Dear Families,

We sincerely hope that all Mothers in our school and parish community had a beautiful day on Sunday. Here at school you could feel the excitement building with the Mother’s Day stall on Wednesday, preparation of cards & gifts later in the week, and of course Mum’s special day on Sunday.

Covid-19

You will have noticed this week that Covid is knocking very hard on our door with a couple of cases across the school. While we have done extremely well over the past two years to keep it at bay, it was inevitable that it would find its way into our community. I seek your assistance in ensuring that we can do everything in our power to keep infections as minimal as possible. We will continue with our regular cleaning routines at school, hand washing & sanitising throughout the day, and continue utilising the 14 air purifiers we have across the school. While face masks are no longer required, we will not discourage any child, staff member or parent from wearing when onsite.

Neil Angus Visit

On Monday, I had a visit from Neil Angus, State Parliament Member for Forest Hill. Neil has had a long relationship with Holy Saviour, but due to covid, hasn’t had the opportunity to visit us these past two years. It was great to catch up with Neil. Isabella & Josh showed him around the school again, and we all had a good chat about future directions for our school and community.

NAPLAN

I wish to congratulate all our Grade 3 & 5 students for a wonderful week of NAPLAN. We are all so very proud of the way you approached each day and the effort each and every one of you put into the tests. While NAPLAN testing is important to schools and families, it is also important for children to know that these tests will tell them how well they did on that day, but it won’t tell them everything. These tests don’t necessarily tell them that they have improved on something they once found difficult. They certainly don’t show how much the children brighten their teacher’s day, and there is no way to indicate in a test how amazingly special the children are.

Little Learners is Back for 2022!!!

This week we held our first Little Learners session for 2022. The theme this week was Sport and it was well attended with known faces and a few new faces.

Our next session will be next Tuesday afternoon with a focus on Storytime. The program will run over four more weeks in Term 2 and will provide opportunities for all 3 year old and 4 year old Kinder children and their parents to experience school life at Holy Saviour. Each session will run for 40 minutes and focus on a different subject area each week. Please feel free to pass the attached flyer onto any parents of 3 & 4 year old children.

Principal Cuppa & Chat

I attempted to launch these last year, and we managed to get one away before lockdowns and restrictions for parents came into place. Our aim is to introduce these again in 2022, now that parents are allowed back in the school. These will be an informal way for parents to catch up with school leadership over a cup of tea and coffee to discuss Holy Saviour. There will be no agendas or minutes, and (almost!) any topic is open for discussion. The only protocol of the meetings is that you cannot denigrate any child, any family or member of staff. The hope is that these forums will be a great way for parents to understand the thinking behind school decisions, programs and protocols. The first of these Principal Cuppa & Chats will be on Tuesday 7th June @ 9:00am immediately after drop-off, please put this date in your diary.

Save the Date - Bunnings BBQ

As mentioned in previous newsletters, we have been very fortunate to have been allocated a Bunnings Sausage Sizzle on Saturday 4th June at Vermont South Bunnings. As well as being an iconic Aussie tradition, the sausage sizzle will enable the school to raise important funds, every cent of which goes to purchasing assets that are used by our students each day in their schooling. To make this day a success we are calling on our parent community to volunteer their time for 2-hour shifts. If you can spare some time to help us raise funds for our students, please indicate through this form.

School Tours and 2023 Enrolments

We ask that any parents who have a younger child who turns 5 before 30 April 2023, and are wishing to enrol them into Prep at Holy Saviour for 2023, to please submit an enrolment form to the school office by Friday 27th May. This will assist with our planning and organisation for next year. You can access the forms via this link, or you may collect an enrolment pack from the school office. Once complete, it can be given in or emailed to office@hsvs.catholic.edu.au.

2022 Flyers

We are looking for walkers who would be happy to take our flyers out to our community. We distribute to ALL kinders and childcare centres but it’s always good that they go into letterboxes as well. Feel free to pick up a few fliers in our office to give to neighbours with young children, Catholic or not, they are welcome to visit. Or email Tarnia, Kerry or myself and we will send some home to you. Thank you to the parents who have already taken a pile to deliver.

Catholic Secondary School Enrolment Applications

I take this opportunity to remind parents of children in grade 5, that you must have your Catholic Secondary College application for Year 7, 2024 submitted directly to the college of your choice. It is essential that you have your application submitted by the due date. The following dates will be used by catholic secondary schools for Year 5 students in 2021 who will be enrolling in Year 7 for 2024. These are:

28 January 2022 – Applications will open for Year 5 students commencing Year 7 in 2024.
19 August 2022 – Applications will close.
21 October 2022 – Offers will be posted to prospective Year 7 applicants.
11 November 2022 – Final date for parents/carers to accept an offer made by a school.

Final Thoughts ~ International Day of Families & National Families Week

The United Nations General Assembly, in its resolution 47/237 of 20 September 1993, proclaimed that 15th May of every year shall be observed as the International Day of Families. National Families Week is held between 15th and 21st May to coincide with the United Nations International Day of Families. National Families Week is a time to celebrate with family, make contact with extended family and friends, and share in the enjoyment of family activities within the wider community. It is a time to celebrate the meaning of family and to make the most of family life.

REFLECTION ON FAMILIES

Families… like diamonds – have endured many different shapes.

Over the centuries the treasure, the gift that is family, is precious, irreplaceable, unique.

Creating strong family bonds is a slow process – there needs to be much giving and accepting, forgiving and healing, illuminated with love…

Families… enable the individual to grow, to move and form other families.

Forming families takes courage, skill, and commitment…

Imagining beauty… and mystery.

Families… have the power…to reflect…’rainbow’ qualities of each person and to be shining light for others.

A family may be lost but not destroyed

It can be discovered and reformed all over again…the search for the perfect family could mean…A person may miss seeing the beauty in the family they already have.

MARGARET MCCARTHY 1994

Kind regards,

Steve Evans

Principal

Community Notices

Youth Art for Reconciliation 'Coroborree Calling' exhibition

City of Whitehorse Reconciliation Week Celebrations

Biralee Preschool

Legend Park Preschool Open Day

Siena College - Focus Group Session

Trident Gymnastics

Syndal Teeball & Softball

School Crossing Supervisors Wanted