No 16. Term 3 Week 9, 13th September 2024

Principal's News

This past weekend, our Grade 6 students gathered with their families and the wider St. Kevin's community to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation—a sacred moment in their faith journey. It was an event filled with joy, reverence, and a profound sense of connection to the Holy Spirit. We were honoured to have Bishop Tony Ireland preside over the Mass, and his ability to connect with our students was truly special.

In his homily, Bishop Tony provided an analogy that resonated deeply with the students. He described Confirmation as being like two-factor authentication—a concept most of our young people are familiar with in the digital world. He explained that Baptism is like the password: the first crucial step in our Christian life. Confirmation, on the other hand, is the text message that finalises the authentication process, strengthening us with the Holy Spirit and completing our initiation into the Church. This modern-day comparison helped the students understand the depth of what they were undertaking in a way that was both relatable and meaningful.

The students, in turn, showed an impressive level of commitment throughout the ceremony. When they stood to renew their baptismal promises, their clear, confident responses echoed their readiness to fully embrace their faith. Their preparation over the past months was evident, and it was inspiring to witness how seriously they took this step. These moments remind us of the profound impact the sacraments have on shaping the spiritual lives of our students.

This celebration could not have been the success it was without the dedication and care of our teachers. Working alongside Mrs Hettiarachchi (our Religious Education Leader) and Fr Fabian, their careful planning and nurturing guidance ensured that each student was well-prepared and understood the gravity of this occasion. From organising the retreat day to helping the students create banners in honour of their chosen saints, our teachers made sure every detail was covered.

We must also acknowledge the vital role our parents played in this journey. The partnership between home and school was clear to see as families supported their children, both spiritually and practically, in preparing for this sacrament. It is this collaboration that truly brings our Catholic community together and strengthens the bonds of faith.

At St. Kevin’s, the sacraments hold a central place in the life of our school, reminding us of the grace we receive and the calling to live out our faith in everyday actions. Confirmation is not just a ceremony; it is a pivotal moment that invites the Holy Spirit into the lives of our students, empowering them to live as witnesses of Christ.

As a school, we will continue to walk alongside these newly confirmed students, encouraging them to let their faith guide them in all they do. Please keep them in your prayers as they continue their journey, now strengthened by the Holy Spirit.

Jason Micallef,
Principal

PS. I would like to inform you all that I will be away for the last week of term, attending a conference and visiting schools in Christchurch, New Zealand, along with a group of Principals. This is an exciting opportunity to learn from other schools and bring back new ideas to benefit our community. During my absence, the leadership team will be available to assist with any needs. I look forward to sharing my experiences upon my return!

Show Your True Colours!

Next Friday 20th September (last day of Term 3), students are invited to wear their favourite football team colours.  Whether it is AFL, NRL, A-League or any other code of football, we want to see who you support

Leadership & Management

MACSSIS - there is still time!

Have you completed the MACSSIS survey yet? In the video below, Mr Micallef explains why the Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools – School Improvement Surveys (MACSSIS) are so important. The window to complete the MACSSIS window is only open until Friday 20 September 2024.

We encourage all our families to participate in this essential feedback tool.

If you have not received your survey link by mid-next week, please let the office know.

Reminder: Student Free Day – Monday, October 7

A quick reminder to all families that Monday, October 7, will be a student-free day. Our staff will be engaging in professional development focused on strengthening our explicit teaching practices to enhance student learning. We appreciate your support and look forward to welcoming students back on Tuesday, October 8.

Student Absence Notification System

Our student absence notification system has been up and running this week. We encourage all families to use the Simon Everywhere App to notify the school of absences and provide explanations before 9:00 am. If you need any help with the app or have questions, feel free to contact the office. 

In general terms, a valid reason for absence from school includes situations where your child is unwell, has a medical or dental appointment, or is attending to a family emergency or religious obligation. Any absence must be explained with as much detail as possible so we can ensure your child’s wellbeing and maintain accurate attendance records. Absences for holidays or other recreational activities should be scheduled outside of school hours where possible to avoid disruption to learning.

Our After School Sports Program is Ramping up in Term 4!

Lost Property is Overflowing!

Our lost property cupboard is overflowing! We kindly ask all parents to take a moment to check for any missing items of clothing, lunch boxes, or drink bottles. With so many unclaimed items, it's important to recover any lost belongings before the end of the term. Please remind your children to label their items clearly to help us return them quickly in the future. Thank you for your help in keeping our school tidy and encouraging children to respect their uniforms.

Farewell and Best Wishes to Mrs Smith

As we reach the end of the term, we say farewell to Mrs Smith, our wonderful Prep JS teacher, who is finishing up to prepare for the arrival of her baby. We thank Mrs Smith for her dedication and care throughout the year, and we wish her and her growing family all the best in this exciting new chapter!

We are pleased to introduce Mrs Veronica Belloso, who will be stepping in as the Prep JS teacher for the remainder of the year. Mrs Belloso has been a familiar face at St. Kevin’s, and we are confident she will continue the excellent work with our Preps. Welcome, Mrs Belloso!

Education in Faith

Weekly Gospel Reflection

Mark 8:27-35

In this Gospel, Peter recognises that Jesus is the Messiah, or Saviour. Peter knew that this meant God the Father had sent Jesus to save us. He had expectations about what this would mean. He knew it was good news, but he didn’t understand what would happen. But Peter didn’t want to hear what Jesus taught his disciples—that he would suffer, die, and rise from the dead. Jesus knew that his suffering, Death, and Resurrection were God’s plan for our salvation. As Jesus said to them “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me” we also need to accept all of it to be His followers, both the cross and the glory of the Resurrection. God’s plan for us is far greater than we can know or expect. 

Here are some suggestions for families to support their children in understanding the Gospel and living out its message:

1. Explore Peter’s Reaction: Ask your child why Peter may have been upset when Jesus spoke about suffering and dying. Discuss times when we feel uncomfortable with challenging truths in our lives and how we can trust in God’s bigger plan, even when it’s hard to understand.

2. Identify Everyday Crosses: Talk as a family about what "taking up our cross" might look like in everyday life. This could be helping others when it’s inconvenient or standing up for what is right. Reflect on the small sacrifices we can make for others in our daily routines.

3. Serving Others with Intention: Brainstorm together about specific ways your family can serve others, whether it’s volunteering, helping a neighbour, or being kind at school. Then, take concrete action as a family to live out your faith in service.

4. See God’s Work in Your Life: Reflect on where you see God’s love and guidance in your family’s life. How has God blessed you, and how can you share those blessings with others? Encourage children to look for signs of God's presence in both good times and difficult moments.

5. Praying with Purpose: After reading the Gospel together, invite your child to think about someone who might need God's help or love right now. Take time as a family to pray for that person, teaching children the importance of interceding for others and living with a heart of compassion.

Congratulations to Our Confirmation Recipients

A heartfelt congratulations to our Year 6 students who received the Sacrament of Confirmation last weekend! It was a beautiful celebration, and we are so proud of the way each student prepared and embraced this important step in their faith journey. May the Holy Spirit continue to guide and strengthen you as you live out your faith with courage and love. Thank you to Bishop Tony Ireland and all the families, staff, and parish community who supported our students on this special occasion. Please continue to keep them in your prayers.

Learning & Teaching

We are continuing to unpack the MACS Vision for Instruction and its implications for teaching with staff. This document is grounded in research from the Australian Education Research Organisation: “Our work on how students learn best (also known as the science of learning) connects cognitive science, neuroscience and education psychology research on the learning process with practical teaching implications.” https://www.edresearch.edu.au/research/projects/how-students-learn

We have been using Dan Wilingham's Memory model as a framework to further our knowledge of how the brain learns.

Key insights from this model are:

Learning is about building long-term memory.

• Students need to understand and remember information over time.
• They need to connect new information to what they already know.

Students have limited working memory.

• It's like a small bucket that can only hold a little bit of new information at a time.
• We need to break down new information into smaller pieces and give students lots of practice.

Mastery takes practice and guidance.

• Students need to practice using their knowledge to solve problems and think critically.
• Teachers can help them by providing guidance and feedback.

Students need to be actively engaged.

• They need to pay attention and be interested in what they're learning.
• A supportive classroom environment can help students stay focused.

Our school closure day coming up in term 3 will build on this knowledge by continuing to develop our explicit teaching practices.

Student Wellbeing

Value Focus: Service

This fortnight, we are focusing on the value of Service, with a special emphasis on Being Inclusive. At St. Kevin’s, we believe that service is about more than helping others—it’s about welcoming everyone and celebrating our differences.

To live out this value, we encourage our students to make an effort to get to know others, invite new friends to join in, and find common interests that unite us. Something as simple as asking someone their name or inviting them to lunch can make a big difference. Together, we can create a stronger, smarter, and more fun community where everyone feels they belong.

Let’s continue to serve by being inclusive and welcoming!

Community

Building Connections: 123 Kids Kindergarten Visits St. Kevin's

This week St Kevin's was delighted to have a visit from the children who attend 123 Kids. St Kevin's partners with the local kindergarten network to provide opportunities to share knowledge and build connections. The kinder visited our school to experience school readiness in our Prep classrooms, play on our engaging playgrounds and have a special lunch at school. Overall it was a great experience and we would love to invite more kinders in the future.

Andrew Butler

Operations and Community Engagement

The PFA Colour Fun Run is COMING!!!

Dear St Kevin’s families,

We’ve got some exciting news to share - we are holding a School Fun Run! This year, we've got our eyes set on some important fundraising goals for Literacy resources aiming to achieve a target of $24,000! We're reaching out to all our amazing families to join forces and make this a success. All it takes is 1. creating an online profile and 2. sharing your link with family and friends.

Please mark your calendars - we will be holding our School Fun Run (Colour Run) on Friday 25th October at St Kevin’s Hampton Park!

What is the School Fun Run?

It is an online fundraising program, where all students go home and create their own online profile. You get to pick your target prizes and work your way towards that goal. And here's the cool part – your profile comes with a unique cyber-safe link to share with your nearest and dearest, encouraging them to contribute towards reaching your target.

What do we need you to do?

All we need you to do this week is create an online profile at funrun.com.au. The class with the most profiles by Friday 20th September will all get an icy pole!

This is an inclusive fundraiser we would love you to be a part of! If you would like to come down and watch your kids run, we would love to see you there! Early next term we will be asking for parent volunteers on the day too!

Thank you all in advance,
P&F and Staff

Pancake Parlour Rewards

We are doing so well!

We are continuing the Pancake Parlour challenge in the hope to win funds towards the school for something new and exciting for our students: literacy resources! The challenge will go until the end of the year so we have plenty of time to do even better than last year. 

We did such an amazing job in 2023 to win our area prize, but why not try to win the overall prize in 2024? WE could win thousands of dollars for the school! This year they have changed it to not just be one overall prize but 5 places which gives us even more chances. So far we are in TOP PLACE FOR OUR AREA!

All you need to do is download the Pancake Parlour App and join up. You then need to click on the school rewards tab and ‘add school’ by scrolling to find St Kevin’s Hampton Park and join our team. 

Everytime you visit or order online you will create points for our school by swiping your membership barcode or mentioning our school. 

Even if you believe you won’t visit Pancake Parlour, that is ok, joining the app and adding our school still gains us points by the number of people as members. 

Here’s to a successful rest of the year and good luck to everyone…let’s do this!!

Natalie Eyssens

P&F President

Uniform Shop Hours of Operation

School Holiday Program