As we conclude another busy and enriching term at HR, we extend our gratitude for your ongoing support and collaboration. It’s been a joy to watch our students grow and learn together and we appreciate the efforts you make to ensure your children are here and ready to learn each day.

We also acknowledge the support so many parents make in a multitude of other ways: fundraising, helping in classrooms, supporting our sport program, running gardening club, attending excursions and holding roles on our Social and Fundraising Team and our School Advisory Council.

As winter bumped in, especially in this last week, I resonated with this prayer excerpt by Cal Wick:

Lord, In the midst of winter, when the days are cold and wind can pierce, remind us of the warmth of your love.

In the midst of winter, when days are short, dawn comes late, and dusk arrives early, remind us that in the darkness your light still shines.

I wish you all a happy and restful winter holiday break. May your days be warm and filled with cheerful children, and plenty of down time. See you back at school on Monday 15 July.

Australia’s Biggest Morning Tea

This is a reminder to RSVP to the invitation of Australia's Biggest Morning Tea which will be held in our hall on Friday 28 June at 11am. Staff are catering for this event so we would appreciate final numbers by Wednesday.

Last Day Of Term 2

Just a reminder that students wear casual clothes on Friday 28 June and they will be dismissed at 1pm. Team Kids is available for those parents who need care for their children. Bookings can be made on their website. https://www.teamkids.com.au/

Bike safety

There have been reports that some students are not being safe on their bikes in and around traffic. At assembly students were reminded of the importance of being safe while cycling. We ask you to reiterate this message with your children.

Given the number of people on the yard before and after school students are asked to walk their bikes while on the yard, and as they cross the road. Children under 12 years of age may ride on the footpath, and so too can adults if they are supervising bicycle riders under the age of 12. However, footpaths are made for people to walk on and cyclists must be very careful when riding on them. They should travel at reasonable speeds, keep left and give way to any pedestrians on the footpath, laneways or places where the path crosses the road.

Semester One Reports

Reports were sent to parents via the nForma platform on Friday 21 June.

Many parents request copies of their children’s reports from the school after the reporting period, however, there are two ways parents can avoid this:

Download and save your child’s report for your records on your PC.
Create and save your own password when prompted on the platform, therefore overriding the temporary password issued to you. The temporary password expires and will not let users in from one semester to the next.

Opportunities to discuss your children’s progress can be made by contacting teachers and arranging a time for Wednesday 26 June from 3:20 pm - 4.20 pm.

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 Holy Rosary student, Alex Oswald, to honour the Mercy Sisters and to recognise the significant contribution they made to our school and parish community.

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, Respect is our Way. They are students who help to make our school a better place by acting as Jesus’ hands. The 2023 recipients were Cleo Joyce and Addie Mae Murray.

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 at the office. Nominations close on Friday 26 July at 3:30pm.

Wellbeing Professional Learning

Last Thursday Michaela led staff in a professional learning session on student wellbeing as part of the Mental Health in Primary Schools program. We researched High Impact Teaching Strategies for Wellbeing and considered ways we could further refine our support, practices for students. Each staff member defined a goal to work towards to ensure that wellbeing continues to be at the forefront of their work with children. It was a fruitful day with positive and at times, jovial, staff interaction and sharing of ideas. You might like to ask JP about his ‘Jane Fonda’ aerobics moves! You could visit https://www.getactive.vic.gov.au/around-home/workouts/ to live the experience.

District Winter Gala Sport Days

Over the last two weeks Year Five and Six students have competed against other schools in three sports - netball, AFL and tee ball. They all participated well and displayed excellent sportsmanship. Congratulations to the Mixed netball team who will progress to the Division Finals on July 17th. Well done to the girls netball team who finished fourth, the tee ball team who finished fifth in their division and the AFL team who made the semi finals. Thank you to Allison, Baraa, Tarquin and Mary who coached and scored for the teams. A special thank you to Naomi and Pilar who coached and umpired the netball and Lucy and Kate who helped with the scoring in football. I would also like to acknowledge all of the parents who came and supported the students. It means a lot to have you cheering them on every step of the way.

Regional Cross Country

Congratulations to Mali who finished 20th out of 100 competitors at the Regional Cross Country Championships at Brimbank. It is an amazing achievement and we are very proud of your effort and the positive way that you represent our school.

To open PDF, click the link below.

https://www.hrkensington.catholic.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/MERCY-SPIRIT-AWARD-NOMINATION-2024.pdf

Christine, Principal

TeamKids