Principal's Message
Dear Families
Recently our Gr 5 & 6 students went to Melbourne for a school camp. They travelled there on the Vline train and visited a number of interesting places including the Australian Centre for Moving Images (ACMI) at Federation Square; National Gallery of Victoria (NGV); Ice Skating, Botanical Gardens; ArtVo@Docklands, dinner on Lygon Street and The Melbourne Zoo. The students and teachers had a fantastic time. Thank you especially to the staff who were prepared to participate in this excursion, without you this special event could not have happened. Special thanks to Will Troy, Katie Balfour, Liza Marino and Carmen Farrell.
Young Leaders Day
Our Gr 6 students participated in Young Leaders Day on Monday March 3rd. The students travelled to the Melbourne Exhibition Centre, together with thousands of other Gr 6s in the state. They enjoyed an incredible leadership day listening to different presenters including Emma McKeon (Australia's Most Successful Olympian); Majak Daw (First Sudanese Australian to ever play in the AFL); Catherine Laga'aia (Actress who will play Moana in the upcoming Disney Blockbuster) and Thomas Duncan-Watt (Screenwriter and author). Mr James Simon and Ms Jess Cross both said the day was incredibly worthwhile and that they all learnt so much.
St Joseph's Feast Day
In the coming weeks we will be celebrating St Joseph's Feast Day on Wed Mar 19th. St Joseph is the saint that our school is named after. The P&F are doing a special lunch for this day, you can order on CDFpay (more information in the P&F section of this newsletter).
Joseph, a lowly carpenter, was betrothed to Mary. A ‘just man’ ever ready to carry out God’s will as revealed to him. He beheld the birth of Jesus in a stable. Joseph had the courage to become the father of Jesus, here on earth. Joseph protected Jesus from Herod. He accompanied Mary and Jesus with tender love. He lived his life in the small village of Nazareth in Galilee, where he taught Jesus the value of good, faithful and noble work and service. He is the ‘Patron of the Catholic Church’, the ‘Patron of Workers’, ‘Guardian of the Redeemer’ and Patron Saint of our School. We are encouraged to imitate the example of St Joseph in our lives and into our communities.
St Joseph, pray for us.
Short reflection inspired by Patris Corde, a letter by Pope Francis.
Prayer to St Joseph
Teach us to listen and not be afraid to trust as you did in God’s promise.
Teach us to love courageously with a heart that is free and just.
Teach us to protect one another and all that belongs to God. Teach us to dream a world where all are neighbours, a vision illuminated by God’s light.
Teach us to keep the Word of God close to our hearts, and to proclaim it in word and action.
Teach us to be gentle with our power and strong in our tenderness.
Teach us to be for all persons a living lesson of goodness and truth-a blessing for all generations to come. Amen.
It Takes a Village to raise a Child
A few days ago one of our students was having a hard time getting to school and his family had tried every trick in the book, and then our School Crossing Supervisor, stepped in to save the day. Rosie Sawyer, our supervisor, worked her magic and helped the situation. I feel comforted to know that we each have each other's back and know that we are all certainly in this together. Thanks Rosie, you are a gem!
Working With Children Checks (WWCC)
We warmly invite parents to help at school, if you would like to help in any way then you need to get a WWCC. If you need more information on obtaining a WWCC then please talk to Janelle in the office.
Suggested New School Times
Presently the staff are workshopping a proposed change to our school daily timetable. Staff are wanting to promote the best structure to support student learning and are thinking about behavioural issues on the yard particularly at lunch times. The following bell time structure is proposed to start in term 2:
8.50am music starts 8.55am bell
10.55 bell to start eating time
11am bell to start recess
11.25 music 11.30 bell to finish recess
1.30pm bell to start eating time 1.40 bell to start lunchtime
2.15 music 2.20pm bell to finish lunchtime
3.20 bell to finish school.
The advantage of this structure is that students have two longer learning blocks, followed by a shorter learning block in the afternoon when they are tired. We believe the shorter lunch break will have a positive effect on the behavioural pattern of issues that often happen in the last 10 minutes of lunchtime. School will finish at 3.20pm rather than 3.30pm. We are interested in your thinking about this change. You can let your class teacher know what your thoughts are or you could email me principal@trafalgar.catholic.edu.au
Athletics Carnival
On Thursday March 20th we will be running an annual Athletics Carnival at the Geoff Watt track in Warragul. In Physical Education lessons in class we will be revising the athletic skills for the track and field events. Taryn will be organising the Athletics Carnival for us and will be asking for volunteers to help run the day soon. It really is a great day for everyone, so look out for further information to come.
A Few Reminders
Icypoles are sold in terms 1 & 4 for $1 each
