Principal's News
The school year is coming to a close. Everyone is thinking about Christmas and the holidays. It seems that for a lot of us, the usual Christmas feeling is somehow different this year I think due to all that has happened due to COVID-19. I normally really enjoy this time of year, as we prepare to celebrate the birth of Jesus but it doesn't feel like it normally does. I think everyone is looking forward to putting this year behind us. We have all never experienced a year like 2020!
Looking ahead to 2021
The staff at school are looking forward to a fresh start next year. We had quite a bit we all wanted to achieve this year that has been put on hold. Next year offers a lot of opportunities for us to achieve these goals. For myself one of the most exciting opportunities for next year is our partnership with Challenging Learning which will lead to looking deeply into our teaching pedagogy. This will be a professional development programme for the staff over the next three years that will create many learning opportunities for the children at Holy Family.
Another focus for next year will be to enhance the ways school staff look at and use children's learning data. We currently use the children's’ data to drive learning opportunities. Next year this will be a high priority to enable us to better understand what is working for the children in their learning so that each child can reach their maximum learning potential.
I will write more next year about what is happening in the school in regards to the children's learning and the educational direction we are taking.
Thank you
I would like to thank our staff for all their efforts this year for the children of Holy Family. As I mentioned above this has been a year like no other and it has thrown up many challenges that we all needed to overcome. With challenge comes reward, and the huge effort the staff put in to deliver home learning to the children was very successful. Home learning would not have worked as well as it did without the input of our parents and children. It was a big team effort all around and everyone in our Holy Family community needs to be proud of their efforts.
Farewell
At the end of 2020, we have three staff members leaving, Amer Abdulla, Josie Formichelli and Sharon Binding.
Josie has been teaching Performing Arts this year, with most of her time at our school spent in home learning. I would like to thank Josie for her contribution to the children of Holy Family this year and we wish her well for the future.
Amer is leaving us after five years as one of our Learning Support Officers. He has worked with children across the school and has shown great commitment and dedication in his interactions with our Holy Family children. Amer plans to go to university and pursue a career in teaching. I am positive that he will make a great success of this and will be an asset wherever he ends up teaching.
Finally, I would like to acknowledge the efforts of Sharon Binding who is retiring after many years of service to the children and community of Holy Family. She will be missed by all of us. The children that Sharon has taken through the Reading Recovery program will benefit from her input and experience for many years to come. The children have celebrated her time here earlier this week and the staff will be doing the same next week. Thank you, Sharon, for your dedication and service to the Holy family community.
Term 1 2021 commenced on Wednesday, January 28th at 8.30 am.
Prayer for Christmas Day
Eternal God, This joyful day is radiant with the brilliance of your one true light.
May that light illuminate our hearts and shine in our words and deeds.
May the hope, the peace, the joy, and the love represented by the birth in Bethlehem fill our lives and become part of all that we say and do.
May we share the divine life of your son Jesus Christ, even as he humbled himself to share our humanity.
Bless us and the feast that You have provided for us.
Let us be thankful for the true gift of Christmas, your Son.
Amen
God Bless
Steve Twomey
Principal
