Dear Parents and Guardians,

Welcome back to Term 3! We are thrilled to see everyone back and already immersed in the excitement of the new term. The first two weeks have been incredibly busy and joyful, with Grandparents Day, 100 Days of Kinder, and Aspire setting a fantastic tone for what lies ahead.

Grandparents Day

Our Grandparents Day was a resounding success with a magnificent turnout of parents and grandparents. We began the day with a beautiful morning liturgy in the church where we sang, prayed, and reflected on the special stars that our grandparents are to us. This was followed by visits to the classrooms, where grandparents had a wonderful time engaging in games and conversations with the children. The morning concluded with treats, tea, and coffee in the library, where our guests had great things to say about their experience.

The strong and warm community feel was palpable. We extend our heartfelt thanks to all the guests who travelled long distances or made early starts to join us, and to our staff and students for their efforts in creating such a memorable morning. Grandparents and those who take on this role have a special place in our hearts, and we are fortunate to have them in our lives and family memories.

100 Days of Kinder

Tuesday was a delightful day, as we celebrated 100 Days of Kindergarten. Surrounded by a very aging population on Tuesday was a very unusual situation to be in, when most days we are surrounded by the opposite. Our Kinder children are gorgeous at the best of times but when they are dressed as 100-year-olds they become even more so. Their adorable outfits brought smiles and laughter to everyone.

The children engaged in a series of fun and educational activities to mark this special milestone. They created self-portraits, made crowns adorned with 100 items, and received heart-warming, yet hilarious cards from their buddies featuring ‘aged’ photos (with thanks to a fun app) of how they might look in the future. It was a day full of creativity, reflection, and joy as they looked back on how much they have learned this year.

This day is a favourite for many, including myself and Remi, as we get to share in the excitement and fun with the Kinders and their teachers. Celebrating 100 days at school is a significant achievement, and we are so proud of our Kinder students for their hard work and enthusiasm.

ASPIRE

Our Stage 3 students were fortunate enough to attend this year’s ASPIRE performance at the Civic Theatre on Wednesday. High praise was given to our students from the staff who accompanied them, for they were a highly respectful, mature audience. We are thrilled to lay claim to two of the very talented performers, Ava K and Otis C, and believe they were stupendous in their roles!  We are so proud of them for giving this a go, putting in the effort and commitment to learn lines and attend rehearsals and for taking charge of their minds and having a positive mindset about trying something new and a little nerve racking. Congratulations Ava and Otis!

This year’s production, ‘Disconnected’ follows the people of the small town of Singlebrook where the mayor has decided they no longer need a town crier! Daniel is outraged when Quentin Wordsworth is fired as the town crier, but nobody seems to care. All they want to do is stare at their phone screens … until the internet is mysteriously cut off! The audience then experiences the chaos that ensues as a town goes offline, and its young people bring back the art of town crying! 

Upcoming Events

As we continue through Term 3, we have many more exciting events lined up:

- Gala Days: Enabling the students to experience sports that they are not necessarily overly familiar with along with connecting with students across our region.

- School Musical: A spectacular performance that will highlight our students' acting, movement and singing abilities. Practices are well on the way across all grades.

- Excursions and Incursions: Educational trips and in-school activities that promise to be both informative and fun.

- Anti-Bullying Week and Child Protection Week: Important weeks dedicated to fostering a safe and supportive environment for all students.

- Winter Appeal: Our initiative to help those in need during the colder months, which our school social justice team is organising.

- Book Week: Celebrating the joy of reading with various themed activities. This year’s book week theme is: Reading is magical!  Start planning those Book Parade costumes now.

- Father’s Day Celebrations: Honouring and appreciating our dads with a special morning dedicated to them.

- Spring Ball: For the parents to meet, mix and mingle and have a terrific time in each others’ company whilst raising some funds for the school.

Sad News

We regret to inform you of the unexpected passing of Ms McCalden's mother, Maria, earlier this week. Fiona was incredibly close to her mother, and we ask that you keep her mother, Maria, in your thoughts and prayers during this difficult time, as well as Fiona and her family. Vale, Maria.

Safety Notice

A safety reminder: Lisa, our school crossing supervisor, has reported a few near misses when parents pull out on Farquhar St after dropping off or picking up their children. Please be vigilant both in the mornings and afternoons to ensure the safety of our students and Lisa.

Money

We understand that on occasions you may not have small notes or coins when you go to give your children some canteen money.  In order to have enough change in the canteen and to not be alarmed as to where big notes have come from, we ask that if you do give your children $20 or $50 notes to buy something, that you give a quick call or send a brief email to the office informing us of this. 

We wish all our families a restful and hopefully dry weekend. Thank you for your continued support and involvement in our school community. Let’s make this term a memorable one!

Warm regards,

Karen