Our Holy Redeemer's Acknowledgement of Country

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Dear Parents & Parishioners,

We all are used to getting advice from our parents and teachers. And sometimes we don’t always pay much attention. But here is some sound advice from someone outside our immediate family and school, someone who has redefined the meaning of success – Bill Gates. Bill Gates isn’t celebrated just because he is the seventh richest person in the world. He became rich by being creative, innovative and ready to make his own opportunities. As a dedicated philanthropist, he is well-known for his charitable giving.

Now, whether we agree with him or not can we afford to ignore his advice? It may be well worth sharing with any teenagers, or older children, if you have any in your household.

Life is not fair; get used to it.
The world won’t care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.
You will NOT make $40,000 a year right out of high school. You won’t be a company vice-president with a cell phone until you earn both.
If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss. He/She doesn’t have tenure.
Flipping hamburgers is not beneath your dignity. Your grandparents had a different word for burger flipping; they called it opportunity.
If you mess up, it’s not your parent’s fault, so don’t whine about your mistakes – learn from them.
Before you were born, your parent’s weren’t as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about how cool you are. So before you save the rainforests from the parasites of your parents’ generation, try ‘delousing’ the closet in your own room.
Your school may have done away with the winners and losers, but life has not. In some schools they have abolished failing grades; they’ll give you as many times as you want to get the right answer. This doesn’t bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life.
Life is not divided into semesters. You don’t get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you find yourself. Do that on your own time.
Television is NOT real life. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.
Be nice to nerds. Chances are you’ll end up working for one.

Acknowledgement: Business at the Speed of Thought: Using a Digital Nervous System by Bill Gates, Collins Hemingway

GRIP Leadership Day

The following is an account of the GRIP Leadership Day that was recently attended by the students in Years 5 & 6:

On Monday the 12th of February all 5/6 students attended the GRIP Leadership Day at the Melbourne Convention Centre. We participated in a range of different activities that taught us about leadership, and the key attributes of being an effective student leader. We learned about the responsibilities and sacrifices that good leaders have to make. Some of them were sacrificing what you might want and putting others' needs before your own.

They also talked about how good leaders don’t worry about what others might think of them. It was good for us to learn, because it could positively effect our future and help us when we are dealing with something hard. Another very important thing that we learned about is 'stepping up, stepping in, stepping out, stepping closer', all of these have key things that come with it. Stepping up is using your talents to help others. Stepping in is helping when you spot a need, stepping out is trying something new and stepping closer is befriending others that you might not know.

This was an enjoyable experience for all 5/6 students. We all learned lots more about leadership and how to be an effective student leader.

Written by the School Captains and Vice Cpatains.

School Photos on Monday

All students should be wearing their full summer uniform, including appropriate socks and black shoes, for Monday's school photos. Details for ordering photos can be found on the School Community page in this newsletter.

Managing Big Feelings Parent Webinar

As a follow up to our Starting School presentation with Carley McGauran in 2023, we present the Managing Big Feelings webinar. This webinar is primarily targetted at parents/carers with children in Prep though to Year 2. This session is not to be confused with Raising Kids in a Digital World which is scheduled to be held later in March.

The Managing Big Feelings session is desgined to support parents/carers to show up in the most helpful way when your children experience big feelings. The goal is for parents and carers to feel more informed and empowered.

Managing Big Feelings

Presenter: Carley McGauran

Date: Thursday 7 March

Time: 7.30pm (75 min)

Here is the link for parents to register for the webinar :

bit.ly/bigfeelings2024

Signing In and Signing Out Students

If a student is late to the school, that is anytime after 8.45am, they must be signed in through the VPass system in the office as a 'Late Pass'. Similarly, if a child is signed out during the school day to either attend an appointment or if they unwell, they must be signed out on the VPass system under 'Early Leave Pass'. If you are new to the VPass system, Heather will assist you.

As you can appreciate, an accurate account of all students on-site during school hours is critical, especially in the event of an emergency.

Prep - Yr 2 Parent Gathering: Tomorrow Night

Our first gathering of parents will be the Prep - Yr 2 evening at the home of the Korda's. This is scheduled for this Friday, 23 February. BYO drinks. Please refer to the details in the invitation, below:

Years 3&4 Parent Gathering

Our second gathering of parents will be the Years 3&4 evening at the home of the Crawshay's. This is scheduled for next Friday, 1 March. BYO drinks. Please refer to the details in the invitation, below:

School Closure Day

Our first school closure day for Staff Professional Learning will take place on Tuesday 12 March, immediately following the Labour Day Long Weekend. We hope that this provides some families the opportunity to have an extra long weekend.

PFA Calendar of Events

Make sure you visit the PFA News, further in this Newsletter, to preview the calendar of planned social and fundraising events occuring throughout 2024.

Wishing everyone a great weekend,

Frank Dame

Science and STEM

STEM Survivor Challenge 2024 coming to an end!