St Luke the Evangelist School Newsletter

Good afternoon Families,

LEARNING & TEACHING:

Staffing- Welcome to Daniel Paoli who will be taking on the role of PE specialist this semester. Daniel is a recent graduate from Australian Catholic University and is passionate about sport. He wants kids growing up with a growth mindset about their physical wellbeing being just as important as their mental wellbeing and we couldn’t agree more. I hope when you see Daniel around, you will welcome him to our community.

Middle School Camp has been a huge success. We travelled into the city to stay at Christian Youth Camp in Collins Street. It really was a lovely B&B where the children enjoyed dinner, games, bedtime and breakfast with loads of other lovely activities. Our visit to the Sports Museum has inspired a few more elite athletes amongst our Year 3 and 4 children. Birrarung Marr is such a beautiful stretch between the MCG and Federation Square and ACMI was a perfect stop for the children to engage in loads of hands-on fun. A visit to the State Library this morning was a first visit for many and this iconic landmark in Melbourne’s CBD did not fail to impress. To finish our camping adventure, we had lunch at Ruffey Lake Park showcasing that Melbourne- both in the city or out in the suburbs is such a beautiful city. I would like to thank Emma Cooper who began the process for our Middle School camp and to those staff members who attended camp forgoing their own family time to do… Ashlea Mawer, Nina Grieve, Megan Bunter, Ted Morton and Steph Pierce. We made loads of lovely memories and we’re sure the children did too. 

COMMUNITY: 

Volunteers are seen as a gift to school communities and their service can come in a variety of ways. I’d like to officially acknowledge each one of you who offer in some small way or a much bigger way to support our school. Most recently, we saw it with our merry band of P&F volunteers as well as last week when Paul Sell and Frank Macaluso assisted the Year 5-6 soccer team that represented St Lukes at the district soccer day. Without their help, we would find it difficult to send a team along. Last weekend, Pete Stilve and Paul Tierney spent a couple of hours pruning the presbytery hedge. The impact has been immediate with much clearer vision to improve visibility as well as our carpark safety. So, to all of you, thank you. We really do appreciate everything you do for us.

Sports Trivia Night was a huge success with eighty keen participants looking resplendent in their sports gear. Special mention to Matt Coe, to the infamous Dipper DiPierdomenico who made an appearance- aka Nathan D’Couto and to the every popular Hawthorn fans who turned up in crowd proportions. The time and energy that went into organising the evening, setting up, arranging the silent auction and raffle was clearly obvious and once again, my thanks to the wonderful P & F lead by Candi D’Couto, for building community, for raising funds and for their generosity of time. It was really wonderful to see that there were parents from every year level as well as friends of St Luke’s joining in the fun. We had two tables from Parish which not only says something about how trivia nights can still draw a good crowd but just how much school and parish really want to maintain strong connections. Ohh… and the staff table didn’t do too bad either! Make sure you check out the photos in the Student Entry.

STUDENT WELL BEING:

Kindness is one of the simple pleasures in life and it costs nothing! I spoke to the children at assembly this week about how important it is to be kind to each other and that we have a community of kind parents and grandparents who model daily the definition of kindness. When children point out another child’s differences- which l call gifts and talents- and demonstrate behaviours that exclude or reject others for those beautiful unique qualities, disharmony builds. Please talk to your child often about how we can actually flip a difference into being looked on as a gift. We have 140 very gifted children here at St Luke’s. Each time l look at the face of each child, there l see the face of God. Let’s celebrate that.

Have a wonderful weekend. Go Hawks!

Clare

In STEM this term we have started exploring the ‘Nüdel Kart’. The Nüdel Kart is a deconstructable, mobile play cart designed for fostering creative play for children. It's packed with loose parts that can be combined in countless ways, encouraging children to build, tinker, and imagine. As we continue to experiment with the Nüdel Kart, students will be set challenges like ‘build something that moves’, and they will have to work collaboratively to design and build their creations. Here are some of our imaginative builds so far. 

- Megan Bunter

This week, we have reached a very exciting milestone– 100 days of prep!

What a journey it has been since the beginning of the school year. Congratulations Prep Aqua for reaching 100 days of prep! We are so proud of how much you have grown and learnt. We loved having a beautiful celebration together with everyone. We definitely had a day filled with joy and laughter. Now that you are all 100 days brighter, we were excited to hear what new things you feel you can do. It made us so happy to hear all your wonderful responses. 

Benji: I can draw things well.

Estelle: I can climb up the wobbly rock on the climbing wall.

George: I can come to school happily. I am not afraid anymore.

Aidan: I can go up the monkey bars.

Stella: I can ride my mountain bike to school.

Natalia: I can play tennis well.

Olivia: I can write a lot better now.

Luke: I can read long and hard words.

Ella: I can play with new friends who are not from my daycare.

Isla: I can write.

Kyler: I can count up to 100.

Anja: I can do acrobatics.

Miranda: I can play nicely with friends. 

As we continue into Term 3, we are excited to see our preps becoming more independent, engaged and curious learners. We will keep building on their skills across literacy, numeracy and social development one day at a time. 

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 is next week - 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.

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.