Newsletter St. Elizabeth’s School

www.sedandenongnth.catholic.edu.au 111 Bakers Road, Dandenong North VIC 3175 9795 525822nd August 2019

Dear Parent/Guardians,

Last week was a very big week in our school!

On Tuesday, our Middle School had their “Fables from around the World” Cross Arts extravaganza. It was simply amazing! The audience were taken on a journey across the world, experiencing different fables and finding out about the special message of each fable. It was a pleasure to see every child from the Middle School participating, either by singing, dancing, acting or all three. No matter what the role; no matter how big or small it was, all our children were shining stars on the night. A BIG thank you to our Year 3/4 teachers: Mrs Diosi, Miss Batt, Mrs Melenhorst, Mrs Claxton and Mr Andrew for all their hard work on preparing our children for this amazing event. All their hard worked and dedication paid off. The night was a huge success.

On Friday night, our P & F had its first fundraising disco, where most of our children attended either the Junior or Senior session. It was a great opportunity for the children to socialise with their peers outside of school hours, dancing away to their favourite Top 40 hits. Who would’ve known we had so many outstanding dancers in our school, especially when it came to “The Floss”?!?! A BIG thank you to all our parent helpers for their organisation and supervision, along with our teachers who were busy bopping or flossing away with the children! A great night was had by all.

On Sunday afternoon 20 of our Year 6 students received the sacrament of Confirmation. Father Brendan Hayes, the Episcopal Vicar of the southeast region, confirmed our candidates. In his homily, he emphasised to the candidates and the congregation the importance of being genuine and using the gifts of the Holy Spirit in all that they do. Father at the end of the ceremony commented on how well the students had been prepared by their parents and teachers and that we should all be very proud of these young men and women.

A BIG thank you to Mrs Walker and the Senior School teachers on preparing and organising our students and the ceremony, along with all of the St Elizabeth’s staff who attended to support the candidates. Also, a BIG thank you to the school choir who sang beautifully for their peers, under the guidance of Mrs Burke.

Our school as you can see is a busy hive of learning, where learning comes in many shapes and forms. The learning doesn’t just come from text books or the internet but from all different types of experiences. This is the beauty of education in the 21st century. As a school, we aim to provide many different experiences to cater for the myriad of learning styles we have and by engaging in a variety of activities we can achieve this.

Term 3 Dates

Thursday 22nd AugustBook Week celebration

Tuesday 27th AugustFather’s Day Sausage Sizzle

BreakfastWednesday 28th August

Father’s Day StallFriday 30th August

Year 5/ 6 Community Mass @ 9.15am

Sunday 1st September Father’s Day

Tuesday 3rd SeptemberYear 3/4CM ReconciliationThursday 5th September

District Athletics Year 3/4AD Reconciliation

Friday 6th SeptemberSocial Justice Day for Year 5/ 6Math’s Games Day Year 3/ 4

Thursday 12th September1-2pm Grandparent’s Day

Monday 16th SeptemberYears F/1/2/ Cross Arts Rehearsal

Tuesday 17th SeptemberYears F/1/2/ Cross Arts

@ 7pmWednesday 18th September

Footy DayDivision Athletics

Thursday 19th September Year 3/ 4 Melbourne Museum

ExcursionFriday 20th September

Last day of Term 3

Monday 7th OctoberFirst day Term 4

2020 Foundation Storytelling sessionToday our 2020 Foundation students joined us for a storytelling session. We invited our Year 5 students to join us, as they will be their Year 6 buddies next year when the Foundation students begin. It was a great opportunity to come together to share a story and an activity, enabling us to get to know one another. We can’t wait until we begin our official transition sessions in October.

Father’s Day Sausage Sizzle BreakfastOn Tuesday 27th August, we will be holding our Father’s Day Breakfast. This year we have decided to change it to a sausage sizzle from our usual pancake breakfast. We invite all our children to bring along their dad or the significant male in their life to say THANKS for all that they do. Hopefully we’ll see you there!

Wishing everyone a great week.Mrs Christina FergusonPrincipal

Feast of the Assumption

On Thursday 15th August, we celebrated the Feast of the Assumption where we commemorated the Virgin Mary, Mother of God’s earthly life and assumption into Heaven. On this day, Mary was taken to heaven by God. May her openness to God’s presence in her life guide us and encourage us to continue to be people of faith.

Confirmation

Education in Faith

On Sunday, 18th August, our Year 6 children received the Sacrament of Confirmation. Many thanks to V. Rev Fr Brendan Hayes, Episcopal Vicar for the Southern Region of the Archdiocese, who was our principal Celebrant. Also thanks to Fr. Tad, our altar servers, staff, students and parents for their support in the preparation of Confirmation.

During the Confirmation ceremony, the candidates renewed their baptismal promises and were sealed with the Holy Spirit.

May we as a community continue to support, guide and encourage these young candidates so that they can fulfil their promises while they grow in a life of faith.

