From the Principal

 Do all that you do with love ~

Dear Families,

Where has the term gone? It doesn't seem possible that we are already towards the end of week 7, I'm sure I only wrote the welcome back newsletter last week! The school is a hive of activity as we journey towards the end of term. 

Last night, the first groups of Grade 3 students participated in the Sacrament of Reconciliation for the first time. Words that the children used to describe how they felt afterwards included 'relieved', 'joyful' and 'peaceful'. The ceremony was beautiful to watch - the children nervously made their way towards Fr Anthony and Fr Prabhu and then had big smiles on their faces as they made their way back to their families. We congratulate all of the students on this step of their faith journey.

We have chosen to celebrate across a week instead of just celebrating Harmony Day on 21 March. Tomorrow we will commence our celebrations. The team from Kaboom sport will be joining us and running the whole school fun session. It brings so much joy to watch the students participate in the range of activities - having children from Foundation to Grade 6 in the group brings a great community feel to the morning. I challenge anyone to listen to the squeals of excitement from the little people and the encouraging words from the older students and not have a huge smile on their face. We look forward to next Thursday and the opportunity for the children to celebrate the many cultures they come from. Children are invited to wear cultural dress or something orange.

For those of you who would like to know more about the origins of Harmony Day, this video has lots of information. Did you know that even though it is now celebrated across the world, Harmony Day did in fact begin in Australia?

Developing our school's Strategic Intent

As shared with you in the last newsletter, we are asking for parent input in the development of our new Strategic Intent. The strategic intent is a clear direction for schools regarding their improvement goals. It outlines the desired future for students resulting from successful implementation of a strategic plan, answering the question: "Where do we aim to be for our students in four years?"

To assist the school in developing our new Strategic Intent, we are gathering language from key stakeholders in our school - staff, students and parents. I would appreciate it if you could take a few moments to complete the google form linked below.

Developing our school's Strategic Intent

NAPLAN

NAPLAN testing is now underway. All families with children in Years 3 and 5 received an information sheet a couple of weeks ago regarding the process and reasoning for the assessments.

Our NAPLAN schedule can be found below. If you have any questions regarding the NAPLAN process, please don't hesitate to make contact with your child's class teacher or Michelle Hinds, our NAPLAN coordinator. 

Felicity Broughton

Principal

principal@sttcbourne.catholic.edu.au