Newsletter 4th May 2022

Upcoming Dates

6th May:  Mother's Day Liturgy & Afternoon Tea, 2:15pm

9th May:  No Swimming Program on this day.  Combined Schools' Sports Day at Llanberris Reserve:  Parents to drop children to venue by 8:45am and pick-up at 3:00pm

10th May - 19th May:  Naplan Testing during this time

13th May:  School Closure Day - Staff ReLATE Professional Day

16th May - 6th June:  Swimming Program continues on Mondays

17th May:  11:15am-12:15pm Brown Hill Kinder Visit

18th May:  Year 6 Leadership "Get to Know You" Day at Major League with other schools

23rd - 27th May:  Catholic Education Week

26th May:  Open Day, 9:00am-1:30pm

1st June:  School Closure Day - Teacher Professional Development Day:  Reading Essentials Learning

3rd June:  Year 6 Leadership Day at Creswick

6th June:  Year 5 Transition Visit to St Patrick's College & Loreto College, 9:00am-1:30pm

13th June:  Queen's Birthday Public Holiday

24th June:  Last day of Term 2, 2:30pm finish

Principal's News

Welcome to Week 2 of Term 2! It has been a calm, smooth start to the term and I am thankful that the isolation rules have changed. Some of our families and children that would have had to isolate previously can now continue attending school and go about life in a reasonably normal way. It is important that you keep us informed if your child is a close contact so that we can make sure that the appropriate measures are in place at school.

It is a busy term with swimming, sports day, Mother’s Day Liturgies, golf clinics, NAPLAN, Open Days and kinder visits, to name a few of the things that are happening. It is exciting that we can have all of these important events taking place and having families and the wider community coming into the schools.

With so many things going on this term, we ask that you keep an eye out for all notifications that come through PAM, the Schoolzine App and See Saw so that notes can be signed off promptly and you are aware of the various activities that are occurring each week.

All of these important events are on the school calendar which you can access through the Schoolzine App and website, the newsletter and teachers will send messages through See Saw. If you are unsure about something, please contact the school to clarify details.

Thank you all for your continued support. Remember, our parents and families are our greatest advocates for our schools. Keep liking, commenting and sharing our Facebook posts and spreading the word about our schools.

Take care,

Inez

NAPLAN

Over the next two weeks, our Year 3 and 5 children will be involved in completing their NAPLAN assessments. These are mandated and this year both schools will conduct the assessments online, excluding the Year 3 writing task which will still be handwritten.

What are the benefits of NAPLAN Online?

• NAPLAN Online will provide better assessment, more precise results and faster turnaround of information.
• Most students find online assessment more engaging.
• NAPLAN Online uses tailored testing, which gives students questions better suited to their ability, resulting in more detailed individual assessment.
• Online assessment will reduce the time it takes to mark and provide feedback to schools and teachers.
• The precision and improved timing of the results will help teachers streamline their teaching more specifically to student needs.
• By 2022, online assessments will significantly reduce the time it takes for student results to be returned to parents and carers.

Please see your child’s teacher if you have any questions or concerns regarding NAPLAN

Mother's Day Liturgy & Celebrations

We are thrilled to be able to invite all of our mothers and special women to our Mother’s Day Liturgy on Friday. Please make sure you have let the school know how many people will be attending so that we can organise adequate catering.

It always a highlight of the year and such a special part of the traditional events we hold each year. The children and staff have been busy preparing and are looking forward to sharing this time with you all.

It is a government requirement that all adults that come into our schools must be vaccinated.

Promotional Videos

Kev Cummins, from DOBCEL, is currently doing some filming and taking photos to promote our schools. It is timely that we update our old photos and video. Kev is spending quite a few hours in each school so that he can capture the whole range of things that we do. The completed works will be available in a few weeks and I look forward to sharing them with you.

Open Day and Kinder Visits

We are having our Open Day and Kinder visits from the Brown Hill Kindergarten in the next few weeks. I invite all families to join us for one or both of these events, as current parents that can share your experiences of having children at our schools. The times and days are in the dates of this newsletter and in the calendar.

Swimming and Sports Day

On Monday, we began our 5 week Swimming Program. Swimming was originally planned for first term but needed to be rescheduled due to COVID restrictions. The two schools will combine for the program to allow children to reconnect with old friends and maybe make new ones. The children are at the pool from 12:30pm–1:15pm each Monday, with the exception on Monday, 9^th May, which will be our Sports Day at Llanberris. Parents are welcome to join us for any of these occasions.

