Principal's Message
Dear Families,
Welcome back to Term 3. I hope all students and families had the opportunity to enjoy a relaxing and refreshing break, spending time with loved ones and recharging for the term ahead. Term 3 is always a busy and exciting time, filled with new learning opportunities, special events and challenges that encourage students to grow both academically and personally. Let's work together to make Term 3 a successful and rewarding experience for everyone.
We warmly welcome our new students who have joined our COHR community this term; Zee in Prep and Hugo and Henry in Year 2. We are also excited to share that Dilum has returned from his time overseas and will join us in Year 5.
We ask our school community to keep the Foti family in your thoughts and prayers following the passing of Chloe’s grandfather. During this difficult time, we extend our heartfelt condolences to Chloe, Paula and their family. As a faith-filled community, we come together to offer our support, compassion and prayers, asking God to bring comfort, strength and peace to all who are grieving.
Jesus often used imagery of the time in everyday life to convey his messages to the people about the kingdom. In the Gospel this Sunday, Matthew 13:44-45, 52 Jesus uses the image of treasure to explain the kingdom of God. The message Jesus is conveying to us is one of discovery. It is like finding a treasure in a field and whoever finds it will go to extraordinary lengths to buy the field so that the treasure will be theirs forever. Jesus is telling us that the kingdom of God is priceless and is worth the sacrifice of everything we value most to gain a place in it.
Being a true disciple of Jesus involves total dedication and commitment – not just half-heartedness or a part-time sort of attitude. Today, Jesus’ parable may have included a football player who trains hard and follows a strict schedule to achieve the goal of playing at the elite level and winning a Grand Final. This too, requires sacrifice and commitment to the dream.
We need to pray for the strength and understanding that we need to recognise what is real treasure and to continue the journey toward that treasure. The very understanding we seek has already been given to us. It is a gift of the Holy Spirit first given to us in Baptism and then Confirmation. All we need to do is use this gift to seek God’s loving presence.
First Holy Communion
Congratulations to our Year 4 Students who celebrated their First Eucharist on Sunday. This is a very special milestone in their faith journey and we are proud of the reverence, preparation and enthusiasm they showed throughout this important occasion. We thank our families, teachers, Fr Raju and parish community for their support and guidance in helping our students grow in their understanding of God's love and the gift of the Eucharist. May our Year 4 students continue to deepen their relationship with Jesus and carry the values of faith, kindness and service into their daily lives.
Congratulations: Claudia, Mia, Chloe, Jasmine, Isabella, Alaska, Summer, Patrick, Jackson, Fraser, Ante and Oliver.
Swimming Program - Term 4
We are excited to share an update to our school swimming program for this year. The program will now be held at MARC (Monash Aquatic & Recreation Centre) in Glen Waverley, rather than Ashburton Pool. This outstanding facility will enable us to deliver a comprehensive swimming program for all students from Prep to Grade 6. In previous years, Grade 5/6 students participated every second year; however moving forward all levels will take part each year. This ensures students continue to build essential water safety skills, confidence and swimming development across their primary schooling. The swimming program will run from 19 October to 29 October in Term 4, taking advantage of the warmer weather, which provides ideal conditions for aquatic learning. We are very much looking forward to this new chapter in our swimming program and the opportunity for all students to enjoy, develop and grow in confidence in the water.
Confirmation
Our Year 6 students will begin preparing for the Sacrament of Confirmation this term. Below are some important dates to remember for those families involved:
Commitment Masses this weekend - Saturday 25th July, 5:30pm at Sacred Heart and 7:00pm at Christ Our Holy Redeemer Church
Student Reflection Day - Thursday 6th August at Christ Our Holy Redeemer
Family Reflection Evening - Thursday 6th August from 6:30pm-7:30pm in the Christ Our Holy Redeemer Hall
Reconciliation - Thursday 27th August, following the morning parish mass at Christ Our Holy Redeemer Church
Confirmation - Sunday 30th August at 3:00pm at Christ Our Holy Redeemer Church
Invitation to Sacred Heart and Salesian's Musical
Sacred Heart and Salesian warmly invite our families to their performance of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
Hot Dog Lunch
We have our famous hot dog lunch returning on Tuesday August 4th. Please make sure you return the order form that was sent home as a paper copy as soon as possible. Payments can be made by CDFPay or cash to the office. Remember to place money in an envelope with your child's name and class on the front. We ask that all orders are finalised by FRIDAY 31st July.
Grandparents and Special Friend's Day - Tomorrow
We are so excited for our Grandparents and Special Friend's Day tomorrow. Don't forget to bring along a plate for the morning tea - these can be left in the hall from 8:30am.
8:45am - visitors in classrooms
10:15am - mass
11:00m - morning tea in the hall
Reminders
- Year 6 Confirmation Commitment Masses this Saturday 25th July at 5pm SH, 7pm COHR
- Grandparents Day tomorrow!
- Prep and Year 6 100 Days of School Celebrations on Monday 27th July
- Year 3-6 Athletics on Tuesday - thank you to all the parent volunteers for helping on the day
- School Advisory Council Meeting online on Wednesday 29th July at 7:30pm
- Year 3/4 Excursion to the Sacred Heart and Salesian musical on Friday 31st July
- Prep Kitchen Garden on Friday 31st July
- Get your hot dog orders in by Friday 31st July
- Don't forget our next school closure day is on Friday August 21st
Have a fantastic week ahead,
Aimee Gale
Principal