Dear Families,

We give thanks for a wonderful term and wish everyone a very happy holiday period.

Confirmation

On Wednesday the Sacrament of Confirmation was a reverent and prayerful celebration, beautifully supported by the St Leonard's choir. We are grateful to Bishop Tomlinson and Father John, who spoke beautifully to the candiates, encouraging them to live a life where they embrace the gifts of the Holy Spirit, especially in times when they are unsure of the decisions they are faced with as they grow older.

Prayer focus "Discovering My Purpose"

This week's prayer focus is "Discovering My Purpose."

Gospel Reading: Mark 8:27-35

Then Jesus and his disciples went away to the villages near Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked them, “Tell me, who do people say I am?”

“Some say that you are John the Baptist,” they answered; “others say that you are Elijah, while others say that you are one of the prophets.”

“What about you?” he asked them. “Who do you say I am?” Peter answered, “You are the Messiah.” Then Jesus ordered them, “Do not tell anyone about me.”

Then Jesus began to teach his disciples: “The Son of Man must suffer much and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the teachers of the Law. He will be put to death, but three days later he will rise to life.” He made this very clear to them.

So Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But Jesus turned around, looked at his disciples, and rebuked Peter. “Get away from me, Satan,” he said. “Your thoughts don't come from God but from human nature!” Then Jesus called the crowd and his disciples to him. “If any of you want to come with me,” he told them, “you must forget yourself, carry your cross, and follow me. For if you want to save your own life, you will lose it; but if you lose your life for me and for the gospel, you will save it.”

The reflection questions for this week are:

Identity: Who are you, and what makes you the person you present to the world?
Faith: Do you believe God sees you as you truly are?
Suffering: Can challenges help you find your purpose?
Priorities: What's more important to you: material things or spiritual growth?
Following Jesus: What does following Jesus mean in your daily life?
Community: How do others help you understand your purpose?
Prayer: How can prayer guide you towards your purpose?
Trust: Can you trust that God has a plan for everyone, including you?

Footy Day

On a glorious spring day, it was nice to see many parents joining us for the fun of Footy Day. I thank the Year 5/6 students for showing a great deal of leadership in running the footy activities.

Thanks to the PFA and volunteers who cooked a total of 280 hotdogs. Our thanks goes to Baz and his team for sourcing, cutting the rolls and delivering them all to school, which made the day a lot easier.

A thank you Abdullah, father of Eloise in Prep for donating bananas and apples for the students to enjoy. This is a reminder to the students to be fit and eat healthy food.

Thanks to our wonderful team of Jordi, Mila, Pia, Eleni, Harper, Alina and Michaela for raising $85.15 by making and selling footy bracelets.

MACSSIS Surveys 2024 Close tomorrow

Thanks to the parents who haev completed the MACSSIS Surveys. As an incentive to complete the surveys, if parents let our school office know that they have completed the survey their child/ren will receive a Zooper Dooper. These students will go into a draw to win their choice of a billabong back pack, marvel cap or a ball. Other prizes include an Action Kidz Holiday Coaching Program voucher or a $100 voucher from Action Box Hill (can be put towards a child’s birthday party.)

MACS Vision for Instruction

MACS has released a new Vision of Instruction. Parents can work in partnership with our school following the tips below. More information can be found at:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Yex5i5fjG4jbxHvTffdZ8lMfLKZPosKe

We have 3 students who made it to the State Finals of the Prime Minister's Spelling Bee. We are very proud of them and so excited for St. Leonard's!!!

Congratulations to Yoshita, Seniru and Thinuli.

Briefly

Staff news: Alysha Cliff has been part of our Learning Support Team at St Leonard's for the past year. We thank her for her wonderful work in supporting our students and staff. Alysha is commencing maternity leave at the end of this term. We welcome Janina Pereira Mok to the LSS team in Term 4.
We thank our wonderful pre-service teacher in 3 / 4H, Hayley Mafrici, for her wonderful contributions to the class and to our school.

‘Inspired to act for a better future’ has been a fitting theme for this year’s STEM MAD Student Showcase. TV’s Allan Raskall visited the Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools (MACS) event and celebrated with the 450 brilliant students in attendance from 60 Catholic schools. https://www.macs.vic.edu.au/News-Events/2024/September/stem-showcase-celebrates-students.aspx
It was wonderful to witness our Year 2/4 Exhibition of Learning, today. Their Rube Goldbery machines were fantastic. It was impressive to hear the students speaking about forces, gravity and push and pull.

Hugo and Joshua from Year 3 / 4 won first place in the primary entry-level "Rescue Line - Riley Rover Division" on 14/09/2024. Competing against other primary-age students, including representatives from schools across Victoria, they made it to the final round and achieved the highest score! This was their first time participating in such a competition. The boys have been learning basic building and programming using the Lego Technic EV3 Mindstorm kit every Saturday morning since April 2023. Hugo and Joshua are eager to share their robot with the school at a special assembly in early Term 4. Here’s the link to RoboCup Junior Australia: RoboCup Junior Australia. We are very proud of the boys' achievements.

We are also very proud of Dallas and Natalie, who competed in their first ever Team Victoria Track and Field Trials on Monday 16th September at Lakeside Stadium and did very well. They achieved the following results:
Natalie, trialling in the Girls under 10 age group: 1500mt: 6:04.54 minutes & shot put: 6.02 metres
Dallas, trialling in the Boys under 10 age group: Discus: 29.24metres ( a 2 metre improvement on his personal best), long jump: 2.97metres, 100 metre sprint: 15.94 seconds.

Rob Horwood

Principal

Community