Trish Lannen

Many of you will remember Trish who was part of our staff for a number of years. Trish is now an Art Therapist and a specialised Art teacher in some of our neighbouring schools. I contacted Trish last term, inquiring as to her availability to work in our schools to support teachers in preparing for the Art Show in Term 3. She has one timeslot available on Friday afternoons. Trish began at St. Mary’s last week and will alternate each Friday between our two schools. We are very grateful to Trish for making time in her busy schedule to work with our children and staff.  The Art Shows will be later on in Term 3.

Closure Days

There are two Closure Days this term, both of which are Professional Learning Days for staff.

The first is Friday, 13^th May. The staff will be engaging with the MacKillop Institute to do their second ReLATE day. The first day was very informative and engaging and we are looking forward to learning more about how we can improve wellbeing for everyone in our school.

The second closure day is Wednesday, 1^st June, during which staff will work on getting our Reading Essential Learnings started. We will be working with Felicity Lane from DOBCEL on this process.

Year 6 Leadership

Year 6 parents should have received a note about an initiative for our students called Little Feet Big Footprints: A Young Leaders Initiative. Year 6 students from St Mary’s Clarkes Hill, St Brendan’s Dunnstown, St Michael’s Daylesford, St Patrick’s Gordon, St Brigid’s Ballan and St Augustine’s Creswick, will come together and spend time both face to face and virtually, throughout the year, to build networks for them and to give them leadership opportunities which their individual schools may not be able to offer. The program will include excursions, guest speakers and school visits, as well as providing opportunities for them to take meaningful action in their communities in a variety of ways, including areas such as social justice initiatives.

The purpose of this initiative is to give our senior students, our young leaders, the opportunity to know themselves, and each other, in community; to create and connect. This initiative aims to engage these students in ways beyond the limitations of geography and any one individual school’s capacity to meet certain needs.  

The first of these days will be a ‘getting to know each other day’ on Wednesday, 18^th May at Major League in Ballarat, playing sports and games in a fun environment to begin to build relationships.

The second day will be at Creswick on Friday, 3^rd June. Part of the day will involve the College Captains and Vice Captains from St Patrick’s, Damascus and Loreto speaking to our Year 6students about their own experiences of leadership.

School Arrival Times

We ask that all parents make every effort to have their children at school before 8:55am each day. I am aware that at times something happens and the morning routine can be disrupted by the smallest of things, however, when children arrive late they do miss the time to get organised for the day, miss some time to catch up with friends and often are not part of Prayer. Coming late can mean that they are on the ‘back foot’ all day and even if it is 10 minutes, that equates to almost an hour a week.

Children that come late to school will need to go via the Office to receive a Late Pass which they need to give to their teacher. If you are having difficulties getting your child to school on time, it would be important to speak to your child's teacher to see if there is an underlying issue or if strategies need to be put in place so that getting ready in the morning is easier and a smoother process.

Uniform

As we approach the end of Week 2, the children should be transitioning into their winter uniforms, with all children wearing their full winter uniform by Week 3. This includes the boys wearing long pants. The girls may wear their winter tunics or appropriate long pants as set out in the Uniform Policy. Our uniforms can be purchased through Beleza.

We thank you for your support in ensuring that our children wear their uniform correctly and with pride.

ANZAC Day Commemoration

Our students have had a great start to Term 2, with  our traditional walk up Clarkes Hill to commemorate ANZAC Day.  After missing this annual event the last couple of years, the children and staff were keen to make the trek to visit the Lone Pine which was planted in 2005 and pay their respect to those who fought for our country.

Happy Birthday

Paige will celebrate her 7th birthday on 11th May.  Happy birthday Paige!

Gardening & Tidying Roster 2022

Job Vacancy - Canteen Manager, Springbank Football Netball Club

The Springbank Football Netball Club are looking for a Canteen Manager for game days at Springbank Football Oval.

Your day will start at 7:45am and duties include:  putting pastries in the warmer; making up lollie bags; oversee the running of the canteen throughout the day and give directions to the rostered volunteer staff; clean and tidy the canteen; and count the takings for each day.

The ladies who are currently doing these tasks will support the new manager.  The canteen closes at the half-time break of the Seniors' match.

If you would like to know more or to discuss the position and the remuneration offered, please contact Jason Carey on 0438 689 025.