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Dear Parents,
Let me begin by saying what a great example of coming together in a crisis last weekend was. MACS (Melbourne Archdiosoces Catholic Schools) COVID support gave us clear and concise instructions of what to do, staff answered the call late on a Saturday evening. Then Sunday between the onsite team of Margaret, Adrian, and myself and the offsite team of Eimear and Irene we were able to get the correct information out to the right people as efficiently as possible.
Parents were fabulous in both the tone of inquiries and generally getting on and getting done what needed to be done. I would like to acknowledge Lisa Shaw and her role as a kind of informal parent liaison. She was able to monitor the zeitgeist of the Whatsapp groups and so when an issue began trending we were able to get out the next piece of information to answer people's questions and ease worries.
As a result of our weekend 'scare' and subsequent near misses (Positive RATs but negative PCRs) we have decided to cancel our Carols Evening. We initially began to plan to relocate them to the basketball court but the reality is in order to fit the whole school community while obeying socially distancing and COVID safety measures is just going to be too difficult. Fr Hayes whilst saddened by the second year of no carols sends his thoughts to us but agrees that this is probably the safest path.
Each class will film their carol and we will share the whole recording with the community. We will also share our poor beleaguered production of Joseph. Which morphed from a full-on grand-scale production to a homemade megamix. Miss McGurk valiantly tried to continue rehearsals during lockdown and students were asked to voice record their sections with varying degrees of success. Miss McGurk has then endeavoured to mix the students voices and add them to our film of the megamix. The filming itself had more setbacks than 'Cleopatra' which was compromised by not being 'allowed' to be professionally done (although Mr Mac, Finbar and Rupert did a sensational job on phones and laptops). The weather was dreadful and meant we couldn't film for day after day because the filming had to take place outside and we had the wettest spring for 17 years. Then the front steps where much of the filming was to take place sprung a leak and had water pouring out of it for two weeks. To top it all off Miss McGurk had a baby whilst the film was in post-production. Still, we have managed to present you with the COVID affected (not infected) Joseph and His Technicoloured Dream Coat Mega Mix, congratulations to all involved.
Our Graduation Dinner and Year 6 Big Day out are both scheduled to go ahead and we can put all our energies (and money) into the Colour Fun Run.
So let's hang in there everyone,
Thank you for being brave when things get cancelled,
Stay safe
Francine
(PS. If you have already organised your child's requested costume for carols - that's absolutely fine, they can wear that on Christmas dress-up day - they don't HAVE to wear their carols designated costume but they can if that's convenient for everyone.)
We hope everyone enjoyed their delicious pizza from A25 last week. You are all doing a fantastic job raising money to support the purchase and installation of solar panels for our gigantic flat roof. So far we have raised $20,689.92! This puts us within reach of our next target of raising $23,589. Once we reach this target the whole school will enjoy a Movie, Milo and Oreo afternoon!
A big SHOUT OUT to our Top 10 Fundraisers in the school...
To make this event run as smoothly as possible we need lots of help from our fantastic Parents/Carers.
Please sign yourself up for a job on our online signup form - https://signup.zone/
On the Colour Run day…….
Time |
What’s Happening |
12:00pm |
BBQ lunch at school and lunchtime |
1:50pm |
Everyone over to the park ready to be coloured from head to toe! |
2:15pm |
Colour Run begins |
Colour, Run, Colour, Run, Colour, Run, Colour, Run, Colour, Run, Colour, Run, Colour, Run! |
|
2:45pm |
Colour Run finishes |
2:50pm |
Special events, fruit and icy poles |
3:00pm |
Everyone walks back to school coloured head to toe! |
We are now 'bubbling' the school. That means as far as possible P/1 stay in one area of the school, 2/3 in another and 4/5/6 in another. This is true also of the playground. Although my prefered methodology of play is 'free-range', ie. you play in whatever part of the school you feel like playing, at the moment we have made three distinct areas for the three groups to play. That way IF we have a positive COVID case hopefully it will only impact one-third of the school rather than the entire community. Thank you to the parents of years four five and six with their co-operation today.
