Good afternoon families and friends,
Well what a fortnight it has been. Thank you to all of you who inquired about the ACEC conference l attended in Cairns. Whilst the setting was fabulous, the content and quality of the keynote speakers and presenters was absolutely outstanding. I feel so fortunate to have had the opportunity to engage with colleagues- known and unknown- from across Australia. I think a reassuring undercurrent was that Catholic education is in a good space and we have much to celebrate and showcase in our schools.
LEADERSHIP & MANAGEMENT:
Last Friday, we held an Open Morning and welcomed four families to visit our beautiful learning spaces inside and out. The P&F, SAC and Elena from Macseye were invited to attend and it was very successful. I think our visitors got a very strong sense of the strength of our community here at St Luke’s. My thanks to Sabina, Jess and Jacinta from our P&F, and to Nader from our SAC who were able to join us. I would like to thank the other members from both groups who volunteered for other open mornings and l will definitely establish this as a vital element of our enrolment campaigns in future years. A little piece of feedback from one of the visitors was on just how strong he could sense the community feel and that his son's current school really is missing the community events etc…It goes without saying that our Year 6 student leaders did another great job promoting our school.
On Monday, the staff enjoyed a wonderful day of personal faith formation and self-care. Fr Alex and Nina Grieve led the group through two Alpha sessions where we looked at some big questions: Is there more to life than this? and Who is Jesus? It was very well received by all people and many felt that having time to listen, reflect and respond was great. The second part of our day was personal well-being and self-care. Gabi Carter did a great job, tailoring just-right sessions to promote practical ways we can look after ourselves. We are so fortunate to have really incredible school leaders here at St Luke’s.
MAINTAINING and ENSURING THE SAFETY OF ALL…I’m sure you have all noticed that the carpark has been remarked. We are very pleased with the end result and feel we are well on the way to reducing the risk for our student pedestrians. One parking spot has been removed in the 5 minute drop off zone and has been made an Emergency Vehicles ONLY park. Please observe this. There have been 16 car parks allocated to staff. I am asking adults NOT TO PARK in a staff carpark. Parking, reversing and exiting these parks poses an additional hazard to our children.
Please make sure you, or the person dropping off/ collecting your child walks them to/walks across to the lawn to do so.
COMMUNITY
Our P&F organised Colour Run is sprinting with many families enjoying the fun of getting sponsorship. Thanks to Dani Fusca who is like a little hurricane behind the scenes, making sure the momentum continues to build. Congratulations to Reuben Thong who won this week’s incentive- $500 worth of prizes. The next challenge/incentive is to win one of the many vouchers… but you’ve got to be in it, to win it. Any amount- small or large will be really appreciated.
We are so very grateful for the money that the P&F raises each year. It makes small and large initiatives possible. Many families have been asking how the P&F fundraising money is spent. You will see below just how broad ranging the projects, resources and initiatives are for which the money is used. Sometimes it is for a carefully planned resource or program or at other times it may be an unexpected need that our school budget has not allowed for and so l call on some funds from fundraising to support these unexpected expenses.
To date we have spent money on:
A new phone system (2022 Fete funds and unexpected)
Commissioning an Aboriginal artist to work with our children to paint the totems in the Sensory garden
Materials for the working bee- (playground mulch etc)
Year 6 Graduation Memory books
Literacy resources (decodable books) to support our Science of Reading approach
Website upgrade
In the future, some thoughts are, but not confirmed:
Contribution to upgrade our IT infrastructure
Lego Club
STEM program- incursions, robotics, Lego
Furniture upgrade supplementation
I circulated a very quick, 5 minute survey for families to complete on Audiri earlier today. We’re asking for your ideas. Please make sure you add your thoughts.
SCHOOL PRODUCTION:
Grab your tickets now if you haven’t done so already. We can’t wait to raise the roof with our voices and create a rumble as we dance our time away. We are so looking forward to showing you our talents.
Please note the following time change:
The MATINEE SESSION will begin at 12.30pm SHARP on Thursday afternoon. Please let relatives know who may be taking a younger sibling. We need to be on buses no later than 2.20 pm to return to school, hence the earlier timeslot.
The PREMIERE (in the evening) will begin at 7 pm sharp.
Expected duration of performance: approximately 1.5 hours (90 minutes)
STAFFING:
As mentioned in an Audiri message last week, Julie Inglese will begin her long service leave on Monday for two weeks. I am very excited for Julie and her family, who will fit some travel into the next couple of weeks. Please keep her in your thoughts and we will all look forward to her return in Term 4. I will also be taking a few weeks at the beginning of next term with some pre-arranged travel with my husband, Mark. We’ll be heading back to the land of our ancestors- Ireland.
What can l say- our FATHER’S DAY Breakfast was fantastic this morning. The hall was full with Dads, grandads and other special men who managed to grab a bite to eat, catch up with friends AND fly their paper planes. What could be more perfect? It was fantastic to see the kids busily practising their paper planes throws and l would have to say, the kids definitely outdid their dads! The old boys need to practise. Congratulations to the MANIAS family who won the family voucher with their combined- sister, brother and Dad- winning throws. Thanks to our staff who helped with the set up, serving and pack-up of this special event. Thank you also to the P&F for organising the Father’s Day stall today. Sabina and others did a great job.
To finish off, can l offer the following blessing to all of our Dads- those here with us or no longer with us. To other men who love us and who hold a special place in our hearts…
Heavenly Father,you entrusted your Son Jesus, the child of Mary,to the care of Joseph, an earthly father.Bless all fathers as they care for their families.Give them strength and wisdom, tenderness and patience;support them in the work they have to do, protecting those who look to them,as we look to you for love and salvation, through Jesus Christ our rock and defender.Amen. - Author Unknown
Have a great weekend everyone, Clare
