Dear Families

This is the last Newsletter for Term One and I would like to congratulate our children on the way they have settled into the 2023 school year, engaging in their learning, meeting our expectations and being respectful classmates to others. I hope you have a restful Easter break and you can enjoy time with your families. Stay safe and we return to school on Wednesday. April 26.

Next week our children will be focussing on the most important week in our Church, Holy Week, leading into Easter. We will be holding Liturgies to celebrate the significant days of this special week.

Palm Sunday is the day Jesus entered the Holy City of Jerusalem surrounded by a crowd of followers. Today, the palms distributed at mass.

Holy Thursday is the day during Holy Week that commemorates the Washing of the Feet and Last Supper of Jesus Christ with the Apostles.

Good Friday commemorates the crucifixion of Jesus and his death at Calvary.

Easter Sunday is the day when Jesus rose from the dead.

Throughout the week we will be celebrating liturgies to commemorate the events of Holy Week.

Palm Sunday liturgy will be held on Monday April 3 at 9.00am

The Last Supper will be held on Tuesday April 4 at 9.00am

The Garden of Gethsemane will be held on Wednesday April 5 at 2.30pm

The Crucifixion and Resurrection will be held on Thursday April 6 at 9.00am

You are invited to come and join us throughout the week.

Fr Kevin has announced to the Parish that he will be retiring on April 19th Fr Denis Stanley will be replacing Fr Kevin on May 10. Fr Denis has served in a number of parishes and is presently working for the Archdiocese. Joining Fr Denis will be Rev Stephen Fernandes, a deacon who will begin his ministry at the sametime.

Fr Kevin has been our Parish Priest for over 18 years and he has been integral in supporting the growth of Sunbury and in particular supporting our schools with his faith leadership and ensuring our resources have been the best they can be. I am sure you will join me in wishing Fr Kevin all the best in his retirement and that he can relax and look back on his ministry in Sunbury with pride and satisfaction.

Congratulations

Congratulations to our Choir who won the Sunbury Primary Schools battle of the Choirs at Sunfest. It was an amazing effort for all our children. Thanks to all our children and parents who supported our choir as well as Marina Spiteri for leading the choir and the time spent ensuring they knew the songs and actions.

Our School Athletics team made us very proud last Tuesday on the way they competed against the other primary schools in Sunbury. We came third in the ‘Big Schools’ competition. Congratulations to the following children who now represent St Anne’s at the District level - Ollie T, Liam M, Johnny N, William R, Kai B, Carter R, James M, Lenny M, Kwel L, Rejoice P, Willow N, Sabella A, Ebony M and Eliza L. We wish them all the best.

Congratulations to our Junior Sport Leaders. It was decided to choose these Junior Leaders earlier in the year so they can lead the children in our Junior School throughout the year. They will lead their sport teams but also be positive role models to the Junior children. Congratulations to;

Crowley (Red) - Lyna S and Jamie O

Edmends (Gold) - Aiden H and Matilda KJ

MacKillop (Blue) - Evelyn S and Flynn U

Feenan (Green) - Georgia J and Willem F

School Advisory Council (SAC)

Our SAC met on March 16. The Committee looked at the Child Safety Standards that we are regulated to implement. They supported our initiatives such as ensuring all helpers have valid Working With Children Checks, our children are aware of the Child Safety Standards and our processes we have in place if we have concerns about the wellbeing and safety of a child. Cybersafety continues to be an issue for our children. The Committee suggested parents and children should have regular opportunities to participate in PD to raise their awareness of the need to be safe when using social media. We will look at ways this can be implemented in the future. Our Council members are available to answer your questions or table any concerns at our meetings.

Prep Enrolments

2023 Enrolments are now open and being accepted. If you have a child ready to begin school next year, please collect an enrolment form and hand it back to the office by May 5th. We have had many new families join us for our Open Days and we are looking forward to them joining our school community next year. If you have any friends, family or neighbours needing to choose a school for their child, please let them know about St Anne’s. As your recommendation always attracts new enrolments.

School Uniform

I would like to remind parents that dyed hair is not appropriate for our children at St Anne’s. If hair is below the collar it must be tied up. I ask for your cooperation to ensure our children are following our uniform expectations each day.

Positive Behaviour For Learning - PBL

Our focus until the end of term is to encourage our children to speak respectfully to friends at all times. We are also encouraging our children to try and solve their own problems when playing in a respectful way.

If things are not going well for our children we are encouraging them to walk away to calm down or to seek help from an adult. Our staff are noticing that this is happening more often with our children. We will continue to focus on our children regulating themselves so they are meeting our expectations.

God Bless

Religious Education and Life at St Anne's and in the Parish of OLMC.