Principal's Report
Year 3 / 4 house models showing styles of architecture over time
Dear Families,
School reports are being handed to the children tomorrow. I have told the students that reports are private documents that must be opened at home by parents or by children only with the permission of parents.
At St. Leonard’s we recognise and value the importance of parents as our partners in the education of the children. We believe that high levels of achievement can be attained if students, staff and parents are clear about the children’s future learning and work together to support the child to achieve them. Please discuss your child’s learning and their report with them, if appropriate.
With the reports being mandated in all schools, all Government and Catholic schools use a similar scale to tell you how your child is progressing against the expected state-wide standards for the relevant age group. These standards are set at a challenging level, not a minimum level, to encourage your children to aim for excellence and high achievement.
Our school theme of High Hopes inspires us to aim for excellence and this applies to student achievement. In the reports, the "At Standard" category covers 6 months and it is perfectly fine for students to be marked within this category. However to be more accurate, at St Leonard's we have divided the "At Standard" category into 2 columns to show if your child is to the left of the blue shading or the right. Those marked to the left are at a lower standard (up to 6 months lower) than those to the right. Please refer to the table below. It is our hope that this information provides greater clarity for parents and that it promotes discussion with us on how to further support your child, particularly if they are on marked as on the left of the blue "At Standard" category.
Another way in which parents can assist each student to raise their standards is to refer to the formal goals set for them in bullet points, covering English and Mathematics. These goals have been selected by the staff as the most important aspects of English and Mathematics to focus on. We ask parents to consider discussing these goals when meeting with the teachers and when with their child/ren and to support the development of these in their supervision of homework.
Details about our online portal have been sent to parents via Operoo. Parents are able to view previous reports and a summary of their child's attendance for each year of their education at St Leonard's.
The teachers look forward to meeting with parents at the parent-teacher interviews, next Tuesday and Wednesday. From 1:30pm on both days and Camp Australia after school care is available through the normal booking procedures, if required.
Caring for Kids Leader
Hello everybody!
Having recently taken on the new position of school chaplain I would like to re-introduce myself and my role at our school as the Caring for Kids Leader.
I have been teaching at St Leonard's for over a decade and have taken on many roles over this time - everything from a specialist music teacher to classroom Prep teacher. My own children, Helena and Joel are currently enjoying grade one and kindergarten and as I gradually return from maternity leave I'm delighted to be taking on a role at St Leonard's as part of the Student Wellbeing Team.
What is my role? The aim of the Caring for Kids role is to support the emotional wellbeing of students by providing pastoral care services and strategies that support the emotional wellbeing of the school community. To actively support students to make connections with their peers during recess and lunchtimes. As well as supporting individuals and small groups of students to build their social-emotional skills, self-esteem and connectedness to their teachers and peers.
Where can you find me?
In the Wellbeing Centre on Wednesday 10am-12noon, Thursday 10am-2:30pm & all day Friday.
How can you contact me?
My email is tricia-rose.robinson@leonardsgwav.catholic.edu.au
If you have a concern about your child's well being or their social connectedness, it's a great idea to first talk to their classroom teacher but you are more than welcome to contact me directly. Students may easily find me on the yard at recess and lunchtime - I wear a bright pink vest and am supervising in addition to the teacher on yard duty.
What's coming up?
In discussion with students, we would love to start two regular lunchtime clubs:
The High Hopes Art Club and the Lego Legends Club beginning in Term 3.
How can you help?
Do you have any old colouring books or textas hiding in a cupboard? If your child won't miss them, I am seeking donations of drawing materials: textas, pencils, colouring books, sketch pads, erasers, pencil sharpeners etc., to build a box of drawing supplies for our art club.
I am also seeking donations of Lego (new and/or used) and Lego boards to contribute towards the Lego club resources. Please drop off donations to the School Office and stay tuned for club details.
Thank-you so much for your support
Tricia-Rose Robinson
MACS 2030: Forming Lives to Enrich the World
The MACS 2030: Forming Lives to Enrich the World strategic plan is designed to enable every student to flourish and enrich the world. This week I would like to share the MACS 2030 strategic themes for Inspired by Faith and Flourishing Learners.
Cross Country - Regional Division
Aaliyah (5/6L) & Natalie (3/4H) competed in the State Schools Victoria Eastern Regional Division of Cross Country at Yarra Glen. Aaliyah placed in the 20's in her age division and Natalie placed 9th out of 88 in her age division. We are very proud of their achievements and look forward to following Natalie's achievements at the Victorian state competition in July. We thank the girls' parents for taking them to this event.
Year 5 / 6 Interschool Sport
We congratulate our Year 5 / 6 Interschool Sports teams on their efforts last Friday. We thank our Physical Education and Sport teacher, Frank Stokes, the school staff and the parents who assisted and attended to support the students' efforts.
PFA Movie Night Child Safety Reminders
- Please note that this is NOT a school staff supervised event.
- Children need to be supervised by their parents at all times during the movie and while moving to and from the cinema to the toilets or candy bar etc.
- If your child suffers from asthma or anaphylaxis please note that the transport and administering of any medications needs to be organized by a supervising parent or guardian.
Crossway LifeCare
Crossway LifeCare is a not-for-profit organisation located in Burwood East that provides programs for women and children affected by family violence. The attached programs are run by the Family Violence team who focus on rebuilding and supporting women and families during their healing and recovery journey, post-crisis.
These programs include:
Create & Connect: an 8-week art therapy group for women who have experienced family violence. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1TpyT2c5kOea_uuLoO8ouOL7doTpa5Oni/view?usp=sharing
Sunshine Circles: a theraplay-based program for both mum and child.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1RTE-cgWUyDYBAu_VAai4JdXPQSslqAo1/view?usp=sharing
Treehouse: an 8-week therapeutic program for children to build on their strengths and develop strategies that promote emotional regulation and resilience.
Please see program flyers attached for more information regarding age and other eligibility criteria. Any families that might be interested in our programs or that know anyone who could benefit from these programs can contact Crossway LifeCare - all details are available on the flyers. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Y5QRH12WZekC0aEOLmWaH9Cy_7ssLinV/view?usp=sharing
Please contact Crossways or our Wellbeing Team for more information.
Briefly
- Father Brendan Dillon's funeral will be held at St Leonard's church tomorrow June 21 at 11am. We are expecting a very large crowd of over 500 people and we will need as much parking space as possible. Parking in the bottom car park will be available. After the Mass we will be having refreshments in the Function Room of the Community Centre. The School Captains will be representing the school along with myself and some school staff.
- Parent Teacher Interviews: A reminder that students will be dismissed at 1:30pm on next Tuesday 25th & Wednesday 26th and Camp Australia after school care is available through the normal booking procedures, if required.
- Last day of Term: Friday 28th will also be an early dismissal at 1:30pm with Camp Australia after school care available through the normal booking procedures.
- Code Camp Term 3: Code camp is held in the school library on Wednesdays from 24th July to 11th September. Time: 3:30pm - 4:45pm. Bookings now open
- Chess Club with Kids Unlimited Term 3: Chess Club operates on Mondays at lunch time. Bookings now open for Term 3 (See Kids Unlimited Chess page of this newsletter.)
- Prep 2025 Open Days and Prep Experiences: It was lovely to host some of our Prep 2025 students at our Sports Star Clinic with Frank Stokes.
- New Soccer Nets: We thank the PFA for paying for the new soccer nets.
- History Learning: Enjoy these photos of the the history unit covered by the 3 / 4's based on the book My Place by Nadia Wheatley. The models will be on display for parents to view at parent- Teacher Interviews.
Wishing you a wonderful week ahead.
Rob Horwood
Principal