Newsletter 18th May 2022
Upcoming Dates
Swimming 16th, 23 rd, 30th May & 6th June
NAPLAN over two weeks 10th - 20th May
Playgroup @ 10.00 am 17th May - 21st June
Ceres @ Brunswick School Excursion 19th May bus leaves at 7.30 am
Catholic Education Week 23rd May - 27th May
St Brendan's open day 24th May 9.00 am - 1.30 pm
School Advisory Council Meeting 31st May 7:00pm
School Closure Staff PD Reading Essential Learnings 1st June
Year 5 visit to St Patrick's College and Loreto College 9.00 - 1.30 6th June
Queens birthday public holiday 13th June
Excursion to the National Gallery Victoria 15th June
Visit to public library 20th June
Last day of Term 2 2.30 finish 24th June
Principal's News
It is difficult to believe that we are already at the half way mark for this term, which is a nine week term. Despite COVID, the first four and a half weeks have progressed smoothly with almost 100% attendance by students. This has allowed our teachers to get on with consistent teaching without too many disruptions.
This week’s newsletter is a bit shorter than normal as much of the information for the week was sent via an email on Sunday afternoon so that parents could prepare for the week ahead.
Enjoy the week ahead,
Inez
COVID Guidelines
It is very important to let the school know if your child is a household contact. They can still attend school however, children above 8 years will need to wear a mask at school and test daily for 5 days. This is part of the Government guidelines. If your child tests positive, then they will need to isolate for 7 days and as always, if your child is unwell they should remain home until they are feeling better, even if their RAT is negative. Please contact the school if you require more tests.
This Week
As you are all aware, there is a lot going on this week and I sent an email to everyone on Sunday to give you the heads up for each day. By the time you receive tis newsletter we be well into the week with the majority of events having taken place. A reminder that the excursion to Melbourne tomorrow is a very early start – 7.30am for St. Brendan’s children and 7.45am for St. Mary’s. It is very important that you ring me early if your child is going to be away that day as we need to leave on time. Pick-up time will be at normal time for each school.
Winter Uniforms
All of our children should now be in their winter uniforms. We have noticed that a number of children are not wearing jumpers and are complaining of being cold. While we recognise that some children are warm inside, the children will go outside at recess times to get some fresh air, even if it is cold. Could you please ensure that all children bring a jumper to school each day? Coats and beanies outside are also encouraged.
Promo Materials
Kev Cummins from DOBCEL has completed the St. Brendan’s promo video and has begun St. Mary’s. He is currently unwell and we hope to get back to the promo next week when he is feeling better. Kev is producing videos for each school, photos, enrolment flyers and looking at ways we can improve our website and Facebook pages.
Open Days
Our Open Days for both schools are on next week. Please help spread the word and as always families are welcome to attend. St. Brendan’s has their day on Tuesday, the 24th and St. Mary’s on Thursday, the 26th of May. Schools will be open from 9:00am – 1:30pm. This will go on Facebook again, so I encourage you to ‘Like’ and “Share” the pages.
Kindergarten Visits
On Tuesday we had children from the Brown Hill Kinder come to visit both schools. It was a wonderful experience and many of our own children caught up with children and staff they knew. Jacinta was saying that for some of the kinder children, it was the first time they had been on a bus. We look forward to continuing the contact with the kinder children through letters and a visit to the kinder later on in the year.
NAPLAN
Congratulations to our Year 3 and Year 5 children and their teachers. Today they completed their NAPLAN tests. I am not sure when the results come back however, we will contact parents when they available for collection. It is important to remember that they are just one of many assessments that we do and that results from NAPLAN are analysed in the context of all assessments and observations that teachers do over a period of time.
Junior Room News
Brown Hill Kinder Visit
Yesterday, Tuesday 17th May, 23 children, their teachers and some parents visited St Brendan’s School. Many of the students in the Junior Room reconnected with their Kindergarten teachers . We had a lot of fun doing some activities in the classroom and then playing outside. Your children were most impressive in how they engaged with the Kinder children and how they looked after them during their visit. You should be very proud!
As part of our introduction, the students all introduced themselves and told the children what they liked about St Brendan’s. Here is what they shared….
Adele – I like that we have the BRICKS and we are Respectful, Inclusive, Courageous and Kind.
Aiden – It is really fun at St Brendan’s.
Preston – I like the playground.
Lucy – I like that our room is colourful.
Sophie – I like that we have hot chocolate on a Tuesday.
Billy – I like that it’s not too crowded.
Sports Day
On Monday 9th May, we all went to the sports carnival and we all played a heap of different games. Other schools were there.
First we waited in a line with Newlyn and St Mary’s. Simon showed the teachers the games. Jai and Lucy ran past us and we cheered.
Then we played some fun games. The parachute and the ball and cup were my favourites. So was the relay.
We had a very fun day.
By Billy Britt
We were playing games.
By Preston
THE SPORTS TRIP TO LLANBERRIS
On Monday 9th of May the whole school of St Brendan’s went to Llanberris for a sports carnival. There we re some other schools there.
First I got there and said I am here and then we waited in a line with Newlyn and St Mary’s and other schools did it too.
Then the penguins went to do the puzzles. We had a partner mine was Sophie.
Next we went to batting bridges. We had to jump over a bridge and hit a goal in the bridge.
After that we did a running relay. We had to run and give the pole to the other person.
Finally we had some lunch. When we had lunch some of the seniors raced. We cheered.
By Adele Leonard
THE TIRING SPORTS CARNIVAL
On Monday 9th of May the whole of St Brendan’s went to Llanberris for a sports day. We played lots of fun games. There were a lot of different schools there too.
First dad dropped me and Lucy off at Llanberris and we put our bags on the seats and we waited for people to come. We were the first one there. Then everybody came and they were really nervous.
Then the speaker said “We can come on.” So we raced to see what games we had to play. We played this game and we had to find a partner and I was with Adele. We had two hockey sticks and a foam puzzle. We had to get all of the puzzle pieces into the hoola hoop and put it together. It was a square. Me and Adele came 2nd. We thought that we were losing some puzzle pieces.
By Sophie
THE SPORTS CARNIVAL
On Monday we went to Llanberris for sports.
First we lined up with St Mary’s and we got an animal. It was a penguin.
Then we did the caterpillar race and egg and spoon race and the parachute.
I had a great day.
By Lucy
THE SPORTS DAY
On Monday we went to Llanberris for sports day.
First we waited in line with Newlyn and Saint Mary’s.
Then we did a puzzle. We had two hockey sticks. We had two people. My partner was Billy.
Next we did a relay.
It was fun at sports day.
By Aiden
Sports Day
Happy Birthday
Lucy Dash will be 11 on the 21st May
Jack's fundraising for Mental Health
The Dunnstown Football Club are having a fundraising event for mental health. Players have offered their lovely locks to be removed for donations. Their cause is the Black Dog Institute.
This is a cause very close to Jack's heart and he will be participating by having a "big trim" of his "flying mullet".
If you would like to donate, Jack would appreciate your support. Please see the link below.
Gardening and Tidying Roster 2022
Dash Family
16th May - 29th May
Macdonald Family
30th June - 12th June