Principal's Update

Dear Families,

As we begin Term 4, we are blessed to start the term by celebrating the spirit of St Francis of Assisi, whose feast day is traditionally celebrated on 4 October. As our Year 6 students will be attending camp during the first week of term, our school community will celebrate this special occasion on Friday 16 October.

We warmly invite families to join us for our Blessing of the Animals Liturgy at 9.15am. This much-loved tradition reminds us of St Francis’ deep love for all of God's creation and encourages us to be grateful stewards of the gifts God has entrusted to us.

As we prepare for this celebration, I would like to share with you a beautiful prayer written by St Francis. May his words inspire us to be people of peace, kindness and compassion in our homes, our school and our wider community.

I share with you the prayer that St Francis wrote...

Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.

Where there is hatred, let me sow love;

where there is injury, pardon;

where there is doubt, faith;

where there is despair, hope;

where there is darkness, light;

and where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console,

to be understood as to understand,

to be loved as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive;

it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;

and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen.

Blessing of the Animals & St Francis of Assisi Awards

On Friday 16 October, we will gather as a school community to celebrate the Feast of St Francis of Assisi with our annual Blessing of the Animals at 9.15am, led by Fr Jake Mudge.

Families are warmly invited to join us for this special celebration. Children may bring a pet to school for the blessing, whether it be a dog, cat, goldfish, horse, or another much-loved animal. St Francis is remembered as the patron saint of animals and the environment, and this tradition offers us a wonderful opportunity to give thanks for God's creation.

We kindly ask that parents or grandparents accompany pets and take them home once the blessing has concluded. The liturgy and presentation of our St Francis of Assisi Awards will finish by approximately 10.30am.

Thank you in advance for your support. We look forward to sharing this special occasion with our school community.

St Francis of Assisi Awards

The St Francis of Assisi Award is inspired by the well-known words of St Francis:

"Preach the Gospel at all times and, when necessary, use words."

Two students from each year level, one boy and one girl, have been selected for this award in recognition of the way they live out the Gospel through their actions each day.

This is not an academic award. Rather, it celebrates students who demonstrate Christian values by showing kindness and compassion, striving for justice, putting others before themselves, being generous and cheerful in service, believing in the goodness of others, and sharing the Good News through the example of their lives.

These students quietly witness to their faith and embody the spirit of St Francis in our school community. We congratulate all recipients on this special recognition.

School preparations for the bushfire season

Each year, we undertake a range of activities to ensure the safety of our school and to prepare for bushfires and grassfires.

An important part of this process is communicating to parents what will happen when certain fire danger ratings are issued to help ensure the safety of students and staff.

Our school has been identified as being at risk of bushfire or grassfire and is a Category 3 school.

Our school will close on a day forecasted as Catastrophic fire danger rating in the North Western fire district.

Closure of the school due to a Catastrophic fire danger rating will be enacted when the Bureau of Meteorology forecast and related public safety messaging are confirmed. Due to uncertainties in the forecast, the timing of this confirmation may vary. Information regarding potential or confirmed Catastrophic fire danger days will be communicated to you by text message and then by email.

It is also important to be aware that:

No one will be on site on days where the school is closed due to a forecast Catastrophic day.
Out-of-school-hours care will also be cancelled on these days.
All bus routes that travel through the Catastrophic area may be cancelled.
School camps will be cancelled if a Catastrophic fire danger rating day is forecast for the fire weather district in which the camp is located, or if the travel involves passing through areas that have Catastrophic fire danger.

As part of preparing our school for the fire season, we have updated and completed our Emergency Management Plan and prioritized maintenance and clearance works that will assist in preparing for the threat of fire.

In addition to days forecast as Catastrophic, our school has prepared for maintaining a heightened state of readiness on days of elevated risk (e.g. Extreme Fire Danger Rating when the school is open). Strategies are in place to respond should a fire break out within the vicinity of the school and should that fire be expected to impact the school directly.

