Dear Parents/Guardians

We have had a very successful few weeks with lots of great learning, building relationships and getting to know our new staff and students.
We had a very successful two weeks of Parent/Student/Teacher meetings, with very positive feedback from both teachers and parents. These meetings are designed to give parents the opportunity to engage with their child’s teacher to share how the year has begun and provide information that supports each child’s learning and wellbeing. These meetings are highly valued by the teachers and, according to feedback, they are highly valued by the parents also.

We had a wonderful Welcome BBQ with many families in attendance. We offered free sausages, hamburgers and drinks and all families joined in to enjoy dinner together and socialise as a school community. It was evident from the evening that families are enjoying the social, community aspect of our school and the children had a wonderful time too.

We had our chocolate raffle in place of the Easter raffle this year. As a result of our chocolate drive last year, we were given a 10kg block of chocolate, which we raffled to raise money for the school.
The raffle was drawn on the evening of the Welcome BBQ. The raffle raised $764.25, which was a great effort.

We were very proud of our Year 6 students who prepared and presented their speeches for the roles of Sports Captains for this school year. We congratulate all of the students who participated, and we look forward to our new captains leading the school in our upcoming sporting events. Two of our teams have three captains as votes were equal, so all three deserve to lead their teams.
Our Sports Captains for 2024 are:
Marion: Louis Thorpe, Hannah Christou and Evie McMahon
Mackillop: Imogen Richardson and Zaxon Taylor
Francis: Luke Scholes, Ashton Borg and Gabby Borland
Lavalla: Oscar Lawrence and Penny Anderson

We have engaged with Mindfull Aus again this year, using the grant money given to us to support the mental health and wellbeing of our school. The Foundation students are engaging with Phase 1 and 2 today and the whole school will be completing Phase 3 over the coming weeks. This has become a very valuable resource and support for our staff and students, and we look forward to continuing our partnership with Mindfull Aus throughout this year.

This week we begin NAPLAN for Year 3 and 5 students. NAPLAN provides a snapshot in time of each child’s knowledge and application when working through these sessions. We have set the timetable to ensure that the children are not overloaded, and all NAPLAN sessions will be held in the STEM room to ensure each child is able to work in a quiet and supportive environment. It is important that the students who are participating in NAPLAN are at school each day to enable them to complete all the required sessions.

Kind Regards 

Lisa Broeren

Pope Francis shares his Lenten message with us:
In an age when even one's most intimate thoughts and feelings can become fodder for social media, Lent is a time to cast aside appearances and to find God at work in the depths of the heart,
Pope Francis said.
Without realizing it, Christians have become immersed in a world in which everything, including our emotions and deepest feelings, has to become social, the pope said while celebrating Mass at the Basilica of Santa Sabina in Rome to mark the beginning of Lent.
Today, even the most tragic and painful experiences risk not having a quiet place where they can be kept, he said. Everything has to be exposed, shown off, fed to the gossip mill of the moment.
Dressed in purple vestments to mark the Lenten season, Pope Francis said Lent is a chance for Christians to ensure their relationship with God is not reduced to mere outward show.
Lent immerses us in a bath of purification, he said. It means looking within ourselves and acknowledging our real identity, removing the masks we so often wear, slowing the frantic pace of our lives and embracing the truth of who we are.
The Lenten practices of almsgiving, prayer and fasting are not mere external practices; they are paths that lead to the heart, to the core of the Christian life, he added, encouraging Christians to love the brothers and sisters all around us, to be considerate to others, to feel compassion, to show mercy, to share all that we are and all that we have with those in need.