On Sunday 28th April, our Year 6 children celebrated their Confirmation. Bishop Terry Curtin confirmed 35 students in total. This was a great day and the Church was packed with people wanting to witness this special event. I congratulate the students who were confirmed and their parents for guiding them along their faith journey.

Just after the confirmation, a couple of our families had their children baptised, we congratulate these children as well.

Attention Grade 4 students and parents, the upcoming Sacrament of Reconciliation for candidates will be held on Thursday, May 16th from 2:00pm to 3:00pm at Holy Name Parish. Parents and families are cordially invited to attend this event. If you would like your child's sibling to be present at the Reconciliation, please ensure to pick them up from the office before the event.

Please ensure all stole decoration forms are in at the office by Monday 6th May.

Staff Changes

This term, we have two staff members that will be departing Holy Name. Leah Gates (3/4Z) will be leaving at the end of this term as her second child is due mid July.

On Wednesday, I was handed the sudden resignation of Keryn Heenan who will be departing Holy Name on May 9th.

Survey Results

In our last newsletter, we asked parents to give us feedback on two separate items (Holy Name Events and Uniform). Only 3 parents gave us feedback in the Holy Name Events survey, while 16 parents participated in the Uniform survey.

Summary of Results: Holy Name Events

Families were happy with both the family fun day and car show and would like to see both return in the future. A suggestion for future events were sport games, however if this were to occur it would be more of a school event rather than a fundraiser.

Summary of Results: Uniform

It seems that there are a lot of parents that would like to see the woollen jumper replaced with the current windcheater. There was also a positive response to the polo top. I will now contact our uniform supplier and have a discussion with them about these and other things that were raised.

Grade 5/6 Mobile Phones in Schools

There is a growing trend of Grade 5 and 6 students bringing mobile phones to school. While this may be a necessity for some students, we do remind students that while on school premises they are not to be used. This means before school and after school in the playground and corridors. Video calls and taking photos must not be occurring in the school grounds. Please note that if we witness children using their mobile phones while on school grounds, the phone will be confiscated and parents asked to come and retrieve the phone. We are asking parents to explain and reiterate this issue with their children.

School Photo Day

Personalied order forms were sent home to students today in readiness for School Photo Day on 23rd May.

Please note that orders and payment can only be processed through Schoolpix.

Children are to wear their complete winter school uniform. Even if it is a warmer day, please send your child to school with their jumper or windcheater. Children who have sport on photo day are encouraged to bring their runners to school so these can be worn during sport.

Mother's Day

This year we have decided to trial something new for Mother's Day. Instead of doing something on just one day, we decided to spread the events to allow mothers, grandmothers etc., the opportunity to work one event into their week.

Monday 6th May

At Assembly on Monday 6th May, there will be a small prayer service to celebrate all our mothers, followed by the Choir singing some songs for the significant females in our lives - all welcome.

Thursday 9th May

At 2:00pm, join the staff in the staffroom for a small afternoon tea. At 2:20pm join your children in their house colour areas for an activity afternoon.

Mother's Day Stall

The P&F will once again hold their Mother's Day stall on Thursday 9th (and Friday 10th May if there are items left for those that missed out). The children can bring up to $20 to buy small gifts for the significant women in their lives. We just need a few more Thursday volunteers. If you are available could you please let Leanne at the office know by either emailing her your availability on office@hnpe.catholic.edu.au or calling on 9471 0883. You must have a current WWC registered with the office to volunteer.

Reporting your Child's Absence

We have noticed a lot of children coming to school who are ill. Please do not send your child to school if they are obviously unwell, as this will just be passed onto others.

If you have rung the school during the last few weeks, you will notice that we have now upgraded our answering machine to include options to leave messages for individual teachers, and also to report your child's absence. When you do this, please make sure you clearly state your child's name, grade and reason for absence. There is no need to leave your phone number. You can also email the teacher (& cc the office) or speak to Leanne in person. We ask that you do not report absences via Seesaw.

Parent Representatives

Each year we put out a call for classroom reps. A classroom rep's role is to act as a conjuit between the school and the parents. They are also the point of call for new parents that may join Holy Name and they organise one or two outings for either the whole group (children and parents) or just parents. Please let Leanne know if this is something you are interested in. The reps so far are:

Grade PB:

Grade PK: Nadah Horkos & Doniya Foundoglou

Grade 1/2B:

Grade 1/2H:

Grade 1/2S:

Grade 3/4B: Joana O'Neill

Grade 3/4M:

Grade 3/4Z:

Grade 5/6A: Stephanie Butera

Grade 5/6C: Stephanie Butera

Grade 5/6K: Carmela Gervasoni

Dental Van Visit

All forms must be returned to your child's teacher by next Wednesday 8th May, if you wish your child to visit the Dental Van.

We are expecting the Dental Van team to visit our school in the first week of Term 3.

Canteen

Just a reminder that if you place a lunch order in advance and your child is unwell, you need to cancel it prior to 8.30am on the day.

PHYSICAL EDUCATION & SPORT

Mr Derryn Ling and Mr Peter Koulaxizellis