Principal's Report
Our SHINE dancers
Dear Families,
As you are aware, I leave the school on the 28th of February. I look forward to saying goodbye at the assembly on the 26th of February, at the arch of honour on the basketball court on the 28th of February and at the Welcome Barbeque on the 28th of February. Next week I will do some morning and afternoon duties on the Allen St Car Park gate to have the chance to say goodbye as families come and go.
Angela Foale will step up to become the Acting Principal until a new Principal is appointed. When the new Principal is appointed, Angela will resume the role of Deputy Principal. This involves being out of the classroom for 5 days of the week.
To maintain consistency for the students, Suzan Atyimas will teach the Year 1/2 C class full time, starting from the 17th of February until the end of Term 1. From Term 2, Suzan will resume her Monday to Wednesday role in 1/2 C and will resume her Art teaching on Thursdays and Fridays.
I am happy to announce that our new Year 1 / 2 C teacher from the start of Term 2 for Thursdays and Fridays will be Mrs Adriana Siomos. Adriana is an experienced teacher who has worked at St Leonard’s for many years and is well known by the students, parents and staff. I know you will make her feel very welcome.
I have every confidence that the staff will keep the up high standards, expectations and traditions for the school.
Commissioning Mass This Sunday, 23rd February
On Sunday 23rd of February at 10am we will be having our Commissioning Mass. We invite all families to attend. In addition to staff, students and parents being commissioned, badges will be presented to our School Captains, House Captains and Liturgy Captains. Our school will be open after mass and it has been a tradition for families to visit the school after mass and let their children proudly show them around the school. If you would like to come and bring a small plate of food to share with others, please feel very welcome. If you have any friends, neighbours or family wishing to enrol their child at St Leonard's in future years, they are most welcome to attend, too.
ROAR Parent & Carer Education Session 26th Feb
St Leonard's introduced ROAR 2 years ago as part of our commitment and obligation to ensure that all students feel safe and have the knowledge to talk to someone if something is not right, no matter what it is. These are life-long skills and attitudes necessary for all students, parents and educators. I highly recommend that every parent and carer attend this zoom meeting on 26 Feb at 7:30pm. By attending the meeting parents will be able to understand and reinforce what the students will hear in their sessions at school, leading to more open channels of communication.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83792175580?pwd=QWla4d8m7ej0bXVn75belFxdPGuL9m.1
Meeting ID: 837 9217 5580
Passcode: 832662
School Advisory Council Welcome BBQ 28th Feb
Our welcome BBQ is on Friday 28th February at 6pm on our school oval. It's a great chance to meet the community. It will also be my last official event as the Principal of St Leonard's, so it would be lovely to see you there. It is essential to RSVP so that we know how many hundreds of people to cater for.
1. At 7pm all students from St Leonard's in attendance will be invited to sing our theme song ''Shine" to our community. Below is a photo of the SHINE dancers, who came up with the moves and the winners of the best dancers on each class during rehearsals.
2. We are blessed to have a very rich, multicultural community and I'm excited to announce that The Melindo Dancers will perform a traditional Indonesian dance and then teach the students some dance movements.
3. Highvale Netball Club will run a Prep- Year 2, 30 minute clinic at 6:30-6:55pm and then a Year 3-6 minute clinic from 7:30-7:55pm.
Members of the SAC will be phoning all Prep and new families to the school to invite you to come and to check in with you.
The basketball court will be closed to parking, so please find a parking spot further away and walk to school.
Please complete the following form by Friday 21st February to confirm your attendance.
Car Park Safety
This week I would like to remind parents of three important points to ensure safety in the car parks.
With new technology in cars, families are taking advantage of the ability to back into car parking spaces. We have noticed that some drivers are doing so far too quickly and that they are not aware of children and their parents walking through to the safety of the pathways. Please slow down and check twice before backing in.
- We have noticed that some parents are walking behind cars to drop their kids off, especially in Allen Street car park. They need to be walking forwards to the yellow paths. It's very hard to see if someone is coming past when parents are reversing out of the car parks. The safety of our students is paramount.
- A further reminder that school parents are not to use the parish car parking spaces or the striped pedestrian crossing space nearest our church. Only cars with disability parking permits are permitted to park in the disabled spaces.
Briefly
Thank you for ensuring that your child/ren looked smart for today's school photos.
- Thank you to our staff and parent volunteers from Years 3/4 and 5 / 6 for supervising the students on their lifesaving excursion to the beach. These vital skills should hold the students in good stead in the future. please read the Life saving Victoria page of this newsletter.
- A huge thanks to the PFA for their contribution to the purchase of the new interactive board in the Performing Arts room. It is enhancing and extending the students' learning.
Looking forward to seeing everybody at the Commissioning Mass on Sunday at 10am.
Rob Horwood
Principal