End of Term 1 Newsletter

From the Co-Principals:

Thursday 6th April 2023

Dear Families,

As the first term draws to a close, we are pleased to share with you some of the highlights for our students and the community. It has certainly been a whirlwind term, and we feel so blessed to have the support of our wonderful staff and families.

We thank every one of you for your continued support of our school. We appreciate your patience as we have navigated through this first term together with some uncertainty as to the future of our school as far as leadership goes.

Shaun and I feel very fortunate to have been able to support the school to commence the year with a relatively smooth transition. We take this opportunity to sincerely thank the staff for their continued efforts and the support they have shown to us personally as we have been between the two schools.

In terms of moving forward, the Diocese is in the process of appointing a new principal, with a negotiated start time listed as ASAP. We will keep you informed as the process continues. Thank you to Jo Anne Bond from Catholic Education Ballarat who facilitated the Community Consultation process last week with students, staff and families. Shaun and I will remain supporting the school at the beginning of Term Two, for the first two weeks and then work with DOBCEL around a transition plan.

Caritas & Easter Reflection 

Our students have been challenged to think about the way they live their life and how they can be the best possible people they are called to be. Project compassion is also a big focus during Lent with students asked to donate money to support Caritas Australia. Last Friday we held our Lenten fundraising event. Congratulations to everyone involved in our Caritas Coin Line, and a big thank you to our Student Representative Council who ran the event with the support of Mrs Greene. As a community we raised just over $577 and the joined line of coins reached 77.7m in length which is an impressive feat.

Yesterday the students participated in a reflective prayer experience and recreated the events of Holy Week, which allowed them to connect with the religious significance of this important time. Through guided prayer and contemplation, the students journeyed through the key moments of Jesus' final days on earth. The prayer experience deepened their understanding of the sacrifices made by Jesus and highlighted the importance of forgiveness and love. Thank you to the parents and carers who came along to join us for this, your presence was appreciated.

ANZAC Day

The school will recognise ANZAC day on Monday 24th April at 9am with a reflection service in conjunction with assembly in the hall. All are welcome to join us for this.

This year as part of the Creswick community ANZAC day service, the invitation is there for students to participate in the march from the splash park to the cenotaph in Creswick. Following this will be the wreath laying service where our Year 6 school leaders will represent the school. If your child is interested in participating in the Creswick community ANZAC day march, they will need to wear their full school winter uniform and meet school staff representatives, 10am at the splash park on Tuesday 25th April.

School Uniform
Students are expected to wear the winter uniform on the first day of Term Two.

If your child (ren) is unable to wear the full school uniform at any time, please send a note of explanation to the relevant teacher. Thank you for your ongoing support in this. 

Staffing News

At the end of term we also bid farewell to Kate Snow as she commences Maternity Leave and prepares for the birth of her second child, a brother or sister for Riley. We wish Kate every blessing and pray all goes well.  We thank Kate for all she has brought to our school in supporting the Arts and know she will be missed. We look forward with great anticipation to hearing of the news of her new arrival.

We also farewell Nicole Miller who is taking a much deserved break and long awaited long service leave to travel overseas. We wish her a safe journey and pray her adventure is all she hopes it will be and more. We are currently in the process of finding a suitable replacement to cover Nic while she is away.

We are also excited that Jodi Toering has joined our team and look forward to all she will bring to the Arts,  as she commences coverage while Kate is on Maternity leave.  Jodi will also work with our Foundation Students on Fridays. We hope you will all make Jodi welcome in our school community.

Update on school buildings

Thank you again to our families for their quick response and support following our gas leak earlier in the week. Plumbers have been on site and isolated the problem line and will be in over the holidays to make necessary repairs. An extra thank you to the families that jumped in and helped out other families with care, it is a testament to what a special community St Augustine’s is.

Capital Grants

We have recently submitted an application for a Capital Development Grant as part of the Government funding scheme. This grant, if successful, will allow the school to begin work on bringing its masterplan to life. The masterplan sees a complete redevelopment of the existing school buildings, renewing the learning spaces and improving the entrance areas of the school as well as providing opportunities to access outdoor learning spaces. This is an exciting time moving ahead. In order to support this application, alongside our ongoing maintenance work, the school has secured a portable which is expected to be delivered early term 2. This will enable our senior students to move over with the rest of the school and provide room for classes to decant and relocate during the proposed building project. This will impact on parking at the rear of the school temporarily, particularly during delivery and set up. With this in mind we ask families to not use the drive through the area at the rear of the school until further notice.

Important Dates for Term 2

Term 2 commences - Monday 24th April 

• Assembly and Whole school ANZAC reflection in hall- Monday 24th April 9am
• ANZAC Day Public Holiday - Tuesday 25th April 
• Enrolment mass for Confirmation group - Sunday 30th April 9am
• Confirmation group sessions X 4 Begin Tuesday 2nd 5:30 in the Hall (2nd, 9th,16th,23rd)
• School Photos - Wednesday 3rd May students to wear full winter uniform
• Athletic’s Carnival - Friday 5th May
• Mother’s Day Liturgy and morning tea - Friday 12th May, 9:15am in hall
• SAC Meeting Thursday 25th May 3:30
• Confirmation Celebration - Sunday 28th May, 9am

• Year 6 Camp Wed - Fri 7th June - 9th June

• Public Holiday  Monday 12th June
• Year 5 Camp Tuesday 13th & Wednesday 14th June
• Swimming Program - Whole school - 19th June -23rd June

Kind regards,

Bambi Afford & Shaun Mohr

Co-Principals