Principal's News

Journeying Together in Christ

Last week many dads, grandfathers and father figures enjoyed some type of event. We had a wonderful turn out for our Wednesday BBQ breakfast. Thank you to all the helpers. We take a moment and pray for the many people whose Dad may not be with them. On days like this I haven't always been able to attend similar events for my children. I was able to join the NDC community for breakfast last Thursday.

U12s Soccer Finals

We wish our St. Luke's team all the best in the Grand Final this Saturday. Hopefully some people can get down to the soccer fields. I am an apology as I will be away.

'Doing the right thing is never the wrong thing'

This was the them of my conversation with year 5/6 this week. We will continue to explore with the children what the 'right thing is'. There have been some less desirable choices from some children in recent times. Issues may begin at school or outside of the school environment and may continue via social media platform including group chats. Not a lot of positives to discuss when it moves into this area. It makes it very challenging for schools to work towards a resolution when negative comments are placed on social media. The recent conversations I've had with parents have been very supportive. Positive partnerships support a positive outcome for all. Thank you.

After School Care- UNITING Vic.Tas Ltd

We will have a new provider begin at the in Term 4. We only had verbal confirmation today (Friday). We are working through some details and we will forward registration details and information next week. At this stage the service will begin on either Monday 2nd October or Tuesday 3rd October. We will confirm this next week.

World Youth Day

On Thursday evening Meg O'Sullivan and myself attended a WYD event. The Sandhurst contingent shared their experience with around 60 people at the Terminus. Breanna Levesque and Sarah Small attended WYD a few weeks ago in Lisbon, Portugal. Miss Levesque joined a panel and spoke beautifully about some of her experiences. Simplicity and hope were Bre's words while celebrating every person. Everyone has a role. We then got to watch the Pies v Dees!

2024 Planning

We advertised for a new Deputy Principal and one teacher today. We may have another teaching position due to staff going on maternity leave.

We have previously communicated the need for people to fill out the exit forms (the form is on PAM). I thank those families who have completed this. In the past we have communicated with individual families leaving which include those going into Year 5 at GV Grammar. With the NEW 'All Saints Anglican School' opening next year in our area it will impact on St. Luke's enrolments as expected. We need to know who will be leaving. I appreciate that there is uncertainty for some families, but we need to know this information to accomodate families on waiting lists for St. Luke's. We are currently discussing staffing for 2024 as the recruiting period is very active at present. We are looking at class structures which include straight classes or composite from Years 1-6. Student numbers and the needs of students are priorities in our discussions.

We will be contacting families directly if your child has communicated to their teacher or the office staff that they are leaving St. Luke's.

School Fees

As communicated on PAM and via email, fee statements will be sent home shortly. Thank you to those who have already addressed this. Most families are on track which is really positive for our school. If you are on a direct debit plan these start to conclude in November. For others who pay manually, please look at these statements and make a plan if you cannot pay in full.

Communication

I encourage families to read the fortnightly newsletter and weekly message on PAM. These are our two main communication platforms for whole school events and information. Emails are for individual needs and communication with staff. Our school Facebook page is a public platform used for basic communication and celebrating life at St. Luke's.

Family News

We welcome little Fletcher Ivory. Fletcher is the brother of Mason (Yr 3) and Ruby (Yr 1). Congratulations to the family.

School Tours and Enrolments for 2024

Tours continue to be offered most Wednesdays at 12:00pm for prospective enrolments. If you know anyone outside our community please let them know. Some people may have missed our Open Day in May or they may be new to Shepparton.

Final Tour for this term is Wednesday 13th September.

Photos to be used

You may begin to see some photos our Architects JWP took last year. We thank Rebecca Haycraft for allowing us to use these.

Here is a sample.