Term 2 Week 2
Welcome back to term 2. The extra long break has been appreciated as it has given us all time to re energise and be together as families.
During the holidays we celebrated Easter. This past Sunday we heard from Luke’s Gospel as Jesus appeared to two of His disciples as they walked to the city of Emmaus. At first they did not recognise Him but eventually discover that this stranger was Jesus. The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is the foundation of our hope – the hope that we, too, who believe in him will see the living God face to face and share in his everlasting glory and joy. Luke’s Gospel reminds us to look for Jesus in our lives and to share the story with others.
On our last day of term 1, the year 3/4 children presented the Easter story to the whole school through the stations of the cross. It was a poignant and thought provoking moment as we came together as a catholic school to reflect on an important event in our liturgical year. We thank the children for their preparation and presentation. Thank you also to the Parents Auxiliary for organising the Easter raffle. There were many excited children as their names were called out to receive a basket of goodies. The Parents Auxiliary have organised a cookie dough fundraiser for term. Fliers have gone home. More detail can be found on the ‘Parent’s Page’ of this newsletter.
Our MOSA group have booked in a day at Gisborne Peak Winery on Saturday May 20 for all dads and partners for their next event. These events have proved a great opportunity to get to know more families from the St Augustine’s community. Head to the ‘Parent’s Page’ for more information.
The MOSA group is also organising a Mothers Day breakfast at school on the morning of Friday 12th May, starting at 7.30am. There will be a coffee van providing a coffee for all our mums and a muffin or pastry to eat with your hot drink. Mums, come along and start your day as we show you our appreciation for all you do. Hope to see you sometime that morning.
The Parents Auxiliary will be holding the Mothers Day stall on Thursday 11th May. Please ensure that money provided for purchasing at the stall is secured in a purse or zip lock bag. Items are approximately $5 each.
As we move into cooler weather in term two the children start to wear their winter uniforms. The first two weeks of term two are given as two weeks grace as we transition into winter uniform. It is expected that all children will be in their winter uniform by week 3, next week.
This week we farewell Chris James as he retires from teaching and looks for new opportunities and adventures. Chris has been with us for twelve years and has been instrumental in implementing and facilitation our STEM and digital technologies programs. He has worked with all of your children over the years and instilled a love of robotics, animation, recording, digital presentations, and all things to do with technology. He has been the ‘go-to’ person with out technology needs and will be greatly missed. We wish him well in his next endeavours and look forward to hearing about his next journey. We welcome Mrs Lisa Matina who will be teaching in the Digital Technologies role.
As I write this newsletter the Year 5/6 children are at camp in Mt Eliza. The children have been having a fabulous time as they participate in activities such as the high ropes challenge and beach activities. I am sure they will come home with memorable stories to tell! A reminder that the pick up area will be reserved for the buses on Friday afternoon. I advise you to park in side streets and to be patient with less pick up area for cars to stop.
This week we hear from the St Augustine sustainability leader, Anne Durham. Be sure to read the sustainabilkty news on the ‘Learning Matters’ section of this newsletter. Start recycling bread bags and a call for any old unwanted chess sets.
A message and update from Big Child Care, our before and after school care providers:
Big Childcare have been fortunate to partner with St Augustine’s for many years now and truly appreciate the support we have been shown, as also the many relationships we have built with the school community. In recent months we have received feedback regarding changes in staffing and programming and have been working with the school to address some issues which have been raised. We would like to assure you that from your feedback, changes have been made to show our commitment to families needing care.
We are pleased to formally advise that Simone Arandez will be the OSHC Coordinator at St Augustine’s from Term 2, 2023. Simone started with Big Childcare in July 2021 and has most recently worked under Shannon Murphy (former Coordinator at your school) at Deanside PS. Simone is currently undertaking her fourth year of a Bachelor of Education. She is excited about creating a program which students enjoy attending whilst ensuring families have someone who they can trust to look after their children.
Simone is new to the coordinator role and will be trained and supported by Adam Mizzi. Adam previously worked at Sydenham Hillside for over ten years and is well known for his warm disposition, and ability to create engaging experiences for children. Adam will work with Simone from Week 3 onwards. Bella Audino will also be supporting Simone in an educator role. We hope that these familiar faces will be reassuring for your families, as we work towards building a consistent team. We would like to thank you for your support and if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Rebecca Evans, Regional Manager via rebecca@bigchildcare.com
Cathy Steere
