The Principal's Desk

Dear parents, students, families and friends,

We have made it to the end of Term 3, finishing with a bang with the Artrageous Art Show. The hall looked amazing, completely full with the students artwork on display. The artwork produced by the students was impressive. It was evident that they had worked extremely hard all year to produce the work that they did. Over the two afternoons on Tuesday and Wednesday, all families attended, with the children proudly leading them through the displays to show them their particular artworks.

A very, very, very big thank you to Mrs Ady for all the hard work over the year, but particularly over the past week to prepare for and set up the Art Show.

Friday Night. Big Night. Big Game. Luckily, I was there to watch Carlton play Melbourne in the Semi Final. The atmosphere was electric even before the game began and it continued to grow throughout the game. With 96, 412 footy fans in attendance, the noise was unbelievable and continued to rise play by play and quarter by quarter until the final two minutes. I actually thought the Blues were gone 3 minutes out, but that is footy, anything can happen and it did. During the final 2 minutes of play, the fans were standing, riding every moment with nervous excitement and anticipation. My daughter Breanna, actually checked her heart rate at that moment and she was at 168 beats per minute!! The final siren could barely be heard over the noise of the crowd. It was an unbelievable and unforgetable moment to be a part of.

Uniform Refresh Survey

Thank you to all parents who completed the voting and survey for the uniform refresh. We have listened to and valued your feedback and used this to make informed decisions about new and existing items of uniform. We have decided to retain the polo shirt as part of the everyday uniform as it is easy to wash and doesn't require ironing. We are not going to introduce the blue woolen jumper, instead the current blue sports windcheater will replace the grey wincheater as part of the everyday uniform. Grey trousers and shorts for boys will be changed to navy blue to be consistent with slacks and shorts/skorts for girls. Below is a list of the uniform that will begin to be introduced at the Prep Level from 2024. The uniform refresh will take a number of years to be gradually phased in. The second hand uniform shop will continue to operate, providing a valuable service to the school community.

Everyday Uniform:

Royal Blue Windcheater

Light Blue Polo shirt (short & long sleeve)

Navy Blue Shorts

Navy Blue Skorts

Navy Blue Trousers

Navy Blue Slacks

Summer Dress

Winter Pinafore/skirt

Navy Blue Tights

Royal Blue Bucket Hat

Rain Jacket

Scarf

Beanie

Sport Uniform:

Navy Blue Tracksuit (zip up top ith matching pants)

Sport Polo Top (New)

Navy Sport Shorts

New Parish Priest

I have been informed by the Parish that the arrival of our new Parish Priest has been delayed. Fr Werner Utri is currently on Vocational Discernment. Until Fr Werner is able to take up the position of Parish Priest, Fr Trac Nguyen will fill in for him temporarily in an administrative role.

Swimming Program

During weeks three and four (16th - 27th October) of next term the Prep to 4 students will take part in the annual intensive swimming program. The students will go swimming each day during this two week program. On Friday 27th October the Year 5/6 students will take part in a one day Open Water Safety Program at Altona Beach. I believe that a swimming program at this time of year is very important as it prepares the students for summer and all the water based activities they will be participating in over the summer holidays.

Swimming Carnival

On Friday 10th November we will hold our inaugural Swimming Carnival for Years 3 - 6 at Sunshine Leisure Centre. The day will include traditional swimming races as well as novelty events such as a pool noodle race.

Upcoming events:

Monday 6th November - School Closure

Tuesday 7th November - Melbourne Cup Public Holiday

Monday 13th to Wednesday 15th November - Year 3/4 Camp at Sovereign Hill

Friday 8th December - Year 6 Big Day Out

Tuesday 12th Decemebr - Three Parish Schools Combined Christmas Carols

Wednesday 13th December - Whole School End of Year Fun Day

Thursday 14th December - Whole School End of Year Mass

Thursday 14th December - Year 6 Graduation Liturgy, Ceremony and Dinner

Friday 15th December - End of Term and Year 1.15pm Dismissal

Until the next newsletter which will be Week 2, Term 4,

I wish all students a safe and happy Spring Holidays. Rest up. Relax. Enjoy the footy. Enjoy the Royal Melbourne Show. Enjoy any other fun activities or trips away with family.

I look forward to seeing you all back here for Term 4, which will be another big and action packed term as we finish the 2023 school year.

Go the Blue Baggers!!

It has been a long, long time since the Blues have made it to a Prelimary Final. So, for those of you that are Blue Blooded, here are two amazing, entertaining and fascinating calls of the final two minutes, one is from the Triple M Footy broadcast box, the other from the SEN broadcast box.

Enjoy!!

Kind regards,

Matthew Stead