC Day (Public Holiday)
Friday 26th of April - School Closure
Friday 16th of August - School Closure
Monday 21st of October - School Closure
Monday 4th of November - School Closure
Tuesday 5th of November - Melbourne Cup (Public Holiday)
Friday 29th of November - School Closure
Monday 2nd of December - School Closure
Tuesday 17th of December - Students Last Day
Thank you and God bless
Declan