A message from Emily

Dear parents and carers,

This week the children from 3 and 4 Hubs went to Camp Sunnystones for an overnight camp. I spent time with them over breakfast on Tuesday and it was great to see the excitement levels were still high despite an early wake up for some. I would like to acknowledge the staff who gave up time with their own families to attend this camp and made this experience possible and enjoyable for the children. Thank you Jenna, Molly, Erin, Michele, Jordan, Shelly and Erynn for ensuring the children felt safe and making the most of their camp experience. 

This Sunday we celebrate the special women in our lives with Mother's Day. I want to take a moment to recognise and celebrate the incredible contributions of all the mothers in our school community. Mothers play an integral role in the lives of their children, providing unconditional love and support as they navigate the challenges of growing up. They are our first teachers, helping us to learn and grow in countless ways, and they continue to guide us as we move through life. This Mother's Day, I encourage all of us to take a moment to thank the special women in our lives who have made us who we are today. To all the mothers out there, I want to say thank you. Thank you for your tireless dedication to your families, your unwavering strength and resilience, and your endless love. 

On Friday we will celebrate the mothers and other significant women in the lives of the children from St John's. Please note the backyard will be closed for drop off to allow for this event. We will also hold a liturgy in the morning in place of our usual Friday afternoon.

Dear Heavenly Father,

On this Mother's Day, we give you thanks for the gift of our mothers and for the love and sacrifice they show us every day. We pray that you bless and protect all mothers, and that they may feel your love and grace today and always.

We pray for those who have lost their mothers, that they may find comfort in their memories and in the knowledge that their mothers are now with you in heaven.

We ask you to bless all mothers who are struggling, who may be facing difficult times, health challenges, or other struggles. We pray that you give them strength, courage, and hope, and that they know they are never alone.

We thank you for the example of Mary, the mother of Jesus, who showed us how to love and care for our children with selflessness and devotion. May we follow her example and seek to imitate her love in our own lives.

We ask this through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

In the last fortnight we have seen an increase in reported positive COVID-19 cases within the community. Thank you to the families who are being vigilant with testing and reporting any positive cases. This allows us to support everyone in maintaining a safe and healthy school community. If your child is displaying cold or flu like symptoms we highly recommend that you administer a RAT and keep them at home until symptoms have cleared. We still have a small supply of RAT kits at school available to the community. Please contact or collect from the school office. We also ask for understanding as we deal with the increase of positive cases that is affecting staff attendance and ability to find Casual Relief Teachers. Like most school communities we are struggling to replace staff when they are absent so there may be times where we need leaders to replace Educators or split hubs across the school. This means programs, such as intervention, being impacted and not able to go ahead as planned on certain days. If your child is impacted over multiple sessions we will be in contact with families. Please see the Health Updates page for further information. 

It has been great to hear that there are parents accessing the videos from our Inform and Empower workshop from Week 1 this term. There is more information around what's on offer on the Learning and Teaching page including an invitation to a screening of Taryn Brumfitt's film "Embrace Kids" at the Sun Theatre. Please click on the links below to access:

Raising Kids in a Digital World - Parent Resources https://www.informandempower.com.au/parents

- Toolkit and blog posts (with links, info and more) are available for the entire year https://www.informandempower.com.au/video-may

- Video content is available for 30 days and will need the password to access: may2023

Here is a link to the Star Weekly where some of our children feature as part of the promotion for the Active Paths program. The Active Paths program was designed to encourage parents and students to ride, walk, scoot or skate their way to school. We have noticed that there are more children riding to school and securing their bikes and scooters at the Farm. If this continues, we will look to install additional bike racks in this space to accomodate this increase.

Last week I had the privilege of being a part of a Sacred Land immersion program in Tasmania designed for the Western Principal Network. This experience was one that was personally moving and transformative.  I had the opportunity to hear and learn from different Tasmania Elders in culturally significant locations. I heard many yarns about Truganini and Fanny Cochrane Smith and how the present day elders and leaders are trying to reclaim their culture and traditions that were lost during the colonisation era. At times it was hard to hear and comprehend the complete disregard for human life and culture and is part of our history that impacts so many today. The experience left me feeling connected to land and how I can be more open to learning more out our First Nation people in our local area. With the upcoming referendum, we are at a significant time in our own history and how we choose to vote will go a long way in how we will be remembered for our present day treatment Australia's First Nation peoples. I have attached a few photos from my trip to Tasmania that capture a small part of what I learnt and experience during last week.

Wear It Yellow Day | An initiative of Children’s Ground 

As part of our National Reconciliation Week this year, we are encouraging all children and educators to take part in a yellow-themed casual dress day to raise funds for a First Nations organisation, Children’s Ground, on Friday the 2nd of June. The National Reconciliation Week theme for 2023 is ‘Be a voice for generations.’ This theme encourages all Australians to be a voice for reconciliation in tangible ways in our everyday lives – where we live, work and play. As part of ‘Wear It Yellow Day’, children will engage with National Reconciliation Week learning materials and have vibrant discussions about First Nations culture and history. Children are encouraged to bring a gold coin donation on the day. Thank you to Jessie (One Hub Educator) for leading this initiative. An email will also be sent out to families reminding you of this event.

For more information on Children’s Ground, head to https://childrensground.org.au/ or watch this short video clip - https://vimeo.com/444707682 

A reminder to parents of children in Year 5 looking to enrol into secondary schools, please check out the Noticeboard page for information about upcoming open days and parent information nights. Enrolments for Y7 2025 at Catholic Secondary Schools are open now.

Wishing you a wonderful fortnight ahead,

Emily