Welcome!

Please keep our Year 4 students in your thoughts and prayers as they receive the Sacrament of First Eucharist this weekend.

It was wonderful to be present for the Baptism of one of our Year 4 students, Victor Massey, last Sunday. We congratulate Victor and his family on this decision.

It has been a fantastic week celebrating Book Week! Thanks to Alannah Sarafian and Melanie Pizzonia for setting up our reading hub 'Around the Campfire'. It is wonderful to see the children so immersed in reading activities throughout the week.

A big thanks to Patty Luna for coordinating and organising events and incursions last week to celebrate National Science Week. The children loved the week!

Playground Redevelopment

We are pleased to announce that works on the playground redevelopment will commence in the coming weeks. Omnitech is a playground construction company who are based in Heidelberg, and Package Landscapes will complete the landscape elements. The two companies will complete these works over the coming months.

This has been almost two years of extensive planning and we are very excited with the plans for the space and ask for everyone’s cooperation, understanding and assistance during demolition and construction.

Foundation 2020 Information Evening

On Tuesday 27th August at 6:30pm we warmly welcome all new Foundation 2020 students and their families to this information evening. This night is a wonderful opportunity for parents to receive necessary information for starting school as well as an opportunity to meet our staff and for the children to meet their Year 6 ‘buddy’ for 2020.

Staff News

On Wednesday 14th August, Tina Colosi’s father, Antonio Colosi, passed away peacefully at St Vincent;’s Hospital, East Melbourne. Our thoughts and prayers are with Tina and her sister-in-law, Alfie during this sad time. The requiem mass was held at St Margaret Mary’s Church in Brunswick North and was celebrated by Fr Benneth Osawagu. Fr Benneth was the Parish Administrator here at St Raphael’s in 2017 and it was wonderful to see Fr Benneth again. He asked me to pass on his warm regards to all in our school community and in his homily he spoke affectionately about the wonderful school community here at St Raphael’s.

Pilgrimage

As you may be aware, our school is a member of Catholic Education’s Northern Central Zone (NCZ) which encompasses approximately 30 catholic primary schools from the Collingwood area through to Dorreen and Epping North.

The principals of the NCZ region meet once a month to discuss specific issues relating to industrial relations, finance and the day-today running of schools and also to pursue professional development in leadership, particularly spiritual leadership.

Every three years our network organises an enrichment opportunity ito support and enhance the professional development of principals as leaders of a Catholic school community.

In 2016 I was fortunate to be a part of a life-changing experience when I joined the principals on the ‘Footsteps of St Paul’ throughout Greece and Turkey. This experience was one that I call on regularly as it deepened my awareness of the leadership qualities of St Paul and my own understandings on the formation of the early Christian church.

Over the last three years our network has been working regularly with lecturers from the Theology Department at the Australian Catholic University on deepening our understandings and interpretations of scripture and the historical context of the regions and areas mentioned in the bible.

The NCZ network will be travelling to Israel and Jordan to take part in ‘The Footsteps of Jesus’ from Thursday 5th September - Friday 20th September.

Having such a wealth of knowledge, Fr Simon has been so helpful and assisted us in securing the services of a Palenstinian tour company who will guide us throughout this journey.

We are all looking forward to the experience of visiting important religious and historical sites including Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Nazareth, the Sea of Galilee, the Mount of Olives, the River Jordan, the Dead Sea and many more biblical historical sites of importance. Throughout this journey I hope to share with you my experiences and I will be posting regular updates.

SEB Meeting

A reminder that the next SEB meeting will be held on Tuesday 3rd September at 7pm in the LRC area. At this meeting we will be discussing the school’s new Behavioural Management Plan and seeking feedback on the recent Year 3 - 6 Student Wellbeing Survey results.

Father’s Day

A reminder that our Father’s Day celebrations will take place on Friday 30th August from 1 - 3:30pm. Please RSVP via Skoolbag if you are planning to attend.

Theircare Parent Information Session

Our new OSH provider, Theircare will be holding a parent information session on Tuesday 3rd September (before the SEB meeting) from 6pm in the LRC. All parents who utilise the OSH service are encouraged to attend this meeting to find out the benefits and services provided for the children whilst at Before and After School Care.

School Holiday Program

I am still searching for a school in the area who will accept enrolments of our children for the upcoming school holiday program. We will keep you informed on the progress of this search.

Sport

PDPSSA Athletics