St Luke the Evangelist School Newsletter

Good afternoon Families,

Welcome Back to term Three. I hope your children have enjoyed a great break and that you have managed to have a day or two off too. It was such a long term and l think many families were battling the winter chills and ills. 

FAITH and MISSION:

Blessed Carlos Acutis: (3 May 1991 – 12 October 2006) was a British-born Italian programmer known for his devotion to the Eucharist. Prior to his death from leukemia at the age of fifteen, he assisted in establishing multiple church related websites in Milan, one of which documenting Eucharistic miracles. His canonization is set to take place on 7 September 2025. Fr Alex has organised for a relic of Carlos to be on display in the parish hall from Tuesday 29th July to Friday 1st August. 

First Eucharist: Sunday 24th August at 10.30am mass
What a special time for our Year Four candidates (and their friends) who are preparing for the Sacrament of First Eucharist. Please make sure you pray for these young people and for our Year Four families- look out for all the news coming home about the what is happening. How very special that during this time we will also be learning about Blessed Carlos Acutis who was so devoted to the Eucharist.

CURRICULUM:

Book Week is coming up. The theme for the 2025 Children's Book Week in Australia is "Book an Adventure!". This theme celebrates the 80th anniversary of Children's Book Week and encourages children to explore the exciting worlds that stories can open up. The official artwork for the event, created by featured artist Jess McGeachin, depicts a whimsical map filled with characters from different imaginary worlds, emphasizing the adventurous spirit of the celebration. Look out for the wonderful events throughout our week- it’s one of our favourites!

Student free day- Staff Curriculum Day: Monday 1st September- will be another opportunity for staff to undergo some professional learning. The focus will be on personal faith formation and personal wellbeing formation. 

STUDENT WELLBEING:

Child safety- During the week, l posted a message on Audiri regarding our children’s safety around walking and or riding to and from school. Please be vigilant with your reminders about being safe, what to do in a challenging situation and that the school is ALWAYS a safe haven if there has been an incident. Some important tips:

• Move directly to and from school

• Wait to meet up with friends inside school grounds unless otherwise organised by a parent

• Do not speak to strangers if they have approached you randomly

• Keep moving and try to go to a house if you are being pursued

• Tell an adult as soon as you can.

A big shout out to our Semester One SRC. Your fundraising has helped us purchase much needed Lego to be used for a Lego Club. How amazing! (see photo)

Congratulations to our incoming SRC Representatives: Emiliana and Julian who will represent the voice of the Juniors, Alexandra and Ava who will be the Middle School voice and to Desi and Natasha who are our Year 5 SRC representatives for Semester Two..

Each year schools are mandated to collect anonymous data that indicates the type and extent of adjustment some students require in order to meet their potential. This is called the National Consistent Collection of Data. The Federal Government looks at this data and apportions funding accordingly. This helps schools to provide resources- physical or in the form of personnel (i.e LSOs, therapists etc…) Teachers work exceptionally hard to make the adjustments and to document these adjustments. I want to thank them and especially Emily Roberts who does a wonderful job working alongside each teacher to support them in this vital element of their job.

COMMUNITY:

Carpark Safety remains a concern but l am pleased to inform you that with the help of some P&F fundraising funds, we will be able to remark the carpark with fresh lines. We will be reclaiming one of the ‘Stop and Drop’ spaces and it will become an Emergency Vehicles park. My thanks to Peter Stilve and to Paul Tierney for pruning the presbytery hedge to allow for clearer vision.

I do need to ask and encourage each of you to be sure you are adding to the safety of all by:

• Entering and exiting the carpark safely at a speed of no more than 10kph

• Meeting your child/ren on the footpath if you have parked in the middle or far parks along the parish fenceline

• NOT parking in the staff parks

• Parking only in car parking spaces

• Talking with your child/ren often about safe behaviour in and around the carpark area

P&F TRIVIA NIGHT is on tomorrow- Saturday 26th July at 7pm.
It’s going to be a load of fun and again, my thanks to the P&F for their time, energy and commitment to building our community with such events. There’s a silent auction on the go, now. Make sure you pop in a bid, especially if you can’t make it. Call out if you can attend last minute.. We’ll definitely find a place for you.

