Dear Parents,

Last Thursday we conducted our first school open day for 2024. While we have just welcomed our 2024 Prep students and families to our school community, we are already receiving enrolments for Prep 2025. Upon meeting the families on arrival, I then left them in the capable hands of some of our Year 6 students for a brief tour of the school. Our school leaders relished the opportunity to showcase our school and answer questions from a student perspective. When meeting the families again at the conclusion of the tour, they were suitably impressed by our students - fantastic feedback! With more open days to come, in addition to other school tour bookings, there will be more opportunities for other Year 6 leaders to promote our school. If you know anyone interested in enrolment for 2025, please encourage them to attend our open days on Monday 18th March or Wednesday 17th April, or contact the school office to arrange a tour.

If you were unable to attend the Knox Festival on Saturday you missed out on the opportunity to `dunk’ some of our staff, students and parents, including yours truly! Despite the cold water, it was lots of fun and another opportunity to promote our school and community. A HUGE thanks to the Parents’ Association for registering for the event and coordinating the stall.

Please check out the dunk tank highlights section of the newsletter!

Yesterday we conducted an emergency drill, requiring all students and staff to evacuate the school buildings and assemble outside. We informed the students of the type of drill prior to the event to reassure them that the event was a practice drill only. We aim to conduct a drill each term as a required compliance measure. In the very unlikely event of a required evacuation or lockdown, our staff and students are required to know exactly what to do for the safety and wellbeing of all. We were extremely impressed with the manner in which the students followed the directions of staff and evacuated in a timely and orderly manner - even our Preps!

School Advisory Council (SAC)

Our first SAC meeting will be held this evening. I would like to thank the following parents for their willingness to support our school community as members of the SAC: Bec Bachmann (Chairperson), Nisha Wijesekera (Secretary), Jessica Watt, Eliza Eilenberg, Michelle Woodward and Jess Randall.

Twilight Sports - Wednesday 13th March

Our annual Twilight Sports Carnival for all students from Prep - Year 6 is just over a week away. This is always a great school community event. Planning is underway but the details are as follows:

Picnic / BBQ from 4.30pm-6.30pm

Sports events - 5.30pm - 7.00pm

What to wear - Students are to wear house colours on the night, ready to be active. Don’t forget to apply sunscreen and wear a hat.

Please bring - A small back pack with a snack. Water bottle labelled with their name. Asthma puffer should they need one.

Thank you to the Parents’ Association for coordinating the BBQ on the night - details are in the PA section of the Newsletter. Please also look out for the SIMON email regarding the BBQ.

Buddy Breakfast - Friday 15th March - 7.30 - 8.30am

Next week we are hosting our annual `Prep / Year 6 Buddy Breakfast’. This much anticipated event has been on the HT and SMC calendar for many years, with Holy Trinity being a Better Buddies School, an initiative of the Alannah and Madeline Foundation.

NAPLAN

Next week our Year 3 and Year 5 students will be participating in the online NAPLAN tests.

NAPLAN is a national literacy and numeracy assessment that students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 sit in May each year. NAPLAN assesses literacy and numeracy skills that students are learning through their regular school curriculum. Students sit assessments in writing, reading, conventions of language (spelling, grammar and punctuation) and numeracy. Questions assess content linked to the Australian Curriculum in the areas of English and Mathematics and allows parents/carers to see how their child is progressing against national standards and over time.

NAPLAN is just one aspect of our school’s assessment and reporting process. It doesn’t replace ongoing assessments made by teachers about student performance, but it can provide teachers with additional information about students’ progress.

If you have any questions or concerns please do not hesitate to contact your child’s classroom teacher. While our classroom teachers spend some time preparing the students for this online assessment, they are very mindful of the anxiety that this can cause for some students.

Harmony Day - Thursday 21st March

This year, Holy Trinity and St. Mary’s will be celebrating Harmony Day on the 21st of March. To celebrate and promote the important message of ‘Everyone Belongs’, students will have a free dress day and are encouraged to wear a traditional costume to share their family heritage OR wear a ‘touch of orange’ which is the official Harmony Day colour (t-shirt, socks, ribbons etc). We would like to encourage students to bring a gold coin donation for Project Compassion.

Dogs on the school site

Early last year we made a decision to restrict access to dogs on the school site. I understand that walking the family dog is part of the morning or afternoon routine for some families and encourages walking rather than driving to school. While most dogs are harmless, the presence of a dog on school grounds can cause anxiety for some students and the unpredictability of the dog can cause concern. Thank you for your understanding.

The Music Bus

The Music Bus runs lessons each Friday afternoon on the basketball court.

Lessons are available in:

· Keyboard (Kindy/Prep-y6)

· Ukulele ( Kindy/Prep - y6)

· Drums (y1 -y6)

· Guitar (Y2 - y6)

If you wish to register an interest to join please complete the following online form:

Music Bus online form

Camps, Sports & Excursions Fund (CSEF)

Applications for the CSEF fund are now open. If you hold a valid, means-tested concession card or are a temporrary foster parent, you may be eligible for CSEF. If you are the holder of a concession card and would like to apply please click below to obtain a CSEF application form and hand it in to the school office for processing.

If you applied in 2023 and were successful with your application there is no need to submit a form as an application will automatically be submitted on your behalf. Please see the Community News Section of the Newsletter for more information.

End of School Term - Thursday 28th March - 1 pm finish

The school day will finish at 1pm on the last day of each school term to provide Time in Lieu for staff. We acknowledge the early finish time does impact some families so we will therefore offer supervision of students until 3.30pm if required. Please indicate below if your child needs to remain at school following the 1pm finish time.

If you have more than one child please provide the name of each child below. For planning purposes please complete the form before Tuesday 26th March at 12pm.

Supervision after 1pm - Thursday 28th March

Please only complete this form if your child will not be collected from school at 1pm on Thursday 28th March.

School Closure Dates - Term 1

Our school is participating in a school review and improvement process as part of a 4 year cycle of review. This process involves both our governing body (MACS) and compliance with state government processes. As such, we will have two school closure dates this term, as advertised in 2023. The dates are as follows:

Friday 8th March (Literacy focus - Staff Professional Learning Day)

Tuesday 12th March (Preparation for School Review)

School Closure Dates - Term 2

The following dates will be school closure days in Term 2:

Thursday 25th April (ANZAC Day)

Friday 26th April (time in lieu day for staff - EBA)

Monday 6th May (Assessment & Reporting Staff Professional Learning Day)

Monday 10th June (King's Birthday Holiday)

Warm Regards,

Adrian Scutt

Principal

Time to eXcel