Dear Families

This past fortnight has been extremely busy at St.Vincent's .... but aren't they all?

In the classrooms we have had the Year 3 and 5 students complete the NAPLAN program.  Across each of the six classrooms we have seen students complete the tasks confidently and without hassle.  This is due to the efforts and resilience of the children but also the professional and stress-free environment the teachers created.  As a parent the information it provided me of my own children was interesting, though as a principal the data we receive about our school and our diocese is extremely informative.  Over summer we purchased a set of Chromebooks for each of these classrooms which I believe has had a significant impact on assisting our students complete these assessments on their own familiar, personal device.  Our new building also provides internet connectivity that has been rated as 20x above our previous capacity so you can only imagine the improvements this enables for staff and students.

This past week the Catholic Church celebrated the Feast Day of St.Joseph - the earthly father of Jesus.  In Australia this day also marks the opening of the first Catholic school by St.Mary MacKillop and her Sisters of St.Joseph in what was essential a run-down stable in Penola, South Australia.  So why I gloat about our internet speeds I also have to remind myself that a true Catholic School is measured on our academic, social emotional and faith outcomes of our students.  We pray for blessings of both St.Joseph and St.Mary of the Cross MacKillop on our school community.

Last weekend at Mass, Fr.James shared the story of the Healing of the Blind Man from the Gospel of Matthew.  Essentially the story challenges to not be BLINDED but be open to SEE the joyful message of Jesus.  This Lent Project Compassion challenges out to LOOK for opportunities to impact of local, national and global community.  We pray that as staff and as parents we can help our children to be open to SEE how they can make an impact in their world.

The building developments are operating at a good speed and fingers crossed we are operational early next term.  This will demand flexibility from everyone as we adapt to new spaces and changed procedures.  I have been appreciative of the shared efforts of everyone, staff and families, these past two years and I cannot wait to offer some guided tours once it is (finally) all completed.   These last few months have been extremely challenging for our Office Team in particular so can I especially thank them for their flexibility and cheerfulness under cramped conditions .... they have been superstars and haven't offered even the slightest whine!  The building project has prioritised the safety of our children and designed to drive improved teaching and learning practices so every inconvenience is worth the effort.  Around the school we have also seen some significant improvements including new garden beds around MacKillop House and a two more shade sails in the yard.  So with more mulch arriving for these two spaces, plus the new front garden on the cards I really do need some generous volunteers to throw some mulch around.  Let me know if you can help.

Finally, we are almost ready for our first sacrament of the year - Reconciliation for our Year 3s.  We keep these children and their families in their prayers as they prepare to celebrate their First Reconciliation next week.

Yours,

Dave

Multiculturalism is a core part of the Victorian identity, our character and way of life. Our state is home to people who speak 290 languages and have 314 different ancestries. It's also a place where anyone can contribute and belong.

Cultural Diversity Week is a time to celebrate the power, influence, and stories of Victoria's rich multicultural communities, and all Victorians are invited to participate through a variety of in-person events and activities.

In 2023, Cultural Diversity Week will take place across the state from 11 - 21 March.

As we prepare for Cultural Diversity Week, we invite Victorians to reflect on the day that paved the way for these celebrations. March 21 is the United Nation's International Day of Elimination of Racial Discrimination. This day reminds us that while celebrating multiculturalism is vital, so too is supporting and advocating on behalf of multicultural communities.  In Australia we refer to this day as HARMONY DAY.

St.Vincent's has a proud history of embracing our cultural diversity, in fact our school came into existence in the 1950's to cater for the wave of post-war migration.

As a school we celebrated this event by joining together for a Whole School Mass.

As we continue through the Season of Lent as a school we offer our students the chance to engage in the Project Compassion stories.  These stories introduce us to real people who are impacted by the work undertaken by Caritas Australia.  By engaging with the stories of Project Compassion we are living out the challenge of Lent of: [1] Fasting [2] Almsgiving and [3] Praying.

As a family we encourage you to work with your children at an age-appropriate level to discuss who you could contribute to Project Compassion through your actions.  This could be by watching some of the video stories to become more grateful for what we have or maybe go without a treat and instead donate that cost to the Project Compassion fund-raising box in each classroom.

This Thursday Year 3/4H have organised a 'Lolly Jar' fundraiser for Project Compassion - 50 cents a guess. 

As we journey towards Easter we pray that we use Lent as an opportunity to reach out to others.

Jim Quilinan provides our Diocese with an article once a month.  Please enjoy Jim's most recent reflection titled "THE CROSS"

The most current Parish Newsletter can be downloaded from here .......

