Message from the Principal
St Anthony’s Parish and St Anthony’s School hold the care, safety and wellbeing of children and young people as central and fundamental responsibilities of the Church. St Anthony’s is fully compliant with all policies in relation to Child Safety. These documents ensure compliance with the Victorian Government Child Safety Standards which took effect on 1 January 2017 and reflect our Parishes’ ongoing commitment to ensuring that all children are safe, happy and empowered.
As we Draw a close to the Easter season through Pentecost. We move to Ordinary Time
“The Advocate, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and remind you of all that I told you.” (John 14:26) The materialism of our society lures us to concentrate more on what we want than on what God wants for us. The relativism of our world tells us that we should be tolerant of all things, that there is no absolute truth. Pray to the Holy Spirit to transform our lives and to guide our thoughts, words and actions.
This past week we have been very busy at school. The pace of life at St Anthony's never slows down! Family week was a wonderful way to celebrate our own families and our school family, create inspirational posters that celebrate our children and be thankful for the loving relationships that keep us safe and help us to be known.
Teachers have been busy writing reports and gathering assessment and reporting data in preparation for Student led conference time in a couple of weeks, our sandpit play space has been a huge success, the Year 6's busy themselves in the art room creating their mosaic piece and 'leaving their mark' at St Anthony's, the production is well underway with casting, songs and costuming coming into place for Alice in Wonderland, the student leaders have been busy with House Spirit promotion under way, our 3-6 athletics carnival is approaching and Emily Prato has organised an authentic athletic event for our students for the very first time at an athletics track, our 3D printers have been busy printing student designs, we have had St Johns students out for soccer clinics with 3/4's, the Music Bus had started lessons on Tuesdays and Wednesdays due to the large number of students interested in music lessons, the Preps have been to Healesville Sanctuary and the 5/6's have been all over the place, even to a live filming of Australia's Got Talent!!! And that is just a few of the things that have been happening in the past few weeks. As always, our educators are always seeking to find authentic ways to engage our learners beyond the classroom and to enrich their learning with as many real life experiences as possible. We are very grateful for all of the big and small things they have done with great love.
Over the last few weeks we have welcomed so many new families to St Anthony's through Prep 2020 enrolment interviews. So many little faces from our Alfred St ELC and Playgroup, many siblings and friends. We look forward to getting to know each and every one of our new families.
Bible and Pyjama Night- a beautiful night filled with great love
Last week we gathered together for what has become a beautiful family tradition at St Anthony's, Bible and Pyjama night and this year we had a great turn out with over 50 families attending. It was a a chance to spend time together, share stories and activities about Creation, The Last Supper and Global Citizenship. Our children loved being at school in their PJ's sharing time with teachers, friends, parents and loved ones.
Promotional video
This week we welcomed back Andy Druit. Andy is responsible for the beautiful images we have been using recently on our website, social media and newsletter. Andy is creating a Promotional video for our school based on a Narrative that tells the unique story of our school community and the vast array of educational opportunities we offer. With the enrolment numbers of Catholic Schools in the South and East of Melbourne flat-lining due to the growth of the outer east corridors, established Catholic schools are seeking many ways to celebrate and promote who they are and what they do. We look forward to having this video to share with you soon.
As always, go gently about your week and if you have any ideas, opportunities, feedback or just want to pop in and say hi, please do.
Patrika