AROUND THE SCHOOL

CLASS AWARDS

Friday 28th November

Congratulations to the following students who received awards at last Fridays assembly:

Judah, Storm, Kiara, Alex, Leo, Frankie, Hannah, Arley, Sam K, Sam H, Klara, Sashel Pradhoyt, Maddie & Heidi

GRADE 6 GRADUATION

Our Graduation Mass, held on Thursday 4th December at 6:00pm in St Laurence’s Catholic Church, was a truly special celebration. The church was filled to the brim with proud families and friends, all eager to acknowledge and celebrate the achievements of our Grade 6 students as they prepare to begin their secondary school journey.

We extend our heartfelt thanks to Father Stanley, who led our Graduation Mass so beautifully. His warm and encouraging words helped make the evening meaningful for our students and their families.

At the conclusion of Mass, we acknowledged the families who are leaving our school community by presenting them with a small gift—a Saint Mary MacKillop Callistemon native plant to symbolise growth, gratitude and new beginnings. We congratulate all of these deserving recipients for their outstanding achievements.

Many families continued their celebrations by heading out to dinner after the service, rounding out what was a joyful and memorable evening. We sincerely thank our staff, parishioners, families, friends and students for contributing to such a warm, vibrant and successful Graduation Mass. It was a wonderful celebration of our young people and their time at St Laurence’s.

Award recipients on Graduation night were:

Grade 6 Class Award is given to a student/s who is a role model, shows initiative, works cooperatively and demonstrates our ABC's:

Congratulations Noah & Klara

Mary MacKillop Award is given to a student/s who will be attending Mary MacKillop College, is a role model and reflects the values of St Laurence's (Presented by MMCRC Principal, John Freeman): Congratulations Casey & Maeve

Sisters of St Joseph's Award is given to a student who has a prayer and liturgy interest. Is committed to social justice/community and lives out our school motto "Love In Action" and that person is Ivy

Citizen Award is given to a student who, for their entire school life, has been a committed, respected and caring person: Congratulations to Bailee

Specialist Awards are given to students for excellence in the specialist areas.

Congratulations to:

Art: Iris

Physical Education: Ryder

MMD: Rachael

CHRISTMAS BOXES

Our Christmas shoeboxes of lovely gifts have been shipped and are their way to Cambodia where they will be received with great delight. Thank you for your support, and the school community's generous support of the project. May you all have a truly blessed Christmas - Doreen Western.

CHRISTMAS DISCO

We are after helpers on the day to help supervise. Any parents with a current WWCC can send their details to the office.

Grade 5 Bike Hike to Koonwarra - A Wonderful Success!

Our Grade 5 Bike Hike to Koonwarra on Wednesday 3 December was an outstanding success. We were blessed with beautiful weather and supported by incredible parent helpers – Kate, Katie and Phil – along with our dedicated staff.

A heartfelt thank you to Jon Openshaw for delivering a highly informative presentation about his role as the Great Southern Rail Trail Manager. The students thoroughly enjoyed learning about how the trail came to be, and how it is managed and maintained.

We also extend our sincere appreciation to Victoria Police for their continued support each year – it is truly valued.

A special thank you goes to Mrs O’Loughlin and Mrs Wright for organising and delivering our lunches. They were absolutely delicious and very much appreciated after a big day of riding!

Thank you to everyone who contributed to making this day such a memorable experience for our Grade 5 students.

Thanks The Senior Team and Grade 5's.

Bike Collection for Grade 5 & 6 Students

Grade 5 bikes and helmets can be collected from the end of the school day on Tuesday 9th December. They may also be picked up on any day following this date, with the latest collection being Friday 12th December.

Grade 6 students will complete their bike ride to Meeniyan on Wednesday 10th December. Their bikes and helmets will need to be taken home on the day of the ride (10th December) or after the Grade 6 celebration dinner that evening. (Apologies for incorrect day in our email that went out today)

We appreciate your support in helping us clear the storage areas before the end of term.

MY CHRISTIAN HERO

Grade 5/6 students have been exploring what it means to be a Christian Hero. We discussed the qualities that make someone a hero who follows Jesus' example - showing kindness, courage, faith and compassion.

Students wrote six meaningful sentences about their own Christian hero using the following prompts.

Sentence Prompts

Who is your Christian hero?
What makes them inspiring?
What challenge did they face?
How did they show trust or courage?
How does their example connect to your life?
What lesson can you learn from them?

My Christian hero is my Dad.

He inspires me to do what I like and be myself.

The difficult challenges that he faced were going away from us to Queensland for work on the week of my birthday. He flew in the plane to Queensland but made it back earlier the next day to celebrate my birthday. I look up to him because he always will make it up to us any way possible. To make up with people if I have done something wrong or if there is a special event and I can’t go, I will try my best to go to the event even if I am late or I can give them a special thing the next time I see them.

By Bailee

My Christian Hero is my mum.

She has faced many challenges in her life with her family and friends, but she never gives up, even when things are hard. She shows so much faith and courage towards her peers and everyone around her including me. My mum is always there for me in tough times, even if she is facing lots of hard challenges, she still helps me with my challenges that I’m facing. The lesson you can learn from her is to never give up on your dreams or yourself.

By Kiara.

My Christian hero is my sister Montana.

She inspires me to always be kind and try my hardest, she has such a great energy and I would love to be just like her one day. Montana has faced many challenges but I think her biggest challenge was finishing school. She loved school and all her teachers so much and it was hard for her to give it up. I know Montana has a lot of courage and she is one of the bravest people I know. She shows courage by never giving up and always finding another way. I look up to her because she is so kind and considerate and such a great person. Montana has taught me so many lessons: to be kind, considerate, to do breaststroke and so much more.

By Makenzi.

My Christian hero’s are my teachers at St Laurence’s Primary School because they always show kindness to everyone. They listen carefully when someone is upset and help us solve problems calmly. They teach us to include others and remind us to be patient. When we make mistakes, they show forgiveness and help us try again. They make our classroom feel safe and welcoming. They inspire me to be gentle and caring just like them, because they demonstrate Christian values every day.

By 5/6 students.

Our principal at St Laurence’s Primary School.

My Christian hero is our principal at St Laurence’s Primary School because she leads our school with fairness and respect. She greets students every morning with a warm smile and makes everyone feel noticed. She works hard to make sure everyone feels safe, supported, and included. When there is a problem, she deals with it with courage, honesty, and understanding. She encourages us to be responsible and to look after each other. She inspires me to be a leader who lives out Christian values even when it’s difficult.

By 5/6 students

TIMTAM'S STORY TIME