CELEBRATIONS OF LEARNING

Footy Day

On the last day of Term 3 for students - Thursday 14 September we will celebrate our Footy Day.  Students are encouraged to wear their favourite footy/sport colours - YELLOW and BLACK!  A big thank you to Mr Tim for his organisation of a very special day of activities - kick off will begin in the Allen Hall at 9.00 am for the Footy Day assembly.  Thank you also to the parents who have volunteered to assist with the cooking of sausages for the sausage sizzle lunch - it is going to be a great way to finish off the term - GO TIGERS!.

Year 6 Camp

Congratulations to our Year 6 students on their successful camp at The Ranch last week. Our Year 6s were very excited to share their camp experiences with the giant swing and climbing wall as their favourite activities. A very big thank you to our staff Marg Vlajankov, Sally Lane, Breanna Cahill, Clint Timothy, Kelly Oldfield and Tylah Meunier for their planning, preparation and organisation of a very successful camp.  Student camp experiences are shared below in the newsletter.

Athletics Day

Yesterday selected students in the Middle and Senior level attended Athletics at Casey Fields.  Mr Tim has a report of the day and our congratulations to all our students on a very successful meet.  More information and photos included in the newsletter.

Celebrating Child Safety Week

This week we have been celebrating Child Safety Week where we continue to embrace the message “Every child, in every community, needs a fair go.”  This year the focus is on children feeling safe and supported so they can thrive and grow up being connected to, and supported in, their family, school community and culture.  A special mention and note of thanks to Lize Privitera - our Child Safety Champion for her work and commitment to ensuring our students understand how to identify body clues and to take actions to keep themselves safe.  

Students also participated in Australia’s Biggest Safety Lesson produced by the Daniel Morcombe Foundation.  The message this year focused on consent - “my body, my choice”.  Thank you to parents who joined in with the class viewing of these live streamed events.

Student winners of the Child Safety Bookmark student competition were announced at assembly today - congratulations to these students on their creativity and talent.  Please see further information in the Deputy Principal section of the newsletter.

Term 3 Student Learning Portfolios

Term 3 Student Learning Portfolios will be sent home next week 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.

Next week, I will be on Long Service Leave.  Mrs Privitera will be Acting Principal in my absence.  A note of gratitude to Mary MacKillop staff for their tireless efforts to ensure our students are offered many and varied engaging learning experiences and opportunities throughout the term.  We hope our students, staff and families have a relaxing holiday break, ready to start another exciting term.  Term 4 begins on Monday 2 October.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

EMP - Drill SIP (Shelter in Place)

Each term we are required to practice EMP Drills to ensure student, staff and community safety.  Today we practiced the SIP Drill.  Our SIP is located in the Allen Hall.  This venue is chosen as a SIP as it has all the amenities (water access, kitchen and toilet facilities) for our school community to shelter inside in the event of an emergency situation.  As per our usual practice, students are prepared for EMP Drills with a Social Story explaining why these drills are necessary as well as what to do during an emergency.  Classes are encouraged to provide information on ‘what worked well’ and ‘even better if’ feedback after the drill so that we are continually revising and refining our processes. 

Public Health and Safety Notice

Unfortunately we have had some cases of foot/mouth, influenza A and gastro at school. In these instances we follow the Department of Health Exclusion Guidelines - https://www.health.vic.gov.au/infectious-diseases/school-exclusion-table and take every step to notify parents to minimise spread.  We continue to follow COVID-19 Safety measures as well as nightly cleaning in students’ learning spaces.  Unfortunately, in some of the reported cases, students have become infected from their siblings attending childcare.  If your child presents with any of the above infections, please ensure you keep your child home to minimise spread.  The Victorian Govenrment Health Website 'Better Health' has excellent information for families.  See link: https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/a-z

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.

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.

Dates and School Events