Dear Parents and Carers

I hope you have had a joyous Easter break and are feeling refreshed and ready for Term 2. Over the break we celebrated Easter Sunday. Our Catholic faith celebrates the Good news of the Resurrection of Jesus. Fr Darien’s homily on Easter Sunday spoke of the tomb being empty and the disciple seeing and believing, with this faith in the resurrection  giving us hope as Christians. Fr Darien also referred to the story of the “The little Prince” which has a strong message of what is essential is invisible to the eye.

Greg Sunter reflects, ‘we can identify with this disciple who recognised with what he saw in the empty tomb as he did not need to see the risen Lord to believe. For us today, we also are not in a position to physically encounter the risen Christ but we are capable of seeing the signs of his resurrection and continuing presence in the world and choose to believe.’ One of our Year 2 students in role playing the Easter Sunday story said so beautifully “The rock cracks open and out comes God.”  

This faith in turn inspires us to bring the reality of the light from the tomb to bring hope and joy to others.

Easter Raffle winners: Congratulations to our lucky raffle winners and many thanks to the PFA who raised $2237 which will go towards Caritas. Many thanks to the PFA and all families who donated to this wonderful fundraising event.

Project Compassion: Many thanks for the  $609.85 raised for  Project Compassion over the Lenten period. This money will go towards supporting those in need for now and future generations.

Principal for the Day: Many thanks to our superb Principal for the day Indi Keenan. Indi achieved quite a bit throughout the day including supporting two Prep enrolment interviews, morning tea with the staff, cooking sausages for her class, handing out gotcha awards, preparing for the Easter raffle presentation and delivering her principal message so confidently.

Staff / Student netball game: The Year 6 students and teachers enjoyed a friendly game of netball during lunch time on the last day of term. Here are some fun photos showing the joy and fun this event brought to both students and staff. 

ANZAC Day March: A reminder that Thursday 25 April is ANZAC Day and all students interested are invited to march representing the school. Please meet at the Coles main street entrance by 9.30am for a  9.45am start to the march. Full summer uniform.

Student Free Day Friday 26 April: This student free day for staff professional learning will be  facilitated by Sarah Morgante from One Red Apple with a Student Wellbeing focus on ‘connecting teachers back to the art, enjoyment, creativity and flow of teaching, whilst using evidenced-based approaches to build practice and facilitate student engagement in learning, wellbeing and positive behaviour.’

Attendance: As we embark on Term 2, it is a good time to remind you of the  importance of your child/ren attending school regularly. This website may be helpful to understand the importance of regular attendance and how “every day counts.” Research shows, poor attendance levels in Primary school lead to school refusal in later years. Please feel free to access this site for more information and make contact with me if you are requiring any support. Attendance and missing school. A copy of our attendance policy can also be found on the website.

Disaster related coverage: We hold in our hearts and prayers all who are experiencing loss and disbelief in the face of the recent  shocking tragedy over the weekend. MACS have shared this helpful resource if your child is needing support. It may provide guidance for you on helping children cope with the impact of disaster-related news coverage.  Trauma and Grief Network website.

Hats and uniform: A reminder as part of our SunSmart Policy and advice from the Cancer Council, hats are still to be worn until the end of April and other days where the UV rays are at or above Level 3 . For the first two weeks you can transition from summer to winter uniform.

As we embark on Term 2, may today’s prayer bring comfort and inspiration as together we begin this new term.

Kerryn