And to end on a real high note…

What a morning we had on Wednesday for our annual Grandparent’s Day. It was so lovely to see close to 140 adults join us for the prayer liturgy in the parish hall. I am so very proud of the beautiful way our Faith and Mission Leaders- Evie, Vivienne and Lucas lead the prayer. They commanded such a wonderful prayerfulness and reverence and l received many, many comments about how special it was. Thank you to all staff who welcomed our grand visitors into our learning spaces making sure both young- and old- got to join in with the fun of learning. I then had the pleasure and privilege of having a cuppa with our guests. It is one of my favourite events on our school community calendar and l feel blessed that our grandparents and grandfriends are such an important part of our collective story. Thank you. (see photos)

Make sure you rug up this weekend and ensure you have a good one. I would say Go Hawks but hey, they’ve already won! See you next week.

Clare Ryan

Do you have family or friends that have children starting school in 2026?

If you have not completed an application for 2026 enrolment, please visit our school website and complete the online application form.  The application will prompt you to attach any documents required for the application.

If you know of a family looking for a wonderful school, please promote our school and encourage them to attend an upcoming open morning or a personal tour.  All dates for open morning are available on our website via the quick tabs 'Book a Tour' or 'Enrol' on the homepage.

Please also encourage families looking for an alternate school for older year levels to consider St Lukes!

Please note:  To start primary school in 2026, children will need to turn 5 years old by 30 April 2026.  Schooling is compulsory for children who have turned 6 years old.

If you wish your child to attend a Catholic Secondary School, you need to apply when your child is in Year 5.

The application cut off date is Friday 15 August 2025.  You will need to submit your application to the Catholic Secondary School by this date to be considered for the Year 7, 2027 intake.  

All secondary schools have information days or tours, allowing you to view the school facilities and ask questions of the appropriate staff.  Selection into a Catholic secondary school is guided by the school’s enrolment policy.  

Applications for a Government Secondary School can be submitted in Year 6 by the published cut-off date.

With this arctic chill that Melbourne is experiencing,we ask parents to ensure that children are sent to school in their school jumper and if needed an outdoor jacket.  A warm singlet may also not go astray.

Please also do a check of your child's drawers at home to check that they have a selection of navy school socks for the school uniform and white socks for the Sports uniform.  We are seeing an increase in the amount of students who are wearing white socks and/or white tights with their school uniform.  To be clear, leggings and white tights are not part of our school uniform.  We ask that you make sure that they are in the correct school uniform/sports uniform before they leave the house.

School uniform items can be purchased from our supplier Spartan School World or please join the St Luke's Primary School Blackburn South Buy/Sell Uniform group on Facebook for secondhand uniform.

SMART WATCHES & MOBILE PHONES

If a child wears a smart watch to school, it must be de-activated so the child is not receiving or sending messages etc...

Mobile Phones are requested to be left at the office in the morning and collected at the end of the day. 

FOOD ALLERGIES:

Allergic reactions to food… can be harmful to our children. For that reason we ask parents to think carefully about what they are packing in their child’s lunch boxes. Occasionally, something might slip through and once aware, we take precautions to ensure the safety of every child. As stated in the Family Handbook 2025:

We are an EGG and NUT free school due to the allergies of children within our community.  We ask that parents respect this request and the potential harm this could do to children if brought to school.

Thank you for your care and attention to this.

CHILDREN ARRIVING AFTER THE BELL OR LEAVING EARLY:

As part of our wellbeing care of children at St Luke's, every class engages in a morning routine at 8.50 am.  This quiet, calm time allows children to gather together in a circle, to greet each other by name, to pray and/or enter into some Christian meditation and get ready for the day.  Please make sure you allow enough time to get your child to school BEFORE 8.50 am.

If children arrive after the gate and student entry doors are locked, parents/carers are required to walk their child/ren to the school office and sign them in on the VPass iPad.

If leaving early (before the end of the day), parents/carers are required to sign their child/ren out on the VPASS iPad.

BUY/SELL SECONDHAND UNIFORM:

Join the St Luke's Primary School Blackburn South Buy/Sell Uniform group on Facebook to buy/sell uniform with other parents.