Next Year's Classes and Orientation Morning
We will have an Orientation morning next Wednesday 8th December where students will meet their new teacher for next year. This is a very exciting morning for both the students and the teachers.
Date |
What it is |
What this means |
Friday 28th January |
School Uniform Shop Open |
The school will be open from 2.00pm – 4.00pm for you to come and buy any uniform requirements you may still need. |
Monday 31st January
|
Term 1 Commences School Begins |
Children are encouraged to come to school between 8.30am and 8.40am to socialise on the yard before going into their rooms with their teachers at 8.40am. |
Prep Champagne & Tissues 9.00am |
Prep parents are invited to morning coffee in the Art Room at 9.00am, immediately after drop-off. |
|
Wednesday 2nd February |
Rest day for Prep Students (Assessment) |
Each Wednesday in February, is an allocated rest day for Prep students. On one of these days your child will be scheduled for system wide assessments. |
Wednesday 2nd February |
Meet & Greet Parent Teacher Time |
These brief one to one meetings with your child’s teacher give parents the opportunity to tell the teacher their goals and hopes for their child for the year. They will be booked via the school booking system ‘Session Keeper’. |
Thursday 3rd February |
Meet & Greet Parent Teacher Time |
|
Wednesday 9th February |
Rest day for Prep Students (Assessment) |
Each Wednesday in February, is an allocated rest day for Prep students. On one of these days your child will be scheduled for system wide assessments. |
Friday 11th February |
Our Lady of Lourdes Feast Day Celebrations |
The school will celebrate OLOL Feast Day with a Liturgy in the Church. Leadership and election speeches and school elections. We will also be holding a tabloid sport event. More details at the start of Term 1. |
Welcome Disco |
The Parents and Friends (P&F) traditionally hold a welcome disco for the community. The Welcome Disco and BBQ will be held on Friday 11th February. The children always look forward to this event and it is a great way for our new families to get to know others in a social environment. Entry is free and food and drinks will be available for purchase on the evening. |
|
Sunday 13th February |
Beginning of the Year School Mass (Staff and Leaders Commitment Mass) |
There are four Masses a year that we ask the whole school to attend. At this Mass the teachers and leaders of the school commit themselves to the year ahead in the presence of God and the Parish. At this Mass the Student Captains and Leaders of the school are also announced. As with all our school Masses, this is followed by a morning tea in the Parish Hall hosted by a specific year level. |
Wednesday 16th February |
Rest day for Prep Students (Assessment) |
Each Wednesday in February, is an allocated rest day for Prep students. On one of these days your child will be scheduled for system wide assessments. |
Wednesday 23rd February |
Rest day for Prep Students (Assessment) |
Each Wednesday in February, is an allocated rest day for Prep students. On one of these days your child will be scheduled for system wide assessments. |
Prep Pedagogy Information Evening |
This evening is being held to support parents in their understanding of how their children learn and the methodologies we use to teach them. We will give parents the strategies and information to support their child’s learning at this all important stage of their development. As our initial information evening had to be held via zoom, we promised to hold this important aspect of the Prep year face-to-face as soon as we could. |
|
Friday 8th April |
End of Term 1 |
Each term ends at 1.00 pm. Children are to be picked up as per the usual routines at 1.00pm. Extend After School Hours Care is available from 1.00pm – 6.00pm. Please book if you require this service. |
Term 1 Monday 31 January – Friday 8 April
Term 2 Tuesday 26 April – Friday 24 June
Term 3 Monday 11 July – Friday 16 September
Term 4 Monday 3 October – Friday 16 December
Whole School Mass Dates for 2022
Eucharist Masses Saturday 4th June 6pm or Sunday 5th June 11:15am
Welcome Mass Sunday 27th November 11:15am