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Dear Parents
You will have seen the construction work and rapid installation of our long awaited basketball cover! It has been exciting for the students to watch the giant lego/meccano set being put together by crane, scissor lift and nut and bolt. This new area will be such a blessing to our community, offering shaded and protected play spaces and a gathering space that allows events to continue even in poor weather.
Our first event under the cover will be our Year 6 graduation. We are hoping that under the current restrictions that we can have a small family group for each graduating student. At this point it will mean that each person over 12 attending that event will need to be fully vaccinated. There is information elsewhere in the newsletter to help you have proof of vaccination in order to attend onsite.
We had hoped earlier in the year that we could celebrate our Mother's Day and Father's Day together under our cover but delays, lockdowns and gathering size restrictions have prevented this becoming a reality in 2021. We look forward with great hope for opportunities for us to gather in 2022 to give thanks for the blessings of each family to our school community.
The students are very excited about the upcoming Japanese week which will see a range of special events in Art, Sport, Performing Arts as well as Japanese class. The chance to see, taste, participate and speak in Japanese will be exciting. Our Japanese themed day is the talk of the playground; apparently ninjas and Hello Kitty characters are popular!
There are other exciting incursions and the possibility of an excursion planned in the coming weeks.
STAFFING
As the year draws to a close we always have staffing changes to share.
We will be farewelling the following staff who are moving to different schools:
Ms Amy Gullifer
Ms Michelle Whitlock
Ms Catherine Gonis
Mrs Sarah Naughton
Ms Tamara Thompson
Mr Tim deFreitas
We are welcoming some new staff to our school:
Ms Peta Overbury - Deputy Principal Learning and Teaching
Mr Ben Dixon - Classroom
Mr Christian de Kinderen - Sustainability & Stewardship
Ms Claire Smith - Classroom
We have returning the following staff in full or part time roles:
Mrs Jannah Reid
Mrs Kristina Poole
Mrs Sarah Rietwyk
Mrs Sarah Thompson
Mrs Caroline Dunlevie
Kind Regards
Kate
Community Masses
The Galilee and Jerusalem Communities have celebrated their respective Masses over the last couple of weeks. With restrictions lifting recently, Father Denis has been able to come into the classrooms to celebrate the Masses, in person. This has been yet another opportunity to be thankful at this time. It was not only a joyous occasion for the students and staff, but Father Denis was extremely happy to be there in person to celebrate with the children. Google Meet has been helpful with keeping our Mass schedule running during the restricted time, but there is no replacement for being there, face to face.
Christ the King Feast Day
This Sunday, the church calendar recognises Jesus, as our King. This feast day was instituted by Pope Pius XI in 1925. The reason for this addition to the liturgical calendar was to remind us that Jesus should be more important to us than any other. Kings and Queens have, for historical reasons, been seen as the ultimate rulers of people, and have the highest authority. Christians believe however, that Jesus is the ultimate ruler… of our hearts and minds. The Christ the King feast day is a way for us to recognise who is our biggest influencer.
Andrew McDermott
Religious Education Leader
Vaccination Evidence - Parents/Carers
Vaccination Evidence for Parents/Carers
As we venture into the period of being able to have parents onsite, we are encouraging families to ensure they have a reliable and widely-accepted way of showing you are double vaccinated.
The Service Victoria app is one way that this can be achieved. If you wish to come to the office, pay school fees, pick up your child from the sick bay, attend a Community Mass or any other special occasion onsite, this will be the easy way to show your vaccination status, and help to make a smooth registration process. This is the same way you would if you were to go to a restaurant or theatre right now. All of us need to be able to show our vaccination certificate, quickly and easily.
Download the Service Victoria app and follow the instructions to ensure you are able to come to the school office.
Japanese week ( 22nd - 27th Nov)
As part of STAPS celebration for Japanese Week to be held in week 8, students will be treated to a sushi lunch on
Wednesday 24 November.
The Specialists Team will have activities running in all the specialist subjects throughout the week to celebrate Nihon (Japan) Week! This includes a calligraphy workshop, Japanese sports, chopstick & noodle races, taiko workshop (drums) and decorative fan making.
The week will conclude with a Japanese Costume Day on Friday 26th Nov & one student with the best costume from each community will be awarded with a bag of Japanese prizes.
Tanoshimi ni shimashou! (Let's have fun!)
Events
Tue 23rd Nov | Seniors NGV Japanese Art Incursion |
Wed 24th Nov | Whole School Sushi lunch day |
Fri 26th Nov | Japanese Dress Up Costume Day ( think pokemon, ninjas, karate, cherryblossom flowers,happy festival jacket,Japanese flag colours etc |
After School Pickup
Dear Parents
Please note that the gate to Denis Lane opens at 2:40pm. Please park in the car park if you arrive early to avoid congestion of traffic on Fiorelli Boulevard.
A reminder that the Council continues to check parking around the school area at drop off/ pickup times. Please adhere to all road rules to avoid fines.
Thank you for your support.
November | |
Wednesday 24th | Damascus Community Mass - 9:15am |
Monday 22nd - 26th | Japanese week |
Wednesday 24th | Sushi day |
Saturday 27th | First Communion Mass |
Sunday 28th | First Communion Mass |
December | |
Wednesday 1st |
Whole School Excursion- Moonlit Sanctuary |
Thursday 9th |
Yr 6 Graduation Mass Yr 6 Graduation Ceremony (info to follow)
|
Tuesday 14th | Last Day of School Term 2021 |
Wednesday 15th | School Closure Day |