Deputy Principal Report

Term 4- Returning to school!

This term, the students are gradually transitioning back to school -grade by grade.

It is wonderful to hear their voices again in the school grounds! The school was so empty and quiet without them!

At the moment, the teachers are focusing on student well being, helping the students to re-connect with friends and re-establishing classroom routines. They will also be undertaking a number of assessments as they prepare to write School Reports.

Timetables

The timetables will be changing as each class level returns. At this stage, the whole school is  not planned to return until Friday, 5th November.

Therefore, we will not resume our regular days for Specialist lessons until Monday, 8th November.

On Mondays, (from 8th November onwards) the Foundation, Year 1 and Year 5/6 classes will have PE and wear their Sports uniforms.

On Tuesdays, (from 8th November onwards) Years 2, 3 and 4 will have their PE lessons and therefore will need to wear their  Sports uniform on that day. 

Tennis

Mr Johnson has organised some special tennis clinics for all grade levels in the next few weeks -so the students are asked to wear their sports clothes on their tennis days and bring their own tennis racquet to use if possible. 

NB There will be some tennis racquets available and these will be sanitised after each user.

Tennis lesson days:

Foundation -Monday, 25th October ( & 18th Oct)

Years 3 and 4- Tuesday 26th Oct & 3rd Nov

Years 1 and 2- Thursday, 28th Oct and 4th Nov

Years 5 / 6 - Friday, 29th Oct and 5th Nov

NB After these dates, there will be one more tennis session for each grade level (on their regular sports day) so please remind your child to bring their racquet again.

Monday, 8th Nov- Foundation, Year 1 and Year 5/6 classes

Tuesday, 9th Nov  -Years 2, 3 and 4

Upcoming dates

Please see the Upcoming Dates page for the key dates for the rest of the year.  

NB These dates may need to be altered depending upon the COVID situation, therefore some events have "TBC" (To be confirmed) written beside them. 

Year 4 First Communion

Please see the RE page and Upcoming Dates page. The Year 4 students will receive a letter with further details when they return to school next Tuesday, 26th October and we will ask you to select dates and times.

Surveys

On their return, the Years 4, 5 and 6 students will be undertaking a survey about our school to ascertain their thoughts and feelings regarding what it is like to be a learner  at St Cecilia's. It is organised by MACS- the new name for Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools.

Lost Property

There are a number of school jumpers, track suit tops, drink bottles and tennis racquets in the Lost Property area. If your children have misplaced anything, please ask Lucy or Sharon at the office.

Music

 Mrs Stefania Miller (our previous Music teacher) has returned from Maternity Leave. In Term 4 , she will be taking Music lessons on Thursday and Fridays at St Cecilia's.

We have loved having Mr Jon Bode as Stefania's replacement during the last 12 months- as he has brought a different style to his lessons, often incorporating Drama and improvisation, as well as singing and musical notation. We wish him all the best for the future!

Concert

As the students had begun preparing their Concert items and it had to be postponed, we may still present the Concert items in some modified form- even if it means filming each class act and sending all the families a link to view it at home.

Stay tuned for further details- and we will see what modifications we can make.

Specialist classes during Remote Learning

Please note that over the next 2 weeks, the students who are working from home can still participate in the Specialist classes that have been offered online throughout each Lockdown during the afternoons. 

We hope that everyone has had a chance to look at these activities which our wonderful Specialist teachers have placed in the Specialist section of the Student Portal.

The Specialist section is located directly under the Classes section. Simply scroll down each afternoon and find the Specialist that the class teachers have suggested for that day.

Eg Art with Mrs Goodear.

Then within the Art section....your children can find their class level eg Foundation, Year 1 & 2, Year 3, Year 4 or Year 5/ 6.

There are usually different tasks for the various grade levels throughout the school but sometimes there might just be one for F-2 and another for Years 3-6.

Students are invited to submit examples of their work to the Specialist teachers- just as they would with their class teachers.

The Specialist classes can be done at any time of day -after the other student work and meetings are finished.  

Photos of submitted Art work from this term's Lockdown can be seen in the Art Gallery- just under Year 6.

Retirement

Dear parents, 

In case you missed it in the last Newsletter, 

I have some news for you all!

After 15 years working at St Cecilia's school as a classroom teacher, Religious Education leader, Deputy Principal and Acting Principal.... I have decided to retire from teaching at the end of 2021.

 I  have particularly loved working at St Cecilia's. The students, families, principals, teachers, priests and members of the parish have all been a pleasure to work with.... but after teaching for approximately 43 years!!!! I am starting to find it harder to wake up in the mornings! 

I will be continuing in my role as Deputy Principal & RE Leader until the end of January and then using up my accrued Long Service Leave.

Marty has advertised the Position on the Catholic Education website and is currently seeking applicants to interview.

I will miss you all and look forward to hopefully seeing you to say goodbye before Christmas... as long as there are no more Lockdowns!

Kind regards, Karen Whiting.  

If you have any queries or concerns, please email at  kwhiting@scgleniris.catholic.edu.au

Kind regards,

Karen Whiting