Principal's Report

Dear St A's Community,

With great sadness, I share with our community the sad passing of Kathy Strickland. Kathy was a member of the St A's team for a number of years in her role as Learning support. She worked with many current and past students during her time at our school and was known for her dedication to the students in her care. Kathy passed after battling cancer over the past 2 years. We are deeply saddened by her passing. We wish Kathy's family all our love and support during this difficult time. May eternal rest grant unto her, O Lord. And let perpetual light shine upon her, O Lord. May she rest in peace, O Lord.

Call out for any succulent cuttings
We have a team of Grade 3/4 students who call themselves "the Green thumbs!" They are working on a creating a succulent garden. If any families have succulents in their gardens and are willing to donate a couple of cuttings - the "Green thumbs" would be greatly appreciative. Please deliver these to the school office.

Staff First Aid

Last night our staff members completed the practical component of their annual CPR and First Aid. All staff had to complete a 3-hour prerequisite course before they were able to undertake the practical side of the course. All staff are now qualified and retrained! Thank you to all of the staff who took the time to complete this important course, which in turn is to help all of our students if the need arises.

NAPLAN

NAPLAN tests begin for Year 3 and 5 students on Wednesday the 15th of March and conclude on Monday the 27th March. There are four tests -Reading, Writing, Conventions of

Language and Numeracy. All tests are now online with the exception of Year 3 writing. NAPLAN assesses literacy and numeracy skills that students learn as part of the curriculum. This test is only a snapshot of a child's ability. Grade 5 students will complete their assessments after camp.

naplan-information-brochure-for-parents-and-carers.pdf

School News:

Over the past week Grade 3 - 6 students have participated in a swimming program. Learning to swim is a very important aspect of a child's growth and development. It was great to see the students participate in survival sessions, where they had to wear additional clothes in the water. From all reports, the students have enjoyed their swimming sessions and have learnt some additional skills along the way. Learning to swim is a skill that once learnt is rarely forgotten and we will continue to offer swimming lessons to all of our students in the future.

Next week in a nutshell.

It will be a short week with the school being closed on Monday for the Labor Day public holiday. The Grade 5/6 students are off to camp on Tuesday, for three nights as they journey onto Camp Rumbug. We hope they have a great time and I will be joining them on Thursday. Next Friday we also have some of our Grade 3/4 students attending the St Patrick's Day mass at the Cathedral. The students will travel on the train and participate in the mass with the majority of Catholic schools across Melbourne in attendance. At school, on this day we will also have our students wear a touch of green for St Patrick's Day. Lastly, our Grade 3 students will begin their NAPLAN assessments.

Have a great long weekend, take care, rest up and God Bless.

Carrie Rodda

Principal

Our school puppy

Ziggy Frances Augustine - enjoying her time at school!