Principal's News

Dear Parents and Families,

Welcome back to Term Two! We hope you had a wonderful break and are ready for the term ahead. It has been a busy start, with the Swimming Program commencing for the Year 3 and 4 classes, Interschool Sport for the Year 6 students, and some incursions and excursions happening. This week, we have held Spirit Day, a time of preparation for Confirmation and the Year Five Level Mass is on this Saturday night. With Mother's Day at the end of next week, there are preparations occurring for our annual stall. Keeping up with the activities across the levels is a task to do with a cuppa! Have a great term!

On Monday 20 April, the staff participated in a Faith Formation Day, a requirement of MACS once a year. We visited the Jewish Museum in East St Kilda and a synagogue, to build a deeper understanding of the history and traditions of the religion. It was enlightening to listen to the volunteers leading us and build the connections between Jesus' life and times. We also participated in a session to celebrate the Jubilee of St Francis of Assisi. As well as learning about his early life and passion for the environment, we linked this to the broader topic of saints and how to live our lives to the full and for others. 

This Monday 4 May students can wear Free Dress as part of our PBL reward. Our students worked so hard in Term One demonstrating our school values of respect and  responsibility. At our final morning assembly last term their accumulation of SMOT SMART tickets, recognising their positive behaviours, filled our whole school reward tub. This was a fantastic achievement! 

Next week, please don't forget the Mother's Day Stall on Thursday 7 May.

And, to add some EXTRA specialness to Mother's Day, we are inviting our P-2 Mums to visit classrooms on Friday 8 May from 2.30-3.15pm. One visitor per child is all we can fit in the classrooms, and we ask that visitors sign in on the form at the classroom doors. Parking will be available on bottom yard, however the pedestrian gate at Dobson Avenue and Lewellin Grove will not be open for child safety reasons.

 MOTHER'S DAY REFLECTION

The staff and I wish all Mums and special women a very Happy Mother's Day!

IMPORTANT UPDATES 

TWO SURVEYS TO COMPLETE - 

Holiday Programs 

I have been asked by some parents about our ability to host a Holiday Program on site. In order for this to occur, we need data from you about how many families would use it and on how many days of the holidays. This is not a school decision, as OSHC is operated by MACSEYE, but the holiday program service may get over the line if other local MACSEYE schools send their students to ours. Please complete the survey via the attached link by 15 May and an update will be provided in due course.

https://forms.gle/uimkoLda6SDnHStK8

Additional Activities

We are always considering ways to encourage the growth of our students through 'extra' activities. We have been contacted by some external organisations who would like to offer programs either before school or during break times, including tennis and coding. We would like to gather your opinions/interest in these types of programs, as they are 'user pays' options. Please complete the survey via the attached link by 15 May. 

https://forms.gle/75oinkjHYwVQVDMG7

SWIMMING

The Year 3 and 4 students have started their 8 day program at Watermarc well. The program has been extended from Years 3 and 4 to Years 5 and 6 (who have 8 days in the second half of the term) as we are required to teach swimming skills and water safety as part of the PE curriculum. Being a country surrounded by water and with a range of environments, students need to build their skills to achieve a competent stroke level and safety strategies by the end of primary school. This is a life skill.

ANZAC BADGES

Thank you to all those who purchased ANZAC Badges in the last week of Term One and the first week of Term Two. We raised $273.60 to support those in or returned from service. 

CONFIRMATION 

The Year Six students participated in Spirit Day yesterday, a day of preparation for the sacrament coming up in two weeks. Bishop Thinh visited the students with messages about how to treat others connected to the Gifts of the Spirit. Special thanks to the teachers for preparing the activities for the students to complete, to Gary and Marita Anderson for cooking the sausages for lunch and to the students for their attention on the day.

We wish the Year Six students and catechist candidates from the parish every blessing for their special day on Saturday 16 May. 

ENROLMENT FOR 2027

Weekly Tours continue this term, with our Year Six students doing a magnificent job taking visiting parents around our school. 

We would like to thank Lewis Real Estate for sponsoring the advertsing boards that families will see around Macleod and Rosanna.

Upcoming Tour Dates for this term are as follows:

Tuesday 5 May, Monday 11 May, Thursday 21 May, Wednesday 27 May, Monday 1 June, Tuesday 16 June, Thursday 25 June.

