Principal's Message
Dear Parents, students and the wider community,
Thank you in advance to the families who attended the Parent - Teacher meetings for Year 1-6 this evening. It will give you an opportunity to build the relationship between home and school to support the education of your child/ren. Thanks to the classroom teachers for being available for these meetings as well.
Our first Foundation Open Morning is on February 28th (this Monday) at 9.15am. We have already had nearly 10 tours for next year and have 8 families so far signed up for Monday. It is a great joy to take tours showing off our facilities and wonderful students and staff to families who are looking to begin what can be an on-going relationship of many years.
Next week we will celebrate Shrove Tuesday on the 1st March with our wonderful P & F cooking pancakes so your child can have one after school. The next day we begin Lent with Ash Wednesday liturgies within our classes on the 2nd March. Lent is a period of preparation in the Church’s Liturgical Year that orients the community towards Holy Week and the Season of Easter. It is a time of prayer, fasting and good works. It is also a special time of solidarity with those who are entering their final period of preparation for initiation into the Christian community at Easter. Our students will learn more about this over the next 6 weeks.
If you have been around the school this term you may have noticed some of the school improvement works that have been occurring. The area at the front of the portable has had the garden border refurbished and the front wall has had a modern upgrade, the area around the sandpit has had many new sleepers installed tidying it up, the Gaga pit has been removed and the area has been set up for artificial turf to be installed during the first term break and the pavers near the outdoor kitchen have been re-set where they have slumped all by our new maintenance person Rod Brooking. Many of the gardens at the front of the school have been re-planted and tidied and my thanks go to one of our mums, Silke Cripps who has been very busy doing this.
Looking ahead our Year 5/6 Portsea Camp is between Monday 7th- Wednesday 9th March and our school closure days are on Thursday 10th March (Curriculum Development) and Friday 11th March ( Catholic Identity). A reminder that if you require it Moira, from Happy Kids, will open up day programs in the hall on both of these child-free school closure days. I thank you for making alternate arrangements to enable our staff to continue their professional development.
May God bless you all,
Rod Shaw
Principal
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.