From the Principal

Dear Families,

This week marks the halfway point in Term 1. At this halfway point we have much to celebrate and we also have much to look forward to. It has been wonderful to walk through the classrooms and see settled students engaged in exciting learning opportunities. It is fantastic to walk through the playground and hear happy noises of children playing with each other. It is also lovely to stand at the front gate and chat to parents who report how well their child has settled into the 2024 year. It has been a very successful start to the school year. 

Student Leadership

Last week at Assembly we introduced our Student Leadership Team. The student leadership team consists of Year 6 student leaders and student representatives from each year level. We would like to congratulate all our student leaders who were awarded their leadership badges at Assembly last week. We know that they will work hard to make our school even better than it already is. We are proud to have a strong student leadership program at Galilee and are continually blown away by what our student leaders achieve. We look forward to what our 2024 leaders will do.

Open Day

Next week we are throwing open our doors to prospective families who are considering Galilee for their child’s primary school education. We are so proud of our school; we believe we have the most amazing students, outstanding teaching staff and we offer exceptional well rounded educational opportunities and extra-curricular activities for all our students.

We boast wonderful academic outcomes and are proud that we have alumni that are exceeding in their secondary education, including two former pupils who are Year 12 school captains this year in local secondary schools. The behaviour of our students is often noted when we are out of the school grounds on excursions, at sporting events and on school camps. 

We also believe we have an outstanding school community with families often on-site involved in school based activities. 

We encourage our current families to invite local families to attend our open day so that they can see 

2025 Enrollments

We are currently accepting enrollment applications for our 2025 Prep class. As you will be aware enrollment places are limited and we have a waiting list for many year levels. We encourage anyone interested in sending their children to Galilee to complete and submit an application form as soon as possible.

Ash Wednesday Mass and the beginning of Lent

Last Wednesday our school community gathered for Ash Wednesday Mass, to mark the beginning of Lent. Lent is a period of renewal through prayer, fasting and almsgiving in preparation for Easter. Students from Years 1 to 6 attended the Church of St Peter & Paul’s. The Year 5 students read beautifully for the Mass and all students were given the opportunity to receive the ashes on their foreheads. 

Year 4 Camp

Last week I had the opportunity to travel to Aireys Inlet with our Year 4 students for camp. We had a wonderful time away together. I was so impressed to watch all of our students work together, challenge themselves and push themselves outside of their comfort zones. Our Year 4’s had the opportunity to mountain bike, canoe, go on a giant swing, build huts, complete a ropes course and learn the art of archery. They also had the opportunity to work with each other, solve problems and challenge themselves to try new things. Camps are a wonderful experience where we watch students become more independent and grow in maturity over the space of a few days and nights. I really enjoyed getting to know the students outside of the school grounds. They are a spectacular bunch of students. You can read more about the Year 4 camp in this Newsletter. 

Sport at Galilee

We are fortunate to have many sporting opportunities for our students. This past two weeks we have watched our Running Club grow with a record number of students attending each Monday and Friday morning. Thank you to Mr. Greene, Dom and the many parent helpers who are providing this opportunity for our students. We look forward to seeing more students join in over the next few weeks. 

Today a number of students competed in our Dendy Tennis Team. Paul Mapley and Seb Greene conducted training and try-outs for interested students at Albert Park Lawn Tennis Club. From these sessions, a select group of students were chosen to represent Galilee at Dendy Tennis. 

On Monday, a group of Galilee students competed in the Dendy Swimming Carnival. We sent a very talented group of students who all had outstanding results. Many of them have made it through to the next level of the competition. We wish them every success as they prepare to compete in the Regional Competition later this term. 

Stadium Update

We would like to thank you all for your patience and understanding as we navigate water damage that has occured in the Stadium. We have had a number of trades people onsite investigating the origin of the water damage and assessing the scope of works that will need to be undertaken to get the stadium repaired. The investigation process is taking longer than we anticipated but we understand this is an important part of the process and one we need to get right to ensure the longevity of the repair works. We are working as hard as we can to ensure that the stadium is back up and running as soon as possible. We have a team of people at Melbourne Archdiocese of Catholic Schools (MACS) who are supporting us to work with insurance companies, building companies and trades people. 

We have been able to successfully manage our programs and play spaces while we are not able to use the stadium. At recess and lunchtime we have opened up two additional play spaces: the library and Maguire Hall. We have purchased new toys that students can play with in these spaces. Our P.E. program has continued to run outside, moving into Maguire Hall when it is too hot or wet to be on the yard. This has not presented us with any problems at this stage. 

School Uniform

We thank you for your support to ensure that each student comes to school in the correct uniform. It is wonderful to see our students proudly wear the correct uniform as they enter the school grounds each morning.

I wish you every blessing in the coming weeks.

Amy Burns

Acting Principal