Principal's News 

Good afternoon families.

It was wonderful to see so many families enjoying our movie night last night.

Everyone was rugged up and looked so comfortable in their bean bags, camp chairs or picnic rugs. Thank you so much to Alanna and the parents who helped to make this new event such a success.

Congratulations to the 77 students who competed in the the District Athletic carnival yesterday. We have a good number of students who will go onto the next level. Thank you to Mr Andrew and the teachers for supporting our team in yesterday's event.

What a wonderful Grandparents day we had on Thursday with the prep students and their grandparents or special friend. All our visitors enjoyed visiting the classrooms, the garden and finishing in the church with a beautiful liturgy. Thank you to the Prep teachers, Frank and Mrs Douglas for all the organisation that goes on to make these days so successful.

Thank you to all the classroom teachers for running this week's Learning Conferences. I am so lucky to have such a dedicated and amazing team of teachers, who all work so hard to give your children such a balanced education.

Next week we have a lot of teachers on LSL. Mrs Talbot; Mrs Douglas; Ms Summers; Mrs Kolodziej; Mrs Bright; Mrs Jamison. 

Pilgrimage 

Mrs Douglas is on a pilgrimage from Portland to Penola for the next 2 weeks. She is following the footsteps of Saint Mary MacKillop of the Cross. 

Mr Young will be participating on a pilgrimage  from next Friday. Gary is on a MACS Lead pilgrimage to visit the holy sites in Rome, Siena and Assisi. 

We wish Marylene and Gary a wonderful trip and an opportunity to celebrate their faith with the people they travel with and meet along the journey. Both will come back to school with a renewed faith and passion for teaching and leading our students and staff in our faith journey.

Learning Conferences

 learning Conferences continue next week on Tuesday 17 September 3.30- 5.30pm.

School Advisory Council ( SAC)

The next SAC  meeting will be on Tuesday 17 September at 7 pm in the Boardroom 

MACSIS survey 

The MACSIS survey closes on Friday 20 September and I encourage you to try and complete it. The survey gives the school the data we need to continue to improve our community engagement and to hear your voice.

Have a Ball / Footy Day 

On Friday 20 September we are having a Footy Day/ Have a Ball. All students can wear their footy gear or colours/their sports club gear or colours. We ask all the children/ families to donate a ball on the day. All the balls will be donated to an indigenous community known to Mr O' Brien.

Understanding Vision for Instruction

 A guide for parents In February 2024, MACS changed the way reading, writing and mathematics are taught in its 300 primary and secondary schools in the Archdiocese of Melbourne. Vision for Instruction promotes explicit instruction, a way of teaching in which complex skills are introduced to students in small steps, supported by clear explanations and demonstrations of what students are expected to learn. Students then practise what they have learned and receive feedback from their teacher until the skill is mastered. MACS is leading explicit instruction and evidence-based practice education in Victoria to achieve teaching and learning excellence. To find out what becoming a flourishing learner means for your child, and how you can help, I will send out a copy of the  Parents Guide to Vision for Instruction through Operoo. Please ask your child’s teacher if you have any questions. MACS also regularly posts about Vision for Instruction in social media. 

End of Term 3 

Friday 20 September at 1 pm

Dates for Term 4 

Saturday 5 October :- Italian Choir perform at the Royal Exhibition building 

Monday 7 October: Start of Term 4 

Thursday 10 October : Family Night Year 3 for Reconciliation. 5 pm or 6.30 pm 

Friday 11 October:  Division Athletics 

Tuesday 15 October: Prep 2025 Orientation 1.15 pm - 2.45 pm 

Wednesday 16 October:  Year 3 Sacrament of Reconciliation 

Enjoy your weekend 

Carmel Stutterd