From the Principal
Dear Parents & Carers
This week, Queen of Peace has been a hive of activity.
Queen of Mary Feast day on Wednesday began with a beautiful celebration in the Church. It was lovely to see the children and staff decorate themselves with blue in honour of Mary Queen of Peace.
The Book Week parade on Thursday was also an outstanding success with amazing costumes on display.
A big thank you to the parents that volunteered last Friday to supervise the School Disco. The volunteer support was overwhelming. In particular a big thank you to Melissa Bartolo, Meagan Johnson and Faye Ford, who planned the evening so that the children could have fun in a safe environment. This is a massive and often thankless task. I know that the kids had a blast and greatly appreciated this opportunity to be with friends.
It was very pleasing to note that all Year 4 children attended their camp in Anglesea last week as well as 8 staff members. The camp was an outstanding success. I would like to thank the parents for preparing their children, as well as the staff who made an amazing commitment to ensure that the students have a safe and valuable experience.
Next week the Year 6 children will attend their camp and in term 4 our Year 5 students will head down to Queenscliff.
Over the past three weeks I have had conversations with our new prep families who are very keen to join the Queen of Peace community in 2023. We will have almost 75 Prep students at Queen of Peace next year.
Our children are so precious to us and bring so much happiness to our lives. To find the right place for them to continue their formal learning is a task that parents rightly put a lot of thought into these days. Parents tell me that they want to join Queen of Peace because of our values, beliefs and traditions, as well as access to resources and a vision of what they think their children will need in order to live in an unpredictable world. They are looking for a school that will ensure their child not only learns to read, write and count, but can also take their place in the world, confident that they have the skills, knowledge and understanding to be successful on many levels. There are many paths to success and they are not all academic. However, parents are looking for a school where they can trust that their child will be getting not only an academic education but an education that will also build resilience, promote the ability to seek learning independently of others and will inspire a child to follow their dreams.
We want to create an environment where resilience, creativity, academic and social and emotional growth are part of the program. We also dream that our students will develop spiritually. We strive to support the faith growth of all our children by teaching and nurturing their inner spiritual life. Although we are proudly Catholic, we delight in the fact that people of many faiths learn together and we are all the richer for learning about their beliefs and practices. We will work alongside them in partnership, aware that as parents, they are the first educators of their children.
As a learning community we are proud of our school and celebrate its successes and work through the challenges as we continue to strive for high standards.
End of Year Dates
Christmas Picnic: Thursday 8 December
Year 6 Graduation: Wednesday 14 December
Last Day of Term for Students: Friday 16 December (1:30pm finish)
2022 School Closure Days
Listed below are the remaining School Closure Days for 2022. These are student free days. Staff use these days to further develop their learning and keep informed of current practice and procedures.
- Friday 2 September (Term 3) - Teacher Professional Practice Day
- Monday 31 October (Term 4) - Report Writing Day
- Friday 25 November (Term 4 ) - Planning for 2023
If your child/ren require care on these days, OSHClub will offer an onsite program if a minimum number of participants is met. Contact them directly to register your interest.
Warm regards
Darren Gibbons
Principal