Grandparents Day

On Thursday 12th September at 9am, we will celebrate Grandparents Day. We will begin with a whole school assembly in the PAC, where children from class communities will perform a little something for our beloved grandparents. Following this, grandparents are invited to walk through classrooms and spend time with their grandchildren.

At 11:00am, tea and coffee will be provided in the Nook. We are looking forward to sharing this special celebration with you.

Foundation Orientation 2020

Yesterday we were very happy to welcome our 2020 Foundation students.

This was a great opportunity for them to meet and work with our Year Five students, where we read the story “Meerkats Splash’, with the children completing an art activity together. A highlight of the session was the bubble blowing competition where the children had to blow bubbles into a baby bath.

Thank you to all the families who attended. We are looking forward to forging a partnership with you.

God bless!

Mrs Lorraine WalkerReligious Education Leader

Athletics

On Thursday 1st August, our entire school travelled off to Ross Reserve, Noble Park by bus.  There we competed in the 2019 St. Elizabeth's Athletics Carnival on a real athletics track.  Our students wore their house colours as the competed for points that were being added up throughout the day to see who this year's champion team was going to be.  It was awesome to have our Foundation, Year 1 and Year 2 students come along for the first time and they helped make it one of the special days of the years.

The students competed in events such as shot put, discus, hurdles, triple jump, relays and others.  The last event of the day was the 800m distance run for those who still had enough energy to run.  At the end, the points were tallied up and Red House were named champions for 2019.  Congratulations to Red House Captains Rison and Giovannah and the rest of the team for their efforts.

This year we have had a very special year come from our Year 6 students.  I've been at St. E's for many years and the level of role modelling and support that comes from this year's cohort is stunning to say the least.  Many thanks to our house captains for organising the relay teams, teaching the chants and keeping their teams motivated all day.

P.E.

I was away on Athletics day due to being unwell and I would like to thank our staff who ran the day as smoothly as if I was there.  Mr Young, Miss K and Mrs Hatley-Smith were instrumental in running the program to its tight schedule to ensure everyone had the opportunity to compete in all events in a jam packed program.  I would also like to thank the many parents who helped with many tasks - running stations, walking students to their events and general cheering and support.  Some parents were there for the entire day whilst others dropped in during their lunch break.  We thank you all and thank you for adding to the positive atmosphere of the day.

Our Nazareth VCAL students were also involved in the day and we would like to thank them for their ongoing support.

Finally I would like to thank the students - our mighty competitors.  From the feedback I received from the teachers, I kept hearing about the fun, the good sportsmanship and the effort our students put into their athletics.  Little Athletics is a great sport to be a part of.  The Springvale Little Athletics runs throughout Terms 1 and 4 on Friday evenings for any children who may be interested in going.  

Our District Athletics Team has now been finalised.  Details were out this week via CareMonkey.  The event will run on Thursday 5th September at Ross Reserve Noble Park.  

Table Tennis

Next week our Year 3/4 and 5/6 students will be learning about the sport of Table Tennis. We have been fortunate enough to be able to employ a professional teacher through Sporting Schools Funding, as well as purchasing three table tennis tables.  To extend those students who find a passion for the game we will also be running a Wednesday lunchtime competition.  

Our Foundation, Year 1 and Year 2 will be skipping for the next few weeks in their P.E classes.  Skipping is an activity we do every year and it is amazing to see the growth each year.  

Mr Dean Andrew

Middle School Cross ArtsBy Anabelle

The 3/4s recently had their matinee. The Cross Arts was about fables and stories from different cultures and ethnicities. The stories taught us not to be greedy; to be kind to everyone; to not lie; that if you’re good, good things will happen to you and many more. The Cross Arts was very entertaining and all of the 3/4s worked very hard on it. My favourite story was Tiddalick. It was about a frog who drank all the water but learned not to be greedy but to share the water. Everyone enjoyed the performance. Congratulations to the students and staff of Year 3/4.

News Captains Reports

Lysterfield Reflection DayBy Cayla

Two weeks ago, before Confirmation, all of the Grade 6 students attended a Confirmation Reflection Day at Lysterfield. The area was vibrant, with a peaceful atmosphere. It was an opportunity for the Grade 6 students to take a break from normal school activities and focus on the Sacrament of Confirmation.

There were a variety of activities hosted by the Nazareth students, teaching us about the Holy Spirit; the gifts of the Holy Spirit and the fruits of the Holy Spirit. The fun and engaging activities taught us about how the Holy Spirit works through every day people.

At the end of the day, we gathered in the small chapel, and spent time in prayer to reflect on the day and think about what we had learnt through the activities. All the Grade 6 students certainly enjoyed their day and learnt some precious and important lessons about the Holy Spirit.

