Dear Families

Welcome back to Term 2. I hope the Easter season offered your family time for rest, renewal and reflection. As we return to school life, it has been lovely to see our students reconnect with one another and settle quickly back into the routines of learning, bringing with them a renewed sense of energy and purpose.

Over the holiday break, a number of important works were completed across the school, most notably the refurbishment of our basketball courts. The worn and damaged artificial turf was removed, the surface ground back and levelled to address underlying root disruption and new turf and line markings laid in both key areas and the center court. A sincere thank you to Darryl and his team from Leisure Turf, who worked through some challenging weather conditions to ensure the courts were ready for the start of Term.

The other major works undertaken during the break focused on tree maintenance across the school grounds. This included the removal of three trees, with stumps ground and areas prepared for future planting, as well as the removal of deadwood from a further eleven trees. This important work improves both the safety and presentation of our outdoor spaces, while also preparing for new plantings to enhance the environment for our students. Particular care was taken with the impressive eucalyptus on the specialist campus, ensuring it remains a safe and valued feature of the school. A sincere thank you to Clancy and his team from Hillside Tree Care for their careful and professional work.

We’re pleased to share some great news for our school community! TheirCare will continue as our OSHC provider through to the end of 2027, providing stability and continuity for families. Even better, we’re excited that an onsite holiday program will now be available a wonderful addition that many families have been hoping for. To help make this a success, we encourage families to start thinking ahead about holiday care and book early, as strong early interest will ensure the program can run. We look forward to seeing this valued service continue to grow for our community!

Looking ahead, Term Two promises to be another full and engaging Term, with a wide range of opportunities for our students and community. We begin with key sporting events including the HOLT Soccer and Cross Country competitions before the interschool sport home and away season gets started for AFL Football and Netball. We look forward to welcoming prospective families at our Open Mornings, as well as coming together as a community for our much-loved Mother’s Day Breakfast and Mass and not forgetting National Walk to School Day. Throughout the Term, students will participate in important learning and faith experiences, including National Simultaneous Storytime, Reconciliation Week, our Eucharist Family Faith Night and the celebration of the Sacrament of First Eucharist. There will also be opportunities for students to shine through sport (Taekwondo for the Prep-2s), the arts and leadership, culminating in our Music Workshops and Whole School Concert with Drew Lane and our 4Square Championships. The Term will conclude with Parent Teacher Interviews, providing valuable opportunities to connect and celebrate student growth.

From next week, I am pleased to introduce a new student leadership responsibility the Student Welcome Team (Zen Zone), an initiative designed to support a calm, positive start to each school day. A small group of student leaders will assist staff each morning by welcoming students on arrival, supporting younger children with independent organisation, helping classes line up and assisting students to settle. Beginning at 8:40am, these students will play a valuable role in creating a smooth transition into learning, while also developing their own sense of leadership, responsibility, and service. This initiative reflects our commitment to nurturing a connected and supportive school environment for all.

I am pleased to share that Jacquie Fleming has been appointed as our Mental Health and Wellbeing Leader for Term 2. This role is supported through the Victorian Government’s Mental Health in Primary Schools (MHiPS) initiative, which provides funding to strengthen a whole-school approach to student mental health and wellbeing.

Jacquie brings a thoughtful, student-centred approach to her work and has already demonstrated a strong commitment to supporting the wellbeing of all members of our community. In this role, she will lead and enhance our school-wide practices, working alongside staff to build consistent, supportive approaches that enable every student to feel safe, connected and ready to learn. We look forward to the positive impact of Jacquie’s leadership in this important area. This appointment will support continuity in this important area while we manage transition arrangements during the process of appointing a new principal.

Our Year 6 families are excited to be hosting a Bake Sale on Monday 4th May from 3:20pm! There will be a delicious selection of homemade treats available for our school community to enjoy. This is a wonderful opportunity to support our senior students while enjoying some sweet (and possibly savoury!) delights after school. We encourage families to come along, bring some small change, and join us in celebrating the efforts of our Year 6 students.

We look forward to gathering as a school community for our ANZAC Day Assembly tomorrow at 3:00pm, where we will take time to reflect, remember and honour the service and sacrifice of those who have served our country.

Take care, and may God’s blessings and peace be with each of you as we journey through the year together.

James Millane