Head of Junior School 

Arrival at School

It has become concerning that many of our students are here well before 8.15 am. Parents and carers are reminded that students will not be supervised during this time should they arrive prior to 8.15 am. In line with our duty of care, the College gates will be locked of a morning and opened when staff are on duty from 8.15 am. Thank you for your ongoing support with this matter.

Children’s Book Week: 21-25 August 

Next week we will be celebrating Children’s Book Week. The theme for Book Week this year is ‘Read, Grow, Inspire’. Let your imagine flow with this year’s theme! 

Boys in Prep to Year 6 are invited to dress up in a costume which reflects the theme on Friday 25 August. We will have a parade at 9.00 am on the futsal court which all are parents invited to attend.

Students in Prep and Year 1 are allowed to wear their costume to and from school. 

Students in Year 3-6 are required to wear their sports uniform to school and bring a costume to change into for our Book Week Parade. 

The Kindergarten students' dress up day is Tuesday 22 August, with their parade between 2.15 pm – 2.45 pm. Parents/carers are welcome the parade.

Father’s Day Breakfast: Change of Date

The date for our annual Father’s Day Breakfast has changed from Friday 1 September to Thursday 31 August at 7.30 am. This change has come about to accommodate our Year 10 hospitality students who will be making coffees and hot chocolates for our dads on the morning.

Please ensure you have sent your RSVP reply in the EdSmart email with the revised date.

Hobart Hurricanes Head to SVC!

Recently we were contacted by the Cricket Tas to see if we would like a school visit from some players to run us through some skills and drills. Our answer of course, was Yes! We had four of the female Hurricanes and Tigers players, including their captain, visit our Preps, Year 1s and Year 3s for these sessions. What made the morning extra special was being able to include the Year 2 boys from St Mary's College who will be joining us in Year 3 2024. Hugh Johns (Year 2), brother of Teddy (Prep) even came prepared with his Hurricanes top on!   

Sporting Schools Grant

Each term all schools can apply for Sporting Schools grants, funded by the Federal Government. These grants enable us to provide expert tuition from various sporting organisations and professionals across a wide range of sports. This term our boys are benefitting from AFL Tas. In PE lessons, boys have been fine tuning their skills and drills with the assistance of some our local AFL players. A group of our Year 5/6 boys also travel down to Kingborough each Friday afternoon to develop their gymnastic skills, courtesy of a Sporting School grant.

Alex Gadomski Cup

The Alex Gadomski Cup is an AFL game played between St Virgil’s College and The Hutchins School. This football match honours one of SVC's former students, Alex Gadomski. It is to raise awareness of and much needed funds for the Alex Gadomski Fellowship which has been created to find a cure for bone marrow failure. Three games are played each year, a Year 5/6, Year 7/8 and Year 9/10.

Congratulations to the following boys on their selection in the Year 5/6 team:

Oscar Henley, Harrison Nadler, Charlie Booth, Jack Marshall, Oliver Clark, Henry Geeves, Hunter Rolls, Jacob Lowe, Alex Mizzen, Jesse Mackey, Ben Pigden, Euan McLeod, Xavier Houston, Xavier Rickards, Micah Couacaud, Oscar Halton, Angus Newsham-West, Mitchell Banks, Rhys Pinnington, Alex Schulze, Jack Lemm, Qataiba El Saouda. Reserves; Atticus Johnson Harrington, Cooper Jenkins

When: Wednesday 23 August

Where: The Hutchins School, War Memorial Oval

Time: 11.30am

If you are unable to watch the game in person, it will be streamed live on DUFF TV. Commentary will be provided for all games. Mrs Messer and Mr Berry from The Hutchins School will be commentating the Year 5/6 game. 

50 Cent Fair

The Junior School Mini Vinnies Conference are very excited to be hosting another 50 Cent Fair on Wednesday 30 August at recess time. Term 1's Fair was a successful fundraiser for Project Compassion and this time, money raised will go to Catholic Mission to support their work in health care in Timor Leste, who are a close neighbour to Australia.

All games cost 50 cents to play and there are lots of chocolate prizes to be won. Games include the chocolate target toss, kick the footy into the bin, frisbee target toss, lucky stick pick, pin the tail on the donkey and rock-paper-scissors. Please bring your 50 cent coins on the day.

Out and About with the Year 4s

Over the last two weeks, Year 4 have been on two great excursions. Following up from our first visit to the State Library last term, our boys were much more familiar and comfortable in the space on our visit last Monday. We had students returning and borrowing books, reading, doing puzzles and even reading the newspaper. 

This Monday, we also had the wonderful opportunity for Forest Education to take us to Waterworks Reserve for an excursion. Our boys engaged in a variety of activities throughout the day, supporting them in our current HASS unit which looks at the importance of taking care of our vegetation. Students looked at the geography of the reserve, went on a bush work, made connections between living things and even built some habitats for some of the wildlife. 

Camps

Next week our Year 3 and 4 boys will be attending their annual overnight camps to Orana. Our next newsletter edition will have details of what they got up to! Thank you to their class teachers who have planned an exciting couple of days for each class.

Please check EdSmart for further details and packing list - note, a pillow is now required. 

Choomalaka Festival Reminder: September 22

The Choomalaka Festival is a College celebration of every student’s skills and talents through sound, light, colour and movement. It is a celebration of the artistic talents of all our students.

As in previous years, all of our classes will be performing a musical item on the night, from Kindergarten through to Year 6. For these class performances to be a success, it will require all students from each year group to participate. Along with a celebration of our students’ talent, there will also be food and beverage options available for purchase.

Where: SVC Austins Ferry Campus

When: Friday 22 September

Time: 5.30 pm-8.00 pm

Save the Date: Grandparent's Day

Grandparents will have the opportunity to visit the Patrick Street campus, exploring the classroom and participating in special activities with their grandson on the morning of Wednesday 25 October. Further details to come.

Vale Margaret Frais

This week, the mother of one our beloved staff members, Mrs Thomas, our Learning Support Officer in Prep, passed away. I know you will all join with me in wishing Theresia our sincere condolences. Theresia’s mother, Margaret Frais, was surrounded by her children when she peacefully passed away.