Dear Families,
This week is National Families Week and so I would like to quote Dr Brian Babington, Chief Executive Officer of Families Australia. He says that:
"Families are society's most important building block. Strong families equate to strong communities because they embody caring for others, connectedness with people, and providing hope, support and comfort."
I find this to be a really powerful statement, although defining what a 'strong' family is, could invoke some discussion. After reading this statement I then attended our Year 2 Green Assembly and heard some children share about their family. It was beautiful to hear what these children each had to say about their families. Xavier made the statement that his family "loves each other unconditionally" and clarified that no matter what happens, they still love each other. As a teacher it is special when you hear children share openly the values that, we as a school, and you as a family, want them to adopt and live out in life. This heartened me with hope for the future. Jesus tells us that we are loved unconditionally by God. Whatever our faith commitment might be, I am sure that we all need to be loved by our families and our friends. This week I invite you to set aside as much 'quality family time' as you can to further build that unconditional love.
While talking about families, I was really excited to hear this week that our Year 4/5 Teacher, Heather Docherty and her partner Shaun are expecting their first child in November. We wish you both every blessing at this special time and look forward to sharing this wonderful journey with you.
Last week we welcomed Mrs Kim Murphy to our school family. You will see Kim on our front desk from Wednesday to Friday of each week. We hope your time with us continues to be full of learning, friendship and fun.
Well done to our Year 3 and Year 5 children who undertook the NAPLAN tests over the past two weeks. While there was one technical hitch to begin with, we managed to get all of the tests done fairly smoothly. Thank you to Sarah Byrne for coordinating NAPLAN and our teachers who supported and supervised the students. Over the next two weeks all of our students will undertake the Classroom Pulse Check In survey to help us further understand and support student wellbeing.
Also this term we welcome our "Little Wonders", our new Reception children ready to commence in Term 3. As a part of our Transition Program they will have 5 morning visits to familiarise themselves with classroom and school routines. Given that there are 13 new students we will need to start a whole new class for them. We will house our Little Wonders in the room adjacent to the Beehive. We look forward to them joining us.
Please remember that we do have a number of students with severe allergies in our school. Of most concern is the number of children who bring food containing nuts to school. I ask that you please check food items (such as muesli bars) that your children bring to school and don't send them if they contain traces of nuts.
Parents are once again welcome to venture into the yard in the mornings and afternoons. They are also welcome to volunteer in classrooms. However things could change at any time. We will continue to follow the advice of the Chief Medical Officer in SA. You do not need to 'Covid Check In' if you come into the yard but YOU MUST CHECK IN using the MySA Gov app if you enter the front office or any building on the school site. You must also do the normal school check in at the front desk.
From Wednesday to Friday in the first week of June I will be attending the annual SA Catholic Primary Principal's Conference. Rita Campbell will be in charge of the school in my absence.
Kind regards
Peter Mercer
Principal