St. Augustine's School Newsletter

The Principal's Desk

Dear parents, families and friends,

 

Last Friday we had our annual Mother's Day Breakfast. We once again had a huge attendance with mums and grandmums enjoying a yummy breakfast and being presented with a lovely bunch of flowers. The big smiles on all the faces makes this day worth it and it is events like this that are so important to our school community. A big thank you to all parents who helped with the breakfast and Mother's Day Stall, espically Bec and Vanessa.

 

Rosary

In the Catholic Faith, May is dedicated to Mary. This is demonstrated through the praying of the Rosary daily each week. This week parents and families are invited to join with us each morning to pray the Rosary. On Monday, Thursday and Friday the Rosary will be prayed in the classrooms. Tuesday and Wednesday we will pray the Rosary together in the courtyard.

 

School Photos

All families have received their school photos for this year. I personally thought they looked amazing. Thank you to all families who completed the School Photo Survey. The feedback was very positive in response to the new format of class photos. Moving forward we will continue with the School Photographer for the next few years. We will consider the possibility of alternating between the new format and traditional class photos each year for those families who prefer the traditional format.

 

RESPECT

At school assembly over the past two weeks I again spoke about RESPECT. Here is a summary of what I have presented to the students.

 

BE UPSTANDING AND NOT A BYSTANDER

To be upstanding and not a bystander means to take action and do something instead of just standing around and watching what is happening. It is very much linked with Speaking Up and Speaking Out.

 

SPEAK UP AND SPEAK OUT AGAINST DISRESPECT

Speaking up and speaking out means to call out others when they are doing or saying something disrepectful. It involves telling others to stop what they are doing because it is wrong.

 

Respect Is

  • Encouraging others to have a go
  • Encouraging others to do their best
  • Encouraging others not to give up
  • Encouraging others when they make a mistake
  • Encouraging to join in with you
  • Being welcoming and inclusive of others

Winter Season

As we move into winter we also move into the colds, flu and virus season. If your child is displaying symptoms such as runny nose, coughing, blocked nose, sore throat, sneezing etc, please keep them home and make an appointment to see a doctor. Covid -19 is still with us. We still have plenty Rapid Antigen Test kits at school. I encourage all families to collect these as needed and test their children whenever they display any of the previous listed symptoms.

 

School Uniform

A reminder for students to wear the correct school uniform. Runners are not part of the regular school uniform.

  • Monday and Thursday - all students to wear the regular school uniform
  • Tuesday and Wednesday - only Year Levels having Phys Ed on one of those days to wear their sports uniform
  • Friday - all students to wear their sports uniform and their house colour t-shirt

Parents, please remember to label all school uniform items. This helps us to return any lost and misplaced items to your child as quickly as possible.

 

Fun and Fitness Friday

On Fridays, students are to wear their sports uniform and their Colour House T - shirt. It is not a day for casual clothes or for dressing from head to toe in their house colour. The house colour t-shirt is all that is required.

 

Closure Days 2023

The next school closure will be on Friday 9th June to enable staff to complete their annual First Aid Training required to maintain their Workplace First Aid qualification which includes CPR, asthma and anaphylaxis management.

 

In Term 3 on Thursday 14th and Friday 15th September (the last two days of term) the school will be closed for two consecutive days. These will be professional development days for staff in the area of the Religious Education Curriculum and focused on teaching students how to read and interpret scripture.

 

In Term 4 the school will be closed on Monday 6th November. The school year will finish for all students Prep to Year 6 on Friday 15th December.

 

Prep 2024

A reminder for any current families that have a child beginning Prep in 2024 to submit an enrolment form by the end of term. We have allocated 26 places for Prep next year and these are filling up. Enrolment forms can be obtained from the office or online from the school website.

 

World Youth Day

St. Augustine's will be sending 5 staff representatives to World Youth Day in Lisbon during July and August. The staff attending will be Mrs Michele Witchell, Ms Natalie Librizzi, Miss Marissa Balbuziente, Miss Jess Brennan and Miss Isabelle Maher. This is an amazing opportunity for these teachers and I know they will represent our school well. We will provide details as to their replacement while they are away in the next few weeks.

 

Please read each page of the newsletter as each one contains important or interesting information and updates.

 

Coming up over the next two weeks we have:

  • Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Dance Performance - 29th May
  • National Reconciliation Week - 29th May to Friday 2nd June
  • Athletics Carnival - 30th May
  • Year 5/6 Winter Sleep Out - 2nd June

 

Until the next edition, stay happy, stay warm and stay safe.

 

Kind regards,

 

Matthew Stead