Newsletter Term1 Week 10

Easter prayer

Heavenly Father,

We lift up our hearts to you in prayer on this holy day.

May we be refreshed and renewed this Easter season by the waters of our baptism helping us to we move forward as a community of faith facing challenges with hope and love.

We pray for peace especially in places experiencing war.

Principal’s Message

Dear Parents & Carers,

As we approach the end of Term 1, I would like to thank everyone for your ongoing support throughout these continuing trying times of the pandemic. I would especially like to acknowledge the staff, who have continued to perform their duties despite the internal & external restrictions that they face daily. Staff absences and illness have also meant those on site have had to pick up  extra duties and responsibilities to keep things going.  So I offer all staff a big thank you for the term.

I also wish to acknowledge our Parents Association. Over the past two years it has been a challenge to gather and build the strong school community we seek at St Andrew’s. The response to the Bush Dance and the Easter Egg raffle demonstrate to me the willingness our community has for connection and support for the school. On Wednesday we drew  39 raffle prizes, all donated by our parents, raising approximately $900. Thank you everyone.

For the past few years, St Andrew’s has had a partnership with The Huddle. The Huddle is an initiative of the North Melbourne Football Club working with our Grade 6 students to engage, support and empower them to build on their strengths, increase their ability to participate in society and contribute to more socially inclusive communities. Through the design of its innovative programs, The Huddle leverages the power of sport to strengthen social inclusion, education and careers for young people. We congratulate Emma Kearney, the coordinator of our program, for her selection in the AFLW All Australian team as Captain, Well done Emma.

The final RAT distribution for the term will be done today. Please keep these RATs for use during the first two weeks of Term 2. The Victorian Government has extended the rapid antigen test (RAT) screening program for the first four weeks of Term 2. All students are encouraged to continue testing twice a week, we recommend Sunday/Monday and Wednesday/Thursday.

Over the past two weeks the teachers have been focused on planning for our term 2 concept of INNOVATION and will draw heavily on the Science & Design Technology learning areas. There are many exciting opportunities being planned and I am sure the students will be highly engaged by the content. An exciting term awaits.

While the Christian community prepares for Holy Week and Easter, our Muslim community is in the holy period of Ramadan, Ramadan Mubarak!

I wish everyone a Happy & Holy Easter and a safe holiday. I look forward to seeing you all next term.

Regards

Michael Gavaghan

Mini Vinnies Team: Catholic Social Justice Action

Today our Mini Vinnies Team organised a casual clothes fundraiser where a gold coin donation was asked from each family.

All money raised today will be donated to the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre which will support the ASRC Foodbank to provide free groceries to asylum seekers and refugee families.

The Mini Vinnies Team identified groups who they felt were in need & it was Akwot Biong’s passion for supporting refugees that influenced the decision of the team. Thankyou to Jennifer Mutaka for designing the flyer.

The total amount raised today is…$257!

Thank you everyone for your support!

Celebrating Cultural Diversity at St Andrew’s

Multiculturalism is a core part of our students identity, character and way of life. A school to families from all corners of the world, St Andrew’s is a place where anyone can contribute and belong.

During cultural diversity week, our Year 6 students were invited to share their cultural story and spark curiosity about cultures and each other. We have shared with you, our community, two stories from our year 6 students to spark your curiosity!

Karen Frog Drum By Angelbell 6B

The Karen Frog Drum is a traditional drum that is played on special events like the Karen New Years etc.

The frogs on the drum are represented as the Karen people. You can see that they are behind each other. It is because long ago the Karen people would follow each other wherever they went. The black horns on each side of the drum is for blowing on and it’s made from elephant’s tusks.

Traditional Cup by Jenny 6B

The traditional cup is made out of bamboo. In the 1800’s, the Burma refugees were poor and couldn’t afford cups and plates. So they got hard bamboo sticks and shredded them to make plates, cups or anything else.

They put ink on the outside but not the inside.  The ink is made out of charcoal and it is used for the Karenni National Day to remember the people who made the cups  in the past.

Transition from Summer to Winter Uniform

With the changing weather patterns in Victoria we allow a phase in period for change of uniform.  For winter uniform, the phase in period will be from the first day of Term 2 to the first day of winter.

During these phase-in periods, students may wear either summer or winter uniform and by the end of the phase-in period they will be expected to be in the designated seasonal uniform.

Mother’s Day Breakfast – Friday 6 May

I am pleased to announce that after a two year absence from our event calendar, our highly anticipated Mother’s Day breakfast will be making a return in 2022.

Mums you are invited to come to school with your family between 7:30am and 8.30am on Friday 6 May for a cooked breakfast. Bacon, eggs, toast and sausages will be on offer.

A reminder that all visitors on school sites over the age of 12 years of age must be able to provide evidence of vaccination. 

Term 2 Closure Day

We have confirmed a Term 2 closure day for Friday 27 May.

On this day the staff will be involved in training for the new EAL curriculum and reporting requirements.

Upcoming Dates

Friday 8 April	1.00pm Term 1 ends
Monday 25 April	ANZAC Day Public Holiday
Tuesday 26 April	Term 2 begins School Advisory Council Meeting @ 7pm
Wednesday 27 April	ARDOCH Wildlife exposure – Sea Life Year 1s & 2s experience
Friday 29 April	Subway Lunch
Monday 2 May	Biomimicry Bootcamp – Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne – Selected Year 5 & 6 students Parents Association Meeting @ 7pm
Tuesday 3 May	Werribee District Cross Country
Wednesday 4 May	It Takes A Spark Conference – Selected Year 4-6 students Yr 3 Hoop Time Trials
Thursday 5 May	Mother’s Day stalls – Parents Association
Friday 6 May	Mother’s Day Breakfast
Sunday 8 May	MOTHER’S DAY
Tuesday 10 May	F-2 excursion to Scienceworks Year 4 Eucharist Activity Day NAPLAN – Writing – Morning 2nd Dose Vaccination Clinic @ 3pm Eucharist Family Faith Night @ 6:30pm
Wednesday 11 May	Yr 4 Hoop Time Trials NAPLAN – Reading & Language Conventions – Morning
Thursday 12 May	NAPLAN – Numeracy
Friday 13 May	Subway Lunch
Monday 16 May	Year 5 and 6 Incursion AKORN Education Full STEAM AHEAD
Tuesday 17 May	Year 4 Camp begins – Camp Wilkins, Anglesea
Thursday 19 May	Year 4 Camp ends
Friday 20 May	Year 3-6 Author visit
Tuesday 24 May	First Eucharist @ 6pm
Friday 27 May	School Closure Day