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Dear Families
Welcome back to Term 2. I trust everyone enjoyed the break and took advantage of the many sunny days that we had over the holiday period. The public holidays either end of the break that extended the traditional two week period certainly made the break not feel so rushed, and many students commented how happy they were to be back at school as they were bored at home. I wonder if Lavalla had the same level of enthusiasm from their teenagers?
I spent a number of days during the break on-site at school being an excited onlooker (wannabe Project Manager?) and it was great to have the internal courtyard space completed, new shade sails installed and building fitout almost completed. An unexpected bonus was Mr.Greenslade having time over the break to set-up up streaming room. If you are interested in that type of technology I'm sure Cam would be thrilled to walk you through the gear we now have available for our classes to use. This week the builders and other core trades have finished and we have the technical fit outs happening along with the external works. We could possibly be operational next week so please be on your toes for some massive operational changes. A key strategy that will occur will be walk-through for individual classes so that all students feel safe and informed with how the new spaces are organised and know how they can access key places like student reception and first aid. Once the space is open feel free to drop in for a visit to look around. The awful wet weather today gives us the opportunity to appreciate our improved, safer and drier floorplan.
This term we are quietly working behind the scenes to prepare for our four-year review. As leaders we have plenty of tasks to complete but a key task for the school community is to participate in various feedback opportunities. Some of these are online while some face-to-face engagement will take place between now and November. I've thoroughly enjoyed my first five terms here at St.Vincent's but I'm looking forward to having the building project off my plate so I can roll up my sleeves and get immersed in driving improvement at St.Vincent's. Yes, the buildings and facilities are important in the school but they are only the starting point.
This term we have our Confirmation Sacramental program and we look forward to working with our Year 6 candidates and their families during this important and exciting period in their faith journey. The Confirmation night is on Thursday 15th June to be celebrated by Bishop Greg at Sacred Heart Church. We also have plenty of inter school sport events for the seniors as well as Year 5/6 in the last week of term. Across the school we have our continued cyber-safety sessions as well as a Well-being Live Performance. So hold on tight, another quick term awaits also noting that it is only a nine week term.
In this newsletter we have a flyer about our school Open Day and we encourage you to invite current and future families to visit. If you have a Foundation (Prep) student starting in 2024 please make contact with the office so we can include you in any important mail-outs etc. We encourage you to let new families know about our school and let them know that 'every day is open day' if they wanted to book a time for a guided tour around our beautiful (new) school.
Next week we celebrate Mother's Day and I look forward to having lots of people on-site for Mass and to visit, with the new building completion date hopefully coinciding with our Wednesday Mass. The Parents & Friends volunteers have spent many sessions over the past months auditing and preparing gifts for the Mother's Day stall and the items available for purchase look wonderful.
So plenty to celebrate and look forward to at St.Vincent's during May and June - Remember to keep an eye on PAM and the newsletter for information and dates.
Wishing everyone a great term.
Dave (a very distressed Richmond Supporter)
Along the Track - A Reflection from Jim Quilinan: RETURNING TO GALILEE
Jim Quilinan provides our Diocese with an article once a month. Please enjoy Jim's most recent reflection titled "RETURNING TO GALILEE"