St Luke the Evangelist School Newsletter

Good afternoon Families and Friends,

Today, after a year-long preparation for our school review,the school Leadership Team met with Kylie Graham the reviewer to listen to the feedback and recommendations for St Luke the Evangelist school. Pete Vanstan and Rebecca Ryan from our Eastern Region Office (MACS) joined us to engage in rich dialogue about what the next four years may look like for our community. All domains- Religious Dimension, learning and Teaching, Leadership and Management, Student Wellbeing and School Community were covered.

It was a very positive, optimistic summary Kylie offered of the strengths she noted over her three days on site and after the many conversations she had with numerous members of the community. Of note was our commitment as a faith-filled community to inclusion, to service and to prayer. Our consistent performance in achieving ‘above the state’ results in the NAPLAN literacy and numeracy was acknowledged. It was also mentioned that our school leaders have effectively led the school over the past four years when change at the school was frequent, pandemic conditions were in place and families were requiring support to engage in an altered remote classroom. Another very pleasing characteristic Kylie noted was the connection children feel to the school and teachers and that children expressed they feel they ‘belong’. This all has been nurtured through our student wellbeing and social emotional learning approach.

Thank you to those people in our community who were able to contribute. I don’t see this as just the people who spoke directly to Kylie on the days she was on site. I think it is every person who:

• Attends our special days like Welcome Picnics,Mother’s Day and Father’s Day breakfasts and Grandparent’s Day

• Attends class or whole school masses

• Is part of our P&F crew of enthusiastic parents

• Is part of our committed SAC members

• Are our classroom volunteers

• Have completed MACSSIS surveys and other short questionnaires

• Offer feedback, when they need to

• Supports fundraising for school and charities

• Supports their child and partners with the school.

Each and every one of you would fit many of these.. Thank you for the contribution you and your family make; we couldn’t do what we do without you.

We are looking forward to a lovely last few weeks of school. Please make sure your children are well prepared for swimming starting next week, pop the wonderful school CAROLS on your calendar for Thursday 7th December and our Mass of Thanksgiving on the last day of the school year- Friday 15th December at 9.30 am.

I have also attached a notice that appears in this weeks MACS Weekly Bulletin highlighting the great combined effort of our schools in the east who raised much needed funds for St Teresa's Church in the Tiwi Islands. Thanks again for your generosity. 

Have a restful weekend and we look forward to seeing you next week.

Clare Ryan

principal@slblackburnsth.catholic.edu.au

Children are encouraged to arrive no earlier than 8:35 am as the gates open and supervision begins at 8:40 am.

Some children are arriving as early as 8 am. This makes it very difficult for teachers and staff who are preparing for the day ahead. 

If you are dropping your child to school, please remain with them until the Student Entry is opened.

Please encourage your child not to leave home early if they are making their way to school independently.

The ‘St. Luke’s Lizards’, having progressed from a previous round of district basketball, faced tough and competitive teams in the Hoop Time Future Stars Regional Finals.  With a positive attitude and resilience, the Lizards battled through six intense games of high level basketball. Tremain Lynch who was guest coach and parents of the team, are extremely proud of the journey of the Lizards!  A special thanks goes out to parent supporters and drivers, and also Sarah who did a great job of scoring for each game!  Well done Lizards!

On Friday 10th November all Junior classes went to the Gould League Sustainability Education Centre for an excursion, and here is what they have to say about the day…

Prep

I liked learning about where rubbish goes - Samantha 

I liked finding minibeasts, they were snails and worms - Evelyn

My favourite part of the excursion was the performance, it was where we were learning how to make our own cans - Emiliana

We got to see mini beasts, they were hiding in their shells and I got one snail and two butterflies and one slug! -Ryan

I found snails and slugs and rolly pollies and I shared the rolly pollies with my friends. I enjoyed learning about where rubbish goes and for every six rubbish you throw out there will still be two of them after one thousand years -Arthur

My favourite part of the excursion was at lunch when we played on the playground. There was monkey bars and a balancing bridge and a climbing wall - Alexandros

My favourite part of the excursion was learning about the rubbish and compost. The worms like compost except for the spiders - Heze

We did a play and Samantha was on fire, I liked it when Jamie put the rubbish out. I enjoyed when we went into the compost bin and we saw lots of animals, spiders, butchy boys slugs, earthworms and snails - Harry

1/2 Coral

I liked when we all went outside to catch minibeasts in the garden! We caught a snail, beetle and a woodlouse - Brooklyn & Aubrey

I enjoyed going into the shrinking machine and hearing a story about minibeasts who live in the compost bin! We shrunk into tiny ants! - Eliza

I loved getting dressed up as a earthworm because it was fun lying on the floor and pretending to wriggle along the ground - Ilaria

I liked the part when we were in the compost bin with the really big spider - Athan

I liked when I found some worms in the soil and I looked in the magnifying jar to see the worms up close - Louis

I had so much fun when we all got dressed up and acted out the compost story - Amalia

I enjoyed collecting bugs with Vanessa in the garden - Sarah

My favourite activities were when we got to touch real worms; going into the garden and looking for bugs; going into the shrinking machine and performing the compost bin show - Vanessa 

I liked when we got to hold worms on our hands and went into the garden to dig up minibeasts - Oliver

I saw a ginormous spider - Thomas

My favourite activity was when we went into the shrinking machine because we got to see what was actually inside a compost bin - Tilly

I liked all of the activities - Isaiah

1/2 Emerald 

I really enjoyed when we went into the compost bin and saw all the big minibeasts that live there - Tilly, Clem, Georgia, Chiara, Mitchell, Mila

I enjoyed catching the minibeasts and looking at them under the microscope to see all their features - Issy, Dylan, Ava, Reuben, Olivia, Michael

I liked when we did the play and had to dress up in costumes like minibeasts - Lachlan, Alex, Noah

I liked picking up and exploring the worms - Jimmy

2023 School Fees and Levies - are now overdue.  Thank you to families who have paid their 2023 Fees and Levies.  If you have not yet paid please action by Thursday 30th November.

2024 School Fees and Levies - please refer to the Operoo communication sent to families Thursday 16th November.   There is important information about the 2024 School Fees and Levies for 2024 and a request for families to provide the intended frequency and method of payment for the 2024 School year. 

Please RSVP with numbers attending and money safely secured in an envelope

Next meeting: Friday 24th November in the staffroom.

Please watch out for notifications and reminders of some of the exciting things happening in these last weeks:

SWIMMING: All forms are due back NOW please. Please complete the Operoo confirmation too. We start on Monday 27th November

Carols Evening: Thursday 7th December

• 5 pm- BYO picnic tea on the Hill - Weather permitting

• 5.45 pm- Move to the Church for our annual Carols which will begin at 6 pm sharp

Mass of Thanksgiving and Morning Tea: Friday 15th December at 9.30 am
Please join us to give thanks for the year we have shared together. Morning tea for adults, toddlers and parishioners will be held in the Discovery Centre after mass.  Please invite grandparents and special friends to join us.

LOST PROPERTY:

Please check the lost property cupboard if you are missing jumpers, jackets or food containers.  

SUMMER UNIFORMS:

As we move to warmer months, we should now be wearing the summer uniform.  Please apply sun cream in the morning before school.

Term 4 = 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 the student entry doors close at 9.00 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.