From the Principal

Dear Parents and Carers,

Welcome back as we commence our third term for the year.

The current health situation continues to affect all of us in each of our work and social settings.

The goal for the education sector is to keep schools open and this is one of the main drivers behind the introduction of mask wearing at school for children in Years 3-6. While this is not a mandate we will continue to strongly encourage Covid safe practices within our school setting. Please know that we have a large supply of rapid antigen tests at school and we invite you to collect these from the office as required.

Grandparents and Special Friends Day

Unfortunately we will not be holding our traditional Grandparents and Special Friends Day again this year due to the current Covid and Flu situation. This was in the calendar for next Friday 29th July.

On this day teachers will be completing activities with their students with a focus on Grandparents and the special people in their lives. This may take the form of a card, poem, photos or even a short movie that will be shared with the children grandparents and special friends.

Depending on the Covid situation we will consider scheduling this special day into Term 1 next year. It is certainly a day the children and Grandparents look forward to and we look forward to continuing these family connections and activities in the future.

God of love,

We thank you for our wonderful grandparents.

They bring such joy and happiness into our lives.

Thank you for all the special times that we have with them.

Please watch over them, protect them and care for them now.

May they know your goodness and love always.

Amen

First Eucharist

I congratulate all of our First Eucharist candidates who received the Body of Christ in communion last Sunday. It was a beautiful celebration and the children looked amazing.

I pray that they continue to grow closer to God in their faith journey and that they keep the memory of their First Eucharist always.

I would like to sincerely thank and acknowledge the efforts of Jo Cowan, our Religious Education Leader and to Maya Howard and Karen Gosling for their work in preparing the children to receive this Sacrament.

On a side note, if anyone is missing an umbrella, left in the church after the First Eucharist, we have it at the office.

Welcome

A special welcome to the Farah family who have joined our school community. Kingston has joined the Prep classroom and is enjoying meeting new friends and being a part of the COHR community.

Year 3-6 Athletics Trials

These were held last Thursday at Knox Athletics Track. The weather was kind and the children enjoyed the day. Many thanks to Sue Tobin, our Physical Education teacher and to all our staff and parents who supported the children on the day.

Art Show

Our students are continuing to work on their art pieces for our upcoming Art Show. The official opening will take place on Wednesday 7th September and the show will be open for one week.

Baby News

Congratulations to Sarah Counihan and her husband Tom on the safe arrival of baby Scarlett over the holidays. Sarah and Scarlett are doing very well.

School Crossing Supervision

Due to an ongoing shortage of School Crossing Supervisors, there may be no supervisor available to cover the crossing at the corner of Ferntree Gully and Huntingdale Roads by our school over the coming weeks. If your child is walking to school and using this crossing we would encourage you to talk to them about safe crossing practices. We will also address this with the children.

FETE Update

Our third Fete meeting was held via a Google Meet on Wednesday evening with a good attendance from parents. Attached to this newsletter is a flier, giving updates regarding this upcoming event in November.

Parent Teacher Chats

Thank you to those parents who have already made a booking for the upcoming Parent Teacher Chats next Tuesday or Wednesday. As mentioned, these will be held online and we would encourage all parents to take up this opportunity. Bookings can be made through the link sent out through the week, via the Flexi Schools app or via the school website.

Take care and keep safe everyone

Brendan Welsford

Principal