Dear Parents and Carers,

This week we continue to respond to fluctuating levels of the student and staff absences due to illness. So far we have managed to maintain all our normal learning programs with some adjustments of classes where needed. As the official day of winter clocks over this week, the short term outlook is that we will need to continue in this flexible manner. The school leadership team and I are constantly monitoring our resourcing requirements to ensure we can continue providing quality learning experiences for students.

Last Rapid Antigen Testing Kit Delivery for Term 2

This week the students will receive a final Term 2 delivery of Rapid Antigen Testing kits. This delivery will contain 2 test boxes, enough tests for three weeks plus surplus. A notification will be sent via Skoolbag alerting parents to retrieve the testing kits from their child\ren’s school bag.

Year 5 Camp

Our Year 5 students and 9 staff (including myself) this week have been at a school camp near the beautiful regional town of Alexandra. The students have been able to have wonderful opportunities to build independence and resilience amongst the many activities that Alexandra Adventure Resort has to offer.

In the coming weeks, there will be more to share of adventures away, however, it's safe to say our winter coats, beanies and layers of clothing were extremely important for staying warm and dry! The students (and staff) are having a great time.

Fr Kevin’s farewell

Last Thursday we gathered as a school community to officially farewell Fr Kevin after almost 5 years of service to St Simon’s Parish community. We came together to give thanks to God for the gift of Fr Kevin and presented him with a special gift: A prayer book comprising of the students’ prayers and reflection as well as a decorative ceramic tile with a special message from St Simon’s School to Fr Kevin.

The liturgy concluded with the school choir singing a rendition of John Williamson’s “True Blue”, a song that personifies Fr Kevin as a “true blue” kind of person.

Thank you to the school families for accommodating the single dismissal time on this day so that we could gather as a community with Fr Kevin.

Year 5 and 6 Winter Sports

Last Friday our students in Years 5 and 6 competed against local primary schools in the first of two days of competition. This was a wonderful opportunity for students to proudly represent St Simon’s by playing one of five different ‘winter’ sports. Thank you to the many parents who came out and supported the students at the various venues throughout Knox Council as well as those parents who were able to assist with coaching roles.

I was able to attend the football and soccer and I was proud to see our students representing our school.

Pizza Food Service Day - Thank You

A big thank you to all the helpers and organisers from the Parents' Association who hosted a Pizza food service day for students last Wednesday. It was wonderful to see the St Simon's Community spirit in action with parents coming together to sort and distribute the pizza orders to the classrooms. The students (and some staff) were very grateful for this special food service day.

Canteen - Call for Volunteers

We are still in need of building up our list of volunteers to assist with the operation of the canteen. Please consider helping out with more information available in the Canteen News section of the newsletter.

Student Free Day Monday 6th June

Staff Professional Learning -

Catholic Identity: Prayer

A care program is available from Beyond Edu Care on this day. See the page titled "Pupil Free Days OHSC" in this Newsletter or Contact Shayan and team for further information.

Last-minute Reminder - Parent webinar opportunity - Tomorrow - Thursday 2nd June

St Simon’s families have exclusive access to high quality and relevant information related to parenting and raising children. If you are interested please register below to attend an upcoming webinar hosted by a Psychologist Carly McGauren, Inform and Empower: Promoting Healthy School Communities.

Click here to register

God bless

Tom Wursthorn

Principal

St Simon's and St Jude's Youth Group