Principal's Message

Dear Parents and Carers,

Confirmation

Congratulations to the Holy Family School students who will receive the sacrament of Confirmation tonight. We pray that all these children will continue to nourish their faith and respond to God's love with lives that reflect the model given to us all in Christ Jesus.

Staffing News

On behalf of the Holy Family community, I would like to warmly welcome Christopher Knapman as Learning Support Assistant to our school. Chris will be working on Wednesday and Thursday each week and will be part of the Diverse Learning Team. Chris has already commenced working with the Stage 3 students in the areas of writing and public speaking.

Grandparents' Day - Friday 16th June

9.00am Open Classrooms

10.00am Mass with Father Colin

11.00am Morning tea for grandparents,  parents and parishioners in Mackillop Hall 

11.30am-12.30pm Book Fair

Looking forward to seeing you all there for a wonderful morning celebrating our Grandparents.  

Athletics Carnival Awards Assembly

Parents are warmly welcome to attend the Holy Family Athletics Carnival Awards assembly will be held on Friday 23rd June at 2.30pm in Mackillop Hall.  

Parent and Teacher Interviews

As we move towards the end of the semester, the teachers have been busy finalising mid-year assessments and writing school reports which will be made available next Friday via Compass. I encourage you to talk to your child(ren) about their school report. I am extremely appreciative of the efforts of the teachers to prepare these reports. The Parent Teacher Interviews which are scheduled to occur during Weeks 9 and 10 will be an opportunity for you to discuss your child’s areas of strength and areas for development or future goals. It is also a great opportunity to let your child’s teacher know of any changes or happenings that may have occurred since the last time you touched base with the teacher. 

It is vital to be well prepared to ensure the interview is a profitable experience for all involved. A good beginning is to enter the conversation with a positive attitude and willingness to listen to comments and recommendations from the teacher. The teacher is there to explain to you how your child is progressing at school. The teacher may also highlight areas your child is strongest in, and which areas need more support. At this point you may like to ask how you can help your child.

Effective parent-teacher interviews take place in an atmosphere of trust, where confidentiality is ensured, and parents and teachers treat each other with respect. The parent-teacher interview is an opportunity for parents to get an objective insight into the learning approach their child adopts at school, how their child responds in social situations and how s/he is progressing. Interviews also bring across the message to children that the teacher and his/her parents are working together to ensure the best outcomes for him/her. 

It is important to remember that children learn in significantly different ways and at different rates. Each child will progress in their own time, slowly disclosing the gifts that they possess. Please keep in mind the school report is dependent on what the learner is willing to show the teacher. The more confident and comfortable the child is in taking risks in learning and in articulating their own learning needs, the more accurate the report becomes. A key factor in assisting in this process is for the adults around them to show confidence that the child will continue to grow and improve with the right strategies, support and attitudes. Please remember, parent-teacher interviews are a tangible way to sustain and strengthen the home-school partnership. Interviews will take place in your child’s classroom.

Teachers will be available for interviews from Monday June 19 - Thursday June 29. Compass will walk you through the booking process. Please note that you will be booking into a 15 minute time slot, however the interviews will be for 10 minutes. The additional five minutes is to allow for parents to make their way from room to room if having multiple interviews.

Kindergarten Enrolments for 2024 

We encourage parents to organise a time to tour our wonderful school to see "Learning In Action" and our "Point of Difference".

• All children must be in compulsory schooling by their 6th birthday.
• Children can start Kindergarten at the beginning of the school year if they turn 5 on or before 31 July that year.
• Students should start at the beginning of the year.
• Contact the school office to discuss enrolment procedures.

We encourage any family who is currently connected to Holy Family school who have a child who is coming to school in 2024 to complete and lodge an enrolment form as soon as possible to ensure a place for the new school year. Please contact the school office 9416 7200 or via info@holyfamily.nsw.edu.au

Coles Development Update

You may have noticed some changes this week with the temp ATF panels being substituted for the AClass Hoarding at the top of Balfour Lane, also a fabric banner to the AClass hoarding on Balfour St and Pacific Hwy.

A forecast for works onsite this week includes:

• Continue with detailed excavation, trimming and shotcrete to walls.
• Continue with bulk excavation and truck load out.
• Sewer diversion works are now locked in for the end of this week.
• Continue with foundation piling and footing works- Formwork, Reinforcement and Concrete.
• Proceed with inground plumbing services to basement level.
• Complete the installation of sliding gates to site perimeter fencing.
• The Crane will not be used this week.

A reminder that Monday June 12th is a public holiday and Friday 30th June is a Staff Development Day.  I hope you have a wonderful long weekend.

God bless you and your family. 

Pauline Dinale

Principal