Assistant Principal's Page

Focus Of The Week:  

Week 1 - We Wear a Hat with our Summer Uniform and are Responsible for our Belongings.  As Term Four begins, we are changing into our Summer Uniform. The weather has been so unpredictable lately with both warm and cool  days, but we all know that Orange weather has a way of turning from cold to rather hot in a very short timeframe! Hats are a very important part of the Summer Uniform.  With this current cool weather, children may not see the need for their hat, however I would encourage you to have your child wear their hat to school each day.  Now that we have started Term 4, we expect all children to come to school in their full Summer Uniform each day.  If they do not have their hat with them, they will have to remain in a shaded area at playtime. The sun’s rays can be very deceptive and even though it may not feel hot to children, the sun can be doing damage to their skin.  Getting into good habits on sun safety when students are young, serves them well for life.  On our cool days, jumpers are still needed, especially in the mornings.  When the day warms up, these are often discarded on the playground.  We are also asking students to take the responsibility of looking after their own items and collecting them at the end of play-time. It is also important that all belongings are labelled with the child’s name so that on the occasions when students do forget to collect their items, we are able to return lost items.  This includes lunchboxes, drink bottles and any other items a child brings to school. 

Week 2 - Mission Week.  Our Focus for this week centres on our Mission Week work, "Hearts on Fire, Feet on the Move".  It has been wonderful to see how the students have embraced Mission Week this year and have been exploring the different resources to look at the work of Catholic Missions around the world, especially in Timor Leste.  Thank you so much for your generosity in sending in money and donations for those less fortunate than ourselves.  

NAIDOC Week in Orange: Next week we will participate in the Orange NAIDOC week March.  Next Monday, 23rd October, our Year 2 and 5 students along with our Captains and Prefects will join other schools in marching down Summer Street in the NAIDOC March.  We are also hoping to have a Choir participate in the NAIROC Awards at the Function Centre next Wednesday, however due to unforeseen circumstances, at this stage, we may not be in a posiiotn to go ahead with our performance.  I will notify students tomorrow of the outcome. 

Melbourne Cup: Each year we have one annual fund raiser, the Melbourne Cup Trifecta.  This is a great way to both raise funds for the school, and for people to have a chance at winning a substantial prize!  Your family would have received an envelope with 40 tickets which we ask all families to sell.  These tickets are only $1 each.  You have the option to buy these tickets yourself, or sell them to friends and family.  Please return the money once the tickets have been sold, as all money will go towards our school upgrades.  Apart from the benefit this money will bring to the school, with a major prize of $2500 on offer, and a number of $50 prizes, it is worth the money! There are still tickets available if you sell your initial ones and would like more. These are available from the School Office. Please also let your friends and extended family know these tickets are available and can be purchased by anyone.  We look forward to celebrating the Melbourne Cup, and a new winner of the Melbourne Cup Trifecta! 

Hair Cuts At School: Please take note that during school terms, students

are asked not to have extreme haircuts or have their hair died. This includes mullet cuts.  Cuts with initials, zigzags, close shaven, ‘mullet style’ or coloured hair are fun for school holidays but not acceptable during school terms. If your child exhibits an extreme haircut at the time they would represent the school for sport, they will not be able to do so. Your child may also be asked to return to the hairdresser for a more appropriate haircut if their haircut is seen as not acceptable.

Kindergarten Orientation 2024: We are excited to welcome our Kindergarten Class for 2024 for their Orientation Days this term!  This will take place during the mornings of November 3rd, 10th and 17th from 9.30am – 11.00am.  Our new Kinders will come to Kenna Hall with their parents, before the teachers will bring them across to the School for their session in the classrooms.  We will have a parent meeting, on Wednesday 1st November at 6.00 – 7.00pm in Kenna Hall for all parents of Kinder 2024 children.  This meeting will give parents a practical overview of what happens in Kinder and where to get all the things they need to start the new year. We are all looking forward to our Kinder Orientation for 2024 and to welcoming our new families to the McAuley Family. 

Class Assemblies:  For a number of reasons we have had to postpone many Class Assemblies this year, and we now have a new schedule so that all classes get to present their Assembly.  As we ran out of Friday afternoons, we also are using Thursday afternoons for our Assemblies.  Please check the Compass message that went out earlier this week or the calendar for details.

Have a wonderful week!

Robyn Petty