Principal's Desk
Dear Parents,
It is great to be back on deck at HT following two weeks leave, which included an Indigenous Cultural Immersion Tour to Cape York Peninsula, Queensland.
I am very grateful for the opportunity to participate in the tour with 18 of my Principal colleagues. It was an extremely insightful experience, visiting remote communities via 4 wheel drive (no wifi access, limited facilities and drop loos!), having a yarn around campfires with local elders and learning about the indigenous culture. We spent time learning the local dialect, acquiring new campfire cooking skills and developing an appreciation of the importance of the land and waterways for the local culture.
It was also very interesting to hear the various views and insights from local elders regarding the Voice Referendum, which will take place in mid October. We were fortunate to participate in various Welcome to Country ceremonies and to be initiated with body paint, which was an interesting and new experience! The contrasting landscapes, learning about the land and the many walks and waterholes were simply stunning. It was definitely a step outside of the comfort zone for some of us but an amazing experience all the same. Most importantly I didn’t encounter any crocodiles!
I would like to thank Natalie Ballinger for steering the ship during my brief absence.
Dad's Afternoon at school
Thank you to all the Dad's that were able to attend yesterday. We appreciate that it is difficult for all Dad's to take time away from work to attend school. It was great to see the children engage in various activities and to work together on different challenges and tasks.
Father's Day Stall & Raffle Winners
A huge thanks to our amazing Parents' Association for their efforts in coordinating another successful Father's Day Stall. There were lot's of helpers on the day with some great gift ideas and raffle prizes. Thank you to all involved. The children loved being able to purchase something to surprise their Dad on Father's Day. As they say, the gift is in the giving!
I trust that all Dad's enjoyed a great Father's Day last Sunday.
Congratulations to the lucky winners of the Father's Day Raffle:
- Goodlife Health Club Knox, 3 month membership - Tyler W
- Karcher K2 pressure washer - Henry K
- Karcher SC1 steam cleaner -Amaya Y
- Boss Aluminium merchandise pack - Blake I
- Total Tools merchandise pack - Alby B
- Sweets & Chocolate Hamper - Luca C
- Urban Alley Knox Ozone Voucher - Tyler G
Footy Day
We will celebrate `Footy Day’ on Thursday 14th September, with students encouraged to
wear colours from any sporting code, however black and yellow is strongly encouraged - go Tigers!!!
The Parents’ Association will also coordinate a `footy lunch’ - please order asap via CDF Pay.
Orders close at 3pm on Thursday 7th September (no late orders accepted).
Emergency Drill
Last week we conducted an emergency drill, requiring all students and staff to evacuate the school buildings and assemble outside. We informed the students of the type of drill prior to the event to reassure them that the event was a practice drill only. We aim to conduct a drill each term as a required compliance measure. In the very unlikely event of a required evacuation or lockdown, our staff and students are required to know exactly what to do for the safety and wellbeing of all.
We were extremely impressed with the manner in which the students followed the directions of staff and evacuated in a timely and orderly manner - even our Preps!
MACSSIS
Hopefully every family has also received login codes to the MACSSIS Family Surveys. As communicated in last week’s newsletter, these surveys provide valuable information to the school about how we are going and help us to think about future directions. One of the main goals of the family survey is to identify the strengths and areas for improvement in our school. MACSSIS data benefits everyone within our school and provides valuable community insights on areas that each school can focus on. Our school believes it is important to encourage families to have a voice and contribute to shaping the ongoing improvement of the school. Please try to complete the survey. We really do value your contribution. The survey is available online, can be accessed from Monday 28 August and needs to be completed by Friday 15 September 2023. This survey may only be completed once.
Mrs Steph Rooney - Maternity Leave
We will farewell our wonderful Prep teacher, Mrs Rooney, at the end of the term. We wish Steph and her husband well as they wait in anticipation of the birth of their first child. We look forward to sharing some exciting news towards the end of October.
Our other wonderful Prep teacher, Mrs Andrea Dowling, will work Monday - Thursday in Prep in Term 4, with Mrs Sally Campbell working every Friday. We are fortunate to have such a strong Prep team, including Mrs Helen Richardson and Mrs Robyn Barberis, to continue the great learning happening in Prep until the end of the year.
End of School Term - 1 pm finish
The school day will finish at 1pm on the last day of each school term to provide Time in Lieu for staff. We acknowledge the early finish time does impact some families so we will therefore offer supervision of students until 3.30pm if required. Please indicate below if your child needs to remain at school following the 1pm finish time.
If you have more than one child please provide the name of each child below.
Please only complete this form if your child will not be collected from school at 1pm on Friday 15th September.
Supervision required on Friday 15th September
Showcase of learning - Tuesday 10th October (3.30pm - 5pm)
We are planning an open classroom visit for students to showcase their learning. Please save the date - all welcome.
School Blog
Our students are responsible for a lot of the School Blog content, so please take some time to appreciate their posts. It is also a great way to find out about school events such as Camp, Production, Sports Events, the Arts …. And much more!
http://blog.htws.catholic.edu.au/
Warm Regards,
Adrian Scutt
Principal
Time to eXcel
