Newsletter: Term 4, Week 8

Dates to Remember:

From the Principal:

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, 16^th  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.

Meet the Year 6's:

Wellbeing:

Daylesford College Transition:

Summer Holiday Program:

Extend (Before & After School Program):

Community News: