Leadership & Management

Week 5 Term 3

Dear Parents and Carers,

Entering another week of lockdown brings mixed emotions. It is challenging not to be able to have contact with relatives and friends; miss celebratons and some of the normal routines of school life. While we have been in lockdown before it is important for us to continue to stay connected,albeit in a virtual world.

As communicated at our Whole School Prayer and assembly last week, the teachers will speak to the students about adopting the mindset of De Bono’s Yellow Hat. 

The Yellow hat signifies positive rationality and is used to look at the positive aspects of a situation or idea. At Friday's Assembly, I asked the children to find and identify the Yellow Hat things or moments in their life and identify these,  especially during this period of Remote Learning. 

Thank you

Thank you to all the students who sent me messages of gratitude for being their school Principal.  These messages and drawings of encouragement certainly put a smile on my face and lifted my spirits on Friday. Thank you to all the students, we are here for you.

Parent Feedback to Teachers

A reminder to parents to please liaise with your child’s classroom teacher if you feel the workload is either too demanding or requires more or less intensity. The staff are well equipped to support and work with you in ensuring the children remain positive about their learning, as well as receiving the reinforcement and feedback for their efforts.

Essential Workers

I thank the parents who are classified as Essential Workers for your notifications regarding accessing the school for support. If you have not yet notified me, please do so soon, so we can be organised with our staffing each day.

ACMI Excursions

Our continued commitment to expanding our STEM Program, all Year Levels have been booked to attend ACMI (Australian Council For Moving Images) in Term Three and Term Four.  Despite the disruption of lockdown 5.0 we were able to reschedule two Year 5/6 classes to attend a workshop at ACMI last week. The purpose of the excursion was for the students to: 

• Gain an understanding of the principles of Animation
• The science and maths behind animation
• To create visually engaging stop-motion animation in a team

As we are now in lockdown 6.0 we will endeavour to reschedule the other classes as soon as we retunr onsite (and permitted) for the students. 

Below are some images of the two Year 5/6 classes at ACMI last week.

School Advisory Council Meeting August 3rd –Summary Report 

Our School Advisory Council meeting (formally the Parish Education Board) was held August 3 via zoom.

Items Discussed included

• New terms of reference for the School Advisory Council;
• A summary of feedback following parent teacher conversations;
• Considerations and opportunities for engagement with families through various lockdowns and COVID restrictions;
• Opportunities and priorities moving forward for the grounds and maintenance team;
• Progress on the upgrade works and the transition into these spaces in coming months.

The meeting was well attended with constructive contributions provided by all. Updates related to specific outcomes generated from this meeting will be published in the school newsletter. The next School Advisory Council meeting is to be held 26th October.

Sacraments

We are working with the Parish to set new dates for Reconciliation and First Eucharist as soon as we have clarity regarding numbers at religous gatherings once the lockdown is lifted. 

Stay safe,

Manuela