Dear Families,

We are certainly moving through the term at a fast pace, with Wednesday next week marking the mid-point of Term 1! The children have all settled into school and classroom routines, and there’s a great buzz around the place at the moment, both in the classroom and on the playground.

2024 School Theme - Learn, Laugh & Grow Together

Our 2024 theme is Learn, Laugh and Grow Together. The school theme "Learn, Laugh, and Grow Together" embodies a holistic approach to education, fostering an environment where academic enrichment is seamlessly intertwined with joy and personal development. This theme goes beyond traditional learning by emphasising the importance of laughter and communal growth. It envisions a school community that not only values intellectual pursuits but also recognises the significance of building strong interpersonal connections. This theme seeks to nurture well-rounded individuals who not only excel academically but also possess the resilience, interpersonal skills, and sense of humour necessary for a successful and fulfilling journey through education and life. “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” John 10:10

Teaching for Impact in Mathematics Series

This year we have partnered with MACS and Teach Well to engage in the Teaching for Impact in Mathematics (TIM) series (F-2). The series works from a robust research and evidence base to support teachers and leaders to build high-impact instruction into their own classroom, and accelerate learning for all students. This TIM series involves our F-2 teachers; Veni, Kelly and Rebecca, as well as Olivia Turner as Mathematics Leader and myself. The series includes a one-day workshop which we attended on Wednesday, a self-reflection and video coaching cycle for each teacher, and structured opportunities to collect and reflect on student outcomes data. This initiative aligns with our School Improvement Plan Priority of using Consistent Evidence-Based Pedagogy, and while TIMs only focus on F-2, we will be using our learning throughout the school.

NAPLAN

This year the NAPLAN period is 13th to 25th March. To ensure that our Year 3 and Year 5 students are familiar with the online testing platform, they will take part in some trial assessments over the next couple of weeks. The Year 3 and 5 families will shortly receive information about NAPLAN outlining further details, so please look out for this.

Giant Easter Egg Hunt

Our Giant Easter Egg Hunt will be on again this year for any 3 & 4 year old children, and our Prep children. This will be held on Wednesday 27th March at 9:30am on the school oval. All of our local Kinders will be invited, but also please feel free to pass this information on to anyone you know who has children aged 3 or 4.

2024 Footy Tipping Competition

All families are invited to take part in our 2024 Holy Saviour Footy Tipping Competition. Anyone can enter, costing $20 for each participant, paid to the school office by the end of Round 8. The season commences Thursday 8th March with Sydney taking on Melbourne.

Follow the link below to get to the competition website: https://www.footytips.com.au/comps/HS_Footy_Tipsters&p=hsvs3133

Once you have filled in your details on the website, join the “HS Footy Tipsters'' competition. The password to get in should be hsvs3133

There will be prizes for 1st - 3rd (if tippers finish on equal tips, the prize will be split, eg. 1st & 2nd prize combined & split between the two), the more people involved, the bigger the prize pool.

A couple of rules, or things to note:

if you don't tip, you will get the lowest score for the round -1
if you tip all games correctly, you will get a bonus point
there may be up to 5 "Joker" rounds where scores will be doubled
the last 5 rounds will be "Blind" rounds - no one will be able to see the ladder

School Sports and Family Picnic

Our School Sports are going to look a little different this year. They are going to be held on Friday 22nd March, beginning at 4pm with some traditional flat races (varying distances) and relays followed by Kaboom Sports from 5-6:30 pm which is a wonderful active fun social event. This event will be celebrated with the students and families of St Timothy’s, and held on the St Timothy’s school site. We ask that families bring along a picnic to enjoy a very special evening together.

Year 5/6 Camp

As part of Holy Saviour’s Outdoor Education Program, students in Year 5 and Year 6 attend a residential camp. This year the venue for our camp is Stringybark Lodge Camp, Gembrook, it is a three-day, two-night experience. Students will be attending camp on the following dates: Wednesday 6th to Friday 8 March 2024. This year we will be attending camp with the Year 5 students from St Timothy's Primary School, Vermont.

2024 Sacramental Program

All the dates for the 2024 Parish Sacramental Program have been set. Please add the following dates to your diaries if you are wanting your child to receive either of these sacraments. All sacraments will be celebrated at St Christopher’s in 2024.

First Reconciliation

Presentation of Candidates: Sunday 3rd March, 10.30am

Family Evening: Thurs 7th March, 7.00pm

Reflection Day: Wed 13th March, 9.00am-3.00pm

Sacrament of Reconciliation: Wed 20th March, 7pm

First Eucharist

Presentation of Candidates: Sunday 5th May, 10.30am

Family Evening: Thurs 23rd May, 7.00pm

Reflection Day: Wed 29th May, 9.00am-3.00pm

Sacrament of First Eucharist: Sunday 2nd June, 2.00pm

Sacrament of Confirmation – Celebrated again in 2025

Catholic Secondary School Enrolment Applications

Key Enrolment Dates for Year 5 Students in 2024 starting Year 7 in 2026

The key enrolment dates for students in Year 5 in 2024 who will be starting Year 7 in 2026 have been agreed after consultation with the Executive of the Principals Association of Victorian Catholic Secondary Schools (PAVCSS).

The timeline of events and dates are as follows:

Monday 29th January 2024 – Applications open for students commencing Year 7 in 2026.

Friday 16th August 2024 – Applications will close.

Friday 18th October 2024 – Offers will be posted to prospective Year 7 applicants.

Friday 8th November 2024 – Final date for parents/carers to accept an offer made by a school.

Parents of Year 5 students in 2024, please diarise these dates so you don’t miss out.

Open Days

At Holy Saviour, every day is Open Day and we welcome all new families, friends and neighbours to come along and visit the school at any time this year. We ask you to please let your friends and neighbours know about our school, the best advertising for our school is YOU! Feel free to pick up a few fliers in our office to give to neighbours with young children, Catholic or not, they are welcome to visit, or email office@hsvs.catholic.edu.au and we will send some home to you. We are looking for walkers too who would be happy to take fliers out to our community. We distribute to ALL kinders and childcare centres but it’s always good that they go into letterboxes as well.

Enrolments open for 2025

Yes, we are already taking enrolments for next year! If you have a younger child who turns 5 before 30 April 2025, please come and see Sherridan or Kerry in the office for an enrolment form. Also, if you know of anyone else in the community with a child the same age, pass on our contact details– we would love to give them a tour of our fabulous school! At Holy Saviour, every other day is Open Day!

Final Thoughts - As parents, how can we give our children the freedom to play?

Studies show that kids prefer outdoor play with friends to screen based activities, and outdoor play is consistently ranked by parents as the activity that makes their kids the happiest – if we can get them to do it! What exactly is it about play that has such a big impact on wellbeing? Play satisfies all of our basic psychological needs. By definition, play is self-directed. Play is the vehicle through which kids build skills. Play is how children make friends.

Strengthen autonomy – allow our kids more choice in how they spend their time. Cut back on structured extracurriculars to enable them more time for free play. Move away from adult-directed activities to unsupervised play (as developmentally appropriate).
Build competence – set up the environment with equipment for open ended play. Open Ended toys build competence because there is no right way to use them, and the materials can be modified to meet the level of play that your child is ready for.
Relatedness – build a community of people your kid can play with easily. Things like introducing your family to other families in the neighbourhood is a great start. Giving our kids an idyllic childhood with freedom to play and explore isn’t just good for them now. It helps them build the resilience they need for healthy adulthood too.

Kind regards,

Steve Evans

Principal

Just For Laughs

Pet Humour