Dear Parents and Caregivers,

Welcome to our final term for 2024. The last two weeks have been a smooth transition for the majority of students. Unfortunately sickness in the form of COVID and respiratory issues, continues to affect numerous staff and students. Thank you to families who have kept their children at home when they are unwell. 

Teaching staff are in the process of accumulating final assessment data to assist them to provide a student progress report which families will receive at the end of Week 9. These reports will be in the same format as the one all families received in June, 2024. 

The big event for this term will be the Colour Run - School Fun Day to be held on Friday 15 November. This event is also the school Parents and Friends (P&F) major fundraiser for the year. All funds raised by the school P&F go directly towards providing students with enhanced facilities and additional resources. The Colour Run is progressing well and looks like being a huge success if the current rate of sponsorship continues. A sincere thank you is extended to our P&F and the wonderful work they do. We would also like to thank the sponsors of the event. If you have not registered your child for this event, please click here.

Last Saturday I postponed the scheduled Working Bee due to the small number of volunteers. To make an impact on the various areas I described in the Google Form invitation, many more families were required to assist. I will reschedule to another date this term, but thought it worthwhile to briefly explain the need for Working Bees. The school presently has over 350 families. Schools in the Wollongong Diocese and around the world, hold Working Bees to beautify and maintain school playgrounds, while also fostering community spirit, allowing parents, staff, and students to work together on a common goal. These events help create a safe and welcoming environment for children to play and learn, enhancing the school's overall atmosphere. 

By maintaining and improving outdoor spaces, schools can offer more engaging and enjoyable areas for physical activity. Financially, Working Bees reduce maintenance costs, allowing schools to focus resources on other educational needs. At present all of the maintenance budget is fully spent on emerging and ongoing maintenance needs and basic gardening such as lawn mowing and hedges. Since the postponement of the Working Bee, a few parents have offered to come into the school during the day to assist with gardening. Any assistance you can give will be gratefully accepted. I will send out a new Working Bee invitation early next week. Please consider. If each of our 350 families was able to volunteer one or two hours a year as part of a Working Bee, the playground would be maintained beautifully. Thank you to those families who have assisted so far this year. 

The month of October is historically known as ‘Mission Month'. For the last few years the school has hosted a Mission Fair, run by the Year 6 students. This fundraiser for Missions was postponed through October due to the absence of key staff who were organising and facilitating the event. The Mission Fair day will take place towards the end of the term. The students look forward to this day and a substantial amount of money is raised for local and overseas families who are not as fortunate as ourselves. More details will follow. 

Earlier this year, our Year 6 students hosted a Cupcake Day to generate funds for purchasing a graduation gift to the school. Students wish to purchase a Drinking Water Fountain for the front playground and will host a second Cupcake Day on Wednesday 6 November to raise money for this wonderful legacy. Students in K-6 are welcome to bring a gold coin to school to purchase from the stall. Thank you to Year 6 students and their parents/carers for providing the cakes, biscuits, slices and donuts for this event.

There will be a Staff Development Day on Friday 22 November 2024. This is at the end of Week 6. It is a Pupil Free Day and I thank families for their support in keeping students home on this day. 

As you may be aware, Transport NSW have been experiencing difficulty in providing staff to supervise the North St and Osborne St crossings. Rachel from the North St crossing sustained an injury during the holidays and will be unable to return this term. We are grateful to have Shaun working on the North St crossing whilst Rachel is recovering. Unfortunately, at this stage, Osborne St does not have a supervisor. Whilst we are able to place the flags on the crossing, Transport NSW have advised that we are not not authorised to carry out the duties of the SCS and must not use the STOP Children Crossing bat.

School Photos will occur this coming Monday 28 October 2024. Ordering of school photos is through the Compass Parent Portal with MSP Photography. Students are to wear Summer uniform. Long hair is to be tied back. Sibling photos will be taken from 7.45am to 8.45am in the Hall, then continue at lunch. Please note, Student supervision will not occur until 8.15 am so parents will need to remain with their children until 8:15am.

Lastly, I would like to congratulate Skylar Hoyes of Year 5, who was recently awarded second place in a Christmas Card Design Competition run by Integrity Real Estate. Skylar was presented with a Dymocks Book Voucher and also received an additional $100 Dymocks Voucher for our school to purchase some new library books. Congratulations Skylar, and thank you to Integrity Real Estate for your donation.