Newsletter: Term 4, Week 8
Dates to Remember:

From the Principal:
Advent
God of hope
Be with us on our Advent journey
To the stable and beyond
Be with us in our meeting,
And in our travelling together,
Be with us in our worship
And our praying together,
Be with us on our Advent journey
To the stable and beyond
Amen.
We live in a fast paced, somewhat instant world. We turn on our TVs and watch the movies we want – on demand. We expect service and want what we want when we want it. Waiting, especially patient waiting, is not something we do well as a society. Advent is extremely radical and different in this fast-paced, somewhat instant world. These weeks call on us to focus on waiting – patiently – for the Lord. Instead of instant results and rapid fulfilment, we are called to wait with expectation for the Lord. As Christmas approaches, we need to prepare ourselves for the birth of Jesus. In Advent, giving the family time to discuss why Jesus’ coming is important. Advent is a time to see how ready we are to receive the Lord Jesus. Jesus’ coming at Christmas is an invitation to accept his love, peace, and joy. During these weeks, we prepare ourselves to accept this invitation. The Advent wreath, in all its various forms, is a visual prompt to aid our focus.
The circular wreath reminds us of God Himself, His eternity and endless mercy, which has no beginning or end. The green of the wreath speaks of our hope in God, the hope of newness, renewal, and eternal life. Candles symbolize the light of God coming into the world through the birth of His son. The four outer candles represent the period of waiting during the four Sundays of Advent, which themselves symbolize the four centuries of waiting between the prophet Malachi and the birth of Christ.

End of Year Celebration
St. Augustine’s End of Year Celebration Night will take place on Thursday, December 8th. Your classroom teacher will advise you regarding the clothing your child will need to wear. It is a great night and I look forward to seeing you all there as we celebrate the year that was 2022.
School Finish
Parent/guardian, please be aware that although school finishes for students on Friday, 16th December, at the usual finishing time of 3:15pm, staff will continue to work at school on Monday, December 19th, with our final day being Tuesday, December 20th.
Transition Day
Next week our year six children will be involved in transition days to their Secondary school. We have already completed transition forms, and the children have met with teachers from their Secondary school. It is now also the time of year that they begin visits to their Secondary School.
Our current students will also be involved in transition day. They will work with their next year’s teacher between 9:30 and 11:00 oclock on Tuesday December 13th . This will enable the children’s 2023 teacher to meet your child and your child to become more familiar with their new teacher.
Children’s Reports
The teachers are very busy at the moment writing reports. They use assessment data collected during the year to report on your child’s academic progress and work habits. As you can well imagine, it is a daunting task to describe twelve months of teaching and learning in a grade and a comment. The reports, with all being well, will be available to download on Friday, December 16th.
Reporting and its relationship to assessment are part of a larger context of learning, which the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA) describes as four interrelated steps:
The curriculum defines what it is that students should learn, and the associated progression or continuum of learning
Pedagogy describes how students will be taught and supported to learn
Assessment identifies how well a student has learnt specified content
Reporting explains to the child, their parents/carers and practitioners where a child is on the learning continuum at the end of a specified period of learning and where this places the child in relation to their own learning goals and/or the learning of their peers.
(VCAA Website)
Fundraising Levy
The money raised in 2022 and 2023 will be spent on an upgrade of our school fencing. A new section will be added to the front of our school to channel people directly to the office, prohibiting access to the playground. The rear of the school will get a drive through and secure fencing across the southern boundary. New gates will be installed in the fence behind the year 5/6 hub, and the opening in front of the church will be filled with a gate.
Reminders regarding COVID-19
We have had a small number of Covid-19 cases present in families connected to our school, so below are some timely reminders about current settings. Please see the latest advice below.
We ask that students:
- who test positive for COVID-19 should stay home and isolate themselves for five days
- should not attend school after five days if still symptomatic
- who are symptomatic but have not tested positive should not attend school.
Where students become symptomatic at school, they need to:
- be collected by their parents/carers
- undergo testing for COVID-19.
The Department of Health recommends that masks be worn by a person who is close to someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 when leaving home. The Department of Health also recommends that a person who tests positive for COVID-19 should inform those with whom they have recently been in contact, including their workplace, school and household.

Staffing and Year Levels 2023
Fr. Justin Driscoll – Parish Priest
Terry Brennan – Principal
Karen Williams – Office Administrator
Celly Csorba – Year 6 teacher
Carlie Daley – Year 5 teacher
Angelique Greene– Year 4 teacher
Maria Grawich – Year 3 Teacher
Sarah Prendergast– Year 2 Teacher
Chris Schepis – Year 1 Teacher
Jessica Reynolds – Foundation Teacher & Assistant Principal
Staci Jones– Japanese Teacher & Physical Education Teacher
Kate Snow - The Arts, Visual, Music and Drama Teacher
Louise Morris – Learning Diversity Teacher
Nicolle Miller – Classroom Support
Ginny Crilly – Classroom Support
Carlyn Hall - Junior Classroom Volunteer
Meet the Year 6's:

Wellbeing:


Daylesford College Transition:
DAYLESFORD COLLEGE TRANSITION FOR YEAR 6 STUDENTS:
Monday 5th December – Year 7 Info Night and Meet the Team
5:30pm for drinks/nibbles, 6pm start
Come meet the team who will be looking after your child through their high school years. Our students’ first teachers are their parents / carers and we treat education as a partnership between home and school. The first step in this partnership is for us to meet and welcome you all to Daylesford College. The night will also provide you with the opportunity to ask all the questions parents / carers often wonder about. Nibbles and drinks will be provided. We encourage you to bring all your kids along to the night. They will be taking part in getting-to-know-you games and activities while the parents / carers are meeting the team.
Tuesday 6th December – Singleton’s Afternoon
1:30pm – 3:15pm
For students attending high school from small schools or solo it can be an overwhelming experience. The Singleton’s afternoon is by invitation to selected school and students to attend the College and meet other students in similar situations. The afternoon will consist of a range of activities to assist students in transitioning into high school.
Tuesday 13th December – State Wide Orientation Day
8:50am with a 9am start and 3:15pm finish
Welcome to the first day of Year 7 2023! Come and meet your classmates, teachers and community at the College. You will officially start your first day of high school and enjoy the excitement of a new school and possibilities.
Summer Holiday Program:

Extend (Before & After School Program):


Community News:


