Dear Parents and Families,

It has been a frosty and cool week but we have had lots of exciting things happen at school this week. It is pleasing that finally our students have the opportunities for the extra-curricula activities that we have missed out on in the last two years.

Thank you to all our families that are advising the school when your child is absent.

School Photos

Our students looked fantastic in their full winter uniform ready for our school photo's on Tuesday. We had the photos taken over at the reserve opposite the school and the backdrop looked stunning. Frank Monger from Mt. Gambier was back after a two year break due to border restrictions. Thank you to all our families for presenting our students so well in their uniforms.

Hoop Time

On Thursday, Miss Thompson and myself took our Year 3 & 4 basketballers into HILAC for Hoop Time. We had two teams, which allowed all our students to have maximum court time. Our teams were entered into the Rookie section as we had no players that play competition basketball. It was delightful to see the enjoyment on their faces and all our students being active. It was lovely to see some supporters who came along and watched as well. Special thanks to Simon Thomas and Marion Huf who scored on the day for the two teams.

BioScience

It was a very early and frosty start on Thursday for our Year 5 & 6 students and their families who needed to be in Hamilton for their 6am start for the students trip to 'The Victorian BioScience Education Centre' in Geelong. Students from Macarthur, Merino, Dunkeld and Penshurst joined our Year 5 & 6s for this amazing experience. This is another opportunity for our students to make new friends from the surrounding district in readiness for secondary school. When I met the bus last night, the students were bubbling with excitement to tell me all the things they got to experience.

A special thank you to Mrs Brabham and Chris Price who supervised our students.

School Netball Championships

We registered a Years 5/6 mixed team for the netball championships at Hamilton next Wednesday but have been informed by Netball Victoria that the mixed team we have entered will not play next week but will move straight to the Finals Day at the State Netball Centre on Wednesday 31st August in Melbourne. After discussion, we have decided to look at taking a team to Melbourne. This will be depended upon costs and whether an overnight stay would be required. Information will follow if we decide to proceed. This will only be for selected students only, not the whole Year 5/6 class.

School Council Update

On a chilly Wednesday night, we held our School Council meeting here at school. Due to illness and holidays, we did have a few apologies. We are always thankful to have such a supportive School Council. Items presented and discussed were:

Policies - 'Fundraising' and the 'Student Dress Code' (which was previously called the Uniform Policy) were tabled and endorsed. The Department of Education provides operational guidance for our all our policies and resources. All our policies are currently listed on our website or are available for paper copies if requested.
Buildings & Grounds - new blinds in the music room have been installed, quotes for new carpet in the music room have been received and now ordered, termite inspections over the holidays were conducted, air conditioners have been serviced and cleaned, new filters for air purifiers have been received and are being changed regularly.
Stadium Refurbishment - Currently the architects in charge of our refurbishment are now in the process of ensuring our site can be made compliant to current building code, as we have a steep gradient around the school buildings. This means we need to meet access regulations before the project can be commenced. Things are moving slowly but are progressing!

Enrolments 2023

Our information packs and enrolment forms will be available soon for 2023. We will send them home for our siblings of our current students. If you know of any new families that would like a school tour and an information pack, please let myself or Tammy know and we can arrange a time and a pack.

Internet Safety at Home

The Kids Help Line has some informative articles about eSafety at home. Please take some time to look through their website so you can help support your children manage this online world we live.

https://kidshelpline.com.au/parents

Have a lovely weekend,

Lisa Ferrier

Year F/1