Thanks to all the families that came along last night. We had over 80% attendance, which after school with all that life throws at us all, we are so grateful. The atmosphere was wonderful and to those brave parents who got up and danced, I salute you! As an aside, it is also one of the greatest things we can do for our children, just turn on some music and dance with them....it is the gold standard in connection! (Just make sure they don't film you!)

For those who couldn't make it, we let the students know who their teachers would be next year:

In the video you will see two exciting things that occurred this week.

Firstly, Adam from Kaptify Art started an Aboriginal Art Piece, focused on teaching about the Bunurong land. Adam works with the Bunurong land council and his art works can be seen all throughout Bunurong country. He uses this medium to capture what Country was well before our sentiment. The mural will continue over the coming week.

Secondly, you will see the physical Cookbook, which we received. We have now sent it to the Printers and look forward to giving everyone a copy!

After consulting with students, staff and parents, we have chosen a new dress for the school. Whilst split with the students, the staff and certianly parents were all one sided. This dress will likely be in stock throughout January from Beleza. We thank the parents who provided their opinion.

Last night I welcomed a new staff member for 2026, who will work in education support 2 days a week, Mr Kelemen Dominic. Kelemen was St John's Captain this year, and comes with high praise. Interestingly a parent spoke to me last night after it was announced and spoke of her admiration for how Kelemen conducted himself at St John's and said we are incredibly fortunate. Kelemen will be studying Phys Ed teaching at University. He will add to our incredible education support team, many of whom are studying teaching. All our education support team and teachers are returning in 2026.

I have been a little frustrated at the pace of the building process, and trust me, I am pushing everyone in higher places to provide certainty of a start date. As soon as I have it, you will have it. In the meantime, we are decluttering. We are getting rid of some older books and toys that we have. They are free to good homes. We will set up a little section early next week where you can come and browse and take anything you want.

We have a new app for parents, NForma For Parents. You will already have an account with the email that we have. Hit 'Forgot Password', and it will send you an email to reset the password. Then login with that email and password. By the end of the year, we just want everyone on the app. It will make messages, absences, medical information, permissions and reports so much easier, as it will all be in the one app.

On Tuesday we had 12 new Preps start, and they were incredible. Not one tear, and all so independent. They set the bar high and we look forward to helping them raise it further. We have a couple final spots if you know of anyone who needs a Prep spot for 2026.

'It is the beautiful task of Advent to awaken in all of us memories of goodness and thus to open doors of hope.' – Pope Benedict XVI

This Sunday marks the start of the church season of Advent. It is the beginning of the four-week preparation period leading up to Christmas Day. This week the first purple candle on the Advent wreath is lit - this is the candle of Hope, also called the prophet’s candle. The liturgical colour of this season is purple which symbolises royalty, penance, and preparation. The Hope candle represents the prophets, particularly those like Isaiah, who foretold the arrival of the Messiah—a future King who would bring peace and redemption to the world. It focuses on the hope that the Jewish people held for centuries for a savior.

It reminds us that hope is a confident anticipation and trust in God's promises being fulfilled, both in the past (Jesus' birth) and in the future (His return).

Finally, please talk to your child about the importance of changing independently, and looking after their belongings before swimming. Label everything, and we mean everything!

We are a Sunsmart school!