Dear Parents, Guardians and Friends,

At the moment some weeks it is a bit of a challenge what to write in our newsletter. Most weeks I follow a bit of a 'recipe' and write about what has happened in that week and what is happening next week or a bit further in the future. Though we have some students on site each day almost all of our students are busy at home doing their remote learning supported by their families. That ensures that the academics continue, though somewhat differently, but so much of being in a primary school is about the interactions, the relationships and the wonderful, more cultural experiences that become the memories of children's time at primary school. Mrs Brooking stopped in and discussed with me about Book Week and what we wanted to do about it. I want to celebrate it- costumes, teachers lessons focused on award winning new picture story books and a bit of joy around it. It may mean that though the students largely will be at home we can still celebrate these annual, important events on our calendar! I look forward to hearing and seeing more about it.

The building project is already steaming along. Mrs Trower will endeavour to take photos each week so you can follow the journey. You will find the first lot of photos in the "Renovation" page. Knowing what the end result will be, makes the journey exciting. The junior wing is absolutely gutted and what was the Prep room, Reading Recovery room and Literacy storage room are also currently being worked on. They are just becoming spaces to be re-designed and re-imagined.

In challenging times like these it is important to remind ourselves that firstly we exist as a faith- centered school. So in reading Matthew's gospel this week which is about feeding the five thousand overwhelmingly, the image of this text is the abundance of the feast that is offered to us by Jesus. They all ate as much as they wanted and still there was plenty remaining. Reflecting on this, in Jesus, we can be thoroughly satisfied. He is the source of all we need. Of course another image in this text is the need to withdraw to a quiet place to pray and meditate, to nourish our souls as well as our bodies. Finding our quiet space is so important to keep us grounded and ready for the challenges of being a happy member of society.

Look after yourselves and let your light shine!

May God Bless you.

Rod

School Attendance and Unexplained Absence

Please ensure you contact the school before 9:30am if your child is going to be absent or late by leaving a message on 9786 4736 and press #1.

If you are running late (after 9:00 am ) please attend the office to sign your child into school.

As per our policy this will be our morning routine for absences:

Parents will be contacted as soon as practicable on the morning a student is absent via a phone call or text message.

If parent does not reply or is unreachable the emergency contacts will be contacted by the school.

If there is still no response, and the school feels that the child is in danger, the police will be contacted.

Ongoing unexplained absences or lack of cooperation regarding student attendance will result in a formal conference being organized. Unresolved attendance issues will be referred to D.H.H.S.

This is a legal requirement.

Renovations

The renovations have started and we are well under way with the strip out. I will be updating you with pictures every week so you can see the progress.