2023 SCHOOL THEME - ‘WE BELONG’

SCHOOL CLOSURE DAY (Monday 24th April)

STUDENTS RESUME (Wednesday 26th April)

Dear Parents/Carers,

It was wonderful to see the smiles on faces as students and families ran in our Annual Colour Explosion fundraising event last Friday afternoon.

Even with the rain it appeared that everyone had a great time!

Thank you to our parents and staff who volunteered to ensure that this event was successful. There were parents working hard behind the scenes before the event and then cleaning up in the dark once everyone had left. We are fortunate to have such generous people in our community. Hopefully your wonderful donations will enable us to build the next stage of our Adventure Playground later this year.

It was great to see Father Justel splashed with colour and joining in the excitement!

TERM ONE REVIEW

We have had a successful start to our 2023 school year.

Our new staff have settled in well and the students appear to be loving the Auslan program. Many families have joined our community this year and we hope that they feel like they ‘belong’ at Holy Family School.

Maths

We are continuing our Intensive Partnership in Mathematics with Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools (MACS) staff. This partnership is supporting teachers to deepen their knowledge and understanding in research based strategies to improve student outcomes Prep-Year 6.

All teachers have regular facilitated planning with our Maths Leader (Jennifer Young) and MACS staff.

Literacy

Term 1 has been an exciting time of change for our Prep- Year 4 students as teachers have commenced planning and implementing components of Structured Literacy. Structured Literacy is a practice that is informed by the Science of Reading and looks at ensuring students develop depth in phonics skills (in reading & writing) and language comprehension.

As of Term 2, The Literacy Block structure in Prep-2 will follow a scope and sequence for Phonics and use supporting materials such as decodable texts to support new learning.

Teachers in Years 3-4 are focussing on continuing to embed morphology and phonics to teach spellings and word-part meanings as of next term. In addition to this, teachers will explicitly teach vocabulary and sentence structure to deepen students’ understanding of the texts being explored in class.

For examples of this in action, please have a look at our Instagram and Facebook pages as they will be frequently updated throughout the term.

These changes to classroom practice will also support our Tier 2 Reading Intervention program (MultiLit). Students on this program have shown pleasing results thus far. We are very proud of all their hard work!

HOLY WEEK CELEBRATIONS

Thank you for joining our staff and students today for our Holy Thursday prayer service and classroom focus on Palm Sunday, Holy Thursday and Good Friday.

The school will acknowledge and celebrate Easter Sunday when the students return to

school next term.

LEAVE

I will be taking leave for the first 4 weeks of Term 2 and will return to school on Monday 22nd May. During my leave Miss Eithne King will be Acting Principal and Mrs Jennifer Young will be Acting Deputy Principal.

I know our school, families and students are in safe hands with these professional and caring leaders.

AUSLAN NEWS

As Easter approaches, I would like to express a much deserved break for all. Over the past few weeks, the students have revisited the essential themes covered in class, including school items, colours, family and sentence formation. I am pleased to report that many of the students have demonstrated a strong grasp of these concepts, although continued practice of finger spelling remains essential for continued progress.

I would like to inform all families that a website link has been provided for those who are interested in learning signs related to God. This resource allows easy access to a variety of signs, including those associated with Jesus, Virgin Mary, Holy Spirit, Lent and more. It provides an opportunity to watch and learn signs in preparation for the upcoming Easter celebrations. I encourage you to take advantage of this valuable resource and expand your knowledge of Auslan to religious themes: http://www.relsigns.net/

The picture above shows how to sign Jesus. For a clearer demonstration, check the videos in the website link provided.

SACRAMENT OF FIRST RECONCILIATION

Our Year 4 students received the sacrament of Reconciliation last Thursday night. Thank you to Mrs Pejic (Religious Education Leader) and the Year 3/4 teachers (Mrs Curtain, Miss Lark, Mrs Mase) for supporting the students on this special night.

TERM 2 SCHOOL UNIFORM

All students should be wearing their winter school uniform by Monday 8th May.

CONCRETER REQUIRED

We are looking for any parents who may be able to assist with a small concreting job in the playground. If you have the skills and would be willing to help out, please contact Eithne King via email, or call the school and ask to speak with me.

9807 3300

eking@hfmw.catholic.edu.au

Many thanks,

Eithne King

Term Two Dates

Monday 24th April (School Closure Day)
Tuesday 25th April (ANZAC Day) Public Holiday - no school
Wednesday 26th April (First day of Term 2)
Friday 28th April (School Cross Country)
Tuesday 2nd May (Parents and Friends Meeting) 7pm
Monday 8th May (Winter uniform to be worn from this date)
Wednesday 10th May (SAC Meeting) 6pm
Friday 12th May (Mother’s Day Stall)
Friday 12th May (SDSSA Cross Country) Jells Park
Sunday 14th May (Happy Mother’s Day)
Wednesday 17th May (First Eucharist Information Evening) 6:30pm
Friday 19th May (Walk Safely To School Day)
Monday 22nd May (National eSmart Week)
Wednesday 24th - Friday 26th May (Year 3/4 Camp, Arrabri Lodge)
Wednesday 31st May - Friday 2nd June (Year 5/6 Camp)
Friday 2nd June (First Eucharist Reflection Day)
Saturday 3rd (5pm)/Sunday 4th June (10am) (First Eucharist Celebrations)
Monday 5th June (Dental Van at Holy Family)
Tuesday 6th June (P&F Meeting) online
Monday 12th June (King’s Birthday Holiday)
Friday 16th June (Paint and Sip) Parent Function
Friday 23rd June (Final Day of Term 2) 1pm finish

Enrolments for 2024 Now Open

Don’t forget to pop into the office to get an enrolment form for Prep - Year 6 2024. We are now accepting enrolments.

Wishing your family a Holy Easter and restful holiday,

Julie David (Principal)