Good morning Families,

How glorious has our weather been? Chilly mornings but sensational days. Long may this last! Melbourne’s trees are beginning to blossom. Delightful.

Confirmation Mass

Last Wednesday Father Noel celebrated Mass with our Year 5/6 students as many prepare for Confirmation. In the First Reading, we heard the words of the prophet Micah, “... what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God.” These words are a wonderful reminder that our faith is not only about words or rituals, but about the way we live our daily lives. This message is timeless. Yahweh asks the same of us all today. This is an invitation to live simply, to put others first, and to trust in God’s wisdom. We pray for our Confirmation candidates as they prepare for this special Sacrament.

Book Week

Book Week is always such a joyful celebration in our school, and this year was no exception. Heartfelt thanks for assisting your child’s imaginative costumes, joining us at the parade, or participating in our gallery walk. Your presence and support make these events truly special for the children and our school community. Book Week reminds us not only of the power and joy of reading but also the way stories connect us with each other, with our imaginations, and with the wider world. And finally, thanks to staff who participate wholeheartedly in Book Week, each year coming up with new costumes. Some staff have come up with a HUGE variety of costume ideas over the years; for themselves, their children and now even their grandchildren! And of course, thanks to Allison who revels in the joy of Book Week and is an outstanding MC.

Mercy Spirit Award

The students and families of Holy Rosary School were cared for by the Sisters of Mercy from 1916 until 2011. The Mercy Spirit Award was proposed by past student Alex Oswald to honour the Mercy Sisters and to recognise their significant contribution to our school and parish.

The Mercy Spirit Award is presented to two students who shine with Mercy Spirit in their everyday lives. These students display our school values of respect, integrity, resilience, relationships and kindness. They follow our school expectations: Safety is our Right, Learning is our Responsibility and Respect is our Way. The 2024 recipients were Cooper Greenham and Estella Mu.

We are calling for staff and students to nominate Holy Rosary students who shine with Mercy Spirit. Each staff member and student may nominate one student other than themselves, from any year level. A nomination form is included in this newsletter and hard copies are available from the office. Nominations close on Thursday 18 September at 3:30pm.

Review

Holy Rosary School is undergoing a Review this year. This is a structured evaluation process that takes place every four years to ensure that a school is meeting required standards and is continually improving. It assesses compliance and school performance against its strategic plan and helps to guide improvement priorities and targets for the next four year cycle. We will engage in the official part of the process in the second last week of this term.

School Production- The Adventures of Superstan

Tickets are selling quickly for our 3rd September performance. It’s all systems go! If you’ve been following along on social media, I’m sure you will be eagerly awaiting our show. The production involves all students. A parent is required to be at the theatre while children are performing. We thank Andrea and Zoe for their awesome work with our students and we look forward to seeing them shine on the night. Holy Rosary staff and students will travel to the Clocktower Centre during the day on 3 September for a final rehearsal on stage. Further information will follow via Operoo.

Hats

Please ensure your child has their hat in their bag as the UV levels have increased over the past week. We will advise children when UV is at 3 or above, as per the BOM, so they wear hats for lunch breaks and PE lessons. If the UV remains below 3 they will not wear hats to ensure they receive optimal levels of Vitamin D.

OSHC

You are reminded that feedback can be given directly to MACSeye via their feedback link here.

Let’s hope we can enjoy some sunshine admidst the rain this week,

Chris