Principal's Report
The Month of May
As we enter the month of May we are reminded that, as Catholics, May is the month when we traditionally focus on Mary, the Mother of Jesus. The practice dates back at least 700 years and is still observed around the world today. May is the beginning of new life and the start of summer in the northern hemisphere.
Throughout the month of May, I encourage you to pray the Hail Mary with your family to Mary, who brought new life, Jesus our saviour, into the world.
Speaking of the bringing new life into the world! This Friday we will celebrate Mother’s Day with some special events organised. We invite all mothers, grandmothers or special person to come along to our Mother's Day celebrations this Friday 11th May between 1 pm and 3:30 pm.
Join the children in their homeroom learning spaces for some fun activities from 1 pm - 2 pm followed by afternoon tea from 2 pm - 2:45 pm. There will then be a special Mother's Day reflection and assembly in the hall from 2:45 pm - 3:30 pm.
We will be asking for a $5 donation/ head on the day to cover the costs of the afternoon tea. Please be aware that all people attending will be required to sign in on arrival.
For the enjoyment of all, we ask that you make other arrangements for toddlers for the afternoon. We understand if this is not possible, but it is purely to allow all mums to have a well-deserved break and to fully focus on your school children for the afternoon.
There will also be a Mother's Day Stall held tomorrow, Thursday 10th May. Children will be selling handmade items ranging from $1 - $10.
Happy Mother’s Day to all of our mothers, grandmothers, great-grandmothers. We hope that you have a beautiful day on Sunday and are completely spoilt by your children/ grandchildren!
Being Safe Online and Seesaw Launch
Thank you to all of the parents who attended last night’s parent information session on Being Safe Online & the launch of the Seesaw program. Special thanks to Kelly Moore for her informative presentation on the importance of parental monitoring of your child’s online behaviour at home.
We look forward to sharing your child’s work through the Seesaw program. A special instruction sheet will come home today in your child’s school bag to assist you with logging in to the program and accessing your child’s first welcome message.
We have been trialling this program with the children over the last 14 months and have removed all previous posts.
Playground Redevelopment
A big thank you to all of the wonderful parents who have volunteered their time and talents over the last few weeks with the removal of the old sheds and structures in Fr Simon’s backyard and the laying of the concrete path last Saturday which connects Greenland with the large grassed area on the corner of Hardy Street and Hemburrow Street.
There will be a follow up working bee for painting and landscaping in the coming weeks.
This area will be known as the “St Raphael’s Parish Garden” and will be a welcome addition to our playground space. We thank each of these volunteers for their ongoing expertise and support.
We are also in the process of relocating the sports shed over to the back area of Fr Simon’s garage area. This will free up valuable storage area in the school hall and provide easier access to the sports equipment from Greenland.
School Community Event Proposals
After discussion with the School Education Board, it was raised that some parents would like to know the reasons why we are not holding a biennial fete this year.
After extensive consultation with SEB members and staff last year, it was identified that without parent volunteers and assistance it is impossible to hold these large scale whole-school events.
As an SEB we decided to hold smaller, more manageable events that require fewer volunteers than a whole school event.
However, if you are new to our school, are enthusiastic and would like to get a group of like-minded parents volunteers together then please feel free to put a proposal together for an event in 2019 then email me (principal@srprestonwest.catholic.edu.au) or make an appointment to come and see me to discuss your ideas.
I will happily forward these ideas on to our SEB Community events team for discussion and consideration.
Enrolments 2019
A final reminder to all current families with children beginning in Foundation 2019 to please submit your enrolment forms by 4 pm onFriday 11th May. We now have a waiting list in Foundation 2019 and final decisions for places need to be finalised ASAP.