Dear Families,

Every Day Counts

The cold weather has hit us hard this week but the children have been resilient and have enjoyed getting outside for most recess and lunch breaks.

It's the time of year when we finalise our school reports, which will be distributed on Friday 21 June. Teachers have worked very hard to write personalised comments to match the levels at which we have assessed each child. Reading the reports also prompts me to remind parents of their responsibility to ensure that their children attend school but also their responsibility to keep their children at home if they are unwell.

An outbreak of an infectious disease, such as gastro and the flu, or COVID can significantly impact a school community and make children very sick.

If your child has red cheeks it may be slapped cheek disease. For most children, infection with slapped cheek disease initially causes little more than cold symptoms. These generally improve after a few days, when the rash starts to show.Most people with slapped cheek infection need little if any treatment. Rest and pain-relieving medication (such as paracetamol) may help.

There are a few ways to help your child stay healthy at school:

talk to them about the importance of hand washing,
using tissues and disposing of them hygenically
Couching or sneezing into their arm if no tissue is available on time
Wearing raincoats and using unbrellas to stay warm and dry
make sure they know how to wash their hands properly – use the ‘Soapy Hero’ resources to help https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/campaigns/soapy-hero

Our past experiences with gastro and the flu have reinforced our understanding that sick children can spread viruses very quickly. Do not send your child to school if you suspect or if you know that they are sick. If you receive a phone call from the office, please be prepared to collect your child and take them home for further care so that we may stop the spread of sickness.

Absence from School

The main reasons for absence are:

Sickness – There are always times when students need to miss school, such as when they’re ill. It’s vital that they’re only away on the days they are genuinely sick, and setting good sleep patterns, eating well and exercising regularly can make a big difference. It's vital that holidays are planned during school holidays where possible, and not during the term if it can be avoided.

“Day off” – Think twice before letting your child have a “day off” as they could fall behind their classmates – every day counts.

Truancy – This is when students choose not to go to school without their parent’s permission. There can be many reasons for truancy. The best way to address this is for schools and parents to work together.

https://www.education.vic.gov.au/Documents/school/principals/participation/everydaycountsprimparent.pdf

Lateness and Early Departure from School - are recorded by opur school every day. Lateness may be solved by setting an alarm clock earlier and early departure by not scheduling appointments in school time as much as possible.

If you would like any support in ensuring your child/ren attend school, we are here to help you. Please contact:

Your child's classroom teacher

Angela Foale, our Wellbeing Leader

Tricia-Rose Robinson, our Care for Kids Leader

Particia Zomer, Learning Diversity Leader

Aimee Gale, Deputy Principal

Rob Horwood, Principal

MACS 2030: Forming Lives to Enrich the World

Last week I shared the purpose and vision of the MACS 2030: Forming Lives to Enrich the World strategic plan, designed to enable every student to flourish and enrich the world. This week I would like to share the MACS 2030 strategic themes. In the next 2 newsletters I will unpack the strategic themes further.

https://www.macs.vic.edu.au/MelbourneArchdioceseCatholicSchools/media/About-Us/Documentation/MACS-2030-Strategic-Plan.pdf

Child Safety

The safety of the students is everyone's responsibility. As a community we are trying to embed these 5 key messages into the minds of the students, their families and staff. Please reinforce these with your child/ren at home. Our student led Child safety Team has made this poster and a slideshow to be shown in our office reception area to prompt us to think of these mesages. Thanks to our students, Antony, Divine and Joshua.

PFA Movie Night Child Safety Reminders

Please note that this is NOT a school staff supervised event.
Children need to be supervised be their parents at all times during the movie and while moving to and from the cinema to the toilets or candy bar etc.
If your child has an asthma or anaphylaxis plan please note that the transport and administering of any medications needs to be organized by a supervising parent or guardian.

St Leonard's Art Show- Emerald Dreams- A Journey to Oz

It's exciting to launch our Art Show flyer and to provide the dates for your diaries. Our thanks must go to our fabulosly creative art teacher, Suzan Atyimas and our creative students and staff. Anthony Adaman our STEM coach will be working with the students to include some 3D printing and digital displays in the Art Show.