ConfirmationBy Lena

On the day of the Confirmation, 20 students gathered in the school church to celebrate receiving the Holy Spirit. Our acting bishop, Father Hayes, was a great presence to have in the church and eased the nerves of the children. All children were dressed in their finest clothes, earning themselves innumerable compliments on their attire. This special day was made better by the abundant numbers of family members and friends who came along to rejoice in the Holy Spirit being received by the candidates. To end this day, all the children gathered by the altar to take photos with their fellow candidates as confirmed Catholics.

Administering of Medication at schoolThere are times when your child requires medication to be administered at school. For the school to be able to administer ANY medication, it requires written consent from a parent or guardian.

Therefore, Lisa has been very busy liaising with FlexiBuzz to create a Medication Authorisation Form that can be used by parents.

This form can be accessed on the HOME screen of FlexiBuzz. By selecting MEDICATION, it takes you to a form asking for:

- Name of medication- Dosage- Time to be administered

Once this form is signed and submitted, it is received by the office.

ALL medication MUST be handed in at the office at the beginning of the school day. No medication is to be administered by a child or teacher, only by Administration staff. If you need any assistance in completing this form, please don’t hesitate to speak to Lisa.

ParkingIt is still unfortunate to hear and see that parents/guardians/carers/grandparents are not observing the parking outside our school, making it quite unsafe for all.

The 2 minute parking bays outside our school are clearly signed by the council and need to be adhered to. It would be devastating if an accident or injury were to occur to one of our community members because the law was not followed.

Important and timely reminders:

If waiting in the 2 minute bays for your child/ren to arrive, drivers cannot leave their car.

If waiting for a parking space in the 2 minute bays, please do not pull up along the outside of a car already in these bays and call your child to the middle of the road to hop in the car. It would be safer to drive around the block and wait for a parking space rather than cause an accident or injury.

Never park in the bus stops, driveways, or on the nature strips of our neighbours – this can restrict the view of pedestrians and other road users. It’s also very disrespectful.

If you need to cross the road ALWAYS use the pedestrian crossing that is supervised. Walking that extra few metres ensures that there is no injuries, or worse fatalities. Walking out from behind parked cars is asking for trouble.

It is imperative that we stay calm and be patient. We are role models for our children on what is appropriate behaviour on our roads, even though they are years off from being road users themselves. Thank you for your support on this matter.

Drop off and Pick Up

Child Safety

In the morning, there is a staff member on yard duty at 8:35am. On arrival, students are free to mingle with their friends or stay with their parents or grandparents. The 15 minutes before school provides a wonderful opportunity for students to socially connect with others.

At 8:45am the first bell rings and students make their way to the classroom. On Monday, assembly is held in the P.A.C and students make their way straight to assembly with their school bags. Parents are welcome to attend.

If you wish to drop your child off before 8:30am, please use the Before School Care service provided by Youth Leadership Victoria - we would hate for your child to arrive at school and no-one be here to care for them.

Whilst there is usually someone here around 8:00am, it’s important to remember that staff are busy preparing for the day ahead or involved in meetings. After school, a teacher is on duty until 3:30pm. After this time students who are yet to be picked up will be taken to the office. We will attempt to ring their parents to make sure everything is ok. If, for any reason, you are running late, just give the office a ring and let us know.

Father’s Day Stall

Next Wednesday 28th August we will be holding our Father’s Day Stall. Gifts will range from $2 -$10. All classes during the day will be allocated a time to attend to buy something for Dad or the significant male in their life.

St Elizabeth’s Parish Dinner Dance

Our annual Parish Dinner Dance is on again this year and will be held on Saturday 12 th October 7pm . Parents and children are invited to come along and join in the fun.

Our entertainment for the evening will be local band, “Next Generation”, who gets everyone up dancing, or just enjoying the music.

On the evening a banquet dinner is provided by “Silver Platter Catering” and is BYO drinks.

Tickets are now on sale$45 adults

$25 child under 15 yrs

Tickets tend to sell out fast, so get in quick and see Trixie if you’d like a ticket (s) or further information.

School Community

DISCO

Out of School Hours Care

DISCO

Fortnightly Activities ……… Monday 26th to Friday 6th September

Monday Mosaic Picture Painting, Collage using Salt & Chalk

Tuesday Make book marks and monkey paper crafts

Wednesday Make Father’s Day cards and Shaving cream art

Thursday Wall hanging and Hama beads, loom bands

Friday Scratch board and Moon sand play

Before School CarePermanent: $13.50 /Casual $16.007am to 8:55am Monday to Friday during school term, excluding all Victorian Public Holidays.

After School CarePermanent: $14.50 /Casual $17.003:15pm to 6:15pm Monday to Friday during school term, excluding all Victorian Public Holidays.

Vacation Care / Pupil Free DaysPer Day: $50.007am to 6:00pm Monday to Friday

(The School Holiday Program in January will be held at St Anthony’s and St. Mary’s)

Late Pick Up Fees: Per minute: $1.00

For enquires or further information, please contact Elarine on 0422 803 709 during session times.