Dear Families,

It’s hard to believe, but we have just finished week 6 of term 4 and there are only 5 weeks left of school for the year! We still have quite a bit to fit in over the coming weeks including two transition sessions next week, one for our 2025 Preps and one for our Year 1-6 students for 2025. Staffing announcements will also be made next week.

50th Anniversary Celebrations

What a huge success last weekend was! From the beautiful celebration of Mass on Saturday night with Archbishop Peter Comensoli, Fr Ralph, Fr Jacob, Fr Julian Langridge, and Fr Tony Feeney, right through to the wonderful celebration of community at our festival on Sunday! We were blessed with amazing weather for both events, plenty of food and festivities, and a great buzz around the whole place. It takes a lot of people to put together events such as what we experienced last weekend, and it would take the entire newsletter to thank each one individually! However, there are a couple of committees and people I would like to give a special shout-out to:

the Parish Pastoral Council and Parish Liturgy Committee for a beautiful celebration of Mass on Saturday night and the food and festivities that followed.
the Festival Committee - Denise Konstantinou, Kimi Dmello, Shirley Wood, Susan Aile, Russell Davis, Belinda Saville, Danielle O’Connor, Roger Skofic, and Michele Brogden - for a wonderful celebration of community and festivities on Sunday.
Kerry & Sherridan in the school office for all the running around you both did to support both events.
All the volunteers and support crew who helped out at one of the events or stalls over the weekend.

Thank you all for putting on such a wonderful weekend of celebration for our Holy Saviour Parish and School community.

Weeden Drive Safety

It has been brought to my attention by a number of concerned parents and staff about the unsafe way in which parents are dropping or collecting their children each day. For the safety of all who enter and exit the school at Weeden Drive, I ask that all please follow the below directions:

No parking in front of the entry gates.
No U-Turn to be performed directly in front of the school.
Do not use the school driveway to turn around, this space needs to remain clear for pedestrian access.
Use the pedestrian crossing at all times when crossing the street, whether you have a child with you or not.

The safety and wellbeing of all children is our priority at Holy Saviour and the cooperation and patience of all users is paramount in ensuring this happens.

Holy Saviour Production - Turn Back Time

Also back for 2024 is our school production! Come and join us on a trip down memory lane as we celebrate 50 years of Holy Saviour Parish (& 47 years of our school!). This year, our production will be held on Thursday 5th December at the Emmaus College Performing Arts Centre. We are very excited to be able to present a production this year, the main roles have been cast, and all the students have begun rehearsals. All students will be involved in the production again this year, so please make sure you can make it!

All tickets will go “on sale” from Monday 18th November via Trybooking. All tickets are free and we will also have allocated seating. We are committed to ensuring all families can attend the school concert, so initially, there will be a four-ticket limit per family. We ask that families work with us to ensure this is adhered to. Closer to the the event date, we will review ticket sales and make an announcement about additional tickets available for purchase.

2025 Transition Sessions

Last week a letter was sent home regarding the transition sessions we are holding as part of our planning for 2025. We have two sessions planned, Wednesday 20th November and Wednesday 11th December, both sessions will run from 9am to 11am. These sessions will provide all students with the opportunity to meet their teacher and classmates for next year. We invite all parents to stay after drop-off for a cuppa and mingle opportunity in the hall with new parents. Parking will be available on the school grounds on both mornings.

Update: School Building Program

The refurbishment project happening at school is moving at a great pace and still looks on track to be ready for the beginning of next year. Demolition works are about 95% complete and there is also quite a bit of construction being completed too! Without all the walls and cupboards in the Shared Area, it has opened up to quite a large gathering space. Some progress photos are below:

Prep 2025 Enrolments

We have had great interest in Prep for 2025, as well as other year levels, and we’ve had a good number of enrolments come through already. If you have a child who is eligible to start Prep in 2025, please submit your enrolment at your earliest convenience. This will enable us to develop a clear picture of classing and group sizes for 2025. Enrolments for 2025 are to be made through the Emmaus portal.

Catholic Secondary School Enrolment Applications

Key Enrolment Dates for Year 5 Students in 2025 starting Year 7 in 2027

The key enrolment dates for students in Year 5 in 2025 who will be starting Year 7 in 2027 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:

Tuesday 28th January 2025 – Applications opened for students commencing Year 7 in 2026.

Friday 15th August 2025 – Applications closed.

Friday 17th October 2025 – Offers posted to prospective Year 7 applicants.

Friday 7th November 2025 – Final date for parents/carers to accept an offer made by a school.

Parents of Year 5 students in 2025, please diarise these dates so you don’t miss out.

Final Thoughts...Fifty Parish Years Of Our Holy Saviour

We began in diversity but through unity and harmony,

You and I became we,

a welcoming and caring community,

Whose deeds have defined our destiny-a rich,

rewarding legacy.

A legacy for others to value, share and build on.

Our legacy is our story woven in the tapestry and fabric of our Parish. Many stories form this rich fabric. Stories that helped shape the direction and culture of Holy Saviour. People telling their stories are the common thread in our tapestry.

As our founding Parish Priest, Eric Hodgens, used to say, "A Parish is its people." Fifty years on little has changed. The people are older and fewer now but they remain our foundation. Fr Eric has been called to a heavenly altar and many of our parishioners have moved on, some to join him.

Yet, though our numbers are fewer, we continue to tell our stories, continue to weave them into the same, yet changing fabric of our Parish. Every Mass and Parish event or meeting we attend helps shape our culture, our future and our history.

And thus we weave, and thus we leave,

Our tales upon a tapestry,

Our Parish gift, our legacy.

As we celebrate our Golden Jubilee we can look forward and back and just as people shaped our past they will shape our future. Those of us who look back can recall the hard times, the good times, the laughter, smiles and frowns, the fading faces of those now gone. We were, and remain, a people who came together in faith to weave a tapestry and build a Parish - our Holy Saviour.

And, some fifty years on,

A young fabric changes,

People leave, some stay on,

Some leave this earth; strange is

The way life twists, unfolds.

Yet, stories still we weave,

Through faith that binds and holds Us in our quest to leave,

A fabric that adheres,

Showing our behaviour,

Through fifty parish years,

Of our Holy Saviour.

by David Wood (Parishioner)

Kind regards,

Steve Evans

Principal

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