Good afternoon families,

This coming Sunday is the beginning of Advent, which is not only one of the great seasons of the Church’s year; it’s the beginning of the new liturgical year, though maybe it doesn’t always feel that way. For some of us, perhaps, Advent is not a season we fully engage with. As the work year hurtles towards its conclusion and we get caught up in all the busyness, Advent tends to recede into the background. Advent is supposed to be a time of spiritual renewal:a chance to start again, to come home if we’ve drifted away, to rediscover the joy of knowing Jesus Christ. Jesus comes to make his home among us and within us. Advent offers us a chance to rediscover. (Caritas 2022)

The new administration building has started up again and we are hoping to have the roof on by the end of the term.

A huge congratulations to Frank, Mrs Merten and the Year 6 Sustainability team. Yesterday they were all invited to the Botanical Gardens for the Victorian Schools Garden Award ( VSGA) ceremony. St Louis' were the winners of the Kevin Heinze perpetual trophy for Victorian School Garden Excellence. St Louis also won the State and Regional Awards for Garden Excellence. The VSGA program encourages schools to consider their outdoor spaces as an important facet for learning, acting as classrooms for hands on education while improving student health and well-being. It also acts as a vehicle for getting children involved in gardening and creates awareness of future employment opportunities in horticulture and environmental industries.

Well done to all the students who are involved in our garden space.

On Wednesday 23rd Nov Kids on Key held their student concerts throughout the day. The feedback was very positive from all classes that attended the concert.

On Tuesday, we celebrated the Prep Mass with students and families from PEJ, PHM, and PJM. Thank you to Father Andrew and the Prep teachers for their efforts. Yesterday we had a class Mass for 1ES & 1JC. Thank you to Father Ignatius, Mrs Chalker and Miss Summers for their preparation. Thank you to all the parents and special friends who attended either of these masses.

Year 6 students are off to camp next week. Mrs Barron, Mrs Stefanec and myself will be attending camp.

Mr Wood will be in charge for Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

Congratulations to five Year 3 girls who wanted to raise money for a school that has been affected by the recent floods. The five girls, with the support of their mums, baked 250 cup cakes and sold them to some classes on Tuesday. The cakes were so beautifully made and they sold out very quickly. They raised $350 and I have contacted MACS for a school that is in need of some support after being damaged by floods. Well done girls.

Library closed for 2022

The library is closed for borrowing from today. Please return any library books that you still have at home.

2023 Dolphin Research Institute (DRI) leaders

Congratulations to Sophia,Lexi, Tahlia F & Amelia B who are our DRI leaders for 2023. These leaders are off to Sorrento on Tuesday for a swim with the dolphins and a cruise on Port Phillip Bay.

Staff Farewell

Mrs Drum is not returning to St Louis after 20 years of teaching Visual Art. Julie is a passionate teacher and a talented artist. She will be missed as a colleague and a teacher. We wish Julie all the very best at her new school.

Canteen will be CLOSED on Friday 16 December.

Assembly

On Monday 28th I JC & Yr1 ES are hosting assembly, parents are welcome.

Cricket Yr 6

Good luck to the Yr 6 boys who will competed at the State Title Cricket competition on Thursday 1 December.

St Vinnies Christmas Hamper

Thank you for the donations we have received so far. They are coming in very slowly. Some Yr 5 students are organising some Christmas hamper for the homeless through St Vinnies. Could each level please donate what is on the list below. Each classroom has a box for the goods to be collected.

Year 6 - Deodorant
Year 5 - Shampoo or Conditioner
Year 4 - Hair brush or comb
Year 3 - Face Washer or soap
Year 2 - Christmas mug or chocolate
Year 1 - Tooth brush or tooth paste
Prep - Pillow Case or socks

Prep Orientations for 2023

The second orientation went really well and it was wonderful to welcome so many new families to St Louis.The next orientation is 'Move Up Day' on Monday 12 December, 9.15- 10.45 am

Key Dates this Term

Monday 28 - Kingston Transition Program Yr 6
Monday 28 - Friday 9 December - Prep-2 Swimming Program
Tuesday 29 November - Dolphin Research Institute Swim
Wednesday 30 November- Friday 2 December - Y6 Camp to Tynong
Wednesday 30 November - Squad Swimming before school
Monday 5 December - Y6 Beach safety
Tuesday 6 December - Y5 Beach safety
Thursday 8 December - Y3 Beach safety
Friday 9 December - Y4 Beach safety
Monday 12 December - Move up day
Tuesday 13 December - Y3 -Y5 Swimming Carnival
Wednesday 14 December - Y6 Graduation 5-7 pm
Thursday 15 December - Y6 Big Day Out - Luna Park
Thursday 15 December - End of Year Mass
Friday 16 December - CANTEEN CLOSED
Friday 16 December - LAST DAY TERM 4 - Students break up 1 pm
Monday 31 January- Students resume to the 2023 school year

Enjoy your weekend

Carmel Stutterd

Library News

gdownie@stlouisaspendale.com