Dear Parents and Carers,

Thank you so much for the condolences and support you have given me after the announcement of my brother’s sudden death. I appreciate every kind word and offering of prayer.

On a brighter note we are able to run our “Little Learners” program for next year’s Foundation group which starts on the 30^th October. The children coming into our school will be dropped off with a staggered entry and will sign in from the open-air foyer in front of the fish bowl. Their activities will be facilitated in the Library and the children will have the opportunity to play outside and engage in interesting and fun activities in literacy and mathematics. I am currently contacting all 2021 Foundation parents and inviting them to bring their student for a tour of our school during after school hours, this week and next week so that they have had a recent experience in the educational space.

I have spoken with next year’s school leaders in Grade 5. Next year we have a small group who have discussed with me their ideas around how the leadership platforms could work. For 2021 the whole school from Grades 5 to Foundation will have the opportunity to vote for school captains. The children discussed with me their thoughts on having a merit-based vote. This means all the children and the teachers will be able to choose the best two candidates on their merit, not gender. We may have two captains that are boys, two captains that are girls, and/or one of each. The children felt that this system would be fairer, and would focus on the skills and qualities when being chosen. At this stage every Grade 5 students wants to write a speech and put themselves forward to be a captain. I am so incredibly proud of the children at our school and have found the intimate learning environment has great opportunities for student leadership, which they enthusiastically embrace.

This years the Grade 5 students also agreed to share the roles of sport captains with the students who will be in Grade 5 next year. This will mean that the Grade 4 students will have an opportunity to put themselves forward in the leadership space. The Grade 5 students stated that they will together manage the duties of the Social Justice Team, and the Sustainability Warriors. They will work together with the Senior school to meet our obligations for Catholic Social Justice Issues, and our commitment in looking after our planet, and embracing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture in our area. 

Today, the Social Justice Team worked with the support of the whole school to create some activities for raising money for Catholic Missions. The creation of soccer balls from rags was inspiring and connected our work in sustainability with social justice. Thank you Social Justice Team.

Our school officially opens at 8:30am and finishes at 3:00pm. We are having quite a few children either arriving early and are often late to be picked up. We understand that sometimes families have reasons for being early and not able to at pick up on time, (we all have things happen). However, we ask you to let us know in advance if you have an extra need in this space as the teachers have meetings and preparation commitments at these times.

Yours in Partnership,
Anne-Marie Robb
Principal