Principal's Update
A Lenten Prayer
Lord,
May I stand in solidarity today with all my brothers and sisters around the world who are suffering, particularly those who have been devastated by the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East. May we be united in your love during this season of Lent, and may I work to build your kingdom here on earth through my words and actions.
Amen.
Dear Parents and Carers,
Beginning of Year Mass
This morning we celebrated a wonderful start to our year by attending a whole school beginning of the year Mass. It was a very prayerful occasion and it was great to welcome our new Preps. As always, the buddy blessing was a highlight and we wish our Gr 6 students well as they prepare for a big year guiding their Prep buddies and leading our school. We also wish our Prep students well as they begin their school life at St. Mary’s. They have done an amazing job settling in so well, and we are all very proud of them. This year we have many exciting events organised and I wish all students and staff well for a great year ahead.
Student Leadership
Votes for our 2024 school leaders were finalised last week. Our school leaders that make up our SRC for 2024 are;
School Captains- Jayla Rodger and Spencer Pietsch
Sustainability Leader- Charlie Angus
Arts/Culture Leader- Ursula Hall
Social Justice Leader- Evelyn Dow-Rowan
Sports and Safety Leader- Leo Falciola-Barrow
Grade 5- SRC Members- Tessa Hay and Franlin Kong
Grade 4- SRC Members- Will Robertson and Isla Gray
Grade 3- SRC Members- Claire Alexander and Harrison Casey
Congratulations to these students, we wish them well and know they will lead our school admirably in 2024.
Badges will be presented to the students at tomorrow’s prayer gathering.
SchoolTV/Sleep
Last week I sent out an email inviting parents/carers to complete a short survey about their child(ren’s) wellbeing on the SchoolTV site. Thank you to those who have already completed it, but we would like to get more families complete it to give us accurate data. From the responses received so far, there have been some trends that have emerged. One of them being sleep deprivation. For more information and resources on sleep, please click on this link;
https://smcolac.catholic.schooltv.me/newsletter/sleep
BBQ
A reminder that our beginning of the year BBQ will be held next Thursday 7th March at 6pm. All families are invited to attend. Meat will be provided and families are asked to bring a small salad or dessert to share.
Prep Information Morning
On Monday 18th March an information session will be held in the school library from 10.00am-11.00am. The meeting is aimed at prospective new families in 2025, but existing families are most welcome to attend. Topics covered will be specialist programs, mental health and wellbeing initiatives and strategies for helping parents prepare their child for school. If you have any family or friends looking to enroll their child at a school next year, please pass on this information. If you are intending on attending, please inform the school office.
Car Park
A reminder that if the Gellibrand St. entrance is blocked at pick up time, you can enter the Calvert St. entrance to park your car in the car park, provided it is before 3.10. You can then get out of your car and collect your child(ren). If doing this, please enter with care, staying
Enjoy the rest of your week.
Michael Mahoney (Principal)