Principal's Message
It has been a very wild and windy week here in Dawesville, with the winter weather being in full swing over the past few days. I need to acknowledge the resilience of the students who have not let the weather bother them, even when inside play has been called during the week.
There has been a notable increase in student absences over the week, due to illness. Obviously, we are going through some testing times this winter, with COVID-19 still lingering in the community, coupled with the influenza bug as well. I thank all parents for the care, patience and support you are providing to your child/children, especially when they need to be kept home when unwell.
Our staffing fraternity has also been affected by illness in recent times. Hopefully in a week or so all staff will be back at school and standing in front of the students, all fit and well. In the meantime, we will continue to hope and pray for everyone in the school community who may be unwell, that they have a quick recovery during these winter months.
Parent Teacher Interviews
Thank you to all parents who were able to attend the Parent Teacher meetings last Thursday. I hope the meetings provided the opportunity to get an insight and understanding of how their child is progressing at school and got to discuss potential learning goals set for the remainder of the year.
A special thank you to all of our teaching staff for their efforts in preparing for and hosting the meetings. I would like to also thank all support staff in the school who assisted with the planning of the meetings and for assisting with the supervision of the students onsite.
Year 4 Holy Communion
Last night we hosted the Enrolment Mass and Parent Information session for all students preparing to receive the Sacrament of Holy Communion. I thank all the parents who were able to attend for their support and guidance of their child as they prepare to receive this very important and special Sacrament. I also thank Fr Vincent, Mr Hazebroek and the classroom teachers for the efforts in preparing and facilitating the information session and Mass.
If you were unable to attend the Enrolment Mass last night, but would like your Year 4 child to receive the Sacrament of First Holy Communion, please make an appointment to see Fr Vincent through the parish office, on 9582 1116.
Canteen Volunteers
Thank you to all of the parents who responded to last week’s call out for volunteers who could assist in the canteen. Your assistance with this certainly helps the canteen managers get through the very busy work each day.
If other parents are able to assist in the canteen in any capacity, whether it be on a casual or more regular basis, please contact the school office to discuss further.
100 Days of School Celebration
Well done to all of the students and staff who were able to get dressed up as a ‘centurion’ to celebrate our 100 days of school at St Damien’s. There were a lot of amazing costumes and ideas that certainly added to the spirit of the event. A special thank you to the P&F for their assistance in organising the day and for the generous gifts of sharing an icy-pole bucket for each class in the school and for the donation of three $100 gift vouchers, which 3 lucky students were drawn out to receive.
Bishops' Religious Literacy Assessment (BRLA)
This week, students in Years 3 and 5 have participated in the BRLA . The purpose of the BRLA is to measure student learning of the content in the RE curriculum and it provides a ‘point in time’ snapshot of student performance in RE across the Year 3 and 5 levels. The outcome of these assessments will be known later in the year.
Principal's Awards
This week some students have been sent to my office to receive a Principal’s Award for completing some exceptional work. I congratulate Dakota Westcott, Marlin Mannering and Matilda Summerskill, from Pre Primary Gold, for their outstanding work in Literacy and Riley McLennan, in Year 6 Blue, for his work in Mathematics. Well done and keep up the great work!
God Bless,
Daniel Gooch
Principal
