Greetings from Japan - message from Sensei Stapledon

Konnichiwa from Japan. I was very lucky and flew to Sapporo airport on the Pokémon Plane!  My town is just outside of Sapporo city. There are many farms, rice paddies and fields filled with sunflowers.  It is summer holidays in Japan. Even in the school holidays,  Japanese students go to school. They practice music, play sports, study and help clean the school. The local high school cooking club made a special school lunch to welcome me to the area. Teachers and students eat lunch together every day!

I am living in a traditional Japanese house. I sleep on a futon bed which I fold and pop into a closet every morning. This turns the room into my living area. I am looking forward to sharing my Japanese adventures with you.

Sayonara, mata ne!  Sensei Stapledon

Welcome to new Staff

We warmly welcome Mr Daniel Egan and Mrs Fiona Oravec to our staff.  Daniel will be in 3-RJ while Mrs Reinette Joachim-Zamudio begins her maternity leave at the start of Term 4.  Mrs Fiona Oravec will be taking Japanese for the remainder of the school year while Sensei Stapledon is in Japan working for the Japanese Board of Education.  We look forward to welcoming Daniel and Fiona to our school community.

CELEBRATIONS OF LEARNING

Book Week Celebrations - Reminder

We will celebrate our Book Week Dress up day tomorrow and invite students to ‘dress up’ in their favourite book character.  Students will parade their Book Week fashions at assembly at 9.00am in the Allen Hall.  We look forward to sharing this exciting morning with parents and family members.  Parents are also invited to dress up in their favourite Book Week character and to join in the parade in Assembly - looking forward to seeing you there!

Write a Book in a Day Competition

Today, the following Year 6 students participated in our annual Write a Book in a Day Competition - Aria, Rahul, James, Katelyn, Ethan, Annabelle, Abigail, Taylor, David and Daria.  Students get to compete in a timed competition that requires them to complete a book with illustrations in one day (before 8.00 pm).  Last year our students won the best illustrator award!! On our path of continuous improvement, we are very much looking forward to unleashing this Years 6 student’s creativity, innovative thinking, writing and artistic skills.  We look forward to sharing this year’s story with the wider community over the coming weeks.

Sport Equipment - Stocks in Classrooms

All sports equipment has now been resorted and labelled and distributed to classrooms today by our school leaders.  A big thank you to Mr Tim for organising the replenishment of sports equipment.  We strongly encourage our students to look after the equipment and/or to see Mr Tim if they have a particular interest in a sport or activity.

Year 6 Camp

Year 6 students will attend camp Wednesday 30 August to Friday 1 September next week.  A very big thank you to our Senior Teachers on their planning, preparation and organisation of these camps.  To ensure student and staff safety, we ask students to undertake a RAT test on the morning of camp before leaving home to ensure they are clear to attend.  Thank you for working in partnership with us to ensure enriching camp experiences for our Year 6 students.

Term 3 Student Learning Portfolios

Term 3 Student Learning Portfolios will be sent home on Wednesday 13 September. The Term 3 Student Learning Portfolios includes the Parent Feedback sheet.  We respectfully ask parents to take the time to complete the Feedback sheet with their child after going through the portfolio samples of student learning. We are very proud of our students efforts to document their learning journey and hope families take up this opportunity to acknowledge their child’s efforts.  Term 3 Student Learning Portfolios are due back at the beginning of Term 4.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

Term 3 PSG Meetings

Due to staffing availability, the Term 3 PSG Meetings will be rescheduled to early Term 4.   More information will be sent to families concerned.  The Term 3 PLP/SAEP documentation will be reviewed and included in the Students’ Learning Portfolio for Parents to view and discussed in the Term 4 PSG meetings.

Father’s Day Stall - Tuesday 29 August - all gifts $5.00     and      Father’s Day Breakfast - Wednesday 30 August

Our school community will celebrate our Father’s Day Breakfast on Wednesday 30 August.  Thank you to all those families who completed their RSVP on CDFpay.  Those families who responded will be sent a 'Breakfast Certificate' with the eldest child on Monday.  Please present the certificate to staff at the Father's Day Breakfast.

