From the Principal

We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the land on which our school stands, 

the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation.

Dear Families and Friends,

Year 3 and 4 Camp

As noted in last week's newsletter, our Year 3 and 4 students attended Camp Toolangi for two days for their school camp. An amazing time was had!! The students engaged in abseiling, rock climbing, hut building, the flying fox, possum glider and frisbee golf (no, not for you Mr Giosis!!). After the first four activities on the first day the children couldn't wait for the pasta and salad dinner, neither could the staff!! A night of trivia and games then off to the cabins, for more fun and frolicking!! I think we got a little bit of sleep!! Another two rotations the morning after, hamburgers for lunch and we were back on the bus to return to school. Well done to all the students for your amazing behaviour and engaging in as much as you could while on camp. We hope these photos give you a little bit of an idea of what we did!

An Amazing Term

What an amazing term it has been! We are particularly pleased that we've been able to welcome parents back for some assemblies and classroom help!  Yesterday we had some parents onsite to assist with the sausage sizzle too. Thank you to the P&F for arranging this special treat for the children on the second last day of term. As is always the way, the term has flown by and we can hardly recall what we've done. Just to jog your memory...

• Celebration of NAIDOC week
• Life Education Van visit for Preps
• Year Level assemblies in the PAC
• Chess Club
• Music Soiree
• St Justin's Computer Programming group
• Celebration of Confirmation
• Division Soccer tournament
• 100 Days of Prep
• Feast of Mary MacKillop liturgy
• Special food days - pizza, hotdogs
• Feast of the Assumption of Mary liturgy
• Prep excursion to Moonlit Sanctuary
• Book Week dress up day
• Wellington Track & Field event
• Fair on the Hill preparations
• Art Show preparations
• P&F Trivia night
• Year 3/4 camp to Camp Toolangi
• Year 4 Sustainability program
• Year Level liturgies
• Footy Colours Day

Phew! No wonder we're all so tired! Have a wonderful and safe holiday break!

Footy Colours Day

We had an enjoyable final day of term celebrating all our Footy teams and other sports we follow by wearing the team colours. Finals fever is certainly in the air along with the excitement and anticipation. We held a team parade after recess where we all cheered for our teams. Thank you to Mr Johnson for leading us in this. Students also engaged in some fun sports activities, trivia and mindfulness as part of a wellbeing focus for everyone.

Holidays and Screen Time

As we're all very aware, children tend to spend more time on screens when they have more down time, as many of us probably do as well! Undoubtedly the pandemic has added to our propensity to engage more with the screen as well. 

"Global studies have found that young children, as well as older children and adolescents, are getting more screen time than ever. Concerns have been expressed about the impact on their social development and mental health. Screen time is a concern for young children across a range of settings "in many countries around the world. (Reference) The World Health Organisation continues to recommend no screen time for children under the age of two, up to one hour a day for children 2-5 years old and less than 2 hours for children older than 5. 

The following graphic may be useful as a guide:

We hope you find time these holidays to spend with your child in the myriad activities that help promote health and relationship building, such as walking, bike riding, going to the park, board games, yoga, picnics, cooking, swimming, trampolining etc

Check out the Healthy Holiday Challenge from Action for Healthy Kids here for some other great ideas and the VicHealth holiday ideas.

Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools Online Surveys

Thank you to all the families who completed the online MACSSIS surveys in these last few weeks. Eighty families were randomly selected from all families in our school to complete these. The closing date for these was yesterday, 28th October. We greatly appreciate you taking the time to do these as the feedback they provide will assist us in making decisions about our practices and procedures moving forward. This data informs our four-year School Improvement Plan, which we then break down to an Annual Action Plan, through which we set goals and targets in all areas of school life - Education in Faith, Student Wellbeing, Learning and Teaching, Leadership and Management and School Community. The school leadership team leads the work in these goals with staff, students and the parent community throughout the year. We look forward to seeing this vital information.

Updating your details - OPEROO

Once again we ask that all families please consider if you have had any recent changes in your personal details - phone numbers, address, emergency contact, medications for students etc. Please take the time to update these details on Operoo so that we always have the most up to date information for your child. This is especially needed in cases of emergency. Thank you!

Whilst you are also welcome to email your child's teacher, letting the office know directly will ensure that your child's absenteeism is record in a timely and accurate manner. For more information please refer to the Attendance Policy on our website.

School Fees

A reminder to all families in regards to School Fees.  All outstanding school fees are due for final payment by Monday 31/10/2022.  

Direct Debit payment plans in progress are excepted. 

Enjoy a restful break with your families and stay safe!

From Mrs Herbison on behalf of Mr Torpey