Dear Parents, Guardians and Caregivers

We were very grateful to be able to have our Parent Teacher and PSG meetings last week with many parents opting for face to face interviews. The interviews were extremely well attended- thanks to all the parents! The teaching staff were very keen to meet/talk with you and share information about your child/ren so we are better placed to support each child in their learning.  Thanks also, to all the parents for cooperating with the COVID restrictions and guidelines and to all the staff who helped things run smoothly, particularly Tracy Allan.

We celebrated ‘Ash Wednesday’ Mass last Wednesday (after it was cancelled the week before) with the Grades 3-6s and Father Darren distributed the ashes to the 1/2 students in their classrooms. Thanks to Father Darren and Belinda O’Brien (our Religious Education Leader) for organising this.

At yesterday’s assembly the Student Representative Council members for 2021 were presented with their badges. Mr Travis Newton coordinates this group which will meet regularly to give students a voice, strengthen student-teacher relationships and help drive initiatives across the school. This year the SRC will focus on sustainability. Mr Newton noted that there were over 80 applications for this group which were of a very high standard. We are thrilled that the students have expressed this enthusiasm and congratulate them all for having a go.    

We welcome Ms Janelle Croatto to our staff. Janelle has been employed through the Tutor Learning Initiative, initiated by the Victorian government to support students whose learning has been disrupted as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Janelle will work with selected students, this term on reading, to help accelerate their progress after the impact of COVID 19 and Remote Learning. Janelle will join our team of classroom teachers, support teachers and Education Support Officers in targeting the needs of students and providing appropriate support for their learning.

This week we have a school closure day on Friday when the staff will be participating in a professional development day with a focus on Writing. We have been using the Big Write approach for a few years now and it is time to refresh and deepen our knowledge around how to engage and motivate students to write and help them identify and achieve their own writing goals. We have quite a few new staff members so these precious days spent together as a staff help us to build a cohesive, whole school approach and consistent understanding.

I hope you all enjoy the long weekend!

Joanne Coldebella

Acting Principal