Dear parents, students and families,

Week 3 already. I trust you are all well. Please keep Pope Leo in your prayers as he battles his health concern.

During the first week our Year 5 and 6 students are at John Paul College for the local Catholic Schools Lightning Premiership. They played a mix of football, netball and volleystars and had a great day. Thank you to our coaches, Mrs Gilling for organising the event and also John Paul College for hosting. Last Thursday our Interschool Cricket Team competed in the Northern Peninsula Zone Finals at Mt Martha where they won one game out of three. Mrs Winduss and Mrs Gilling said they all played really well.

Last Wednesday we held our 2027 Foundation Welcome evening for the parents of our incoming students. With our students coming from a wide range of Kinders and Childcare Centres it provided our parents entering our community an opportunity to begin to get to know each other.

Last Monday our Fire Carriers went on an excursion with Mrs Briggs which was a great learning experience for all centered at the National Gallery- Ian Potter Centre. Our Scholastic Book Fair concluded last Friday and I thank staff who supervised this and parents who chose to purchase. A proportion of funds raised goes towards purchasing new books for our own Library. Last Friday we began our Market Day preparations collecting Lucky Jars for sale at the Market. Thank you for all of your donations and to the group of parents who organised the collection and storage of these.

Our classes continue with our weekly Liturgies and I thank staff and students for these faith-filled occasions. Last Friday Mrs Reid and Miss Torpey's class shared a beautiful Liturgy. Mrs Winduss was very impressed with their classroom learning reflected in their reflection.

We are receiving on-going interest from families moving into the area for enrolling their students at a number of year levels. Equally some families will be choosing to move on which is understandable. Can I please ask that you let the office know in writing if your child, who is not in Year 6 and you haven't already let us know, will not be returning in 2027.

Looking ahead on Tuesday 27th October our Basketball team will be competing in the Northern Zone Basketball Finals at Somerville. We wish them all the best with this. Friday 30th October and Monday 2nd November are both School Closure Days. I trust many of you can find some relaxing family time to build up some energy as we start to race towards the end of the school year.

May God Bless You all

Rod Shaw

Principal

School Attendance and Unexplained Absence

Please contact the school if your child is going to be absent by leaving a message on

9786 4736 and press 1. Please give your child’s name and class with a reason for their absence such as: unwell, appointment, holiday or family reasons. Alternatively an email can be sent to office@saseaford.catholic.edu.au with cc to the child’s teacher.

Both of these options are available 24 hours a day.

If you are running late, (after 9:00 am) please attend the office to sign your child into school.

If you are picking up your child early you will need to collect them and sign them out from the office.

As per our policy this will be our morning routine for absences:

Parents will be contacted as soon as practicable on the morning a student is absent via a text message.

If parent does not contact the school after receiving the text message, the school will contact the parent by phone. If the parent is unreachable the emergency contacts will be contacted by the school.

If there is still no response, and the school feels that the child is in danger, the police will be contacted.

Ongoing unexplained absences or lack of cooperation regarding student attendance will result in a formal conference being organized. Unresolved attendance issues will be referred to D.H.H.S.

This is a legal requirement.

Democratic Principles

The six (6) principles of Australian democracy include:

(a) elected government; and

(b) the rule of law; and

(c) equal rights for all before the law; and

(d) freedom of religion; and

(e) freedom of speech and association; and

(f) the values of openness and tolerance

Other Information & Out of School Activities

Seaford Beach Patrol

Secondary Education Guide

Grandma's Tales