Principal's Welcome
Welcome to all students and families upon their return to St Damien’s School for 2023. I hope you all had a very relaxing and enjoyable holiday break. A special welcome to new families entering St Damien’s School; we look forward to journeying together providing the best education and opportunity and watching your child flourish.
It has been great to see all of the students begin school this week and to settle into the classroom and playtime routines. We wish all students every success as they strive to develop, learn and reach their full potential in all they do.
We welcome new staff members, Mrs Sarah Lemm and Mrs Ashlee Williams into the school and wish them every blessing as they provide the very best learning experiences for the students in their care. We also welcome Mrs Casey Slaughter, who will be working in the Year 4 Blue classroom over the next few weeks.
Over the past few weeks, the staff have been in school busily preparing for the new school year. I thank them for their efforts and dedication and wish them a fruitful and rewarding school year.
Parent Information Sessions
Parent Information Sessions have been scheduled to occur in week 2 of the school term. The Parent Information Sessions will be held over two consecutive nights, on Tuesday 7 February and Wednesday 8 February, as per the schedule below. Each year level will be allocated a 40-minute time slot and the meetings will take place in the classrooms of each year level
Tuesday 7 February:
- 2:30pm: Kindergarten
- 3:15pm: Year 2
- 4:00pm: Year 4
- 4:45pm: Year 6
Wednesday 8 February:
- 3:15pm: Pre Primary
- 4:00pm: Year 1
- 4:45pm: Year 3
- 5:30pm: Year 5
School Administration Information Sessions will be offered by the school Leadership Team, which will address the guidelines and policies, as well as new changes and initiatives introduced into the school. The Administration Parent information Sessions will take place in the school library, scheduled as follows:
Tuesday 7 February:
- 3:15pm: Administration Session 1
- 4:00pm: Administration Session 2
Wednesday 8 February:
- 4:00pm: Administration Session 3
- 4:45pm: Administration Session 4
Parent E-Safe Cyber Safety Session
All parents are invited to attend an E-Safe workshop, presented by Kaylene Kerr, from ‘E-Safe Kids’, on Wednesday 15 February, beginning at 6:00pm. Kaylene presented a workshop to parents in 2022, with the feedback being overwhelmingly supportive and useful for parents to gain a knowledge and understanding into the use and risks of the internet by our children.
Swimming Trials
Swimming trials are being held next Friday, 10 February, at the MARC, for students in years 3 to 6. The trials will begin at 9:00am, with each year level completing the trials at different start times during the day. Please take the time to read the correspondence being sent out by Miss Sanders about the trials.
Some parent helpers are required during the day for the swimming trials, so if you are able to assist, please contact Miss Sanders.
Inter House Swimming Carnival
Our Inter House Swimming Carnival is being held on Friday 17 February, for all students in years 3 to 6. This is a fantastic day where the students get to swim and compete for themselves and for their House factions. All parents are welcome to come along and spectate the carnival and cheer the swimmers on.
Assemblies
Due to the very busy start to the school year, with swimming lessons, trials, carnivals and other activities taking place, our first Friday morning assembly will be held on Friday 24 February. All Friday morning assemblies will be held in the school hall. Our Monday morning assemblies will begin in week 3 of the term and will remain as online assemblies.
Medical Action Plans
It is that time of the year again where all documentation needs to be completed and returned to school. Could I ask that all priority is placed on parents who need to return medical action forms and anaphylaxis management forms and asthma action plans to the school as soon as possible to ensure we can provide a safe environment for the students. Thank you to those families who have already provided an updated copy of your child’s medical action plans.
Testing
In the early weeks of the term the school will be conducting testing on students to gain further insights and information about their learning abilities, especially in the areas of Literacy and Numeracy. The testing schedule at the beginning of the year is an important process to enable staff to develop more effective learning plans and activities for the for all students at the beginning of the year. Please contact your child’s classroom teacher if you have any questions or concerns regarding your child’s academic progression, throughout the year.
Swimming Lessons: Years 3 to 6
Swimming lessons have begun for all students in Year 3 to 6 this week and they are all to be commended for their efforts at the beach. The lessons are going very well and the students seem to be very organised each day with all of their swimming gear each day. I thank the parents and carers for supporting this and ensuring that their child/children have everything they need to swim each day. Swimming lessons do continue until the end of next week.
God Bless,
Daniel Gooch
Principal
