No 7. Term 2 Week 3, 5th May 2021

Principal's News

Living fearlessly is not about being tougher than the next guy or being immune to feeling afraid in the grips of a perceived danger, or feeling overly confident in the presence of the unknown. It is not about overcoming fear either. It is more about befriending fear and loving yourself just the way you are really.

Living fearlessly is also about being courageous. Courage is the ability to act on one's beliefs despite danger or disapproval. Courage can also be called daring, boldness, grit, heroism, and gallantry, among other things. Wow. But what is the lived experience of being courageous?

Well, I can't think of any better example than that of many of our students who over the last week, have displayed great courage and fearlessness. 

Our senior soccer teams for example, who competed in the very first Paul Wade Cup at St. John's Regional College earlier this week. They showed amazing grit and daring as they competed against equally skilled teams. They were rightfully disappointed when the A team lost to a golden goal in the semi-finals, but in my opinion, they were the victors of boldness and gallantry and despite their heartbreak, they held their heads high and acknowledged that they did all they could.

Of-course, we have to also congratulate our Cross Country Team who on Tuesday, competed against a number of district schools at Casey Fields in the cold, soggy and damp conditions. Thanks to their training, fearless attitudes and amazing team spirit, they competed and cheered each other on to numerous successes in each of the races. As a result, their persistence and courage led them to become the District Cross Country Champions. An incredible achievement!

Fearlessness isn't just seen in winning sporting competitions. It also comes in the everyday events of our lives. Like when we recognise injustices and stand up for what is right. Just like Logan (3/4DM) did when he suggested his teacher check in on a classmate who he knew had been treated unkindly in the schoolyard. This small but courageous act resulted in action by his teacher that ensured the student was looked after and the problem resolved.

We are truly blessed to belong to a school community that holds within it the willingness to be fearless and courageous. Well done St. Kevin's and we look forward to recognising even more acts of daring, boldness, grit, heroism and gallantry.

God bless. 

Jason Micallef,
Principal

Parents and Friends Association

Our Parents and Friends Association have been in action in lots of different ways so far this term. They have organised our Mother's Day Raffle (tickets due NOW!), sought donations for prizes, and even making the cake for our first prize - thank you Rozanne! The Mother's Day stall has been a big success with the last opportunity to purchase gifts this Friday after school. A massive thank you to all our helpers: Nancy, Geraldine, Rajini, Kathryn, Rozanne, Nisha, Moumita, Lisbette, Shanika, Nichola, Primrose and Caryn.

Our second hand uniform stall is also up and running and will be open this Friday from 2:45pm.

Another way our PFA have been supporting the school is by coming in for the school tours and being available to talk with attendees and answer questions from a parent perspective. Thank you to Nancy for coming in last week and Nancy and Geraldine for coming in tomorrow morning. We are looking for more volunteers, with details available further down in the newsletter.

The PFA have also organised a Bunnings BBQ for Sunday 13th June at Cranbourne Bunnings and we need your help. Please see Operoo for more details.

Parent Engagement Action Team

Our Parent Engagement Action Team have now had three meetings with our consultant, Rachel Saliba. All team members are finding this work really helpful in understanding the different roles of the school and families in forming partnerships. One parent even commented that now she understands her role and some of the ways she can engage with her child and connect with what is happening at school.

Below is the manifesto the team has developed that we use at the start of each meeting to reinforce what we are doing and why we are doing it.

We'd love to see another 1 or 2 parents join the team. Please contact Rebecca Gage (rgage@skhamptonpark.catholic.edu.au) if you are interested and available on the following dates and times: 

Mon May 10 3:45 - 5:45
Fri May 21 11:45 - 1:45
Mon May 31 11:45 - 1:45
Mon June 7 11:30 - 1:30

News from Parish Pastoral Council

We have noticed a decline in Mass attendance since the COVID lockdown ended late last year.  To address this, the PPC is organising a letter drop to all households in the Hampton Park/Lynbrook area and we need volunteers to assist. The 'postcard' will note the COVID precautions we are taking and invite residents to Sunday Mass.  If you are able to help with distributing the card into mailboxes, please add your name to the form in the church foyer and attend an information session on Tuesday 11th May at 7.30pm. Queries can be directed to Denise on 0420 200 266.

NAPLAN

NAPLAN assessments for students in Yrs 3 and 5 will be held next week. Please be aware of the testing schedule described below.

• Tuesday May 11th: Writing and Spelling, Grammar and Punctuation.
• Wednesday May 12th: Reading Comprehension.
• Thursday May 13th: Numeracy.

Testing will occur in the mornings and catch up assessments will be scheduled across the week for students who are absent. If you have any queries regarding NAPLAN, including concerns about your child’s participation, please speak to their class teacher.

Like us on Facebook

Keep up to date with events happening in our school through our Facebook page

https://www.facebook.com/StKevinsPS

District Cross Country Champions!

Congratulations to to the St. Kevin's Cross Country Team. Their hard work and persistent training paid off with the highest level of success at this year's District Cross Country Carnival. Congratulations to the 18 top placed runners who will now represent our school at the next level of competition.

Paul Wade Cup - Soccer Gala Day

St. John's Regional College hosted the very first Paul Wade Cup this week. All the Catholic schools from our area came together for a soccer tournament like no other. St. Kevin's had two teams compete with both making the finals. A huge achievement! Our A team were deserving of a place in the grand final but were unlucky to have been beaten with a golden goal in extra time in the semi final. Congratulations to St. Anthony's Noble Park, who went on to win the premiership.

Asthma Management Plans

An email was sent to all families this week who have children that are identified as Asthmatic and do not have a current Asthma Management Plan attached to their Operoo profile.

If you received this email, please be sure to upload your child's Asthma Management Plan as soon possible. If you need help with this, please see us in the office.

A blank plan template is provided below should you need one:

School tours for prospective Prep Students

We are very excited to be holding actual school tours for families who have children starting school in 2022. If you know of anyone who might be interested to know this, please let them know of the days below.

Remaining opportunities for tours are taking place at 9:30am and 6:00pm on...

• Thursday May 6
• Monday May 10 

Wonderwhite Recycling Rewards

Birthday Celebrations

May

4^th   Ethan 1/2 RO

5^th   Harshul 1/2 AL, Ugresha 3/4 PE, Aiden 5/6 SP

6^th   Jayden 5/6 LN

7^th   Dennis 1/2 FE, Eegan 1/2 HE

9^th   Ronan 5/6 DA

10^th   Oscar 3/4 BB, Irie 1/2 LO, Jordan 1/2 FE, Aaleiyah 3/4 PE, Josip 3/4 TI

11^th   Mina 3/4 MG

12^th   Jeremiah 5/6 LN

13^th   Pippa 1/2 HE, Phoebe 3/4 BB, Alphonso PCA

14^th   Jude 3/4 PE

15^th   Veronicca 5/6 SP, Dylan 1/2 LO

Assistance with School Transport