Dempsey's Digest

It’s here! The long awaited end of term and the chance for a break and a re-fresh. I trust that you take the time in the holidays to do something different. Read a new book, take a walk on a different path, build a cubby house inside with sheets and pegs, dance to some music, paint a fence or a cupboard. Holidays can’t just be about time out on screens, even though that’s tempting! Maybe it’s time for a pre-Spring, spring clean!?

In the final week of school for Term 2, we can be so thankful for the many things that happen each day in our wonderful community. Here’s a snapshot of a few things that have happened over the past 2 weeks…

Parking Responses

Rob and I are very grateful for the responses to our very direct letter in relation to parking and kiss and drop areas. We know that this is an issue of frustration in our community and we are genuinely seeking solutions and new options. Thanks for your patience and grace as we continue to keep our community as safe as possible. Please don’t hesitate to drop us an email or make a time to meet if you’d like to chat further.

Risk and Finance Committee

We are so blessed in our community to have a number of people with specific skills in finance, risk, compliance and legal capacity to provide insight and input into one of our board sub committees, the Risk and Finance committee. This group meets once a month for a few hours (over some food prepared by our catering team) to review our finances, trawl through our risk register, and offer high level insight into many of the trickier sides to our business. We are grateful!

Kinder Interviews

It’s a great privilege for me to hang out with Kinder kids while their parents had interviews with the Kinder staff over the past few weeks. These times are so important and speak right into our desire to be partners through all things.

Working Bee

One of the things that I get really chuffed about, is when teachers get surprised by the generosity of parents and their willingness to help. At our last working bee, a bunch of parents knuckled down into preparing props and costumes for our upcoming Primary musical, Finding Nemo Jr. It’s the background work that brings so much joy and satisfaction to the final performances. Thanks to those that came along to pitch in.

Ranges TEC Registered Training Organisation (RTO) Review

You might be familiar with an organization called the Victorian Regulations and Qualifications Authority (VRQA). This organization is the statutory authority responsible for the regulation and quality assurance of education and training providers in our state. This includes all schools and Registered Training Organisations, like Ranges TEC. This week, an auditor representing the VRQA will be coming to closely audit our RTO. As you can imagine, a lot of work goes into the preparation of documentation. We are confident that this process will be a great opportunity to share with the auditor the great work that happens at Ranges TEC and also allows us into some insight of things we might be able to do better. Big thanks in particular to Dee Dee Booth, Karena Dashwood and Amelia Koole for their hard work in the background.

JP/Prep Open Classrooms

What a privilege to see JP parents involved in experiments in JP classrooms and checking out stunning dioramas and portfolios in Prep. I love our open classroom opportunities and it’s lovely to see the excitement of the students in these moments.

Victorian Chin Baptist Church Visit

On Sunday 21st June, a bunch of staff were excited to attend a Children’s Ministry Sunday at the Victorian Chin Baptist Church. This was a beautiful opportunity to see many of our students participate in singing, dance, plays and leading. Many of them also received awards for hard work and character development. The service was absolutely delightful and we were made to feel very welcome. Thanks to Lily and Jenny for hosting us and to the pastors of the church for making us feel so welcome.

As we round off the term, may you enjoy the weeks ahead, may you take the time to laugh and be joyful, may you find God’s fingerprints in the beauty of creation and in the faces of your children.

We look forward to seeing you all again in Term 3, which commences on Monday 20th July.

Cheers, 

Michelle