A message from Emily

Dear parents and carers

Thank you to the families who attended this week's Community Conversation on 'Communication'. Yesterday I sent out a link via email for others to contribute their thoughts and we have had eight more responses.  Please click here if you'd also like access the survey - https://forms.gle/ioy7N1mAVXHgm9RX8 

This survey also has an option for you to indicate your preferred time for our next Community Conversation which will focus on reporting to parents and will be held early Term 3.

On Tuesday night the children from Year 6, who are celebrating the Sacrament of Confirmation, gathered with their families for a Faith Family Night along with families from the parish and Christ the King Primary School. We will continue to prepare the children, along with their peers, with an immersion day next week leading up to the sacrament on Thursday 6th June. We ask the community to keep them in their prayers.

Building Update: Last Friday I submitted our application for funding to complete works on the hall. As mentioned previously there are significant repairs required and this means that the hall will continue to be out of bounds into 2025. Tomorrow at 8am (Friday 23rd May) we have temporary fencing going up to cordon off part of the south facing wall of the hall (backyard side) to ensure everyone's safety in the unlikely event that the wall collapses. 

Due to this, the backyard will not be open for drop off on Friday morning, 23rd May. 

While the hall issues are providing some challenges and inconvenience in the short term, I am excited about what the plans for improving this space means for the long term. I would like to thank the parents who were able to attend the master plan consultation with Rod and Amanda from ROAM. Your contributions and support helped us in getting reading for our application.

Bringing items to school from home: 

We have recently noticed an increase in items being brought to school from home. We strongly discourage this practice for several reasons:

• Items can go missing or be broken
• They can be a cause of distraction
• Some items could result in accidental injuries

Under no circumstances should electronic or battery-operated toys be brought to school unless previously negotiated between a parent and educator for use as part of the child's learning.

Currently, we have a significant interest from the children in Yo-Yos and Rubik's cubes. These items will be allowed at school for use during break times, as we have observed positive interactions among the children when using them. Educators will collect and store these items safely during the day to ensure they are only accessible during break times to prevent distractions during learning. If these items are needed as part of a child's learning or used as a calming or sensory tool, parents and educators should discuss appropriate times for their use outside of break times.

Additionally, educators will discuss with children about not bringing sports equipment from home. We aim to update the available equipment for break times, including downballs, to better manage the number of hard balls used, particularly in the backyard. This measure helps reduce accidental injuries, especially head injuries, when children are playing various sports simultaneously. We are also exploring options for updating yard games available in Joan's Yard to provide diverse choices for all children during break times. During break times we also offer various lunch clubs children can opt in to. These include choir, chess, lego, coding and craft. We endeavour to provide lots of different options for children to engage in during break times while building positive relationships with their peers.

Warm wishes

Emily