Year 5 / 6 Interschool Sport

We congratulate our Year 5 / 6 Interschool Sports teams on their efforts last Friday and wish them well tomorrow. We thank our Physical Education and Sport teacher, Frank Stokes, the school staff and the parents who assisted and watched for their support.

Netball Team A played 5 games and won 2

Netball Team B played 4 games and won 3

Football Team played 3 games and won 2

Soccer Team A played 2 games and won 1

Soccer Team B played 3 games and won 1

Softball Girls Team played 3 games and won 2

Softball Mixed Team played 4 and won 1

Cross Country - Regional Division

Our best wishes to Aaliyah (5/6L) & Natalie (3/4H) who will be competing in the Regional Division of Cross Country this afternoon at Yarra Glen. Good luck girls!!

Prep 2025 Open Days and Prep Experiences

A new board has been placed near Springvale Rd advertising our 2 new Open days on 2 August and 5 September. We also welcome Prep 2025 students or prospective students to our Prep Experiences, the first being a Sports Star Clinic with Frank Stokes. Please pass this information on to family and friends who may be interested in attending. Booking now being taken.

Briefly

Father Brendan Dillon's funeral will be held at St Leonard's church on June 21 at 11am. We are expecting a very large crowd and we will need as much parking space as possible. Parking in the bottom car park will be available on this occasion to let people walk through the oval with someone supervising. After the Mass we will be having refreshments in the Function Room of the Community Centre. The following is taken from the book, "3 Sites, 3 Churches, 5 Priests," by Peter Hammond. Following Father Dillon, Father John Dowling became our Parish Priest in 2017.

"Fr Brendan Dillon has been our parish priest since 1994, moving here from Epping. After studying for the priesthood at Werribee and Corpus Christi, he was ordained at St Patrick's Cathedral in 1966. He served as assistant priest at Bulleen and Cheltenham and then spent some years at St Patrick's Cathedral before joining the Army for a 7 year stint as a Chaplain, serving at Watsonia, Kapooka, the Officer Cadet School at Portsea and the Army Apprentice School at Balcombe. After his army service he was appointed Administrator at Bacchus Marsh before becoming Parish Priest at Epping . Fr Brendan has a unique ability to draw people together and to motivate them, and he has had a major impact during his 11 years here , creating a spirit of unity and community within the parish. Father has a well-known love of horse racing - undoubtedly nutured by his late father, Sir John Dillon, who was Under-Secretary at the time of the Bolte Government . In 1992 Father ws appointed Chaplain to the Racing Fraternity."

(excerpt taken from 2 Sites, 3 Churches, 5 Priests publication 2005)

Parent Teacher Interviews: An Operoo was sent to families last week. The interviews will be held face to face in classrooms on Tuesday 25th and Wednesday 26th June from 1:30pm to 6:30pm. To make a booking visit the following link: https://www.schoolinterviews.com.au/code/pm4tu A reminder that students will be dismissed at 1:30pm on both days and Camp Australia after school care is available through the normal booking procedures, if required.
The Feast of the Sacred Heart Mass for P-4’s was a lovely way to celebrate our faith together. We thank Anthony for organising this and for rehearsing the readers. The choir was a real highlight so we thank Cathy and Kaye very much.It was lovely to see parents joining us for the mass of the Feast of the Sacred heart of Jesus, last Friday. We thank Father John, sthe students gfor reading , Kaye Gregory and Cathy Ellis for running the SlideShow and the choir.

Code Camp Term 3: Code camp is held in the school library on Wednesdays from 24th July to 11th September. Time: 3:30pm - 4:45pm. Bookings now open
Chess Club with Kids Unlimited: Chess Club operates on Mondays at lunch time. Bookings now openfor Term 3 (See Kids Unlimited Chess page of this newsletter.)

Wishing you a wonderful week ahead.

Rob Horwood

Principal

Kids Unlimited Chess