Dear Parents and Caregivers
Welcome back after what I hope was an enjoyable and peaceful holiday that allowed you to fully recharge your batteries for the final term of this academic year. As we enter our final quarter of the year I have no doubt we are going to finish it at the same pace we started. As I worked through the events calendar it quickly became apparent that we all need to draw down a deep breath because before we know it, it will be Christmas. This term is not only the shortest but also one of the busiest and most exciting.
Next Wednesday is the last day of October and it is often popularly referred to as Halloween. The root of the word Halloween belies its distinctly Christian origins. It is a contraction of ‘All Hallows Eve’. ‘Hallow’, as a noun, is an old English word for saint. As a verb, it means to make something holy or to honor it as holy. In the past it designated the vigil of All Hallows Day, more commonly known today as All Saints Day. However, through the commercialism that surround this feast, with ghouls, goblins, ghosts and all things macabre, this message seems to have been lost in transmission. There are two opposing views to Halloween. Is Halloween simply a sign of the ‘Americanisation’ of our culture or an indication of a society that has completely lost its compass for the spiritual world. Or, for any faith community the spiritual world is not about ghouls and ghosts but about the Holy Spirit who transforms and ennobles our human nature. That’s what we’ll be celebrating on the Feast of All Saints next Thursday and the Commemoration of All Souls next Friday.
The feast of All Saints brings to our gaze the countless numbers of men and women who have lived their spiritual life to the full and now enjoy life of heaven. The Commemoration of All Souls reminds us that the dead are not to be feared, they are to be loved and helped with our prayers. The wonderful things that we are called to think about in these two days are not to be passed over lightly. Both tell us of the triumph of Christ over death and the power of his resurrection. Both show us where our real destiny lies. Let us ask the saints to pray for us, and let’s pray for our loved ones now departed. We can do so because we believe in the communion of saints – a community created by Christ that shares in his risen, healing love.
Success of Vacation Care
I would like to express gratitude to Mrs Jess Nelson for successfully setting up Vacation Care last holidays. Vacation Care supports many families who work during school holidays and also provides a social hub for those students who still wish to catch up in the holidays. Vacation Care was well supported by families and consequently we will be running Vacation Care in the summer holidays (see dates below).
Thursday 13 and Friday 14 December - Pupil Free Days
Monday 17 to Friday 21 December - Vacation Care
Monday 14 to Friday 25 January Vacation Care
Sports Day
Next Friday 2 November there will be a sea of colour at our Annual SJMS Sports Day. Mr Martin has been busy preparing the students for Sports Day, and this week focussed on running trials and team chants. Please note that our entire day will begin and end at school. The first events are scheduled to begin at 9:30am. Parents are invited to join us before the Sports Day activities begin. Sports Day will finish around 2:15pm. Parents who wish to collect their child/ren from Sports Day are asked to sign their child/ren out when collecting them from their teacher. Students who have not been collected by 2:30pm will walk back to school (William St students) or travel back to school by bus (Bridge St students) with their teachers. All students will need a hat, packed recess and lunch and plenty of water. I ask everybody to support their team through wearing their team colours, however students are asked not to colour their hair. Sports Day needs the support of our school community to run successfully and as a staff we are very grateful for your offers of assistance and support.
Testing
Over the next few weeks we will be undertaking our bi-annual whole school testing, which is a combination of assessments which inform the reporting process and measure progress achieved in 2018. These assessments are selected from the myriad of educational tests available, to enable our staff to observe growth and areas of continuing development for our children. This also enables our staff in 2019 to have a continuity of learning from this year to ensure learning time is maximised at the beginning of the school year.
2019 Class Placement
Over the next few weeks the class placement process for 2019 will commence. This is both a time consuming and complex process as we work to develop the right mix of students and the best possible fit in terms of both class sizes and class structures. Our staff aim to keep abreast of the needs of every child through the course of the year and in their discussions with parents, therefore there is very little additional information they require when it comes to the placement process. Please understand that we take into consideration a range of factors including learning styles, academic achievement, gender, previous class history, friendship groups, social and emotional issues, siblings/relatives and so on. However, there is no doubt that some families will feel the need to write to me regarding placement. If you feel you must write, please base your request on these educational issues that you feel we do not currently hold and that is crucial to a successful placement occurring. This is not about ‘selecting a teacher’ but is an opportunity for you to provide information that will help us with the process. I must stress that letters of requests for certain teachers will not be considered as I have yet to confirm staff deployment for next year. Please ensure all requests are forwarded to me no later than next Friday 2 November 2018.
God Bless
Brady Stallard