Newsletter 3rd May 2023
In the spirit of Reconciliation, we acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land in which we sit, the Wadawurrung people, who have cared for this country for thousands of years. We would like to pay our respects to the Aboriginal Elders past, present and future for they hold the traditions, memories and wisdom of Mother Earth on which we place our feet upon today.
Upcoming Dates
11th May: Wathaurung District Sports
14th May: Mothers Day
15th May: Mothers Day liturgy and lunch @ 11.00 @ St Brendan's
16th May: Combined SAC meeting @ 7.00 pm @ St Mary's
16th May: St Brendan's feast day to be clebrated at at later date
16th May: Netball Lightning premiership
17th May: Life education van @ school
24th May: Football Lightning premiership
22ndMay: LFBF Year 6 students
5th June: SEED Day Year 5 students @ Loreto
12th June: Kings birthday public holiday
23rd June: Last day term 2
Principal's News
Easter Reflection
Joan Chittister OSB from Jamberoo Abbey provided the following Easter reflection that resonated with me and I thought I would share it-
"It’s Easter. There is new life beginning everywhere–in the earth around us and, if we will, in our souls. Both kinds of life, however, must be cultivated. 
It is an exercise in “yes,” this slip-slide from summer to autumn, from dark to light, from Lent to Resurrection. Yes to today; yes to tomorrow; yes to life again. We all come out of the tomb of Lent new and bright with promise. It is “yes” to our life now, however old, however jaded we may be. It is the rediscovery of possibility again.”
Welcome to Term 2
How good was the break? I have been hearing wonderful stories from staff and children of the many different activities that various people in our schools got up to – fishing, motor bike riding, travelling to many different places in Australia, camping, making bird feeders, visiting friends and family as well as relaxing time at home. Whatever you did, I hope it filled your bucket and provided some relaxing time that you enjoyed with family and friends.
That was certainly the case for me, as we camped with over 70 at Easter, travelled around Victoria and welcomed a new grandson. How lucky was I? I feel refreshed and ready for the term ahead that will be like a sprint – short, fast and busy!
Inez
Retreat
The staff finished the term 1 with a retreat in Barwon Heads. I realised after talking to some parents, that many did not understand what we do on these days.
Every 2 years the staffs of St. Mary’s and St. Brendan’s participate in a religious retreat. Our retreat this year was facilitated by Fr. Justin and Louise, our Religious Education Leader and was based around the Catholic Social Teachings. It provided an opportunity for staff to step away from the daily demands of work and focus on their spiritual growth. It was a time to reflect, pray, and deepen our faith.
The retreat is a chance to connect with one another on a deeper level and build relationships that go beyond the workplace. It is an opportunity for staff to step away from the daily demands of work and focus on their spiritual growth. It can help staff members reconnect with the mission of the Catholic school and their role in fulfilling that mission.
Our retreat provides a space for staff to recharge, reflect, and grow spiritually and professionally, which can ultimately benefit the students and the school community as a whole.
School Review
Staff are working on the school review document which has taken a lot of work however, we are almost there. It is planned to be completed by the King’s birthday weekend and then sent to Jo-Anne Bond for proof reading and then sent to the panel in preparation for the 2 days where the panel, staff, some children and members of SAC, come together to celebrate what we have done in the past 5 years and set out a strategic 5 year plan for our future. These 2 days will be on the 13th and 14th of July in Term 3.
Preparing the documents for the school reflection has been a process however, it does allow us to think about our journey over the past 5 years, provides cause for much to be celebrated and sets a course for the future.
Calendar and events this term
As mentioned, this term is a 9 week term, with 1 week already done. There is a lot going on so please remember to refer to the calendar on School Zine to keep up to date as to what is happening and when. The newsletter also lists important dates and then reminders are often sent through See Saw.
Sports day
Thursday the 11th of May is our Wathaurong District Sports Day to be held at Llanberris reserve. We would appreciate some help from parents to move around with particular age groups of children. If you can assist, please contact Callum or Inez. Please refer to the PAM note for further details.
Children will need to be dropped off by parents by 8.45 and pick up is at 2.30pm. The canteen will be available and a list will be sent home to parents soon.
Mother’s Day Celebrations
One of the most significant events of the year – Mother’s Day is fast approaching and this year our celebrations at each school will be held on Monday the 15th of May. The ‘Save the Dates’ went out before the holidays and invitations went home last week. We would love to have as many Mums and Special Women as possible come and join us. Please reply to the school as per instructions on the invitations.
Uniform
As we begin Term 2, it is time to think about transitioning into winter uniforms. It is expected that by the end of week 2, all children will be wearing the correct winter uniform to school.
Why we wear a school uniform –
Rationale:
A uniform dress code reinforces in students a pride in their own appearance, instils recognition of themselves as an integral part of the school community, and assists in developing pride in representing their school. Issues of equality, health and safety, and expense are also factors that contribute to the establishment of the Dress Code.
Aims:
- To develop a sense of pride in, and identification with, our school.
- To develop and enhance the positive image of the school in the community.
- To promote equality amongst all students.
- To provide durable clothing that is cost effective and practical for our school environment.
St. Brendan’s Winter Uniform
Winter Boys:
- St Brendan’s Dunnstown woollen jumper (worn with both summer and winter uniforms; available at Beleza)
- Navy trousers, pale blue skivvy or polo, navy socks and black shoes.
- Black shoes not sneakers are the required footwear (may be purchased at Beleza or your choice of store)
Winter Girls:
- St Brendan’s Dunnstown checked tunic (available at Beleza)
- Or navy dress pants, pale blue polo or skivvy, navy socks or tights and black shoes (may be purchased at Beleza or your choice of store)
School Coat:
St Brendan’s has a navy blue beanie and school coat with the school logo. It is shower proof with a polar fleece lining with the school emblem on the front. Available at Beleza.
Sport Uniform:
- St Brendan’s Dunnstown pale blue polo shirt (available at Beleza)
- School rugby top (available from Beleza)
- Navy shorts, navy socks and sports footwear.
- Navy skirt or shorts for girls. Where tracksuits are worn, a preference is given to the choice of navy blue coloring (available at Beleza or your choice of store)
Please ensure that all school clothing is named with a prominent name tag.
Life Ed Van
On Wednesday the Life Ed van will be at St. Brendan’s on our CSD. All children will have a chance to meet Harold and be part of a lesson. It is always engaging, informative and fun for the children to be part of.
If any parents would like to learn more, please register to be part of a webinar through the link below.
Lunch orders
Lunch orders will continue this term. Orders need to be in on Friday at St. Mary’s so that the children can enjoy them on Wednesday at St. Brendan’s. Please do not order lollies. If you require another list of what is available, please let us know and we can send one home with your child.
Senior Room
A very warm welcome back to everyone! I hope that everyone had an enjoyable Easter and that you all had a restful holiday break! I am looking forward to another productive and successful school term.
In the final weeks of term 1, the students completed their pre tests for multiplication and division. Following some impressive results from term 1’s focus of addition and subtraction I am looking forward to seeing the students challenge and push themselves once again to achieve great scores. I have encouraged them to continue working on their timetables at home regularly. Time will be another of our focusses this term as the students continue to learn about 24 hour time, calculating elapsed time and reading timetables.
In writing our focus has shifted to persuasive texts.The students completed their first persuasive piece on a chosen topic and they were also tasked with acting as a real estate agent in order to sell a home. We will be learning more about persuasive devices and ways to structure our writing in order to persuade.
Our inquiry unit this term is ‘Museums in Motion’ and the students will learn about the concept of change through the lens of Australian history. They will learn about the causes and the reasons why people migrated to Australia from Europe and Asia. Students will learn about the events and people that have shaped our country as they work towards opening the Museum In Motion.
Looking forward to another term of learning, laughter and fun!
Callum
Junior Room
Welcome back everyone to Term 2. Lots of exciting things have been happening in the Junior Room already……
WRITING
Instead of writing about what we did on the holidays, we wrote about what we didn’t do. Here are some examples of the things we didn’t do
LUCY - I didn’t see a fairy turn into a flower.
I didn’t see a car flying.
AIDEN - I didn't see my house flying in the sky.
I didn’t ride my dinosaur to the vet and back.
MATHS
In maths we are learning to tell the time to quarter past and quarter to. You can check by asking Aiden and Lucy to tell you the time when it is showing quarter to and quarter past on the clock at home.
We are still working on doubles and near doubles to help us with our addition and subtraction in Maths. Since we know that double 4 is 8, this will help us work out 24+64.
ANZAC DAY
On Wednesday we read a book called “Dreaming Soldiers.” It was a story about two friends, Jimmy and Johnno who grew up together on a cattle station. Jimmy was Aboriginal and Johnno wasn’t. They did almost everything together but they didn’t go to school together. Johnno went away to “big school” and university. Jimmy stayed at the station and went to school there and then worked on the station. Jimmy and Johnno went to war together, to fight for their country. We learnt that Indigenous people weren’t even recognised as Australian citizens but the officials were happy to send them to war to boost Australia’s fighting forces. Years later we know that this is wrong way to do things, to treat people differently because of the colour of their skin, Aboriginal background or any other background. We are all Australian!
INQUIRY
Our Inquiry Unit this term is all about Science. We are looking at Change - Stimulating Science. We will consider changes that we experience in our lives through the lenses of biology, earth and space science, chemistry, and physics. Aiden and Lucy will make predictions and scientific observations throughout the unit. On Tuesday we were given a variety of ingredients and we had to predict what they would change into when all mixed together. We didn’t predict that the flour, salt, oil, jelly crystals and water would make play dough but we did predict that the bicarb soda, dishwashing liquid and vinegar would make an explosion. We made our own volcano!
GOLF CLINIC
Last Wednesday we all enjoyed a golf clinic with Tony Collier. We always enjoy learning more about gold and having a hit on the oval and we can’t wait for Tony to come back for another clinic.
SZapp Version 4.0.0
There is a new version of SZapp available for Android and IOS Devices. Please ensure that you have updated to this version to assure you receive communications from the school.
If you are using an Android Device, you will need to uninstall the old app and install the new version.
IOS Devices (iPhones) will be able to update without requiring a re-install.
We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause, but we are confident that the improvements in the new version will make it worth it.
An online guide on how to install and register/login to SZapp is available on the Schoolzine Website here:
Click here to view the Installation Instructions
If you experience any difficulties with completing this process, please reach out to Schoolzine using support@schoolzine.com. To assist with your query, they ask that you provide a description of the issue you are facing, the email address you are using when facing this issue and a screenshot of the issue.
Child Safe – all on website
As is stated on our Vision and Mission, our schools ‘…are committed to the safety, wellbeing and inclusion of all children and young people.’ Our procedures and policies are now in line with the 11 child safe standards and can be found on our schools’ websites under the tab – child safe.