Principal Report

Dear Parents and Friends

What a wonderful term we have had, so much learning across the school, with great routines being embedded. Thank you to all staff for the work you have done this term and parents for your continued support.  

As we are all aware there are many sick children and adults with a lot going around. Thank you to all who have been diligent in keeping students at home. I hope that those still unwell recover soon. 

Closure Day- Care 

As mentioned in previous emails, I have contacted a couple of Wangaratta Catholic Schools who are able to accommodate any of our students in Out of Hours Care on common closure days. Details on how to register for this will be shared closer to our next closure day on Wednesday 13th August.  

If any families working in Wodonga would like to look at care on this date, please get in touch and I will follow up. 

Attendance 

These protocols follow Catholic Education Sandhurst policies, to support your child/ren’s wellbeing at all times. 

• Notification from a parent or guardian is required if your child is away from school.  
• Notification for absences or planned late arrivals via PAM 
• As a back-up if you cannot log into PAM please email the office at office@sjbeechworth.catholic.edu.au 
• Reasons for absence must be recorded by the school. These may include sickness, appointments or family events/ holidays. 
• Where notification is not received an SMS will be sent to parents or guardians by 9:15am. 
• If this is not responded to a phone call will be made or a second parent/ guardian contacted by 9:30am. 
• Following this emergency contacts will be contacted by 9:45am. 

• If contact is still not made a wellbeing check by authorities will be organised.  

   

•  Please contact the office if you need support with logging into PAM 
• Individualised approaches for families with particular needs are considered. 

Thanks for your continued support and communication with these protocols. 

Uniform Checks 

Over the last two weeks I have spoken to each class about correct uniforms. It has been great to see students taking on this feedback over the last week and the way in which they represent our school. 

Next term a note will be sent home with students in incorrect uniform following uniform checks. On the odd occasion that your child is out of uniform (excluding birthdays), we ask that you send an email or note to the class teacher. 

We are aware that some students do not have all black shoes at this point, we ask that the next purchase is in line with the school uniform.  

I thank you for your support with uniforms. 

Special Persons Day- Save the Date!  - TUESDAY 29TH JULY

We invite any of our students Special Person, such as grandparents, aunties, uncles, neighbours to join us for lunch and a classroom activity on this date. 

You may wish to being lunch along to share with the student/s you are visiting from 1:30pm onwards. 

There will be activities you are welcome to join in the classrooms from 2:10-3:15pm. 

Invitations from students will be sent home at the beginning of term three. 

Magnify Focus 

What is retrieval practice, and why do we use it? 

Retrieval practice is a powerful learning strategy that helps students remember what they’ve learned by regularly bringing information to mind – rather than simply re-reading or reviewing notes. When students are asked to recall facts, ideas, or processes from memory (even if they don’t get it perfectly right), it strengthens their understanding and improves long-term retention. It’s a bit like exercise for the brain – the more we practise retrieving information, the stronger those memory pathways become. 

In classrooms across Sandhurst, retrieval practice often takes the form of short, daily review activities, such as those in the Ochre Daily Review slides. These warm-up questions cover key content from the previous day, week, or term. By revisiting material in this way, students make connections, notice patterns, and build confidence in what they know. 

Importantly, retrieval practice is low-stakes – it’s not a test, but a chance to revisit and strengthen learning. Research shows that even a few minutes of retrieval each day can lead to significant improvements in student learning. That’s why it’s embedded in our teaching and why we encourage families to talk to their children about what they’re learning at school – it really does make a difference. 

Reports 

Towards the end of the week, we will send an email with a reminder on how to access your child/ren’s Semester One report. I thank teachers for the time they have put into preparing these.  

Parent Teacher Interviews will take place towards the end of term three to reflect on progress from these reports and set goals for term four. If you have any questions about these reports, please contact teachers at the beginning of next term. 

Enjoy the winter holidays and stay well

Carly Avery

Kitchen Garden

The last lot of cooking sessions were about winter vegetables and how to make soup.

The students learned:

• How to peel and cut potatoes 
• Peel and cut the garlic and onions
• Slice leeks
• Slice vegetables such as carrots, cauliflower, broccoli, celery, etc

• The younger grades followed a recipe to make soup (we made: "potato, leek and carrot soup" and "pumpkin soup")

   

  The older grades made up their own soup recipe, which was exciting - 

They had to start their soup off with frying an onion or a leek, and garlic

After that, they could add whatever vegetables they like

We covered the veggies in stock, seasoned them, and cooked them for about 20 minutes, or until soft

Then the groups had the choice of 

• blending their soup,
• roughly mashing or
• leave as it is

The students got to taste all the soups (3)  at the end - it was really interesting. The soups were very popular!

The key message here was....you can make soup out of "anything" you have - be creative and use things up.

Croutons

We also made croutons.

Tear up any leftover bread you have at home, and put it in a bowl, toss generously with olive oil and salt well.

Spread on a tray with baking paper and bake in a preheated oven (200°C) for 10 minutes or until golden and crisp.

Use to top soups, salads, or stir-fries.

Cheesy Twists

Put 1/2 teaspoon of mustard and one egg in a little bowl and whisk.

You need a puff pastry sheet.

Cut one sheet into 4 strips.

Paint one-half of a strip lengthwise with egg wash - then sprinkle with shredded cheese.

Fold over the other half, push down, twist the strip, and put on a tray with baking paper and paint with egg wash.

Bake in a hot oven (220°C) till golden brown.

Well done, kids - I love the passion and smiling faces

Maria