Week 2

	Principal's Award for Positive Behaviour	Class Award
Prep MP	Everyone	Harper
1/2C	Leny	Lennex
1/2F	Lily	Harvey
1/2SJ	Xavier	Lucia
3/4B	Harvey	Everyone
3/4D
3/4E	Lila	Logan
5/6BM	Tahlia	Orianna
5/6KM	Savannah	Jaxon
5/6W	Jedd	Everyone

Week 3

	Principal's Award for Positive Behaviour	Class Award
Prep MP	Zaydah	Fletcher
1/2C	Halle	Harvey
1/2F	Adelyn	Marley
1/2SJ	Elijah	Chiara
3/4B	Vincent	Alexandra
3/4D	Emmett	Jesse
3/4E	Ruby	Kayden
5/6BM	Talia	Harley
5/6KM	Zoe	Charlotte
5/6W	Livinia	Bailey

It looks like a busy month ahead as we make our way to the Easter holidays.  These dates are already on our PAM Calendar.

WEEK 8

Mon 20th March - RACV Stroll & Roll Safety Sessions (Years 3-6)

Wed 22nd March - Whole School Mass 9.15am

Fri 24th March - NATIONAL RIDE TO SCHOOL DAY

Fri 24th March - EASTER RAFFLE DONATION DAY.  Casual clothes and bring a raffle donation

WEEK 9

Tue 28th March - AFL PLAY SESSIONS.  Wear your Sports Uniform, feel free to slip your AFL jumper/top over your polo.

Tue 28th March - COMMUNITY BBQ from 5pm

Thu 30th March - PARISH RECONCILIATION NIGHT

Fri 31st March - NETTA NETBALL

Fri 31st March - YEAR 1 PICNIC

WEEK 10

Mon 3rd April - EASTER ASSEMBLY (Raffle and Hot Cross Bun collection)

Tue 4th April- SCHOOL ATHLETICS.  Permission and details on PAM.

Wed 5th April - Student Leaders attend SHRINE ANZAC SERVICE in Melbourne

Thu 6th April - STATIONS OF THE CROSS 10am

Thu 6th April - END OF TERM DISMISSAL 12.30pm

TERM 2 - WEEK 1

Mon 24th April - STUDENT FREE DAY

Tue 25th April- ANZAC DAY PUBLIC HOLIDAY

Wed 26th April- TERM 2 STARTS

At our recent P&F meeting we discussed the following items:

Easter Raffle: Casual Clothes day (Raffle Donation Day)  Friday 23rd March

Easter Raffle Books: Tickets have been distributed, more available in the Office

Hot Cross Buns Fundraiser: Orders close Monday 27th March, Pickup Monday 3rd April

St.Vincent's is proud to have partnered with Latrobe City to participate in the Stroll & Roll Program for 2023.

Some of the recent work:

- RACV Safety Sessions for Years 3 to 6 (Monday 19th March)

- Promoting National Ride2School Day (Friday 24th March) 

- Installing a TAG-ON kiosk for our students.  Stay tuned for more Information about our tag roll-out.  If you would like be be a trial family please get your child to see Mr.Cooper.

In Latrobe, we want children and young people to feel safe and confident to walk, ride, skate or scoot in their local neighbourhood.

The aim of the Stroll & Roll program is to increase the number of children and young people actively travelling to school.

The program has been designed to address the barriers reported by students, parents and teachers that currently prevent students from actively travelling to school.

The program also looks at creating individual behaviour change, through the use of incentives, to get more students walking, riding, scooting or skating to and from school.

Why is active travel important?

Encouraging children to walk, ride, scoot or skate to school helps them build physical activity into their day. However, the health benefit is not limited to just a child’s physical health, it also supports overall wellbeing and the creation of lifelong healthy habits.

Other wellbeing benefits include:

• Building confidence: children learn important skills such as road safety and awareness of their surroundings. This can help promote independence and resilience.
• Boosts energy levels: increasing children’s activity levels can help generate positive learning outcomes such as improved concentration in the classroom.
• Being social: active travel is a great opportunity for children to have fun and to socialise with other children or their family.
• Connecting with the neighbourhood: by exploring local routes to school, children become familiar with their local neighbourhood and can connect with the world around them.

Live too far away from the school to actively travel? Remember part of the way is ok!

Common feedback from both students and parents in Latrobe was that families live too far away from the school to actively travel the whole distance. Why not drive part of the way, park the car and allow your children to walk or ride the remaining way to school?

Keep an eye out for Park and Walk zones that are being developed around Latrobe. These Park and Walk zones are clearly signed and allow a safe place for you to park the car and walk or ride safely to school.

Our Tag-On kiosk has been installed this week just inside the Student Entry doors.  Below is an promotional video of the system as well as an information sheet for families.  We are super keen to roll out this program to all families but we are looking for some families to be in our first trial group - Please get your child to see Mr.Cooper to express their interest.

https://www.tagon.net.au/video/

How to register your tag: https://tagon.net.au/registering-a-tag/