We are also holding an Afternoon Tour and Talk session on Thursday 21 May from 4-5.30pm, for those parents still exploring school selection for 2027. 

Very soon, current families will meet with me and new families will meet with Fr Michael and myself. 

UNIFORM - JUMPER SALE

Academy Uniforms, our school supplier, has advised that there will be a SALE on our woollen jumpers for the next few weeks, with a discount of 20%! If you need Winter stock, perhaps a visit to the Showroom over the break will benefit you.

Blue Shirts ~ We have clarified the style and colours of our uniform shirts for you, with the school's shirt colours being School Blue (Boys) and Sky Blue (Girls).

Girls winter pants are now available for sale at Academy Uniforms.

ASSEMBLIES 

Our Assemblies for Term Two will be held on 11 May (Wk 4), 25 May (Wk 6), 15 June (Wk 9). Please join us on Top Yard at 8.50am. 

CLASS MASSES

Please check the list of dates for Class Masses at the bottom of this page. Your child's teacher/s will be in touch prior to the Mass, but please also note this date. There can, at times, be changes to these dates, if Fr Michael has a funeral to preside over.

PFA FUNDRAISING

The focus of the PFA fundraising this year is the replacement of the Senior Adventure Playground. As you can imagine, this is a costly enterprise, so we are gearing all our fundraisers to this. The students will have input into the components to be included, so we want to be able to get as much for them as we can. 

                                 We are aiming for a $100,000 AMAZING play space! 

Please help us to get there across the year by sharing our fundraising activities at work, with friends and with your extended family. Some of them may also make lovely gifts! 

MOTHER'S DAY GIFT

The gift that keeps on giving! If you haven't got something in mind for Mum, this is a fabulous gift, with discounts in so many areas. The Entertainment Book (app) is one of the easiest and most beneficial fundraisers a school can do, with $15 per purchase being paid back to the school. Once you have the app, the savings will more than pay for the outlay, with meals, deals and entertainment options to suit all ages. As well as purchasing your own app, please send the details to family and take it to work to encourage others to support us now. 

PLAYGROUP INTEREST

We are looking for 2-3 parents who might take on the role of Playgroup Coordinators. We are thinking of starting up a Playgroup for those of you who have younger children to get to know each other better and to enable the children to play together. This could be held in the OSHC Room or the Community Centre once a week from 9-10.30am during the school terms. It would also be open to families who live in the Rosanna area, which could be another way to build enrolments at the school. A small cost for tea and coffee would be charged, with snacks provided by the child's parent due to allergies. 

Playgroup provides an opportunity for the children to play freely with minimal structure.  It is also an opportunity for the parents (and sometimes grandparents) to meet with other adults for a cuppa and a chat in a very friendly and casual atmosphere. Everyone is most welcome – children 0-5 years of age. If you have an interest in leading this, please call me on 8458 7500. 

PRODUCTIONS AT SECONDARY SCHOOLS

There are a number of performances coming up, shared by our secondary colleges. 

It is fabulous to see the talents of the students in these shows. 

Six: The Musical – Teen Edition is a lively, high‑energy pop‑concert retelling of the stories of Henry VIII’s queens, adapted especially for young performers. The production showcases the creativity and talent of our students and is suitable for school‑aged audiences.

Performance details:

Thursday 14 May – Community performance (11:00am)

Friday 15 May – 7:00pm

Saturday 16 May – 1:00pm and 4:00pm

Catholic Ladies’ College, Eltham

Ticketing information: https://clc.vic.edu.au/upcoming-events/

BALL GAMES AND SAFETY ON TOP YARD

We are working on safety, particularly in the Top Yard space where ball games sometimes begin, and where there are lots of younger siblings moving around who are not used to so many students. We do NOT want ball games happening in this space before or after school please.

SCHOOL ADVISORY COUNCIL 

We are looking for two new parent reps.

So what does the SAC do? 

The SAC is the body which advises on matters concerning the school. It can assist with school promotion, provide information to the school community and skills and perspectives on matters of interest to our parents. You may have a particular skill set which will help on the SAC, or be interested in learning more about our programs and initiatives. Everyone is welcome to apply for a two year term, which will be decided by Fr Michael and myself if we have more applicants than positions. The SAC meets twice a term for approximately 1.5 hours. Please read the Expression of Interest information. 

CLASS MASSES