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Term 4- Principal Long Service Leave
Next term I will be taking long service leave for the duration of the term. It has been eight years since I last took long service leave and I am looking forward to some time away travelling around Australia, along with spending quality time with family. During my absence Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools (MACS) has appointed Carmel Donlon as Acting Principal, supported by Megan Moore and Maree Hills. Megan will continue to work three days in year 3-4MP and two days in leadership. Maree Hills will return in term four on a part-time basis, working two days in leadership. I am confident in the abilities of our school leadership team and staff, who I am sure will do a great job whilst I am away. I look forward to returning in 2024.
End of Term
Last Day of Term 3 is Friday 15 September. Students finish at the normal time of 3:20 pm on this day.
Term 4 begins on Monday 2 October
Footy Day- Friday 15 September
On Friday 15 September, students can wear AFL footy team colours to school. Mrs Patto and the year 6 students will run some fun tabloid sports activities on this day.
R U Okay day- Thursday 14 September
R U Okay day links into our wellbeing and curriculum. The day raises awareness and encourages students to let the people they care about know they are there, to really hear them. In the context of primary school this message is connected to concepts about friendships, feelings, strengths, active listening, trusted people to talk to and support networks. Teachers will cover some age appropriate lessons in their classes this week. To recognise this national day of action, students are encouraged to wear something yellow to school on Thursday.
September Holiday Program
The Arts Showcase Coming Soon- Term 4
Next term we will be inviting families to our Arts Showcase. We are currently finalising details and the date.
Stay tuned for more information at the beginning of term 4.
Term 4 Dates- Events coming up
With all our best intentions we try to adhere to the dates and times we advertise events. Sometimes these do change and we endeavour to notify families of changes within a reasonable timeframe. Often teachers will email parents directly or we will publish changes in the newsletter. Teachers will include important events and dates
Monday 2 October - Term 4 Begins
Thursday 26 October - Grandparents Day
Wednesday 1 & 15 November - 2024 Foundation Transition Sessions
Monday 6 November - School Closure Day- No School for students
Tuesday 7 November - Melbourne Cup Public Holiday
Sunday 19 November - P &F Bunnings BBQ
Monday 20 - Thursday 23 November- Book Fair
Wednesday 22 & Thursday 23 November - Year 5-6 Beach Program
Friday 1 December - School Athletics Day
Monday 4, Tuesday 5, Wednesday 6, Thursday 7 & Friday 8 December - Years Foundation, one, two, three and four Swimming
Thursday 7 December - Christmas Carols
Wednesday 13 December - End of Year Mass
Thursday 14 December - Year 6 Graduation
Friday 15 December - End of term for students
Years 1-2 and 3-4 Learning Assemblies
It was lovely to see so many parents, family and friends attend our learning assemblies last week. Foundation and year 5-6 learning assemblies will take place this week.
- Alexis - 1st in the Girls 9/10 Discus
- Cameron - 2nd in the Boys 11 Discus
Bunnings Barbeque - Sunday, November 19th
We have locked in a date to hold another Bunnings Barbecue before the end of the year to continue raising funds for our mural and garden projects and we'd love your help! Please visit https://volunteersignup.org/J3LKX to sign up to volunteer for a timeslot now. We'll also need supplies for the day, including drinks, sauces, hand sanitiser and napkins, and will send out a detailed list of supplies needed in early term 4. Thank you in advance for your help supporting our fundraising efforts!
Mural update
We are excited that 14 students have nominated to be part of our mural working group focused on 'the many faces of belonging'. In other exciting news, we have appointed our artist, Tricia "Vandal" Van Der-Kuyp a proud Wiradjuri woman and Melbourne-based artist (Bundadhaany). You can see some of her work here - Tricia's work appears on trams, the Royal Children's Hospital and other spaces around Melbourne so we are lucky to have her collaborating with us on this project. You can see some of her work here: https://www.artistvandal.com Tricia will work with the students, families and staff on the design for the mural.
We have also applied for a $10,000 grant to apply the final design to the entirety of the wall so the timelines for the project have been extended to July, 2024 to allow us to incorporate this funding. The first workshop will be held in November, to introduce the project to the students and begin to design the collaboration process, with this work continuing in 2024.
We will also be reaching out to families next year to explore their ideas of belonging and what helps them feel like they belong in our school community, so look out for ways to get involved early next year.
Graduation dinner
The P & F have been working with Ms Tavcar, Mrs O'Donnell and the year 6 students on the graduation function for Thursday, December 14 (Evening). The students had lots of ideas about how they would like to celebrate this important milestone with family and supporters and a save the date will go home with more details at the end of this week. The function will commence at the Church and include a liturgy and presentation of awards before a celebratory dinner and activities in the hall. While not giving too much away, they have gone with a 'round the world' theme for a buffet and high energy activities so make sure to wear some comfy shoes and watch out for upcoming Operoos.
Mums Time Out events
Upcoming events:
Start of term 4 drinks -
Join us after the holidays for a drink on Thursday, 5 October at Le Bar Supper Club, Beaumaris from 7.30pm, www.lebar.com.au. Please let know Nat know if you can attend!
Save the date: Axe Throwing and Lunch: Sunday, 22 October. Organise some time out from home, gather your class Mums and let loose at LumberPunks with 90mins of Axe throwing! (Axes start at 300g apparently, no need to panic!)
$40 11 Mums+ otherwise $45.
Lumberpunks 11am session and St Ali Coffee Roasters, 12.45 booking.
Please let Nat Taffe know if you have any questions and if you can come to either or both - nattaffe@gmail.com or 0438548739
More info: https://www.lumberpunks.com/what-to-expect-lumber-punks
If you’d like to join the What’s App group, please also contact Nat!
End of year Christmas raffle!
Can you believe it’s only 81 days to December 1? We are getting organised early, with our end of raffle already in planning! If you have a business or service that you’d like to contribute a prize on behalf of, please let Nat Taffe know at nattaffe@gmail.com. Raffle tickets will be sent home early in Term 4, to be sold and returned for the Major Raffle to be drawn at the Christmas Carol evening, Thursday, December 7.
Pancake Parlour School Rewards Program
School holidays are just about here so why not treat the kids to a Pancake Parlour meal at Southland? St. Catherine's is registered in the Pancake Parlour Rewards program and every spend at a store adds to St. Catherine's tally! WE are currently coming in first place at Southland and fourth overall! If we score the most points in our local area, we will win $1000 cash!
Uniform shop
Don’t forget to have a look in the cupboards and donate any items your children have grown out of! There are lots of summer items available at the uniform shop, open this Friday from 3.10-3.40pm, in the P&F room, just off the quadrangle. Cash and eftpos available!
