From the Principal...   

Dear Parents and Friends of St Therese's Primary School,

Welcome back to Term Four! I hope you all had a restful break with your children.

It is now time to get back into school routines, lunches, uniforms etc. It can sometimes be difficult to get back into the routine of getting up early to ensure your child/ren arrive at school on time. Daylight Saving started on Sunday 6th October which makes it even harder to get ready on time!

Here are some tips that you may find useful:

• Layout school clothes and school shoes the night before. 
• Get your child to bed on time. Limit screen time at least an hour before bed to help to go to sleep. Often the bluelight from a device can interfere with the brain's ability to shut off!
• Have lunches packed the night before.
• Invest in an alarm clock
• Make time for cuddles. On rushed mornings, it's easy to skip the hugs and kisses. A few cuddles in the midst of the morning chaos will remind you all about what matters most in life!

If you are running late, please walk your child into the office and sign them in at the front desk. Thank you for your understanding.

Don't forget school hats are required this term. We are a Sun Smart school and require all students to wear a hat during Term Four! Please make sure it is clearly labeled so that your child's hat may find its way back if and when it is lost. We will be enforcing the 'No Hat, No Play' rule by Monday 14th October. This means that if your child does not bring a hat they will need to remain under the verandahs and will not be able to play out on the playground or ovals until they have a hat. 

Our Sunsmart Policy can be found HERE

Summer uniform is now required to be worn by all students. 

GIRLS

Summer:

Royal/Grey/Maroon/White check dress with maroon piping, dark maroon windcheater or bomber jacket, white short socks, black shoes, school hat, scrunchies or ribbons in school colours.  On colder days the girls can wear their navy pants.

BOYS

Summer:

Navy shorts or long navy trousers, maroon polo shirt, dark maroon windcheater or bomber jacket, navy socks and black shoes.  School hat.

St Therese's 30th Anniversary Feast Day

You may be wondering why we are not celebrating St Therese's Feast Day early in Term Four as is the normal procedure. It is because we are planning a bigger event for our 30th Anniversary and would like to share the Feast Day with the opening of our new Japanese inspired Prayer Garden that is soon to be completed.

Over the holidays, the groundwork was done and on October 29th, St Peter's VCAL students will be onsite for Project Day, where they will install the garden, complete with rosary mosaic tiles, a large wooden cross, seating, and paths.

The postponed date of our Feast Day will be in mid-November and will include a Whole School Mass led by Father Joseph who will also bless the garden, activities with KABOOM! and an after school shared picnic. More details to follow very soon.

CRAZY HAIR DAY - THIS FRIDAY

Don't forget this Friday on October 11, we are having a CRAZY HAIR DAY, organised by Ella, one of our year 2 students. If your child would like to participate they must bring along a gold coin donation. All money raised will go towards the building of our garden.

World Teacher's Day

On October 5th, it was World Teacher's Day. I would like to take this opportunity, on behalf of St Therese's learning community, to acknowledge and thank all the teachers at our school who work tirelessly for your children. Teaching is a demanding, complex and noble profession that is aimed at shaping the young minds of the future. For that, I say thanks for the long days, endless planning, after hour expectations (eg mother's day card making, father's day breakfast, discos!) and the list goes on. Without you, St Therese's would not be the amazing place that it is! Unfortunately, our teachers often only hear negative feedback from parents, it would be lovely if you could encourage your child to say a big thank you to their teacher the next time they walk into the classroom!

Lids for Kids

Lachlan in year 3 has introduced this excellent initiative to help those less fortunate than us. He is collecting plastic lids from milk and juice bottles. Please send them along to school, rinsed, to be included in the classroom's jar. Students who bring along lids will raise points for their school houses - Lisieux, MacKillop and Mercy. Please, only include plastic lids that have been washed. Thanks!

School Advisory Committee

The School Advisory Committee is a terrific opportunity to be involved in your child's education. At the meetings, we discuss policies, parent-school connections and other aspects of school life. The meetings occur once per month. If you would like to be part of this committee please let me know. We would love to see more parents attending. Don't forget that if you have a suggestion for the Board to discuss, use the suggestion eform located in the School News section of the newsletter.

Our next committee meeting is to be held at 6:30pm on Tuesday 22nd October.

God Bless,

Michelle Bruitzman