Appropriate responses will be determined through information provided to the school from emergency services.

What can families and the school community do to help us prepare?

Ensure we have your current contact details, including your mobile phone numbers.
Keep in touch with us by reading our newsletters or by checking our website
Make sure your family’s bushfire survival plan is up-to-date and includes alternative care arrangements if our school is closed due to Catastrophic fire danger. Further information can be found on the CFA’s website.
Action your family’s bushfire survival plan if your own triggers are met. Our school community may be spread out across many areas, and some families may be at higher risk than others. Your family’s safety is critical, so please let us know if you are actioning your bushfire survival plan and if your children will be absent on these days.
If your child is old enough, talk to them about bushfires and your family’s bushfire survival plan. Otherwise, we encourage to teach young children about bushfires through fun activities.

Families are encouraged to action their Bushfire Survival Plan on Catastrophic fire danger rating days in their district. The safest option is to leave the night before or early on the morning of the Catastrophic day. On such days, children should never be left at home alone or in the care of older children.

You can find more information on emergencies, warnings and preparedness actions here:

VicEmergency app – that can be downloaded on your android and iOS mobile devices
VicEmergency Hotline (1800 226 226)
Website https://emergency.vic.gov.au
Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/vicemergency)
ABC local radio, Sky News and other emergency broadcasters

Term 4 School Closure Days & Public Holidays

Please note that our school will be closed on the following days:

Wednesday 28 October - Bendigo Cup Holiday
Monday 2 November – Report Writing Day (as prescribed by CESL)
Monday 14 December - 2027 Planning Day
Tuesday 15 December – 2027 Planning Day
Wednesday 16 December - 2027 Planning Day

This means the last day of the school year for our children will be Friday 11 December. Our school will finish the 2026 school year at 3.20pm on this day.

Year 6 Camp

Our Year 6 children and staff are now at the Cave Hill Camp in Beaufort and will return on Friday 9 October.

I thank our staff for preparing so professionally for the camp and pray that all enjoy a wonderful camp experience. Travel safely.

Parents & Friends Meetings for Term 4

All parents are invited to attend the Parents and Friends meeting that are held in our staff room on:

Thursday 15 October at 7.30pm
Wednesday 2 December (Joint Advisory Council and Parents & Friends Meal)

Please come along and assist our community.

Advisory Council Meetings for Term 4

Our Advisory Council members are invited to attend our Term 4 meetings on the following dates:

Wednesday 21 October at 5.30pm
Wednesday 2 December (Joint Advisory Council and Parents & Friends Meal)

There will be significant decisions needing to be reached during these meetings – I hope that all can attend.

Keeping Our Bike Riders and Walkers Safe

The safety and wellbeing of our students is always our highest priority.

It has come to our attention that some students who walk or ride home are cutting through the paddock beside our school oval at the end of the day, rather than following the designated route and using the supervised school crossing.

This is of particular concern as the paddock has long grass and is not supervised. We are also seeing some students crossing the road away from the supervised crossing at a time when traffic around the school is particularly busy.

We ask all families to please have a conversation with their child/ren about making safe choices when travelling home from school.

Please remind your child/ren to:

Use the designated school crossing supervised by our staff.
Avoid cutting through the paddock beside the school oval.
Take their time and make safe choices, even if another route appears quicker.
Follow the directions and expectations of staff supporting students at the end of the day.

Saving two or three minutes is simply not worth risking a child’s safety.

As the adults in our children's lives, we all have an important role in modelling and reinforcing safe practices. Thank you for working in partnership with us and helping us ensure every child gets home safely.

Summer Uniform

Please note that children may wear either their summer or winter uniform during the changeable weather conditions. All children will need to be in Summer uniform by Monday 19 October.

Please note that school hats will need to be worn from the start of Term 4 – Monday 5 October.

Assembly

Our Term 4 assemblies will be held on: