Dear Parents and Carers,

Yesterday we were treated to a fabulous Kinder Nativity in the hall, which was full of music, singing, actions, acting and sensational costumes! I was incredibly proud of the efforts of every single student in this performance. A big thank you goes to Mrs Mortimer and Mrs Portolesi who put in many hours of work to ensure it was a success. Well done, Kinder!

Staffing

We announced to staff on Friday that Mrs Tegan Mortimer has been seconded to the Catholic Education Office for the 2020 school year as a Teaching and Learning Officer. Tegan has a great passion for Literacy, having worked incredibly hard to raise the profile of Literacy in our school this year. Congratulations Tegan on your appointment!

Mrs Marie-Ann Barrett will make a move from Year One to Kindergarten next year. Our 2020 Kinder team will be Marie-Ann Barrett/ Stephanie Burns and Bronte Dunn.

I am also pleased to announce that Ms Sarah Walsh will be joining our teaching team next year.

All the best Kerry!

Our groundsman Kerry Marsham is today undergoing knee replacement surgery. We keep him in our thoughts and prayers as he recovers from this significant surgery. Kerry aims to be back on deck over the holidays doing some light maintenance work. What an incredible man!

Christmas Carols picnic

Unfortunately due to advice from ACT Health, we have had to postpone our Christmas Carol Picnic. The new Date will be Tuesday 17^th December. Our students have not been outside this week due to the air quality advice from ACT Health. This arrangement will continue again today and will last until this advice is changed.

Graduation Mass

All parents are warmly invited to Friday’s Graduation Mass during which our Year Six students will be farewelled and will hand over the student leadership to our Year Five students. Mass will be celebrated by our Parish Priest, Father John Woods and will commence at 12 noon.

#Bustthedust

On Friday our students will participate in Bust the Dust, a simultaneous dance in classrooms in the act of solidarity with other schools and communities who are in desperate need of rain in drought-affected areas. Year 5/6 students at St John's Parish School in Trangie came up with the idea of a simultaneous rain dance at 1 pm on Friday, December 13. The idea came to them when they were learning about the drought during poetry classes. From reading My Country by Dorothea Mackellar and Drought by Jackie French, the students then listened to Raindance by Sara Storer. What a fabulous initiative, one we are very happy to be apart of.

Meet the Teacher

The staff have been working on class lists for many weeks. This is not an easy job and takes a considerable amount of time. A range of factors are considered including gender balance, learning styles, learning difficulties, enrichment needs, work habits, social needs, health considerations, emotional needs, behaviour considerations and other relevant issues. 

Teachers aim for an equal spread of both positive and challenging characteristics. Every care is also taken to ensure that your child is placed in the best situation to enhance learning and social development. In some cases, advice is also sought from our Specialist Teachers, our Classroom Support Teacher, School Counsellor, etc during this process. 

As parents, you cannot always shelter and protect your child or choose their teachers or friends for them. Your child may not get into the class they want or be with the friends they want to be with. Sure some students may not like a particular teacher, but how do they really know if they have never actually been taught by them. I do not know how many times a student (or parent) has been apprehensive about a teacher, only to find that they have had a great year. Life is full of disappointments, challenges and upsets. A big part of life is learning to deal with a range of people, whether it be other children or adults. It is about building skills and resilience that can be used in later life. 

How your child responds to the news of their class teacher for 2020 will largely depend on your own response. Whether you are satisfied or not, it is important to be positive and encouraging. If your child sees that you are upbeat, then they will be confident and optimistic about the future. 

As in previous years, students will spend Monday morning in their new classrooms with their 2020 teacher. During this time they will complete a booklet with some information about their teacher and peers as well as some things they are excited about in their new class. These will come home with your child on Monday.

Reports home Friday, 13 December

Reports will be distributed on Friday.  I am currently reading all reports and they are a real celebration of the children’s learning. I hope that you find your child’s Semester Two Report beneficial in providing information related to their learning and progress at school. Thank you for working in partnership to support your child’s education. This partnership between home and school will be healthy and enhance our children's learning if it is fostered in a positive way. 

You are most welcome to make a time to meet with your child’s teacher if you have any queries following the report. Please contact your child’s teacher next week if you would like to make an appointment. Thank you also to the staff who have literally spent many hours over the past few weeks writing reports.

Blessings and Best Wishes

Sean Rutledge