Principal's Desk

Dear Parents,

Last Friday our staff participated in a professional learning day with a focus on Reading. The day was facilitated by our school leaders and linked closely with two of our school improvement priorities: 

The day involved the whole staff looking at our evidence based approach to teaching Reading at HT. This involved revisiting our understanding of ‘Universal Design For Learning’ (UDL), which is essentially a set of principles for curriculum development that allow all students an equal opportunity to learn. In simple terms, we want to ensure that each and every child receives explicit instruction in reading at all year levels in order to reduce the intervention required during the primary school years. We spent considerable time focusing on ‘Language Comprehension’ and how we plan and teach from Prep to Year 6. 

At HT we are extremely fortunate to have experienced and qualified school leaders to `lead the learning’ for all our staff. We have two `professional learning meetings’ each week covering all aspects of the curriculum, in addition to our designated school closure days. Our staff, including our classroom teachers and Learning Support Officers (LSOs), work extremely hard to improve their practice as a community of learners.

New Parish Priest

The Parish of St Jude's are delighted to announce that the Archbishop has appointed Fr Jerald Mariadas, currently Parish Priest of Sts. Peter & Paul’s, East Doncaster and Our Lady of the Pines, Donvale as the new Parish Priest of St Jude’s, Scoresby and St Simon’s, Rowville. He will take up his appointment on Wednesday, 19th July 2023. 

Fr Mark Reynolds will move from St Jude’s and St Simon’s to St Clement’s, Bulleen as their Parish Priest.  Moving closer to the city will enable him to combine parish ministry with his responsibilities as Episcopal Vicar for Catholic Schools. 

Working Bees

As you are aware, we coordinate a Working Bee each term and encourage parents to volunteer their time. Working Bees at Holy Trinity and St Mary's provide a vital part of the ongoing maintenance of the school grounds.  Regular tasks include garden maintenance and general repairs. Working bees are also a fantastic opportunity for our new families to meet other members of our community.

In recent times the number of families attending working bees has reduced, mainly due to the competing priorities of work and children's sport and recreation.

Could I please invite ALL families to complete this anonymous survey to indicate whether

you are willing or able to attend a Working Bee. I encourage you to answer the survey honestly (it is anonymous) to assist in the planning of future Working Bees. 

Thank you in anticipation of your support.

Working Bee - survey for ALL parents

PJ and Oodie Day - Wednesday 14th June

To support our Mini Vinnies Winter Appeal, students are invited to wear their PJs and / or Oodie and to donate a non-perishable food item. We will conclude the day with a special liturgy to celebrate the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus at 2.45pm. See the Mini Vinnies section of the newsletter for more details.

Sacrament of Confirmation - Parent / Child Workshop

A reminder for our Year Six students intending to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation in July. The Parent / Child workshop will be held this Thursday 15th June at St Judes Church, Scoresby commencing at 6.00pm.

Semester One Reports

Semester One reports will be available on Friday 23rd June via the nForma portal. Mr Shannon Mullavey, our Digital Technologies Leader, has provided instructions via Operoo on how to access your account for both new and current users.

You can also access this information via the following link: Semester One Reports Letter

End of School Term - 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, as communicated via the school newsletter. 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.

Please only complete this form if your child will not be collected from school at 1pm on Friday 23rd June.  

Supervision required - Friday 23rd June

We will conclude the term with an assembly at 12.30pm to announce the TORCH Bearer of the Term Awards at 12.30pm. Parents are most welcome to attend.

School Blog

Our students are responsible for a lot of the School Blog content, so please take some time to appreciate their posts. It is also a great way to find out about school events such as Camp, Production, Sports Events, the Arts …. And much more! 

http://blog.htws.catholic.edu.au/

Warm Regards,

Adrian Scutt

Principal

Time to eXcel