Principal's News

Welcome everyone to our last newsletter for 2021. We have all been through another year of COVID restrictions and look forward to 2022 being a year where the children experience all their learning on site.

Orientation Day

On Tuesday December 7 at 1:30pm we are having our 2022 Orientation Day. The children will spend the afternoon with their 2022 teacher participating in activities designed to get to know their new classmates and teacher in preparation for Term 1. Our 2022 Preps will be at school for their Orientation at 2.30pm on this day as well.

Prep Information Session

There is a prep information session on Wednesday at 6.00pm online. Our new prep’s parents will be attending. If you know of any families with Prep students who have not enrolled in a school please have them contact the office for a tour and enrolment pack.

Our Patch Sign Up Session

Parents who need assistance with registering for Our Patch Out of Hours Care should attend the session at school on Wednesday December 8 at 2.30pm. You will need to bring your Centrelink details. The session will be held outside the office. As parents are not entering the building, proof of vaccination will not be required.

Graduation                                                                                                                                           

We officially farewell our Grade 6 students on Friday. I would like to wish them all well for the future as they soon start the next stage of their educational journey. It can be quite daunting going from being the senior students at primary school to the new kids at secondary school. The grade 6’s need to embrace all the opportunities that will be available to them at their new schools as well as maintaining friendships from Holy Family. 

End of Year Liturgy                                                                                                                           

Next Monday we will be celebrating the end of the school year with our End of Year Liturgy starting at 6pm at Holy Family Church. Parents will be able to attend. As our school year has been so interrupted with COVID related issues we will not be giving out certificates and trophies like we normally do. We see not having a traditional Prize Giving this year as an opportunity for next year and beyond to look at how we acknowledge the efforts of our students at the end of the school year. 

Last day for students                                                                                                                                    The last day for students is Wednesday the 15th December. School will finish at 3:30pm as normal on that day.

Optional day for Students- Movies and Moving Day (working parents only)

Even though the last day is officially the 15th December, for working parents the children can come to school on Thursday the 16th December. This will not be a normal classroom type of day. Children will participate in activities and be supervised by staff not involved in moving classrooms. If you are a working parent and need supervision on this day, please contact the office.

Thank you to our teachers, children and community                                                                      I would like to thank our community and staff for the huge effort everyone has made this year with the children's learning both while at school and at home. Moving between home and school learning was challenging for all concerned and I think that it went as well as it could. Our staff at Holy Family were able to make the transitions from one to the other very smoothly. The staff planned in a way that enabled them to change at short notice and continue delivering the curriculum to their classes.        

The children have shown enormous resilience, having missed out on so much over the last two years, they have shown a big effort themselves to engage in home learning. The children also need interactions with their friends, to play sports and do all the normal things that children do. I would encourage families to make this a focus over the holiday break.

Once again thank you to our amazing staff, children and parents for their efforts during 2021 to make a very difficult situation as successful as it could be.

We farewell Elke Wood at the end of the term. Elke and her husband Justin are expecting a baby early next year. I would like to thank Elke for all her efforts with leading Health and Physical Education over the past two years. We look forward to hearing of their baby’s arrival!

Christmas                                                                                                                                                 

I will be going to Sydney for Christmas and then back to New Zealand to catch up with family and friends and also do some fishing. I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas and New Year. I look forward to seeing everyone back at school safe and sound in 2022.

Merry Christmas                                                                                                                       

Regards,

Steve Twomey.