Welcome to Week 8! I hope the extra long weekend provided an opportunity for families and students to reset ready for the home stretch. There are lots of winter germs floating around now. We do our very best to keep the classrooms clean and remind students of washing hands. We had new electric soap dispensers installed to support reducing the transmission of germs as much as possible.

🏃🏽 Cross Country 🏃🏽‍♀️

Congratulations to Summer, Flynn and Tayla for their phenomenal efforts at the Divisional Cross Country event. The perseverance and determination each of these students showed was remarkable- they ran as hard as they could and we are so proud of them!

🏫Padua Taster Day 🚌

They were able to experience a Taster Day at Padua Tyabb where they were secondary students for a day! Thank you to Padua Tyabb for inviting us to this day and allowing our students to experience Padua with the Year 4's from St Brendan's and St Joseph's.

The students said:

"I loved learning about the bracelets that change colour to uv light in science, we were able to make own creation"-Adeline

"It was great to decorate our own cookies with icing and lollies in Food-Tech"-Flynn

"So much fun playing a variety of old and new games". PE-Abby

"It was interesting to learn about masks over the ages and we were able to make and decorate our own"-Bridey

🍜 Year 4 First Eucharist Community Evening ♱

On the same day, we also held our Year 4 First Eucharist Information Evening and Dinner. It was truly heartwarming to see the strong support from our Year 4 families—not only for the students preparing to receive the sacrament, but also in coming together as a community to share the evening. The turnout was fantastic, and the sense of connection and celebration was felt by all.

A special thank you to Natalie Dullard, our Education in Faith Leader, for her thoughtful planning and organisation of the event. Her efforts ensured the evening was meaningful and well-supported.

We look forward to reviewing how this special occasion might evolve as we plan ahead for 2026, continuing to make it a memorable and inclusive experience for our students and families. School leadership has been exploring the idea of holding the Year 4 Dinner as a separate, special event—distinct from the First Eucharist Information Evening. This would allow us to create a dedicated evening just for our Year 4 students and their families, celebrating this stage of their journey together as a cohort.

Families of students preparing to receive the Sacrament of First Eucharist would then be invited to a separate session, focused solely on the meaning, commitment, and preparation involved in this important step in their faith journey.

We believe this approach would give each event the focus and significance it deserves, while ensuring every family feels supported and celebrated.

🍡Canteen Reminder 🍪 Supporting Healthy, Safe Choices

We are so fortunate to have our school canteen running each week, thanks to the wonderful Di and her ongoing commitment to our students and community. With many schools unable to access a regular provider, we are grateful for this opportunity and want to ensure the canteen continues to be a positive and manageable experience for all.

Recently, we’ve noticed an increase in the amount of money some students are bringing to school and spending at the canteen. While we understand students enjoy the canteen experience, we kindly ask families to limit the amount of cash sent to school to a maximum of $5 per student.

Where possible, we strongly encourage families to place lunch orders through the official online or paper bag system (quickcliq), as this allows for smoother service and helps reduce the chance of impulsive or unnecessary purchases. It also helps us ensure student safety, particularly in regard to allergies and dietary needs—especially as we have noticed some students purchasing food for friends.

We will be working closely with Di, our staff, and the School Advisory Council to review how the canteen is operating and how we can best support our students in making positive, safe choices.

Thank you for your understanding and ongoing support.

Kind regards

Nicole Black

principal@smhastings.catholic.edu.au

MACSEYE OSHC News