St Luke the Evangelist School Newsletter

Namaste Families and Children,

It is GREAT to be back, to have so many children greet me and ask how my holiday was and to chat with many of you. Our children really are exceptional and such a great reflection of you- parents, siblings and grandparents. Theirs, and your enthusiasm and joy in each day has been lovely to return to- thank-you.

India was as incredible as ever and in our three weeks, we got to see the Taj Mahal, do an eight day road trip in Rajasthan, visit the lake palaces in Udaipur, explore magnificent forts and castles, and roam the streets of many new cities and villages. We also achieved a goal set when we left India in 2011- to go back one day to visit the Golden Temple in Amritsar- the most sacred site for Sikhs where the sacred texts are held. We finished our holiday in Srinagar which is at the foothills of the Himalayas. Absolutely wonderful, memorable and a privilege to be able to visit this most incredible part of the world,again. I’ve popped a few photos in…

Thank you to Julie Inglese and the staff team for their care and attention to all things school, in my absence…it is so reassuring knowing that things will run so smoothly under Julie’s direction.

I haven’t officially congratulated our winning EGAN team for their efforts in this year’s Twilight Sports. What a great achievement after DECADES of waiting. Congratulations to our Egan House Leaders- Max and Nathan for leading the team so well. This will go down as a momentous win. Our thanks to Domenic De Leo for organising the event, to the staff for their support and enthusiastic participation and to all of our family volunteers. It just can’t be as successful without a team approach and every year, it’s an overwhelming success.

In my absence, Julie has welcomed many prospective families to St Luke’s for school tours. It is heartening to sense that the word is out there… St Luke’s is a ‘must go and see’ school. If you have a child who is due to start Prep in 2025, please get your enrolment form in as soon as possible. If you can spread the word to other families who are looking for a school for their child, Prep or for other years, please do so. I will be working on getting some new promotional material out and will need lots of families to do some letter drops. Our kinder visits are due to start and Emily Chlebica is on the social media trail posting two to three times a week to build our presence out there. Thank-you Emily. PLEASE sign up and like our posts on Facebook and Instagram so that this starts raising our profile.

Our COLOUR RUN is well and truly on the move. It’s only six big sleeps away!  We have many people who have signed up but many have not started collecting sponsors yet. This is a P&F organised event and Shelley McCaul and the team have been working arduously to ensure a great event. Please sign up, collect sponsors to raise money for the rejuvenation of our sensory garden. We are very excited at the prospect of getting an Aboriginal artist to work with the children to paint the totem poles and mural on one of the breezeway walls. Even if your child cannot participate, we are hoping they might still sponsor the event.

Times for Harmony Day- Colour Run:

9.00 am to 12.20pm: Footsteps Dance Company workshops 

12.45 pm: Early Lunch and play for children

1.20 pm: Gates open for families to join us on the oval & Children gather on oval

Dogs on our school property are welcome… as long as they are:

• On a leash at all times,

• Their poop is picked up and disposed of in one of our blue bins

• Not a threat to others.

There have now been several occasions when l have had to dispose of poop on the hill… where our children eat… If you bring a dog onto our premises after school, please ensure you note the above requests. I would love to think we could encourage our pawfect friends to continue joining us.

FETE news: We had our first Fete 2024 meeting last night. Thank you to the many people who came along for the brainstorm session. Sonya O’Farrell is such a gem to work with and her energy and enthusiasm is amazing. Please think outside the square about how your family might support this exciting school-parish community extravaganza. We will need:

• Sponsors

• An army of volunteers

• Donations of goods for raffles, stalls, set-up

• Contacts of people/businesses who may be able to donate goods, their time etc…

• Our next meeting will be on Thursday, 18th April at 7 pm in the hall kitchen. Laughs are guaranteed! You may be able to join us OR you might like to join friends who are running a stall… every little bit helps.

Please contact me at principal@slblackburnsth.catholic.edu.au if you have ideas to share or can offer contacts, would like to be involved or have donations for a stall.

We are still looking for Parent Representatives for Year 6 please. We have the other classes covered. Thank you to those volunteers. I will be in touch.

Finally, l have had several children approach me about selling some crafts at recess or lunchtime. To create a simple structure around this, l have suggested we could begin a Market Week in the last week of each term. Children need to discuss this with me and show me samples of their craft. I think to make it accessible to all, items should be priced at gold coin prices or up to $5 per piece. A 10% donation from the profits, to a charity or Mini Vinnies would be requested. If your child is interested, please ask them to talk to me. If we have too many requests to sell their craft, we will pop them onto the future term’s Market Week roster.

Have a lovely weekend ahead. The weather looks like it will be beautiful. Enjoy!  

Clare

Principal 

principal@slblackburnsth.catholic.edu.au

HARMONY DAY COLOUR RUN

The colour run is only 7 days away and the students are getting excited.  Get your donations rolling in asap to ensure you don’t miss out.

There will an announcement at assembly on Monday for the top fundraising class/student.

So far we had raised $5,391 with a big shout out to PG Keeghan Custom Home Builders for their business sponsorship.

If everyone who hasn’t yet signed up raised a minimum of $20 we will smash our target of $6000, so let’s get out there.  Every bit helps raise funds for the school.

Also if anyone knows any other business that may like to donate this can be done at:

https://business.myprofilepage.com.au/page/StLukestheEvangelistSchool

Remember to have your white t-shirts ready for Thursday 21st March. Please ensure that these are worn on the day along with swim shorts or shorts you don’t mind getting wet or coloured. 

If your child would like to dress up they are also welcome to do this.

Please remember to pack/bring a change of clothes for afterwards, if required, along with school hats and water bottles.

All children will receive a zooper dooper on the day. 

Note: There will be a non colour obstacle course before the races with the powder. 

Any child who wishes to run in this race, please let their teacher know on the day.

Thanks for all your support 

St Luke’s P&F

The Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund (CSEF) is provided by the Victorian Government to assist eligible families to cover the costs of school trips, camps and sporting activities. If you hold a valid means-tested concession card or are a temporary foster parent, you may be eligible for CSEF. A special consideration category also exists for asylum seeker and refugee families. The allowance is paid to the school to use towards expenses relating to camps, excursions or sporting activities for the benefit of your child.

If you wish to apply for CSEF please contact the school office to request an application form.  Forms must be submitted before 28 June 2024.

LOST PROPERTY:

Please check the lost property cupboard in the office foyer if you are missing uniform or food containers.  

SUMMER UNIFORMS:

We are now wearing the summer uniform.  Please apply sunscreen in the morning before school.  School hats are compulsory. Term 1 = SUNHATS!  Please make sure your child has a school hat to wear EVERY DAY or else, No hat, No play.

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.

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 2024:

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.

Buy/Sell second hand uniform:

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