Term 3 Welcome
Welcome back to St Damien’s for term three. I hope you had a very enjoyable and relaxing holiday. It has been wonderful to hear all of the stories and adventures the children have spoken about during their holiday break and it is great to see them all back at school enthusiastic and ready to tackle the term of work ahead.
Term three is another busy term. The students, again, will be engaged in diverse and challenging learning tasks and activities. From excursions, to sporting carnivals, along with an abundance of learning in the classroom, there will be many varied opportunities for the students to engage in and have fun.
Parent Teacher Meetings
A reminder to parents that Parent-Teacher interviews have been scheduled for Thursday 27 July, beginning at 12:00pm. Parents can book in their respective interview times now, using the following link:
Parent-Teacher Interviews Booking Link
The Parent-Teacher interviews are a great opportunity for parents to get an understanding of how their child/children are progressing at school and to discuss potential learning goals set for the remainder of the year.
Please note, school will close early on this date, at 11:45am. Any students who are unable to be collected at the early close time will be supervised by staff up to 3:00pm.
Please contact the office if you are experiencing any difficulties when booking for the upcoming Parent-Teacher interviews.
Year 6 Confirmation Parent Meeting
Preparation for our Year 6 students receiving the Sacrament of Confirmation begins on Tuesday 1st August, beginning at 5:30pm, with the Parent Information Meeting being held. We wish the candidates, families and relevant staff the very best as they journey through the preparation period of the Sacrament.
NAPLAN
Early in Term 1 the students in Years 3 and 5 completed the NAPLAN Assessments. The individual student reports for these are being sent home to parents. Please take the time to read the NAPLAN report and contact your classroom teacher if you have any questions regarding how to interpret the information.
100 Days of School
On Monday 31 July we will be celebrating our first 100 days of school. Students are invited to dress up as centurions on the day. The P&F are supporting this event with some prizes being presented to students during the day. Please read the flyer from the P&F for more information.
Mini-Vinnies Sleep Out
At the end of last term, we had some very brave Year 5 and 6 students participate in the Minnie-Vinnie Sleep Out initiative. These participating students and some staff spent the night in the hall with minimal food and bedding, to assimilate what the homeless people in our community might experience.
Thank you to Mr Hazebroek for organising this initiative and well done to all of the other staff who also participated. Congratulations to all of the students who were able to be involved in this.
School Closure Day
On Monday our staff engaged in a Professional Development opportunity, focusing on staff wellbeing and Reading. The wellbeing component of the day was a follow-up to the previous session, where staff have now developed a ‘staff charter’ that attends to the safety and wellbeing needs of all staff. During the Reading sessions of the day, staff engaged in some common assessment and moderation practices to assist in the learning, teaching, assessing and reporting in the area of Reading comprehension for all students.
PSSA Inter School Cross Country
On Wednesday 2nd August, some students in Years 4 to 6 will be travelling to Meadow Springs to compete in the PSSA Cross Country Carnival. We wish these competing students the very best and hope they enjoy the experience.
SEQTA
After experiencing problems with SEQTA in recent weeks, it seems the platform has been corrected. Please contact the office if you are still unable to reinstate the SEQTA App and/or login, as the office staff will be able to guide you through this process.
School Calendar
Parents are encouraged to visit the school’s term planner on a regular basis to ensure you are informed about upcoming events during the year. The term planner can be accessed by clicking on the following link: School Events Calendar
God Bless,
Daniel Gooch
Principal
