As we approach the end of Term 2, I would like to pass on my thanks to you for your ongoing support of our school. The students' overall wellbeing and growth in faith and learning is positively impacted when they know their parents and teachers are working together. I trust that the recent academic report and parent/teacher interviews have provided you with the opportunity to celebrate your child's progress, and to find out ways in which we can all support their targeted areas of improvement.

I pray that the upcoming two-week break for the children provides them with an opportunity to enjoy some time to engage in activities that they may not get the time to do during the school term. You can be rest assured that children are kept very busy at school and, as the term progresses, it is noticeable that their 'batteries need replenishing.' I hope that you get some time during the student break to enjoy some time away from the normal routines of work and family life.

Walking in Peace and Joy

This year we have been focussing on supporting our students to become more familiar with our Vision and Mission statement. The statement (as it appears at the beginning of this Newsletter) is quite long and written more for adults. Therefore, we are concentrating on our school motto: Walk in Peace and Joy. To assist this, we have recently engaged the services of a ExploreDiscoverAct, an educational company that ran a series of "I'm Choosing Kind" programs for the students. These sessions were extremely interactive and engaging, and focussed on helping the students recognise their own strengths and the strengths of others, and to help them see that they can achieve more together.

We have become more intentional in the use of our school motto with the children at our Monday morning assembly, Friday assemblies and in the classrooms. When actively lived, our motto can assist in ensuring our school community, guided by the example of Jesus, enables every child to feel connected, known, respected and loved. 

A great example of the children becoming more familiar with our motto came from the recent Netball Gala Day when one of our teams, after having another school not shake their hands at the end of a game, said "That's ok, we will continue to walk in peace and joy." 

Netball Gala Day

Last Friday many of our students across Year 3-Year 6 participated in a diocesan Netball Gala Day. It came as no surprise to hear how respectful and positive our students were throughout the day. I would like to pass on our thanks to the parents who volunteered to coach a team, which meant we could have such a high number of teams competing. I am grateful to Mrs Walker for coordinating our school's teams, and a special thanks goes to Mrs New who coordinated the whole day for the diocese - a big effort!

NAIDOC Week  

The celebration of NAIDOC Week 2024 is from 7-14 July 2024 and is an opportunity for all Australians to come together to celebrate and recognise the contributions and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. 

This year’s NAIDOC Week theme of Keep the Fire Burning: Blak, Loud and Proud points us to the important opportunity to reflect on the strength of First Nations’ leadership and ways we can all be involved in keeping the fire burning for justice, truth and hope.

During NAIDOC, we remember the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples of our country and celebrate their rich cultures and inspiring contributions to Australia.

Early next term our school will acknowledge NAIDOC with a liturgy on Tuesday 23 July at 8.45am.

God bless,