Dear Families,

What an exciting week we’ve had! Holy Saviour and the news of the proposed K-12 Catholic Education Hub in Vermont South has appeared in The Age, The HeraldSun, and was also on 3AW yesterday morning! It really is quite exciting to be involved in this process, and while I acknowledge that there are many unanswered questions at the moment, we need to remind ourselves of how far we have come in just 6 weeks. We will endeavour to hold another parent session before the end of the term, I anticipate that I will have more information regarding this early next week. Keep the positive vibes and positive stories spreading!

Slime Fest - Slime the Teacher (or Principal!)

Unfortunately the weather stopped us from holding our Slime Fest on Wednesday afternoon, but never fear, we have a new date! We have moved the Slime Fest to Monday 11th December at 2.30pm. Online fundraising has now closed, we will still take cash donations until the end of next week.

Staffing Changes in 2024

Planning for 2024 continues at a fast pace, but I am pleased to announce that I am very close to finalising staffing across the school. The staffing list & class structure for 2024 will be shared with the community in the coming weeks, however, there are a couple of staffing announcements I wish to share with you now.

As announced in August, after 28 years at Holy Saviour, and 43 years in education, Ms Toni Edwards has announced that she will be retiring at the end of this year. After taking this year as Long Service Leave, Toni has had a taste of what life away from teaching has to offer. Much like the AFL players who have time away from the game or retire throughout the year, we'll get Toni back for one last "Lap of Honour" and a farewell assembly on Wednesday 13th December at 2.30pm. We are extremely grateful for Toni’s contribution to Holy Saviour over the past 28 years and we wish her all the very best in her future endeavours.

We also thank and farewell Ms Lucy Reincke who, after seven years of service at Holy Saviour, has decided that with a young family, working closer to home is a priority. Lucy has been a valuable asset to our staff over the past seven years, being a huge support to staff, children and families, especially in her role as STEAM teacher and e-learning Leader. On behalf of our community I would like to thank Lucy for her passion and dedication over the past 7 years, and wish her every happiness for the future. Lucy will also be farewelled at the assembly on Wednesday 13th December.

Holy Saviour Christmas Picnic

Save the date! On Thursday 7th December from 6:00pm-7:30pm, we will be celebrating the year with our Holy Saviour Family Christmas Picnic. Children will be performing Christmas songs, Footsteps Dance will showcase all they have been doing with the children this term, and it’s a great opportunity to celebrate the end of the school year together. More details will follow, but we encourage all families to make an effort to attend.

MACS Christmas campaign

Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools (MACS) is excited to be launching a Christmas campaign in December. The focus of the campaign will be on giving the biggest thanks possible to our amazing teachers.

To make the campaign more special, students have the chance to be part of it. MACS has created an online form at www.macsbiggestthanks.com, where students can write a message of thanks to the teacher who has helped them to flourish, whether by igniting their passion in a certain subject or by inspiring them to believe in themselves.

Not only will the messages of thanks be shared with teachers, but some of the students’ messages will appear on billboards around Melbourne and in future communications. We need parent/carer/guardian consent in the online form to give students the chance of having their message used in this way.

The form will be open until Friday 1 December. We look forward to seeing the messages of joy and positivity from students as we celebrate our wonderful teachers this Christmas.

Google & Facebook Reviews

As we all know, word of mouth is the most important tool for sharing the successes of our school in our local community. We invite our community to leave a review of Holy Saviour on our Facebook page and on Google. Thank you to the generous families who have already left a review in this space.🙏

Google Review: https://g.page/r/Ceo4uN0EZbnuEAg/review

Facebook Review: https://www.facebook.com/HolySaviourPS/reviews

Enrolments open for 2024

Enrolments for 2024 are currently open! If you have a younger child who turns 5 before 30 April 2024, please come and see Sherridan or Kerry in the office for an enrolment form. Also, if you know of anyone else in the community with a child the same age, pass on our contact details– we would love to give them a tour of our fabulous school! At Holy Saviour, every other day is Open Day!

Catholic Secondary School Enrolment Applications

Key Enrolment Dates for Year 5 Students in 2024 starting Year 7 in 2026

The key enrolment dates for students in Year 5 in 2024 who will be starting Year 7 in 2026 have been agreed after consultation with the Executive of the Principals Association of Victorian Catholic Secondary Schools (PAVCSS).

The timeline of events and dates are as follows:

29th January 2024 – Applications will open for Year 5 students commencing Year 7 in 2025.

16th August 2024 – Applications will close.

18th October 2024 – Offers will be posted to prospective Year 7 applicants.

8th November 2024 – Final date for parents/carers to accept an offer made by a school.

Parents of Year 5 students in 2024, please diarise these dates so you don’t miss out.

Final Thoughts ~ The Advent Wreath

The Advent wreath is a traditional centrepiece leading up to the Christmas season. A candle is lit on each of the four Sundays preceding Christmas. The first candle (violet) represents hope, the second (violet) peace, the third (rose) joy, and the fourth (violet) love. The central white candle is lit on Christmas Day and represents Christ. The wreath itself is also symbolic. The circle of evergreen in which the candles are placed represents everlasting life. The seed pods, nuts and cones used to decorate the wreath are symbolic of life and resurrection, the laurel signifies victory over persecution and suffering, pine and holly signify immortality, and fruits (such as apples) represent the nourishing fruitfulness of the Christian life. The word ‘advent’ means ‘coming’; lighting the candles on the Advent wreath symbolises the coming of Light (Jesus) into the world. The Advent Wreath teaches us about Christian preparation for celebrating Jesus’ birth and making our hearts truly ready to receive Him. The Advent Wreath can be a way to involve even very little children in learning about Christian preparation for celebrating Jesus’ birth and making our hearts truly ready to receive Him.

Make your own Advent Wreath at home.

Kind regards,

Steve Evans

Principal

Just For Laughs

Christmas Countdown Humour