The timetable for the morning of the breakfast is as follows on Wednesday 30 August:

• Father’s Day Breakfast - serving bacon and egg rolls from 8.00 am - 8.45 am (please note new starting time)
• Time in classrooms with your child - prayer, Father’s Day activity from 8.45 am - 9.15 am
• Father’s Day Special Assembly - in the Allen Hall from (including Father’s Day School Community Raffle) 9.15 am - 10.00 am approximately 

We look forward to celebrating this very special time with our dads.

Year 6 students will leave for camp - The Ranch, Cape Schanck at approximately 10.30 am on the morning of Wednesday 30 August.

Footy Day - Thursday 14 September (last day of term)

Please see the attached flyer, with all the details, which has been sent home to all families via PAM today.

Planning for 2024 School Year

2024 Class Placements

Teachers will begin planning for our 2024 classes at the end of Term 3.  We respect and value parent input and ask that you email me – ejones@marymacnarre.catholic.edu.au, or put in writing and leave at the Administration Office, if you have information about your child that could impact on their placement for 2024.  Please ensure your request is received by TOMORROW Friday 25 August, 2023.  

Parents please be mindful of the following:

• Staff use their professional judgement and a range of information when placing students into classes.  This information includes student learning progress, learning strengths, learning needs, NCCD Data, gender balance within classes and across the level to provide an optimal learning environment for ALL students. 
• Parent requests are forwarded onto staff when placing students into their 2024 classes. Please note, the 2023 class teacher places students from their 2023 grade into the 2024 class groupings.
• Please be aware that your letters of request are not a guarantee of your child’s placement. 
• Please note that requests made in previous years are not necessarily considered in the process.  Historical information provided by parents regarding their child’s placement will need to be re-submitted if the concerns expressed in previous years are still relevant for consideration in 2024.

Requests received after the cut off date of Friday 25 August are very difficult to take into consideration.  We ask parents to be mindful of our teachers’ preparation and time that goes into student/class placements which is not an easy task taking into account all the areas mentioned above.

Welcome Interviews - 2024 Foundation students

Over the coming week we continue to welcome our 2024 Foundation students in their welcome interviews.  It is a highlight of our school year to be able to welcome our newest students to our school and to begin their process of transition to primary school.  It is also a privileged opportunity to meet with new and existing families and to share their hopes and dreams for their child and  the many exciting learning experiences on offer in our school community.  Thank you to Marita Glass, Sally Lane, Gabby Di Biase and Laura Fonti for their organisation and planning of the welcome interviews and transition packs.

School Advisory Committee [SAC] Meeting - Annual General Meeting - Tuesday 17 October, 2023 at 7.00 pm

The Annual General Meeting of the SAC will be held on Tuesday 17 October - 7.00 pm in the Staffroom.  Nomination forms for parent representative positions on the School Advisory Committee 2023-2024 are available from the Administration Office.  Alternatively you can request a nomination from via email frontdesk@marymacnarre.catholic.edu.au.

The responsibilities of the SAC are to:

• promote the Catholic ethos of the school
• provide feedback on and review of school policies
• plan for the future of the school and its ability to accommodate future enrolments
• provide advice on budget planning and finance-related matters
• contribute to the selection process for the school principal (when the position is advertised)
• provide advice on the appropriate provision of faith development and Religious Education programs
• promote child safety in the school

Our current 2022-2023 School Advisory Committee comprises of the following members:

• Chairperson - Liz Jones
• Parish Priest - Fr. Brendan Hogan
• Parent Representative - Danielle Davis (Secretary)
• Parent Representative - Julie Gubbels
• Parent Representative - Stephanie Miller
• Parent Representative - Marina Valladares
• Staff Representative - Helen Fourna
• Staff/Parish Representative - Lize Privitera

Please don’t hesitate to email or make contact with the office OR a member of the School Advisory Committee if you have any questions.