Dear Parents,

Thank-you for the warm welcome back following my trip to Perth. It has been a very full and rich time at school.

Inquiry and Review Process

We were blessed to welcome to St Martha's the panel for our Inquiry and Review on Monday and Tuesday this week. The panel members worked with various members of the school community to join us in looking back at what we have achieved in the last five years and looking forward to what we hope to work towards over the next five years. The panel members used the School Improvement Tool and the Archbishop's Charter for Catholic Schools to guide our discussions and feedback. Conversations with staff, students and parents as well as learning walks through classrooms, added to the evidence to provide a rich picture of the faith-filled, learning culture at St Martha's. We thank the members of the panel for their time and expertise and extend our thanks to all who worked with the panel to build a picture of our school. The panel reported the respect the parents hold for the staff and the commitment of the teachers. The feedback was very positive and we look forward to reviewing and sharing the full report later in the year.

Jacaranda Time

As we have all observed recently, our school, suburb and city have taken on the purple colour of the Jacaranda trees in bloom. This is always a sign that the end of year is fast approaching. In the words of the song, "When the bloom on the Jacaranda tree is here, Christmas time is near!" Certainly the colour of the blossoms heralds the upcoming season of Advent. In Advent we take stock of our spiritual lives. While we can get caught up in the end of year rush, reporting, events and shopping, we must take time to reflect on God's place in our lives. Our prayer celebrations for All Saints yesterday and All Souls today were beautiful opportunities to pray and reflect. We are particularly blessed to have a group of parents who meet regularly to pray the Rosary in our school. It would be amazing to see the numbers attending the Rosary swell through the final weeks of the year. One of the Mums recently told me that at Uni they had a saying, "If you see the Jacaranda blooming and you haven't studied, you've left it too late!" Let us remember that it is never too late to turn to God in prayer.

Excursions

Many of our students have been out on excursions recently, or enjoyed incursions at school. We have had beautiful feedback from each excursion. On my trip to the Rocks with Year 2 last week, the students were commended on both their behaviour and their detailed knowledge. They asked amazing questions and responded to the opportunities presented for learning with enthusiasm. It was a delight to travel with them and listen to their comments. We visited the Rocks Discovery Museum and learned about the Indigenous culture. The students had the chance to hold and learn about artifacts, weapons and implements as well as seeing some bush tucker in the park. We are very grateful to the parent helpers who accompany us on excursions to ensure adequate supervision.

God Bless,

Carolyn Parsell

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