Clare's message........

Good afternoon Families,

I hope you have had a great couple of weeks. The weather is changeable but when we have a good day, it's glorious. So beautiful to see our Creator God treating us with sunshine to warm our souls.

Next Tuesday, we have seven of our Year 3 children celebrating the Sacrament of Reconciliation. This is a beautiful time for these children, and their peers to acknowledge and reflect on the choices they make, the times they may not be as caring and compassionate as God asks them to be and to make amends and reconcile with our very merciful God. Please keep our Year 3 children in your thoughts and prayers.

I am very much looking forward to this Sunday's working bee. It is always a day of energy, stamina and good fun. We will be focussing on the Sensory Garden and l would like to thank Pete Stilve and Cathie Coates and their son, Ky for their help with planning what needs to be done and organising the materials. The number one benefit of holding working bees is the capacity it has to build such wonderful community and connections between families. We definitely save a lot of money on grounds maintenance and some simple repairs around the place. My thanks to the following: COATES-STILVE, ROSENDALE, POURGOUTZIDIS, LOVELLE, GAGLIARDI, BATTAGLIA, KEEGHAN, TIERNEY, MITRI, D’AMICO, ROMARDIE, HAMPTON, MEEHAN, MANN and FUSCA families who have volunteered.

In addition, the Pisciotta family has generously donated a much loved children's Chef's kitchen to add to our playground. It might look great next to our market garden which is producing some lovely vegies and herbs. Can't wait for our children to start using their imagination and culinary skills to whip up some delicious food.

This week, l walked out to the oval area after school. It was incredible how many families were out there with their children ending their school day with a play on the adventure playground or joining in a soccer game or just hanging out. The buzz of chatter as adults caught up and the squeals of delight as the children played was just joyous to hear. I do encourage families to do this but, l also need to caution families about the following:

every child needs to be supervised closely by an adult (not from a distance)
ONLY primary age students can use the children's toilets
adults, teenagers and toddlers are welcome to use the staff toilets
adults/parents/carers are responsible for their child/ren. Children play with adults/parents/carers knowing the full extent of the associated risks. The school holds no responsibility for any unforeseen circumstances.

We are super excited to be celebrating all things Italian on Thursday at our ITALIAN FESTA DAY of JOY. Children are encouraged to wear the colours: green, white and red or to dress up in their favourite italian celebrity, dish, character, sporting hero... Look out for the flyer sent out on nForma with all the details. Bravo to Signora Phillips for all her hard work bringing it together.

Each week, Margaret Gearon has been coming in with her dog, Cammie under a program called Story Dogs. Together, Margaret and Cammie, are read a story by a child which helps build confidence and fluency. We have a new sponsor this year- Bendigo Bank. We are thrilled that through the generous support of a community bank, the program can continue at St Luke's.

It's a happy little Hawker after last night's win, wishing you a wonderful weekend ahead. Look out on Monday for the changes made on Sunday by our worker bees!

Clare Ryan