Principal's Report
Dear Parents,
Thank you for the warm welcome back. I would like to thank and acknowledge Amanda Gill and Jarrod Mullavey for the wonderful work in 'steering the ship' whilst I was away. It is good to know that I can leave the school in good hands. No one is irreplaceable, no matter how important one thinks they are.
I spent six wonderful weeks in Europe, mainly in the South of France in a village called Grasse and the rest of the time in Malta, Athens and Crete. During my travels, I encountered many new adventures and met some interesting people, even the 90 year old grand daughter of the famous painter Henri Matisse, who was in the village of Tourettes Sur Loup watering the town's pot plants. As I said to the staff, you never know what adventures awaits you.
It is hard to believe that half of the school year has gone and it seems like yesterday we were welcoming our Prep children and their families. Last week Fr Shabin and I met with the 2020 new Prep families and when asked ' why did you choose St. Mary's ?' the response was in most cases ' the feeling you get walking around the school, seeing the children so settled and engaged in learning is not what you see at some other schools.' This feedback gave me food for thought, our learning and teaching is about a partnership between children, teachers and parents and I know this formula works. Sometimes when I walk into classrooms, children are so absorbed and engaged by what they are learning, they don't notice that you are standing in the classroom. This is a very good indication that learning and teaching is hitting the mark.
This term brings new beginnings and adventures, on Thursdays children will participate in Gymnastics and Dance ( 5 weeks Dance then 5 weeks Gymnastics) classes and I know that they will enjoy the experience. We also have some year 6 children receiving the Sacrament of Confirmation and year 4 children making their First Communion. We celebrate Book Week, Italian day, District Athletics and many other events, so always keep on eye on the school app and newsletter.
Late last week we received notification about hosting the BBQ at Bunnings. This year we have been allocated the new Fairfield store in Darebin Rd. Each year this BBQ is very well supported and attended by many families and it is always a great day to socialise with new families and make new friends. It has always been a good fund raiser and I encourage you to come along and buy a sausage.
My thanks to Luke Wilson and Brendan Smith and their team for coordinating the event.
BUNNINGS BBQ - SATURDAY 10 AUGUST DAREBIN RD FAIRFIELD.
A great Art expo was held last week in the Year 5/6 classrooms, well done children, the Art work was sensational.
There has been a few changes to staffing for the remainder of the year. We welcome Louise Alonso to the Year 5/6 team. Louise is a vey experienced teacher and will be replacing Stephanie Sutherland who will have her first baby in August. We wish Steph and her husband Jordan all the very best.
Julia Lipinski (Yr 1/2) will return in 2020. Julia will be on leave for the remainder of the year to look after her youngst child and I thank Renne and Tania for being so flexible and stepping in to help to ensure there was minimal disruption to the class.
We also welcome Delia Latina who will be taking Italian this term as Irma Cimarosti takes Carers Leave.
The Fete is not far away, it will be the 30 November before we know it! I look forward to a wonderful celebration for the whole community. However, this will only be possible if every family helps out. No matter how big or small, your help is much appreciated. The first thing you could do is attend the next meeting on 7 August at 7pm. I look forward to seeing you.
Please note the change of date, the school will be closed on 13 September (not 2 August) for the staff to attend professional development. OSCH Club will be open providing that there are sufficient numbers.
Can you please check the lost property baskets outside the staffroom. It is over flowing. Any items not collected by next Friday will be donated to the uniform shop.
Finally, some very exciting news! We have an author amongst our community. Congratulations to Jason Goldsmith on the release of his first book 'Surfing for England'. I hope it becomes a best seller. Launch and order details are below:
https://www.fairplaypublishing.com.au/product-page/surfing-for-england-our-lost-socceroos
https://www.fairplaypublishing.com.au/event
Good luck Jason and well done!
Have a great week ahead, regards
Dino