Term 3 Week 10

It has felt as if the end of this term has come upon us too fast! There have been quite a few events and activities that have taken place in the past few weeks and this has kept all so busy.  I know that the students have been showing signs of needing a break lately,  as well as staff I’m sure! 

Hot on the heels of our modified ‘Sport’s Day’ at school, some of our students participated in the Divisional 

Athletics sport’s day. Mrs Tadic took a team of students to participate at this event. Thank you to parents who also went along to support their children. It is quite an achievement for the students to even reach this next level of competition. Well done! 

The prep students also came along to school in their pyjamas. Yes, it was the annual Prep Breakfast at 7.30am, with many staff coming along to support (or be a waiter!) the students. The students were very excited about this event and I’m sure there were many up before the sun rose!  They were very well behaved and keen to do their own dishes, which may be a good thing to continue at home! The morning also included a bit of dancing and then packing up to get ready for their day of learning. 

Not only did we have the 2023 preps onsite, we also had the 2024 preps come along to their first orientation session onsite last week. We look forward to more of their visits in term 4 as they develop their self- confidence by attending these sessions. 

The Father’s Day breakfast was a huge success! Thank you to the Parent’s Auxiliary who organised this event, as well as Big Childcare who provided the very popular coffee van! This got many of the staff and parent helpers through the busy day ahead of them. It was lovely chatting to the dad’s, grandads or special friends who came along early to celebrate with their family. Some had to even get up a bit earlier to travel a distance to attend the morning. I know this meant a lot to their children or grandchildren. These are some images of the day………..

 

That same day we held our modified Sports Day. How lucky were we that the weather held! It really was a wonderful day, and it was evident that the students in their house colours thoroughly enjoyed it. There was such a great atmosphere and the parent helpers were kept on their toes racing teams from one event to another! The staff all agreed it was a resounding success and that it was so nice to have the time to just be with the students in a fun way. We may all have become momentarily deaf with the house captains chanting along with their teams, however it was all a part of the fun! Well done to the blue team Chisolm who won the event overall.  

We said goodbye to our tutor teacher Mrs Anne McGowan on Wednesday. Anne has been working with many of our students over the past two terms. The tutoring program officially ends this week. We really do thank Anne for her commitment to the students she has been giving extra support to. They have loved their time with her. 

There were two online forums over the past two weeks. 

The first was the ‘Puberty Night’ that the senior students were invited to attend. This was about providing opportunities for parents to discuss the information with their child about the emotional and physical changes of this time in their lives. Thank you to Jodie Velardo who organised this forum, and to staff for attending as well. It was a footy final night, so it was nice to still see some many parents accept the invitation!  

The second forum was a Camp Information session for the 3/4 parents. Anne Durham visited the site of the 3/4 Mt Evelyn camp to provide images and information for parents. The night was attended by all staff involved to ensure that questions from parents were answered and reassurance given about the processes in place when we take children on camp. Thank you to everyone who attended. 

The class teachers and staff leaders had all been allocated a day to plan together for term 4 over the past two weeks. These days are so important for staff to be able to plan the curriculum together in their class levels.

The prep team has had to reschedule this day to term 4 due to a shortage of replacement staff. We have been very fortunate as a school to have had very few occasions when we have been impacted by the lack of replacement teachers. We do have a trusty band of decided replacement staff whom we value greatly. However even this list of staff wasn’t sufficient on this occasion. Prep staff have rescheduled their planning day to Wednesday 4 October. 

 

We are finally moving!

Yes it is official- the prep and 1/2 classes will move into their newly refurbished classrooms on day 1 of term 4! 

The final 2 days of this term will involve stacking tables and chairs ready for this transition in the holiday period. Staff are volunteering their time to organise their classrooms and  have them ready to welcome their students on day one of the term. I would like to take this opportunity to really thank the staff for this personal time, but more importantly for the flexibility and resilience that they have demonstrated over this long building period. Thank you to parents also who have shown understanding about the makeshift classrooms that we have had to use for your children. But it has been worth it! I’m sure we will have some sort of unveiling soon for the families.  

 

Footy Friday!

Last day of term is always a casual clothes day. This term we are asking children to come along in their favourite footy colours. I’m not sure there will be too many of my club North Melbourne, but I live in hope! 

 

Remember that TERM 3 ENDS AT 1PM FRIDAY 15 SEPTEMBER 

 

Finally, thank you to everyone who makes up our St Augustine’s school community. It has been a productive term in many ways. 

We look forward to our leader Cathy Steere joining us again after her trip to Israel. 

 

Trish